The Dimwood Sky

This story takes place in the Parallax Lands, shortly after the events of The Brightest Town in the Realm. Lumbridge has begun to make room for darkness when it matters; the comet has come and gone. Professor Alder Finch has learned that invitation works better than argument. But the sky above the town is still too bright for the kind of observation he craves, the kind his masters would have demanded. So he decides to go where the sky is still allowed to show itself: the Dimwood Territories, where darkness is wisdom and the stars are sharp and countless.

This book is the story of that journey. He entrusts the observatory to Eliza Thorne and sets out. On the road he stops at an inn and, by chance, meets Bennet Reach, who tells him of his dream to one day sail the Quiet Sea of Stars. In the Dimwood he is joined by Lira Voss, who has been travelling there for years to gather materials for her oils and balms, and who, for the first time, he really sees. Under the dark sky he makes an astronomical discovery that would honour his masters: a new planet. Then he travels home to Lumbridge with Lira to document it and share it with the other observatories.

There are no villains. Only priorities, and the slow work of paying attention. The conflict is not between good and evil but between different kinds of looking at the sky, at the road, and at who has been beside you all along.

The Parallax Lands stretch beyond Lumbridge: other towns, other skies, other stories. This is the second. I hope you enjoy the view.