The Cloud Kingdom

Above the clouds

A Kingdom of Floating Islands

The illustrated map of the Cloud Kingdom — The glowing places are open to visit.

Far above the clouds, the Cloud Kingdom drifts on islands of stone and garden, joined by bridges of light. A hundred waterfalls pour from the Castle into open sky, and their spray paints rainbows over everything below.

Sky dragons, winged cats, humming bears, owls, butterflies, and fireflies all call it home. The Lampwrights tend the Hall of Infinite Lamps, the Council of Elders keeps the round table, and Star Academy welcomes every young Light Seeker who comes to find a story.

Read the Cloud Kingdom Archives

The heart of the Hall

The Glass Scoreboard

Acknowledgement is the key to the kingdom. Measure keeps every share exact, and learning teaches every creature to read the measure, but acknowledgement is what holds them in balance. A thing measured and learned, and then acknowledged, is a thing the whole kingdom can stand on.

At the center of the Hall stands the scoreboard where acknowledgement is kept, and it is made of glass. Glass lets everyone see every mark, and glass is delicate. The scoreboard is ours to break, and so it is ours to keep whole. Every mark on it is made with care, and every creature who passes can see it.

The Lampwrights sing about it when they polish the glass at dusk.

Glass Scoreboard4:19

The record of the Hall

The Star Ledger

The heart of it all is the Star Ledger, the record of the Hall of Acknowledgement. It is the ledger of infinite stars: for every lamp in the Hall of Infinite Lamps, it holds a line waiting for the one who will carry it.

The Lampwrights work to pair every lamp with its bearer. New lamps are hung every night and new Light Seekers arrive every day, so the task never ends, and the Lampwrights would not have it any other way.

Measure, learning, and acknowledgement each hold the other two. The oldest Lampwrights say there is a hidden three-way balance in that, and that it is the true foundation of the Cloud Kingdom.

Open the Star Ledger →

The Council of Elders

The Round Table

The Council answers questions about the kingdom at its great round table. There is always one more chair than there are Elders, kept for whoever brings the next good question.

Where is the Cloud Kingdom?

High above the clouds, on islands that float on the wind. You reach it on wings, or by one of the bridges of light that join the islands together.

Who lives there?

Sky dragons, winged cats, humming bears, owls, butterflies, and fireflies, along with the Lampwrights and the Council of Elders. Rumor says a phantom lives there too, though no one has quite worked out what kind of creature he is.

Why do young dragons’ claws turn gold?

Every young dragon begins with dark claws. Each time they feel truly afraid and fly on anyway, a little more gold appears, until their claws shine from tip to root.

What is the Hall of Infinite Lamps?

The heart of Star Academy. Every Light Seeker has a lamp there, and the Lampwrights add a flame for every lesson that Light Seeker makes their own.

Can anyone come to Star Academy?

Yes. Make a lamp, choose a Light Seeker to journey with, and the Academy’s doors are open to you.

Why is there an empty chair?

Because the best questions often come from someone new. The empty chair waits for you.

The Kingdom’s field guide

Creatures of the Kingdom

Every creature a Light Seeker brings to Star Academy is recorded here, with each color the kingdom has seen. The sealed boxes hold creatures no one has discovered yet.

A phantom of shadow and starlight, with a delicate crown

Still deciding

Phantoms of Shadow and Starlight

A Light Seeker who has not yet chosen what creature to become arrives as a phantom, made of shadow and starlight. Choosing takes time, and the kingdom is glad to wait. When a phantom decides, their creature takes its place in this field guide, and a sealed box opens.

The legend