A RIVER RUNS PUTRID: A SUMMER OF FILTH, 1858

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

The year 845 AD. A chill wind blasted across the Seine River, carrying with it the scent carrying salt and fear. The Norsemen were upon us, a ravenous swarm of warriors seeking glory. Their longships, like prowling predators, sliced through the waters, their standards fluttering in the wind. A city once proud now trembled beneath the shadow of Ragn