Chapter Twenty Five

Secrets of the Snow Queen

TALYA

"So how exactly does this work? Our first lesson?" Talya fidgeted, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet. She could hardly contain her excitement, for she had been waiting for this moment her whole life. The previous night seemed to last an eternity, and Talya had been tossing and turning in a guest bed, trying to come to grasps with the fact that at long last, she had not only found the Snow Queen, but had convinced her to train her in the ways of sorcery.

Morning could not have come soon enough, but when it was finally time, Talya was ready and waiting for Elsa in a part of the sanctuary which resembled a temple. It was beautiful, and if she were to guess, Elsa had been the one to build this entire fortress by herself. It could only be intricate skill, creativity, willpower and unrivalled sorcery that could pull such a feat off. Talya only wished that Val and Peggy were here to see it, but alas they weren't. The duo were probably still asleep in their own guest rooms, and would come along to join them later.

"Your first lesson," Elsa said. "Is to learn how to control your sorcery."

"Alright," Talya responded almost immediately and in retrospect, a little too enthusiastically. "So how do I do that?"

"First of all, sit down."

Talya obeyed like an excited child, taking a seat on the ground made out of ice. "Okay, what next?"

"Close your eyes."

Talya shut her eyes. "And then?" She heard Elsa's feet pacing slowly around her and chanced open an eye.

"I said close your eyes."

Obediently, she shut her eye again.

"I want you to recall something." Elsa said.

"Okay?"

"Think about all the times your sorcery got out of control. Times when you couldn't seem to get a grip on your powers no matter how hard you tried. Times when they were unleashed like a wild beast that couldn't be tamed."

"Wow." Talya thought back across the years, memories spanning all the way back to her childhood. There were so many times her powers had spiralled out of control. As a child, her parents would often stand by helplessly as her sorcery was unleashed like an untamed animal. It went on like this throughout her life, all the way till adulthood, and even most recently on her quest to find Elsa. "There's so many times."

"Now, I want you to think deeper." Elsa said. "When your powers got out of control, what was the reason? What was the catalyst?"

Talya shut her eyes tighter and frowned as if it would help her to concentrate better. She tried to draw a logical connection. What was the common thing that drew out her abilities? What was this catalyst Elsa spoke of?

"I…I don't know."

"Focus and think."

"I'm trying, but I really can't think of anything."

"Well, try harder." The rebuke was harsh.

"That's not really helping."

Elsa's tone grew unkind. "Disappointing. You came all the way out here, and you're telling me you aren't even going to try putting in the effort? If you can't even be bothered to try, how do you expect to learn anything?"

Talya felt anger and indignation swell within her. "I said I don't know!" Immediately, she felt as if the sorcery within her had stirred, and before she could react, ice gushed out of her hand, forming an irregular shape of ice on the ground a few feet from her. She opened her eyes.

"There," Elsa said. "Right before your sorcery got out of control. What did you feel?"

Talya saw it. "Anger."

"Good." Elsa smiled. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Wait," Talya began to connect the dots, seeing the link between all the times she'd been unable to control her sorcery. It was beginning to become very clear to her now. "You're telling me that whenever I get angry, scared, or upset in general, my negative emotions act as a catalyst that stirs my sorcery?"

"I didn't tell you anything," Elsa said enigmatically. "You figured it out yourself. And that, is your first lesson. To find out what triggers your powers. I had to learn the hard way, when there was no one to teach me."

"I read about it in Anna's autobiography. Your powers went haywire at your coronation, exposing your magic to the world."

"And in the process, I froze the entire kingdom, put Arendelle in grave danger and almost killed my sister by accident." Elsa added. "In short, I had to learn for myself how to control my abilities. And that's what I've been doing for every sorcerer who has been a recruit of the League of Sorcerers. I'm not here to spoon-feed you the ways of how to become a powerful, experienced sorceress. I'm just here to push you in the right direction."

Awestruck, Talya looked at Elsa. She sounded like she really knew what she was doing, having trained probably hundreds of sorcerers in her long lifetime. Talya had always respected the Snow Queen, but her admiration for her new mentor had just gone to a whole new level.

"Stop daydreaming," Elsa said sharply. "You've got a long way to go if you want to fight this General Bjorn and beat him. Learning how to master your powers is one thing. Coming up against a Blood Mage is a whole different story."

"You sound like you've fought Blood Mages before."

"Yes, and worse. Demon assassins." Elsa's face was unflinching.

"Woah. Cool."

"It cost a dear friend his life." A flicker of emotion flashed across Elsa's face before she quickly masked it in severity again.

"Oh." Talya's voice fell. "Sorry. Anyone I would know from history?"

Elsa's face was a hard mask, though Talya thought she saw her eyes sparkle with unshed tears before she blinked.

"Alright. I guess not." Talya said quietly.

"So when I say fighting a rogue sorcerer is dangerous, I expect you to treat your training seriously." Elsa regarded Talya with cold eyes. "There's no room for mistakes out there. Your enemies aren't going to give you a second chance." The weathered sorceress averted her eyes. "I've seen too many good people fall."

"Is that why you stopped training sorcerers for the League?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Well for starters, all the rooms in your sanctuary are empty. I've been looking around."

"You're a nosy one."

"But why?" Talya probed further. "Why stop training people for the League? There are probably many more like me out there who need guidance, who need someone to teach them how to control their powers to navigate this life."

"Because like I said, I've lost too many." Elsa began to pace away from Talya. "Follow me."

Talya began to follow at Elsa's heels like a curious child. "Where are we going?"

Elsa did not respond, but instead led her out of the training hall and into a deeper part of the sanctuary. This part, Talya had not seen before. It was a tunnel made out of pure ice which seemed to slope downwards beneath sea level. The walls were ridged and hardened like real rocks in catacombs, and the ground began to get steeper as Elsa took her deeper into the tunnel.

"Watch your step here." Elsa instructed.

Talya slowed her footing, still doing her best to keep up with her mentor who walked like she knew the ins and outs of this place all too well. After all, Elsa had probably lived here for the better part of two centuries. Talya bit back a small gasp as they debouched from the tunnel to stand at the edge of a large cliff.

She glanced down. It was an endless ravine, where there was nothing but yawning darkness underneath. Something flip-flopped in her stomach, and for a moment, she could empathise with how Val felt about heights. Frankly, this is frightening. Looking up, she saw another cliff opposite the one they were currently standing on. It was at a slightly lower elevation, and its wall was open as a tunnel to another part of the sanctuary.

"Where are we going?" Talya asked again.

Again, Elsa did not respond, but gently lifted her wrist. A bridge of solid ice formed across the ravine within seconds, and Elsa began to walk across it. Hesitantly, Talya applied her weight on one foot, stepping onto the ice cautiously. It held her weight. More confident, she took another step, then another, trying to pick up her pace to catch up with Elsa who had already reached the other side.

The Snow Queen waited for her without a word, and when she saw that Talya had crossed over safely, she dismantled the bridge with the wave of her wrist and ventured deeper into the sanctuary. Bewildered, Talya followed quietly. By now she knew that the Snow Queen was a woman of few words, and wouldn't stand for any of Talya's bubbly nature or friendliness. She didn't know why, but she supposed it was just Elsa's stern nature that had formed over the years. The autobiographies never mentioned Elsa being a strict, hard or cold woman, so it was probably only after the death of Queen Anna that Elsa had retreated into herself. At least, that's what Talya had surmised.

The duo emerged from the second tunnel into a long hall, with thick pillars of ice lining the sides like architecture of a grand palace. This room was beautifully decorated though dimly lit by glows of blue and purple energy running through the walls and pillars of ice. It gave the entire place a supernatural vibe, more so than the rest of the sanctuary anyway. Eyes surveying her surroundings, a wonderstruck Talya continued to follow Elsa who took her to the end of the long hall. A large slab of smooth, round ice stood between the hall and another room.

With the clench of her fist, Elsa caused the slab of ice to crack and crumble into tiny fragments which fell to the ground. She walked through the round gap in the wall, and Talya entered behind her cautiously. This room was even more magnificent than the last, dazzling white and so bright that Talya had to squint her eyes to adjust to the majestic nature of her new surroundings.

This room was larger than any Talya had ever seen before in the sanctuary. It was more of an enormous cavern with a ceiling so high that Talya couldn't tell where it ended. As for the cavern itself, it was very wide, the walls of ice curved and rounded so that the entire cavern was shaped like a huge circle. And on the icy ground were hundreds of ice sculptures, intricately formed and carved to perfection.

"What-what's all this?" Talya finally asked, her voice escaping in hushed wonder.

"You asked me why I stopped training sorcerers." Elsa finally said, clasping her hands behind her back.

"What are these?"

"Memories, frozen in time." Elsa explained. "These are all people from my life. People who'd been there during my best moments, as well as my worst. Every memory is documented here in the deepest parts of Ahtohallan, locked away in the recesses of my mind, only to be accessed by myself."

"But why show it to me?"

"Because I want you to understand something." Elsa turned and gestured for Talya to follow her.

Talya followed her through the countless sculptures, and as she went by, she eyeballed them. Some were young men and women, dressed in military uniforms and Northuldra gákti and engaged in battle with an unseen enemy. Others were nobles and dignitaries. And of course, there were hundreds of other different sculptures and memories, all of varying emotions and natures.

"Here," Elsa stopped.

Talya looked at a group of sculptures that Elsa had brought her to. They displayed the faces of teenagers and young adults, all striking a combat stance, appearing to be in the heart of battle.

"These were your students?" Talya asked.

"They were."

"What happened to them?"

"They're all gone."

"What do you mean?"

"After my sister died, I kept my promise to her. I trained young men and women who had supernatural gifts here in this sanctuary. The sorcerers I trained eventually returned to the outside world. They went on to become heroes in their own right, using their sorcery to fight against injustice, just as I did in my prime so many years ago. But others-" Elsa shook her head forlornly.

"Others? What happened?"

"You asked me if I trained Blood Mages before." Elsa averted her eyes. "I did."

"What?"

"This was a very long time ago, long before Exonian democracy. They were brought to me when they were barely teenagers. I thought I could train them while they were still kids, turn them from the ways of evil. But I was deluded," Elsa looked grim, and even a little angry. "One day the Blood Mages slaughtered their way through the rest of the sorcerers up in the sanctuary. The others stood no chance against the combined sorcery of the Blood Mages. But I intervened too late. By the time I arrived, my students were already dead."

"And did you manage to stop the Blood Mages?"

"I fought them to a standstill, but it took a toll on my body. They turned my own training and teachings against me, forced me to use every ounce of my strength and sorcery to stop them. I had no choice but to kill them. My own students. The very children who had once trusted me."

There was a long, drawn out silence before Elsa finally spoke again.

"Do you see now?" Elsa looked up at Talya. "Do you see why I never wanted to train another young sorcerer? I put the power to kill and hurt into the hands of people with so much potential, and they turned that power into pure evil." Her face was hardened now. "I lost everyone that day."

Talya wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. She felt a pang of sympathy for Elsa. What had happened was so wrong, but it did not mean that every sorcerer would turn evil. But she didn't know how to tell her that.

"Come," Elsa turned on her heel and walked deeper into the cavern. "I want to show you something else."