Laugavegur, A Hinterland Journey

Chapter 22 - Gauldur

That night, an amiable herder allowed them to sleep in the stable alongside several dozen reindeer. Skari fell asleep immediately, but Anja and Tokki stayed up watching the deer settle in for the night. Veld had returned from a foraging trip and was preening in the rafters above.

"Anja?" Tokki asked as a fawn curled up next to him.

"Mmmhmm?"

"What do you think it means? Us being Huldu and all?"

Anja brushed some straw from her pants as she sat next to her brother. "I've been thinking about that myself. I don't know. I never would have guessed it, but thinking back, it makes sense. We've never really belonged anywhere and the Huldu are certainly a people without a home."

"Our parents were Huldu," said Tokki. "We are Huldu." It sounded profound to say it aloud. "Do you think anyone knew?"

"I doubt it. The best secrets are the ones you don't even know you are keeping."

"I'd like to think Haroldur knew. Perhaps that's why he treated us so badly."

Anja shook her head. "Perhaps, but it makes him no less of a monster. Cruelty, whether it is from bigotry, ignorance, or indifference is still cruelty." A silence stretched between them. "Tokki, I am sorry I did not protect you more from Haroldur."

"How could you? You were nearly as young as I was."

"Still, I am your older sister and I should have stood between him and you."

"I do not blame you. Like you said cruelty is cruelty and I am not as frail as I may appear." Tokki took some straw and stuffed it into his coat sleeve and flexed making himself look as muscular as one of Snorri's berserkers. Anja laughed.

"It is good to see you joke a bit, Tokki."

"I'm glad to see you laugh. I thought you had forgotten how."

"Things have been pretty grim of late," Anja allowed. "Imagine watching your brother drown."

"Imagine doing the drowning," Tokki smiled. Anja shoved him over and rubbed straw in his hair.

After a moment Tokki sat up sharply, hay cascading from his blond locks. "Since we are Huldu, do you think we can use gauldur? I've never even tried."

Anja didn't want to admit it, but earlier she had hovered a hand over a patch of bog myrtle to see if she could make it grow. Nothing had happened. "I wouldn't get my hopes up. I imagine it takes years of practice and discipline to-"

Tokki had already pulled a piece of straw from his hair and was concentrating on the tip of it intensely. He grunted and stared, eyes wide with determination. His small hand began to shake. Tokki had no idea how to manipulate gauldur, but he tried, through sheer force of will to ignite the straw. He knew he could do it, he just had... to...

A thin wisp of smoke emanated from the tip of the straw. Anja gasped as a tiny flame flickered to life on the end of the straw. Tokki looked equally surprised.

"Fish on a biscuit!" he exclaimed. "I did it!"

"How?" asked Anja, gazing at the little flame.

"Honestly, it happened just as I had given up trying." Tokki was amused. A world of possibilities opened up for him in his mind. He didn't know what could be done with gauldur, but he pictured himself flying over the rifts and valleys near Fjallabak. He imagined healing his sheep with just the touch of his hand. He thought of all the jokes he could play on his sister. His joy, however, was short-lived. Exhaustion enveloped him like a heavy fog. It was hard to concentrate on any single thought. "Oh... Is it cold in here?" he asked beginning to shiver.