The Umbra was coming. It was an enemy that devoured the young, defiled the wise, and fed upon hope. The Riverlands were no longer safe for anyone. A family of Lantern Crows set out from the Cloud Citadel in search of a new home. They were GGYEOT, a youth who admired the elderly Hraa; KYEOT, an orphan found by the youthful Ggyeot; AAA, a parent and guardian to the orphaned Kyeot; and HRAA, an elder who mentored little Kyeot.

CLOUD CITADEL

The Cloud Citadel was a haven to many but governed by the Lions of the Citadel who alone among the Houses had the strength and wisdom to withstand the Umbra. Among them, a young Lion named GRACE fell in love with the youthful Ggyeot. When Ggyeot’s family joined many others aboard the great Lantern Ship that embarked from the sky harbor of the citadel, Grace was torn between her family and her beloved. She chose to follow Ggyeot and joined the Crows on their quest for a new home. In doing so, she left her family and their traditions behind.

Little Kyeot dreamed of finding a new home where she could spread her wings, far from the shadow of danger. She and her guardian Aaa listened intently to the tales woven by the elderly Hraa and the youthful Ggyeot. Both the elder and the youth were part of an ancient line of storytellers. Through their traditions, they immersed their fellow Crows in the roles of heroes in tales that were countless and immemorial yet also new and ever-changing with the choices made by the audience-actors. The stories—and the choices that were made therein—always inspired hope in the Crows that partook in them.

Yet little did the Crows know that hope was what fueled the Umbra, for the enemy devoured hope itself and grew mighty from it. This secret was known only by the Lions of the Citadel, who kept this knowledge to themselves. Even Grace kept hidden what she knew, for although she had joined the Lantern Crows, the sacred oaths and traditions of the Lions of the Citadel still held sway in her heart of hearts.

ABOARD THE LANTERN SHIP

The Lantern Ship was a lofty vessel that flew over the clouds high above the Riverlands. Many migrant families of Crows sought passage aboard its hold. But now the Umbra was near and everywhere. Its dark influence reached even into the skies, making them fraught with hidden dangers. Not a few were the would-be passengers that were turned away and stowaways that were cast out, for they were not Lantern Crows, or they were Crows that had betrayed the traditions of their House.

The journey aboard the Lantern Ship was long, winding, and arduous. In that time, Kyeot grew from a child into a youth. And the love between Ggyeot and Grace deepened. Yet they were troubled by their need for secrecy, lest Grace’s identity as a Lion and her presence aboard the ship became known. And Kyeot was troubled still more by the knowledge that the Umbra was drawn to hopeful children, though he did not know why, as Grace had not shared her knowledge with him. Kyeot and Grace feared for their unborn child and the hardships that would lie in store for the next generation.

Their day of reckoning arrived when a stowaway from Cloud Citadel, a little Lion named Zeal, was found aboard the ship. He was an admirer of Grace who followed her aboard the Lantern Ship, disguised in a colorful robe dyed to resemble the garb of the Lantern Crows. His presence led to a ship-wide search, and Grace too was discovered. But by then, the journey to the Kingdom of Towers was nearing its close, and Grace was already with child.

KINGDOM OF TOWERS

The Kingdom of Towers was the last stronghold of the Lantern Crows. Many were the tall spires that reached toward the skies. But now the Umbra had arrived at last. Destruction was loosed upon the outskirts of the kingdom as the enemy laid siege to tower after tower. Try as they might, the Lantern Crows could not withstand the siege. Their heroes crashed against the enemy with cries of desperate hope, but it only made the Umbra grow even stronger. 

Meanwhile, their leaders were preoccupied with the trials in the Tower of the Crows. Lantern Crows held their traditions dear, and foreigners stowing away aboard their sacred Lantern Ship could not be left unpunished. For the Crows, a betrayal of their traditions was tantamount to an attack upon their people as a whole. While the walls of the kingdom were burning, the trial of Grace and Zeal proceeded in the Tower of the Crows, whose battlements too were already aflame.

At the trial, Hraa came to the defense of the young lovers Ggyeot and Grace. Hraa bade them to present to the court a token of their love for each other strong enough to sway the jurors’ hearts to pity. In answer, they presented their child who had been brought into the world shortly before their arrival. The new parents had named their child Harmony in the hopes of uniting the traditions of their two great Houses.

Miraculously, with Harmony’s appearance, the Umbra fell away from the Tower of the Crows. The enemy somehow feared the child and kept their distance from her. All of the Lantern Crows gathered at the trial were stunned. But it was only a brief reprieve. Soon the Umbra had enveloped the entirety of the Kingdom. Flames engulfed every tall spire in the kingdom, and only the Tower of the Crows, damaged as it was, still remained standing.

The last kingdom’s warriors banded together in defense of the tower. They were joined by Hraa and many other elders who sensed that their end was nigh. Their voices swelled with hope in a mighty call to arms. Together, they held back the enemy, allowing the young people and their parents to escape from the kingdom which had fallen to the Umbra. Yet they did not realize that their minds had already been defiled by the enemy and the hope inspired by their noble sacrifice only served to strengthen the Umbra.

THE NOMAD VILLAGE

The survivors fled from the ruin of the Kingdom of Towers aboard the Lantern Ship. Soon, they flew over the Nomad Village, an enormous mechanical community walking across the countryside on gigantic legs. The Lantern Ship landed on the village, and soon merchants went to and fro between the ship and the village, trading their wares. The Lantern Crows were gladdened by the reprieve but they did not realize that the Nomad Village was slowly lumbering back toward the direction from which they had come, the direction of the Umbra. Aaa alone realized what was happening. Seeking out the chief of the Nomad Village, Aaa raised a warning and convinced the chief to change course before it was too late. 

From the rooftops of the Nomad Village, the Lantern Crows held a funeral service to honor the warriors and elders that had died in the fall of the Kingdom of Towers. Gathering together the items left behind by the dead, they burned them in a great pyre. The smoke rose into the sky and passed away in the wind. But the memories of those that were lost lingered long with those that remained.

The Nomad Village wandered long across the Riverlands until at last it arrived in the City of Winter. By the time they arrived, Aaa was aging, and Kyeot was growing into an adult. Upon their arrival, the family of Lantern Crows passed into the Palace of the Moon in the hopes of finding their new home…