The Legend of The Rushing Riptide

Chapter Three: The Beginning

The Élivágar churned forward so forcefully that there was a wide splash zone on the edge of the bed. It stretched out so far in front of her that she couldn't see the edge of the other side. Not only that but the ice chunks that flowed downstream shot into the air and came back down again. The smaller ones shattered on the ground and the river's surface. The larger, heavier ones crashed into the water but stayed intact.

I don't know if I can do this. I've not had enough practice, she thought, but I have no choice. I have to go.

The air was getting exponentially colder with every step closer to the edge. The temperature was relentless and unforgiving. The wind whipped Kelda's hair around her face and she couldn't see anything. She knew she had to keep moving. She was starting to go numb from the frigid temperature. Fight or flight kicked in high gear. Her options were: get across, go home, or die, but going home wasn't an option anymore, and she had been through too much already to just give up and let nature take her away without a fight. Even still, she felt the warm panic spread through her body. Her mind was halfway to shutting down. She was starting to lose focus, and what vision she had through her hair was starting to go blurry. She didn't know what to do.

She stopped for a second to regain composure. She closed her eyes, which were almost freezing over, and crossed her arms to hold onto her shoulders. She felt desperation consume her body and course through her veins. It was now or never.

Kelda stepped forward, fists clenched together. She opens her hands, drawing the closer half of the rushing water up into the air. It felt as if she was trying to levitate an army of men, everyone trying to move on their own while something was trying to corral them all together. The strain was almost unbearable. She pushed the rushing rapids a bit to the side and held it steady. She moved forward into the riverbed. The further forward she went, the more water behind her that she let go of, and the more in front of her she gained control of. Ice was shooting past above her head. Though she was holding most of it back, water sprayed at her and soaked through her clothes. She felt a bone-chilling cold. Her skin was starting to turn black, and her nostrils freezing shut. Her eyes were so cold that they burned, and she blinked over and over to warm them up before deciding to squeeze them tight and let intuition guide her instead. She then realized that that was a terrible idea after a small chunk of ice hit her arm. She decided to alternate between opening and closing her eyes.

Tears streamed down Kelda's face, leaving ice trails as they froze. She had never felt such excruciating pain before. She inched forward, all of her muscles on fire as she dropped the water behind her and picked up what was in front of her. She quickly ducked as an ice chunk flew by her face.

That was a close one, she thought while continuing to move forward. She couldn't lose focus now.

Out of the corner of her eye, a big, black figure was moving toward her. It was the dragon. She couldn't remember the name, but she knew it was the door to her salvation. Kelda stepped closer to the dragon on the other side. She felt weaker than she ever had in her life. Her vision was going fuzzy. She was almost across the river, but her head was pounding so hard that she could barely comprehend what that even meant. Fear boiled inside of her as she used the last of her energy to step forward onto the other side of the riverbed, and at that moment, a giant piece of ice smashed against her head, and her vision went black.