•Clouds sifted slowly in the powder-blue sky. The clouds touched the mountains and frosted them with a fine white covering of snow. Trees: pine and laurel and European oak marched like towering gods up the rocky slopes. They formed tongues of verdant fire filled with chirping songbirds. The world swam. It gave a solid lurch, and with a sickening thud, Alan came to rest amid the trees. He lay sick and dazed for a moment. Then, unconsciously, he reached up and grabbed his head. The movement nauseated him, and pain shot through his skull. For a while, he couldn’t think clearly. He lay still again, and allowed his mind a chance to catch up with his whirling thoughts.