Mefistofel and his companion have burnt their fallen brother in the light of the sun, with the sword that killed the dragon on his chest.
Even if it was Mefistofel who killed the dragon, he decided to honour his friend with his sword to rest with him forever.
The last honour for his warrior brother.
There's a cave underground, at the end of the frozen land.
This cave hides a secret passage leading to the rest place of the guardian of the Heart.
Mefistofel and his brothers have endured miles of travel, feeding on animal's blood, to keep their hunger at bay. Celandra's magic has worn off and they can only travel at night.
But in these frozen lands animals are scarce and the hunger has started to take the toil.
They are weak, tired and thirsty. Their eyes are red with hunger.
As they reach the bottom of the cave, they decide to take a short rest.
They're lying on the rocky surface. The night has been there for a while.
Mefistofel hopes that the passage is long enough to endure the night.
As eager he was to find the weapon, his strength is now starting to fade.
As he is lying there, he can see the light of the moon shining upon the surface of the lake inside the cave. The moon has always been so beautiful to him; its rays upon the water are like shining jewels.
The lake doesn't seem deep, but it is so dark one cannot see the real depth.
Mefistofel's eyes can see under that darkness.
Something is moving under the water. Not sure what but it is swift and swims through the depth of the cave, inspecting the visitors.
Mefistofel slowly stood up, never averting his eyes from the surface.
He stops a few steps away from the lake, noticing steps of rocks leading down into the depth of the water like a staircase. His eyes can see a shadow down there. There's a shadow peering from the bottom of the water. The closer he stands by the lake, the more the figure tries to hide behind the corners of the waters.
It seems a long and slim fish, somehow its head is hiding behind the rocky surface. It has short tentacles, using them to grip on the rocks underwater.
Mefistofel is kneeling on the edge of the lake, looking down at the creature.
He wants the creature to know he's there and he knows something is down there watching him.
He's making the prey aware the hunter is there, ready for the fight.
He stands there for a few seconds, until he can't see any movements under the dark surface.
He turns around and starts walking back towards his resting place.
Alastor notices Mefistofel's moves and has been looking at him the whole time.
"What is it?"
Mefistofel sits on the floor and slowly turns around to look at him, lifting his finger to his mouth and then pointing at the lake.
Alastor looked at the lake for a few seconds but from his position he couldn't see anything.
Their ears can hear movement. Something just crawled out of the lake.
He slowly turns around at the same time Alastor and their brothers stand up, awakened by the sound of the water splashing.
A figure is leaning on the edge of the lake. Arms holding on to the edge.
It's staring at Mefistofel and his brothers.
The skin is silvery and scaly, the eyes are wide and as black as night. Teeth sharp and mouth wide, with scars on each side reaching the pointed ears. The features are almost human, still it isn't human at all. The hands were webbed. It has some sort of hair but it is as thin as algae. It's so long it covers the arms and goes in the water for a few inches. Mefistofel has never seen such a thing and is mesmerized by the strange, still beautiful being.
It's looking at each and every one of them, then her stare stops at Alastor. He feels her stare digging deep into his body, he feels dragged to her, he has the impulse to move and walk towards her.
She's not moving. She is just leaning on the edge and staring at him with her wide eyes, which have no iris, just wide black pearls.
From his angle Mefistofel can see movement under the water. The extension of her body is moving under the surface, waving sideways, stroking the water, creating a small circlet on the surface.
As Alastor slowly walks towards her, Mefistofel notices the emptiness in his eyes. He's being drawn to her, with some invisible power.
-Alastor!-
Mefistofel words are soundless to his friend who is only a few steps away from the creature.
She is lifting herself on the edge, looking deeply at him.
As she gets herself on the edge, she stretches out one arm in an inviting way to Alastor.
She half opened her lips and the smoothest music started coming out.
It is like a soft murmur, a light whisper, the sound of love inviting a man to his bride.
Alastor stretches out his arm, reaching out for hers.
Mefistofel is watching, his brothers watch as more creatures get out from the edge of the lake, all staring at each of his brothers and dragging them to the lake with their soft murmur.
