*Soleil*
I jump slightly as both the front doors open at the same time and I sit up confused. I must have fallen asleep, because it is light outside now. Yesterday comes crashing down on me and the insecurity creeps back under my skin.

"Morning". Gudrun says calmly.

"Where are we". I whisper, my eyes blinking against the harsh light.

The forest is dense around the gravely courtyard the car was packed on. The house in front of me is an old Wood cabin painted in red and white with a big deck in dark wood. There was only one opening in the forest, a wide path leading to a lake.

"Welcome to Ballimore". The red head says with a smile. She clearly sees me looking at the lake. "Please take a walk, stretch your legs, take a look at the lake".

"I am not Your prisoner ?" I quak.

Gudrun suppresses a giggle and shakes her head. "Sorry I didn't mean to laugh". She say. "No you are not a prisoner. But you better talk to Siri about everything". She opens the car door in her side and gets out. "We'll call for you when we are done unpacking".

I wait for her to enter the house, before I get out the car and hurry down to the lake. As I reach it I stop in my track gasping at the sight before me. The sense forest with the mountains as backdrop, everything reflected in the clear still lake. Here is a peace and quiet I have never known before. And still everything seems oddly familiar. Carefully I walk out on the small bridge. Here is no sign of neighbors, of any other humans near the lake actually. I am literally all alone with three unknown women somewhere in Scotland.

"Soleil !?" Someone calls from the house.

The fear bubbles up again. For I moment I consider fleeing, but I also know why Gudrun had sent me down here alone. There is nowhere I can run. If I am here by my own choice or not, I am stuck. The blanket of calm I had felt at home wraps around my mind and I feel curious about this place and the three women. So ignoring the little gnawing fear, I give into the subtle mental pushes and walks back towards the house.

"This area has been a sanctuary to our kind for generations. And we have managed to keep it hidden for all this time". Siri comes out the front door with two cups of tea, just as I reach the house. "Come let's sit down. The girls are cooking up some food, so we'll have plenty of time to talk".

We sit down on a couple of comfortable wicker chairs on the deck. Above us different herbs hangs from the beams, they are in different stages of drying. Her smells good of herbs and rose bushes.

Siri leans back in her chair as I try to form the right question ending up with going for the direct approach. "Your kind ? Are you witches ?"

"No, we are so much more than that, we are vǫlur". Siri says with a smile. "You are a vǫlva too".

"Vǫlva ? Like in the norse mythology ?" I remember having read something about this online.

"Oh you have actually paid attention in Your history classes, wonderful ! It makes it a lot easier". Siri sends me a warm smile. "A long time ago, before anything was written down, every village had a wise woman. She took Care of people getting sick or hurt with herbs. She foresaw threats to the village and apaced the Gods, so the hunt and the hardest would success. She was a respected and honoured person and her incarnations was feared by the enemy. The people called her vǫlva".

"So you are wise women like they were ? I was told not to believe that the old faith could have survived hidden until now. That there would be proof if they did". I say, rather confused.

"I am not talking about faith. You are free to believe whatever you want; it is for you only to decide. What I am telling you, was told to me by Your great grandmother, who had been told by her Elder, who had learned from her Elder and so on back to the first vǫlva" Siri say.

"But how ?" I ask, looking suspiciously at the older woman.

  "How is it possible that no one knows us ?" Siri's eyes met mine with a happy smile. "The same way that Your guest remember nothing else than a good party where everyone went home happy".

"I don't get it". I still feel rather confused about it all. "What you did, galdr right ? Can all of you do that ?"

"No not all of us, but through time some vǫlur has had the power to right so called mistakes". Siri empties her cup. "Like with Your mother..".

"What about my mother ?" I gasp.

"Don't worry child, there is nothing wrong with Your mother. Right now she is probably wondering if you have safely arrived in Africa were you are volunteering the next month, you know for extra credits for you further education of course". Siri leans forward, looking into my eyes. "Don't worry we have had to hide things before. It's not in the public's best interest knowing about us or why we exist. That is why we have arranged for the vǫlur to just be a part of Nordic mythology".

"Oh". Is all I manage to whisper.

"We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for vǫlva Tordis. She was a vǫlva like the other wise women of her time. When new times came to northern Europe, the path of the vǫlur changed to. War and fights was suddenly decided by the strongest vǫlva instead of by warriors. Most of the vǫlur prefered to live in peace and didn't want to get involved in the fighting. They didn't want to use their powers for harming people, but others got poisoned by their powers. They became so powerful that they could animate the warriors with the spirits of animals".

My hand fly up to cover my mouth and stop the spontaneous giggle. "Sorry, but spirits ? Seriously ?".

I gasp with laughter but when Siri look at me with the least amused expression ever, my laughter dies and I swallow. "This isn't a joke Soleil. The worriers became one with the spirit of the animal; They assumed the shape of the animal, they shed their skin so to say. They were called hamram and one night Tordis' village was attacked by a pack of these hamram. She could hardly defend herself against the gruesome monsters, but her spells held long enough for her and her youngest daughter to get away. The chief, who was her husband along with the rest of the village, even the children was slaughtered". Siri's voice is filled with compassion. "Tordis swore revenge and she called down a powerful curse. As long as there is any hamram left in the World her scions would inherit the powers and pass it onto their daughters, so they could fight and eliminate every single one of these monsters".

"But how can it take several hundred years to get rid of a pack of men ? Didn't they just die from old age in the end ?" I ask.

"There was many hamram that night. Tordis knew her choice would have consequences, it always have calling on such strong powers. All the hamram was bound by the course, so their sons and their sons for all eternity would be born with the curse of the wolf. The last hamram needs to be killed to break the course. But only boys become hamram, the girls only carry the gene, pasning it on to the next generation. The vǫlur realised to late and then the curse had spread to the whole world".

"Does that mean they are everywhere ?" I scrunch up my brows. "How can you find them all if you are only three ?"

"Oh we are many more; we are many descendants of Tordis. With us it is just the girls who receive the calling and the boys carrying the gene, so we have spread too. With time the gene has been weakened, so it's no longer everyone who is marked by the curse. Sometimes it jumps several generations, and some lines die out completely. That is why we didn't reach you before after you received Your calling. I thought I had stopped Tyra's line with the spell that stopped Your mother from getting her calling. Luckily we were here in Ballimore, so we could reach you fairly quick".

I am confused and desperately try to get all of this to fit with the logical and rational explanations me and Davina had cooked up. But I can't get it to fit, hamram, scions. What the hell is a scion ?.

"Scion means descendants my dear". I gasp at Siri's words. What the fuck

She continue. "And as a scion of Tordis You Have to choose if you want to follow Your calling or go back to the life you used to have".

Had she read my mind ? Could she seriously read minds ? For a moment I am close to saying thanks for the trip, but no thanks, please take me to the nearest train station. But there is still so much I am burning to know. Without thinking I grab my necklace. Siri had known my great grandmother. Had Tyra been here just like I am now ?

"So my great grandmother was a vǫlva ? Was that why she died ?" I ask, clenching the necklace in my hand.

"Yes". She answers. "Tyra was my eldest and our leader back then. I was with her when it happened. We had just returned from a trip up here and was going to have lunch in the garden. Your great grandmother was sitting with Your mother on the grass. She was just a kid back then, four or five years old and Tyra was teaching her to sing with the trees. Your grandmother and me was getting the table ready when we were attacked. I got Your mother and grandmother safely into the house, while Tyra run ahead to protect them. But when I reaches her it was to late. The hamram had killed her and was long gone. I had no choice but to clean up".

I can see it is very painful for Siri to talk about this. For a moment I see something else to in her eyes, before she lowers them, and puts down her cup.

"You gave them false memories about what happened". It has suddenly hit me. "But my mother remembered yesterday and my grandmother recognised you". 

"It is true. Even if the calling never came to Alice and I removed all powers from Your mother, the vǫlva power in Your line must be to strong for my seiðr to hold. It wasn't before I entered their minds yesterday that I realised I had failed. Had I just known that the memories was just hidden, not gone". She breathes in deeply. "But we had lost our leader and I had to step up as the Elder. I choose to try and find the one responsible. I am sorry for letting down Your family".

"I probably hadn't been born if it hadn't happened. My mother probably wouldn't have left her home with my father". I say. Now I get my mom's reacting the day she found me messing about with wicca. Deep down she must have known that it had partly been the reason for my great grandmother's dead. "But how do you know that this seiðr is going to work, when it didn't the first time ?"

"I can't be completely sure. But we are keeping an eye on them".

"Seiðr ... is that the same as galdr ? When you make people forget ?" I ask.

"Galdr is part of seiðr and yes it is seiðr I use. But seiðr is so much more, and it is different in every vǫlva. For you to make Your choice, whether you want to join us or not, we Will teach you about Your powers, about seiðr and everything else. But everything at it's right time". Siri sniff the air and smile. "The fish is just about ready. Lets go get some food and the the fun can begin".

"Just one last question". I say hesitantly. I hadn't even gotten half my questions answered. "I know you have described them as monsters. But what is a hamram exactly ?"

Siri was smiling, but there was a sad edge to the smile. "As I said, everything at it's right time. I promise you, you will get every information you need". She turned and walked inside.

I just sit there. Vǫlur, scion and hamram, curses and calling. This is sick ! I Saw my grandmothers hysteric eyes and my mom's fear before me. It was real. Mark's fear was real. The tornado and the dirty dress were real. How crazy all this hocus pocus sounds, it is real and I better stay here at least for a bit. If not for any other reason, then for the fact that I am stranded and have no idea where to go.

I sigh and follow Siri.