A pungent odor—that of sulfur and noxious minerals—clogged her nostrils. The nightmare played itself out again. She screamed as Three Bulls choked her into submission, his hot breath on her cheek. She relived the pain as he penetrated her. Ghostly images of the Wolf People's raid on the White Clay lingered in the background as she sobbed in despair. "Nothing is left," she whimpered to herself. "All the beauty is gone from the world. Only suffering remains. Suffering, and hunger, and cold." "To live, you must be reborn," a deep voice whispered in her mind. Her soul quaked in fear. Fragments of her dreams whirled away, no more than curls of smoke on a windy day. Golden light filtered in bars through a gray haze. The warm-honey sensation of the One wrapped around her. A face formed in the golden glow. The handsome young man smiled at her, and a path opened to her heart. "The Bundle waits for you, Mother of the People.
