Flying Cloud Maiden

People have often wondered about the clouds and how they came to be. Many myths have arisen over the subject, often attributing them to a god's cold breath or otherwise considering them the children of the sky and earth. One particular myth, however, stands out in its own regard: the myth of the Flying Cloud Maiden.

According to this legend, she was once a simple young lady who lived in the high hills of a kingdom far away. Every day, she would walk out from her old home and watch the skies roll by, clear and blank as they could ever be, and she found that there would not be anything worth watching up there. And every night, she would always wonder if there was something she could to to make the skies prettier. Then one day, as she came out to see the dull sky, something happened. She found a particular wisp of smoke that spoke with an ethereal voice, telling her that she was destined to become a great goddess if only she were to wear nothing but a special ribbon on her hair. Skeptical, she humored it and undressed to her mere skin, trying her best to cover up herself through other means. She then took the ribbon which the wisp offered her and attached it to her hair, securing a modest ponytail. But no sooner had she done so than she felt a strange sensation within her body. She somehow felt lighter. Looking down on her body, she was surprised to see herself grow large in bosom and belly! Furthermore, her skin became as blue as the very sky she always looked at, and her hair grew longer and thicker, even in the ponytail. At first, she tried to cover herself more, but the task proved more fruitless as her body began to inflate still larger. Then before she knew it, her feet no longer touched the ground. Although she was a bit frightened by the sudden development, the wisp assured her that she should not be afraid or ashamed, for it would be bad form to have the people think she was afraid of her own new power. Eventually, at the wisp's direction she mustered the courage to imagine something as light as the air so that there would be something to see in the sky other than mere blues. And so from her breath and through the care of her hands, she formed the first cloud and let it fly into the sky. With new feelings of joy, she began creating more clouds, and soon perfected her craft to create all kinds of clouds. Even today, she creates clouds to delight those who watch the sky like she does, and once in a while she returns to the earth, creating fog in her wake, to marvel at her handiwork.

Art (c) Joseph Staleknight

NB: This is the version without the BG. The one with is in my dA.