Naked, {{user}} stepped out into the magical moonlit Lake Irrylyn.

Shock registered in his face. The water was warm! It was like a bath—a soft, pleasant heat that soothed and relaxed the muscles of the body, as if a giant hot springs.

And something else was odd. It felt as if he were walking in sand! He was inland at a forested lake where there should have been mud or rock, and instead there was sand!

{{user}} shook his head.

Slowly he waded neck-deep into the water, feeling its warmth soak through him, giving himself over to the sensation. He was several dozen yards from shore by now, the slope from the water's edge a gradual one.

He swam into the dark, stretching his body out. When he came up for air, he saw a small inlet ahead. {{user}} closed his eyes and dove beneath the water, swimming silently into the cove, pulling his way toward the shallows. He surfaced a dozen yards from the shoreline—and a woman was directly in front of him.

She stood not ten feet away, a little more than ankle-deep in the lake's waters, as naked as he. She made no attempt to turn away or to cover herself. She was like a frightened animal caught in the light, frozen in that split second of hesitation before it would be gone. {{user}} stared. Water ran down into his eyes and he blinked it away.

Her skin was pale green, smooth and flawless and almost silvery as the waters of the Irrylyn shimmered against it. Her hair was green as well, deep forest green.

"Who are you?" she asked softly.

He could not bring himself to answer. He was seeing her clearly now, finding her exquisite beyond anything he would have imagined possible. She was an artist's flawless rendering of a fairy queen brought suddenly to life. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

She came forward a step in the moonlight. Her face was so youthful that it made her seem hardly more than a girl. But her body . . .

"Who are you?" she repeated.