Chapter 63- Starlight & Soil

POV Rhiannan

The castle courtyard hummed with life.

Sable, Azarion, and Liam had barely crossed through the gates when the horns sounded from the north wall. Not an alarm, a welcome.

Another migration.

Rhiannan stepped forward as her mates fell in beside her. The portal arches flared gold, and one by one, the newest group from the Wild Lands emerged.

They came in waves. Roughly 450 in total. Worn but proud. Men and women with soot streaked faces and eyes that scanned every corner like they still expected to be hunted. Children clung to parents. Packs on backs. Fear wrapped in silence.

But not for long.

Rhiannan raised her hand. Her voice carried through the magic infused courtyard.

"Welcome to Aurealis. You're safe. You're home. And you don't have to run anymore."

The wind picked up, a breeze from the Hollow, as if the land itself sighed in relief.

POV Riven

They didn't have to ask.

The moment the family stepped through, nymph markings glowing faint under layers of grime, Riven knew. Mo bounced beside him, and Mela was already practically vibrating.

"Cottage seven in Starlight Ridge," Mela said. "It's perfect for them. They have kids. That one has moss freckles. I love her already."

The nymph woman caught Riven's eye.

She looked exhausted. Eyes like springwater turned to ice from too many winters. Her husband stood beside her, jaw tense, carrying one child on his back while the other held tightly to her hand.

"We've got you," Riven said simply.

He didn't wait. He just moved. The family followed behind quickly and quietly.

POV Saelari – Nymph Mother

The path to Starlight Ridge curved under trees that sang.

Not with voices, with presence. With memory. Saelari could feel it. The moment her feet touched the moss lined stones, her knees nearly buckled.

These trees weren't cursed. They weren't burning. They welcomed.

"Breathe," her husband whispered, arm around her waist. "We're here."

The children, Ilven and Lira, darted forward as Mela pointed toward their new home.

A cottage built into the roots of a giant tree, windows curved like petal glass, flowers blooming along the rails. The door was already open. Light spilled from the hearth. Food sat steaming on the table inside.

Her daughter screamed with laughter. "There's a loft bed! Mama look!"

Mo squeaked. "There's a berry bush behind the house that grows glowfruit. I already tested one. It tastes like stardust and sugar."

Saelari dropped to her knees.

She hadn't cried when their grove burned. She hadn't cried when they buried her sister. She hadn't cried when they'd walked three weeks through shadow slick wildlands with nothing but roots and magic to guide them.

But now?

Now she wept.

Her husband knelt beside her, forehead against hers.

"I didn't think we'd ever stop running," she whispered.

He kissed her cheek. "We don't have to. Not here."

Mela handed her a folded linen robe. "There's a bath. Hot water. And a kitchen stocked with enough bread to raise a nymph army."

"Why?" Saelari asked softly. "Why are you so kind?"

Riven's voice came from the doorway. Quiet. Final.

"Because we've been there. Our Queen, Rhiannan, she knows pain and suffering. Her whole life was suffering. She came here to fix the land, and we stand behind her."

The family held each other tightly as they sobbed and whispered their thanks.

[Faenet Public Feed – @MoOnTheLoose]

📸 Image: The nymph family in front of their new tree cottage, daughter hanging upside down from a branch, parents crying, food visible through the open door.

@MoOnTheLoose:

Y'all. I can't. I'm sobbing. 😭😭

This family walked THREE WEEKS through shadow lands with two babies, no weapons, and nothing but each other. And today?

They stepped into Starlight Ridge… and found home. 🌱🏡✨

Cottage Seven lit up like it knew them.

Glowfruit on the vines. Blankets folded. Fireplace already crackling.

Little Lira screamed when she found the loft bed. The baby boy literally tried to eat a towel because he thought it was cake (we're working on it).

Rhiannan was right.

This world isn't just healing, it's fighting to welcome them.

You're home now. Forever.

#NoMoreRunning

#MoonHollowMagic

#StarlightRidgeIsReal

#GlowfruitAndGrace

#FromAshesToRoots

#CottageSevenCryFest

#NymphMomGoals

#FaenetProtectThisFamily

#MoIsNotCryingYouAre

#IlvenAndLiraForPresident

#WelcomeHome

💬 Top Comments:

@NyxarNation:

I will literally shank anyone who ever tries to hurt these babies. Mark my blade. 🖤

@SashaSystemPing:

Cottage Seven officially flagged as "emotionally radioactive." Proceed with hugs. 🤖

@TorvaxTyranny:

I don't cry. I don't. But I read this and my frost magic flickered. Explain that.

@VeenaOnFire:

I will personally light anyone's ass on fire if this family is ever harmed. 🔥 (with love)

@BruxxaBoomBoom:

Glowfruit syrup incoming. This baby's gonna taste joy if it kills me.

@FaeNetCentralAdmin (verified):

This post is now the highest shared content on Faenet this cycle.

Category: "Hope, Family, and Soft Stuff That Makes Warriors Cry"

POV Rhiannan

She hadn't planned to go.

But the moment she saw the Faenet post with the little girl hanging from a tree branch, the father sobbing, the mother clutching a piece of folded linen like it was sacred, she couldn't stay away.

Some moments demanded presence.

She arrived just after dusk, with Reyna at her side and a satchel of glowing rosewater, moon petals, and blessed oil in hand.

The cottage glowed like it had always been part of the land.

Moss curled around the doorframe. Crystals blinked faintly from the stone path. It wasn't just beautiful, it was alive. Responding. Thriving.

Reyna knocked gently, and the door opened before they finished.

Saelari stood there barefoot, her eyes wide, her expression caught between reverence and disbelief. Behind her, her husband froze mid-step, and their children peeked from behind a hanging ivy curtain.

"You're…" Saelari whispered, voice trembling.

"Just a mother who saw a story and couldn't look away," Rhiannan said softly. "May we come in?"

Saelari nodded, eyes already filling.

Inside the cottage, Rhiannan placed her hand on the hearth.

Her divine mark shimmered gold, then silver, then a soft iridescent violet, like a heartbeat echoing through the walls.

"I bless this place," she whispered. "With laughter that multiplies, with safety that never falters, and with joy that finds you even when you forget how to look."

The children leaned closer.

The baby boy squeaked and reached for her hand. She let him touch her palm, and a tiny spark of divine energy shimmered against his skin, absorbed like dew on flower petals.

"He's magic touched," Reyna said, voice choked. "That's why he survived."

"I think they all are," Rhiannan replied. "They were never just refugees. They're pieces of this world the gods refused to let go."

She turned to the parents and added, "And now this cottage is warded. Not just by stone and spell, but by luck and love."

As she and Reyna stepped back into the moonlit path, Faenet pinged.

@QueenRhiannan (verified):

Tonight I met the bravest family in Starlight Ridge.

I left them with a blessing, but they gave me the miracle.

Glowfruit. Laughter. Safety.

They are the prophecy we're fighting for.

#DivineBlessing

#StarlightRidge

#MoonHollowMiracles

#GlowfruitGlowUp

#NoMoreRunning

#BlessThisCottage

#WeFightForThem