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[frozen_witch]

[The feed turned on, jostling around as the person attempted to figure out how to hold it properly. She had never seen anything like this before in her life, and so the idea of it seemed almost magical to her. she'd managed to figure out that it was supposed to allow her to communicate with others in this city, though she barely understood how. The result had the pale-skinned woman with white hair's face more than a little too close to the device.

When she spoke, it was tentative and a little nervous, her voice forcibly steady as she worked to keep her nerves calm. Her English was a little clipped and formal, even lightly accented, but clear to anyone that knew that tongue.]

Please forgive me. I am Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, and I must ask for assistance. Does anyone know what has happened to me, or how I have come to this place? My people need me.

[God, what must Anna be doing right now? She'd be tearing the castle apart to find her. No, she couldn't think about that. It would make her nervous, and nervousness could lead to more problems. She'd finally gotten this under control, mostly, and she didn't need to have an uncontrolled release of her power among a strange people.]

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[justanitgirl]

[Felicity offers up a small wave. The people arriving now seem to be a bit more freaked out then she was, then again, she was dealing with Nazis before this, so, learning curve.] Basically, we've all been kidnapped by unknown forces and aren't sure how to get home. I'm Felicity, by the way.

[frozen_witch]

[Elsa had a few issues to work through, and was trying very hard to keep her emotions under control. There were always problems if she didn't do that.]

Kidnapped?!?

[That cam out too fast, and as it did there was what looked like a flurry of wind behind her with what almost looked like a few snowflakes. She looked back, alarmed and visibly stilled herself. No, no, she could do this. She might be tempted to throw an icicle spear at whoever had kidnapped her in a moment, but she could do this.]

I am sorry, it just does not seem possible. The last I remember, I went to sleep and my people's only enemy was expelled from the kingdom. Why are we here?

Thank you for your help, Felicity. I am just trying to get my bearings.

[justanitgirl]

[Oh, wow, is that snow? They don't have a winter god. How is there snow when there's no winter god?]

Hey, last I remember before being here I was about to get shot by a Nazi doppelganger of my boyfriend, it happens.

Right now there aren't any leads except that when someone isn't sitting on one of the thrones, whatever they're supposed to be in charge of doesn't work. Communication, for instance.

[frozen_witch]

[Someone had magic of her own, but that throne would be occupied very soon at this rate. Elsa simply didn't realize that yet.]

I do not think that I understand any of what you just said. It does seem that we both are in strange circumstances here, though.

What do you mean by thrones?

[justanitgirl]

Where are you? Maybe this would be better in person.

[frozen_witch]

I am not sure. Let me show you?

[She had no idea how to use a camera function, but as the shaky video feed showed, she wasn't going to be that difficult to find. Elsa was in one of the main squares, and the occupied temple barely in the feed would make it easy to find which one it was.]

Do you know where this is?

[justanitgirl]

Got it. [At least these phones were passable. Still, she could use a database. She'll have to get on that.] Go straight for about two blocks and take a left. I'll be outside the dark temple with all the lights.

[frozen_witch]

Thank you.

[With directions, she could figure her path out quickly enough. Elsa walked briskly towards the temple that she had been told about, and when she caught sight of Felicity, she approached her and bowed.]

Felicity, I presume?

video;

[heirtonothing]

[ Ah, fellow royalty in need. Zelda tends to forget there's a world outside of her temple and her books, but that word "queen" certainly has a way of getting her attention.

She offers as much of a bow as one can, on these 'cell phone' things. ]

Your majesty. I am Queen Zelda of Hyrule, and I'm afraid I don't know how any of us came to be here, any more than I know how we might leave. For the time being I fear all we can do is trust our people to carry on without us.

[frozen_witch]

[Trust Anna to rule? Without her? That was almost a mortifying thought. It wasn't that her sister didn't mean well, or that Elsa wouldn't have been all too happy to one day abdicate the throne to her. She just had these flights of fancy, and absolutely no practical sense. There were advisers, though, and she would be safe. Kristoff would make sure of it, since she couldn't trust Olaf to do anything other than be adorable and idiotic.

She reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, calming herself.]

My sister will be worried sick, but she is not alone. She handled the city without me before, and she can do this. But I must return. What can you tell me of this place, your highness?

[heirtonothing]

Ah... I don't know how much I can tell you that will be of any use. There doesn't seem to be anything outside of this city. I've heard that those who try to leave and walk in a straight line find themselves inevitably entering the city once again. And there is the matter of the thrones, and the strange effect that unoccupied temples seem to have on the environment.

[frozen_witch]

[More and more concerning, though Elsa definitely made a note to attempt the walk out of the city. It would verify what this woman was saying for herself. But the 'strange effects' and 'thrones' stuck out.]

What do you mean thrones and strange effects? I have seen several older buildings, but what is special about them?

[heirtonothing]

[ Yes... there wasn’t really a more concise way of putting that, but she’ll give the lengthy explanation now. ]

There are various temples about the city which, to my understanding, had been more or less abandoned before people started arriving here unexpectedly. I haven’t been able to learn how things worked before they were abandoned, unfortunately. The information isn’t available, and the locals refuse to speak of it.

[ Which is weird and disconcerting as well, really. ]

Currently, it seems that any who choose to do so may sit in the throne of one of these temples and decide that they are that temple’s ‘god’.

Of course, the very notion is absurd. People can’t just become gods. But that is what the people here call us, and they don’t take kindly to being told differently.

In any case, when no one holds a throne such as fire it appears that fire simply doesn’t work. Before I took the throne of Knowledge there was still a library, still full of books, but all the pages were blank.

It’s really a very curious phenomenon, for all it’s terribly inconvenient.

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[frozen_witch]

[She listened to all of that for a long moment, and the more that Zelda said, the more that she felt a pit forming in her stomach. There was something deeply wrong about this place. She had seen the water in one of the riverways earlier, and it had been brown and filthy. The air was unpleasant to breathe and thick, rank. Nobody in the city seemed able to understand each other unless they spoke the same language.]

So, you are saying that unless someone holds these thrones, there is some basic part of living of living here that will not work properly? Even something so basic as the weather?

[Wait a minute...]

2/2

[frozen_witch]

[That pit in the bottom of her stomach got worse and worse. There was frost lining the edge of her hair and she had to calm down for a second. Oh, that was a little too convenient to be believed as just a coincidence. It definitely didn't make her feel any better, especially the idea that someone might call her, or anyone else, a "God."]

Is there a temple devoted to the seasons?

[Because it really should have been colder out there right now, and she had a feeling she knew exactly why she might have been brought here. She didn't exactly like the implications either.]

[heirtonothing]

Four of them, I believe. One for each Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring.

[ She can’t begin to understand what that tone of Elsa’s voice means, but it’s an easy enough answer. ]

And yes, that does seem to be the case.

[frozen_witch]

[She looked sad for a moment before closing her eyes. Slumping against the nearest wall, she looked away and clutched her arms closer to herself. No, this was not what she wanted to hear at all, but it seemed obvious almost as soon as she heard it. Why else would she be brought here? No, she couldn't just assume. She would need to test an attempt to walk out of the city, just to prove that some of what Zelda had said was true before even going near that temple.]

I think I know why I was brought here, if that is the case and if if the Temple of Winter is empty.

video; I just really want to play with languages

[tatra]

[ Aw, the poor thing. She looks terribly uncertain... but Tatra can't understand a word she's saying. "Arendelle" kind of sounds like a name, but is it her name? A friend's? Her home's? No way to know. Still, there is one thing she can offer, and language doesn't matter. She holds up her own steaming cup of tea with a sympathetic smile, and asks in Japanese- ] Would you like a cup of tea?

It's one of the joys of needing a god of communication!

[frozen_witch]

[She blinked and stared at Tatra in confusion. The action seemed clear enough, if you ignored the fact that tea couldn't pass through one of these devices, or could it? Perhaps there was some magic inside that would allow it to do just that. Despite that, though, she wasn't entirely sure what was being said.

Pointing towards Tatra, she followed by pantomiming to herself and making a motion of sipping while saying in French, hoping for the best.]

Are you offering that to me?

[tatra]

[ The German doesn't make any more sense to her, but it does at least sound like a different language. How odd all this is.

The pantomime does seem to be more or less correct, so she nods enthusiastically.

Although... how is she supposed to tell this woman where the tea is? She thinks about that for a moment, then holds up a finger. ]

I'll be right back.

[ The feed turns off for a minute while she heads outside, then back on again to display the marble engraving over the door of her temple. At least she knows what it's supposed to say: Temple of Hearth and Home. ]

[frozen_witch]

[Communicating without words took so much more time than the alternative. It was clunky, and in the broadest of strokes. The fact that they couldn't understand each other well was infuriating, just as much as the situation was terrifying to Elsa. Still, the fact that she was being offered hospitality was clear enough and she couldn't say it was a bad thing.

She wasn't going to accomplish anything as she currently was. No, it was clear enough that she needed a little bit of time at a minimum to get her bearings. Escape wasn't going to be immediate, so there was no reason to refuse. She looked at the building and thought back to what she'd seen in walking the city already. She might have seen that one before.

Elsa nodded and held up a finger before speaking in English again, whether or not it would do any good.]

I will be there shortly.

[tatra]

[ It’s definitely inconvenient, but Tatra isn’t too bothered. Most of her day consists of pleasantries and tea anyway, so it all works out.

She gives a cheerful giggle and waves goodbye before turning off the feed.

The temple, when Elsa finds it, is very Roman in style but also perfectly round. Inside the place is covered in pillows and blankets, hanging incense cups and drapes, giving the large room a very warm, comfortable feel that has little to do with the large open cooking fire in the center of it. ]

[frozen_witch]

[It was an exotic style, and a little old-world for her tastes, but she certainly couldn't say that it was not attractive in its own way. Elsa looked around as she entered into it and felt immediately a little more at ease. This place was certainly focused on being welcoming to strangers.

So, walking in, she looked around for any sign of Tatra or one of her priests or staff. There had to be a proper way to introduce herself here, even if they didn't understand her language.]

[tatra]

[ Tatra’s lone priest is out shopping at the moment, though he has a stew already cooking on the central fire. Tatra is sitting in the pillow-covered throne directly across from the entrance, on the other side of that great hearth. She tried to watch for her guest, but it can be hard from that angle.

Once she realizes she has company she waves Elsa over. Of course it isn’t proper for the ruler of the temple to stand, but she can still get Elsa’s attention. ]

Hello! Please, come in. There’s plenty of tea.

[ Three separate trays, even, with cookies included: one on each side of the door and one next to Tatra’s throne. ]

[frozen_witch]

[It took a moment to find her, but as soon as she did Elsa would return the wave far more self-consciously before coming over. When she got close to Tatra, she made to bow. It seemed appropriate and fitting to do so, since the woman was seated on a throne of some sort, right?]

I am Elsa. Thank you for having me.

[Wait, she couldn't understand anything Elsa said, could she? No, this was still the thing you said when given hospitality.]