The Ice People 16 - The Mandrake. Margit Sandemo

Ulvhedin who was supposed to have held it after Niklas, but Ulvhedin was strong enough to say no. He knew of the enormous temptation that these magical resources present to those who are cursed, and he wanted to continue his quiet, peaceful life with Elisa and his family.”

      Alv looked on with horror as he saw his daughter’s eyes start to shine like small greedy flames. “Where is the treasure now?”

      “I am not going to tell you. But according to the laws of lineage, you are the one who is to inherit it. Up until now, if it has been determined that an individual who is cursed is not worthy of having the treasure in his or her possession, he or she has been stripped of their right to own it.”

      “But, I want it, I want it!” Ingrid shouted, terrified. “I promise I will be good. I will show you that I am worthy of having the treasure.”

      And so that is how it went. For a full, long year, Ingrid was a little angel whom everyone fervently loved. She never even mentioned her desire for more lessons. She was exemplary.

      In the meantime, Dan Lind of the Ice People was having a much better time in Sweden. He too was gifted with an exceptional brain, but he was allowed to use it. He was eighteen years old and could hold his own easily with Sweden’s greatest scientists. He was down-to-earth and logical, sharp and clear, though without much understanding of the emotional world. His parents had selected a girl for him and he had accepted that. He would take anyone, as long as she was sweet and proper and domestic, and not too loud in her manner.

      It so happened that Olof Rudbeck the Younger asked Dan to make a study of mountain flora, because the great man had so many other projects and did not have time to do it himself. On a sudden impulse, Dan asked whether he might just as well study the Norwegian flora as the Swedish, because he had roots in Norway and wanted to visit his distant relatives. Olof Rudbeck agreed to that, so young Dan was supplied with an impressive list of the plants he was to gather. He was also welcome to find new and unknown ones. His marriage plans were put on ice. Dan left his parents, Tengel the Young and Sigrid, and his grandmother and grandfather, Villemo and Dominic.

      The year was 1715, and no one in the family yet knew of Vendel Grip’s fate. He had disappeared in Russia many years before, and no one expected to see him again, but in fact at that very moment he was in the land of the Yurak-Samoyeds in the coldest part of Siberia, where he was fighting a mental battle with the strong-willed shaman woman, Tun-sij.

      Dan Lind of the Ice People took his time getting to Norway. He took the opportunity to visit other researchers on the way so it was a long time before he reached Graastensholm. He thought about his farewell with his indomitable grandmother, Villemo, with much amusement. She was no longer young and he had playfully asked her to stay alive until he returned. She had just laughed and answered that she and Dominic intended to grow very old together. And when they thought that they were no longer of any use in this life, they would die at the same time. That was what they had decided. Because if one died, the other one would not be able to go on living. A deep bond like the one his grandparents had was something Dan also hoped to experience some day, he thought. But for the moment he was fully focused on the world of science.

      It took him an entire winter to work his way though Sweden. There were so many people who wanted to talk with him, and he wanted to talk with as many of the great men he met as he possibly could. He took a detour by way of Skara in order to greet his friend, Emanuel Swedenborg, or Swedberg, as he was still called back then. Emanuel’s father was Jesper Swedburg, Bishop of Skara and a very pious and strict man of the church. Emanuel was more liberal and had ideas about the spiritual world that interested Dan. He claimed that he was able to have long conversations with angels and spirits and thus interpreted the Bible in a way that not everyone approved of. He studied maths, astronomy and medicine and was a very intelligent man; unfortunately he also had a lot of jealous colleagues who talked about him behind his back and threw mud at him.

      “I am sitting here writing a letter to one of my best friends,” he confided with bitterness to young Dan. “May I read to you some of what I have written?”

      “Please do,” Dan answered.

      Emanuel began: “The man who is free and independent and who has a name that is known abroad, nonetheless remains up here in the dark where, on top of the darkness, it is also freezing cold, where the Furies and the envious and Pluto live and administer all the awards and prizes of distinction.”

      Dan had to admit that Emanuel’s fate was unfair. However, Emanuel would gain advancement in time, although that would be far into the future.

      Dan’s expedition to the Norwegian mountains to collect plants appealed greatly to Emanuel and they had long talks about it, both being men of science. But finally Dan managed to get away.

      When he at long last reached Graastensholm he had turned nineteen, and it was summer again.

      It was on that day that Ingrid was standing at the top of the tower enjoying the lightning flashes from the thunderstorm. She was eighteen years old and had already had her first suitor. This was not something that really interested her that much, but she was grateful for the fact that men wanted her and she, in turn, would draw them into her all-embracing love. Though not to the extent that she actually intended to marry any of them. Except for one. He was the youngest son on a farm south of Graastensholm Parish. Ingrid had left the possibility open. She would think about it, she said, and her parents had hoped for the best. He was a good boy and they wanted to see Ingrid happily married, and since she had been behaving herself so well of late they felt it would be safe to leave her in the care of a man.

      But then Dan came along ...

      He came galloping on his horse into the courtyard, hurrying to avoid the thunderstorm and the threat of pouring rain. Suddenly he caught sight of a strange figure up on the tower. She was wearing white garments, and against the background of the blue-grey thundercloud he could clearly see that she was stretching her arms up towards the sky.

      “She’s mad,” Dan thought. “It’s completely crazy for anyone to be standing out there now!”

      At the same time, he could not help a sneaking feeling of admiration for such a reckless act of courage. He quickly handed his reins to a servant who came running out, grabbed hold of his bulky packs and ran inside. He was given a warm greeting by Alv and Berit.

      “How wonderful it is to see you again, Dan! Your father Tengel wrote to tell us that you were on your way but it is quite a long time since we received his letter.”

      “Yes, I took my time getting here.”

      “How big you have grown! You were nothing but a little boy last time we saw each other. But we recognized you easily. You look like your grandfather, Dominic.”

      They did not say what they were actually thinking: that Dan had grown into an immensely handsome man, big, tall and strong in physique. His face was perhaps a little too distinctive to be called handsome, but it was very masculine with its dark colouring and look of strict seriousness.

      Berit interjected, “Oh, Ingrid should have been here to bid you welcome. We are worried, you see. She’s vanished and we’re afraid that she might have been frightened of the thunderstorm and gone off to hide somewhere.”

      “Your daughter is standing at the top of the tower, worshipping the thunder gods,” Dan said dryly. “She seems to be enjoying it to the full.”

      “Yes, we should have guessed as much,” Alv murmured as he rushed up the stairs.

      He came back down again with a gruff, fatherly grip on Ingrid’s upper arm. Her eyes were glowing with excitement and joy.

      Good God, Dan thought. She looks fantastic! How fascinating.

      “Hello, Dan,” Ingrid cooed with a rather shameless smile. “Father said you had arrived. You’ve managed to bring the storm with you, I see.”

      “Well, at the moment it is not so much a storm as it is pouring rain,” he smiled back. “I suppose it’s not so easy to frighten you if you can bear to stand up there in this kind of weather.”