Ouroboros Spine nature of life on earth

Sialuk's words cut through the memory like a stinging slap. Meerkat blinked as the information processed, not quite sure what she was hearing. Reflexively, she turned her head to look at the mountain rising over yonder. Her mouth fell ajar when she saw the scars on its face, unnoticed in her brief glance prior.

It took her a minute to tear her eyes away from the horrible view. Sialuk had said, "a great bright light and strange thunder came..." What did that mean? What had actually happened? What about the wolves who lived on the mountain and in the glen?

All of a sudden, the coughing jag came on again. It was worse than before, a terrible tickle that eventually led to Meerkat gagging. Her stomach heaved and she very nearly vomited, though she managed to quell the urge, instead spitting sour saliva in the snow.