"in the woodlands of thyrratí, near the village of alha-rueg, you will find a small lake - little more than a pond, actually, but very deep and very dark. legend has it that any young woman who goes there on the eve before her wedding, dressed up as a bride, and looks into the water of that lake will get a happy and prosperous married life. the sign of this is a light that comes dancing up through the dark water and stays on the surface. but beware, young maidens of thyrratí! if you don't stay til you see the light you are doomed to haunt the place after your death and before you can see the dancing light, you must brave the sounds and the ghostly touches of the spirits of those other unfortunate brides. they won't harm you - unless you are tempted to turn around and look at them. and take good care that the water doesn't get you under it's spell, for there is something in that water that pulls you closer... and closer... and closer..."

the most advanced photo manipulation i've ever made. took me 112 layers and most of the time i didn't spend on working on my flat. if you see any huge mistakes i made - have mercy and shut up about them! (just joking, any comments and critique welcome - just don't count on me reworking this from scratch...)

Stunning! I'd like to see more stuff like this. Very very beautiful indeed!

OMG - beautiful!
Would be curious to see the original photo(s) you started from...

Quite nice! Lovely colors and I like how the water looks a lot!
It looks half painted and half photo, I like it..I like a lot!
The story makes me scared to go near the lake, though, do I have to go alone? :shock

the images used for making the manip.

Wow beautiful Anmal. I agree with Mokonafan about the story. Scary....................If we don't go does that mean a plain marriage?

Wow! That's a lot of images! Nice work!

I love the lighting and the depth! It is just beautiful.

That's a beauty, AnMal!

Nice story and manipulation

thanks, everyone, for comments!
erisian: hmmm... more stuff that takes all that time and pain to make?! do you remember how many versions i had to make before i came up with something i was okay with?! thank you, though, for this comment as well as your comments on the earlier versions! you're the best help and support i could have.
fluffybunny: thank you ! i hope you saw the post i made with the original pics in - one forest i found on a google search, a bunch of fashion photos, a pyramid casing stone from british museum and two of my autumn photos.
mokonafan: thank you sister ! i like that half painted - half photo style myself, that's one of the things i wanted to do when i started making this. the other thing i wanted to do was make something beautiful and mystical. and of course you'd have to go there alone! as scary as it possibly can be
sallyanne: thank you ! a story like this would have scared me stiff when i was young, i'm a bit more hardened now, after more than twenty years of horror movies . i guess not going would mean a rather dull marriage.
2ton: thank you ! i'm glad you liked it.
odinbc: thanks, i'm glad you liked it!
photo comix: thank you ! glad you liked the story too, you know i always enjoy yours.
k1tesseraena: wow, the best one you've seen here?! that's amazing - it can't be all that good! thank you so much, brother ! i don't remember exactly when i started it, but it took a lot longer than my work usually does. i kept making little mistakes that i had to go back and correct just as i thought it was finished.

AnMal, love it , Good enough for another compliment, Well done !

That is very beautiful AnMal. The depth is the first thing I noticed. I also like the way you worked all those girls into the forest behind her, almost like they are looking out for her. KUDO's

Wonderful work AnMal, Liked the story and love the manipulation. Thanks for sharing the original photo.

wbool63: yay ! thank you so much for the comment!
molly: thank you very much, molly ! i like your interpretation of the ghostie girls - that they are looking out for her.
he4rty: thank you ! i'm glad you liked it - i thought the general composition of it was rather good, but i wasn't at all sure it would be seen as a good photo manipulation.