Mirazlin

Pt. 1 of 1

Toccoa worked as a river guide for a small town accessible only by boat. It was a mining town that settled next to a cliff face on one side and river on all of the others. The river housed many treacherous rocks, sand bars, and shoals that made her a good guide a necessity. When she was not working, Toccoa had secretly kindled a romance with a river naiad whom she called Kai. The town's favorite son, Thornton, a rich and spoiled nobleman, grew to covet the river guide. 

When Toccoa rejected him and claimed love for another, he became jealous. He followed the guide and discovered who his rival was while the two picnicked by the river. The couple traded sweet, soft words and sweet, soft kisses. Toccoa pulled from her pocket a small necklace to gift to her love before departing with a final kiss. 

Thornton waited for Toccoa to leave and ambushed the naiad. With Kai in tow, he went back to the town and rallied the townspeople into a frenzied mob, telling them that she was stealing the gemstones the miners had worked so hard to get. Her body was left in the center of the town square, small and cold and broken.

Toccoa came into town that night for supplies and discovered the grisly scene. With horror, Toccoa removed the necklace from Kai's bloody and bruised neck and placed one last kiss upon cold lips. Devastated, she fled back to her ferry and docked on the far side of the river. 

Three days and nights passed and no one witnessed hide nor hair of the river guide. The fourth night, the ferry made its silent approach without alerting a soul. Within moments, cries rang out from the town and people scrambled over each other trying to get away from the blazing fire that seemed to have caught every building in it's rapid expanse. Toccoa sailed her ferry back across the river alone with fire blazing in her eyes as well as behind her back.

The townspeople could not navigate the treacherous rocks in the river surrounding them without their trusted guide. Those that tried were soon clinging to the splintered bits of wood that had once been their boats. Others, in desperation to escape the inferno, leapt straight into the rushing river.

Toccoa reached the far bank and turned to witness the surviving citizens reach the middle of the river. Blue and green hands broke the surface of the water and pulled the townspeople to the bottom of the river. The river naiads had come to exact their revenge for the death of their sister. None escaped. None survived. 

Except for Toccoa. Her revenge left her feeling empty and unfulfilled. Without her town, her livelihood, or her love, she called out in despair to the sister naiads and pleaded with them to pull her down as well. She clutched the necklace to her chest, closed her eyes, and with a final breath whispered, "I'm sorry." 

Her lungs filled with water. A blanket of peace settled over her and she suddenly felt warm and dry. The rushing sounds from being underwater faded along with the crushing pressure. Toccoa opened her eyes and could see red ones staring back at her. 

"You've just made me a very busy goddess. My name is Ketirah."