The book lied. This place wasn’t simple or pastoral. It was brutal. Terrible. Soul-crushing. Minus the murderous Vikings, the people had been wonderful. Inspiring. Cleaner, friendlier, and cleverer than I’d ever imagined. But the general feel of the time? It sucked. These people lived such hard lives, even if you discounted the constant threat of invasion. Without modern medicine, what would happen to my friends here? Would Sefawynn die in childbirth? Would Ealstan survive countless battles, only to die of an infection from cutting his finger on a nail or something? I wanted to protect them,
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