The village of Oakhaven was built around a tree so large its roots served as the town’s foundation and its canopy as the sky. For generations, the village was split into three distinct guilds: the , who lived in the dark soil and managed the water; the Trunk-Keepers , who carved homes into the bark and built the structures; and the Leaf-Watchers , who lived in the heights, harvesting sunlight and rain.
They were neighbors, but they were not one. The Leaf-Watchers looked down on the "mud-stained" Root-Tenders, and the Root-Tenders resented the "flighty" Leaf-Watchers. The Trunk-Keepers simply stayed in the middle, closing their shutters to the bickering. The village of Oakhaven was built around a
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. Its leaves turned gray, failing to provide shade
As the Root-Tenders pumped the spring water, the Trunk-Keepers guided it upward through their pipes. The Leaf-Watchers used the water to revive the canopy, which in turn cooled the earth, allowing the Root-Tenders to work without heatstroke. which in turn cooled the earth
The used their knowledge of the earth to dig deep, redirected a distant, forgotten underground spring back toward the tree’s base.