Category:
Fantasy
Published:
Nov 17, 2025
Updated:
Nov 17, 2025
Reading time:
3 minutes
The Lantern of Aeralune
Legends say the winds of Aeralune don’t simply blow — they choose. Travelers speak of a distant forest where the air carries whispers, and where an old lantern waits for the one it recognizes. Most consider it a myth meant to charm children, but the forest never lost its reputation for swallowing footsteps and bending light.
The Lantern Awakens
Elira entered the woods with nothing but her satchel and a half-remembered map. The trees around her shimmered faintly, leaves glowing with opal tones whenever she exhaled. The wind didn’t rustle — it carried shape, purpose, almost language.
Then she saw it: a lantern hanging from a branch that seemed too thin to hold its weight. Dusty. Dull. Lifeless.
Until she stepped closer.
A sudden breeze spiraled upward, lifting her hair, tugging at her cloak. The lantern flickered once, then burst into steady blue light, as if it recognized her immediately.
A Path Revealed
With the lantern lit, the forest shifted. Roots uncoiled from the ground, weaving themselves into a narrow path ahead. Flowers bloomed in real time, glowing softly as they formed a trail. Elira felt a presence guiding her steps — not pushing, but beckoning with an inviting gentleness.
Every few minutes, the lantern pulsed, and the pulse illuminated whispers in the air like threads of light. They spiraled around her, forming symbols she almost understood.
The Guardian of Wind and Stone
Deep within the woods stood an ancient archway carved from a single piece of stone, covered in old runes that shimmered when touched by the lantern’s glow. As Elira approached, the ground vibrated, low and calm. A massive creature — part stone, part wind given form — emerged from the archway.
Its voice was the sound of distant storms softened by time:
“You carry what once belonged to the First Wind. You may pass.”
Elira lifted the lantern. The creature bowed, its body dispersing into streams of silver air before coalescing again, smaller, calmer — a guide rather than a guardian.
The Heart of Aeralune
Beyond the archway lay a realm untouched by seasons. Trees floated above the ground, roots dangling like brushstrokes on a blank canvas. Streams ran upward into the sky, forming rivers of light. The lantern shone brighter here, casting shapes that moved on their own.
Elira felt the wind speaking directly now — showing her glimpses of worlds connected by invisible paths, all waiting for a new windbearer.
She wasn’t chosen to witness Aeralune.
She was chosen to protect it.
And as the lantern flared with renewed brilliance, she stepped forward, ready to learn its secrets.