Waters of Dread

Coren, or Coaliren, was quite an immense lake. I think I would call it a small sea rather than a lake.

I hadn’t kept track of how long I had been circling it, but that didn’t really matter to me. I was in no particular hurry.

It was true that there was a necromancer on the loose, but that was the problem of whoever ruled the land where he had appeared.

According to Lirilien, all territories are mine, though I suspect she would have a clash of opinions with those who currently occupy them.

In the end, the reality was that nothing was truly pressing me, and I was traveling at the most leisurely pace in the world.

Ameritia was not so different from Earth or Orb. In fact, I had already spent quite some time in Orb, and the sense of novelty in the nature of the surface world had faded somewhat.

Even so, the vastness of the land surrounding me offered something new, since Orb was, after all, just an island… I think. To be honest, I sometimes get the feeling it’s growing.

Perhaps in the future it may even become a continent...

Now then, speaking specifically of Ameritia, it seemed to be spring or summer, though I wasn’t entirely sure.

The days had been fair, and the temperature warm. In other words, it was what one might call an excellent day to stroll along the lakeshore.

Of course, if there was anything that could be improved about this walk, I would definitely say it was the bleeding head caught on the branch of a nearby tree.

The tree in question stood only a few steps from me, and behind it, farther away, a commotion could be heard.

***

"Wait! That wasn’t my intention! I swear! We just... we just wanted to find her an orphanage!"

Galand was on his knees, begging for his life. All around him lay the scattered, dismembered remains of what had once been his comrades. And in front of him stood a female figure that seemed to be made of water.

The water figure was surrounded by a multitude of tentacles made of the same substance, the very ones that had torn his comrades apart.

Galand had shielded himself with his sword as best he could, but now that he was alone, he knew he was easy prey. What stood before him was a water spirit, and not a lesser one. This was a true spirit.

He knew he couldn’t bargain; his only chance lay in reaching a bubble of water floating a short distance away. Inside it, the girl they had come to abduct was sleeping.

It was clear the spirit was protecting the little one; if he wanted to survive, he had to take her hostage.

Swoosh!

One of the tentacles shot toward him at great speed, but Galand managed to dodge it just in time.

This was his chance!

He had to run like never before and reach the water bubble to take the girl hostage.

Run? He had to run, right? Then why was he falling?

Galand looked down and realized he was missing a leg.

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

Without giving him time to react, two more tentacles appeared at the edge of his vision: one ripped off the arm he was raising to defend himself with his sword, and the other pierced his heart.

Galand’s lifeless body crashed to the ground. But the tentacles did not stop.

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

Three more tentacles shot toward a newcomer, but there was a golden circle at his feet, and it flared brightly.

From the circle sprang a maiden with deep gray eyes and long aquamarine hair, part of it gathered into a high ponytail.

The tentacles did not halt at the sudden entrance; they simply switched targets to the young woman.

But with three swift movements of her spear, she cut the tentacles; they dissolved into nothing but water and began to swirl around her instead.

"Is everything all right?" asked the silver-haired youth who had summoned her.

"I would say not, Master. Humans cannot live if their hearts explode," replied the maiden wreathed in water.

"I know, I meant the child..."

"Ah! My apologies, Master! To me, all humans are the same... Hmm? This child... no... it’s nothing... She seems fine, Master; the water bubble is letting oxygen through."

***

I managed to call Coletto just in time… Well, that’s what I tell myself; in truth, only the child was still alive.

Even so, something tells me the adults around here weren’t very good people anyway.

You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but the one with a leader’s aura didn’t exactly radiate the best intentions toward the little girl sleeping inside the water bubble.

"It seems that water spirit was defending that little one," I said, watching the female figure made of water. "But it looks like it has realized we aren’t its enemies; it hasn’t attacked again."

"The spirit is terrified, Master," Coletto replied. "Right now it is begging for its life."

"Terrified?"

"Of course. It’s a mere water spirit. You’re concealing your aura, but since I am a High Spirit of the same element, that alone is enough to make it lose its composure."

"You could have told me… That was exactly why I called you in the first place... Though it seems I was right in doing so; I myself can’t hear anything."

"It is communicating with ripples… and I didn’t think it necessary to inform you, Master. Raising its hand against you is already a death sentence."

"You three are more alike than you realize…" I sighed, weary, remembering the other two spirits who are always hovering around me. "It’s true the spirit treated me with hostility. But only because it was defending that little one, not because it wanted to harm me."

"It is all the same to me," Coletto said, trying to rein in her anger at the lake spirit. "But if you so order, Master, we can hear its excuses…"