"Run."
Rovan didn't need to say it twice.
The grinding sound behind them grew louder as the giant Sentinel's head shifted again. Ice cracked along its neck like a glacier splitting apart after centuries of stillness.
Aeralyn grabbed the Heart of Balance as it hovered beside her.
"Move!" she shouted.
The group sprinted down the narrow mountain pass.
Behind them, the first Sentinel fully awakened.
Its glowing runes flared bright blue, casting harsh light across the canyon walls. The massive construct stepped forward, its stone-and-ice foot slamming into the frozen ground with a thunderous boom.
The impact echoed like a drumbeat through the pass.
And then the others began to wake.
One by one, runes flickered to life across the canyon.
Blue lights spread across the frozen giants like stars igniting in a dark sky.
Teren glanced back.
"…This is bad. This is extremely bad!"
A second Sentinel shifted.
Then a third.
Stone scraped against ice as ancient joints moved for the first time in centuries.
Lysa fired an arrow behind them without stopping.
The arrow struck one Sentinel's glowing eye rune, sparking against its armor. The construct was barely noticed.
"They're activating too quickly!" she warned.
Rovan ran beside Aeralyn.
"How far until we're past them?"
Aeralyn glanced ahead.
The golden beam from the Heart still pointed deeper into the canyon, guiding them forward through the towering army.
"Not far!" she said.
"I hope that's true!" Teren gasped.
Behind them, a Sentinel took its first full step.
The sound shook the canyon.
Then another joined it.
The frozen army was waking.
Aeralyn pushed forward, gripping the Heart tightly as its warmth pulsed against her palms. The golden glow illuminated the icy canyon walls as they ran.
Suddenly the path narrowed sharply.
A jagged crack split the ground ahead of them, cutting across the pass like a wound in the mountain.
Rovan skidded to a stop.
"Well."
"That's unfortunate."
The crack was at least twenty feet wide.
And deep.
Far too deep to see the bottom.
Behind them, the Sentinels were getting closer.
Their footsteps echoed like thunder in the canyon.
Lysa quickly scanned the cliff walls.
"There's a ledge!" she said, pointing upward.
A narrow ridge ran along the side of the canyon wall, just barely wide enough for someone to climb.
Rovan nodded.
"Perfect."
He planted his spear into the ice and vaulted upward, grabbing the ledge.
"Come on!"
Lysa climbed next, moving quickly and smoothly along the rock face.
Teren struggled up behind her.
"I hate mountains," he muttered.
Caelum followed with calm precision, frost forming briefly beneath his boots to help him climb.
Aeralyn was last.
She clutched the Heart of Balance and jumped toward the ledge.
Rovan grabbed her arm and pulled her up.
The group began edging along the narrow cliff ridge.
Below them, the dark chasm stretched endlessly downward.
Above them, the canyon walls rose like frozen towers.
Behind them…
The Sentinels arrived.
The first giant reached the crack in the ground and came to a halt.
Its glowing eyes fixed on the group climbing along the cliffside.
Teren held his breath.
"Please don't jump."
The Sentinel raised its enormous arm.
Ice gathered along its palm.
Lysa's eyes widened.
"Get down!"
The giant launched a massive spear of ice.
The frozen projectile slammed into the cliff wall beneath them.
The entire ledge shook violently.
Chunks of rock broke loose and fell into the chasm below.
Teren clung desperately to the wall.
"I'm going to fall!"
"You're not falling!" Rovan shouted.
Another Sentinel reached the crack.
Then another.
The army stood watching them from across the gap.
Blue runes blazing in the darkness.
Aeralyn looked at the Heart.
The crystal pulsed faster now.
Almost urgently.
"It's reacting again," she said.
Caelum followed the direction of the golden beam.
Ahead, the canyon curved sharply.
Beyond the turn…
Light.
A faint blue glow illuminated the rock walls ahead.
"What is that?" Lysa asked.
Caelum's expression darkened slightly.
"The mountain core."
The Sentinels attacked again.
Another spear of ice flew toward the cliff.
Rovan pulled Aeralyn down as the projectile shattered the rock just above them.
"We need to move!" he shouted.
They hurried along the narrow ledge.
The canyon curved.
The glowing chamber ahead became clearer.
Massive runes covered the stone walls.
Ancient symbols pulsed with powerful magic.
At the center of the chamber stood a colossal structure of ice and crystal rising from the mountain floor.
It looked like a frozen tower.
The Heart of Balance suddenly floated free from Aeralyn's hands.
It drifted toward the glowing structure.
Drawn to it.
Teren stared.
"…That can't be good."
Behind them, the Sentinels continued attacking the cliff.
The ledge cracked again.
Stone began breaking away beneath their feet.
Caelum stepped into the chamber and stared at the towering structure.
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"The Core Engine."
The Heart floated closer.
The ancient machine pulsed in response.
Deep within the mountain…
Something began to wake.