Chapter 1: Starglass Shadows
North pressed her nose to the cold glass of her attic window, gazing out over the dazzling rim of the Crystal Nebula. Even after years of living in its vibrant glow, the endless celestial expanse stole her breath: stardust flickered on the cosmic breeze; bridges of spun crystal leapt between floating isles like jeweled threads; nebulae coiled in velvet midnight. Yet, tonight, restlessness hummed in North’s veins. She twirled her battered compass—a gift from Mother before she left on her own expedition—willing its arrow to point her to something wild and wondrous.
Rumors had reached even her outpost on the nebula’s edge: somewhere in this infinite starsea, a prophecy waited to be found. An ancient riddle lost beneath layers of legend and nebular mist. The grown-ups scoffed, voices heavy with tired certainty. "Leave those stories to the wind, North. No one’s set eyes on the prophecy since long before the Crystal Bridges formed." But stories didn’t survive by accident, she thought. And if no one else dared search... well, that only meant the adventure belonged to her.
She slipped out after midnight, boots muffled on the opal floor. The Observatory Vault—a forbidden jewel hovering inside a geode as large as a dome—hung above the sleeping commune. North’s heart thudded as she crossed the first crystalline arch, hands steady even though her shadow danced and skipped with nerves. Nightwise moths spun lazy orbits around the bridges, scattering sparks of turquoise and gold.
The Vault’s entrance hardly earned the name: a brass-hinged hatch crusted with salt from nebula rain, stuck half-open by an enterprising root. North squeezed through, her pack of explorer’s tools banging against her hip. Inside, the chamber glistened. Rows of half-mended star charts, artifact shelves, maps wound tight as scrolls—everything shimmered with secrets. North pressed trembling fingers to a half-finished star map, tracing the archipelago of crystal isles. She lingered only a moment before a stranger thrill drew her onwards: deep at the chamber’s core, a single slab of radiant crystal pulsed with ancient energy.
She approached, her lamp painting spectra on the geode walls. Etched across the smooth surface was a riddle:
'Where nebula weeps and echoes sing,
Destiny’s heart unveils its ring.'
North’s breath caught. She could almost feel discovery crackling across her skin. Questions exploded in her mind: Was "nebula weeps" a place where the stardust rainfall grew thickest? "Echoes sing"—could that be a reference to the whispering canyons? Her compass spun in restless excitement.
As she bent to examine the riddle closer—almost missing a line of micro-script gleaming near the base—a sudden voice shattered the hush:
"You always nose about where you aren’t meant to, North. Still haven’t grown tired of breaking the rules?"
North whirled, raising her compass defensively—then promptly dropped it in surprise. There, perched atop a precarious heap of books, crouched the Jungle Guide: her oldest friend, the same spry, sun-browned spirit who’d once shown her how to tie starlight knots and swing between nebula mangrove roots. Tousle-haired, clad in breeches patchworked by comet light, and grinning with the irrepressible energy of a falling meteor, he was unmistakable.
"Guide! I thought you’d been posted years ago to the Southern Isles!" North exclaimed.
He dropped lightly from the stack, dusting off his palms. "I finished my tour early. Heard rumors that the old prophecy was stirring up trouble again. And as luck would have it"—his green eyes glinted mischievously—"I happened to spot a certain apprentice sneaking into the Vault, so I thought I’d tag along. Couldn’t resist the chance for a little midnight mischief."
North could have hugged him. Instead, she shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. "If you’re offering help, that is. This place has more dust traps than answers. And I found something strange."
Together they puzzled over the riddle’s words, Guide balancing on one foot as if his thoughts threatened to tip him over. "Where nebula weeps—that could mean the edge cliffs," he offered. "The Starvine Tangle lies just beyond, doesn’t it? I remember old stories—those vines drink up the nebular rainfall and sing when the starlight gets caught between them. We used to prank the watchkeepers by stringing windchimes through there. The echoes sounded like a choir of laughing ghosts."
North’s face brightened. "That fits! The Starvine Tangle. I’ll bet the next clue is hidden there."
Guide sobered suddenly, peering over his shoulder toward a shadow-cloaked corner. "We’ll have to be quick. I heard from the Dockwardens that someone else is hunting for the prophecy—a bandit. Wears a mask woven from shadow, makes off with artifacts, causes trouble wherever he goes. They say he’s clever, maybe clever enough to crack the riddle before us if we hesitate."
A shiver crept over North, something cold but oddly exhilarating. For every great quest, there needed to be a nemesis. "Then let’s go now. The longer we wait, the further ahead he’ll get."
North gathered her scattered gear: compass, lamp, hand-bound notebook peppered with childish sketches. Guide produced a coil of starlight rope and a treat from his ever-present rations pouch—a piece of nebula taffy that fizzed on the tongue, sending sugar stars bursting in her mouth. They stifled their giggles, tiptoed back through the Vault, and slipped into the sparkling midnight.
As they raced across the bridge toward the Tangle—crystal underfoot humming in tune with North’s racing heart—a presence watched them from afar. High above, cloaked in a fog of shifting colors, the shadowy Bandit crouched atop a broken archway. His laughter, soft as a dying star, rippled through the twilight.
Below, North and Guide paused at the threshold of the Starvine Tangle—a maze of luminous vines, pulsing gently as if alive. "Ready?" North whispered, bouncing on her toes.
Guide winked, shouldering his pack. "I was born ready. Just promise you won’t go touching any singing nettles this time, okay? My eardrums barely survived last adventure."
They dove into the starlit wilderness, the first lines of the prophecy echoing in their minds, and neither noticed the faint, inky footprints trailing after them on the glimmering crystal floor.