THE THAMES RAN FOUL: A SUMMER OF FILTH, 1858

The city of London sweltered in the heat of summer, 1858. But it was not merely the sun that parched the metropolis. An even more repellent force infested its very heart: the River Thames. Years of industrial effluents had transformed London's lifeblood into a foul-smelling mire. The stench was all-consuming, a miasma that clung to every cobbleston

The year 845 AD. A chill wind blasted across the Seine River, carrying with it the scent of salt and fear. The Norsemen were upon us, a stormy swarm of warriors seeking plunder. Their longships, like prowling predators, sliced through the waters, their flags fluttering in the wind. A city once confident now trembled beneath the threat of Ragnarök.