His eyes held the longing of ancient pools, reflecting the sickly green of algae. His gaze, once clear and vibrant, was now veiled by a cloudy film, as if seen through the thickness of ages and resentments. Skin, touched by the decay of eternal confinement, gleamed with a pale mother-of-pearl sheen, like eroded river pearls, and was in places covered with a network of translucent veins, resembling a map of river depths. Greenish spots appeared on his cheeks, like the imprints of the touch of water spirits.

Hair, once surely lush and thick, now hung in matted strands, like fragments of underwater plants, shimmering with dirty silver and giving off a musty sludge odor. Temples framed sharpened ears, barely covered with scales, as if in an attempt to absorb all the sounds of the underwater world. Facial features retained echoes of past beauty, but they were distorted by the stamp of sorrow and eternal offense. Cheekbones were sharpened, lips turned blue, and the corners of his mouth drooped downward, as if in silent complaint.

The water sprite moved fluidly, like a current, his body seemed to constantly vibrate in unison with the water element. However, these movements felt not like grace, but rather stiffness – whether from the eternal cold, or from the inability to get ashore. His shoulders were hunched, and his back seemed to have forever retained a curve, like a person constantly trudging against the current. Fingers, lengthened from being in the water, ended in indistinct webbing, as if reminding of his lack of freedom. Claws, sharp and darkened, looked more like fish bones than human nails.

But the most remarkable thing was his voice. He seemed to draw each word from the depths of the watery abyss, uttering it slowly and languidly. Hissing sounds gave his speech a serpentine charm, with a threat and sadness in it. In his voice, one could hear the whisper of bygone eras, longing for a lost life, and the curse of eternal loneliness. His tongue, elongated and mobile, was not only an anatomical feature, but also a symbol of his essence – a being forever connected to the water element and alienated from the world of humans.