We can't cross this ocean if we don't lose sight of the shore. They just don't have the courage and will, afraid of the unknown waves. 

I pity them.

LoG, 149

"Can you understand me?" Squinty inquired, a little breathless.

"Yes, we understand." The Clam responded.

Squinty had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she shouldn't be able to comprehend what The Clam was saying, but yet she did.

"You have passed the test of The Reka, Land Dweller. Breathing under the surface of The River Tebesum has proven to be an impossible task for human children such as yourself. This is why you have been granted a gift of The Translator Pearl. You are allowed to serve us now. I am certain you shall prove most useful."

"Are you The Leader of The Reka?" Squinty inquired brashly, still not commenting on the "serving" part. She wasn't going to serve anyone, thank you very much, if that could be avoided at all.

"We do not use such terms. Our function is to serve the water beings and to light their world. To protect them from that which hunts us during The Dark. We live in a symbiotic community and we complement each other. These are the people who have embraced their true form and became one with the Water, as it should be. We are Water and to Water we shall return. These artificial bodies you humans use have been forced upon you by the will of The Mind. The Reka bask in their own transparency, being who they are, being true to themselves." The Clam replied.

"If you are so equal and 'symbiotic'," Squinty erroneously used the word she had never heard before, "why do you keep servants, then? Aren't we all supposed to be equal?"

"Like I said," The Clam explained patiently, "you are an inferior life form. The one that yet hasn't realized its true content and hasn't come to terms with its substance. When an unwary traveller roams into The Realm of Reka, he is Absorbed and he becomes The River Water. Unliving, unthinking, freed from the ground burdens, simply turning into The Flow. You and your friends have fallen into our astute trap, the one that we so frequently prepare for the wanderers who dare approach too close to our underwater kingdom."

"But you ... Trade water! I know of it!" Squinty desperately tried to point out what she'd learned Instructor Ilena's classes in The Orphanage.

"Commercial treaties are one thing," The Clam's centric light dimmed a bit. "Yet these kinds of accidental capture situations are ... quite another."

"So, you haven't Absorbed me yet just because you can't reach me?"

"It is not quite so. We are surprised that a human child can walk among us and breathe equanimously using a hard outer shell, similar to that of the one we as The River Clam possess. A doubt has entered our core and we are now wondering if you are to be the one to deliver us from a great evil. The one who might save our Realm."

"And in return, you will drown and Absorb my companions?" Squinty motioned towards the four immobile air bubbles.

"Yes, we shall ..." The Clam stopped mid-sentence. "Hmm. I comprehend your motif, human child. You do not wish any harm to come to the four inferior life forms, is it not so?"

"It is exactly so." Squinty snorted.

"We propose a commercial treaty then."

"What kind of treaty?" Squinty was suspicious.

"You will help The Reka and banish the evil that haunts us. In return, the life forms you care about will be returned to the surface of the River Tebesum, unharmed."

"But what if I fail?"

"Then you shall all surely perish." The Clam was relentless.

Squinty checked all her options. It seemed that she had to accept the exchange.

I hope they won't ask the impossible of me, Squinty sighed. "Fine. What is The Evil That Haunts You?" she inquired in a mocking voice, playing the part, glad that The River Clam was seemingly oblivious to her sarcasm.

"We do not speak of her often. She is one of The Dark Terrors, The Abominations miscreated by The Mind. A vile and cruel murderer, she is. The Eaver, we call her."

Squinty heard water beings whisper furiously upon hearing the name, covering in fear.

"It builds the dams ever so skilfully, barring the river flow and preparing astute traps for our people. She murders entire schools of fish mercilessly. The clap of her wings produces electrical waves which stun and immobilize The Reka, dissolving our bodies as they hit them. The ones who are not dissolved are taken to her nest and devoured or used up as the water reserve. We are defenceless against this predator. Every day, our numbers grow thinner." Desperation was heard in The River Clam's voice. "We cannot attack her or Absorb her since she keeps her distance. She approaches when we are unaware, or at our most vulnerable, singling us out. We cannot defeat it on our own since we can't move far from water, or The Eaver will hunt down and eat us."

"So it might as well hunt down and eat me too," Squinty concluded.

"I do not believe that would be the case. Human child meat is bitter and rough. Our water form is fresh, soft and tender."

"I won't ask how you know that."

"But yes, The Eaver might hunt you down simply for disturbing it." The River Clam was oblivious to Squinty's last comment.

"So an entire underwater city hasn't managed to defeat this Eaver you speak of. But you expect me, a human child, as you say, to do it singlehandedly."

"You are not an ordinary human child. You hide many talents, we sense so. Perhaps, wearing that armour, you might just have the chance. Its beak and claws may not penetrate it. It looks strong and sturdy."

"I would do anything for my friend." Squinty was adamant, thinking of Orla.

"So we see, and that is a noble trait The Reka respect. We recommend you to hunt down The Eaver on the ground. Search for its nest. It might be easier than facing it in water."

Not to mention our combat will have less water being victims. Squinty thought inwardly.

"Should you defeat it, we require proof of your victory. If and only if you bring such evidence to us, will you and the life forms you care about be free to roam where you please."

"So you are basically keeping them hostage," Squinty slurred, displeased.

"The Leader of Lagad has been keeping one of our own a hostage, for many Big Ones now after The First Water War had ended," The Clam replied, dolorous. "Yet they offered us no commercial treaty, no way to get him back. We are being merciful, human. Take our offer or leave it."

"It's a deal." Squinty sighed. We are practically at their mercy now, so I'd better do as they say. "Where is The Eaver now?"

"Our scouts report that it has been working on yet another water dam, further down the river. We have cleared that area. You may return to surface now, land dweller. May the good fortune follow you in your endeavour to hunt down The Eaver."

The water beings formed a lane, letting Squinty pass. All of their murmurs and garbled mutters had ceased. They watched her go in silence, accompanied by two custodians that were now showing her the way.

"We shall take you to the surface, human child. We shall not advance further." They spoke in unison as The Light illuminated their strange, transparent bodies.

Squinty nodded in acknowledgement, observing their peculiar forms as they swam impossibly fast right next to her. As soon as her head emerged on the surface of The River Tebesum, her ice armour disappeared.

Squinty's nostrils widened eagerly as she drew a deep breath. Being encased in an ice shell and taken several dozen meters underwater had awoken a small fear of enclosed spaces in her.

Squinty crawled out on the river bank, her clothes and her hair wet. She shook her body, still on all fours, as if she were a recently bathed dog. That didn't remove the moisture much, but it helped her feel better. It was as if she was also shaking off an unpleasant experience.

She touched her tear-shaped scar and yet again, turning invisible was as easy as falling asleep. Squinty was now free to roam around The River Tebesum's bank, in search of The Eaver.

She didn't have to walk long when she heard an intrusive, sharp pecking sound. The creature that was, in fact, producing the noise made her gasp out loud and cover her mouth in order not to be heard. It looked like no beast she had ever seen before.

Why are all creatures that I encounter ten times bigger than me? Squinty complained to herself.

It had the body, floppy wide tail and robust back legs of a beaver, but the head and wings of an eagle, as well as eagle's talons at its front feet.

Now I understand where the name "The Eaver" comes from. It's a mixture of an Eagle and a Beaver.  

Its beak was now diligently striking at the dam that it half built. It was chopping the wood into smaller chunks and piecing them all together with the decisive claps of a flat, powerful tail. Having successfully barred the passage to three big fish–Squinty couldn't see the species from where she was standing, it brought them upwards into their beak and swallowed them with gusto. After enjoying that light meal, the monster captured yet another fish and then it leisurely flew upwards, holding it in its beak.

Squinty ran towards it, following it on the ground, keeping her eyes peeled. Several minutes passed, and Squinty could see The Eaver circling around a giant rock, with a tall tree leaning on it.

That's where the nest must be, Squinty thought.

She managed to climb the tree after several attempts, getting more and more tired with each step of the way. She struggled to keep her invisibility up and to make as little noise as possible. When Squinty arrived at the top and glanced toward the nest, she came face to face with a touching scene.

Orla would say: "Cuuute".

Mother Eaver was tearing into the fish with her talons, dividing it into three different parts. She then proceeded to feed her young ones, carefully tucked away in a comfortable eyrie.

Squinty spat.

Now what? I sneak upon the mother, kill it with my daggers, leave the "eaverlets" to die?

Squinty let out a deep sigh. 

Before she realized what she had done, The Eaver's ears were pricked. 

Damn. She heard me!

The Abomination was upon her, screeching maddeningly, her ears pricked, her talons ripping the tree canopy apart.  The creature was frustrated for being unable to see the perpetrator but Squinty knew The Eaver could sense someone was there, threatening her fledgelings.

Squinty's right foot slipped and she slid down the tree trunk with a loud "thud". The Eaver became even more agitated, joining its wings and sending a lightning bolt towards the lower part tree, ripping it in half. Squinty had barely enough time to evade the jolt of electricity.

She now began to realize the power of this creature, understanding how foolish she had been to come out here alone and look for it.

Sorry, Giant Clam, but I am gonna need the help of your Reka people. I can't take it down on my own. She thought, running towards the river as fast as she could in the zig-zag pattern.

The Eaver shadowed her steps, roaring impotently, occasionally trying to zap her with lighting, but always missing. Squinty reached The River Tebesum, panting, and dove in without thinking. Her ice armour formed instantaneously and she let out a sigh of relief.

The Gigantic Eaver followed without a problem, moving its beaver-like paws with an impossible speed. And then it dove after her. The Eaver reached Squinty in no time and started pecking furiously at her icy hideout, wishing to extract Squinty from her shell. Squinty realized The Eaver was both excellent swimmer and a diver. She had already seen its sharp beak working its magic and she didn't like it at all.

Her ice armour was almost impenetrable, Squinty knew that. There was not a single crack on it, even if The Eaver was applying all of her might trying to destroy it. But it could only be maintained for as long Squinty had energy in her to do so. As soon as she got tired, she knew, her concentration would slip and that would be the end of her.

Instead of standing idly in water and waiting for that to happen, Squinty decided to take the matter into her own hands. Her tiny fingers squeezed The Eaver's neck, trying to hold it down. The mighty beast simply shook her off as if a human would shake off an ant. It continued to attack her with an undiminished arduousness.

As Squinty raised her arms in impotence, ice beams shot out of her palms. One of them hit the creature's tail and it slowed it down. The other one hit it's left hind paw. The Eaver roared in disbelief, paddling even more furious, pecking at the ice shards that now encased it.

Squinty realized that was her chance.

She lifted both of her hands upwards and released a salvo of ice beams with the last of her might. The surface of The River Tebesum was now frozen solid, and there was no way out of the water. The only thing that was left now was to stay put and observe the monster drown.

The Eaver couldn't rise up and take some air before diving again. It was thrashing about, desperately looking for the way to emerge, yet being unable to leave The River that was to become its grave.

Squinty felt terrible about what she had done. Yet she also knew that if she hadn't murdered the creature, Orla, Grizzly, Onyx and Liton would have never been set free.

Thousands of water beings raised both of their amorphous arms in salute, in awe of the human child's achievement. The perfectly shaped ice statue of The Eaver was slowly sinking, descending towards The River Clam.

It was destined to decorate the waterbed or The River Tebesum forever in its death.