๐ฐ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ 2021_Day 13 [Trick]
~Headcanon from a post on Tumblr shared by peachdoxie & some Easter Eggs~
Category: Mystery, Supernatural Folklore, mild Eldritch beings(?).
๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
Digory Tumnus was the youngest member of the new generation of Amity's Lamp Lighters.
His line was renowned and so long that, according the kinfolk's oral tales, it went back to the very first inhabitants of North America.
According to the legend, a timeless being had invoked the human settlers' help to fight the Night with Light, along with a Four-legged Companion per person.
Freshly domesticated wolves and caribous accompanied men and women in the journey to the designated land, the Doorway to the Worlds, where they would have had to lit on its borders four Lights, one on each cardinal direction, in order to ward off the Darkness and the foul spirits.
(Later, many pseudo-scientists speculated that such land, which afterwards would be called Amity Park, could have been a crossroads of multiple Ley Lines, making it an energetic focal point that had to be defended from wicked influxes.)
(And they would have been right.)
(Such concentrated energy would have been more than enough to thin the divide between this reality and the Infinity Realms. It would have been fundamental to keep it safe from whoever would have abused it or whatever could have turned it into absolute despair.)
Hence, the four beacons had to be lit to protect the land in its most vulnerable moments, on the Edges of Change, otherwise known as Solstices and Equinoxes.
The equilibrium was always unstable, but in those moments it became truly unpredictable, allowing slumbering spirits to rise once again to attempt to siege the borders of the Doorway.
This was how the Ancestors prepared for the battle and kept on fighting and living to tell the tale to protect the Reality. With large knives, deadly poisons and a trusted partner to guard each other's back.
Now it was Digory's turn.
With his goat (the family had started to implement them when the Lighters noticed that they were vicious fighters, but pretty docile cattle), the young adult armed himself with a sheathed dagger laced with poison, steel boots and reinforced gloves. Then he followed his mother into the woods surrounding Amity before the sunset, to start building the bonfires.
With the new rules of the nation, the Kins had had to buy the four lands in order to keep them free and had to ask permission to lit the torches, but thanks to the old Fenton-Nightingale law, no one had ever objected it.
On the West corner, Digory helped placing the logs for the pyre and on the back-up pyramid to feed the fire all night. The Tumnus Kin had been in charge of this cardinal direction for seven generations and they always harvested wood in between the Edges in order to last as long as possible, above all on the Winter Solstice since the night was the longest.
This day was the Fall Equinox, though, so it was perfect to initiate the young adult to the tradition.
As soon as the horizon was tinged in crimson, the family kindled the first sparks, letting the fire crackle in warning for the approaching foes.
Shades coalesced into shapeless tendrils that soon turned into spikes directed towards the bonfire, to snuff it out.
Knives and daggers were drawn and the fight began, in a lethal but beautiful dance.
Like hydras, for each shade dispelled, twice more spiked up, although they were thankfully headbutted into submission by the battle goats, allowing some respite to their human companions.
The battle was keeping up without pause in almost a hour, when suddenly a new beacon lit the dusk sky.
A green flash, not unlike the last lights of sunset, lit up at the Tumnus's backs, alighting fear in the old school's heart. Behind them there was only the townโฆ!
A shout from the great-grandpa, who was standing near the bonfire to keep feeding it since he couldn't physically fight anymore, alerted them that everyone else had confirmed their and the beacons' safety through the radio-comms, thus that wasn't the origin. They hadn't failed.
But what was that thenโฆ? As soon as that thought had crossed everyone's mind, every torch and free flame began roaring into a raging toxic green inferno, instantly scaring off the shades, due to the intense brightness of the fire.
Seeing as the attack had ceased (for now), all the family members run to help the great-grandpa feed the flames, before they could run out things to burn, and demand him if anything like this had ever happened.
Before he could respond, green transparent goats, buffalos, caribous, wolves and other unidentified animals appeared from thin air and charged towards the further edge of the clearing, where the darkness was almost certainly hidden, waiting for the end of the fuel that fed the fire.
The new beings tore into the tendrils fiercely, allowing the Kin to keep the fire burning.
The feeding frenzy lasted about ten minutes, but then it settled, only for the flames to keep the same green shade they had in the flare.
The green animals retreated into a line before the Lamp-Lighters, but only one figure took off and reached the bonfire, rubbing itself against the grand-grandpa affectionately.
Eustace crouched down and scratched the spectral being behind its little horns, while a delighted expression painted his face. โ Faun, you little rascal! How can you be here?
Everyone in the family knew about the grand-grandpa first companion and was astounded by the revelation. Goats life expectancy was short-ish, barely 20 years, how was it possible?
The old man probably reached an epiphany, because he gasped and looked up.
โ The last part of the original tale had been always largely ignored since we're all pragmatic kinfolkโฆ The Timeless being said that once ghosts started walking on Earth to help again the Lighters through their perils and the torches lit in the shade of the Green Ray, the Soul of the Prince would be back in the Land of the Living. โ The old man gulped down. โ The Doorway of the Worlds has been opened.
โ โฆWhat do we do then? Does this mean that the Edges aren't the most instable time of the year anymore? โ Digory whispered, tossing a log into the fire.
โ โฆI don't know. It was either lost to the millennia or never said. โ The older man seemed to age ten years over the century he already had on his count, as if drained by the uncertainty.
โ It was never said. Timelines are fickle and capricious being, until they happen, you won't be certain they are true. โ A new voice startled the Tumnus, who whirled around, coming face to face with a (familiar) stranger.
Bluish skin, purple hooded cape and black staff. Crimson eyes stared benevolently at them, even though an horrifying scar bisected the left one.
โ The Timeless Oneโฆ! โ Digory's mother immediately recognized the newcomer by the details given in the oral tales and bowed her head in respect, followed suit by everyone else.
โ No need to be formal with me, my Lighters. You can call me Clockwork. โ The ancient spirit smiled kindly. โ Now that the Doorway has been opened, to maintain the equilibrium more stable, you'll just have to add something to your routine. In order to maintain the Edges to an acceptable level of Shades, a small natural light must always be lit on the cardinal points during the night. This is why I give this gift to you and the other Kins. โ The spirit tapped his staff on the ground and on three sides of the bonfire sprouted from the ground as many metal poles that bloomed into lanterns.
They looked like intricately decorated lampposts: there were petals under the glass case and the apex of the lantern had a miniature crown, while the lamp itself was made entirely by clockworks (glass excluded). On the large base (shaped like a gear) of the pole there was a flap, probably to add the fuel to feed the light at the top.
โ These can be powered by any type of liquid fuel, how much they'll burn will depend on the used material, of course. โ Clockwork said, recapturing the attention of the Tumnus. โ I'd recommend vegetal oil, since fossil products won't last long now. โ Didโฆ did he wink at them? โ At least one of you must come here every sunset to lit the three lamps and keep them burning until dawn. Otherwise the repercussion would be catastrophic on the next Edge.
โ Lord Clockwork, sir, the shadesโฆ won't attack during the quiescent period, would they? โ Digory asked hesitantly.
โ No, but they'll try to lull you into sleep. This is why the ghosts of your past companion will help you, by keeping you awake. The Lampposts have my blessing, so they'll be indestructible from whatever foe, be it shades, other ghosts or weather. Keep vigil, my Lighters, the greatest challenge has just begun. โ The Timeless being warned.
โ We'll keep the beacons lit. โ Digory's mother Jill stated solemnly, then as one the Kin added: โ We swear.
โ Very well. โ Clockwork smiled. โ Be kind to the Prince, he'll be the only one capable of relieving you of this burdenโฆ but only Time will tell. โ And with that mysterious parting shot, the Spirit vanished in a flash that resembled clock-hands turning.
The radio crackled for all the other Kins trying to contact each other to share the news, because, apparently, the Timeless being was ubiquitous.
The exchange was brief, because soon the shades launched their attack once again, prompting the Lighters to go back to the fight.
However, now they knew.
Their enterprise wasn't and hadn't been a futile one.
And if in the following months they happened to see human-like ghosts walk on Earth (some of the more belligerent Kins tried to fight them back if being attacked, but apparently what worked on shaded didn't on actual specters), they'd wonder who was the Prince Clockwork mentioned being born.
The answer wouldn't have waited long, because the young monochromatic spirit (who fought back as much as the Kins did) would swoop in to save the inhabitants of the town.
Phantom was going to work hard in order to protect them all from the malevolent invaders that came from the other side of the open Doorway of the Worlds, so the Kins would fight the shades of this world for him.
That was the duty of the Lamp Lighters.
A/N. This was Hard! Pfiuw!RL did everything it could to stall my writing process, but I came up victorious!
So, there are so many things to say about this one-shot, I hope I won't forget anything!
The main inspiration for this had been, as previously mentioned, a reblog by Peachdoxie. The idea of a lamppost in the woods made me immediately think about the "Chronicles of Narnia" with the anachronistic gas fueled lamppost in a fantasy world. This is also why Digory Tumnus has his name: the first name from the uncle that hosts the Pevensie kids in the "Wardrobe, the Witch and the Lion" and the surname from the faun that befriends Lucy.
(The latter is also why I implemented goats as the Kins companions.)
If you spot other references, they were intended, so good job!
Anyway, Clockwork's appearance came out of nowhere while I was writing (as he always does in my fics anyways! xD), but it helped give more structure to the plot.
As for the Green Flash? In Italian we call it the "Verde Baleno" and while I "stole" the idea from the "Pirates of the Caribbean", it was indeed a soul coming back from the Land of the Deadโฆ
Yep, I headcanon that Danny had the incident on the Fall Eclipse, one of the Edges of Change, the (official) advent of the Libra sign. It seemed fitting, right? (เนใฺกโเน)
I'm forgetting something? Hmmmโฆ I have on my Tumblr a poopy sketch of the lamppost top, so check that out!
If you see something that doesn't add up, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll answer as soon as I'll be free. (ใท_ _)ใท
Ah! I almost forgot! I realized halfway through writing that this looks awfully similar to Floral's Pendragon (Hunter AU), but then I realized that my foes (the shades) have a different origin than the supernatural beings the Clans in her AU fight. My shades weren't human to begin with and they don't exactly die, they just disperse temporarily to come back next Equinox/Solstice. (They are more similar to my "PMD: M(S)M" in factโฆ xD)
The premise of a family line with a duty is (almost?) identical, so since we probably came upon the idea in parallel, here's my disclaimer: I didn't copy from her, but I recommend you to check that story out!
It's magnificent! (๏ฝกโขฬแด-)
Hope you liked this, type ya tomorrow!
Will Day 14 be Mimic or Music Box? Check in "Domestic Phantoms" and you'll find out!