STARFARING LOG: ENTRY 07-314

First Contact – The Lantern Ignition

Log Date: Cycle 0 – Phase I: Perihelion Bloom, Lanternmark 1

Commander: Admiral J. Aurelia

Vessel: The Medusara

System: Fringe Expanse – Sector 88-Δ

Planet Identified: The Lantern of the Deep — Solanthis

Designation: Port Moonmarsh

I charted a course toward the outermost reach of mapped space, far past the last drift beacons, beyond where gravity still bothers to pull. The stars thin out here. The void hums a little louder.

And then… there it was. A faint blue flicker just off my port bow. What others call a myth, a wandering shimmer, a trick of tired eyes.

Solanthis.

From a thousand systems away, it’s no brighter than a dying star. But those who know — or are meant to know — will find their path here eventually. The journey is long, maybe intentionally so. A test of intent, perhaps.

As I drew closer, I realized it wasn’t light I was seeing — it was a cosmic ocean.

Spectral auras folding over themselves in luminous waves, glowing with bioluminescent veins like constellations written in liquid. A sea of deep-space creatures drifted by, their fins trailing starlight. The waves parted, revealing the planet which pulsed like a dream breathing beneath the deep. It reminded me of home.

Landing was… effortless. No codes, no clearance. Just a gentle drift downward. The moment my vessel touched the tide-docks, I felt it... peace. Warm. Not enforced simply… present.

The port town is alive with flora and drifting lights. Coral-metal towers rise like living beacons. Jellyfish lanterns float above mossy walkways. The air hums with a low melody that seems to come from the land itself — a quiet, welcoming note that carries through the mist.

I asked one of the tavernkeepers — a skeletal figure beneath a wide sunhat, hands faintly glowing with threads of what appeared to be moss — what this place was.

They tilted their head, as if listening to something only they could hear, and replied:

“The edge of everywhere, yet nowhere. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t belong.”

They call this planet The Lantern of the Deep; a beacon world that cannot be approached with ill will, and cannot be lost once it’s been found. When you leave (and eventually, you will) you begin to see the small tears in the sky. Portals. Quiet doors back to this harbor.

And if your spirit still remembers the way… Solanthis will let you in.

Or so the townspeople tell me.

— Aurelia, out.