Crash Landsel & Jetel

Once upon lost dimension, there lived a poor air cutter, (what you call a pilot in your world) and his two young children, a boy and a girl. The son, Landsel, was nicknamed ‘Crash’, and had racked up a dozen or more spectacular airship crashes under his belt. Curiously, neither Landsel, his passengers, or wares were ever damaged in the unscheduled returns to earth.  The older daughter, Jetel, nicknamed ‘Jet’ was the fastest and probably the best air cutter in the skies above the woodlands they called home.  They had nicknamed their father Papa Bear, because of his imposing size and thick beard and the fact he spent more time in his bear form than man.

The children also had a stepmother, a dubious gift of the rift, Mrs. Nancy Notchermama, nicknamed: ‘Clevera’, who, more than once, tried to convince the father to get rid of the children.  Sometimes, she would try leaving them in the woods or tie them to hibernating carnivorous creatures or give them “baths” in a special mixture of carrots, vegetables, and broth.  Somehow, Crash and Jet always managed to escape unlost, uneaten and “un-stewed”; thus, foiling these less-than-noble schemes.

I’ll get you my pretty! And your little brother, too!

This time around, she suggested to their father that they should send the pair far away to the farthest reaches of the map, past the ice fields and through the volcanic forest of to the far Cloud Kingdom where riches were plentiful – rumoured to grow off the trees!  With a single load they could bring enough treasure back to retire!  The father refused, stating flatly: “There is a reason we nicknamed him ‘Crash’ and Jetel is my best flyer! Things will turn around soon. Plus, you and I, we could stand to lose a few pounds.” He patted his belly and added: “It’s for the children.” Easy for a bear to say, who could hibernate quite easily and not eat for months on end.

However, the cunning woman was nicknamed ‘Clevera’ for a reason.  As she hated diets even more than her stepchildren, she invented a terrible scheme to get rid of the brother and sister and avoid the impending Poverty & Destitution Diet^©.   Her devious and clever plan involved an old map, hidden riches, and, she hoped, a one-way ticket to the Cloud Kingdom.