@thwipsnapped asked; i've already dated it, this map is almost four thousand years old.
His knowledge of the ancient past was selective at best, and abysmal at worst. If quizzed on anything that occurred during the last Heroic Age, Miguel could recite names, dates, event sequences, even casualty figures with machine-like precision. Such was the accuracy of the historic record, compiled in his era, of all digitalised information. Rich in the kind of clarity that made the past feel less like a story and more like something observable.
A venerable treasure trove that the same man from the future was also cut off from, given his current status, standing beside the desk in borrowed clothes. Watching on as the other before him unrolled a piece of papryus, so frayed at the edges that it looked like it might crumble if someone so much as breathed on it wrong. Wishing to express an interest in this vital document, he leaned forwards, garnet gaze sharpening despite an annoying ache throbbing behind his eyes, from weeks of limited sleep and even less cups of coffee.
"Is this the part where I'm supposed to say I recognise the region shown here?" Aiming to be humorous, a stilted performance risks his efforts, pivoting quickly to pointing out the map's notable features, if to fill a few minutes with noise, rather than attract a glare. "This coastline though... do you see this curve?" A finger traces the line separating a part of what is nowadays known as south-east France.
"If I had to guess, this map travelled quite a distance." A discrete export, perhaps, but all depended on what exactly this particular map was leading the viewer to. "Are you certain about its age? How can you be sure?"
