The Lantern of the Ferryman

The Lantern of the Ferryman is an Official GemStone IV Document, and it is protected from editing.

The Lantern of the Ferryman - As told by Zenuoie.

In the early days, before the Gleyminn Anni River was calm and navigable, it was a wild, twisting thing. Thick, gnarled vines tangled its waters, choking the current and preventing anyone from venturing far along its winding path. Naidem's residents, dead and living alike, spoke of the river as a boundary -- a line never crossed. For ages, the water was a place of danger and darkness, an unruly snake that coiled protectively around Evermore Hollow, separating it from the wild lands beyond.

Then came the Ferryman.

No one knew where he came from, nor did anyone ever ask. He simply appeared one night on the river, his boat emerging from the mist, gliding smoothly through waters where no vessel should have been able to pass. The bow of his boat was high, elegantly curved like the horn of some long-forgotten beast, with a metal hook at its peak. There, his lantern hung, casting a cold, greenish glow that flickered like ghost fire. His face was hidden, swallowed by the deep shadow of his wide-brimmed hat and the long, heavy coat that clung to his form. His only visible features were his eyes -- luminous, green like the light of his lantern, glowing beneath the brim of his hat.

At first, he was met with silence. The denizens of Naidem watched from the banks, those strange and twisted beings who had long made their peace with the wilderness of the river, wary of the figure who moved so effortlessly where the river had ruled unchallenged. He said nothing -- he never did -- but raised his lantern high, the light spilling across the murky water, casting shadows that seemed to slink away before it.

No one remembers exactly when the Ferryman became more than a figure in the mist. He came and went as he pleased, his boat gliding silently along the Gleyminn Anni, clearing a path that had never been there before. With each pass, the river opened wider, the vines retreating into the shadows, the tangle of thorns and roots loosening as if by some silent command. Those who lived near the river would wake to find stretches of water newly freed, the wildness pushed back just enough for their rafts to drift through.

Some spoke of him as a ghost -- a specter bound of the river, cursed to guard its waters for eternity. Others whispered that he was older than Naidem itself, a force of nature disguised in human form, come to carve order from chaos. But no matter the tale, all agreed on one thing: when the Ferryman raised his lantern, there was light where only darkness had ruled. And there was peace.

Not everyone welcomed him. Those who had long thrived in the shadows of Naidem -- those who twisted the vines of the river to their own ends -- hated the light that spilled from his lantern. For them, his presence brought a chill of discomfort, a sense that their secrets were laid bare beneath that eerie green glow. They would feel the shadows of Naidem curling around them like angry wraiths, warning them to stay away.

Yet even those who feared him could not deny that the river had changed. With each of the Ferryman's silent passages, the Gleyminn Anni became less wild. Rafts began to float on its waters, traveling from the heart of Evermore Hollow to the distant woods, the graveyard, and the orchards. The river, once a barrier, had become a highway for the dead and those few living that traveled in Naidem.

Then, one day, the Ferryman vanished.

There was no grand farewell, no final journey. He was simply gone, and though the river remained open and navigable, a strange quiet settled over its banks. The light that had once pierced the fog was no more. The Ferryman's absence left a void -- a gap that could not be filled by the rafts now ferrying travelers along the same path he had carved. No one knew where he had gone, or if he would ever return. In time, his legend grew, his visits becoming stories told around flickering fires, whispered among those who remembered the comfort of his lantern's light or the terror of his shadow.

But every so often, a replica of his lantern would be found. It would appear, as mysteriously as the Ferryman himself, hanging from a tree branch, or drifting in the current, or in strange boxes. These lanterns, it was said, were given only to those deemed worthy by the river itself. When lit, they cast the same greenish glow, chasing away the shadows and bringing a sense of peace to those who held them. But it was also said that, when held by someone unworthy, the shadows would coil closer, as if the light itself had summoned them.

No one could ever say for certain where the Ferryman had gone, but there were whispers -- soft and fleeting -- that sometimes, in the dead of night, when the fog lay thick on the river, a glowing green light could be seen in the distance, flickering like a ghostly beacon.

The Ferryman was gone, but his lanterns remained, and the river would never forget the one who had once cast its shadows away.

OOC Information/Notes

Created by GM Thandiwe in September 2024