Where Magic Flows
M. Lauren
Part Three: Of the Earth
"The likelihood that this illness is airborne grows less plausible each day."
"Then what other explanations do we have left? We have more patients coming through that door than we have walking out."
A week had passed since Arendelle's first two cases of the mysterious illness. Another six had since followed. In each instance, a child was brought into the clinic with, what appeared to be, flu-like symptoms. They came in for care; for stomach pain and nausea. Yet, not a single one had left on their feet.
Anna's station at Doctor Laugen's side had become a frequent occurrence. As Queen of Arendelle, she saw it in her responsibility to support each and every family that came through the doors. More than that, she felt it was her job to get to the bottom of it; to find a cure, a culprit. Or to risk falling gravely ill, herself.
"We have exhausted our efforts, your majesty." Doctor Laugen replied. "Airborne pathogens would leave whole families susceptible. Even our weakest and eldest population would not have the power to withstand this disease. No. Whatever is causing this, it is environmental. It is in our food; our water, perhaps. It is destroying our youngest from the inside out."
"Our food?" Anna frowned. "What you are describing sounds intentional. Are you saying you believe someone in Arendelle to be responsible for all of this?"
The doctor shrugged. "Perhaps not." He sighed. "What we are dealing with could be as simple as a bad fish supply, or as complicated as infected waters. I have read of something like this taking its toll on big cities in Southern Europe. If one waterway is contaminated, there can be serious repercussions."
Dragging a hand over her face, Anna shook her head. "I cannot tell our people to avoid the markets without just-proof. I need more than that! The little we do know has already caused a panic. It is not fair to the families to keep them on edge like this."
Doctor Laugen turned his face towards the door. Outside of his office, there were more than a dozen patients and their parents; each one of them awaiting answers as desperately as Queen Anna. She was asking the doctor for too much, and Anna knew it.
"Just, please. So what you can." She pleaded, and Anna stepped toward the exit.
Briefly, she froze. Her fingers suspended over the door handle. Anna spun back toward the doctor and bit her lip.
Her hand came to rest lightly against Laugen's shoulder. "Thank you for what you are doing here." Anna offered him a small grin. "I know you are doing the best you can, and I appreciate all your efforts."
Doctor Laugen nodded, and Anna pulled away. She left his office with her chin high. Her eyes held straight ahead. She, once again, avoided the stares of patients, and dodged each hopeful glance. Right now, she had nothing for them, and she worried she would fail them as their new queen.
Kristoff awaited her outside the clinic. Sven stood calmly at his side. They both looked up, impatient, and stepped forward as Anna came out the exit.
"Any changes?" Kristoff asked. Sven chuffed with his nose against Anna's hand.
She gave him a quick pat. "No, I am afraid not."
She sighed, and her husband took her under his arm.
He slowly began leading them back towards the castle. "It might be time we bring Elsa down from the North…"
Anna nodded, sighing at the thought. "Unfortunately, I was thinking the same thing. Afterall, only Ahtohallan knows."
"Cinnabar?" Elsa frowned. "I have never heard of it before."
With her brows pinched, she came to her knees. Elsa leaned in close, holding the lantern over head. She examined the red powder under the glass, and released a small sigh.
"It is a Spanish ore used for paints and glazes." Elder, Brandr, explained. "You may touch it, if you wish. It is harmless."
The powered appeared fine, yet held a coarseness under her fingertip. Cinnabar was moist to the touch. It was as if it had soaked up water from the river, and had yet to dry out.
"Strange…" Elsa mused. She returned to her feet and stepped back. "Spain, you say? How did it come to find us here?"
Brandr turned to Hilf, his eldest son and aspiring scholar. "I am afraid, that, we do not know."
"However, with the forest no longer hidden by the mist, there may be travelers from other parts of the world that have come to find these lands."
It was Yelena who spoke next. The four had gathered at her goahti to discuss the elders' findings. They deemed it best to keep any information about the disturbances to themselves until they had something more concrete to tell the people. For now, life in Northuldra had returned to normal. The giants had settled, and no further markings had been found throughout their lands.
"Foreign ores, such as this one, are also used in spiritual practices in the communities to our east. People will pay good money to export European ores for use in their sacred ceremonies, and other rituals." Hilf explained.
As Elsa had come to learn, most of their history had been passed down through Northuldra generations. All their knowledge spanned across many years, and even more people. It was quite similar to how libraries were compiled back in Arendelle. However, the Northuldra had a forty year gap in which no new information was established. Elsa dared not to call it a deficit, but much had changed in the world since the mist drifted in. If this powder and the symbols were not traditional to the forest, there was a great likelihood they were dealing with something, or someone, foreign to these lands.
"What information do we have on these rituals?" Elsa asked.
Hilf came forward with a hand-rendered scripture. "We lack specifics." He sighed. "I am afraid most of these practices belong to new-age religions, meaning their beliefs are ever-changing. As with the Northuldra, we rely on nature to form and guide our communal instincts. We yield our spiritual essence from the properties of magic found in our lands. However, with the dawn of a new-age, there are people out there who seek to profit from the creation of magic."
"The creation of magic?" Elsa huffed. "Well, that is not much to go by. I have never heard of anyone having the ability to conjure magic before."
"-and it may not even be possible." Yelena stepped in. "Though, that will not stop people from trying."
Elsa turned the parchment towards her. Hlif had compiled the drawings he'd found along the river. They reminded Elsa of the engravings she had found on the headstones at the entrance to the Enchanted Forest, and of the same ones found on her mother's shall. They were more complicated than that, however. Where lines crossed and new scriptures started; these drawings resembled that of a puzzle more likely.
"And what of the symbols? Am I to assume they belong to these new practices as well?"
Shrugging, Hilf directed a hand behind his neck. "There is no way for us to know. As Yelena has said, we are exposed to the outside world now. Anyone, with any belief, could wander in here."
"But undetected?" Elsa shook her head. "That cannot be! I trust the spirits to show me the truth; to guide me towards that which does not belong here."
"Perhaps they do not know, themselves." Yelena cut in. "For as long as we have been isolated, so have they."
Silence filled the small hut as Elsa mulled over her thoughts. So much here, was unknown. Modern science would fall victim to the same dead-ends. Not even the Northulda and their records could explain. Yet, one question still weighed heaviest.
"The earth giants." Elsa's brow pulled low, and her eyes caught in the light of the dim lantern. "Those markings and this powder; could they not be what caused the giants to rebel?"
With a steady breath, Yelena came to sit at Elsa's side. "My dear, I have lived alongside the spirits for a near half of my life. I have both loved and feared them. From this, I have learned that nothing in nature is certain. Things are not always as they appear. However, if there is one aspect of these lands that I know I can trust, it is that the forest is ever-learning. If there is something here for which does not belong, we shall know soon enough."
Her hand came to rest on top of Elsa's. "Only Ahtohallan knows."
A tiny grin teased at Elsa's cheeks. "I believe I have somewhere I need to be, then."
"It would appear so." Yelena squeezed Elsa's fingers before removing her hand. "Now go, dear child. Be one with the wind and sky."
Elsa nodded. Feeling full, her confidence soared as she said her goodbyes and gave her thanks. She left the goahti with heightened spirits, yet made it no more than four feet before she was stopped once again- this time, with much more force.
Honeymaren had appeared out of nowhere. Her hand corded around Elsa's forearm, and she dragged her between two huts. There, they were hidden from the villagers gathered in the clearing. As an added measure, Honeymaren tucked Elsa's back into the trunk of a tree; where no one would be witness to their seemingly secret meeting.
"What, um. What are you doing?" Elsa balked. Her eyes held wide in confusion.
Honeymaren's hand came to cover Elsa's mouth and she glared. SHe was standing right on top of her, their torsos a mere inch apart.
"Shh," She pleaded. "Listen to me. There is something you must see!"
"See what?" Her words muffled against the palm pressed to her lips. Honeymaren released her, and she tried again. "See what? What is going on?"
Honeymaren responded by dragging Elsa closer to the treelines, and away from the busy village. Once hidden in the forest, she turned to Elsa once more.
"What did the elders say?" Honeymaren asked. "Everyone is anxious, and Yelena will not tell them anything. But they know something; they must!" She shook her head clear. "That is not important right now. Anyway, please hurry! You have to come with me."
Elsa tried to shrug from her hold, but Honeymaren's grasp persisted.
Irritated, her voice rose sharply. "The elders know nothing! They have nothing to say. I am heading to Ahtohallan to find the truth. If the village must know something, tell them we are doing the best we can."
As Elsa tried to move past her, Honeymaren tugged back. "You have been to Ahtohallan already! There were no answers for you there."
Elsa rolled her eyes. "It is not a telegram. I cannot make the truth appear for me by simply pushing buttons and asking."
She stifled a growl. Honeymaren's eyes burned with annoyance, and Elsa had never seen her in quite this way; a mix of impassioned and enraged.
"Listen to me." She begged. Her tense whisper wavered at Elsa's ears. "You must come with me now, please. There is something you should see, but we cannot yet tell the elders."
Elsa wanted to argue. She wanted to tell Honeymaren that there were more important things she had to do; things in which would better serve the forest. Yet, Elsa could not bring herself to do so. She had come to trust Honeymaren; her unique instincts and beliefs. Elsa believed Honeymaren to be a new sort of family for her; her family outside of Arendelle. And by tell of the desperate look on Honeymaren's face, Elsa knew she should give in.
"Alright." She finally nodded. "You may show me."
Honeymaren released an appreciative sigh. "Great!" She cheered. "Now, come with me!"
Elsa yelped as she was forcefully directed down the hill. Honeymaren had her running, Elsa's arm still laced between her fingers.
Elsa stumbled as she raced to keep up. "Fifth spirit or not, I am still mortal. Ease up on the arm, could you?"
However, Honeymaren did not listen. She sprinted between trees and over rocks, leaving Elsa scrambling behind her.
"This way!" She encouraged her. Honeymaren pulled them into a hard left.
Elsa decided to keep her discomfort to herself. Seeing her friend near-panic, Elsa now sensed the urgency in Honeymaren's actions. She began following as close to her heels as she could manage, and had a hard lock on all her other comments.
It was only a few more feet before they came to a drastic stop. Elsa skidded against the dirt, catching herself against a tree. She winced. Her hands scratched at the bark, and missing the opportunity to complain; Elsa was spun the other way.
Ryder was there now. Elsa had to blink to clear her vision, but there he was, looking as cheery as ever.
"Are we going?" He asked from a top his reindeer, Dahl.
Honeymaren ignored him. "Get on." She instructed.
Elsa blinked and her eyes enlarged. "I beg your pardon?"
"Stop being stubborn!" Honeymaren's hands snatched at Elsa's waist.
She hoisted her onto the back of the reindeer and slid in behind her.
"Are we good to go?" Ryder asked.
Elsa's protests were drowned out by Honeymaren's reply. The deer had lurched forward. The three squeezed together, and suddenly, they were off.
Glaring, Elsa turned her head over her shoulder. "Yesterday, you asked if I felt at home here. Well, now I can confidently say, no one at home has ever dragged me down a hill and threw me on the back of a reindeer before!"
Honeymaren mimicked her stare. "It is not my fault you are always so stubborn!"
"Ladies! Ladies!" Ryder called overhead. "There is no need for hostilities!"
Both women grumbled in response.
Elsa crossed her arms. "Can you at least tell me where we are going?" She demanded.
"You shall see soon enough." Honeymaren replied.
However, soon enough did not come as quickly as Elsa would have liked. They were riding the length of the valley, North. Even with the reindeer exhausting all four legs, Elsa could have gone faster by Nokk. That thought was moot now. She was fashioned between the two siblings in the middle of the forest. It was mid-day, and the summer sun was hot, yet all three were kept cool by the wind coming in from off the Dark Sea.
Long minutes passed by. How many minutes, was entirely unknown. The deer continued at full speed until they reached the peak of a great rock ledge. From there, the ground continued to roll downward, leading them back toward the river.
Dahl slowed at the hilt of the falls, and Honeymaren leapt from his back.
She spun to Elsa with hands on her hips. "Well?" She sang.
Elsa's head tilt as she frowned. "Well, what?" She stepped onto the ground.
Elsa approached Honeymaren slowly, and assessed their surroundings with a calm and wandering gaze. Everything appeared normal. It was quiet. There were no strange markings, nor powder found on the ground. Yet, Honeymaren continued to stare at Elsa as if she were missing something obvious.
"I don't understand. What am I not seeing here?" She asked. Her face stayed intentionally blank.
"Yes!" Honeymaren cheered. She jumped into the air. Taking Elsa's shoulders between her hands, Honeymaren shook her erratically. "That is exactly it! What are you not seeing?"
Ryder was suddenly at Elsa's back. His finger pointed out over her head. "About that tall…" He explained. "-big… some might say, giant… made of rock…"
"The earth giants?" Elsa dryly guessed. Her arms crossed defiantly.
"Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!" He beamed.
Shaking her head, Elsa pulled from the pair. "What about them?"
"What about them!" Honeymaren scoffed. "Oh, I don't know. Ryder, do you see a thirty foot tall earth giant anywhere?"
He shook his head and hummed. "You know, Mare, I do not!"
"Down by the shore?" She continued.
"Nope."
"How about, in the meadow?"
"Nope again!"
Honeymaren turned to Elsa sharply. "Are you catching on yet?"
Elsa had turned silent as she walked to the face of the cliff. Her eyes scanned the low riverbanks. They pulled high to the tops of the Scots Pine. Finally, she turned.
"Gone?" She gasped. "As in, they have disappeared?"
Honeymaren stepped forward with her eyes circling playfully. "Well, let's not go that far."
"I tracked them out to the eastern border." Ryder explained.
Elsa's brows drew low. She shook her head. "The eastern border? But that's the end of the forest; the end of Northuldra territory…"
"Finally!" Honeymaren sighed. "You have finally caught on to our dilemma."
Though teasing, Elsa knew Honeymaren was worried. She could make sense of the fear held behind her dark brown eyes.
The earth giants were leaving the forest, and not one of them knew what could happen in consequence.
-M.