The built a network of hollowed-out bamboo pipes, a vertical veins system running from the canopy to the soil.
The were the first to suffer. Without rain, their high gardens withered. They cried out for water, but the Root-Tenders, bitter from years of being ignored, hoarded the deep-well reserves for themselves. "You have the sun," the Root-Tenders shouted up. "Drink that." The built a network of hollowed-out bamboo pipes,
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. They cried out for water, but the Root-Tenders,
It was Elara, a young Trunk-Keeper, who stood in the central plaza where the three levels met. It was Elara, a young Trunk-Keeper, who stood
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.
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.