Dreamers.

Chapter 1

Edrin, who was abandoned as a child and left at the doorstep of a castle in Safrene, is kicked out upon turning eighteen, as they no longer wanted to tolerate his overly laid-back personality, crazy experiments and very strange affinity for interacting with cursed objects and spirits. One such object is Teine, a powerful magic user who, upon losing control of his powers and burning down a nearby city, had his soul forcibly separated from his body. His soul was used as kindling to light a lantern in the center of town helping to strengthens its wards.

On the night of Edrin's departure, he pleaded to be able to take Teine's soul and trap it in a smaller lantern as the magic user promised him a great favor in return. After a lot of convincing his family eventually caved. Afterwards, he bid the townsfolk and his adopted family farewell and thanked them for taking him in and raising him, he makes his way down a long winding stone pathway and to the base of the mountain and, with one somber final look, he bids his old life farewell.

Now on his own with the whole kingdom of Aislinn  to explore, surely Edrin's boredom will finally be cured and he can fulfill Teine's request as well as his own.

At the foot of the mountain:

Having never seen Aislinn, as the people in Safrene live a rather undisturbed lifestyle and the mountains block our view of the land below, it took me more than a few moments to soak in all these new sights. A low-hanging, crooked moon sits in the center of a faded landscape. All around sit withered trees and dreary shrubs that once upon a time must have been a lush green, but it seems as though something or someone had passed through here and burned it all to the ground.

Taking out the lantern, I give it a few taps to wake Teine and then say.

"The ground out here looks charred to pieces and even the building which might have been here seem to have been swallowed up by the ground beneath us."

"You didn't do this did you ? " I ask jokingly.

"As a matter of fact I did, why do you think I'm in this lantern right now." he says rather pointedly

He always speaks in such a matter-of-fact way that it's hard to get a read on him.

Continuing along the pathway I find it strange that despite walking for such a long time I have yet to encounter another person.

Looking up I see the sky is overcast, still though hard to tell if it will rain or not but i should seek shelter sooner rather than later and, as if someone above heard me I approach a fork in the road.

The First Choice: The Crossroads.

The  sign before me reads as follows:

Left --> Sifrah 
Straight --> Blanford Abbey (ABANDONED)
Right --> Stenley River

However, before I even had a chance to think, the lantern suddenly flares to life in my hand.

"Go to the left. That town Sifrah should have been built using what remains of the city I burnt down."

"Right... so are you planning to burn down this one too, cause if not I'll be tried and hanged in the center of town."

" Because how do you expect me to walk into the city with the man who literally burned it down."

"Relax the magic users who sealed me in the first place hailed from Safrene and have since departed, in this town I should be nothing but an an old wives tale by now."

Realistically speaking though he's right unless I feel like sleeping in an abandoned building my only choice is to visit Sifrah and hope I can find lodging for the night.

"Staring at the sign is going to magically transport you to wherever it is you've decided to go." Teine whispers.

I start to walk and looking back at the sign I get this weird feeling that I'll be back here sooner than I think but with that said, I begin walking until the lights and sounds of Sifrah appear in the distance.