Unity May 2026

But soon, the dry heat caused the wood to shrink. The homes began to crack. Without the Root-Tenders’ moisture to keep the bark supple, the very stairs and halls of the village began to crumble.

"The tree is dying because we have become separate branches," she shouted. "The roots cannot drink if the leaves do not shade the ground. The leaves cannot grow if the roots do not send up water. And none of us have a home if the trunk collapses." Desperation finally broke the pride of the guilds.

Finally, the Great Tree itself began to lean. Its leaves turned gray, failing to provide shade to the roots below. The ground cracked, and the Root-Tenders found themselves baking in the very earth that used to protect them. But soon, the dry heat caused the wood to shrink

The used their silk-weaving skills to create massive funnel-nets, stretching them across the highest peaks to catch the morning mist—moisture too thin for a single person, but massive when gathered together.

It was Elara, a young Trunk-Keeper, who stood in the central plaza where the three levels met. "The tree is dying because we have become

By the time the autumn rains finally arrived, the village had changed. The gates between the levels were gone. They realized that unity wasn't about everyone doing the same job—it was about realizing that no matter how high or low you lived, you were all nourished by the same sap.

The built a network of hollowed-out bamboo pipes, a vertical veins system running from the canopy to the soil. And none of us have a home if the trunk collapses

The used their knowledge of the earth to dig deep, redirected a distant, forgotten underground spring back toward the tree’s base.