The marshes were a very murky place. After all, it rained almost every day, and would flood the small ponds and rivers. Every creature that lived in the swamps was used to it by now and had learned to move to higher grounds if they wanted to survive. However, one rainy season, it just wasn’t enough.

No one anticipated the hurricanes. Not even the humans, with their fancy technologies. The only calling card to them was the sudden feeling of overwhelming paranoia, a twist in the chest as if a great pit was opening in one’s stomach. The clouds overhead swirled angrily, and in the blink of an eye, the sheets of rain came crashing down, the wind howling in fury. It was as if the storms had appeared out of nowhere as the gods just willed it into existence. Some believed it to be punishment for the sins of the townsfolk. In just a matter of hours, the water levels increased tenfold, enveloping the villages near the shoreline. Soon, almost three-quarters of the land was swallowed up by water.

Only the tips of the trees peeking out from the murky waters like the head of alligators gave any indication that the place had once been covered in mangrove trees and inhabited by land-dwelling beings. Corpses soon were spotted floating in the waters, their bodies bloated as their insides decayed.
Something strange was happening, though. One by one, another body was dunked underwater in a splash, and never came back up to the surface again. Nearby seabirds, who had been blown in from the storms, had witnessed these odd events. They began to exchange tales from their chickhood, remembering the stories their mothers and fathers told them.

Legends of a beast who brought the rain and hid beneath the waves, waiting for prey to creep ever closer, before dragging them deep into the waters. Great, hulking beasts resembling something like a horse, with wickedly sharp teeth and an insatiable hunger for the flesh of drowned folk.

Kelpies, they were called. And indeed, they now infested the waters, lurking just beneath the surface. But as time went by, their source of drowned humans began to dwindle, as tales of missing persons spread amongst the humans, and they began to steer clear of the flooded marshes. The beasts needed to find a new source, and quick. They were quickly running out of hope, until…
A wild horse, one from a rather large herd, sought out some water to drink. She was so very thirsty. She hadn’t heard of the tales and ignored the warning caws of the ravens above her head as she stooped low to take a sip. The last thing she saw as she reared back and whinnied was the face of another horse, but one that was grinning maliciously at her. With a mighty splash, she was dragged beneath the surface, and never seen again.

The horse herd searched far and wide for her, but to no avail. Little did they know of the dangers lurking below the waters. As time passed, their herd was drastically decreasing. All was lost, they thought.

Until the first horse arrived. She looked strange, but the herd graciously accepted her. Soon, more and more mares and even a couple of stallions joined. All was well.

WIP