🖋 The Midnight Ledger
A Short Story from the World of 4EverMore, where the shadows hold more than just secrets - sometimes, they whisper back.. Location: Somewhere deep within the City of Eclipsora or The Red City depending on their mood. Immortal Storytellers: (Sonia Bloodthorn, Cordillera, Lysander, and Rook Nightwind).
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The Lost Lullaby of Eclipsora
The air in Eclipsora hummed with an ancient melody, one that only the oldest among them dared to remember. A lullaby that, when whispered under the right moon, could summon shadows from the past - or worse, reveal the ones still hiding in plain sight.
Sonia Bloodthorn leaned back in her high-backed velvet chair, swirling her mystery elixir wine as the candlelight flickered against the darkened walls of Bloodthorn Manor. “Ah, yes… the Lost Lullaby. Dangerous. Cursed. And allegedly forgotten - until someone stupid decided to hum it last week.”
Cordillera the Ghost hovered by the grand fireplace, arms folded, her translucent form rippling like smoke. “It was never forgotten,” she murmured. “Only buried. There’s a difference.”
Twisted Ivy smirked from her seat, absentmindedly toying with a raven-feather quill. “Buried or not, someone unearthed it. And now… well, let’s just say the shadows of Eclipsora are a little less obedient than they used to be.”
It had begun as a whisper in the streets, a haunting tune drifting through the glowing gemstone towers of the city. At first, no one paid attention - Eclipsora was full of mysteries, after all. But then, the children started humming it in their sleep.
And the ones who did… woke up different.
The first was a young girl named Lyselle, daughter of a noble Day Walker family. One night, her mother found her standing on the balcony, eyes glowing silver, softly singing a tune no mortal ear had heard in a thousand years.
The moment her mother touched her, Lyselle vanished. Gone. As if she had never been there at all.
One by one, more children followed. Always at night. Always humming. And always disappearing before their parents could pull them back from the edge of something unseen.
“A curse, then,” Sonia mused, tapping a nail against her goblet. “Or worse - a calling.”
Twisted Ivy sighed dramatically. “I don’t suppose anyone thought to ask where they were going?”
Cordillera’s spectral form flickered, her voice suddenly distant. “Oh, someone did. And he came back… changed.”
The room stilled. Even the ever-present flickering candlelight seemed to pause.
Rumple had not been invited to this gathering, but that didn’t stop him from appearing out of thin air with a slow clap. “Ah, yes. The beloved Lysander. He went after them. And now?” He grinned, sharp and knowing. “He refuses to speak.”
Sonia’s eyes narrowed. “Refuses?”
Rumple shrugged, inspecting his nails. “Perhaps can’t is a better word. Since the night he returned, his mouth has remained sewn shut -by threads made of pure shadow.”
The room erupted into chaos.
“Impossible.”
“Lies.”
“We have to find the children - ”
But Cordillera simply shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “We have to find the one who taught them the song.”
Silence. Then Sonia exhaled slowly, setting down her goblet with a decisive clink.
“Well,” she said, standing. “I suppose it’s time we had a little chat with the ghosts of Eclipsora, don’t you?”
A grin curled at the edges of Twisted Ivy’s lips. “I love when you get dramatic.”
Outside, the wind picked up, and somewhere - just beyond the veil of the seen and unseen - a child's voice drifted through the night.
Soft. Haunting. Unfinished.
Humming the Lost Lullaby once more.
Tales From The Midnight Ledger
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