The Sky Tree

In the misty highlands of the Jade-Cloud Mountains, where the borders of heaven and earth are thin, grew the Aether-Bamboo, known to the locals as the Sky Tree. It was not made of wood, but of translucent, emerald-veined crystal that hummed with the pulse of the world’s spirit. For a thousand years, the Sky Tree served as the bridge for the Star-Weavers, celestial beings who descended every century to gather the morning dew of the mortal realm to spin the threads of fate. It was said that the tree didn't grow from the soil, but was "pulled" upward by the moon, its segments clicking into place like the scales of a rising dragon. You lived in the village of Mist-Foot, built among the massive, moss-covered roots of the tree. Your people were the "Tenders," tasked with polishing the lowest crystal segments so the light of the sun could reflect upward, feeding the higher branches that pierced the clouds. In the year 634 of the Celestial Cycle, the Sky Tree began to dim. The emerald veins turned a brittle gray. The Star-Weavers had not descended, and the world was falling into a "stilled fate," where no new stories were being born.