The wind pelted my face as I struggled up the mountain. I stumbled blindly forward, as snow and ice were blown into my eyes each time I opened them. I was cold, oh so very cold, and I knew, deep inside, that I should find a place to sleep, out of the wind. But I was so close!

The slope of the mountain began to steepen, so I chanced a quick peek at the world outside. All I could see was white. Snow blew up and around me in a torrent through which there didn't appear to be anything.

My steps slowed, but I continued on. I wasn't ready to give up just yet. I was so close... it couldn't be much farther.

I felt the ground give way beneath me, and I reached out to stop myself from falling through the chasm I knew to be beneath me. They sliped through inches of fresh snow before catching on to solid ice - ice I could hear cracking over the howl of the wind.

Soon... soon my anchor would give way, and I would fall to my death, possibly only meters from my destination. I began to feel lightheaded at the thought, and I felt myself drifting into semi-consiousness.

My grip loosened, and I slid farther down. I don't remember anything after that.

O

Warmth shimmered over my body in deep, refreshing waves. Light danced over my closed eyelids and the smell of burning wood filled my nostrils. My entire body ached, and I can still remember the burning pain that seared my left cheek as I lay there on a palate of cold stone.

I hadn't yet opened my eyes, so I must have made some sort of audible noise, as a voice came softly and sternly over the cackle of the fire. 'Ah, so you are alive. I was begining to have my doubts.'

I forced my eyes open. It was difficult, they'd probably be frozen shut.

The roof that greeted me was cold, unwelcoming and seemed to be very high above me - high enough that the light of the fire didn't reach it properly. Slowly, tentatively, I tried to sit up. My head spun, and my body complained, but I managed. The first thing I saw of the strange man from the library was him nodding in approval.

'Strong willed - I like that. Come along then, eat up. There's lots to do and only a finite amount of time to do it in.'

'Finite amount...'

'Yes, boy, now get up!'

I was suddenly ver indignant. Until that moment, I'd almost forgotten who I was. 'How dare you speak to me like that - do you not know who I am?'

'On the contrary, I know perfectly well who you are. You are my student, and I am your teacher. You have come here to seek what little of my extensive knowledge you will be able to grasp and I am here to offer it to you, freely, willingly. I am the master, you are the boy.'

'My name is Ji Ind-'

'No, your name, from now until further notice is Boy - understood? You gave up your status the moment you stepped onto this mountain. The moment you convinced yourself to come here. There are no kings or monarchs here, Boy, only masters and servants. Is that understood?'

I nodded, slowly.

'Good, that is lesson one. From here on, it gets a little more difficult.' Then he laughed, and my blood has yet to warm again.