The Quiet Healer and Her Lantern

Once upon a time, in days of old, magyck and spirits saturated the living world. Some were malevolent, others benevolent. It is the way of this world. Good and evil force equality in the land. A young wanderer was wandering. Up until this point, her path passed through forests, hills, and fields of grass and flowers. This young wanderer always stopped and made time to help the small creatures that crossed her path. One animal in particular, never left her side. A barn owl, winged wisdom, she befriended. Athena, she named her. In her heart, there lived a gemstone. A gem not made of this world, yet more alive than the breath of Gaia. A gemstone so rare, and so secret only a privileged few even know of its existence. The wanderer herself, often forgets a treasure more valuable than all of the gold and jewels on this earth, resides within her. She was a friend to all who crossed her path. The souls of all living and dead found in the land were drawn to her fey spirit and golden heart. A light on this earth was she. Unburdened and free she roamed gaily.

Suddenly and without warning, darkness found her. A shadowed veil, dense with unfathomable grief and anger, fell over her eyes and onto her shoulders. Unbidden, undeserved, and unwanted, this garment woven in hell took hold. With a conviction and spirit stronger and more sacred than the forces that made the stars, the girl walked forward. The colors of the world became dim and tinged with sadness. She refused to submit to the weight of the shadowed veil, but ignore it she could not. For countless miles and endless moons, she bore this burden.

Slowly and purposely, her immense strength grew even more. One day she found she was strong enough to lift the veil from her eyes. The colors of the world shine out brighter and more beautiful than ever before, for she has seen true darkness, tasted true hell, and knows now what true beauty exists in this world. On her shoulders it remains, over her head she dons a deep hood. The weight of the veil, she no longer feels. Along her winding path, she forged a lantern. Hewn from the earth and bent to shape with sheer strength of will and a warriors heart. She sets the lantern alight with fire from her heart and holds it aloft to light her way.

The wild sage, the keeper of knowledge, wisdom on wings, flies silently behind her. The shadowed huntress, Athena the Barn Owl, guards the Quiet Healer and her lantern.

She’s made a home for herself now, on the borders of an ever shifting land covered in mist. Travelers often despair and find themselves lost and alone, crushed by the weight of the fog. They cry out, some loud, some naught but whisper and beg for help. This woman, for a woman she is now, beautifully scarred from battles fought while she clawed her way out of the underworld, hears each and every soul. She stands at the edge of the fog, holding high and aloft, the lantern she made that lit her own way. Not a sound does she make, nor step does she take. The Quiet Healer and her Lantern, hooded and cloaked, stands at the edge of the fog of darkness and guides hurt and weary hearts back into the light. Her Services of Lamplight offered all through the night.

If you’re ever blessed enough to walk upon this hooded Healer, look into her eyes, glowing a golden green, and you will see the sparkling gemstone, the unblemished and celestial stone that lit the lantern, the lantern that saved your soul.