Rakk looked flustered and out of breath and his eyes looked worried as he approached the two embarrassed teens.

"Alesson, Garlent sent me to find you, we might have a problem and he wants to speak to you immediately," Rakk said between deep breaths.

"Oh no, what now?" Alesson replied bitterly. His fury at being interrupted, mixed with being caught in a compromising position made his emotions boil over and his resolve snapped. "Can't I have just a little time to myself Rakk, or am I destined to be pestered about every little thing that happens in the world. I do wish some people would just go away sometimes."

"Fine!" Rakk said irritably. "I've delivered my message and now you can do what you want, Your Highness."

The red-haired soldier saluted angrily, then turned and stomped back into the forest. Alesson watched Rakk disappear in amongst the trees and a cold guilty feeling settled uncomfortably in the pit of his stomach. He realized his friend was only following orders and he should not have taken his feelings out on him.

"Rakk..." Alesson said softly. He turned back to Cerah, but she looked away from the young man's gaze. Then Alesson heard more rustling noise and for one hopeful moment, he thought Rakk might be coming back, but instead it was two of the white armoured Antar soldiers.

"Princess Cerah, please come with us Your Highness," said one of the guards respectfully as he saluted smartly.

"Of course, Lieutenant," Cerah said vibrantly in a sweet little girl voice. "What's happening?"

The guard looked cautiously at Cerah and then at Alesson, then he looked nervously over his shoulder to see if anybody else was nearby.

"Three of our guard outposts within the frost spires have not checked in today and King Bhell is worried that there might be someone or something out there, preparing to attack," the guard said in a whisper. "The King doesn't want to cause a panic until more is known about the situation, but to be on the safe side he wants you to return to your quarters. So please keep this information to yourselves for now and follow us."

Cerah jumped up onto her feet, grabbed the empty basket and walked towards the two guards, but then she stopped and looked back regretfully at Alesson.

"I guess our picnic's over Alesson, maybe we'll be able to do it again sometime," Cerah said, and she winked at him slyly. Then she turned away from Alesson and followed the guards out of the clearing.

Alesson was left alone in the forest with just his guilt and his disappointment, so he decided to head back to the palace to see what Garlent wanted, and maybe he could find Rakk to apologize for his outburst at the same time.

He walked quickly back through the forest in the direction that he thought he had come from and eventually re-emerged back out into the open green fields. Alesson spotted the steep stone stairs that led back into the palace and proceeded towards them. He climbed up the rough, uneven steps and when he got to the top, he found his winter clothes just where he left them behind a boulder. He struggled into his dark blue woollen overcoat and pulled his thick shaggy cloak over his shoulders. Then he walked back through the white antechamber and into the dark, freezing cold tunnel beyond. By the time, he got to the staircase Alesson was shivering and wishing he could go back into the warm miracle cave.

Alesson clambered slowly back up the spiral staircase and by the time he got to the top he was out of breath and every cold mouthful of air caught painfully at the back of his throat. He leaned against the thick wooden doorframe and tried to get his heart rate back down to normal while silently he promised to do more training and try to increase his level of fitness.

Around him were three identical corridors that all led off in different directions, so Alesson pushed off from the doorframe and started walking along the passage that stretched out ahead of him. He had been so enthralled by the young princess when she had dragged him through the passages earlier, that he had not really noticed which way she had taken him.

It did not take Alesson long to get totally and hopelessly lost within the garish palace, and strangely he could not hear or see anybody around to ask for directions back to the king's study. A loud horn started being blown somewhere in the distance and Alesson began to worry that something was drastically wrong, and he was being left behind. He started running through the corridors as quickly as he could while his mind began to panic. Alesson was so flustered that when he rounded a sharp corner, he did not notice the people in front of him. He collided into them and knocked a young brown-haired man to the ground.

"I'm sorry." Alesson said quickly and he offered his hand to the young teenager. When the brown-haired boy looked up, Alesson recognized him as one of King Bhell's sons.

"Alesson," shouted a familiar voice from further down the hall. He turned towards the sound and saw Linta jogging along the passage, her pale green eyes were worried, and she looked a little scared.

"Linta, what's going on?" Alesson said as he pulled Prince Vul back up onto his feet.

"The cities going into lockdown, Prince Alesson," said Harg who was stood next to Linta.

"Why?" Alesson asked the older brother.

"I'm really not sure; we need to find my father," Harg said in a steady voice. "We've been to his study, but he wasn't there. He did leave a note however, saying he was going to the east tower, so that's where we're going."

"Do you mind if I come with you," Alesson asked.

Harg shook his head, walked past Alesson and indicated him to follow.

"Alesson, what are you doing roaming the corridors by yourself," Linta asked him as he fell into step next to his sister.

"I got unexpectedly taken for a tour of the miracle cave by Princess Cerah," Alesson answered and Linta's eyebrows rose suspiciously.

"Where is she now?" Harg said suddenly in a gruff disgruntled voice that made him sound like an overprotective relative.

"Some guards came to take her back to her room and they left me to find my own way back," Alesson replied as the four royals reached a rather grand looking doorway.

"What about you Linta, I thought you had a headache?" Alesson inquired.

"I'm ok now, brother dearest," Linta said sweetly. "Some fresh air was all I needed."

"But princess we didn't..." Harg began to say, but Linta quickly cut him off with a sharp shake of her head.

"I know Harg," Linta said over the eldest prince. "I would have liked to pick more of those winter flowers, but this isn't really the time for that sort of thing."

Harg looked very puzzled by the princess' words and Alesson was convinced that there was more going on than just frolicking in the garden. Unless maybe his sister had, had an interesting moment with the big white haired Harg, which was like his interrupted kiss with Cerah.

Vul swung open the large door, which led into a high-ceilinged round meeting room with a curved stairwell that ran up the inside of the walls. Long blue drapes hung down from the rafters above and a large circular wooden table stood in the centre of the room. The room looked very dusty and was lit by a two large candelabra's at either end of the table, the flames flickered erratically, and the dust clouds swirled about the room because of a chill draft that was blowing in from an open doorway at the top of the stairs.

"This is father's war room," Vul said as they entered the empty room. "As you can see it doesn't get used very often."

"I guess not a lot of people want to drag an army up to the top of the world and then expect them to still want to fight," Harg said with a large grin on his face.

Alesson smiled and nodded in agreement, and then he and Linta followed the two pudgy boys up the stairs and through the open doorway. The stairs rolled steadily up and around the tower. Occasionally they passed more dark red stained doors, and a few covered up windows as well. Alesson had counted that he had passed six entrances and three small windows by the time he and the others had reached the top of the tower. The stairwell opened into a smaller room with another half open door that was banging back and forth, as the wind blasted through the entrance. Alesson pushed forwards against the ferocious breeze and wiped the light powdery snow out of his eyes as he walked out onto the battlements.

The view from the top of the tower took Alesson's breath away, as his eyes adjusted to the light. Under the dark blue-black sky, the frozen ground stretched out beneath it like a ghostly white carpet. Thick flakes of snow crisscrossed through the chill air and the wind blew so ferociously, that Alesson was worried that he might be blown away.

He pulled his cloak tightly around his body and stepped carefully towards the edge of the tower. Alesson dared to look over the edge and stared down at the city of Antar, its buildings glowed slightly, illuminated by the musky orange lampposts that lined the roadways and paths. The eerie quite of the inside of the palace was replaced with a roar of commotion, as white armoured soldiers were busy making their way towards the main gate. The loud deep horn sounded again and Alesson looked up towards the entrance to try to see what was causing the disturbance. Alesson swatted the snow away to clear his vision and peered out beyond the city walls. The tall smooth fingers of the ice spires reached out of the ground, and from between the frozen digits leaked a thick black crowd of monsters.

A hand suddenly came down hard on Alesson's left shoulder and the boy visibly jumped out of his skin and backed away from the edge.

"Alesson," Garlent said in his loud booming voice. "Good to see you found us young man."

The prince breathed out a slow sigh as his eyes focused on Garlent's big bald head.

"Are we under attack?" Alesson asked.

"I'm afraid so, lad," Garlent said in a hushed voice. "I don't know how he's done it but somehow Inemi has marched his army up to the top of the world in record time."

Alesson's chest tightened, and his eyes bulged as he stared at Garlent in total disbelief.

"No, it couldn't be?" Alesson whispered.

"I'm afraid so," Garlent said, as he again tried to put his hand on the young prince's shoulder.

"But it does look like his army has been broken up a little," King Bhell said as he, Deltain and the others came to stand near Alesson. "It looks like the march through the spires has divided his forces somewhat."

"That should give us some time to prepare then," Garlent added. "Inemi would be a fool to attack us without regrouping his army first."

"However, because his army is coming though piecemeal, it will make it difficult for us to work out just how big this old chap's army is," King Bhell added. "Either way he'll have a hard time breaching our defences, especially if this blizzard continues."

"I don't think we should underestimate Inemi," Deltain said cautiously. "So far this winter, he's laid waste to Scorvain, cut a ruinous trail across Anectar and arrived at your doorstep much quicker than is humanly possible."

"You're probably right Deltain, but we do have a few advantages this time," King Bhell said loudly as a sudden gust of wind rushed over the tower. "The attack on Scorvain was a complete surprise, whereas we're ready for him. Plus, we have all of your expert knowledge and experience to guide us."

"Pah!" Garlent said with a grunt and dismissed the king's comment with a wave of his arm. "I can only see their ground troops down there, when they attacked Scorvain, the first strike came from above. I think our enemy might be changing his tactics."

"Well either way, they'll have to come up the slope and throw themselves against Antar's walls," King Bhell said smugly.

"Yes, and then your walls will be reduced to rubble by the lightning," Garlent said harshly. "The walls at Scorvain were almost as tall and grand as yours and they didn't stop or even slow Inemi down."

"Hmmm, then maybe we should retire to the war room to discuss this further and prepare our defences," King Bhell said and gestured for the group to proceed back into the slightly warmer palace.

Alesson struggled to pull his gaze away from the black puddle that was forming around the base of the spires. His mind was reeling from the recent discovery of Inemi's army and Alesson began to feel like he would never get out from under his foes dark shadow. It just was not fair. No matter how far away Alesson went, Inemi always found him, and it didn't seem to matter how safe he felt, Inemi would just happen to have the right weapons to get at him. He was so fed up with having the black beasts snapping at his heels that he swung round suddenly and lashed out at the grey stone wall. His fist connected with hard rock and made a dull unsatisfying thud. His knuckles began to pulse painfully and as he pulled his hand away from the wall, a small red smear could be seen on the stony surface.

"Alesson!" Linta gasped at her brother's sudden action, and he turned to look at his startled companions. Linta looked very small and very scared by the prospect of the upcoming battle, while the others were all staring at him with concerned expressions. Alesson looked down at his bloodied knuckles and felt his cheeks go almost as red as his hand.

"I'm sorry," Alesson said. "Inemi makes me so angry. Why won't he just leave me alone?"

"Do you really think that Inemi's army is here just to get you, Alesson?" Deltain said in a stern voice. "Inemi's possessed by unthinkable madness, and I believe that he has designs on ruling the whole of Clanesta."

"Deltain's right, Alesson," Aga Bhell said. "Do you know why Antar was built here?"

Alesson shook his head mutely.

"The city was built here purely to protect the Temple of Ana. This was once one big giant hollow mountain, which our great ancestors cut open, and then they constructed this city and the miracle cave upon it. This was done so that humans could survive on this frozen wasteland and help protect the Crystal Guardian."

"It seems like Inemi is systematically wiping out the crystals, first the Etherium and now he's after Ana," Garlent added. "As the future ruler of Scorvain, you really do need to keep your personal perspective under control. You have a great responsibility to everyone not just yourself. Now I understand that you've been through a rough time, we all have, but it's now time to grow up a little bit and face your future."

Alesson looked at the people gathered around him, and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry," Alesson apologized again, his head drooped, and he rubbed his sore fist. "I've been a bit silly really."

"Yes," Narlia said smiling from the doorway. "Just a little tiny bit silly, young man. Now let's get your fingers patched up and then you can go play wars with your friends."

Everyone chuckled at Narlia's little joke and the tension on the tower was blown away. They went back inside and Narlia looked at Alesson's bleeding hand. Then from out of nowhere she pulled out a length of material and wrapped it around his fingers.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

"It doesn't look like you've broken anything, but the cuts are quite deep. I'd suggest that the next time you feel like hitting something, you aim for something soft, like a pillow or maybe some rolled up cloth," Narlia said grinning at the boy.

"Are you making fun of me?" Alesson asked her sheepishly.

"Me, never," Narlia replied sarcastically.

* * *

The Council of War took the rest of the afternoon and much of the next day to prepare. Inemi's army had set up camp at the foot of the ice spires, waiting for the stragglers that had gotten lost in amongst the maze of giant stalagmites. Alesson was drafted into the discussions as a note taker, because it was felt that it would be a good learning experience for him. Soon, however the conversations around the large table in the room beneath the tower became far too heated for Alesson to follow.

"...What do you mean our walls will be useless against them," said a brash old officer who Alesson had been introduced to as Major Crummet. The Major oversaw the battlements and the cities internal guards, and as such, he was far too proud to admit that anything could break down his beloved city walls.

"Major, with all due respect," Garlent said in a cool level voice. "We've seen the invaders in action. They've got many beasts that can climb all over your precious walls, and if you manage to beat those monsters, the enemy could still call down a bolt of lightning and turn your walls into rubble."

"Then what do you suggest we do, just let them in and have open fighting in the streets," Major Crummet said and slammed his palms down on the table in disgust.

"Of course not," Garlent boomed back at the elder officer. "But if the enemy managed to roll straight over the top of Scorvain's defences, then they'll be able to do the same here."

"Gentlemen, please this discussion is getting us nowhere," Aga Bhell said from the far end of the table. "So far, we've not seen any sign of the enemy's aerial forces, but that doesn't mean that they're not there. The blizzard is still raging on and it might be that they're planning on waiting until the winds die down before attacking us."

"Ha, then we've got them," said another man from further along the oval table. "I doubt this blizzard will let up any time soon, so they'll soon run out of food and then when they least expect it my Asoua cavalry will run them into the ground."

"Considering how fast they moved across the continent, I'm not even sure they need to eat," Deltain said from beside Alesson who was furiously scribbling notes on some rough yellowy paper. "And we've seen them mess around with the weather before too, it's possible that they could just suddenly stop the wind from blowing and attack us when we least expect it."

"You're painting a grim picture my old friend," Aga said disapprovingly.

"It's just better to assume the worst in this sort of situation, Your Majesty," Deltain replied.

"Maybe then, if what lord Deltain says is true, Your Majesty, it would be better to try and keep our enemy away from the city completely," said Major Kank, the leader of the Asoua Cavalry who had spoken earlier. "We could move our forces further down the slope and hold them away from the city while my cavalry takes chunks out of their flanks."

"You'd be vastly outnumbered. Current estimates suggest that there are at least ten thousand troops and monsters down there," Aga answered the young blond haired Major. "We've currently only got six thousand within the walls. I've requested aid from Cantus, but even if their reinforcements arrive in time, they'll only increase our numbers by another two thousand."

"It's not a bad idea though, Aga," Garlent said. "Even though their beasts are quite tenacious, their troops are very wooden and don't fight well. If we try and concentrate on being fast and taking out their warriors, then all their beasts will just disappear."

"It's just too much of a risk," said another deep voice from next to King Bhell. General Ransk had been very quiet for most of the meetings, he had listened to the other soldiers argue and would only occasionally add to the conversation. "I can't endorse a plan based on "what if's" and speculation. As far as I see it, we're out numbered and we're going to need the high ground and our battlements to try to even the score, no matter how useless you seem to think they'll be."

"But..." Garlent started to say, but he was suddenly cut off.

"No but's, unless you can either prove your points or come up with a more feasible plan, we'll be sticking to the old ways," General Ransk said with a dark scowling gaze.

The two men stood glaring at each other for a long time and the tension in the room was electric. Then the doorway at the top of the stairs banged open loudly and Alesson jumped, as did many of the others around the table. A white armoured solider burst in, descended the steps quickly and presented himself before the king. "Your Majesty, the snow is thinning, and the wind is easing. However, the enemy still doesn't seem to be moving yet, but Captain Richo fears that if the blizzard shrinks much more, they'll form up and charge us."

"Thank you solider, return to your post and let me know the instant any of them start inching towards us," King Bhell said to the armoured knight, who quickly scurried back up the stairwell.

"Looks like we're running out of time gentlemen, we'll just have to try and defend Antar as best we can," King Bhell said with a grimace.

"King Bhell," Garlent again tried to protest. "Please let me lead some of your men out there to give it a try. Let me take any of your speedy reserves and the cavalry out and try to slow them down. Those troops are not going to be very useful to you if they're stuck inside the city walls, are they?"

"I suppose not," King Bhell agreed.

"Your Majesty, you can't let him sacrifice my cavalry," General Ransk said in an outraged voice.

"General, MY cavalry would be much happier if we could help defend this city in a style that befits our skills rather than being cooped up inside Antar," Major Kank said to the red-faced general.

"I'm sorry General," King Bhell said, "but it looks like your troops have spoken for themselves. Ok Garlent, you can have the cavalry and I'll put a call out for volunteers to join your unit. However, because your shoulder has not yet fully healed I will assign Major Kank the command, aided by your lieutenant Rakk."

"Fine, but I'm going to be up on the wall with you bellowing as many curses as I can at the enemy. I'm not sure if words can hurt them, but I'm willing to try anything," Garlent said with a smile.

"Good, then we've got preparations to make," Aga Bhell said grinning at the big man's humour. Then an irate general Ransk jumped to his feet and slammed his fists down onto the wooden table with a loud bang.

"Your Majesty, the defence of this city is my responsibility. You can't take it away from me," Ransk said angrily.

"I haven't t taken your power away General Ransk, you're still in command of the defence of this city. I just need you to learn to explore other options instead of sticking to the old ways of war."

"Then the deaths of those soldiers will be on your hands, my king," General Ransk said bitterly, then he rose to his feet and stomped out of the room, followed closely by Major Crummet.

Before the door could fully close behind the two grumpy officers, in flew Linta happily.

"Deltain, Garlent, look what I've found," Linta said as she raised a large black book up towards them. "I know which creatures make the lightning."

Linta opened the large leather book and turned it to a page right near the back and laid it down on the table next to Deltain. Alesson leaned over to look at the pictures in the book, he saw many drawings of black scally beasts, some of which he recognised from the invasion of Scorvain. Linta jabbed her finger at a small depiction of a trio of dark black crows, which were flying in a tight circle and a long blade of lightning was blasting forth from the tips of their wings.

Garlent leant over and studied the picture carefully, and then he looked up gratefully at Linta.

"Well done, princess. Major Kank, please can you make sure a copy of this picture is circulated around our raiding party. These birds are our priority targets. Once they're down we can fall back to the city."

"Yessir," Major Kank said, he then saluted and took the book off to show his troops.

"Great work Linny," Alesson said to his sister excitedly. "Now I can suit up and volunteer to go help Major Kank and Rakk."

"You'll be doing no such thing," Deltain said suddenly.

"What? Why?" Alesson asked the old man.

"Because you, Linta, Narlia and I have something much more important to attend to," Deltain said mysteriously.