Art Sample 23: The Cistern (Patreon)

Water is really important in the sky, it's not easy to get as one might think, and the places you can get it from are either very cold, or very dangerous. Most towns use a combination of water traps, air filters, water purification and recycling, and shipments of water from aquamines in remote locations in order to get what they need. Most water is allowed to drain away from the island, or is pumped into storage like this, or into ballast tanks sunk deep into the structure of the islands.

The remaining excess, especially irrecoverable toxic sewage, the stuff that can't be used to make fertilizer or soil, is simply allowed to fall off the island and into the void deep below if some other purpose can't be found for it.

That said, even in cases of perfect recycling, some water is always allowed to pour out of islands constantly, in order to make cloud formation easier around the islands, and thus providing habitats for Sky Fish, Krill, and other necessary fauna one wants on hand around an island.

Only Wild Islands have a steady source of water, as their broken fragmentation attracts clouds to them, allowing frequent rainfall and the growth of life in them, even as they sacrifice stability and safety of occupation.  Wild Islands are also far more magical than inhabitted islands, which use the majority of their inherent magic to remain stable, balanced, and aloft despite the constant motion and people living on them. Meanwhile, Wild Islands have enough magical juice to have spontaneous, and illogical, springs without any aquifer to draw from, and other oddities that make them favorite spots for resource harvesting.