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 Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2004 1:20 pm
 The world was once ruled by a great pantheon of gods, whose forms and shapes were as vast and numberless as the creatures they reigned over. It was during that time when the Nereids first came into being. There was once a small village of humans who worshipped the god of the water, who had two faces. There was a dark, angry visage he often wore when out at sea, and a more peaceful, serene face for his days traveling the rivers and streams on the land. His name was Kedaelith.
Kedaelith's body was that of a human, though his heart belonged, instead of to those who worshipped him, to the fish in saltwater and fresh. He paid more attention to the silverbright scales flashing through the water than to those who prayed to him for good catches and safe passage over the waves. Often, Kedaelith could be found playing tag with the tiny minnows, or floating after the larger fish of the sea. And with his neglect each year, the humans began to pray to him less and less.
In time, Kedaelith grew weaker. The first thing to go was his mind - where once he'd deliberately ignored the humans in favor of the fish, now he couldn't always remember the odd two-legged creatures he resembled. The other gods laughed and mocked him, but Kedaelith ignored them, too. He was less interested in returning to his duties as a god than to the games he was playing with his great love.
But one day, a girl was born who was destined to return Kedaelith to his true power. She was raised on angry tales of a neglectful god, whose mercy was shown only to the life within the water, rather than the lives which depended on it. For years, she listened to the tales, searching within her for a way to show Kedaelith what he had done to her people. She was uncommonly wise, though few noticed it when confronted with her face. Unlike most of the wise, she was just as beautiful as she was intelligent.
One day, when the first of the suitors showed up to her door, she turned to her father and said simply, "I'm leaving." Before the man could protest, she gathered her things, bidding farewell to a stunned mother and two shocked older brothers. And then, ignoring the boy who had come to ask for her hand, she walked out of the house toward the river the village lived upon. She reached the waters and paused there for a moment, then cast her belongings into the river.
The fish caught in the sudden onslaught of clothing, finding themselves bound and helpless. Their fear caught Kedaelith's attention, and he rose from the water, his angry face searching out whoever would dare to offer his protected creatures such misery. The woman stood her ground, waiting as he stalked toward her. When he stood before her, glowering and fearsome, even in his weakened power, she slowly knelt, her head tilted back as she offered him her throat. "Lord," she said to him, and her musical voice caught his attention.
"What is your name?" he demanded of her, drawing back to strike her down despite her beautiful voice and face. "How dare you mistreat my creatures?"
"It is said among my people that the gods require a tribute to return to their power," she said softly, no fear in her eyes. "I am here to offer myself as your tribute, Lord Kedaelith. I ask nothing in return, save that you protect my people as you do your own." It is said that a tear ran down her cheek as she stared into his eyes, awaiting her death.
"YOUR NAME!" he howled, the wind stirring around him with his anger. Rain began to fall, lashing at them. But neither paid any attention.
"I am called Lirathien," she whispered, closing her eyes. "Please, Lord. Protect us."
Kedaelith grabbed her hair, hurling her into the water and demanding she release his fish as the river grew thicker, the violent water swirling around her. Lirathien could swim, but even her skill wasn't sufficient to keep the water from carrying her off before she could release more than one of the fish. Kedaelith was furious at the sight, determined to keep her from getting away so easily. He reached out a hand, and where Lirathien's legs were, her body fused, a scaled tail slowly forming in their place. Gills appeared on her neck, hidden by a mane of golden hair. She gasped as pain ripped through her with the transformation, then twisted, peering at herself for a moment before an idea entered her mind.
Diving into the water, she swam for the fish, rescuing all as quickly as she could manage - all save one. The last she held tight to, appearing above the water to confront Kedaelith once more. "Make my people like me!" she yelled into the wind, her voice strong and defiant. "Make them something beautiful to you, and we will love you once more!"
Kedaelith froze, his eyes wide. The water was rising higher, faster, the fast current carrying her away now even WITH the changes to her body. And it was spilling into the village, threatening to sweep that away, too. Kedaelith hesitated a moment longer, then gestured. "Return my fish, and you shall get your wish... on my terms only." His eyes roved over her beauty, and he caught her, drawing her back to him.
Already, the power was returning to him, wrapping around him as he felt the people's fear and belief pouring through him. "I will take only the worthy of you - only those whose beauty match my beloved fish." He uttered an incomprehensible word, and the humans found themselves drowning in the water, everyone of them under pain. When the waters finally calmed, there were two dozen Nereids at the edge of the sea. The river had carried them far. They peered at each other, the twenty-three females nervously looking at the wide sea as one lone male gazed back toward the river.
Lirathien's sacrifice was her freedom, not her life, for Kedaelith took her as his wife, showing her the mysteries of the water as she taught him the mysteries of the humans. It was she who named us, and she who always ensured that Kedaelith remembers us.
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