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Language:
English
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Published:
2026-04-16
Completed:
2026-04-30
Words:
6,216
Chapters:
16/16
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4
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9
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115

Iter Ad Astra - Journey To The Stars

Summary:

As an engulfing darkness falls upon the remote city of Shiverhelm, a place where magic was outlawed, a solemn fairy by the name of Lori finds herself at a loss of all she knows and all she sacrificed for. With her world falling apart right before her eyes- in her own living room actually, she struggles as she makes her way through the winter to the esteemed Sky's Gate, the city marking the border to The Kingdom of Caelum in search of aid.

Notes:

Hey so, this is my first ever work posted here on AO3 haha- It is placed within my Dungeons and Dragons homebrew setting "The Crossroads of Caelum" or simply "The Crossroads" for short. No, that was not stolen from that one ARG, I did not know about it when I created this world and I am not willing to change its name because someone else stealthed under my nose. Anyways XD I really hope you mysterious strangers from who knows where enjoy this story, and fair warning: most of my stories are dark/have sad endings/have a lot of death haha- okay umm, yeah so uhhhh, enjoy? or cry I suppose... Pick you poison <3

Also: if there is mention of certain things that you are not sure what is/places you haven't heard of, see end notes

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Littera Ex Ultra

Chapter Text

Iter Ad Astra: Journey to The Stars

Lori of Shiverhelm – 03.04.As.744

 

It was a cold, dark and empty winter night.

Checking the calendar, it was the third of the fourth astral.

 

I open the door. A chilling winter gust howls as I feel the rime clawing at my cheeks. I should have put on my coat. Due to the weather, I dare not fly, as I try to feel my way through the darkness. I strech my hands outwards and move forward. One step, two steps, three steps. Just a few steps later my elbow hits the top of a wooden mailbox. I fumble, trying to open the lid, as I pull out what feels like a piece of paper. No one in Shiverhelm sends letters in paper. If you are to drop it on the snowy permafrosted ground it would become brittle and probably soggy.

 

Attempting to move as quickly as I can without slipping, I not so graciously make my way back to my door. Somehow I couldn’t see it until I was right in front of it, but it’s not like me to ponder over strange weather. Out here in the Ignotus, strange weather conditions aren’t unknown, but never have I seen black fog lay itself so densly upon the city.

 

I sit down by the fireplace as I place another log onto the stack of charred ones already burning. Gazing out the window, I can’t even see my neighbour Rain’s window through the dark fog. I bet this serves him well, as he hasn’t sent me a present for Yule yet. I got his on my table, but I think I’ll give it to him at a less chaotic time. Just a few days ago the town was illuminated by many lanterns, not a single shadow in sight. I heard rumors of some of the other townsfolk accusing him, Rain, of performing magics though there wasn’t any proper proof. If my guess is right they’re going to blame this fog on him, but everyone from Shiverhelm knows not a single word of the arcane has left the lips of a Shiverhelmen ever. The outer weave is simply not stable enough to allow for that.

 

Pushing away the gift I have on the dinnertable, I use the closest thing to a paper knife attempting to open the envelope. First now do I see what it looks like, a white, classic Caelean envelope with a green seal featuring a sun with two laurels on each of its sides. The Grovekeeper.