Today, Vodyanitsa from the Water Imp Clan was released. Let's learn more about Water Imps together.
Water Imps and Rusalka belong to a rare kind of water Fae known as Dalegrad. They possess fin-like ears and fish-like tails, yet they are capable of assuming human form. A defining characteristic of these Fae is their tendency to express feelings through song rather than facial expressions. Emotions conveyed via song are considered the most significant. Furthermore, Water Imps possess special ritual songs capable of providing protection.
In times past, Water Imps wandered across the land of Snezhnaya, following the call of their hearts and bestowing their songs of blessing upon every living creature. However, the Forebear of All Waterborn in the Frozen Lake, Vodyanoy Dombertiev, given the appellation "The Lackland" by The Volkhov Chronicles, forged an alliance with Miscislav the Blood-Devourer, the king of Volkodlak, nicknamed "Gorynishche." The children of the water became the pillar of support that enabled Miscislav to rise to power, win renown, and eventually claim the crown. Vodyanoy Dombertiev was an unrivaled warrior who had mastered the art of launching surprise attacks from beneath the ice, yet he was also a boor the likes of which the world had never seen.
However, the daughter of Vodyanoy Dombertiev the Landless — the "Zmey Maiden" Vaselisa Vodyanovna, the first Grand Duchess of Volgograd — could not bear to watch the blood of her kin freeze upon the surface of the lake. She stood on the shore, holding blood-pink ice flowers in her hands, and mourned for every silent soul. Betraying her father and the Volkodlak Alliance, Vaselisa left the Frozen Lake, and all those who no longer wished to take up arms followed her to the court of Emperor Monomakh Snezhnyi. Upon learning of this, Miscislav immediately marched his troops against the lands of the Water Imps, who remained his loyal allies, unleashing a campaign of horrific pillage and slaughter.
The Belyi Tsar bestowed a title upon Vaselisa, and she accepted it, knowing that to earn the favor of the Pale Star, she must first bear the name she had been given. Yet when she was offered a crown, treasures, and lands, the mermaid refused them. She had no need for a crown, for it could rest only upon a brow weighed down by a heart just as still. She had no need for treasures, for it could satisfy only those who chase after empty gain. And she had no need for lands, for waters and earth were never meant to belong to any one sovereign. She asked for but one thing: that the children of the waters cease whetting their blades to songs of sorrow and instead sing for every soul in which true love dwells.
Emperor Monomakh granted Vaselisa Vodyanovna’s request, and the Water Imps of the Pale Star would ever again be made to serve the desire of another heart. At the same time, the Emperor struck a pact with the Rusalka: even if a Water Imp chose to go to war of their own volition, no one would ever be forced to take up arms. Water Imps walked among armies without ever joining in the slaughter. Yet they did not forget the protection Monomakh had afforded them, and they delivered reports and messages, including quite a few love letters.
During the second campaign of the Fae War, Duke Alvis, ruler of the Domovoy and an ally of the Belyi Tsar, used a ruse to lure the Water Imps' forces away from the Frozen Lake, where Vodyanoy was subsequently slain by a spear thrown by Monomakh. Later, the Volkodlak Alliance was defeated by the army of the Pale Star, and the land of Snezhnaya was united. When the ice-flowers, stained pink with blood, finally ceased to rise to the surface of the Frozen Lake, Vaselisa Vodyanovna summoned the Water Imps and bade them roam across all of Snezhnaya and sing as freely as the waters flow, singing in praise of all that is cherished beneath the heavens and in honor of every sincere heart that holds this world dear. Thus, the free songs of the Water Imps began to resound throughout Snezhnograd.
"Tell the snows of spring and the blossoms of winter, the autumn sun and the fruits of summer, that never again need anyone lose their way in the passing of the seasons."
"Tell the waters and the earth that all creation may now hear the hymns that should have been sung to it long ago."
"Tell farmer and craftsman, soldier and sovereign, and every soul in between: The world is worthy of love, and worthy of praise."
A ballet sequence has been created as part of the play "The Black Swan," centering on the character Vaselisa Vodyanovna. In this scene, set by the Frozen Lake, an emissary from the south urges Rusalka Vaselisa, who is determined to leave her homeland, to kill her new master. The emissary reminds her that she rejected her own father for the sake of this new master, yet Vaselisa agrees to the deed for the sake of her people. He attempts to persuade her to kill the Belyi Tsar by recounting how the Tsar’s subjects condemned Water Imps to perish in "fiery water." He presents Vaselisa with a long, snow-white sword, but when she asks if he intends for her to kill the Belyi Tsar with it, he swears that he merely wishes to offer the weapon as a gift.
When the Belyi Tsar perished during the Cataclysm 500 years ago, Anastasya Feodorovna rose to power, and civil war broke out in Snezhnaya once again during her first century of rule. Throughout the conflict, the entire Water Imps aristocracy was driven out of Snezhnaya, and any humans who aided them were branded traitors and marked for death. It was in this manner that a mercenary named Shram met his end at the Korolevsky Theater while defending his beloved, Litiya Ozerova. Today, only one Rusalka remains in Snezhnograd — Prima Donna of the Korolevskiy Troupe, Vodyanitsa. She wished for their songs to continue echoing beneath the theater’s vaults even centuries later, conveying a vast array of emotions as if telling endless stories.
