The Dim Lantern
Laura Walling grew up as a Bay Walker in the Rat King's Kingdom, raised by parents who taught her to see the light in everything. When her father, one of the Water Rats, died of disease, she treated it as a challenge to overcome. When she found her mother beaten nearly to death by Pure Blood guards, she resolved to become stronger. When her first love stole her savings and vanished, she called it a lesson in shrewdness. Laura believed, with genuine conviction, that every hardship carried a silver lining.
Then a letter arrived. Her mother had been killed by a Pure Blood enforcer over an unpaid debt.
Laura stopped looking for silver linings. She traveled the Rat King's domain and beyond, witnessing the cruelty that wealth and power enabled: people maimed for pride, lies spoken from positions of authority, the weak crushed for the convenience of the strong. She found the Sunken Saints and trained as an assassin, carrying out assignments against individuals deemed threats to humanity. For a time she lost her faith entirely.
The Rusty Lanterns brought her back. They understood her perspective: that the world was dark, that the work was grim, and that a dim light was still light. She earned her name from a bleak joke. The places she worked were so dark that even her lantern seemed to shine dimly within them. She carried a rusted lantern at her belt as both tool and symbol.
During the Regicide era (~117 DC), the Sunken Saints tasked Dim with scouting settlements near the Kingdom for a location that could serve as a diversionary rebellion. She found one and became the primary field coordinator of the conspiracy, rallying the town against the Rat King, briefing them on his true nature as one of the Full Dead, and coordinating ground operations alongside First Mate Sathrik Son Louise and Captain Roberts of the Rising Tide.
Then a letter arrived. Her mother had been killed by a Pure Blood enforcer over an unpaid debt.
Laura stopped looking for silver linings. She traveled the Rat King's domain and beyond, witnessing the cruelty that wealth and power enabled: people maimed for pride, lies spoken from positions of authority, the weak crushed for the convenience of the strong. She found the Sunken Saints and trained as an assassin, carrying out assignments against individuals deemed threats to humanity. For a time she lost her faith entirely.
The Rusty Lanterns brought her back. They understood her perspective: that the world was dark, that the work was grim, and that a dim light was still light. She earned her name from a bleak joke. The places she worked were so dark that even her lantern seemed to shine dimly within them. She carried a rusted lantern at her belt as both tool and symbol.
During the Regicide era (~117 DC), the Sunken Saints tasked Dim with scouting settlements near the Kingdom for a location that could serve as a diversionary rebellion. She found one and became the primary field coordinator of the conspiracy, rallying the town against the Rat King, briefing them on his true nature as one of the Full Dead, and coordinating ground operations alongside First Mate Sathrik Son Louise and Captain Roberts of the Rising Tide.
Children
