King Agnarr's Journal

Gone But Not Forgotten

After Iduna told me about her past and that she was the one that saved me from the Enchanted Forest, I was amazed but also saddened. Amazed by the fact that she had kept that from me for so long but my heart broke at the thought of her not being able to mourn her parents. When she told me the story, she stated that she watched as her mother was killed. Her father died trying to save her. She couldn't return to the Enchanted Forest to visit their graves, if they were even given one. My father had a monument and a statue in his honor, but Iduna's family had nothing when it came to their remembrance. As much as I wanted to give her a big statue and beautiful engravings, she would not want that. Her being Northuldra was a secret, one she wanted to keep for the time being.

So I had to abide by her wishes on that aspect, but she never said I couldn't build something outside of town. In the forest near the castle, there is a lovely little clearing with a waterfall, a small stream and lots of forest flowers. Crocuses are Iduna's favorite and they grow all around the stream that leads to the ocean. So in secret, I had a small group of my most trust guards and builders help me build a place for Iduna to go and pay homage to her parenrs and her people. I went to my secret room and pulled out any books that we had on the Northuldra. Trying to find any sort of traditions or practices involving the dead. Most practices involved singing, which made my preparation for this a bit more difficult. I had a intricately carved stone box put out there that contained a tradition drum and flute. Whilst also putting some wind chimes in the trees to bring a more calming atmosphere. I put a traditional hut out there for her if she ever wanted to stay longer than a day. Lastly, I had a male and female reindeer carved from stone and placed out there in remembrance of her parents. We never got to meet one anothers parents, which is quite sad if you think about it. Since I did not know what her parents looked like, I had a stag and doe carving placed there since that is what they herded and took care of in the forest. After several weeks of preparing, I took Iduna out on a picnic and I led her to this new place of remembrance.

The tears fell from her cheeks the moment she saw what I had done for her. She hugged and thanked me so many times over that I couldn't keep count. I could see the child within her coming out as she showed me how to play the instruments and a few dance steps which I badly butchered. We spent the whole afternoon there and it was just wonderful to see the happiness flooding out of her. When it was finally time to go back to the castle, she gathered a bouquet of flowers and placed them in front of the doe and stag carving. Finally she had a place to go to remember her parents. She often goes there when she needs guidance or peace. It makes me happy knowing that she can find those things in that little secret piece of paradise.