Star-Lore

The group began walking through the Floranian world, and for a while, no one spoke. They were too busy looking around.

Everything around them was made of wood. The streets were paths of twisted roots, soft and warm under their feet. Lanterns made from glowing fruits hung on the trees, casting a calm golden light.

Sakudara pushed the heavy wooden cart that carried the broken ships, his shoulders tense and sweaty.

Beside him, Bobo was pushing too but mostly just leaning against the cart with his full weight, pretending to help.

"I think this box got heavier," Bobo huffed, dragging his feet.

"You're not even lifting it," Sakudara growled, wiping his forehead.

"Yes I am," Bobo argued, his face red.

Lyra walked ahead with Spriggan, She was quiet, her eyes watching everything the homes, the people, the floating petals in the air.

Then they reached a strange sight.

The path ahead ended at a tall wooden gate, closed shut. On the other side, they could see a large round structure, a temple and that's surrounded by glowing trees. A gentle hum came from inside, like many soft voices singing together.

"What's that place?" Sharmitha asked.

Spriggan stopped and turned toward them. "That is the Temple of Vendra," he said softly. "It's where we give thanks to the god. Tonight… there will be a ceremony."

They all looked at the closed gate with wide eyes.

"What kind of ceremony?" Lyra asked, narrowing her eyes.

"It's for peace," Spriggan replied. "To thank the god for keeping our trees alive. And to ask for protection in the coming seasons."

"Can we see it?" Bobo asked, his voice excited.

"No," Spriggan said gently. "It is only for Floranians. Outsiders are not allowed inside the temple during the ceremony."

"You'd look like a soggy salad," Sakudara muttered.

They moved on, passing the closed gate and hearing soft singing from within the temple. Though they couldn't see inside, the glow of the trees made it feel holy. Even Bobo got quiet for a few seconds, watching the lights with wonder.

After some more walking, they finally reached Spriggan's home, a large wooden house built inside the trunk of a huge tree. The branches above reached the sky, covered in soft, glowing moss. Wooden stairs twisted around the trunk, and roots made curved benches.

But Sakudara and Bobo didn't even look up.

They both dropped to the ground

"Dead," Bobo groaned, rolling on his side. "My arms have left my body. Tell them I loved them."

"I'm gonna burn this cart," Sakudara muttered, face down in the grass.

"You pushed for twenty minutes," Sharmitha said, walking past them. "I saw you."

"That's two minutes longer than usual!" Bobo argued, pointing dramatically at the sky.

Spriggan gave a soft laugh ,a deep, bark-like sound, and opened the front door.

"Come in. You can rest. Then we begin repairs."

Inside, the warm light of the Floranian tree-home waited.

They stepped into Spriggan's home.

It looked small from the outside, but inside it was quiet, warm… and a little lonely.

The floor was smooth wood. The walls were made of tree bark, polished like dark glass. Glowing mushrooms in carved wooden bowls lit the rooms with a soft yellow light. The air smelled like herbs and old leaves.

Sharmitha walked in slowly, taking off her shoes at the door out of respect. Her eyes stopped on something hanging on the wall.

"Look," she whispered.

There were photos, Dozens of them. Some were old, almost faded. A few showed Spriggan when he was younger with a darker bark tone, straighter back, and wider eyes. His smile was big in those pictures, like he laughed more in those days.

One photo caught Bobo's attention. He stepped closer, tilting his head. "Hey hey hey... What's this weird costume?" he asked, pointing to a panel where Spriggan stood straight in a neat black-and-blue uniform. It had a silver symbol on the chest. His eyes looked sharper in that photo.

"That's… that's a Galactic Federation uniform," Spriggan said, walking over. His voice was quiet, not proud or ashamed. Just... honest.

"I used to work for them," he added, almost casually. "Long, long time ago. Maybe… forty years now?"

Sharmitha and Sakudara froze.

"You were in the Galactic Federation?" Sharmitha asked, surprised.

Sakudara crossed his arms. "Were you a soldier?"

Spriggan shook his head. "No. I wasn't the fighting kind. I worked as a scout. Explorer class. I searched for lost ships, helped small planets, mapped stars... boring things." He gave a small smile.

"But still," Sakudara muttered, "that means you knew a lot."

"I did," Spriggan said, walking to a shelf and carefully dusting it with his sleeve. "But I left it all. Long ago."

Bobo was still staring at the photo. "Whoa. You look taller in this one," he said, squinting.

Spriggan chuckled. "I was. Less moss on the knees too."

Sharmitha moved her eyes to another photo beside it. She pointed with a sharp gasp.

"Wait… Is that?"

"Yes," Spriggan said before she finished. "That's Kaizu. When he was young."

In the picture, a younger Spriggan stood beside a boy with strange grey eyes. The boy looked serious, almost too grown-up for his age. He wore a Federation cadet uniform and had a sword across his back.

"That's General Kaizu?" Sakudara asked, stunned. "The one who leads the whole fleet now?"

"He wasn't a general back then," Spriggan said. "He was just a child… a genius child. I trained him young."

Everyone went quiet.

Spriggan looked at the photo for a long moment, then turned to face them again.

"Don't worry," he said, voice softer now. "I may have worked with the Federation before, but I'm not part of it anymore."

He looked at Bobo, who was currently spinning in slow circles while staring up at the ceiling like it was the most fascinating thing ever.

"I'm not going to tell them about him."

Bobo blinked and stopped spinning. "Tell them what? That I spin very well?

Lyra gave him a tired look, then smiled gently.

"Thanks," she said to Spriggan. "For not telling them."

He walked away from the photos, his steps slow.

And behind him, the glowing pictures told a quiet story, one of a man who had seen many worlds, worked with powerful people, and now lived alone in a wooden house full of memories.