Samhain was always a dangerous time in Ealdor, and at the midnight hour beings long dead walked among the living. Masks and disguises were worn so not to be taken back to the underworld when the beings were called back. Bonfires dispelled the worst of them, but the more powerful one still came. They were searching for the power great enough to return them permanently to the living world.
But there was a problem.
Emrys burned brighter than any flame. He was beacon of hope and happiness. He was toxic to those wanting to return.
As a young child, the villagers once left him outside, tied to a stake, as a sacrifice to the being to ensure the safety of the rest of the village. His mother was locked up and drugged to keep her from attempting to save her evil spawn. The next morning, instead of a shredded corpse like those before him, the boy was was curled up asleep at the base of the pole with ashes forming a perfect ring five feet out from the pole.
Three years they did this, each time the same thing happened. The fourth year, Matthew, the son of the village elder, sat with the boy. What happened was amazing.
The boy fell asleep before the hour arrived, but Matthew remained vigilant. The spirits came and surrounded them and one by one they charged forward only to burst into flame and fall as ashes around the pair.
Suddenly there were whisper like voices around them.
"The child is still innocent."
"He is too pure"
"His cleanliness cloaks even the sinner beside him"
"The ground around him has been hallowed"
"His soul fire burns brighter than that of a dragon."
"His light destroys us."
"His time will one day come."
"The hour is ending, but we will return."
One by one the phantoms vanished, leaving the child to sleep and the man to wonder.
The years passed and the ring grew outward. The boy grew to a young man and left for Camelot. That year the villagers feared the worst. That year, the ring surrounded the entire village. After that, Ealdor no longer feared the dead, for the home of Emrys was hallowed in the eyes of the spirit world.