The small room was lit only by a flickering fire, burning a substance Shin couldn't identify. Steam rose from the hot rocks in the corner, as a child sparingly ladled water to maintain the humidity. The vapour and flickering light lent a dark cast to the conversation, but Shin paid rapt attention. He and the elders of the Toronto tribe sat shirtless in the sauna, sweating themselves clean.
"The world was not always as you see it today. Even before the last great sundering, the cycle had run its course many times. Sometimes by fire, others flood, often from war and disease. The world remains, and humanity is renewed. We are a parasite that is tricky to eradicate," Samha said, his voice solemn as he started his tale. "Several times, the heavens themselves have opened up to punish us, and that is where the story of the Ancient Queen begins."
