Relax and Get comfortable
Close your eyes and take 3 deep breaths.

You begin your journey on an overcast day.  You are near the forest, deep,
dark coniferous woods, and you have heard of a beautiful grotto somewhere in
its midst.  There is a wide stream that runs into the wood, and you stand on
its bank, looking down into the ravine shaded by fern and long, dripping moss
that beards the trees.

You turn to the wood and begin your journey, traveling by the stream bank as
you go along.  There is no well-worn path here; you have to climb over fallen
logs covered with moss and skirt large chunks of granite deposited here during
the last march of the glaciers.

As you enter the wood, the heavy growth darkens the glow of the sun as it
lowers toward the horizon.  The sound of the birds echoes around you, and you
smell a tinge of autumn chill in the air, hints of cold nights to come.  The
stream gushes along beside you.  At first the ravine is steep and you cannot
feel the spray of the water as it rushes past.  Gradually the slope of the
wood lowers to where you are only a few feet above the stream bed, and you can
see clearly below the surface of the water if you bend down.

~~Long Pause~~

There are water skimmers darting across the surface of the bubbling water, and
a few mosquitoes.  Small fish dart just below the surface -- quicksilver,
almost as if they aren't even there.

You find the walking easy at first, and the continual susurration of the water
lulls you as you travel.  It is cool near the stream, in fact it's almost
chilly, and sometimes as you walk along you can hear a late season frog
croaking.  The forest thickens, but you have become focused on the stream
below.  Occasionally, you hear laughter rising with the water, but you can't
see where it is coming from.

The current is picking up, and you feel a sense of urgency now, inspired by
the force of the water.  You begin walking faster, trying to keep up with the
ever-running stream.  And then, up ahead, you see that a large cliff blocks
the path, making it impossible to continue on the stream banks.  You could go
around it, but you'd lose sight of the stream and by now you know that you're
on the right path to find that grotto.  But you have one other option.  You
know that you could let the stream carry you along; it's deep and swift now.
So you step forward and jump into the water.

~~Long Pause~~

The first shock of chill water stuns you, and you flounder for a moment,
fighting the current that drags you past the cliff.  You manage to catch your
breath and straighten out, riding the current on your tummy.  You don't even
have to swim, just stretch out and let the water buoy you up.

Now the last shadows of daylight are glistening on the water around you.  It
sparkles, reflecting like brilliant sapphire, dazzling your eyes.  You are
soaked, but you find yourself adapting and it's easier to remain calm, easier
to use your arms stretched out in front of you to steer yourself around the
occasional rock jutting up from the water.

The pulse of the current begins to match your heartbeat.  You feel a strong
quiver run through the water.  With each breath you take, the stream seems to
rise.  Every time you exhale, the stream lowers, and so you gently but swiftly
flow along, almost as if you were a part of the water itself.

~~Long Pause~~

The cliffs that you pass through are steep and dark, towering blocks of
granite.  You realize that you have no choice now except to let the water be
your guide.  You are suddenly thirsty and so you open your lips and let a
mouthful of water slide down your throat.  It is icy, glacial, and refreshes
you like no other drink ever has.

A roaring sound echoes from up ahead, and the water picks up speed.  You raise
your head to try to see what's coming, but it's difficult from this position.
Suddenly you find yourself teetering, you are on the edge of a waterfall, with
no handholds in sight and you have a glimpse of white water spray all around
you and mist rising like fog from below, then you plunge over the edge.

~~Long Pause~~

You twist and turn until you've righted yourself, and you find you are
actually sliding down the falls, buoyed by the force of the cascading water.
You catch a glimpse of a glistening pool below, and the fern-covered slopes
surrounding it, and then you hit the surface and sink.

You try to swim upwards, you kick and fight your way to the surface only to
grab another breath and be pulled down again.  You are spinning now.  Each
time you rise you gain a breath of air, but it's hard to break free from the
whirlpool you're caught in.

The water circles around you, tearing at your clothes, pulling at any
possessions you might have.  When you think you've reached you last gasp, you
manage one final kick and push yourself out of the center, where you can
navigate away from the whirlpool.  With the last bit of energy, you swim to
shore and crawl up to the sand.  You find you're naked, your clothes have been
swept away, and all your possessions you have with you are gone.  But you are
so tired, you just sit and rest.

~~Long Pause~~

As you regain your strength, you begin to notice the cold.  The water is
drying on your skin now, but the night air is cool and you begin to shiver.
If you don't find some sort of shelter, you will freeze.  You wearily get up
and look around for anything that might help.

The dusk is thick, but you can see dark caves against the ravine walls, and
you imagine a few might be below the surface as well.  Fern and Moss hang down
here and willows surround the pool.  You wonder if you've found the grotto,
but somehow you don't think you're quite there yet.

You see a thick, long drape of moss and it occurs to you that it might provide
some protection from the cold.  You pull it down from the tree it's on and
wrap it around you, tucking it in so it makes a kind of sarong.  Surprisingly,
you find it really helps.  You look around some more and decide to use long
fronds from the fern to weave into a kind of cloak.  When you finish and drape
it around your shoulders, you feel much more comfortable, enough to notice how
hungry you are.

Movement on the beach catches your eye.  You move closer to see what it is,
and find an otter staring at you.  She's come out of the pool and is waiting
on the shore with something in her mouth.  You move a little closer, not
wanting to spook her, but she remains calm and when you are almost within
range to reach out and touch her, she drops a fish at your feet.

"Your dinner" a voice in your head rings out, and then you hear a laughter
similar to the one you heard in the stream.  It's gentle and playful.  She
waits for you to pick up the fish.

~~Long Pause~~

When you do, you find it's dead, and she's sliced it open with her claws and
washed it in the pool.  There's no fire, but the water here is clean and
clear, and you know the fish is safe to eat.  You bite into the flesh.  It's
juicy and almost sweet, and your stomach gurgles with the promise of a meal.
As you eat the fish, you can feel its life-force streaming into your body, and
you feel shimmering and sleek, and energy races through your blood.

Thank the fish for its life, that is sustains you, and then turn back to the
otter.

~~Long Pause~~

She smiles, her whiskers sticking out, and then she says, "When you've rested,
you must climb through that cave if you want to reach the grotto."  Then,
quick as a wink, she slides back in the pool and disappears under the water.
You feel energetic now, strong and ready to continue, and so you carefully
climb over the rocks and up to the dark slit that awaits.

The cavern is narrow and high.  You feel your way along, running your hand
over one of the walls.  Before long, it opens out into a mammoth room with
stalagmites and stalactites glistening from a phosphorescent glow.  There are
no other entrances or exits, but in the center of the room, you see a large
pool.  The water in the pool is black and filled with twinkling light.

You hear singing rising from the pool, and it's indescribably sweet and
alluring.  The voices echo and rebound off the walls, and you feel your heart
begin to pound and you're overcome by the desire to follow the voices.

They swirl around you, reverberating in your mind, and they sing.  "Come to
us, come to us, leave your home, leave your loves, leave your families and
ride with us into the sea."  The pull is so strong that, try as you might, you
cannot escape and you plunge into the pool, searching for the singers of that
melody.

~~Long Pause~~

As you sink into the water, something begins to happen.  You feel strange,
your body is shifting, altering.  You find you're changing into a creature of
the sea, perhaps a salmon, an otter, a trout, an octopus.  Look at your body,
and see what it looks like.  Feel the fins, tentacles; feel the way the water
moves around you now that you don't have to fight to breathe.  Play with your
transformation for a moment.

~~Long Pause~~

After you have gotten used to the idea that you're no longer human, you swim
deep, following the current of the pool that leads you down.  Then you see
ahead of you a tunnel in the water, a cave going under the cliff and you
follow it.  You can still hear the voices singing and they're coming through
the tunnel.

As you swim through the darkened tube it grows lighter.  You swim up and up,
heading toward the surface.  As you break the water's edge, you shirt again
and are back in your human form.

~~Long Pause~~

You are in a large lake, and the forest surrounding this lake is truly
beautiful, shimmering and glowing.  As you head toward shore, you're able to
wade through the water as it grows shallow.  You see crystals glistening in
the sand, and the full moon hangs low overhead, casting its light across the
grotto.

You stand on the shore, looking back at the lake to get an idea of where you
are.  You see that the forest entirely surrounds the lake with shimmering
light.  In the center of the lake is a large rock, and you know that's where
the singing is from and that's where you must go.

~~Long Pause~~

You plunge back into the water, but find that you remain human and you begin
to swim out to the rock, and you hope that your strength will hold you up.

As you leave the shore behind you, you can feel the gentle currents.  They
seem to be helping you along at first, guiding your way, holding you.  The
water lulls you into a happiness you've never felt before; it surrounds and
warms you and you flash back to the time when you lay in your mother's womb
where water cushioned you against the hardships of the outer world.  Take a
moment to feel that cushioned rocking, and see what it means to you.

~~Long Pause~~

You are quite a distance from the shore, and the water begins to grow choppy.
It pulls you out of that peaceful calm and you have to be alert, watching as
the water swells and creates, waves growing larger.  It could be dangerous
here, and your muscles ache a little because you cannot relax; you must be
aware of your surroundings.

Now you are closing on the rock, but the passage is more than difficult.  The
waves have grown dangerous, they tug at you, and you must use all of your
strength to fight the current if you want to make it to your goal.  Rain
begins to pelt down, stinging like hail as it drives itself into the surface
of the water.  The night is so cold now that your muscles are starting to
cramp.  You see the rock is almost within reach.

~~Long Pause~~

Finally, the water swells again with a big wave coming in, but as it swells
you can reach out and it pushes you towards the rock just enough for you to
grab hold.  Dig your fingers in and pull yourself to the granite, and then,
with your hands bleeding from small lacerations, drag yourself up, onto the
rock.

You lie there for what seems like an indeterminable amount of time, but
eventually you begin to catch your breath and when you sit up, you see you're
not the only one on the rock.  There is a ring of women, beautiful and
ethereal.  They almost seem like shapes formed of mist, and they are singing.
But now that you're here, their songs have little effect on you.

In the center of their midst, there is a great throne made of mother of pearl
and amethyst, and on the throne, a woman cloaked in long streams of dripping
seaweed.  Her hair is the color of twilight, and she wears a gown woven of fog
and raindrops.  She sits in front of a large bowl, so large you could almost
crawl into it, and in the bowl you see water darker than any water you've ever
seen before.

~~Long Pause~~

She motions for you to come forward.  When you are standing at her feet, she
says, "I am Aqualia, the Queen of Cups, the Queen of Water.  You have come to
seek my element."  Her voice echoes with the roar of the waterfall.

She continues, "Know this, I am the force of your body, I am the home from
whence life began.  Your ancestors swam in my primordial seas.  I cushion your
tears and soothe you with my gentle raindrops.  But I am also the force of the
gale, the wild cresting waves.  Do not underestimate me, or deny my strength."

~~Long Pause~~

As she speaks, you see a great serpent rising from the water, greater than any
serpent ever before known or seen.  Aqualia says, "I am Tiamat Primordial
Mother of the Ocean.  Know me and pay me respect."

~~Long Pause~~

Then she shifts again and she is cloaked in a beautiful girdle and she is the
loveliest woman you've ever seen.  "I am Aphrodite, the foam-born.  Love me
and desire me and ride on my waves of passion."

~~Long Pause~~

Once more she shifts and she is wild and fearsome and full of dark storm
clouds.  "I am Ran, Goddess of the angry seas, and I drown sailors who dare to
challenge my strength.  Do not think you can beat me, I am always more
powerful than you."

~~Long Pause~~

Then she is back to herself again and she sits back down and smiles gently.
"Know also, I am in each raindrop and each teardrop you shed, and when you
drink of me, you bring my life force into your body."

~~Long Pause~~

She points to the bowl in front of her.  "I give you a gift.  If you drink
from my dark wine while asking a question, then close your eyes.  You will
hear the answer within your own heart.  For my waters unlock the gates to your
subconscious, and from there most answers spring." She hands you a crystal
goblet and says, "Think of your need to know, then drink and listen for the
answer.

~~Long Pause~~

When you have finished you task, she gives you the goblet to keep and says,
"Place water that has been charged under the dark moon in this goblet and you
may touch the wells of knowledge by drinking deep."  Then she says, "It is
time for you to leave."  She provides you with a boat and send you on your
way.