Vodnik

Vodnik is a Fae observed along slow river bends, marshy ponds, and forgotten mill races. It presents as a sodden, human-shaped presence: skin the color of algae and river silt, hair threaded with reeds and slimy leaves, clothing hanging heavy with water. Smell: a cold, metallic tang of old coins and wet earth underlaid with the reedy rot of stagnant water. Sound: a private, gurgling chuckle, the soft slap of a board against water, and sometimes the faint clink like porcelain from far below the surface. Temperature: an unnatural chill that seems to draw warmth from the air — the bank feels colder within its range, as if a current runs under your boots. Field notes record it as patient and territorial, a creature of margins and fog that watches from the shallows rather than pursuing on land.