The Cold Light Fades - Book 1 of the Crystal Chronicles

Chapter Twenty-One - The Temple of Ana

Alesson felt quite insignificant as he peered up at the giant tower that loomed over the city of Antar. The Temple of Ana was perched right on the edge of the snowy white cliff and the thin spindly column looked like it could fall into the thrashing waters beyond the edge of the bluff at any moment. Yet Alesson knew that the tower had stood here for several hundred years, and he guessed that it must be the Guardian's magic that somehow held the structure up.

The walls of the tower were jagged and unsymmetrical and the back wall looked as if it rose straight out of the craggy cliff edge. The tower started off quite thin at its base, but as it got higher, the rock swelled outwards to form a large saucer shaped bulge on its top.

The only object on the outside of the column that looked man made, was a thick rusty iron door that was held shut by a large metal bar. It took Alesson and Deltain's combined strength to heave the heavy bar across to enter the temple. The door creaked open slowly; a musty, damp cave-like smell filled Alesson's nostrils as he, and his friends walked in.

Alesson shook his cloak to remove the snowy build up that had formed over his shoulders and grinned at his sister and Narlia who were wrinkling their noses at the unpleasant odour.

"If this is a holy temple, why has it been left so dirty?" Linta asked as she waved her hand in front of her face.

"The Crystal Guardians are very averse to change," Deltain said as he struggled to close the squeaky iron door. "They like to keep their temples the same as when they were first born. They like to live in solitude, and they should only ever be awoken in emergencies."

"I'd say that restoring the Etherium is a pretty big emergency," Alesson said as he knelt to brush the wet snow out of Frostbite's pale red tipped fur. He had missed his frost wolf terribly while he had been in the palace and the wolf had been penned up in the royal stables. He rubbed the wolf's furry chin affectionately with one hand and patted his head with the other.

"I suppose that the Guardian is up at the top of the tower?" Narlia asked as she eyed the uneven staircase with distaste.

"I'm afraid so, Lady Narlia," Deltain said sadly. "The climb is treacherous, so make sure you check your footing and try to hold on to the walls as much as possible."

"Frostbite and I will go first," Alesson called as he walked purposefully towards the stairs and mounted the first few steps. The staircase wound randomly up inside the tower; sometimes the stairs would protrude out hazardously into the tower's hollow interior, then cut back to the outside and climb back up the tower in the opposite direction. His feet slipped several times on the frozen rocky surface, but each time Alesson managed to steady himself against the wall. His legs and arms ached painfully, but he pushed on regardless until he could eventually see the towers broad ceiling.

The stairs disappeared into a small opening that was barely big enough for a full-grown man to fit through. Alesson was glad that Garlent and Razza had stayed with King Bhell to organise the defence of the city, because there was no way the big stone bear would have fitted through the opening. The short passage was bathed in a bright blue light that made Alesson feel strange. The weariness drained out of him in the purifying light, but his head was filled with a strong sense of revulsion, as if someone or something did not want him to get any closer. Alesson shook his head to try to clear the peculiar sensation from his mind as he stepped off the stairs and into main temple chamber.

The room was much larger than King Bhell's throne room and the rocky walls ran smoothly round its circumference. A strong breeze blew past Alesson, and he saw there was a large opening in the side of the chamber, which looked out over the snow-covered city and beyond.