Professor Emily Wilde begins her journal in Hrafnsvik, Ljosland, where she plans to document the faeries called the Hidden Ones and leave a useful record in case the Folk capture her. She describes the five-day sea journey from London, her seasickness, and her first view of the isolated northern landscape, with the village pressed beneath snowbound mountains. Emily is the only passenger to disembark, and she heads inland with her old boarhound, Shadow.

As Emily drags her trunk through Hrafnsvik, the villagers stare at the stranger but do not help. The severe terrain, cold wind, and unfamiliar northern environment make the settlement feel harsher than any field site she has known before. Emily reaches the rented cottage above the village and finds it unlocked and briefly occupied by a sheep, which immediately underscores how rustic and poorly prepared the place is.

Inside, Emily discovers a dusty, bitterly cold interior with no obvious fire lit and no clear understanding of how to warm the room. When snow begins falling outside, her discomfort turns into real alarm, and she briefly fears she may freeze there. This panic is sharpened by the realization that, although she has worked in remote parts of Europe before, she usually had students or assistants handling practical matters, and she has underestimated both Ljosland’s isolation and the difficulty of leaving if something goes wrong.

Krystjan Egilson, the farmer who owns the cottage, arrives without ceremony and introduces himself. His manner is blunt and faintly mocking as he comments on Emily’s journey, the villagers’ curiosity, and her plan to study the Folk. When Emily explains that she intends observation rather than capture, Krystjan makes clear that the local people do not welcome unnecessary interference and warns her that she should limit herself to the lesser faeries, because disturbing the greater, near-human Folk will bring trouble to both Emily and the village.

The conversation also reveals Emily’s social discomfort: she compares herself unfavorably to Bambleby, whose charm would have handled Krystjan more easily, while Emily struggles to steer the talk toward practical needs. At last she asks for tea and firewood, exposing her inexperience with household basics when Krystjan points out the obvious wood box and matchbox. Before leaving to tend his farm, Krystjan says he will send his son Finn with tea, and Emily is left with the first signs that her research in Ljosland will test not only her scholarship but her ability to survive the place itself.