User:Vaino44/sandbox/Mark of the Bear Clan

The Mark of the Bear Clan is a 2021 epic fantasy novel written by David Allen Schlaefer. It is the first novel in the Far Northern Land Saga. The Mark of the Bear Clan is set in the world of the Kalevala, Finland's national epic, and features traditional Finnish cultural heroes such as Väinämöinen and Louhi alongside original characters. The story revolves around an ancient Finnish girl named Ulla who survives a bear mauling and is subsequently raised by the wizard Väinämöinen, who introduces her to the world of Finnish magic and song. Together, they travel across Iron Age Finland seeking support for the endless war against the witch Louhi, the personification of winter among the early Finnic peoples. The book is remarkable for its use of antiquated Finnish names and linguistic phrases as well as its adaptation of traditional Finnish magic, which took the form of songs chanted by shamans. It was selected by the Midwest Book Review for its California Bookwatch Fantasy/SciFi Shelf selection for September 2021.

Plot
The ULLA, a seven-year old girl, lives with her aunt and uncle in a poor village of rye farmers near the cold wastelands. One day a bear badly mauls her, leaving her for dead. The wizard VÄINÄMÖINEN discovers Ulla by chance and heals her. The old wizard notices something strange; the scars on her back form the perfect shape of a bear’s claw, the clan-mark and totem of her people. He at once recalls an old prophecy: Long ago in Finland’s misty past, the gods sent a race of immortals to shape the land and guide mortal men. The witch, LÖHI, was the greatest of these, a powerful sorceress twisted by lust to become a goddess herself. Väinämöinen knows the Witch has returned to make war upon the Seven Clans and reclaim her lost throne.

The prophecy tells of a child who will unite the Seven Clans against the witch, but the old man is unsure about Ulla—she is a girl, after all. For her part, Ulla feels an immediate connection with the old man. The bear attack awoke something within her and she feels a calling she struggles to understand. For now, she returns to her village.

Väinämöinen continues on his journey to warn the Seven Clans that Löhi is awake and plotting war. Soon afterward, Ulla’s village is attacked by the savage Easterners. Her family dead, her village in ruins, Ulla escapes and meets another scatterling, a red-haired girl covered from head to toe with freckles, KIRSIKKA. The two girls form a lifelong bond. Famished and exhausted, the girls are captured, but rescued improbably by Väinämöinen. No longer doubting his intuition, the old wizard makes sure he doesn’t lose Ulla again and takes the girls to his home deep in the forest.

Hundreds of miles away, the precocious Prince EGAN of the Swan Folk is thrust into power when his father the king is slain by a hideous ghost from Hell unleashed by Löhi. Many nobles refuse to accept a boy still in his early teens as king, but Väinämöinen sees something in Egan akin to what he sees in Ulla: purity of spirit, steadfastness of purpose, and hope. He champions Egan and gives him a precious gift—the famous Sword of Legend used to defeat Löhi in ancient times and that the wizard has secretly guarded for centuries. Egan is paralyzed by self-doubt. But with Väinämöinen’s trust and the Sword’s power, he imposes his will on the rebellious nobles and throws his lot in with Väinämöinen against the Witch.

Meanwhile, Ulla and Kirsikka meet Väinämöinen’s amazing clan of Elves, Gnomes, Sylphs, and even stranger creatures of Finnish folklore half-forgotten by mortals. Ulla discovers something more—she possesses the power to work magic and secretly learns several spells. The girl loves Väinämöinen by now, seeing him as a father-figure offering home and belonging, and hopes that in becoming what everyone seems to want her to be—the Child of the Prophecy and Löhi’s enemy—she can bind the old man to her and never be alone again. But the wizard loves Ulla, too, so much that he hopes to spare her the dangers of open war against Löhi even as he uses the Mark of the Clan to convince others to unite against the common foe.

Ulla and Egan meet at last, albeit briefly. Ulla shows Egan her scar, which later convinces him to follow the old wizard’s advice, against the recommendation of his counselors. Her confidence to reveal her scarred shoulder gives him confidence in turn.

Terrible news reaches the south—Löhi’s armies have overrun the Bear Folk’s lands, enslaved the people, and moved on toward their next target, the Elk Folk. Väinämöinen and Ulla visit the old Seer, a mortal witch alone in her tower with a crystal ball. The Seer hopes to use Ulla for her own crooked purposes, but understands the threat Löhi poses and agrees to help them. In exchange for Väinämöinen’s promise to ally himself with her, the old woman gives the wizard precious information—an old foe of Väinämöinen’s leads Löhi’s army and bears an enchanted crystal that he uses to spy on the Seven Clans and discover their disposition before every attack. Väinämöinen and Ulla leave at once for the Elk Land while Egan marshals an army to come to their rescue.

Left alone, Egan’s self-doubt returns. He knows what many of his men think of him—a boy, not yet bearded, and half-enchanted by the old wizard—and struggles to find the courage to lead them to war. But a vision of his father leads to an epiphany, and against the advice of his counselors, he charts a risky course towards the enemy.

Ulla faces her own crisis. Finding the Elk Clan trapped in an old hillfort half-surrounded by enemies, Väinämöinen sends her away and prepares for a desperate defense. Terrified of being alone again and wanting to prove her worth to him, she weaves a magic spell, slips into the enemy camp, and steals the magic crystal from their captain, TYË. Barely making it back alive, Väinämöinen’s anger with Ulla turns to wonder when he sees the crystal. He now has the means to outwit the foe.

The old wizard sets a trap for their enemies, but despite his trick, the Witch’s men and goblins are on the cusp of victory when Egan finally arrives. Even as Tyë binds the old man in deadly spells, the young king slips behind him, slaying Tyë with the legendary sword. The battle is won, the Elk Clan saved, and Löhi’s first invasion blunted. The wizard embraces the little girl, finally accepting her destiny as a wizard and promising never to leave her. Egan, convinced now of his own destiny, is hailed as a hero and steels himself to lead the Seven Clans in great battles to come.

Returning to the old Seer’s tower, Väinämöinen, Ulla, and Egan discover a miraculous thing. Compelled by vivid dreams, dozens of people from all the Seven Clans are gathering to learn the old magic. A beautiful woman with golden hair kneels before Ulla, recognizing in her the power of the Mark of the Clan. As in an ancient Finnish poem, the story ends exactly as it began, with a song of the seasons, hinting at much more to come in the lives of the two young heroes.