The Last Ember of Pumpkinlight
Dark Fantasy / Folk Horror
Elara, the youngest flamekeeper in three centuries, watches the ancient pumpkinlight that has protected her village of Ashgrove gutter toward darkness. When the final flawed gourd of harvest magic is stolen by a shadow-touched fox, she must venture into the thorn-choked Wildwood—where old spirits have turned feral, paths rearrange themselves to lead her astray, and the Hollow King's breath frosts the edges of the world. With the winter solstice approaching, Elara must barter away pieces of herself—her memories, her voice, her very identity—to reclaim the light. But the fox's riddles hint at a deeper truth: the pumpkinlight was never meant to last forever, and the only way to save her village may be to let the old magic die and become something new.
53,041 words