AUTHOR: Bre
EDITOR: Arshia
TRIGGER WARNING: HUNTING, CONTAINMENT, KIDNAPPING
In the small, snow-laden town of Liskei, small lanterns hang from hooks erected near doors.They are the only source of light in a town where torches are too difficult to maintain—snuffed out by constant snowfall and drizzle—and bonfires are carried away by the harsh, freezing winds that bite sharply at your cheeks. In Liskei, these lanterns are all they have for light.
But, these lanterns are more than mere sources of light. Their glow never fades, a soft warmth in contrast to the bleak, cold landscape the townspeople have always known. What makes them truly special, wholly unique, are the small creatures that reside within them.
Small and strange, these creatures float about, knocking snow from rooftops and nicking cream from kitchen bowls. They are both beautiful and unnerving, kind and cruel in equal measure. It was only a coincidence, a pure luck when a faerie was captured for the first time. And what an experience it was, to hold a constant source of vexation and mischief in the cusp of your palms, watching as it struggled in vain against the glass walls of a lantern lined with raw, cold iron.
At first, you considered giving the faerie away to your parents for revenge or retribution for the many cracked plates and empty milk cartons. However, your parents were at the town meeting in such a crisp cold, the chill of the wind scrapped against your bones, advising you to remain where you are. Within the lantern, the faerie banged and shouted in a high-pitched voice, its words unintelligible to your ears. You ignored the faerie and moved onwards to the kitchen where the oven has been left burning to provide warmth & heat throughout the house.
The only problem was the great darkness that lingered in the corners of the room. Shadows spilled across the walls and dripped onto the floor. It terrified you, but you were cold, so you went to the kitchen anyway. Strangely, despite the shadows lurking in the nooks and crannies, the room was bright. It wasn’t until you looked down at the lantern that you saw what created the light. The faerie shivered within its glass prison. Its tiny wings shimmered and shook with each shiver, giving off a faint glow.
You couldn’t help but exclaim, laugh, and jump, for darkness had long been an unwilling friend to the town of Liskei, and you had found a solution. When your parents arrived home, weary and nearly frozen, they almost collapsed at the sight of light in your hands. But you merely laughed and explained exactly what you had done.
Thus, began the great hunt of faeries.
Initially, it wasn’t difficult to catch them, nor was it difficult to find them. Faeries were obnoxious—prideful and vain. They would not, or simply could not, believe that humans could ever catch them with their elusiveness and swift movements. But soon, they were proven wrong when dozens of faeries were captured and placed into iron-lined glass lanterns. The once-darkened streets of Liskei were now aglow with light from the faeries who raged at the injustice of it all.
Even now, the townspeople still praise you for your discovery, gifting you all sorts of wonders for the light you bestowed upon them. You assumed this would continue, that all would be well—until the lights began to dim.
Only gradually did they grow darker, not enough for anyone else to notice. But enough for you, who had made faerie-catching your source of pride and ego.
One evening, on your way home, you noticed the first faerie ever caught. Or, more specifically, you noticed the absence of its light.
You hadn’t realized.
Iron was more than a simple containment for faeries.
It was a poison.
And now, the faeries were dying.
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