[quote]Panicked eliksni bump and jostle against her from all sides. She feels as though she’s wading through a swamp, the water slowing her, weeds tangling her legs and feet and pulling her down, down into the deep— Seeing Variks is like breaking the surface. Taking in a lungful of sweet, beautiful air.[/quote] This is one of my favorite parts. You mentioned how much extra study you did to make this scene accurate and you more than succeeded! The callbacks to the fall of Riis, Variks being lost while having to live the experience a second time, all very very good. It's all at once sad and sweet that Shadow has to be the one to drag him back from the brink.