Free Master of Umbra (The Valhalla Series) by Poppet Page A

years ago. It covered right to the Northern point of Scotland. This Doggerland basin was a rich hunting ground perfect for settlement as recently as 8000BCE.”
    *
     
    Deliah:
     
    “ What happened to it?” I ask, amazed at the walking encyclopedia giving me the tourist spiel.
    “ No jokes, but global warming melted the ice, raising sea levels, and covering the landmass with what is now ocean.”
    “ You're pulling my leg! Global warming?”
    His smile is charming, cute in a teenage boy kinda way, when he looks me over, examining my eyes as he says, “It's a natural cycle that's been progressing for thousands of years. Archeology tends to be swept under the carpet like the relative who can't stop farting at family lunch. No one talks about it and pretends if you ignore it the lingering evidence will conveniently go away, but even in Africa they've found what is now arid harsh land was once tropical, covered with foliage, and housed enormous warm weather bears and exotic animals. The climate has been in a constant state of change, ebbing back and forth in a slow cycle which outdates our records.”
    “Holy fuck, who knew?” I mumble, wanting to give him a massive hug for being such a darling. He's not trying to talk through my breakdown, or get all psychiatric on my arse with platitudes and shit. He's doing just what I needed, changing the subject and leaving me with my pride intact while I compose myself.
    He's a man I could so easily fall in love with. And why the hell can't I? He's perfect.
    Shifting to face me squarely, he gets animated when he says, “See Deliah, this is the problem with humans. The stupid morons keep wiping out all previous records which conflict with their agenda or worldview. Anything that doesn't adhere to the thinking of the day is labeled heretic or outlawed, or just conveniently burned down the way Constantine did so well and Alexandra before him; what they are doing is destroying valuable records. Without those records humans have no ancient reference for what was once common knowledge and as factual as the sun rising every morning. Every time the new power of the day wipes out and burns the records of the past, mankind loses everything, thrown back into the dark ages of knowledge to start all over again. It's a fucking retarded way to maintain control, but there you have it. That's human logic for you. If they'd kept all records intact and protected from tyranny, humans might be prepared for the constant change of climate over the entire earth, which changes as regularly as the polar magnetism swapping around, but this is a natural cycle which spans such a vast period of time that quite frankly the only people with the record and proof of its existence now are the archeologists; and the men in power are keeping a tight lid on those findings being taught in schools. For fuck's sakes Buckland found elephant remains in the German highlands, and even in Yorkshire. That means once they could easily reach that land mass, as elephants can't climb well, and the region would have had the perfect conditions for these prehistoric creatures.”
    He's passionate about historical facts. I think I've found his geek muscle and it's just as developed as the rest of them.
    “Where are we?” I ask, unable to hide my grin.
    “ If I had to try and pin it down precisely, I'd say right this second you're standing at the outer crust of Buachaille Etive Mor. We simple call this range the Beuckle.”
    “ That sounds like you just cursed me in an ancient language.”
    He laughs uproariously, “It's the name for the mountain we're dwelling within. That's its original name. Mor means great. If you want to split hairs we're currently approximately 1016 feet above sea level. It was adopted as a Fingalian source, but I would argue with that, just because the Irish sent their warriors here for training. At one time this place was so thoroughly cosmopolitan without any of the divisions taken for granted today. It's a