90 million years AP

The global cooling has continued relentlessly over the last million years. Antarctica has now reached a critical point: the ice has expanded into what were once cold yet lush steppes and shrublands, leaving a deadly white desert in its wake. This marks the coldest period Earth has experienced in the Cenozoic and possibly the entire Phanerozoic era, with some Antarctic glaciers reaching as far as the 30°S latitudinal parallel.

The variations in glacial cycles are not as significant as they once were, with a climate that is almost stable but trending towards long-term cooling. Terrestrial life is confined to the northernmost edges of the continent, but only one area remains effectively productive and macro-ecologically functional: the Sanctuary Peninsula. In this stretch of land, less than a million square kilometers, lies the last glimpse of life that has managed to survive the relentless ice expansion.

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