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Deep in the stormy forest in the Kingdom of Sky, there lived a lonely being of light named Ris. He was known to many as a hermit and came out of his small hovel so little, his existence was reduced to merely a myth. Onlookers pitied him, how his life seemed so lonely, so cold; but in truth, Ris was content with this lifestyle. He found beauty in the forest's harsh storms, so when it came time for the burning rain to come down, he rushed inside to meditate with a pot of tea.
On one fateful morning, Ris had been fishing for his supper, when he caught sight of a small, glowing lump. It had been raining extensively that morning, with Ris even becoming worried at the strength of the storm. He wondered if the lump could be a jellyfish, but the lump did not float above him. It instead stayed motionless, curled up and still like a stone. Curiosity got the better of him, so cautiously, Ris approached the lump, hiding behind his glowing cape in case of a well-hidden attack. Quietly, he made it close enough to make out what the creature truly was and revealed itself to be a small child of light. Ris jumped back in surprise at the revelation, but when he did, the crunching of his footsteps awoke the child, but not fully. The child had been weakened by the storm and did not open their eyes as a result. Ris noticed this and quickly carried them into his home to warm up by his stove.
As hours passed, Ris worriedly paced around his room. "How did this child end up in the forest?" He wondered. Surely it couldn't have been blown by the storm, but judging by the almost miniature stature of the child, that theory slowly flourished.
At last, just as Ris thought of burying the child where they were found, they let out a small chirp, signaling to Ris that they were alright. Their soft golden cape glistened in the rare sunlight, a true indicator of their health. Ris dashed over and silently offered them a cup of tea, which the child accepted wholeheartedly. Surely this wasn't the same child as before! He was glad to see the child so full of energy, but the question of where they had come from wavered above his head. As if nothing had happened hours prior, the child excitedly chirped at Ris, telling him about their family and home. He did not understand their language, as he spoke in a soft and deep tone, akin to the manta rays that loved to fly around the hidden vault. Despite Ris' worry about communicating, the child had no trouble understanding him and conveyed their thoughts through whatever they could, from body language to drawing.
At last, once the evening began to darken the clouds outside of the window, the child yawned and curled up next to the stove to drink some more tea. Ris stared at them gently, sipping from his tea, and finally mustered up the courage to ask them how they ended up near the pond that morning. The child thought for a bit and set up embers in the shape of a flight pattern next to Ris. The smallest ember, which also had the dullest glow, went out first when the child sprinkled water on the embers and fell over. But when it did, the other pieces of charcoal were swept away by their small hands.
The truth was revealed. The child was the smallest and weakest of their group; so when they lost energy from the stinging rain, no one helped or even cared to notice- so they continued to fly without them. Ris understood that feeling, of being forgotten by others, so when the child began to cry, he reassuringly wiped their tears with his green cape, the same color as the trees right after the rain. The soft, husky tone of his voice resonated within the home as Ris felt for the child.
It dawned on him that moment though, what if he helped the child on their journey? Perhaps he could help the child find their friends before it was too late? Ris turned to the child to tell them his plan, only to find them already sound asleep under their golden cape- soft snoring coming from beneath their mask. "Perhaps I shall let them rest," Ris thought as he lay down beside them, "I shall help them get to their group." Ris' final thoughts faded out as he fell asleep next to the small stove.
The next morning, Ris awoke to the sound of soft footsteps echoing throughout the home. The child was bursting with energy, running about, chirping loudly like the songbirds in the prairies. It was a wonder they hadn't knocked anything over, but Ris decided to stop them before they truly did.
The child's eyes sparkled as Ris told them his plan and thoughts, and was eager to get going, however, the older child stopped them before they rushed out the door, and reminded them of the dangers of the storm. Luckily, Ris remembered he had owned an umbrella, so he dug it out of his drawers and hurriedly opened it as he made it outside, for the child already ran out the door. The umbrella was a gift from a friend, but whenever he opened it, Ris felt slightly guilty as the beautiful blue spiral pattern was enough to make the dark crabs attracted to it, as if the glowing baubles weren't enough like an angler fish's lure to them. This was one of the reasons Ris had hidden his umbrella away.
As they walked between the vegetation, Ris huffed stories about the spirits he had met during his travels. The forest floor flooded with rainwater and made every step as cold as ice. The hazy fog of the forest's brook was enough to make the child hold onto Ris' cape tightly; their high-pitched chirps squeaked at every thunderclap heard deep in the storm clouds.
The two traveled deeper into the brook, making their way to each spirit. Eventually, they found the closest spirit on Ris’ map, who was a shy, yet kind prospector who pointed the way to a small rest area when Ris asked for directions because of the haze. Maybe someone there could find who the child and Ris were looking for? The two launched off the pavilion to the main path after thanking the spirit and made their way up to the rest area. It was quite lucky as well because the rain seemed to pour down harder than it had prior. Once the hike to the campfire was finished, the child was so cold from the icy water that they sat upon the blazing wood, much to Ris' initial shock.
Ris continued to check his map for a clear path to the Forest's temple, looking through all the spirits and locations on the parchment. The child seemed too small to take notice of the other spirits hidden throughout the trees, so asking them was out of the question. The shortcut to the boneyard was also unavailable since this path was locked behind a wall that only a child who found all of the spirits in the woods could go through, meaning he and the child would have to go the long way. Ris sighed and looked up from his map, only to notice the child was gone. It took him a moment to realize the severity of the situation. Oh dear! He jumped up from his log seat and grabbed his umbrella. Ris began to survey the area surrounding the camp. The child couldn't have run off too far, could they? That small butterfly had too much energy he thought, so he peeked in every nook and cranny around the camp to find the child.
When all hope seemed lost for him, he noticed a small crevice in the wall adjacent to the fire, and curiously squeezed through. Where could this lead? He popped out of the cave and found himself on the other side of the forcefield hiding the way to an old spirit who lived in a treehouse on the other side, who was also known as the grandmother of the forest. Right as he emerged from the cave, the scent of freshly baked light buns wafted in the air. "That's it!" Ris thought as he rushed over to the treehouse. No one could resist the scent and warmth of the grandmother's baking, so when she finished a batch it attracted from throughout the kingdom. As expected, the child was happily munching away at the sweet bread and chirping to the other children at the table.
It took a while until the child was full of light and noticed Ris, but when they did they sheepishly apologized for running off. Ris was glad that they were safe, and even commended their discovery of the cave, as it allowed the two to get to the temple quicker. The child tittered and looked over at the rainy bridge, signaling they wanted to start for the temple again. After making sure they had collected the hidden in the area, Ris floated with the child over to the other side, taking a deep breath as they made their way through the gate in the tree stump.
On the other side of the stump, rain stormed down like a perpetual waterfall, with the water below being deep enough for the child to trudge through with difficulty. The storm was much worse in the boneyard, with the fog being so thick even Ris was confused about where they were headed. There weren't many places to stop and dry off outside of light blooms, so the situation got more dire as the winds got stronger. The child's knuckles were tan, much different from the deep brown their skin was usually. Ris was afraid their hand would break from holding onto his blowing cape so hard. Their only place of solace was the hollow and rotted trunks of old trees, but the wind was howling so hard the cold air cascaded inside into an eerie whistle.
"I wanna go back!" The child signaled to Ris.
"It's too frightening here!" Their frantic chirps were drowned out by the rain. Ris hated seeing the younger children be so afraid of something he found so soothing, so Ris held the child close and sang a soft song in his gentle tone as they wrapped themself deep in his glowing cape. Aside from sitting in cool rainwater, the child reassured themself as they remembered it wasn't much different from Ris' home. They felt safe in his presence. Actually, they had almost forgotten why they were with him in the first place.
The child slowly opened their eyes to look at Ris' gentle face, his bangs flowing in the wind as he continued his song. At last, Ris took notice of them and gave the small figure a longing gaze. Oh, how he missed the feeling of warmth. Indeed he felt warm inside of his small house with his tea, but it had been a long time since he had been with another child of light. Perhaps he truly felt happy with a companion after all this time, as the only contact he had with others were the ones who wandered outside of his home and pitied him before flying off.
Soon after, the two eventually made it to the temple's bridge, the storm raging as hard as ever around them. It seemed to be the strongest in this area of the boneyard and was so strong it nearly sent the child flying backward. They walked along the wall until at last, the gate to the bridge revealed itself, and up they went to the first pavilion.
Oh how unkempt it was! Ris' mind wandered as he taught the child how to take care of the plants of darkness. In the prairie, they should've already taken care of a few plants, but in the village, they were only small baubles and cocoons of darkness. In the blackness of the stormy woods, however, the plants grew larger and more dangerous, so even being near one could prove dangerous to a small moth. As the two finished clearing the pavilion and lit the way to the next, the storm raged harder, so Ris grabbed the child and dashed to the second to clear it away before they got blown away.
The final pavilion was the most difficult, with the rain and wind being so strong Ris' bright red candle almost blew out before he could light a candle. Just as he was about to a second time, an enormous gust of air knocked his candle out of his hand and dropped into the lake below. It would've taken too much time to regenerate another candle. Ris began to panic, if the child fell, if he fell with them, they would surely get stuck on the ground level with the storm so heavy! Ris shut his eyes as he prepared for another gust of wind to blow the two off the pavilion, but it never came, nor did he feel the weight of the child's small body wrapped around his arm.
When he opened his eyes, Ris was blinded by the hundreds of white candles all lit before him. How could this have happened? His candle hadn't regenerated! He wavered before a small figure rose in the center of the platform and burst into a ball of golden light, shimmering in the sun's rays that began to peek out from the clouds. It was the child! And to put sugar on the light bun, they had collected enough winged light to grow stronger- just like that, a fourth star appeared on their golden cape. The child looked back at Ris and chirped once more as they hugged him, their golden glow being complimented by the large jellyfish rising in front of them.
At last, they had made it to the temple, in the picturesque morning the raging storm became when the child braved the winds holding them back. The child realized that they didn't mind getting left behind, as it meant they could learn to brave the storm and become stronger with someone who would keep them safe. Likewise, Ris had become attached to the child and wanted to see them get stronger throughout the kingdom, as their journey became not one of chasing burdens, but of growing and braving harsh conditions together. Ris smiled at the child who was standing at the edge of the pavilion, and once they looked towards the temple again, jumped onto a jellyfish and floated to the doors with Ris following closely behind.