Rusalka A rusalka was a female fey water spirit that lived in cold lakes , streams , and rivers . They were notorious for their song , which could lure mortals into their arms or into watery graves . Description . A rusalka appeared to be a beautiful woman , with pale white skin and hair that was an odd hue of green and gold , but red lips . Despite their cold environs , they often wore little more than a gown or shawl of diaphanous cloth , but a number would even go nude . However , Liriel Baenre encountered a warrior rusalka with muscular body and wearing leather armor , with white skin and empty white eyes . Abilities . In a form of symbiosis , a rusalka was mystically bonded to a specific body of water or waterway , ranging in size from a pond to a lake or a stream to a river . She could move to a distance of up to 300 yards ( 275 meters ) away from the water ' s edge , but beyond this point she could no longer breath . She had to hold her breath or immediately begin to drown in air , and could not breathe normally again until she ' d re - immersed herself in her home water . However , provided she was immersed in or in contact with her watery home , a rusalka had great skill in hiding and escaping capture . In any water , they were expert swimmers . Rusalkas were most known for their beguiling song that could lure listeners toward them . A single chosen being within 300 feet ( 91 meters ) of their water who could hear them sing would approach the rusalka by the most direct path , if they could not resist or were not immune to mind - affecting magic . A rusalka had to keep singing to keep up the effect , but could do so either above or beneath the waves . If a beguiled being ' s route took them through a hazardous , they might be discouraged and had another chance to shake off the beguilement . If they made it to the rusalka ' s side ( 5 feet , or 1 . 5 meters ) , then they fell under a " charm " ( as with " charm monster " ) , and the rusalka could stop singing . If the being ever resisted the beguilement or charm , then they were immune to a rusalka ' s powers for another day . Combat . Rusalkas did not seek for battle , only lovers or easy victims . When threatened , they invariably fled into the water , relying on their ability to hide and their familiarity with their waterways to avoid those who chased them there . They might carry only a simple dagger . When luring a victim to their doom with their song , a villainous rusalka might force them to enter or cross a dangerous area , usually deep water or a swift current . They would keep moving , never letting a victim get in arm ' s reach . Four times a day , a rusalka could cast the spell " water breathing " like a powerful sorceress , allowed the recipient to breathe easily underwater for a period of 24 hours . Personality . Trapped at their watery homes , rusalkas were often terribly lonely . For company , they regularly used their beguiling songs to lure mortals , usually men , to their water to join them . Wicked rusalkas , and even some who were simply uncaring , would cause their charmed victims drown , while those of good heart would emerge to bestow " water breathing " on them , letting them join them underwater . In this way , rusalkas and charmed or willing mortals developed relations , but these were fated to end in tears . Realizing her love could not be content in her watery world , a rusalka eventually broke off the relationship . She freed the mortal from her charm , or withheld the " water breathing " power , forcing them to leave . Society . It was commonly believed , even in Rashemen , that rusalkas were the unquiet spirits of drowned maidens , like ghost s , forever bound to haunt the sites of their deaths . Their attacks on swimmers were to be believed to be deliberate , or else the result of the ghost remembering drowning , panicking , and grabbing hold of the living . In truth , however , they were fey beings and natural water spirits . Living lonely lives , rusalka usually lived singly , and only one could be found dwelling in a given body of water , if at all . However , on occasion , multiple rusalkas would appear in an area and form a covey of three to six members . In some stories it was said vodyanoi took rusalkas as wives . Homelands . Found in cold climes , rusalkas dwelled in the lakes , streams , and rivers they were bound to . In particular , rusalkas were found in Rashemen , in and around Lake Ashane . They were known to dwell in White Rusalka Vale , near the lake ' s shore . It was something of a dead - magic zone to all but Rashemi Witches . One also appeared in a hot spring near Dernovia . History . In Rashemen in the Year of Maidens , 1361 DR , in the spring near Dernovia , Liriel Baenre had an encounter with a rusalka . She estimated her to be the ghost of a warrior who ' d died whilst encountering , perhaps robbing , the dragon - like guardian spirit of the spring . The rusalka attacked Liriel and tried to drag her into the pool , but the dragon spirit swallowed the rusalka . In the Year of the Bent Blade , 1376 DR , a felucca carrying Bastun , Faena , Duras , and other warriors across Lake Ashane was attacked by rusalkas . They sang part of the Firedawn Cycle to lull and beguile the crew , luring them into the water . When the alarm was raised , they tried to drag their victims overboard . The Rashemi fought them off , and afterward feared the spirits had risen against the exiled vremyonni , Bastun . Appendix . Background . The rusalka is based on the of Slavic mythology . They first appeared in Dungeons & Dragons and the " Forgotten Realms " in Elaine Cunningham ' s novel " Windwalker " in 2003 , before being re - introduced in the sourcebook " Frostburn " in 2004 . There has been some contradiction in the sources over whether rusalkas are undead ghosts or living fey . The rusalka of Slavic mythology appears to have begun as a nature spirit before being described as the spirit of a dead woman . " Windwalker " calls them water spirits and only speculates they are ghosts , but strongly depicts one as an undead being . " Frostburn " however specifically contradicts this , making them fey . " The Shield of Weeping Ghosts " ( 2008 ) followed suit , basing its version on the sourcebook .