Ice Prophet

For millennia after the Accident, Earth lay cold and still, its small population punished by the dismal climate, harried by plague, and impoverished by frequent, bloody wars. Then, unexpectedly, a hero emerged and offered hope to the oppressed. With great ice fleets, he conquered the forces of tyranny and brought the promise of renewal to an otherwise miserable world. But nothing was quite as it seemed—either to Michael Ormson or to his followers. Michael Ormson was the One of the prophecy, but by whom had he been chosen?

His enemies had pinpointed the Prophet's weakness—but exploiting it might destroy them all. Michael Ormson—the Prophet—revolutionized icewar, and his ramfleets destroyed armadas that had terrorized the frozen seas for two thousand years. The Cornathian Brotherhoods knew they must act soon against Michael, for his forces grew more powerful each day, and the enlightened message his agents were spreading could only lead to revolt. But Ormson lived in an impregnable fortress on a small island guarded by awesome fleets, fanatical armies, and diabolical ice traps. Somehow the brotherhoods would have to lure him onto the ice—and provoke his wrath so that he would chase them.

The end of the beginning… For two thousand years mankind had suffered a return to the Dark Ages. If Ormson was defeated it might never progress. His armies of Companions had taken Cornath's capital, and his suicidal ramfleets had swept Cornath's fleet from the world-girdling ice. But Michael Ormson—called the Ice Prophet by some—had not brought relief to the common people, and his officers were making powerful enemies. Soon Ormson would be fighting for his life—and the outcome would decide whether mankind would forever be prisoner to the forces that had condemned Galileo millennia before.