Krysta is the oldest of the Elphland children and the one that all the younger Elves look up to. Krysta is blessed with a beautiful singing voice and she often wanders in the Great Pine Forest where the whistling of the wind through the trees adds music to her songs. Krysta is secretly in love with a handsome, young shopkeeper in the nearby town of Baadnvask named Anders Larson and she always accompanies her uncle Yanyk, Elphland's chief carpenter, on his regular trips into town so she can visit Anders' shop.

Trynka is Krysta's younger sister. A tomboy at heart, she often beats the Elf boys at sports and other physical challenges. But Trynka has a secret passion for dolls, which she does her best to keep from the other Elves. Trynka idolizes her beautiful older sister and hopes to some day meet her own handsome shopkeeper.

Twin brother to Yordi, Nordi has a thoughtful, sensitive disposition that disguises a hilarious dry wit. Nordi is always well-groomed, well-mannered and immaculately dressed. Since before Nordi could talk, he has had the rare ability to communicate with animals of all kinds. 

Yordi is the polar opposite of his twin brother, Nordi. Yordi is a jovial free-spirit who has no regard for his appearance. He is happiest when he is on one of his many long adventures through the Great Pine Forest, of which he knows every square inch. 

Alyk is the lovable klutz of the group. Accident-prone since he could crawl, he masks his clumsiness by playing pranks and practical jokes on his friends. 

Futz is a persnickety perfectionist. His finicky personality and obsession with the smallest of details annoys the other Elves to no end! But his problem-solving skills are sought by the Elphland Elders.

         A small group of Elph children, nicknamed the Elph Pack by the elders, usually ran ahead of the others. Krysta was the oldest and the leader of the Elph Pack. Wherever Krysta would go, Nordi and Yordi, Alyk, Futz and Krysta's little sister, Trynka were sure to follow. They seemed like a pack of arctic foxes, thus the nickname. Unlike their parents, they were excited about moving to a new homeland. They were too young and unaware of the many dangers that lay ahead. The children had heard the stories of the wonders of the North Pole. Whether they were true or not, they didn't know, but they couldn’t wait to get there to find out. From time to time Krysta would drift off, worrying about Anders, and wondering if she would ever see him again. She often day-dreamed of marrying the handsome shopkeeper. Krysta always was a dreamer. She lived in her own fantasy world most of the time, writing magical poems and often reading them to the younger Elves. She also had a beautiful voice and loved to sing when she was alone in the Great Pine Forest. What Krysta didn't know was that most of the younger Elves, and even some of the Baadnvask children, would secretly follow her on her walks in the forest so they could hear her sing. Her flowing, snowy-white locks would glow brilliantly in the sunlight, making her easy to spot in the lush green forest.

         Along the way, arctic wolf pups and seal pups joined the young Elves on their journey. The animals seemed particularly interested in playing with Nordi...which normally wouldn’t raise any eyebrows, except for the fact that Nordi and Yordi were identical twins and yet the animals had no trouble telling them apart. Actually, it wasn’t so hard to tell them apart if you looked closely enough. Nordi was the serious one. His clothes were always clean and neatly pressed. Nordi would rarely giggle or laugh out loud. How he could keep a straight face when the other Elves were bent over laughing with tears running down their cheeks, actually made Nordi very fun to be around. Nordi also had a special relationship with animals. He had a special way of communicating with them. It was like they could read one another’s minds.

         Yordi, on the other hand, was always joking and laughing...his clothes rarely matched and his hair was always a ruffled, tangled mess. His favorite pastime was inventing new games to play. Yordi loved to explore and draw maps of his many journeys throughout the Great Pine Forest. Someday, he would always tell the others, he would travel around the world just like the friendly Traveler.

         By the end of the week, the now very tired Elves had finally reached the northern coast of Icelandia. Before them lay the Arctic Ocean. Huge icebergs drifted by like giant, floating mountains. Their plan was to arrive at the seaside town of Normar, where they would barter for boats to sail across the Arctic Ocean to the North Pole. But Normar was nowhere in sight. The dense clouds of the last couple of days had made it difficult to navigate by the sun. Now the Elves didn’t know whether they were east or west of Normar or how far away, for that matter. Lost and very tired, the Elphland Elves huddled together silently. As they looked out over the seeminly endless Arctic Ocean, the Elph elders pondered their next move.

         After studying the situation, Futz spoke up, “Remember how we used to cross Great Piney Creek? We’d leap from rock to rock, until we got to the other side. Look at all those sheets of ice floating out there in the ocean...they’re just bigger rocks!”

         “Yes, of course! That’s it!” said one of the elders. “We’ll cross the Arctic using the iceflow as stepping stones! We don’t need to find Normar. We can set off for the North Pole right from here! Futz, you’re a genius!”