Nightmare Ontra
Heavy spectral energy had taken most of the color out of the forest, leaving monochromatic trees with black or gray bark that stretched silver-white leaves toward the pale sky. It was to be expected of the forest that bordered the River Styx.
The inhabitants of that dark land, while strange in appearance, were vital to the ancient world. Where death was heavy, they traveled to serve as aids in cleaning up the rot and decay that would threaten to overpower the living. These creatures of darkness and shadow also served as lesser guardians of the underworld, observing the passage of mortals on their way to the Hall of Hades. Those with corrupt souls would go mad if they stared into the eyes of a guardian for too long.
Reyhan was one of the older guardians, half otter and half river spirit. She bathed in the inky black water every day, sustaining herself on the flesh of midnight-scaled fish that were sweet as a sip of ambrosia to a night creature. By night, she roamed the world of men, snuffing candles with a gentle whisper of breath when the Fates claimed a mortal for the eternal plains. Reyhan never strayed above the underground plains in the direct light of the sun. Such intense light was pain and suffering to a creature of shadow.
She acted as witness to the feats of the ancients. She was there to see Achilles dipped beneath the surface of her river home. Like all spirit creatures, she was well aware of the spot of weakness that would spell his doom, but on pain of mortality, she dared not breath a word to the woman who held the youth under. She watched from the tree line with wary interest as Heracles succeeded in bringing the brutal hound Cerberus out of the darkness and up to the surface to fulfill one of his labors. A silent snarl escaped her lips when mortal Odysseus managed to enter the domain of the dead and emerge alive. Such insults to the natural order are not readily tolerated by its protectors.
The centuries progressed, leaving the ancient pantheon as fodder for cheesy movies and stories with barely a grain of truth to recommend them. Many of the guardians faded away into legend or traded their weary shadows for the vibrancy of life in the body of a mortal cousin animal.
Reyhan has remained true to her form, though the eternal plains no longer can be gained from our world. She lives in a between place, coming back to earth during each equinox and solstice, returning the cave that once served as a passageway to paradise for weary souls. Her silhouette is sometimes seen by fishermen daring enough to test the waters of night. Most brush it off as a product of their imagination but there are a few good souls with the decency to leave an offering of a single fish from her catch.
Not so much as a patch of scales will be left on the rocks by morning's first light.
Credits:
Profile by 
Ziva
Story by 
Pureflower
Wallpaper from here
