{Nile River Delta, Ancient Egypt}

When I first came too I opened my eyes to see the sun above me, but I could stare directly into it and it seemed to flow in a distorted fashion as if the sky itself had ripples running through it. I craned my neck to my left, through it required great effort, and I saw the river bed silt churning up from the fish swimming too and fro with almost human like purpose. They disappeared and reappeared in the kelp that surrounded me in a circle pattern and as I followed them with my eyes I realized that I was in a bed fashioned out of underwater plant life and at each corner sprouted water lilies that glowed with an ethereal light.

I looked to my feet and saw they were bare and my sandals were placed beside me. Then with alarm, I quickly tore off my shirt that had been reduced to shreds and searched for the gaping claw marks that had been my parting gift from the leopard. They were gone replaced with light white scars that stood out against my tan skin and they protruded out from my flesh about a couple centimeters. I traced the scars with my fingers and felt a shock of pain as if I was reliving the injury all over again, hunching up my back and howling like an injured animal.

A disturbance to my right drew my eye as a woman swam or rather floated into the clearing and came rushing to my aid. She touched my skin and the pain instantly soothed, receding into a dull tinge instead of the searing hot burning it had been seconds before.

"You must rest and leave the wound to heal, this is the first time your body has ever accepted the waters power to restore you. If you hadn't been in such a weak state your body probably would have tried to reject it and you would have died. Even as it is however, it's not perfect so once again I must urge you to rest." Her words were warbled and instead of coming her mouth, they seemed to come from the river itself. She had a distinct accent to her tone of voice as well, similar to the Mediterranean merchants that sometimes came to the market in Heliopolis. Her hair was a light green and flowed in the water in slow motion, and her eyes were a brilliant blue-green that looked as if the river had been condensed into gems.

At first I could only open and close my mouth like a fish out of water, because at that second it hit me that I was underwater and I was breathing perfectly fine, well up until that point at least. I started to try and hold my breathe until my lungs screamed for air and I had no choice but to breathe in and the pressure relieved itself. "I can breathe underwater..? I don't have gills do I?" I instantly felt around my neck searching for the presence of flappy flesh, but to my relief I found none.

The woman looked hurt and push her flowing hair over her should and felt at her neck revealing gills in the side, which honestly didn't look too bad on her. "Now there's nothing wrong with gills young man." She said indigently.

Once again I was lost for words as I started to blubber, "Of course not, I just meant that ugh." and trailed off, but by the look on the woman's face she had already forgotten the offhanded insult and seemed much more concerned with checking out my chest looking for possible problems. As she delicately ran her fingers down the scars, I once again felt a shock but in a much less dosage and after it had passed it felt looser as if the skin was no longer tensed for attack.

"Is that better?" She asked her fingers idly running across the pattern that had been left across my recently sculpted chest.

"Much, much better." Trying to keep the tremble out my voice, "But I must ask, who are you?"

She turned to me with a sad look on her face and folded her hands, "I think you mean to say what am I, and the answer to that young man is that I am the Naiad of the Nile, as to who I am; I am Caliadne. Your father and I recently became well acquainted and so he asked a favor of me, too protect you, a favor I am all too happy too comply with, but I'm afraid you must go to sleep once again my young hero. You'll need your energy for the journey back home."

I reached out and grabbed her hand, her fingers were delicate, thin and seemed so small in comparison to my recently enhanced hands. "Thank you, for everything."

She looked at me with those sad eyes once more before mouthing, "You're welcome," and swam off the way she had came leaving me alone to drift off into dream land.

—

I opened my eyes after a dreamless sleep, they must have some sort of underwater magic here and I should remember to ask how to do it, but this time instead of the sun far above, a shining silver disk hung in the sky. The surface of the water must have been considerably calmer, because the only ripples that ran across the picture perfect scene above me were those caused by the water bugs zooming to and fro.

The stars twinkled far above, creating a light show of alternating flashing colors and then a bright streak of light cut across the sky and then just as quick disappeared.

"The sky is truly amazing, holds many wonders begging to be explored." Caliadne said, and I noticed her sitting beside me for the first time, "Perhaps some day my young hero, but today you are needed by your people back in Heliopolis, I'm afraid they're concerned for your safety."

I shot up in the bed, for the first time remembering those that I had left back home and for all they know I could dead. Hemetre and Jade must be worried sick, Gods they were gonna kill me, "Wait my lady why are they back in Heliopolis, shouldn't they still be in Nubia?"

"The day after you journeyed up the mountain to slay the beast, Lord Sahib sent a party to check on your progress and when they found the lair deserted and the cliff over the river filled with signs of a conflict, including quite a bit of your blood, and assumed the worst. However, when they brought the news back of your apparent demise, your companions refused to believe and journeyed back home to see if they could scry your location. Of course I had to prevent them from doing so because of the stakes at hand and personally I enjoy the privacy I currently have and would hate to have that ruined." She told me this as she whisked about, gathering things from the room, she put my leather waterskin and the box with charms in the pack that Sahib had given me. Also she grabbed a new pair of sandals from a larger than usual tuna who had floated into the room with the shoes strapped around his fin.

She grabbed a pale blue undershirt made of a flowing material off a concrete slab and handed it too me, and as I donned it my muscles relaxed. "It's imbued with the healing powers of the water so if you happen to stumble across another monster who wants to tear your head off, it might save your life. Now docked to the nearby embankment is a reed raft that will take you too your destination."

"Thank you for everything, truly I do not know how to ever repay you my lady." I said rising out of the bed and strapping the sandals to my feet and stretching my muscles. I wrapped the leopard skin around my shoulders like a cape and as soon as I touched it the fur became dry even though it should be soaking wet.

"Perhaps you could save the world, and if you ever have a spare moment in your heroic journey stop by and visit the river that saved you." Caliadne said over her shoulder as she swam into the kelp and disappeared from sight.

I took one more look around me and felt the tranquility on the river bed, and shuddered as I remembered Janus' words of worse pain to come then swam up to the surface and over to the raft, ready to return home.

A/N: Short Chapter I know, but I've been swamped with finals so as soon as those are finished we should be in the clear for full on writing time. But something is better than nothing so hope you enjoyed and I'll see you back here shortly. (PS still accepting applications for a Beta so feel free to send it my way, wink wink.)