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Alex raised a palm toward Elsa and beckoned, “Elsa?”

She raised a finger at a distance from his palm and aimed. “Ready?” she asked, smiling. Careful yet confidently, she shot a controlled burst of ice magic at his palm. It bounced off effortlessly. But it ricocheted right into the campfire, putting it off at a stroke.

“Sorry!” apologized Alex. “I don’t have much control over where it goes.”

The little reindeer panicked and trotted away. Picking up flintstones, Honeymaren offered, “Don’t worry, I’ll light it again.”

An unearthly quake rattled the ground. And then, another.

“Earth Giants,” Honeymaren warned. One of the stones fell out of her hands, and not far from them, Yelena wondered aloud, “What are they doing down here?” Alex got up with a start and looked at Honeymaren. She was befuddled, still holding a stone in her hand.

“Honeymaren? On second thought, leave it be.”

The quakes became louder and more robust; it seemed as if they were footsteps. The people went haywire while soldiers held together—whose footsteps could be so huge? They looked around in confusion, still wondering what to do. Lieutenant Mattias was busy getting the children behind the tents and rocks. Without a second thought, Alex seized his moment. “Soldiers! Put out the fires and get the others into the tents!” he commanded. When he looked at them, the soldiers grew steadfast. The enlisted woman complied with a, “Yes, color sarge!” While the others nodded.

In a matter of moments, everyone was in the tents, and campfires were doused. Lieutenant Mattias rushed the last of the children behind baskets. But as the rumbling became louder, one of them looked up, gasping aloud. “Shh!” Mattias urged the boy. As he lifted his gaze, his eyes, too, were filled with horror.

Honeymaren ran for one of the tents, and Elsa took cover behind a tree. Anna ran in the direction of her sister but decided to hide behind a rock to remain undetected. Olaf worriedly stayed behind a boulder with the fire spirit, Bruni. It stood on a smaller stone beside him. When Olaf smiled at Bruni, it chittered happily. But when the snowman attempted to shush the spirit, it set itself ablaze. “They’re coming!” Olaf exclaimed in a whisper, trying to blow the flame off. Sadly, he only made it worse—each blow fuelled the flame and sent it towering over his head!

He quickly lifted Bruni and tried to shake the flame off but in vain. Instead, his wooden arms caught fire. Dropping Bruni back, he wanted to put it out but was out of luck again. In a flash, Bruni jumped onto his head and diffused heat, its colors reverting to a cool blue. With rebuke, Olaf frowned, “This is why we don’t play with fire.” The spirit innocently looked at him while licking its face. Olaf was charmed. “Ah, I can’t stay mad at you. You’re so cute!”

Elsa caught a glimpse of what terrified the lieutenant and the children from behind a tree—a gigantic behemoth made entirely of rock scanned the area for the source of the magic: for Elsa. She gasped and continued to observe the Earth Giant standing next to the tree. She was in plain sight: the moonlight was bright enough to give her away. With no provocation, it turned toward her. She quickly took cover, resting her back against the bark, panting heavily. As it turned away, Elsa cautiously followed it, amazed. It was as if she was attracted by the very thing that even the Northuldra dreaded. But Elsa was fascinated, more than afraid: she wanted to pursue them further. A hand pulled her down to the ground as she inhaled sharply—it was Anna.

“Please tell me you were not about to follow them?!”

Elsa asked her sister, still enchanted by what she saw, “What if I can settle them like I did with the wind and fire?”

“Or what if they can crush you before you even get the chance? Remember, the goal is to find the voice, find the truth and get us home.”

Elsa nodded in agreement, slightly dejected. Alex rushed right in, puffing and blowing, and demanded, “Elsa! Anna! Are you two okay?”

Elsa reassured sincerely, “We’re fine, Alex. Are you?”

“Great to know you’re good.” he sighed with relief. Olaf waddled in with Bruni on his head.

“Hey guys, that was close.” Bruni jumped onto Elsa’s palm.

“I know.” she accepted. “The giants sensed me. They may come back here; I don’t want to put anyone at risk again.” She turned to Anna, “And you’re right, Anna: we’ve got to find the voice. We’re going now.”

Anna replied, “Okay, we’re going, let me just…”

But Elsa, Bruni, and Olaf were already off. Alex stood by, wondering why she didn’t join her sister.

Her eyes searched the Northuldra campsite. Looking at Alex, she inquired, “Wait, where are Kristoff and Sven?”

“Well, Ryder and himself are leading some reindeer back to their herd.”

Anna felt deserted, “So they just left…? They just left without saying anything?”

Alex gently pressed her shoulder and suggested they walked, putting his other hand forward. “Come on, Anna,” he said, and she started to walk, still worried. Taking a breath, he began, “See, doubting is natural, don’t feel bad. We need to see here that Kristoff has finally found someone obsessed with reindeer, just like himself! We should be happy that he is enjoying his time.”

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Now comfortable, Anna walked closer to him and listened. “Besides, this is our adventure. We are looking for the answers to our past. Your mother and father, the king and the queen; the voice calling Elsa and the truth behind what happened the day the Forest fell…”

Anna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Filled with new resolution, they flung open. “You’re right, Alex.” she beamed at him, full of determination. Before she knew it, they had already reached the others.

“Ready, Anna?” asked Elsa, concerned.

“Oh, I was BORN ready!” exclaimed Anna—if a two-hundred-foot drop was a cakewalk for her, this was nothing at all. Elsa chuckled as her eyes met Alex’s.

“Shall we, Elsa?” asked Alex. Elsa nodded affirmatively, and all of them took a step forward. And then another—they were on their way, into the unknown.

They continued to advance north through the remainder of the night. By daylight, they found themselves in a barren landscape, full of leafless trees. It was eerie forestland, but something felt inexplicably desolate about it too. Bruni scouted the area, licking its face and occasionally returning to check on the others. Elsa walked ahead and searched for the voice, replicating its call with perfection. Alex and Anna followed behind her, observing the landscape cautiously.

Without provocation, Olaf came running in from behind, howling boisterously after Elsa. This scared Bruni out of its skin, and it sparked in terror. Anna jumped out of the way and grabbed Alex’s arm, petrified. They were not expecting uninvited company in this already uncanny place but breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the snowman. Elsa flawlessly called out to the voice, and Olaf let out another unbearable, insane howl. Bruni flamed up and got away. Fed up, Anna suggested politely, “Hey! Um… Olaf? Maybe only one of you should do it.”

“I agree. She’s a little pitchy.” Catching his breath, he cried out yet again, hysterically. Alex had had enough.

“QUIET, Olaf! You’re making my ears BLEED!” he raged, stopping him short.

“Yeesh! Alright, alright.” Olaf then sighed, “Some people just don’t realize musical talent.”

Anna felt a push from behind—from the wind. The wind spirit did gyrate around Olaf, gently lifting his torso and head in a swirl. “Hey, Gale’s back!” Olaf celebrated as the spirit blew its way to Alex and lifted him off. ‘Not this again.’ he thought to himself while the spirit raised him higher into the sky. At an altitude, it stopped and made him hover. The only prominent feature in the landscape caused Alex to gasp. He didn’t want to believe what lay before his eyes. The wind spirit somehow understood that the sergeant was in no jovial mood and set him down blandly. He stared away, looking aghast; his face fell. Before anyone could ask him what happened, the spirit moved about Elsa and shot over a mound.

“That way.” Alex proclaimed, breaking into a run. The sisters briefly looked at each other: Alex had never acted so strangely. Unsettled, they followed suit.

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They could see a tattered mainsail and an all too familiar flag—the king and the queen’s ship. From atop the mound, Alex stared at it, speechless. The sisters and Olaf quickly joined by his side. “How can it be?” Anna wondered in dismay, gripping Elsa’s shoulder. Elsa was shattered by the scene.

“What is it?” asked Olaf.

“Mother and Father’s ship!” Anna told the snowman. The sight was desolate; the wreckage had borne the wear and tear of years. It looked like the ship had slowly become a part of the landscape, blending with it in a haunting way.

“But this isn’t the Southern Sea.”

“No, it isn’t.” Alex stared, “I always sensed something was wrong.”

Saying so, he darted down toward it, determined. Elsa, too, sprinted off behind him, followed by Anna and Olaf. A large hole on the underside of the beached shipwreck lay wide open like a gigantic whale’s mouth. They entered vigilantly, studying its inside with caution. Alex wondered aloud, “Why is their ship here?”

Elsa reframed and asked, “How is it here?”

Anna assumed, “It must have been washed away from the Dark Sea.”

Alex and Elsa examined the wretched interior of the ship, filled with empty cans, broken mirrors, barrels, and a devastated lifeboat.

“What were they doing in the Dark Sea?” asked Elsa.

“I don’t know.”

Walking in slowly, Olaf spoke to himself, “How did this ship get through the mist? I thought nobody could get through but us! Unless nobody was on it…”

Anna knew it was no time to give up. She said, “There’s gotta be something here…” At the instant, something struck her. “Wait… wait, look around! Every Arendellian ship has a… a compartment: waterproof.”

“That’s very clever.” started Olaf, inspecting a soiled notebook on the deck. “Although, that makes me wonder why they don’t just make the whole ship waterproof.” He tossed an old utensil out of his way.

Anna searched for sealed compartments within cupboards, while Elsa looked in the drawers and wall cabinets in the pantry section. Alex moved his hands on the woodwork under the seats. With a click, he opened a compartment containing an air-tight scroll box. “You were right, Anna! And I thought I was a maritime expert.”

When Alex unlatched the boxlike tube from its holder, the royal insignia helped him understand just what it was. “A mission plan report. This is how the Arendellian navy conceals it?”

“Mm-hmm.” Anna agreed.

Carefully, Alex opened the tube and drew out a scroll. The others knelt beside him to see. When he opened it up, he was nonplussed. “What? This isn’t like any report I’ve ever seen.”

Elsa and Anna tried to read from over his shoulder but were unfamiliar with the words. Or, in this case, symbols. “What language is this?” wondered Anna.

“Odd as it may seem, this is a Northuldrian scripture, Anna,” Alex told her. Elsa posed the question in everybody’s mind,

“Can you read it, Alex?” He studied the symbols carefully and nodded that he could. First, he mumbled the translation to himself and then flawlessly proclaimed,

“The eternal river had been all but lost to time. But lo! As the Ice Age draws to an end, it has been yet again found. It is the source and master of all magic in nature—it alone holds the answers to all your questions about the past. Whoever reaches it shall become the custodian of that power. But no power comes facile. Be dauntless, but cautious: go north!”

Just as Alex finished, Anna unfurled another sheet of paper. She instantly recognized that “It’s a map!”

Observing a sidenote on the map, Elsa confirmed, “Look! This is Mother’s handwriting.” Alex ran his finger over the note, reading it aloud, “The river is the magic’s source, but is it Elsa’s source?”

Tracing the path marked on the map, Anna guessed, “They traveled north… and planned to cross the Dark Sea to… Ahtohallan. It’s real?”

“Ahto-who-what?” queried Olaf.

“Ahtohallan… It’s a magical river that flows in the north…”

Elsa completed, “And knows every truth about the past.”

Olaf felt commended. “Reinforcing my ‘water has memory’ theory.”

Alex sprang up and muttered to himself, “Water has memory… water has memory.” As his eyes met Elsa’s, he said, “If water has memory… I want to know what happened here. Elsa, please show us!”

She wanted to know just that too. Without uttering a word, she got up and knelt down again at the center of the ship’s deck.