THE THAMES RAN FOUL: A SUMMER OF FILTH, 1858

The city of London sought 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 waste had transformed London's lifeblood into a stench. The stench was all-consuming, a miasma that clung to every cobblestone and saturated the

The year 845 AD. A chill wind swept across the Seine River, carrying with it the scent of salt and fear. The Norsemen had arrived, a horde swarm of warriors seeking riches. Their longships, like prowling predators, sliced through the waters, their banners billowing in the wind. A city once confident now trembled beneath the shadow of Valhalla's emb