I have been preparing for this for a very long time, and now, the day has finally come. It took me two days to reach the starting point. I adjust my gear and begin walking. Step after step I push forward, the path growing steeper and the air thinner. As I reach greater heights, the cold becomes more unforgiving. The wind cuts my skin through my clothes. The blizzard blinds my sight. Despite the harshness of my surroundings, I feel more alive then ever. After a long day I reach a cold and empty bivouac. It offers little warmth, but enough to survive the night. At first light, I set out once again. And finally I see it. A gargantuan palace atop the highest mountain of the chain. With walls of ice and snow for grass, it is a landscape frozen in time. I scale the icy walls. I walk past the grass, avoiding the holes that will trap me in endless hallways. After arriving at the courtyard, the midway point, the clouds part and show me my goal. There, at the very top is the first hall, the origin. Slowly expanding its domain, inch by inch. The peak, where it all flows down. The heart of the glacier.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.