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Dozens Claim to Have Seen Lantern-Bearer of Keshaware  SHARN—The mysterious—and some say folkloric—figure known as the Lantern-Bearer of Keshaware has been seen in Sharn this week at least four times, eyewitnesses said.
“He had these dirty white robes, a long gray beard, and tousled hair,” said Maretha Ducain, a cobbler from the Underlook district. “The lantern was covered in jewels—so much so that the jewels themselves seemed to be glowing. And just like in the woodcarvings, he has the lantern on the end of a staff, and he walks all bent over.”
Tales of the Lantern-Bearer of Keshaware are at least centuries old, said Charral Meers, a professor of history at Morgrave University.
“It’s said that the original Lantern-Bearer was Keshaware, Lhazaar’s navigator some three thousand years ago. When Lhazaar discovered Khorvaire, she wanted to establish a settlement right away. But Keshaware wanted to explore the whole continent,” he said.
“The folklore gets a little unclear at this point, but somehow Keshaware gets his wish—or he’s cursed. He won’t die until the light of his lantern has shined on every part of Khorvaire,” he said.
Meers noted that about two centuries ago, Keshaware became a popular subject for painters and other artists, probably because he can be depicted amid any landscape, and he brings his own light source with him.
That’s when the name got twisted around, from Keshaware, the bearer of the lantern, to the Bearer of the Lantern of Keshaware, to the Lantern-Bearer of Keshaware, Meers said.
Meers noted that about fifty years ago, Karrnath had a spate of Keshaware sightings—but the lantern-bearer was a young female.
“This Karrnath sightings were probably a hoax of some sort, but there’s another possible explanation,” Meers said.
“It might be that the lantern itself holds the power, or the curse, or what have you. Maybe the lantern-bearer can pass on Keshaware’s legacy by giving the lantern to someone else, who then walks around Khorvaire, unable to die,” he said.
About the Author
David Noonan is a designer/developer for Wizards of the Coast. Before coming to Wizards, he was a daily newspaper reporter in Washington state. Apparently the city hall beat is good practice for an Eberron campaign.
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