Stig crept through the icy halls of Ahtohallan. His small feet padding across the ice at a quickened pace. Whenever he heard the shifting of ice, he stopped to take a breather. His small chest heaving without a sound. Flicking the snow off the bushy end of his long tail, he started running again as the noise passed. He was so close. He'd gotten farther than any Troll in history. Touching the small blue crystals on his vine necklace, he felt them hum with power. He was close to the River of Memory. Sliding down the slick icy floor, he crouched low and used his claws to steer and slow himself as he came to a bridge made of beautifully carved ice over a deep and frightening cavern. Stopping himself, he peeked through the banister to look down at the dark chasm. His long floppy ears perking up to listen to the rush of water below. Grinning, he whispered to himself. "Found you." Jerking his head back, he dashed across the bridge. As he crossed to the other side, he heard a soft wispy voice call his name from within the very walls of the massive glacier. Stig let out a tiny growl in response, stating back sternly in a whisper. "Hush! I'm not listening to you!"

Treading into a hall with icy pillars, he saw a ripple of soft colors shine along the wall. The light followed him as the same voice whispered to him. "Leave this place, Troll. You cannot harness the power of the river." The Troll chuckled wickedly, dashing into the next room and into another as he excitedly stated out in a greedy voice. "That is where you are wrong, Lady Borealis. I can, and I will." Lady Borealis continued to follow him, informing him coolly. "To what end, Stig? The waters only reveal the truth. It is memory. People come to remember and find themselves." Stig descended a dark staircase, his pulse quickening as he heard the soft trickling of water. Sliding his little pack off his shoulder, he told her with a gleaming smile as he saw the soft colors of the Northern Lights run through the river like an endless ribbon. Kneeling by the river, he answered a little distracted now. "Look too long into her sound and you'll drown." Lady Borealis glowed on the wall behind him, stating firmly. "Is that what you plan to do? Drown in your own reflection?" Stig dug around in his pack quickly, removing an oval shaped mirror with golden edging.

Staring into the mirror at his reflection, he asked Lady Borealis curiously. "Be honest, Lady Borealis. Can you brave what you most fear about yourself? Can you look at the reflection of your very soul and not drown? Your own past can hurt. The very truth about yourself can hurt. We present ourselves as we want to be seen... but what will this mirror show us of our soul?" Behind him, Lady Borealis's voice thundered in the cavern as she bellowed out in both anger and fear. "Stig, NO!" Stig closed his eyes and plunged the mirror into the icy cold river. The glacier shook and rumbled, while Lady Borealis asked in horror. "Stig! What have you done?!" Stig removed the mirror, catching his own reflection in it, before he shook off his trance and quickly wrapped it up. Stuffing it into his pack, he chuckled out giddily to her. "I've created a window to the soul! And with it, I'm going to watch the race of man fall. First, Arendelle and then the last of the Northuldran people will follow. Misthaven's sacred lands and the Fjord will be ours once again!" Lady Borealis's voice boomed from every corner of the glacier, when she sternly snapped out. "Not if I can stop you, Stig!" Stig yelped, snatching up his bag and bolting back up the steps.

The open doorway before him started to seal itself up with solid ice to trap him in the chamber, but he jumped to slid across the ice before the doorway became a solid wall. Leaping to his feet, he picked up his speed to run through the room as the ice pillars snapped and crashed to the floor. He barely made it out of the room, before the last pillar fell to block the entrance. He started running across the icy bridge, when it began to crack into pieces. Bits off it falling rapidly into the chasm to splash into the deep water below. Flinging out his hands, he used the power of his crystals to keep pieces of the bridge together long enough for him to cross it. Lady Borealis let out a high pitched wail of agony. Trolls had no magic, but over the years they'd learned to harness the magic in their crystals that contained the magic from the Northern Lights. From the Lady Aurora Borealis herself. Using his magic more, he scurried back up the icy tunnel and slid out into the bitter night air. Looking back to the glacier entrance, Stig's lips curled into a wicked smile as he told the rippling glow that lingered in the arched entrance way. "You should be supporting us. For while your influence on the land weakens. Ours only grows. And it will be US that brings the old ways back! Not the Northuldra!"

Lady Borealis's voice was soft now when she answered on the cold sea breeze. "The magic you are attempting to wield... it is beyond your understanding. Please, Stig. Reconsider. Before it is too late." Stig looked down at his glowing necklace of blue crystals, then looked up with guarded eyes. A wicked grin slowly curling the corners of his lips, before he told her swiftly. "With this Mirror of Reason, I'll surpass even the most respected of trolls. I'm going to unite the land... not as some lowly troll. But as a KING of trolls!" Lady Borealis's voice shuddered as she pleaded out. "Stig... You are not thinking clearly. The mirror-" Stig cut her off to state aloud. "The mirror is my way to a better life! All my enemies will be helpless against it." Stig whirled around to grab his little boat, pushing it into the Dark Sea, while Lady Borealis called out to him. "You won't be able to control the mirror, Stig! You will only cause more damage upon yourself and those you care about!" Stig hopped into the little boat, blowing a raspberry up at the Northern Lights as he laughed out heartily in return. "If I can use your magic, then I can use your river!" Snow swirled and solidified into a woman made entirely of flawless ice. Her hair and eyes rippled with the colors of the Northern Lights just as the Northern Lights faded from the sky.

The woman was clothed in an ethereal cloth made from the dark starry sky. Lady Borealis hugged herself, mumbling out to herself as she watched the little troll use his magic to quickly cross the Dark Sea toward the Fjord of Arendelle. "I don't use the river. It's apart of me..." Her eyes looked out to the rising sun that forced her to retreat into the shelter of the glacier and out of the sunlight. She could only hope that things wouldn't go as badly as she feared they would, but it was out of her hands now. Navigating the strong waves of the current, Stig made it back to Arendelle by noon. Then hoping out of his little boat, he pulled it onto the shore and quickly rushed off into the forest. Sneaking from bush to bush, he tried to make his way back to the Valley of the Living Rock. He couldn't wait to show the Shaman of his tribe his sweet victory. They all had doubted him, but they wouldn't think that now. He was going to be a hero! While creeping along, he almost chuckled to himself at how powerless the Mother of Memory must feel. He had made her look like such a fool. He stopped himself though as he saw a pair of horses ride into the glen.

Hugging a tree, he watched as a young boy of fourteen rode out ahead of King Agnarr of Arendelle. Tagging along at a distance was a mounted group of castle guards. Stig's eyes narrowed on King Agnarr in heated anger. His father had been the cause of so much grief to all those magically gifted and non-human born. For just a moment, Stig thought about leaving... until he felt the mirror vibrate in his bag across his back. Grinning, Stig purred out softly. "Yes... Why waste this golden opportunity?" King Agnarr chuckled out to his son. "You'll never hunt anything riding through the woods like that. What do you plan to do? Run them down?" Nathan pulled his horse to a sliding stop, happily retorting. "Of course not! I'm trying to spook it out to give myself a challenge!" King Agnarr rolled his eyes, telling him coolly. "Patience. Keeping a level head can reap the greatest rewards." Nathan groaned, kicking his horse into a run as he replied impatiently. "Ugh...! I hate waiting!" King Arendelle exhaled heavily, spurring his horse into to a gallop to chase down his son, yelling out lightly. "Nathan?! Wait up!" Stig waited for the guards to ride by, then rushed to take a short cut. He new the hunting trail they were using. He could cut them off and catch the king.

Nathan's horse thundered over the dirt trail, while he cheered and readied his bow. Behind him, his dad was catching up. Glancing back, he saw his dad lean over the horse more to encourage it to run faster. Nathan flashed him a warm grin and kicked his horse to go faster. His dad laughed and cheered out to him. "I'll reach the river before you!" Nathan scoffed, retorting boldly. "You're on!" Stig rushed to a nice eye level spot along a rocky hillside. This is where he'd do it. The king would come around the corner and he'd lift the mirror to make him see his own reflection. It would be perfect, and no one would know. Pulling out the mirror, he quickly unwrapped it. Being very careful this time not to look at himself. He could hear the horses drawing closer. Taking a deep breath, he waited patiently. Nathan's dad was starting to pass him, until a soft childish scream drew their attention to something in the woods. From deeper within the woods, a young boy was riding a reindeer at full speed in a frantic manner. Behind him was a pack of wolves that snapped that the reindeer's heels. The King let out a whistle to the guards behind him, pointing off to the wolves.

His dad veered off the trail to take up the chase of the wolves with his guards. Nathan didn't follow, he just raised his bow and fired his notched arrow. The arrow whizzed through the air, striking the wolf as it lunged for the reindeer's hind quarters. Nathan cheered as he saw it go down. The wolf population had grown too big over the last two bitter winters, and the farmers were complaining of lost goats and sheep. So, they had decided to try finding them to help weed them down as a father and son activity. Nathan was just about to turn his horse into the woods to follow his dad, when a large wolf jumped off the rocky hillside at him. Nathan's horse slammed on the breaks, sending Nathan out across the dirt trail ahead of them. The horse reared, bucking and kicking as a few more wolves jumped down from the hillside to surround the horse. On the hillside, Stig cursed as the prince came around the corner but not the king. He was going to pack it up and leave. He'd let the wolves have the prince. As he tried to stash the mirror, a wolf leaned over the side and snapped its jaws at him! Stig jerked back, barely avoiding the beast's teeth.

Jerking back had made him teeter on the edge of the rocky shelf, before falling with a soft squeal. As he fell, the mirror slipped out of his fingers. Stig hit the ground on his back, the air knocked from his lungs. However, his wide eyes were locked on the mirror. The mirror had been flung out toward the prince and as the frame hit the dirt ground, the glass shattered into pieces. The reflective pieces burst out of the frame, disintegrating from glass into tiny snowflakes that shot out toward the prince. The prince jerked his head toward the sound of smashing glass just in time for the tiny snowflakes to shoot into his eyes! The prince's dark brown eyes turned a solid blue that misted with an icy nature. Nathan let out a scream as his vision whited out and his eyes stung with a cold that gave him a brain freeze. Nathan covered his eyes to try warming them with his hands, but his body felt stiff and tired. Slumping to the ground, he started to shiver. The noise and the gust of cold that rippled out from the prince, scared off the wolves and the prince's horse. Sitting up, Stig growled out softly. "No...!" Scrambling to his feet, Stig snatched up a sharp rock and ran toward the prince. He had to cut out his eyes and take back the power.

He had just reached the whimpering prince, when he heard the rush of hooves. The King was calling out Nathan's name and the guards were coming. Stig bounced anxiously in place. He needed the prince's eyes, but he wasn't going to have the time he needed to retrieve them. Cursing, he dropped the rock and reluctantly fled to collect his bag before he was seen. He couldn't have them tying this mistake to him or his kin. He'd have to get his eyes some other way. Slipping under a bush on the top of the rocky hillside, Stig locked his jaw as he watched the king ride up to his son. Hopping off his horse, the king kneeled and looked around with worry. It was the middle of summer and yet all around his son was a circle of frost. Placing a hand on his son, he jerked his hand back and uttered out in shock. "You're as cold as ice! Nathan...?" Nathan didn't respond. He could only lay there and shiver. Collecting his son up into his arms, he swung back up onto his horse and told the approaching guards. "My son is hurt! Quick! Back to the castle!" The King rode off with the guards right at his heels, leaving Stig to grumble out to himself with disappointment. "Damn it... This just complicated things. Grand Pabbie is not going to like this."

Mark trotted out onto the hunting trail, watching the King ride off with his son. Petting his young reindeer's neck, he told him almost in disbelief. "Was that the King of Arendelle that just saved us?" The Reindeer snorted in a nod, pawing the ground uneasily. Mark turned his reindeer to leave, when from the top of the hilltop a small voice rushed out in glee. "Mark! Donner! Over here!" Riding closer to the wall, Mark chuckled out to the small troll. "Stig? When did you get back? Need a lift?" Stig jumped down onto Donner's head, holding onto his small fuzzy antlers as he cheerfully told Mark. "I got back a few minutes ago. I was hoping you would offer a ride. I have something important to tell Grand Pabbie. Take me up to the Valley and quickly!" Mark kicked Donner into a run, asking along the way. "What's happening?" Stig held on tight, carefully replying in a cool tone. "I believe a storm is coming." To Be Continued...