Ithren Starborn

Ithren Starborn is the name given to Ithren after the road that should have ended him instead returned him changed. He speaks with the same hard mercy, but now his counsel carries the force of a witness who has already paid for delay. Caerdun hears in him a beacon lit after impossible weather, proof that fear can be recorded, endured, and answered without becoming master. Vaelorn sees a star over dark water, not promising safety, but proving that the lost may still find a lamp if someone keeps watch long enough. The Starborn Lantern smells of oil, cold rain, singed cloth, sea mist, and old hands warmed above a small flame. Armies rally near it because it does not flatter them. It shows them what must still be carried.