The Waterfall Scene

Their swords clashed, bringing them face-to-face. Using all her strength, Leandra tried to pull away but he was too strong. He gave a tremendous thrust with his sword, sending her flying towards the edge of the waterfall. She landed with inches to spare, the impact sending shock waves crashing through her body, knocking the air from her lungs. As she gasped for breath Avell advanced until he stood above her.

Leandra stared into his eyes and saw a deep burning hatred for those that had killed his family. Her gaze shifted to look past him; the moon was still masked by clouds, for now she was safe, at least from Her gaze.

She was brought shockingly back to the present when she felt the man's hand close around her neck and haul her to her feet. Then, with an incredible jerk, he lifted her from the ground and swung her over the edge of the waterfall, further increasing the pressure on her neck.

Fighting for breath, Leandra kicked out but it was useless, he was too far away to reach. Her field of vision narrowed as black began to seep around the edges of her sight. She went frighteningly light-headed and her kicks began to lose their vigor.

Don't panic! a voice in her mind told her, you'll only use up oxygen faster. Think!

She began to search her mind for something, anything that could help her get out of this predicament. She pressed on further into her mind's recesses until she came upon a barrier. She pushed against it desperately, hoping against hope that it would be something that would help her.

Slowly, the sounds of clashing swords in the background died away, even the thunderous roar of the waterfall dimmed. She was dying and she knew it. Desperation finally made the barrier give way and Leandra reached inside frantically. Suddenly, she felt a wave of energy drive from her mind, through her body and into the man.

Avell screamed in pain and released her. Immediately, she felt gravity take hold and she began to surge towards the lake hundreds of feet below. Taking a few ragged breaths as she fell, she maneuvered her body so that she wouldn't break bones on contact with the water. All too quickly, the water rushed up to meet her and as she took her last deep breath she felt the water pummel her viscously.

The force of the waterfall powered her towards the bottom of the lake but she kicked out and upwards towards the surface. Leandra felt the water resisting her efforts and realized too late that she was in terrible danger. Water was the element gifted to the Moon and Her pull over it was strongest at full moon – tonight. If the light of the moon touched the waters surface then she would be rendered powerless and be at Her mercy.

Desperately she kicked out, sending precious air bubbles rising upwards. With relief, her head broke the surface and she gulped hungrily for air, temporarily disoriented by the roaring cascade behind her. Remembering her situation she started towards the lakes bank, but then something happened that turned her blood cold and froze her with fear.

The clouds lifted and the moonlight touched the water.

Immediately she felt an increased tug of force and reached out for some protective magic - but there was nothing there. Where there should have been the moonpool was an endless void. Leandra recoiled at its touch and shrank away from it. And that was when they grabbed her.

She felt an incredible jerk around her navel as two pairs of slimy, webbed hands grasped her legs and pulled her down towards the crushing black depths of the lake and certain death.

She thrashed and kicked out, desperately trying to free herself from the creatures' grasp but they were too strong and continued relentlessly to drag her down. Gazing at them through the murky water, Leandra realized they were water nymphs, loyal to the Moon, and they were very large ones at that. Their greyish-black skin glistened sickeningly and their large yellow eyes gazed at her unblinkingly with undisguised malice. These nymphs were nothing like those she seen in the river on the Northern Continent; they weren't breathtakingly beautiful young women – they were hideous and evil-looking creatures of the deep.

As her oxygen supply dwindled, Leandra stopped struggling - they were obviously too strong for her and with the Moon's gaze directly above them she knew she was no match.

An untrained, untried young witch against two fully-fledged servants of the Night – I have no chance in a physical match but what about one using magic? I don't know what I did to the human, Avell, back at the top of the waterfall but I'm sure I could do it again if my need is great, like now.

She frantically searched the depths of her mind but found no trace of magic or any barrier it might of hidden behind. With her last chance of escape shattered so devastatingly before her, Leandra finally gave in to the peaceful call of unconsciousness and passed into darkness.

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Elias stared anxiously at the lakes surface.

He had seen Leandra plummet towards the foot of the waterfall and for a heart-stopping moment he thought that she was dead. He ran to the waters edge, preparing to dive in and help her but then she had emerged, gasping for air, seemingly fine.

Then something equally strange and terrifying had happened.

The instant the moon's rays had touched the surface of the water she had frozen, a look of confusion and fear on her face – this had scared him most of all. Suddenly, she was pulled violently under the water by something he couldn't see but instantly terrified him. He didn't know why this was or what is was but all he knew was that he couldn't dive into that lake if those things were in there.

He stood trembling for several moments, a battle waging in his heart. One voice was his own but he didn't know to whom the other belonged to.

I must save her! She's my friend and she'll drown if I don't.

But you can't. What if those things that got her grabbed you too?

She'll be dead soon if I don't help her!

Then leave her, tell Leodis you didn't see her until it was too late. No one will know and then you'll get all the approval and praise you deserve! No weakling witch to steal the attention from a powerful mage like you.

Stunned by the voice's proposal, Elias took a moment to consider it and then caught himself.

How can you even think about leaving her to die! She'd jump in to save you without a moments hesitation!

With that revelation Elias took a deep breath and dived into the lake. His powerful strokes took him deeper and deeper into this gloomy, silent world, with every second bringing him closer to Leandra 's rescue...and those creatures.

Visibility decreased rapidly until he was blundering forward blindly. Which way was he going? How was he going to find her if he couldn't see a few inches in front of him?

And that was when he bumped into it.

A sickly grey creature turned to look at him with piercing yellow eyes. It released whatever it was carrying and surged towards him, swatting at him deftly with its webbed hands. He reeled backwards from the blow, which was surprisingly strong, and drew his sword, which was a very tricky thing to do underwater. As soon as he achieved it he realized it would be useless. How was he going to see what he was attacking? He'd probably stab Leandra instead by accident. No, a sword was a bad idea.

As he tried to replace the sword in its scabbard the water creature careered into him, bruising his ribs and sending a stabbing pain through his chest. But this brought it within striking distance. Using all his strength, Elias drove the sword into what he thought was the monster's heart and was rewarded with an ear-piercing shriek to confirm this. Wasting no time he dove on towards the other creature that must have Leandra.

Seeing him coming, the water beast released its motionless victim and advanced on him. This Elias wasn’t intimidated and struck at the creature as soon as it was within range. However, this time it was anticipating it and dodged nimbly aside, slicing through the water like a knife through butter.

It retreated into the dark depths of the lake, out of sight while it prepared its second attack. During the few seconds of relief, Elias became conscious of the fact that his oxygen levels were low and he desperately needed to breathe. The creature took this moment of panic to launch its next attack.

It surged forward at an incredible speed and struck at Elias' throat, intending to kill him quickly and finish off the female afterwards. Elias knew there was nothing he could do, it was coming at him too fast and he couldn't defend himself adequately.

This is it, he thought despairingly.

No! urged another part of him, no I won't give up, not when I'm so close to saving her!

Anger welled up inside him, bursting forth into the attacking creature, incinerating it in the blink of an eye. A sense of relief washed over him, he'd won! Suddenly, he remembered the lifeless figure that had been in the water beast's arms and his blood turned cold. Swimming toward desperately, he searched for Leandra along the lakebed. Knowing he had very little air left increased his pace but he soon saw how useless this would be, the lake was massive and she'd probably drifted away by now.

Despair filled him and as he turned around, readying himself for the swim back to the surface, he collided with a slender, motionless form.

Leandra! he thought with elation, I've found her! But now came the task of carrying her back to the world above.

He grabbed her around the middle and used his legs to propel himself forwards, using the last vestiges of his strength. His chest felt tight and his muscles screamed at him to stop, every instinct in his body telling him to take a deep breath. The darkness was beginning to recede though, proof that he was nearing the surface and giving him the strength not to give up.

Suddenly, he felt Leandra jerk violently. She began kicking and thrashed wildly, breaking his grasp. He darted towards her and instantly saw the reason for her unusual behavior.

The silver chain of her amethyst pendant had contracted around her neck and was constricting her. How it had done this he did not know, but all he knew was the he had to get her to the surface and get that thing from around her neck.

Gripping her firmly, he made one last surge towards the surface; he knew that if he didn't make it this time, they'd both drown.

With shocking clarity, they broke the surface, Elias gasping for air, Leandra tugging in vain at the chain tight around her neck. Swimming quickly towards the bank, Elias realized that Leodis was running down the steep slope from the top of the waterfall to the base of the cliff. He would be with them within minutes. He'd know what to do, but until then he had to get this chain from around Leandra 's neck or she'd asphyxiate.

They reached the land with a sigh of relief on Elias' part and a shudder from Leandra. Elias laid her down as gently as he could at speed and drew his hunting dagger. He knelt beside her and tried to get his fingers under the chain. By now Leodis wasn't far off and Elias intended to wait for him before he did anything but when Leandra 's body convulsed violently he decided he didn't have enough time to wait. It had to be now or she'd suffocate.

Slipping the dagger underneath the chain, Elias sawed upwards with all his might. Leodis arrived panting, a look of shock and outrage on his face as the chain broke in two.

In the exact same moment the chain snapped, Leandra's entire body jolted into a terrible reflex curve and shuddered, slumping on the ground, lifeless.

She was dead.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Leodis bellowed at Elias. Uncomprehending, Elias looked from the amethyst stone in his hand to the dead girl laid before him. As realization struck, he began to tremble. He cast aside the stone and lurched to his feet.

"I...I didn't mean to- I didn't know what would happen," Elias stammered, eyes wide with shock.

"You idiot! You broke her heart-stone!" Leodis roared back. Elias couldn't think of a reply, it was if his brain had been frozen the moment Leandra had died. He felt waves of guilt crash over him.

This is all my fault; I set out to save her but ended up killing her myself.

Falling to the ground, Elias began to sob quietly and Leodis's expression softened, but only slightly. He knelt beside Leandra and closed her eyes gently, muttering a prayer for her, then moved next to Elias. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and was about to say something but revulsion and anger for what he had done held him back.

Elias looked down at Leandra’s body then froze with amazement. Something was happening to her. The deep cut in her neck from the chain was healing itself. Leodis looked up as she drew a deep shuddering breath and her eyelids fluttered open. She took in Elias's tear-stained face and Leodis's grim expression and said, "What's wrong? You look like someone's just died."

Relief flooded through Elias, for a moment completely obliterating all sense of where he was. He rushed forward and hugged her, just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

Leodis, however, looked troubled and unnerved. Leandra looked questioningly at him but he shook his head dismissively. He didn't know what had just occurred but it certainly wasn't supposed to happen to a witch. So where did that leave him? She was either a witch with unnatural powers or something else...

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Seelo the naiad inspected the surrounding trees warily. Once the water nymph was sure they had left she turned her gaze on the amethyst pendant carelessly thrown aside by the human boy. Its chain was broken yet the stone was still there. Seelo knew enough about witches to know that if a heart-stone was removed without the wearer's permission then they would die.

But this strange girl wasn't a witch – she couldn't be. She had died and come back to life. Even now she was walking this world, still breathing, still living. But how could this be? The minute a heart-stone was forcibly removed from a witch she should die and the stone should disintegrate. And yet it was still here. Why? Unless...

No, Seelo thought, it's useless speculating. All that matters is that my mistress wants that stone.

And with that the nymph darted forward and snatched the pendant from its resting place. As she dived back into the lake and slowly submerged herself she thought of the reward she might receive for this prize.

Hold the heart-stone, Seelo thought wickedly, hold the heart.