Sophie paid fairly close attention to many of the message boards and emails on things that related to Animalia Ambassadoria and the various things that they covered. Particularly as so much of the world was going into lockdown over the present Corona Virus pandemic. News out of some places gave a sign that some things were getting better, but without a vaccine, Sophie was fairly certain that the summer would only buy them time. While Animalians seemed healthier then most Humans and more resistant to the disease, there were still worries, particularly with some news reports that the beaches in Florida and near Skull Island would be opening up to swimmers and gatherings again, and there were some questions on that.
"Of course the only answers to that will come from whether or not they can test everyone coming in," Sophie sighed as she shook her beak at some of the comments that were there that related to that nature.
There were also the random questions about whether or not the Animalia Virus could be refined for a Human strain of the Animalia Virus. So far as Sophie knew, though, Horizon wasn't fully working on something like that. It was theoretically possible for a Human strain of the Animalia Virus to be developed, but Sophie knew that the resulting Human would likely have certain features enhanced and would only revive the "super-soldier" ideas that some people had put out on the internet regarding Animalians in the past. As Humans didn't necessarily have the enhanced sense of smell or hearing that many Animalians had. Of course, Sophie also figured that if a Human strain was developed, Horizon would be able to determine if some of Animalia's natural pacifism when it came to aggressive conflict was a result of their senses or that there was something else in an Animalian's genetic code that limited their willingness to engage in combat to sport and law enforcement.
Though, Sophie also reasoned that Horizon might not look into it at all because of the potential that someone might wish to change their minds. Since Horizon had never found much that would lead to a safe cure for the condition and that the initial Animalian transformation was marked as a one and done thing, there was the thought Humans could change their minds... and if a Human strain of the Animalia Virus was ever developed, the uplifted Humans could never become any other kind of Animalian. A second exposure would only double dose them. They might get younger and more physically fit, but they'd still be Human, which would mean that if that sort of conversion were done now, it would be a permeant solution made in panic.
The rest was to check her email, and there, Sophie found one email from Aggie Wemyss, the granddaughter of "Nellie," the Cryptoclidus Dinotopian resident of MacDuff's Castle in Scotland and the UK. Nellie and Aggie occasionally sent video diaries over the previous summer after Nellie become a Dinotopian and they served for good updates Animalian events in Europe, given the limited colonies that were there and the even more limited Animalian populations there. At times it made for good news and things that they could put into Animalia Ambassadoria. Most of them related to how Nellie had improved tourism around Loch Ness as she would occasionally swim by the tourist boats that came to "hunt" for the Loch Ness monster or went sun bathing in what bikini she could were in a Scottish lake. There was also the report that some of those tourists ended up showing up at the castle, looking for dates with Nellie. They were updates that Nellie and her granddaughter were happy to share, and at times when much of America was under lockdown because of the pandemic, Sophie happily looked for them and clicked on the email.
Sophie found, though, that that wasn't what the email was about. She read it and could see what was written: "I know this isn't quite up your alley, with your reports on Animalia and its fortunes and all, but with all that has been going on, I thought a video tour I got from a Medieval archeological site from northern Scotland as part of my own University studies. It's supposedly the remnants of an old Catholic monastery that was attached to a local lord's castle or fort... a place they're calling Point Wyvern... which, Miss Sophie Albers, as a Pterodactyl, you should recognize."
Sophie chuckled a bit. Many cultures had often come up ideas for large winged reptilian beasts, hence why many early maps had an area that was unexplored marked "here be dragons." And many prehistoric animals often got that sort of label in that people found their fossils and assumed that the bones were from something that had died recently, not thousands to millions of years before and thus imagined the animals that would those creatures. Such as mammoth skulls being mistaken for the skull of a cyclops, with people thinking the large central nasal opening being an eye socket. Many dinosaur bones in many cultures often created the idea and imagery of "dragons" given their horns and teeth. Pterosaurs might have even played a role in the creation of "type" of dragon that was often referred to as a wyvern, a dragon-like beast with only two legs rather than four and could fly on wings of its own. For before Animalia, Pterosaurs in the Mesozoic Era were a group of reptiles that had two legs and could fly. And many of the early Pterosaurs had the teeth to come off as having dragon-like teeth. Unfortunately she hadn't read enough into mythology and paleontology to know that for sure. Still, it made her chuckle.
"It's not as big as what Lord Dorian Chumlee has near his home," Aggie's email continued, "but it was found and my University class got a cool tour by the team that was digging it up... at least before the Corona Virus forced everything to close up... and things have been closing up here to. It is however interesting and that might hold your interest. Attached is the video of the tour we got. Maybe it'll inspire some in Lyre and Animalia to get interested in archeology and history..."
Sophie chuckled and then clicked on the attachment. It downloaded and Sophie could soon see a half blurry image flash across the screen, and given the shakiness of the shot, she thought it was shot by camera phone. She could also see the backs of several people's heads and their shoulders as well, there was also a fair amount of conversation going on in the background as the people there were talking. Most of them were discussing the tour or asking Aggie why she was recording. It was eventually answered that since the tour wasn't forbidding such a recording, she was doing so for note taking purposes and to have an image to compare with her grandmother's estate, MacDuff Castle. That eventually allowed Aggie to get to the front of the group.
This move gave Sophie a better view of the area that the tour was heading toward while a main heavy boots, khaki pants, and a dark tan jacket led them along. The site was clearly on some kind of cliff face that looked out into the North Sea and was largely ruined. There was the long rectangular basilica that was visible, but the few window areas that were there were all smashed in and it looked like the building's roof had long been burned away. There were a few additional smaller buildings that were built around the basilica, and likely served as local living quarters. The tour guide who was leading them could also be clearly heard and he spoke clearly as they moved toward what had been the basilica building.
"The monastery encampment was built in the six or seven hundreds, and we think may have been attached to a local lord's holdings," the tour guide spoke, "obviously low ranking in the Scottish nobility, as much of this region isn't good for too much more than raising sheep, as we're too high up from the sea for a trading port and far enough away from many of the other towns and settlements of the time that there wouldn't be too many people that were here to tend to..."
"Maybe they were just here for their own "isolation" as it were," Aggie spoke up, "You know... seeking a place where they could contemplate things on their own."
"That is a possibility," the tour guide answered, "but it would still beg the question as to why here... why in such a remote place, as there wouldn't be much for the monastery to survive on. And given the prevalence of crime and raiding parties... being so far from known strong points would make them vulnerable. And we've found indications that they were aware of this. For as we get closer, if you notice a line of dirt in between the grass... that was an area where a small wall had been build to contain the monastery in this area and would force any attacker to either scale the wall or scale the cliffs to get up to the monastery. Neither would be easy."
The camera briefly scanned down as Aggie documented the spot that the tour guide had mentioned. They soon passed over the area and toward the basilica building. It wasn't large, and the camera could show clear signs of erosion and devastation in many ways, occasionally with grass or lichen growing on the stone, which showed that it hadn't been cared for in quite awhile. As they did so, the tour guide continued his explanation.
"But in the 800s to 1000s, someone DID take the trouble," the tour guide spoke, "for when the site was first found last spring by some farmers chasing lost sheep... they found not only the ruins but that there were bodies left behind." There was a brief pause as the college students got excited at that. From there the tour guide continued, "from there... the bodies of up to twelve men were found in various places through the area of buildings. One was seated against the stone alter in the basilica here with a long sword thrust through his ribs. Others were found in other areas of the complex and showing signs of massive traumatic injuries with bones broken... often the skull and shoulder bones, but there were quite a few fractured ribs as well."
They passed along there was a sort of area that looked like it had tape around it in the basilica area. Sophie guessed that either the person who'd found the abandoned monastery that Aggie's university class was touring at this time had removed the bodies or the historians and archeologists who came later removed them.
"We believe it was a band of Viking raiders who had come along this lone monastery and figured it was a worthy and wealthy target," the tour guide continued, "However, given the size and remoteness of this monastery, it wouldn't have had the wealth that others that the Vikings raided would have had. The result is that they took their frustration out on the priests and burned the rest. Though... the passage of time has made it difficult for us to tell the size of the raiding party... and the limited resources we have on the existence of this monastery in British records are sketchy. We've sent requests down to Rome to see if they might have any record on the establishment of this monastery or on the establishment record on monasteries in the British isles for the general time period, but we'll likely be following a lengthy investigation on that."
The tour then moved around to what was likely the office-like areas where the monastery's leadership would have spent their time outside of the main church area that they had already passed. There was also a modest sized kitchen with an attached dining all that was slightly larger. Then came a series of dormitory like buildings before ending in what was likely a small barn or stable for horses or sheep. All of them made of stone and all of them looking old, like the Vikings likely abandoned the site after they made the monks pay for not being rich enough. The only sound that they could hear was the sound of the ocean waves hitting the rocky cliffs nearby. Eventually one of the other students asked a question.
"So... what is the land used for now?" the student asked, "obviously they don't have services here anymore..."
"Mostly it's been used as grazing land for local sheep herders," the tour guide spoke, "as originally said, the site was initially discovered when one of those farmers came out after his sheep... how it escaped sight from the sea or air until recently is a mystery... but there are plausible theories on air routes, the cliffs obstructing the views of most ships that would come past this way... and thus the area has stayed remote."
"Why didn't the church come back to it?" Aggie wondered.
"Given the damage that the Viking raids caused... it's quite possible that this small monastery was written off and never reestablished," the tour guide answered. But for the moment, that's only a theory and something that historians, archeologists, and scholars can only speculate on until we get more factual information... if any exists. Similar to how Horizon and all the Animalians have studied into the supposed mysteries on what the Animalia Virus does. There are just some things that they can only guess at presently."
And that was where the tour video cut off. As she minimized the player, Sophie pondered the tour guide's closing remarks, as they were about the only thing that directly related to Animalia. To a certain extent, they made sense given that there was a lot about the Animalia Virus that Horizon's scientists could only speculate on as to how or why it did certain things. And since some members of the tour group seemed to respond positively with that before Aggie stopped the recording, that would make sense. Many of these things were points where al sides only ended with questions and speculation.