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A merciful hero. A haunted forest. A found family bound by grace. Enter a spiritual, character-driven fantasy about healing after trauma—and the courage to choose mercy when it costs the most.

When the forest’s listening goes dark, a traveler named Adam kneels beside a small stone arch-way in an open frozen chasm. Its glyphs glow not like fire, but like life. The keepers who shelter him are not soldiers; they mend and they teach—how light keeps its edge, how fire remembers its bounds.

Beyond the trees, a will has authored a hush—coils and nets that quiet what should live. As threats press closer, Adam’s choices harden: make room or make order, survive or be kept. And when he’s taken by Commander Virell, he must endure without becoming what he hates—choosing mercy where blood would be easier.

If you like:

Clean language with heavy, honest themes

Found family and stoic-but-tender protagonists

Quiet, high-contrast worlds (winter ruins, stone arch-ways, soft magic)

Action driven by restraint rather than body counts

"A Foreigner in the Place Unburned" is Book One in a planned series from Clean Lantern Books—spiritual (not preachy), emotionally intense, and ultimately hopeful.

Content Guide: Non-graphic captivity/torture, panic/anxiety, grief and trauma themes. No explicit sex, no strong profanity, restrained on-page gore. Tone: gritty but hopeful.