A Light in the Storm by Himring

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Chapter 1

Written for the Festival of Lights Fest on AO3. Inspired directly by the miracle of the cruse of oil, but I think at a stretch it might cover several of the suggested individual  prompts (although all only in a very liberal interpretation, of course):

1. Victory against difficult odds

3. Candlelight

4. Oil and/or fried foods

6. Strength and resilience

7. Miracle(s)

I am not Jewish.
I am no expert in lighthouses, either.
Please excuse any mistakes!


And then there was the time that Maglor took on a job as a lighthouse keeper.

The lighthouse stood by itself on a rocky islet. It was supplied by boat, but the crossing was too dangerous in rough weather. Maglor took care to keep the burner well stocked. He stayed on for a while. It seemed a good way of being alone by the sea, needing to see almost nobody, and nevertheless be of use.

A winter came when there was one storm after another. There seemed to be no end to them.  Despite Maglor’s precautions, the burner eventually ran out of fuel.

Maglor climbed to the top of the lighthouse and looked out to sea. There were clear signs of yet another storm coming up and darkness was falling fast. There were at least two ships out there, he knew, and maybe others he had not seen. They were relying on the lighthouse light to keep them from foundering on the rocks.  Maglor had made a simple torch from the last of the wood he kept below for his hearth fire. But it would not shine far enough and burn out far too quickly. He lit the torch, nevertheless, held it high above his head, and began to sing.

That storm lasted throughout the night and for another day and a night. Even afterwards, the sea continued dangerous and the weather rough for days.

The ships all made it to harbour, safely guided through the storm by the lighthouse. They reported that there had been something strange about the light. Some said it had been brighter than usual, others denied it. Some said it had been a different colour, but could not describe what colour it had been. Some claimed that they had heard a strange music emanating from the light, but that was clearly fanciful. How would you be able to hear such a sound at all out there, above the howling of the storm?

After eight days, it was finally safe to make the crossing to the lighthouse. But when the authorities came to investigate, there was nothing left to burn to give a light on the island and the lighthouse keeper was nowhere to be found.


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