Iceland attracted my interest because of its seclusion and history. My studies show that Vikings were explorers who combined new cultures with their own heritage. Northmen enjoyed repurposing things – even Ragnarok is a rejuvenation of what was into what will be. Also, the term “Viking” is a verb, as in “to go a Viking.”
Wandering Falls houses the characters in AESTHETIC CHARM. I mimicked the Norse tradition of repurposing for the manor proper. The sculptor, Numan, takes old art and crafts something new. Embedded in the manor’s walls are pieces of former glories collected by the Sheik, including broken fragments of the Tower of Pisa, preserved armor from b.c.e., and ruined paintings. Numan takes these remnants and adds new designs. Sculptures of the ghosts who haunt the manor act as tribute to their memories, but Numan hopes these offerings will trap the ghosts from plaguing his mind with whispers. Sometimes, Numan is successful.
Surrounding the manor proper is Emil, the gardener’s, labyrinth. The ghosts enjoy the garden, which seems to move at will. The curious ones lounge in the labyrinth when they tire of the conservatory. On the other side of the labyrinth stands Iris and Anton’s new addition – a three-story flat built into the cliff, with a crystal swimming pool. Iris instructs Numan, early on, to adjust the addition into Tycho’s laboratory under the guise that the Sheik constructed the building for his work. This is important because Tycho must believe that he is valuable. The flat is ultra-modern, with smart devices and smooth designs, but it also contains the secret passageway, leading into the cliff and unto the black sands below.
Chasms and salty rocks come into play because Iris’s ancestors are trapped below the surface. The curious ones and her must discover her heritage and free the Tuatha de Danann from Odin’s imprisonment. However, old gods need new bodies for walking in the real. Iceland’s seclusion keeps the rest of the world from witnessing the rise of antiquity.