A/N: Ah… After a three month wait, I finally manage to get this finished! I'm so sorry for not updating lately, I was too busy with my other GS fic: Training to be a Ninja. Check it out if you hadn't! Anyway, enjoy this chapter! It'll probably be awhile before the next one…

Chapter 12

Isaac's POV

Winter was a season that always made me relax. The beauty of snow falling gently to the earth was a sight to see every winter. Also, it was fun to play in. Vale always held a festival for every season, and winter's my second favourite one with summer being the best. Speaking of summer, the Festival of Luna and Sol is a few weeks away. Hopefully, we'll be home by then.

"Can you believe how fast the seasons pass by?" said Garet. He was shivering slightly by the cold temperature of Bilibin Cave. There was a blizzard blowing across Imil Plains. Going through a blizzard in the middle of the night meant certain death. So we decided to wait in the cave till tomorrow for the storm to past. "I mean," Garet continued, "We just headed out on this quest in spring, went into a forest of fall, and now we're going to go into a winter wasteland!"

Gust shook his head. "Imil Plains isn't a wasteland. It's quite a beautiful sight to see," he said.

Garet groaned. "I don't care. It's freezing as hell here." He then looked at me, "You sure we should go out there? What if we don't make it?"

I let out a short laugh and saw my own breath float in the cold air. "You're a Mars Adept. You're way better off in weather like this," I told him.

"No. I'm too sensitive to cold! Look at me, I'm shivering like crazy!" he cried. He draped his arms around himself and sat beside Ivan who was curled into a ball by the small fire we made, keeping his bare hands warm over the flames.

I sighed. "We'll have to travel through there. It's very likely that Saturos and them already did. Damn it, we should've bought some winter clothes while we were in Bilibin…" I rubbed my tired eyes with the palm of my hands and sat beside Garet.

"We should get some rest," Ivan suggested with a yawn. "How long does it take to get to Imil from here?"

Gust pondered for a moment. "About a day and a half on foot," he answered.

Garet groaned. "How long has it been since we left Vale?" he asked me.

I rugged my chin in thought. Let's see… it took us a day to get to Vault. Another day to get to Bilibin. Took almost the whole day to go to Kolima Forest and back to Bilibin. Half the evening to get to Bilibin Cave. "Almost three days," I said. "We should get some sleep, it should be morning soon."

They all nodded in agreement. "One of us should stay up and watch, just in case anymore of those skeletons might jump in on us," Ivan suggested.

"I'll go first," Garet said. "That way, I can keep the fire blazing. Who's going second?"

"I'll go," I said. "Then if I remember, I'll wake you, Ivan."

He nodded, then he laid on his sack and closed his eyes. I used my bag as a pillow and laid on the cold hard ground. The coldness easily drew me into sleep.

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I opened my eyes, and gasped.

Golden light surrounded me in it's warm embrace… I stood… deep inside the light.

"Where am I?" I said aloud.

No answer.

Then a sound of beating wings from above startled me. "Who's there?" I called out.

No answer.

I began to panic. "Where am I?"

I took a step forward, feeling an invisible ground underneath my feet. The sound of beating wings caught my attention again. I turned sharply to the source… but saw nothing.

"Who's there?" I called out again, a little shaky.

Silence.

"Don't be afraid." a godly voice spoke. It came from… all around me.

I froze. "Who's there?" I asked again.

"I cannot reveal myself nor say who I am… But once that time comes, you'll understand, for you must prove to me if you are worthy..." he said.

I tried to see the speaker, but the golden light shrouded my sight.

"Worthy? Worthy of what?" I asked.

"To be the holder of great power…" he answered in a whisper. "You have been chosen… Young warrior. When the time comes, I'll tell you more. But until then, farewell…"

"What? Hey, wait!" I called out.

The echo of flapping wings was all I heard….

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"Isaac, wake up," someone shook me out of my dream. I didn't want to move, I wanted to sleep. I waved him away.

"Go away, I'm sleeping," I groaned.

"Hey, if you're going to be lazy then…" He punched my arm, waking me up entirely.

I got up and glared at Garet's exhausted face. "I'm up. I'm up," I yawned. I stretched out towards the cold, crisp air, and shivered.

Freezing in here…

Garet yawned. "Not much happened. Fire's still good. Toss in some firewood when it gets too cold…" he trailed off into a gentle slumber.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to keep them open.

Ugh. I got to stay awake…

I grabbed my water bottle that I refilled in the river while going back to Bilibin. I poured some water onto my gloved hands and splashed my face with the icy water. Immediately, my mind jerked awake and I was well aware of my surroundings.

The red glow of the fire illuminated the cold blue cave with dancing shadows. It was fairly warm. Old twigs, and worn out sticks laid in a heap beside the fire. Firewood.

What should I do to keep me awake?

I sat cross-legged, then I rested my head on my knuckles, deep in thought. I hope Jenna's okay. I hope Kraden's okay. I wonder how Felix is….

And, that dream… Was it a dream? It felt so real…

Something stirred from inside my bag. Flint's little head popped out. "You're turn to watch?" he yawned.

I nodded. He hopped out and jumped onto my shoulder. "I'll watch with you," he said.

I shook my head. "I can do this alone. Go back to sleep."

'You're going to fall asleep then.' he mind-spoke.

I smiled. I'll keep myself occupied. I told him.

He cocked his head to the side, 'With what?'

I shrugged lightly. "Tell me," I said aloud, "How do you know Tret? You seem to know him very well when we saw him."

"Tret…" Flint began, "He is like a father to us Venus Djinn. We would always visit Kolima Forest whenever we had time in the past. Kolima is our favourite place in the world. We and Tret share a strong connection with Mother Earth."

"Mother Earth?" I asked.

"Mother Earth…" he trailed off in thought. He closed his eyes and smiled. "She is our guardian. Our source of strength. Those linked to her are one with the earth."

"Linked to her?"

He nodded. "Yes. Those with the powers of earth are linked to her, even you. You just don't know it, but you are. You always have, Isaac."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You may not feel it now, but someday, when you are ready, she will lend you strength. Just believe in yourself, Isaac. Believe in yourself and you'll always be strong."

I blinked.

Flint smiled. "Haven't you ever wondered where your Psynergy comes from?"

I shrugged. "The Psynergy Stones?"

"Part of that is true. But Venus Adepts have a different source; Mother Earth. Your powers will grow strong if you understand her. Her feelings, her thoughts, her soul." He softly sighed. "Right now… She's sad. The world is falling apart and she cannot do anything."

"What do you mean 'falling apart'?"

He shook his head. "The world is in turmoil. We're not sure why… Even she doesn't know."

We were silent for a while after that. Finally he spoke again, "Someday, Isaac, you'll understand. When that time comes, you'll know what it means to be strong."

When that time comes… It seems like everyone is saying that to me now. The question is, how will I know when that time has come?

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When morning light, that was reflected off the smooth cave walls, came shining in, I gave up my little counting the icicles-on-the-ceiling game (which I never finished because I kept miscounting them). I suppose it was time to wake them up. But Forge was the first to awake. He perked up, fully energized, and jumped on everyone, trying to get them all to wake up. One bounce and the other Djinn awoke with a grumpy rage. Multiple stomps on Garet barely made him stir. I had to punch him awake like he did to me. Ivan awoke with ease from the noise the Djinn made.

Oops. I forgot to wake Ivan up for his night watch. It was tough to tell time in a cave, plus I forgot the sun rises later in this region.

Garet yawned and stretched his whole body despite the biting cold into his skin as he did so. "Ow… Sleeping on a stone floor isn't comfortable," he groaned.

"Yosh!" Forge cried eagerly, "It's time to go into the snowy plains."

Garet groaned again. "Why are you so happy to go in such a cold place?" he asked the Mars Djinn who now sat on his shoulder.

Forge grinned. "It's a place of adventure. I've never been to the northern parts of the world so I don't know what it feels like to be in extreme cold temperatures."

Garet furrowed his brow. "Believe me, you wouldn't want to go in there," he said.

"Bah! I don't care. I crave for adventure so I'm ready to take the risks," Forge responded with pride.

So out we went into Imil Plains where we were struck with freezing temperatures and powerful gusts of icy wind. It was hell.

We were not prepared for such weather. Luckily, there was an already-made trail by earlier people that was mostly covered in snow but still visible. I took the lead and walked in it, with knee-deep snow.

My toes had already lost all feeling when noon came around. The sun was peaking out of the gloomy grey clouds, but it didn't provide much warmth for us. The cold winds blew, making it difficult to keep moving.

If only there was shelter…

Then, a terrible realization caught up to me…. How are we going to last the night? Gust said that it would take us over a day to get to Imil on foot.

Damn it…

Out in the distance, I could see an odd rounded hill. Strange it was, the whole field was suppose to be flat. With lots of trees. Lots and lots of pine trees. Wait a minute… What kind of plain is this? There's too many trees. We could take cover in them, but that odd hill in the distance has gotten my interest.

'So… cold!' Flint cried.

Grr… I already know that! I snapped.

I checked behind me and found Garet keeping a good pace, even though he complained about being sensitive to the cold. Ivan trekked slowly behind. Both were chilled to the bone.

There's nothing I can do for them but lead…

I'm heading for that hill.

'Hill? What hill?' Flint asked as he peeked out of my bag.

There's a hill over there in the middle of the field. I'm going to check it out.

'It's just a hill,' Granite joined in. She too, peeked out of my bag. 'There's no shelter on a hill! Why'd you wanna go there?'

Because. Something tells me I should go there. Something about that hill isn't right… It's gleaming a blue-ish colour.

'Hmph. Probably just the snow reflecting the sky…' she grumbled.

The sky's grey, I told her.

I didn't care what she said. I headed for the hill anyways. The already made trail that I followed was mostly covered in snow, a possibility that it was from the blizzard. It led to the hill as well, which made me suspicious.

Hungry, exhausted and terribly cold, I tripped and stumbled into an invisible pit… full of snow.

Cold surrounded me from all sides, burying me deep in snow. I scrambled to my feet, gasping sharply from the wind. Snow clung all over my clothes and on my face. Garet and Ivan quickly ran up to me.

"Isaac! You alright?!" Garet asked first. He held out his hand and I grabbed it. I brushed most of the snow off of me.

"Y-You're all wet! We m-must find shelter or you'll f-freeze!" Ivan said through chattering teeth.

"I'll lead now," said Garet as he stepped ahead. "I'm going to find a cave or something we would stay in over the night."

"G-Garet. Wait…" I said as I shook uncontrollably from the intense cold. "Head for t-that hill." I pointed.

He gave a weird look. "Why? A hill can't provide shelter," he said.

"J-Just do, okay? I don't think it is a hill, that's why I… want to go ch-check it out. K-kay?" I stammered.

He nodded. "Fine. But… Are you going to make it?" he asked with concern showing deeply on his face.

I nodded. "S-Sure. I'll make it!" I said aloud, showing him I could go on.

But deep down, I didn't know if I could go on… Each step I took seemed to be my last as I forced my stiff legs to keep moving.

Garet saw my struggle so he stopped, waiting for me to catch up. "You know, I could make an easier path for you two with my Psynergy," he said.

"Garet, don't. Y-You need to save your energy. Y-You m-might not make it if you…" I trailed off as I was too cold to continue. Talking was too difficult as my jaw began to freeze stiff. My head was starting to feel lighter than before, and that was not a good sign…

"You guys can't handle it anymore… I'm going to use it. Stay behind me," he said. He took a few steps ahead, clasped both hands together and brought them in front of his chest. He closed his eyes in concentration and stood still.

"G-Garet… Don't!" I muttered weakly.

He continued on as if he didn't hear me. In a flash, flames surrounded his hands. His eyes snapped open and he brought both hands to his side, and launched a fireball, the size of an ordinary ball, straight ahead with great force. The intense heat of the fireball melted most of the snow in it's path before smouldering out meters ahead, singeing some trees.

Stupid Garet! He used too much of his Psynergy to create a fireball that big and to make go that far. I gritted my aching teeth.

"Baka-lo!" Forge screamed. "Why'd you do that?! You used too much Psynergy!" He stuck his little head out and continued to yell. Garet got irritated so he stuffed Forge back inside with his hand.

"Come on! Let's hurry!" Garet said as he jogged down the new, easier path.

When I took a step on the yellowed grass, I almost stumbled. It was awkward walking on a flat surface again. Ivan stumbled as well. He used his staff as a walking stick.

Almost there… The hill was getting closer and closer as we moved along at a decent pace. The trail ended, and so, we were back at walking through a few feet of snow.

Finally, after almost falling into another pit but I didn't because Ivan prevented it from happening, we made it to the hill. Which was not a hill but a glass dome… made of ice. Our reflections were clearly seen on the smooth, shiny surface.

Amazing… but how'd it get here?

"What is this?" Garet asked as he touched the slick surface.

I shrugged, unable to answer. I slowly walked around the dome, trying my best not to fall over and die. Then I spotted an opening. The dome really was made out of ice, someone melted a hole in it to get in… or to get out.

Around the opening, the ice was frozen in a melting form. An ice puddle was formed on the ground. I decided to go in and check…

Inside was fairly warm; much, much warmer than outside. It was magnificent, being inside an ice dome. Images of outside, were a deep colour of ice blue. And everything was disfigured and blurred but I could still make out the trees and Garet and Ivan. The ground, I've noticed, was black. Burnt. It smelled like pine and wood mixed in with burnt logs. Inside, I saw trees. The dome reached the same height as them; as far as I could see.

Garet and Ivan entered as well when they spotted the opening. "Wow…" Garet gasped. "This hill's a dome of ice!"

"It's warm," Ivan added. He breathed into his cold hands and entered deeper inside, examining the place. "Look, someone made a fire." He pointed to a pile of firewood that was stripped from a nearby pine.

"S-Someone was h-here," I stuttered, shaking from the cold despite the warmer temperature in here.

"Must've been them," Garet said. He ran to the pile and lit it up with a small spell. "I guess we'll be staying here over the night," he grunted, throwing kindling and sticks into the growing flame. "Isaac, hurry and change out of your clothes," he said to me.

I nodded and went behind a tree. I stripped my stiff, frozen boots off, numbly moving my toes, trying to get some feeling back in them. Then I stripped off my wet clothes and changed into my extra clothing. It was always a good idea to bring extra clothes.

Still, I was freezing. I draped a blanket I brought around myself and stuffed my feet back into my cold boots. Then I headed towards the warm fire.

I dropped beside it, thankful for it to be there. But chills ran down my spine when a cold breeze swept past me. I gritted my teeth from the biting cold.

I want to sleep…

I rested my head on my knees, wrapping my blanket tighter around me.

So warm…

But then another breeze blew in and I started shivering.

Garet threw more firewood in. "How are we going to block the entrance?" he asked. He gave me a wary glance.

I numbly shrugged, but my Djinn jumped out of my bag with an idea. "I know!" Flint said. "Granite and I will make a wall of vines."

"Vines?" Garet asked, raising a brow. He dropped to the floor and yawned.

"Tah… Just leave it to us," Granite squealed, walking with Flint towards the entrance.

'Isaac, I'm sorry, but we'll be needing some of your Psynergy,' Flint told me telepathically. 'Close your eyes and rest. We'll take care of everything.'

I tried to turn my head to watch them, but I suddenly felt a huge drain on my strength. In an instant… I fell asleep.

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Felix's POV

"Wake up, it's time to go," someone shook me awake. I opened my eyes and saw Jenna looking down on me. She looked a little pale, but better. She leaned on her stick (which she calls a 'staff', but to me it's a stick.)

I got up with Alex's help. He looked tired and weary from last night, creating the massive ice dome we stayed over night. "My strength isn't fully back, but I can heal your fever a little bit," he said. He placed a hand over my face and summoned some Psynergy. I felt warm, feeling some of my strength returning.

Then he placed a hand over Jenna and did the same thing. Jenna blinked, grinning a little. "Thanks, Alex," she said. "I feel better."

Menardi, Saturos and Kraden were waiting at the side. When we got there, Saturos let out a grunt. "You've been sleeping for half a day. It's now midday, we'll be at Imil by nightfall. This time," he warned us, "Don't lag behind."

He then turned around, placing a hand on the icy surface. Upon his touch, the ice quickly melted with a soft hissing sound as steam wafted around his hand. In an instant, a large hole was formed through the thick layer of ice.

Suddenly, I felt the icy wind bite into my skin once again. I shivered. I still had a slight fever… But I could go on.

Hopefully…

Saturos took the lead, followed my Menardi, Kraden and Jenna, then Alex and me.

Winter was a season I hated. It was cold, wet, and more cold. Jenna liked it for some reason even though she was a Mars Adept. Mars Adepts are suppose to hate snow. But not Jenna.

I wonder if she likes it still?

Anyway, every winter in Vale, I stayed indoors at most times. I would have to be bundled up in layers of clothing to ever step outside. I resented the cold. But now look at me… I'm in it with a thin layer of protection!

I gritted my teeth as a burst of wind blew past me.

Back then, Jenna always urged me to join in on the snowball fights she always had with Garet and Isaac. I refused many times, but they always pulled me out with them.

Sigh… I had so much fun.

A small smile spread across my face as I trekked behind my sister. She was a tough snowball player. Strong too.

I'm proud of you, Jenna. You have become a strong independent person.

As nightfall fell upon us, so did the temperature. The once unbearable cold became unbearably colder. We were all exhausted once more, and my fever seemed to have reversed direction from better to worse.

Ugh…

I tried my best to keep walking forward, but part of me just wanted to fall over and sleep… Which I did when I tripped over my foot and laid in my frozen grave.

"Get up!" someone cried, yanking me to my feet. Alex draped one of my arms around his shoulders and one of his around my back. "We're… almost there," he huffed, weary and out of breath. He tried to hide his exhaustion, but I knew he was worn out.

I stumbled over my feet, trying to walk straight, but I felt dizzy… my head was pounding…

Up ahead, I saw light… Light from a house!

Seeing the light gave me some strength to keep going. I was only determined to get into a nice, warm building with a nice, warm bed. And maybe some nice, hot soup to eat too…

I licked my dry, cold lips, feeling thirsty as well.

Menardi and Saturos were the first to enter the small inn of Imil. Jenna, Kraden, Alex and I all filed inside, bursting with joy and relief. It was so warm inside!

A man, possibly the innkeeper, was startled by our entry. "Good gracious! Are you travellers alright? You walked a long ways through the snowy plains to get here! Come in! Come in! Get warm by the fire!" he kindly gestured towards the large fireplace by the tables.

"We would like some rooms," Saturos told him. He didn't look fazed by the intense cold, nor did he look weary at all. Neither did Menardi.

The man nodded at them and smiled. "Why, of course! But since we're an isolated village… We only have one room and that's the whole top floor! Please, feel free to stay as long as you like. You all look exhausted from your travels…"

"How much?" Saturos abruptly asked. His face showed no change in emotion.

The man nervously scratched his head. "Well, uh…" he muttered, "Twenty -four coins."

Saturos dropped some money onto the table and left. He climbed up the stairs with Menardi following behind, both not saying a word.

Meanwhile, the rest of us sat by the table that was nearest to the fireplace, happily warming up our hands and feet and everything else.

Alex whispered into my ear. "I'd like to keep a low profile while I'm here," he told me. He then glanced over at the innkeeper who was counting the gold coins. "That buffoon, Harold. He's a greedy one."

I slightly nodded. "So this is your hometown, huh?" I said quietly.

He closed his eyes and nodded. "It sort of is. Mia and I came here long ago."

"Mia? Who's that?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Someone… I know…" he whispered. He then took another glance at the innkeeper who had his back towards us. Alex got up and climbed the stairs without another word. Which left the three of us to quietly stare at the glowing fire.

"We actually made it," Jenna grinned.

I grinned back. "Yeah. And you thought we couldn't," I said, shaking my head at her. "You big baby."

She glowered at me and stuck out her tongue. "I am not!" she hissed. She leaned forward, glaring at me.

I leaned forward too, returning the glare. "Are too!" I said.

She bared her teeth and leaned closer, so did I, until we touched heads while glaring at each other. "Felix, you're burning up!" she cried, touching my forehead with her cold hand. "You're still sick. You should get some rest!"

I waved my hand. "Nah, I don't feel that bad," I lied. But truly, my headache was getting much worse and my vision was a little blurred.

"Here, drink some water," Kraden offered me a cup with some cool water in it. I drank it all down and thanked him.

"We all should get some rest," he told us, giving me a hand up. I staggered forward, walking from side to side, looking for a wall for support. Jenna came up beside me. "You idiot! Don't lie to me!" she cried, helping me walk up the stairs.

Candles were lit on the one table in the room where Saturos and Menardi sat. Alongside the far wall were four beds. Alex was sitting on one, arms crossed and staring blankly out the dark window. Jenna plunked me on one of the beds in the middle.

She sighed. "Haa… I hope tomorrow's a better day than today. I'm going to get something to eat. You," she dabbed a finger to my chest, "Go to sleep!" she told me. Then she went back downstairs.

I groaned, rubbing my aching forehead. Chills ran through my body as I laid in bed. I took my wet boots off and snuggled deeply into the cold bed. I shivered, but I was glad to be sleeping in a nice bed.

I heard voices talking to each other… but they were mumbling in low, lulling voices… I didn't bother trying to make out the words…

All I want is sleep…

A/N: Sorry folks. No Mia yet! But she'll definitely be in the next chapter! Thank you for reviewing!