Lantern

The first thing Lantern knew was darkness, and cold. The second thing was music. The strange song rose and fell, and sometimes she could scarcely hear it, but it was always there. She loved the song, bright and warm against the endless chill, and over time, she learned to make out the words. Stories - stories of flying and fire, of glowing metal and glorious battle. For a long time - she had no idea how long - this was all there was. The cold, the dark, and the song.

When Lantern broke free from the darkness and flew into the world above, she found that that world was vast, and beautiful, and empty. She swam down crystalline rivers and slept beneath tree branches that bent down to kiss the green earth. She feasted on mice, and fish, and gossamer moth wings. Sometimes she even saw other dragons, in the distance. But none like her.

But, through vibrant days and still nights, the song remained. It lulled her to sleep at night, warned her when danger approached her, and led her to crumbling ruins. These places were once theirs, the song told her, once filled with color and light and laughter. Now the old furnaces held nothing but ash. Still, Lantern treasured each new discovery, each clue to who they were. Who she was.


When she first met a fellow banescale, the voices that followed her cried out joyously. She quickly realized that this dragon, Rowan, couldn’t hear the song that she did, but she found as they talked that he had the passion and fierceness that the song spoke of. To her surprise, he offered to join her, and the voices called for her to agree. They had never steered her wrong before, so, with some trepidation, she did.

Things were much like before for Lantern, but now with living companionship. Rowan seemed content to follow her, and she followed the voices. As they hunted and explored, Lantern found that she didn’t mind having another dragon around. Rowan knew the world as it was now, she knew what it had once been. The song guided her to more than just banescale places, it also led to tunnels deep in the earth and nests in the highest mountains.

And one day, it led her somewhere else entirely. She felt herself pulled towards the Aether, where the shifting mists held just about everything, if you knew where to find it. It was perfect. And there were more dragons there. The Astral Oceans clan, they called themselves, and she found many of them hadn’t had real homes before, either. It was a natural base from which to seek out everything hidden in the Aether, and they eagerly accepted a place in the clan.


Lantern serves the clan as a scout and explorer. She delves into unexplored worlds, and reports back her findings. She is often distant, but becomes very enthusiastic when exchanging stories of where she has been and what she’s found. She tends to spend her spare time deep in the wilds, or basking wistfully in the heat of Pyre’s forge. Unsurprisingly, she adores music, and has created many songs to share with the clan.