Hill of Stones

Hill of Stones
Enchanted Forest Location
Character Affiliations
Inhabitants:	Will-o'-the-wisps
Visitors:	David Nolan Emma Swan Henry Mills Hook Merida Mary Margaret Blanchard Regina Mills Robin Hood †
Show Information
Only appearance:	"The Dark Swan"
Relevant Pages

“

They're born in a magical place, the Hill of Stones.

”

—Merida to Emma Swan ^src

The Hill of Stones is an Enchanted Forest location featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It débuts, with its only appearance, in the first episode of the fifth season.

The Hill of Stones is based on the Ring of Stones from the Disney/Pixar film, Brave.

History

Before Third Curse

The Hill of Stones is the birth place of will-o'-the-wisps, magical creatures that can provide an answer to someone's question, as long as the person whispers the question into the wisp. Merida, on a quest to save her kidnapped brothers from the clans, catches a wisp to track them down, but after learning Emma needs the wisp to get rid of her dark powers, she promises to give it to her after she is done using it at the Hill of Stones. On the way to the stones, the women set up camp for the night, where a manifestation of Rumplestiltskin attempts to mislead Emma into believing Merida will become the wisp's owner after whispering into it, and no one can use the wisp again, as long as Merida's heart is still beating. Merida overhears Emma seemingly talking to herself about betraying her, and fearing what may happen, she sneaks off to the stones alone in the morning, where she whispers into the wisp and releases it. Emma arrives, trying to convince her that she means no harm, but Merida begins shooting arrows at her. Emma catches all of them, becoming more agitated each time, as Rumplestiltskin urges her to kill Merida. Eventually, she magically pulls Merida to her, ripping out her heart, and starts to crush it, only for Hook and his allies to intervene. At one point, Mary Margaret pulls out the dagger, intending to force Emma to stop with it, but Hook insists it has to be Emma's choice to not kill Merida. With encouragement from Hook, Emma returns the heart. Before leaving to follow the wisp, Merida thanks Emma for showing her darkness and changing her mind about killing the clans. Mary Margaret gives Emma the dagger so no one can control her with it, but Emma hands it to Regina, asking the brunette to take her out if she ever goes too far. The group then depart from the stones to find the rest of their party in the woods. ("The Dark Swan")

Trivia

• Set Notes

Filming Locations

• The Hill of Stones scenes were filmed in Robert Burnaby Park in East Burnaby.

Appearances

Once Upon a Time: Season Five
"The Dark Swan":	"The Price":	"Siege Perilous":	"The Broken Kingdom":	"Dreamcatcher":	"The Bear and the Bow":	"Nimue":	"Birth":	"The Bear King":	"Broken Heart":	"Swan Song":
Appears	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Souls of the Departed":	"Labor of Love":	"Devil's Due":	"The Brothers Jones":	"Our Decay":	"Her Handsome Hero":	"Ruby Slippers":	"Sisters":	"Firebird":	"Last Rites":	"Only You":	"An Untold Story":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent

Once Upon a Time: Specials
"Magic is Coming":	"The Price of Magic":	"Journey to Neverland":	"Wicked is Coming":	"Storybrooke Has Frozen Over":
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent
"Secrets of Storybrooke":	"Dark Swan Rises":	"Evil Reigns Once More":	"The Final Battle Begins":
Absent	Archive	Absent	Absent

Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.