The road stretched beyond Hollowfen, soft mist curling over the fields. Lanterns glowed steadily, amber sentinels against the encroaching night. Eldric walked slowly, his staff steady, each step deliberate as always. He had passed this stretch countless times, through seasons, through decades, through lifetimes, but tonight felt different.
Callen trailed behind him, clutching his small wooden lantern. His steps were careful, hesitant, yet resolute.
Eldric glanced down, noting the way the boy's shoulders hunched slightly, the way his eyes darted toward the misty edges of the road.
"You've been following me for some time now." Eldric said quietly.
Callen nodded. "I... I don't have anywhere else. No family. No home."
The words were simple, but they carried a weight that made Eldric pause. He had seen countless lives flicker and vanish over centuries.
Some had family, some had none, but few had the resilience Callen carried and even fewer had the quiet courage to walk at the edge of the lantern light without fear.
Eldric stopped at the next lamp post. The flame danced in the cool wind. He placed a hand on the post, feeling the warmth, the heartbeat of centuries beneath the glass.
"You are alone." Eldric said softly. "And yet you follow the road. You watch, you learn, you endure."
He looked down at the boy, golden eyes steady.
"That is why I offer you a choice."
Callen tilted his head, eyes wide.
"A choice?"
"To follow me." Eldric said, voice calm but firm. "To study the lanterns, the road and all it protects. To learn patience, care and vigilance. One day, if you are ready, you may carry the flame yourself. To keep the darkness at bay, as I have done... for centuries."
Callen swallowed, the weight of the words pressing on his small shoulders.
"You... you would take me with you?"
Eldric nodded.
"Yes. You would live with me, walk with me, learn. You would not be alone. But you must understand, this path is not easy. The road is long and the darkness is patient. Not everyone can endure it."
The boy stared at the glowing lamp, at Eldric's staff, at the steady warmth that seemed to radiate across centuries. After a long moment, he nodded slowly.
"I... I want to try."
Eldric's lips curved faintly, almost a smile.
"Very well. Then the road has chosen you, as it has chosen countless lives before and perhaps it has chosen me, to guide you."
Callen's small hand brushed against the lamp post, feeling the heat of the flame.
"I won't fail you." he whispered.
Eldric's gaze softened.
"No one ever truly fails who walks the road with care and now you are part of it."
The lantern burned steadily, a quiet witness to a decision that would ripple across generations. Eldric lifted his staff and continued down the road, Callen at his side, small but steady. The mist shifted around them, the shadows waiting beyond the lanterns, patient and learning.
And for the first time in centuries, Eldric felt the weight of eternity shared, even in the smallest spark of life beside him.