Heritage
Arendelle Manor
Sixteen Years Ago
Hello, reader.
Before I begin, I feel that there are a few things I should first mention. This is my first time writing a fic, and I have spent the past few months working on it. For a long time I was a reader, and the one thing that always irked me was reaching the end of one only to find that it was unfinished.
So, from the very beginning I set out to create a story that had a definitive ending, and in that purpose I believe I was successful. I would not be sharing it now if it wasn't complete. As of writing this note, this story is largely finished from beginning to middle to end. Barring some necessary editing and finishing touches, the complete work should be uploaded within a matter of days.
The Lost Legend is largely inspired by some other series of a similar genre. The Uncharted and Tomb Raider games, as well as the Indiana Jones films provided much inspiration, and I borrow heavily from them. As such, I can make no claim of complete originality, as some scenes and sequences are lifted directly from those series.
As for the issue of Arthurian lore, I am by no definition of the word an expert on the matter. I read several Wikipedia articles, perused a few websites, and watched a few videos, and the main takeaway that I learned is that Arthurian lore in general is a mishmash of different stories. I play it pretty fast and loose, picking and choosing different tidbits that I worked together into this story.
It is not meant to be 100% accurate, especially given the fact that it remains inconclusive whether or not King Arthur actually existed. In any case, I thought it was fine since Arthurian lore is itself a fanfiction in the sense that it is an amalgamation of different stories told by different authors.
With all that out of the way, I hope you enjoy The Lost Legend.
For the most part, life had certainly been easy for Elsa and Anna Kaldborg; if somewhat unorthodox or even strange. Arendelle Manor was situated in the countryside outside of Oslo, sitting near the border of Sweden. Occupying several acres of land, the manor sat on a hill that overlooked a sea of dense evergreen forest which stretched on in all directions.
The manor itself was not modest by any means, and featured high walls topped by battlements and sloping roofs as well as several towers that were adorned with crenellations and stained glass windows. However, the structure was not composed alone of features from antiquity but also sported some modern retrofits such as tall plate glass windows that let in as much sunlight as possible. Beyond the exterior of the manor lay stables and a paddock, which under previous generations saw much usage. Aside from the stables, a small greenhouse situated next to a pond were all of the exterior features of Arendelle Manor. A large white willow tree stood dozens of meters high just next to the pond, whose branches stretched over and enshrouded it within its shadow.
Indeed, life at Arendelle Manor was comfortable for Elsa and Anna who had nearly everything they could ever ask for; save perhaps parents who stuck around for longer than a few weeks at time.
The Kaldborg family was one of quite some renown, having made their fortune and reputation throughout their history from exploration, treasure hunting, and fortune seeking. It was Angvald Kaldborg, who settled the land of Arendelle Manor in 1851 and was among the few explorers of his time to chart the Arctic circle. Ever since then, the Kaldborgs have made their name by taking daring risks and exploring parts of the world that few, or none, have ever stepped foot. Furthermore, it has been theorized by certain ancestors of the Kaldborgs that their bloodline was descended from the first Vikings who emerged from Scandinavia, thus adding further credence to their inherent sense of wanderlust.
True enough, each generation of the Kaldborgs was remarkable in their own right; having discovered ancient secrets long thought to be either lost to history or the stuff of myth. Agnar Kaldborg and his wife Idunn Schneider were no exception. The two had met at an archaeological dig of a newly discovered Aztec ruin in South America, and since then the two have shared an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and adventure.
Often for weeks or months at a time, Agnar and Idunn were seldom home as their work necessitated long travels to the far reaches of the globe. Whether it was attending excavations and dig sites of lost cities, delving into ancient ruins and piecing together puzzles of the past, an inherent sense of danger was attached to their line of work. Throughout their journeys, the young couple had survived their fair share of scrapes. For all of the danger however, Agnar and Idunn enjoyed the thrill. To them, no treasure was too far out of reach and no secret was too difficult to unravel.
The history of the ancient world was riddled with myths and legends of civilizations lost to time and mysteries that remain unsolved. Agnar had always believed that each story contained some kernel of truth, no matter how far fetched or impossible it may seem. Indeed, he and Idunn shared this belief, and being avid collectors that they were, Arendelle Manor was filled with proof of the most outlandish variety. If there were any singular fantastical part of history that drove their passions, it was the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the round table. In particular, the couple was fixated on the Arthurian legend of the holy grail and they believed that it truly existed. Even though they had been accredited with a myriad of historical discoveries, the location of the grail proved to be the most elusive yet. Accurate accounts of the grail are difficult to identify, and further still, they often conflicted with one another, placing the grail in many different places throughout many different times. Vexing though it was to pursue what was too many an impossible fantasy, Agnar and Idunn never stopped believing that the grail was real, and that they would one day find it.
Their obsession with Arthurian lore and medieval history was impressed upon their children. Elsa and Anna loved the stories of King Arthur's exploits and his knights of the round table the most. Tales of dashing knights in shining armor, chivalry and nobility, wizards and magic left a strong impression on their two daughters.
They were not the only ones who believed in the myth of King Arthur however. Henrik Weaselton was a bitter rival of Agnar during their time at the University of Oslo. What had begun as a professional competition soon devolved into a petty squabble which continued long into their adult lives. Initially it had started as a struggle to secure funding for this or that project, but when Agnar turned in a cache of ancient Nordic coins to the faculty of history at the university, he secured a great cultural achievement for Norway and Weaselton became incensed. From then on, the two fell into a race to see who could turn up more ancient treasures from the lost annals of history. Agnar once supposed he should be thankful to Weaselton, for were it not for their rivalry, he would not have met his wife, Idunn, in the jungles of South America. When it came to Arthurian lore, both of them fervently believed that though some of the stories were embellished, King Arthur and his legendary artifacts were indeed real, and remained somewhere in the world waiting to be found.
Their attempts to locate a clue or another piece of the puzzle were often fruitless however, either leading to dead ends or fizzling out into obscurity. Agnar and Idunn continued their efforts on and off for many years, and though they had never truly abandoned their quest, they often held off their search for Arthur when different, more tangible opportunities to uncover secrets of the ancient world presented themselves.
At any rate, when their parents were absent, Elsa and Anna were always left well cared for under the supervision of Kai and Gerda, who had loyally served the Kaldborgs for much of their own lives. Since they were far too young to accompany their parents on their travels, Elsa and Anna were decidedly sequestered away at the manor, with no other children to interact with other than themselves. As soon as the two could walk, Elsa and Anna were as thick as thieves, always by each other's side and getting into all sorts of mischief much to the chagrin of their parents and especially Kai and Gerda. During the day, Elsa and Anna would run amok through the vast halls of the manor or through the evergreens that enclosed their home. During the night, the pair would conduct raids into the kitchen to steal sweets or climb the battlements onto the roof to stargaze. Though they would never admit it, the loyal house servants relished the new sense of life that Elsa and Anna had brought to the manor as tending to its care before their arrival was more often than not a dull affair when their masters were away.
To keep them busy, Agnar and Idunn saw to it that their daughters were provided with an education and plenty of hobbies. Elsa and Anna were privately tutored by Gerda, and though the pair demonstrated an aptitude for many of the common subjects easily enough, they both loved the subject of history the most. They both relished the sense of escapism it had provided and being surrounded by so many artifacts throughout history, it had provided them with a tangible grasp on the past and a direct connection with some of the heroes and myths they had admired. Agnar and Idunn had brought up their daughters with a deep love of the ancient knowledge of the world and were more than happy to impart their wisdom when they were together. For instance, something as mundane as dinner conversations might be partially held in Latin. To supplement their intellectual appetite, Arendelle Manor contained a large library, complete with epic stories, fairy tales and fables of wonderment and adventure. When they weren't causing mischief, Elsa and Anna could often be found in the library reading to one another or found huddled in some corner sleeping with a book between them.
Other, more rigorous pursuits to focus the energy of their young bodies included horseback riding as well as fencing. In his younger years, Kai had been a skilled fencer and had won a few tournaments to his name. Having watched over Agnar in his youth as well, Kai and Agnar would often spar with one another as the young Kaldborg had no other siblings. However, when it came to the Agnar's progenies, Kai found that he had some difficulty tutoring Elsa and Anna in the sport as they were reluctant to harm one another, and he himself had difficulties sparring one on one with the girls due to his age. One thing that Elsa and Anna didn't need any tutoring in however was climbing. From a young age, the pair had demonstrated a natural aptitude for ascending practically any vertical surface. Inside, the pair would clamber on display cases, bookshelves, wall fixtures and even hang on a priceless crystal chandelier on one particularly vexing occasion for the house servants. Outside, the pair would have no issue in climbing to the highest branches of their willow tree, or even the trellises and thick ivy that adorned the exterior battlements of Arendelle Manor.
Agnar and Idunn loved their children, that much was true, but they equally loved the thrill of adventure so much so that they could not strike a balance between the two things that had given their lives so much meaning. They tried - in what ways they could - to show their love for Elsa and Anna by bringing them different odds and ends from their journeys. Things such as jewelry, precious stones, toys and other pieces of paraphernalia that they thought their children might enjoy. Elsa and Anna had always enjoyed and treasured their gifts, but Arendelle Manor was already stuffed to the brim with ancient artifacts. Suits of armor from different parts of the world lined the hallways. Weapons and other implements of death were arranged neatly on the walls. Some entire rooms were dedicated to the display of artifacts alone, things such as ancient books and manuscripts, pottery and earthenware, even some truly peculiar items such as shrunken heads or petrified mammoth dung. One room, which happened to be Anna's favorite, contained nothing but paintings. On any given day, one could hear Anna conversing with a portrait of Joan of Arc, as she often did when her parents weren't around.
Elsa and Anna did not suffer from lack of wealth or material goods in any case, but their happiest memories were of when their parents were actually present for their childhood. Missed birthdays were made up with exotic finery, but nothing had made Elsa and Anna happier when they spotted their parents coming up the drive, returning from yet another one of their adventures. The trinkets would often be quickly set aside as Agnar and Idunn set each daughter in a lap and regaled them with their epic stories, fraught with danger and excitement. Yet, Elsa and Anna had never worried, for they knew their parents would always find a way out and escape by the skin of their teeth. No matter how long they were gone, they would always come back. Always.
Life for young Elsa and Anna was good, far from perfect but certainly better than most in the world have the fortune of knowing. As the two sisters would learn however, no amount of wealth or artifacts could ever change the past.
