The city's towers harness power and the ground holds them up. Its people have forgotten that they depend on each other. When Jax, a Rooted climber, and Elira, a Highborn engineer, cross the Cloudline, they uncover a truth buried by fear and sealed into law. To save Halidom, they'll have to trust each other and convince both sides that restoration is better than revolution.
The rain is changing. Someone has tampered with the Cloudline's core, and the Bloom, a threat the city buried long ago, stirs beneath the soil. To find answers, Jax, Elira, and Zinn follow a Seedbinder named Wren back to the spire Halidom erased from its maps and descend into its buried labs, where the trail leads to a betrayal inside the Council itself.
The phase-runners drift above the wasteland. Eight airships hold to a central cradle, moving as one. Each pod stays aloft on heated air, fed by the slow burn of old vine sap. Its song shields the valleys below from the Rootbane's return. But the harmony is fading, and an amplifier has gone silent. When Jax and Zinn join the Skywoven, they discover that the towers were never the whole system.
Patrick LaJuett is a storyteller, designer, and lifelong truth seeker.
The Giver
Skyward
Miyazaki-style worldbuilding
Found family
Revolution without war
Hope in a fractured world
What's at the heart of the story?
At its heart, it's a story about people choosing unity over division.
Is this a dystopia?
It's post-collapse hopepunk. World rebuilding after bad science nearly ended everything. The story asks: Can we learn from our mistakes?
Do I need to like sci-fi to enjoy this?
No. It's sci-fi in setting, but a fable at heart. Focused on people, not technology.
What age range is this for?
Young adult (ages 13+). It's written for older teens but reads well for adults.
Is this a safe read for all audiences?
Yes. No graphic violence, sexual content, or profanity.
How long is it?
Just under 60,000 words—a fast-paced read most teens finish in a weekend.