"After escaping from Isten's control," Hiram said, continuing his story, "we spent the next year on the run. Quick thinking fueled by desperation helped us evade him. We became quite good at it, managing to stay invisible to the wider world and rescue some of our own whenever Isten found them. We weren't able to save everyone. Some who were captured early on are still missing."

Elsa and all who were present for Hiram's tales the day before were gathered once again that evening. Kristoff however, was meeting with a messenger from the ice harvester families and would join them soon. One of the things Elsa noticed was that Hiram was dressed in attire different than what he wore in the morning. He now looked similar to the version she and Anna saw when they accidently entered his mind with Grand Pabbie. The only difference was that this 'uniform' was simpler compared to the formal attire. Probably this one's more suited for travel, she thought.

"After a year, some of us began to have second thoughts about our decision to rebel against Isten. Matej was the most vocal of the faction. He regretted losing his position as one of Isten's lieutenants. What I didn't know was that he had been secretly communicating with our former master for some time, planning to turn us over to him in exchange for his reinstatement." Hiram looked down for a moment. Elsa could almost feel the sorrow coming from him. "He and the others who followed him ensured that we would be scattered and vulnerable. When Isten made his move, he successfully recaptured almost half of us, including Tor and Shako."

"How many?" Elsa asked

"Around thirty."

"There are sixty of you?" Anna asked.

"Actually more since some children have been born over the years," Hiram said. "Some of the people we helped decided to join us as well, so counting them and those who are still prisoners of Isten, we now number seventy-nine. Over the next several months, we were able to free seven of them before the children and I were frozen. Twelve are still missing."

"What happened-" Elsa was interrupted by a knock on the door. Kristoff came in and sat down without greeting anyone except nodding at Elsa and Anna. He appeared concerned about something, but Elsa decided to ask him about it later. Hiram gave him a nod in greeting, then waited for her to finish her question. Elsa just shook her head.

"We were still reeling from our loss when we received word from one of our scouts that Isten kidnapped another wielder. She was identified when they came to her home and found out that she was copying their powers."

"That would be Nadine, wouldn't it?" Anna asked.

"Yes it was," Hiram said. "She was around four years old when Isten stole her from her family. Like Shako, most of my people, your grandparents and I, we never discovered who her real family was.

"We managed to sneak her out, but because of the chaotic nature of her abilities and that she had virtually no control over them, we couldn't leave the country."

"But her powers are so cool," Olaf protested.

"Yes they are, Olaf," Hiram said with a smile. "But understand that before Nadine met other wielders, she and her family never knew she had powers because there was no one for her to copy. We had to spend a great deal of time helping her, but teaching a four year old self-control as a bunch of strangers was very difficult." Olaf nodded in understanding.

"Isten was desperate to retrieve the three wielders who had escaped his grasp. He knew that we weren't very far away and went to the local lord to enlist his help. Unfortunately, the lord didn't know the damage Isten could do and wrote him off as a lunatic and had him arrested. Isten apparently played along with this and told him that if he didn't cooperate a famine would come upon his land."

"He can do that?" Anna asked. Elsa wondered if the other two wielders Isten controlled had something to do with it.

"Not directly," Hiram explained. "Harriet can control the wind and Matej is a master of fire. They started by gradually raising the temperature and changing wind patterns so that no rain could reach the lord's people. After almost two months, food and water started to run out and the lord was becoming desperate. He released Isten, who agreed to stop the famine in return for the lord's assistance. They gathered up all the able bodied men left and began a search of the land."

"We were starting to make progress in helping Nadine, thanks in large part to Shako, when they found us. Isten immediately ordered Matej and Harriet to attack. During the battle, the terrified lord and his people fled, but not before Isten warned him against telling anyone what he saw and manipulated the memories of his subjects. We managed to escape Isten, but the land was virtually destroyed."

Kristoff leaned forward. "How did Matej and Harriet change the environment of this lord's land?"

"I wasn't there so I have only the stories of the locals to give and they may have embellished it for the sake of the dramatic." Hiram paused a moment. "Some noticed that wind currents began to shift over a period of three days until it was blowing in the opposite direction. Such a phenomenon was highly irregular, but when you take into account the sharp rise in temperature it became alarming. This was just weeks before cold weather was to set in, so any change could kill plant and animal life that were hibernating and would use up stored energy." He stopped suddenly and gave Kristoff a long look.

Elsa also noticed that Kristoff seemed very disturbed by what Hiram was saying. It was like he suspected something was wrong and listening to Hiram was confirming his fears. Then she realized that something deep inside didn't feel right.

"What is it, Kristoff?" Anna asked.

Elsa closed her eyes and reached out with her powers to the world outside. Her eyes opened in alarm when she discovered that the air currents surrounding the castle didn't flow as they normally would. Hiram stood and walked to one of the windows. He opened it and leaned out. After a few seconds he turned back to Elsa and the others.

"That might be them," Hiram said. He looked at Kristoff. "What happened?"

"Almost just like you said," Kristoff explained. "The messenger I talked with today said that some of the elders noticed that the winds and temperature were changing in ways that were not natural. They said their elders have never seen anything like it. It wasn't severe, but I was told that it had been increasing for at least two days when he left."

"I will need to see a record of weather patterns in Arendell," Hiram stepped on the sill and leaned out. "Tor, how long did it take for the weather to get really bad back then?"

Tor tapped his chin. "Probably about two weeks."

"We have some time then," Hiram said, returning to his chair.

-]=-{}-=[-

"Finding and rescuing Nadine was the last major event we experienced before ending up in the cave," Hiram said, continuing his story. Anna saw him cast a quick glance toward the window. "Even though there were setbacks and kidnappings, we managed to do well for ourselves and even settled a few families into permanent homes in countries where they could be safe. Two families are in Corona actually. We also have spies and scouts constantly on the lookout for information regarding other wielders and Isten's plans."

"Why do you have spies in so many countries?" Kai asked.

"It's for the same reasons that Isten maintains an extensive intelligence network. If an individual is found that possesses powers or any other kind of ability, we try to find and hide him or her first before Isten gets to them." Hiram cast a glance at Elsa. "If the nation we have people in is ruled by a kind lord or king, then we use whatever knowledge we have to keep them safe from Isten should the need ever arise. If they are not, we wait for a time when we can use our skills to help others escape the ruler's tyranny."

"Is that everything except for the vaults?" Elsa asked.

"I think so, Queen Elsa." Hiram stood again and walked to the window.

"Finally," Anna said. "Now we can learn more about that cursed thing."

"Well, Princess Anna," Tor said when Hiram didn't answer after a few seconds, "you will be glad to know that their history is rather straightforward." He asked a guard to bring the destroyed ice vault in. While they waited, Anna looked at Hiram, who seemed to be trying to determine Isten's plans just by looking out the window.

The vault was placed on the table for all to see. Anna saw that it held Elsa's focus as if it reminded her of the power it once possessed. Her sister seemed to snap out of it when Tor started talking again.

"Vaults are what we call objects that contain a portion of their creator's power. They can range in size from a child's toy to a suit of armor. The most powerful could generate a twentieth of the wielder's abilities. Isten believed that your ancestors created hundreds of these devices to augment or enhance their abilities. Most were, thankfully, destroyed when they started isolating themselves from the world. Isten was able to locate one or two that survived however, and eventually learned how to make his own."

"Elsa," Anna said excitedly. "That means you can make some and give them to the guards. Isten won't stand a chance!"

"Sorry, Princess Anna," Hiram said turning back from the window. "It would take almost a year of constant work to make one and even then a wielder has to be experienced at it. I'm afraid that Isten had his two protégées study the art of vault making as soon as he was confident they had the power to make their own."

"I hoped I would never have to come across another vault again," Elsa said sadly. "It felt unnatural, like a skilled copy of a living plant. No matter how great the artist, a person can still tell it's not real."

"And we fear that Isten may have found more since losing the ice vault three years ago," Hiram added.

"A person like that is not trustworthy," Captain Jokkon said in disgust. "He will lie and make false promises to keep you doing as he says, my queen."

"That's not true, actually," Hiram said. Anna was curious that Hiram would defend that man's integrity. "He has never gone back on any promise he made. Even though it has become twisted, his sense of honor is still strong. That makes him even more dangerous." He looked at her. "That's all we know, Queen Elsa. I understand that it was probably not as thorough as you would have liked, but at least it sheds some light on your family's past." Anna saw that Hiram was right. Elsa seemed to relax slightly, as if a burden had lifted from her shoulders.

"I am glad that we are all on the same page now," Elsa said, standing up to signify the end of the meeting. "We'll talk more about the weather disturbances in the morning. Goodnight everyone."

Anna hoped that her gut was wrong and that Kristoff's news was nothing more serious than a mountain storm.