Chapter Thirteen
In which a mountain is climbed…
Fanndis felt entirely too arthritic to be climbing mountains. Yet, there she was, leading Ivan up a very steep, but steady path towards the peak of Mount Aibek. It had been many years since she had completed her training in the caves of this same region. Then, Valkyrie had been a much younger woman and far less intrusive into other peoples’ business. Fanndis wondered what had made her so curious of late. Her old master had often intruded into Fanndis’ own dreams and visions years before, when Stigg was a child and she was actively assisting the Maslyn family.
Her displeasure, at the time, with Valkyrie’s actions proved to the older woman that Fanndis was not interested in being spied upon. Even so, Fanndis knew her former teacher would never leave off spying on her completely. Ivan snorted and shook his ample mane. Fanndis, drifting back to the present, patted him gently on the side of his neck.
You’re doing just fine, Ivan.
He snorted again. Ivan, in common with Eira, preferred not to speak with humans mentally. Also like Eira, he was a reliable and devoted friend, though he would not say anything to the people he knew. Fanndis found animal communication mores very interesting. Some animals relished contact with the human world. There were even animals who had published books (using trusted human translators and scribes) about animal preferences in human communication and population to population communication. Other animals had even written novels. It was something Stigg found fascinating. Fanndis and her son often talked late into the night over such things—trying to tempt Eira to speech, but failing every time. The cat simply meowed or ignored them altogether.
A harsh gust brought her mind to the path once more. The wind bit into her clothes down to her aging skin. She felt thinner than she had when she last came up the mountain. Perhaps her age had made her more susceptible to frostbite. Fanndis truly hoped not, because she still had several hours of travel before she could make camp. The jagged peak loomed high above her. She scowled at her former master for choosing to live so high up some God-forsaken mountain.
Fanndis meditated as she rode the remaining hours away until she came to a familiar cave—one she used to stay in when she traveled down the mountain for supplies to fill Valkyrie’s pantries and storage caverns. Ivan trotted into the cave mouth. It was very large and he sat down after Fanndis dismounted. Within minutes, the great animal had fallen asleep and, again, Fanndis patted him on the neck. Ivan would most likely find that sort of gesture patronizing, but she did it anyway.
After settling into the cave, Fanndis made a fire near the mouth so that the smoke would not smother them. The howling wind would never die down, so she just took out her wool travel blanket and settled in for a long, windy, frigid night. Ivan’s long coat would keep him warm, she knew, but she put another blanket over him just in case he started to feel the cold. Still too early for sleep, Fanndis calmed her mind enough to reach out for Valkyrie. She inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly. Yreth welled up within. Soon, her mind went utterly still and filled with only one thought: Valkyrie. Images of the mountain’s summit entered her dark head. She smelled the wind, heard its cry. Her mind’s eye noticed the fire burning at another cave mouth—Valkyrie’s cave. Somewhere within her vision, the mournful bleat of a goat rang out.
“Valkyrie,” she tested.
At once, Fanndis felt another person’s presence enter her mind, but she was well-trained—almost as well as Valkyrie—so Fanndis did not let Valkyrie take control as the older woman had with Arna.
“I see you’ve improved at this, Fanndis,” Valkyrie observed, her spectral image sharpening in Fanndis’ vision.
“A little,” Fanndis admitted.
“How is our girl doing?” Valkyrie inquired.
“I assume you’re talking about Arna when you say, ‘our girl’?” Fanndis’ dry skepticism dripped from her reply.
“Of course. I heard that she had a broken leg. Poor little dear. I wonder how that happened?” Valkyrie pondered aloud.
“It’s none of your concern unless you plan on stealing my apprentice,” Fanndis spat, coming to the point.
“Oh, I wouldn’t think of it. Besides, I have too much to deal with, what with taking care of Annar and everything. He’s quite temperamental as a goat, but the cancer will only spread faster in his human body. I’ve tried to tell him I’m doing him a kindness,” Valkyrie told her.
Fanndis ignored Valkyrie’s remark about Annar and said, “If you don’t want to be her master, then what do you want with her? It’s not like you to meddle with someone’s mind and then leave them alone as if nothing ever happened.”
“I just wanted to see who you were spending your time with these days. I see little Lord Maslyn has finally escaped his fairytale tower,” Valkyrie remarked.
“Yes. He’s working with Stigg, learning to build and take care of the land. A lord should understand the toil of his people.” Fanndis stretched her neck muscles, trying to sit comfortably through her vision.
“Ah, feeling philosophical are we, Fanndis? Has that son of yours been entertaining you with his reading?”
Fanndis overlooked the older woman’s barb and spent some energy trying to see what the area surrounding her old master looked like. There was a fire. Valkyrie sat cross-legged, and the goat, Annar, was by the stone hearth, wheezing. The cave glittered with trinkets given by mountain folk. Herbs hung from every available space on the ceiling.
“I see you like my home.”
“It’s lovely. Let’s get to the point. What do you really want with Arna?” Fanndis said, almost to the point of rudeness.
“My, aren’t we feisty this evening?” exclaimed the other woman.
“Valkyrie!” Fanndis prompted in as commanding a tone as she could muster.
“Oh, alright. I sense a strange energy in that girl. I feel that she will be very powerful—perhaps more than you and me. I felt her presence all the way at the top of my mountain without trying. I wanted to find out more about her. Is that a crime?” Valkyrie scowled.
“No. I know what you mean. As soon as Lord Maslyn introduced me to her, I felt a strong depth of the Seidh already within her. Perhaps it is just because she is so strong willed or perhaps it is truly because she has a great store of powerful yreth within her. I am not sure yet. Her training has been interrupted because of her broken leg. She also suffered a concussion and has been sleeping a lot,” Fanndis said, feeling a little more comfortable with Valkyrie now that she knew the older woman would not steal the girl away.
Both women were silent for some time. Soon it became apparent that neither had anything to say further. Fanndis spoke up, “I’ll see you in the morning, Valkyrie. I’m rather tired.” A large yawn escaped her mouth before she could stop herself.
“Pleasant dreams,” the old woman said.
“We’ll see,” Fanndis remarked.
Both women let go of their mental focus. Fanndis’ body slumped where she sat. Despite the tired, draining sensation crawling through her, she was relieved. She had been afraid that her old master would have wanted Arna as an apprentice. Because Valkyrie was extraordinarily powerful, she could have taken her. Fanndis could have lost the girl. It would have been shattering. Already, maternal affection had taken root within her for the child. It would have destroyed Stigg as well. The relief Fanndis felt only grew as she prepared for bed.
Ivan snorted and looked up.
“All is well, Ivan. Go on back to sleep now.”
He snorted again and lowered his head.
Fanndis fell into a dreamless sleep and when she awoke the next morning, it was not yet dawn. Ivan stood up because his legs were getting stiff resting underneath him. He whinnied a “good morning” and Fanndis grunted in response. Her bones were screaming at her from sleeping near the top of a frozen mountain. The pressure in the air was abominable. Still, she managed to lift herself off of the rocky floor and wrap up enough to set off on the path towards Valkyrie’s cave.
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Snow fell in violent spurts at that altitude and the way was icy. Ivan inched forward, one step at a time, until they came to a terrace. There, the path was level for a few feet. That’s when Fanndis spotted Valkyrie’s cave above their heads.
Fanndis scowled. It was the most asinine place to live that she had ever visited. She could not fathom why some old woman would want to subject herself to thin air, frozen ice all around, and torrential winds. Ivan snorted, directing her attention to the skinny, steep, zigzagged path leading up to the cave mouth. It was not passable for the horse. Fanndis knew she was going to have to hike up herself.
“Wretched woman; living in a place like this!” Fanndis grumbled. The slick rocks were treacherous to say the least. She could not imagine how her former master traveled back and forth from the mountain villages to the cave. It was near suicide just to get from the terrace up the twenty or so feet to the opening. Ivan nudged her with his head, helping her up.
“It’s easy for you to say, ‘go on up’. I’m the one that has to do it!” In spite of her protests, Fanndis plucked up her courage and climbed. Beforehand, she tightened up the laces on her boots and pulled her heavy coat tightly about her. She hiked in much the same way she imagined a hundred year old man would walk down to the market. It took forever to scale the path. By the time she was at the mouth of Valkyrie’s cave, she was exhausted, cold, frustrated, and cranky.
“Woman!” Fanndis barked.
“Good morning, Fanndis,” Valkyrie chimed. Her voice sounded distant.
“Get your old carcass out here at once and give me some tea and a blanket!” Fanndis demanded, panting.
“Wait just one minute, youngling. I’m still the master here,” the older woman’s voice rang out from a nearer distance.
Fanndis walked in and slumped next to Annar who was sulking by the fire. She petted him gently on the belly and he looked up, mournful despair clear in his eyes.
Hello, Fanndis, Annar whispered.
“Hello, Annar. I am so sorry to hear how ill you are. Is there anything I can do?” Fanndis asked him.
It hurt to take in his changed appearance. He had been so strong and handsome once. The body of the goat hid the human form that had grown old and weak. Fanndis wished there was something she could do to help. However, she knew that Valkyrie was wise to keep him an animal. The transmutation would have slowed the illness, confusing the bacterial and viral cells.
It seems I’m destined to die an animal, he groaned.
“Oh, Annar, it isn’t all bad. You get all the food you want, you get to sleep by the fire. Sounds heavenly to me!” Fanndis knew that he would not agree with her assessment, but she hoped she could bring some cheer to his grim mood.
“Here is your blanket, Madame, and hot tea. Can I get anything else for you?” Valkyrie’s sarcasm leeched all the good will from her offer.
“That will be all, thank you.” Fanndis swiped the mug of tea from the older woman’s bird-like fingers and snatched the blanket as well.
Alright, you two. I don’t want to hear any of your bickering. I’m tired and all I want is some peace and quiet, Annar ordered.
Considering how much each woman respected the man, they obeyed him. Valkyrie jerked her head in the direction of a deeper cavern. Fanndis patted Annar on his belly again and followed after. Darkness hung over the women as they maneuvered the uneven cavern floor.
“He doesn’t have much time left,” Valkyrie confided.
“I can tell. Poor man. I wish the Seidh had been able to be of help in cancer research but, it’s just one of those things that even magic can’t touch. It’s a grand shame.”
“Yes, it is,” Valkyrie agreed.
Fanndis followed her former master into the old training room which was a wide chamber full of stalagmites and stalactites. Bits of furniture littered the floor. Among the pieces was a desk. Fanndis remembered many long nights spent sitting there, writing her notes and observations. Dried herbs decorated the ceiling, mirroring the mats spread about the floor. The blankets were still piled in the far corner. Near them were the three sun spires Valkyrie had made to keep them warm while they worked. A giant bucket sat in the middle of the room, serving to catch snow that fell from the asymmetrical hole in the roof. It was full, of course. Nostalgia soaked right through her irritation with Valkyrie. Fanndis’ expression softened.
“Brings back memories, eh?” Valkyrie sighed.
“Yes, many. Not all of them bad.” Fanndis smiled, her narrowed eyes lighting up with challenge.
“I can send you straight back down that mountain with nothing, you know,” Valkyrie teased.
“Bah. You don’t scare me.” Fanndis waved her off.
Valkyrie walked towards the desk and ruffled a few papers that sat on the top. The younger woman walked around and took in the familiar sights, touching objects here and there that sparked arbitrary memories. It even smelled the same: like dried sage and juniper.
“I wanted to show you something,” Valkyrie informed her, her brows furrowed in thought.
“What is it?”
“It’s something I found when I went down to the woods a few days ago,” she said.
Fanndis was confused when Valkyrie began to dress for riding and going out into the cold.
“Are we going somewhere?” Fanndis asked.
“Well I certainly couldn’t move it, now could I?”
“Why not?”
“You’ll see,” Valkyrie promised.
“Very well.” Fanndis resigned herself to an unwelcome adventure.
The older woman went back to the main chamber of the cave and whistled while meandering into another chamber off to the side. That one, she used as her barn because there were several holes coming through the rock ceiling and it allowed light and ventilation for the few animals she kept there. One such animal was a magnificent, black longhaired horse. His name was, Nar, Fanndis remembered. Valkyrie had named him after Annar whom she had always loved in secret.
“I suppose Ivan is down below?” Valkyrie asked, knowing the answer already.
“I wasn’t going to be so cruel that I'd require him to hike up your front ‘steps’,” Fanndis spat.
“Stuff and nonsense. He would have been fine. Watch how my Nar navigates the path perfectly.”
“Mmhm.” Fanndis rolled her eyes and followed the old woman out of the cave mouth and down the slippery incline.
She had to admit that Nar moved gracefully as he stepped behind Valkyrie. He was an impressive horse—about two hands taller than Ivan and far broader. It was amazing he had the grace necessary to go up and down Valkyrie’s formidable path.
“Put your eyeballs back in your head and congratulate my friend, here,” Valkyrie said, head held high.
“You were magnificent, Nar. Truly,” Fanndis encouraged.
I don’t prefer your patronizing tones, Nar snorted.
“You would get along with Ivan,” she chuckled.
When Fanndis and Ivan were ready, the older woman led them down an unfamiliar groove in the mountain and into the woods. It took quite some time and she knew that she would be staying with Valkyrie and Annar that night. She was glad she had told Stigg to plan for her delayed return. About an hour passed. Valkyrie took Fanndis to a particular rock formation deep in the woods towards the west.
As they rode closer to their destination, a strange, slithering dread crept into Fanndis’ heart. She could not explain what it was like—it was almost like the presence of death, but subtler. It was a harrowing, terrifying presence that made chills rise on her neck.
“What is this place, Valkyrie?” whispered Fanndis.
“You feel it don’t you? That presence like death, but different? You’ll see why when we go inside.”
They dismounted. Valkyrie knew that the animals would not want to see what the women were about to see. She gestured for Fanndis to follow her. They had not moved very far into the cave before Fanndis’ eyes w
ere drawn to the thing Valkyrie had wanted to show her. Bits of leaf detritus and bones of small animals were scattered about the floor. But it was what rested in the back of the cavern that commanded her attention. Lying on a bed of twigs, leaves, and fur was the body of man. The naked flesh looked grey in the limited light and the face appeared to be sleeping, but Fanndis knew he was not sleeping. He was not dead either. Silvery white hair coiled around the man’s shoulders and limbs like a net. The closed eyes were rimmed with dark lashes and brows and Fanndis knew if he opened them, they would contain haunting red-brown irises. She knew at once that it was the body of one of the Maslyn twins.
“How can this be? He’s not dead…he’s not asleep…I don’t understand…” Fanndis’ mind was stretched taut with the effort of untangling the mystery before her. “It’s Olan’s body,” she stated, dumbfounded.
It did not make sense. She had guessed that Olan was alive and well in some animal form since the night of the fire. The transformation had happened right before her in the great hall. Never had she forgiven herself for teaching Olan magic before he was ready for the consequences. It was her fault the former Maslyn and his wife was dead. Guilt swelled within as she stood blinking at the man before her. She had been so sure about how it all had turned out. Yet, the image of Olan’s cold, lifeless—but not dead—body gave her pause.
“What does this mean?” she asked Valkyrie.
“It means that when Olan performed his magic all those years ago, he did not transmute Fenris’ body into that of an animal. Instead, he switched Fenris’ body with an animal’s and also his own. Their human bodies were instantly comatose and in the place where the summoned animals had been originally. He was not ready for that sort of magic, Fanndis. There is always a price to pay when spells do not go as planned,” Valkyrie explained, looking at her old apprentice with a furrowed, accusatory brow.
“I did not teach him this—I swear it! He asked me about animal and human transmutation, but I told him he was too young for it. I suppose he went off and learned about it on his own. His curiosity was far too strong for his own good. Oh dear, look at him.” Fanndis reached out to touch the pale skin.
It was stone cold. She pressed two fingers to his neck to feel for a pulse and could just barely make one out. It was extremely weak and pitifully slow. How long it had been lazily pumping like that? For six years, she supposed.
“We need to find Fenris’ body. I would feel better knowing where both of them are, should Soryn and Arna get any ideas to change them back. If Olan’s is way out here, Fenris’ could be anywhere. Olan’s spell wasn’t transmutation. It was transference—a different sort of magic altogether. Dark magic. I doubt he had any idea what he had done until it was far too late,” Valkyrie commented.
“What do you think happened to the animals’ spirits when their bodies were taken by Olan and Fenris?” Fanndis asked—far out of the realm of her magical knowledge. It was obvious an animal’s soul was not living in the cold, naked body on the floor of the cave.
“They’re dead. If not, they may have remained within their own bodies with Olan and Fenris’ spirits and fused their souls with the twins’. Who knows? This kind of magic is forbidden—stuff that Olan will pay dearly for should he ever regain his own body. I am sure he never meant to perform such work, but he did and he will pay the price.” Valkyrie sighed, saddened by her own words.
“We should leave him here. He’s safe this far from the villages and so deep in the forest. I’ll send Stigg to check on the body every now and then until we can figure this mess out with that dratted pig in Soryn’s tower,” Fanndis said, recognizing she had let their problem with Ulla slip.
“Pig?” Valkyrie was intrigued.
“Yes,” Fanndis pursed her lips. “Soryn is convinced that the pig living in the basement of his tower is his brother Olan.”
“Really?” Valkyrie’s mouth hung open in surprise.
“It’s not. It can’t be. Ulla’s demeanor and personality are wholly different from Olan’s. However, what I don’t know is whether or not he is Fenris. If he is, we are in a world of trouble should he ever regain his human body. I sensed a terrible sorrow and fury within that animal. I knew it was really a human at once. I just need to find out which human it is,” Fanndis sighed.
“Let me check into it,” Valkyrie pleaded.
“You want to help us now?” Fanndis asked, still not trusting that Valkyrie had totally pure intentions.
“Don’t make me out to be a harpy, Fanndis. You know very well that I have always been fond of Olan—especially when you brought him to visit me that summer. Though I don’t know the new Lord Maslyn, I have been a strong supporter of his family and I want to see him succeed.”
“We all do. He is a very dear child—highly motivated to succeed and enjoying his newfound freedom in honorable ways,” Fanndis said, her fondness for Soryn shining through every word.
“Is he much like the others?” Valkyrie asked.
“You mean the twins?” Fanndis clarified.
“Yes.”
“Not at all. He’s much more like his father—stoic, reserved, very proper.” Fanndis chuckled at the last remark.
“The twins were completely different from either parent. It is a shame they did not inherit their mother’s gentleness and grace. She was a woman of great poise and intellect,” Valkyrie mused.
“Olan would have grown into a fine Seidh man if he merely had the chance, but it was ripped away all in one night by his own unfortunate hand.” Fanndis grew pensive.
“We can change them back you know. It wouldn’t be hard for either of us,” Valkyrie suggested.
“Well, we certainly can’t do anything until we know where Fenris’ body is. His may be somewhere near Soryn or Olan’s body, and then we definitely can’t change them back yet. I want to know more about who he is in the animal world before we do that. If Fenris is Ulla, I don’t trust him. Ulla is devious and sneaky and I don’t like the feelings I get when I’m around him.” Fanndis shuddered, just thinking about her encounter with the pig.
“Well, I’ll put my sources on it as well,” Valkyrie said. “Don’t worry. We’ll get this all sorted out. Perhaps after six long years, these boys—well…I suppose they’re men now, aren’t they?—will be able to return to their bodies.”
“Yes, hopefully so,” Fanndis agreed.
The two women covered Olan’s frozen body with leaves and other materials from the cave. They left for Valkyrie’s home. On the way, both women were gloomy in their thoughts and did not speak much. When they returned to the cave, they were met with a terribly sad sight. Annar lay by the fire, utterly still. His body had returned to his human form and his eyes were fixed on the light coming from the cave mouth.
Valkyrie cursed inwardly at the silent tears that slipped down her cheeks.
“Wretched old man. Had to go and die on me,” Valkyrie muttered through her quiet sobs.
Fanndis stared at Annar’s waif-like body and felt her own heart implode within her chest. He had been a good friend to her when she was still an apprentice. Valkyrie knelt before him on the floor, rocking slowly back and forth. Fanndis knew Valkyrie had never faced her feelings for Annar. Fanndis bowed her head and let the tears fall peacefully while she prayed for his departed soul.
Valkyrie could not control her reaction to Annar’s death. She had never told the man that she loved him. Not once. In all the years they had lived together as friends and companions, she had never said it. They had come close several times to declaring their love, but in all her sixty-eight years she had never been so ashamed of failing to do something right. She collapsed over his thin, wan body and pressed her hands to his chest and face.
Fanndis rested a hand gently upon her master’s back and prayed for her—also willing some power into her friend to help calm her so that she would not give in to despair. Whatever feelings Valkyrie had held in her heart for Annar, her former apprentice knew they were powerful. It
pained Fanndis that she never saw her two friends’ love fulfilled.
The night grew dark. Wind blew harsh and violent against the dreary cave. The fire burned on despite the gale outside and the darkness in their hearts. Sometime before dawn, Valkyrie finally slept against Annar’s still form. Fanndis sung ancient tunes under her breath that she remembered from her youth. She fell asleep just as the first light from the suns peaked over the mountain. Valkyrie startled awake and covered Fanndis with a blanket before going to the back of the cave. When she made it to the training room, Valkyrie tore her clothes and fell in the middle of the cavern floor. In her hands were sheers, like one would use for sheep. Without much emotion, Valkyrie began cutting off her hair—short to her scalp like Arna’s. She knew it had been Annar’s favorite thing about her appearance and now that he was gone, she could not bear to feel it brushing against her body.
When she had finished, she took the hair back to the main cavern, braided it, and laid it gently across Annar’s chest, folding his hands over it. Then, she left and traveled far up the mountain. There, she sat and stared at the suns rising. Emptiness took root in her heart like she had never experienced before. It was as though nothing else would ever fill it again. And yet, she felt a gentle tugging on her spirit—as though there were someone there trying to get her attention. When she looked, there was no one around, yet she still felt it strongly.
“My heart is broken,” she muttered to whoever or whatever it was.
All of a sudden, she felt a warm presence beside her on the rocks. A white wolf had perched himself next to her. He said nothing. The great animal simply gazed at the rising suns and the effect they had on the white clouds stretching over the horizon. Valkyrie had never seen a wolf so close. He was breathtaking. His fur swirled with the wind and his yellow eyes lit up with borrowed sunlight. Valkyrie’s despair somehow shifted to some foreign place in her mind. All she could think about was the wolf’s beauty and his serene glare.
At some point during the suns rising, the wolf turned his head and his golden eyes bore into her. Valkyrie stared back. Though no words were spoken, somehow, she was comforted by his presence. Soon after, he stood on his four paws and slinked away into the darker parts of the mountain not yet touched by the suns’ light. She stared at the space he left behind and felt like she had just been destroyed and rebuilt into a wholly new creature. The pain of Annar’s death had not lessened, though now she knew it would; in time. Someday. An unexplainable peace settled in her heart and she knew that she had just had an encounter with something strange and fierce and wonderful. Despite the sadness that still swarmed in her chest, she looked up at the rising suns and laughed in the wind and felt the pure flakes of snow dance across her face.