"Fire should always be respected," he murmured with a faint smile. "Mortal or immortal, it certainly doesn't care. Then again..."

He offered a small shrug.

"The four elements. The four parts of the Sphinx. The old ways. Not the ancient ones, but the old ones, and in the Temple, I held the post of the Lion."

Of fire.

"Burning away the old to let the new grow."