VII – The Silver River

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"Creation is existence, a sudden
path of never-ending change, replacing
nothingness by unlimited evolvement.”

Book of Magres Aeon I, Age I, Chap. I v. viii

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From “The Song of Gorin” Stanzas 169-175

H aving walked along the river bank for some time, Gorin and his newfound friends came at last to a place where the ground rose suddenly ahead of them. Moss and grass-covered rocks now prevented them from continuing along the riverbank, meaning their only option was to go back into the water. Despite his ordeal earlier, Gorin now had no fear and willingly followed them until the water was up to his waist. Being protected from the full force of the river’s flow by a sharp bend upstream, the current was not particularly strong, so he was not afraid when he was told to let himself float with the water.

Laztana and the other water-nymphs then swam alongside, bearing him towards the low entrance to a flooded cave set back from the main course of the river. With powerful thrusts from their lean, graceful legs and outstretched webbed feet, the nymphs guided Gorin towards a shallow whirlpool just in front of the cave, which gently swung them round and projected them towards its mouth.

A few moments later, they were gliding across the calm surface of a hidden lake extending deep underground. High overhead, there was a rocky vault festooned with tortuously sculpted stalactites, reflected in the still waters of the lake beneath. This created the illusion that they were floating into the jaws of some monstrous whale with endless rows of needle sharp teeth above and below.

The water-nymphs brought Gorin towards the gradually shelving edge not far from the opening, where he was able to stand up and make his own way onto dry ground. From there, he looked back at the cave mouth they had come through and took stock of his surroundings. He saw they were in a grotto formed of a type of limestone with an iridescent quality just like the water-nymphs themselves. It glowed with a greenish light that reflected in the surface of the water, throwing back innumerable shifting patterns onto the roof.

From the outside, there had been little indication of the secrets lying behind such an unprepossessing cave mouth. What geological freak had caused it to be formed could only be guessed at. It looked as if the lake were part of some underground system joining the Silver River at this point. But it didn’t matter, thought Gorin, dreamily. Nothing mattered. Only being there, with these deliciously alluring water-nymphs in what had to be an enchanted grotto… He could think of nothing else.

Laztana led Gorin to the back of the recess extending along the shore of the underground lake, where she invited him to lie down and rest on the bed of yielding cushions and pillows her sister nymphs had set out and prepared for him. By this time, he was indeed feeling tired and rather cold in the few undergarments he was still wearing. Perhaps he should ask to have his clothes returned...? But Laztana was pushing back the hair from her face, putting her hand on his shoulder and giving him one of her caring and concerned looks.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “Of course the water isn’t your element in the way it is for us. You must be feeling cold in here... Perhaps you would like to be dried and given something to wear?”

Gorin nodded, and before he could say anything, Laztana had summoned three of the other water-nymphs who came scampering up to him with large, soft, enveloping towels. They were made from the same incredibly light, semi-transparent material as their robes, although thicker. Then, sooner than he could think about it, they were taking his few remaining clothes from him and gently rubbing him dry.

Laztana looked appreciatively at Gorin’s well-built body as it was gently tended by her caring helpers, the whisper of a smile hovering on her lips.

“The clothes you had on when you fell into the river were very strange,” she said. “We brought them with us actually, just in case…” She pointed to a pile of garments against the grotto’s back wall. “But I’m sure they must have been terribly uncomfortable.”

As he thought about his clothes, Gorin suddenly realised he was now dressed in nothing at all, as the deft hands of the water-nymphs pampered him. For an instant he was overcome by a strange, unidentifiable emotion, swiftly dispelled by the water-nymphs’ gentle, reassuring care - and by the magical song they began to sing again as they worked;