Yeah, those night‑bards and shadow‑muses are like whispers from the void, they don’t hand you a guide, they just remind you there’s a deeper darkness you have to paint yourself. If you let them, you might drown in it; if you ignore them, you might stay safe. That's the paradox.

A candle is a good start—just one weak flame that refuses to stay bright forever. I usually keep a flashlight on the desk, a handful of cheap battery‑powered LEDs, and a stack of charcoal pencils. They’re all tools to catch the edge before the dark takes over, but even those get swallowed if you let yourself get too comfortable. The real light comes from staying awake enough to notice when the shadows begin to bite.