Roman History Story #2 RV Forum Hkelukka - 1,600 words

This is a day, much like any other, yet still different than all of them. This day, I shalt write down my thoughts.

I am the shaman for my tribe in north part of Canterbury, my mentor-teacher died 25 years ago today when a roman legionary he healed did not want the disgraceful way he got his injury to be known. 'Tis true that men are little more than wild animals to those whom they consider not to be men at all. All this sorrow aside, I see great things for my student, she at the willful age of 19 is wise far beyond her years. If only she could find a calling to fit her hearts desire. May the spirits guide her on her path.

Just recently we were strolling around the market in Londinium looking for some spices from the Egyptian provinces. This young lad, scythian by the looks of him, was working as a slave for a fat city merchant. The boy obviously spoke not a word of Latin or Celt, only knowing enough that when his master points at a box he wants it lifted up. I could see in the eyes of that boy that he is broken, utterly and completely, but when he took but one look at my dear niece his eyes lit up in such a way as a injured deer's does when it knows a druid is there to help it. Alas the savior he was looking at noticed non of this.

It has not always been such. When she was younger there was never a bird, animal or a fish she did not see or try to help. Once long ago, when her father was lying in bed dying, I set out to get the elk liver we needed to ease his pain and help him die with dignity. She got up as I was leaving to stop me, saying that I would needed not take a life to help an old dying man. "Let the elk live, my tears are enough to carry him home." My brother turned in his bed to look one last time at the one he held most dear, cherishing her voice and holding her face in his heart. Then he died. My niece was 7 when this happened, I did not have the heart to tell him that the elk was already dead.

This old memory bothers me greatly now, with the events of the past few days still clinging to me. Perhaps that boy was much like the elk, she wanted to let him live but in heart, he was already dead. Alas, when I saw his face it reminded me of the stories the "Fish worshippers", or "Christians" tell, that the son of God died and then was resurrected 3 days later when a fair lady was coming to visit her grave. Perhaps...

Ah, these be but rambling thoughts of a old man. While we were in Londinium I got an ox's horn of the finest dark gallbladder powder this side of the channel, it will be quite fine for those nasty wounds a few of the hunters have, if only something as simple as sun dried, grinded sheep gallbladder would heal the heart of my dear niece. Ahh it seems that I am unable to think of nothing else today than my dear student and niece. Perhaps if her dear departed mother had given her heart to me instead of my brother, things would have been different, I hope in my old years non shall say I'm angry at her for it, no never angry, never as long as my niece still draws breath. On the way back home from Londinium, I once more wondered what will become of her, will she follow me and become a healer, will she follow her mother and aspire to lead. Ahh, her mother, how I longed for her hand, I would have given up my abilities, even my god to be with her, but she chose differently.

Perhaps if she had chose differently, we would have never been in that forest road that night. I wouldn't have had those meads to drink and picked a fight with those legionaries, sour loosers they were, following us into the forest glade like that, had I been even a blink of an eye faster they would be the ones.. Ahh, but it is always pointless to mourn about the past. She could even decide to follow her father and become a renowned hunter, the way she has been acting, it would not surprise me one bit. But one thing is for sure, a housewife, she will never be. I remember once when it was her chore to cook food for me and a visitor from the shaman council in norsland. I was almost banished from the council because he thought I had tried to poison him, it was only her cooking, took me a while to convince them of that. She is a fair lady, that is true, but she is no Freyja, virtuous, wise enough to know when to do as being told and when not to.

Now, my dear friend, you know me, as such you also know that I tend not to write without reason. So by now, you must be wondering why is it that I've decided to write to you? While we were traveling home, I felt that we were being followed, I tried my best to discreetly see who it was, there was naught behind us, or around us. So I decided that it was the spirits were playing tricks on me. When we were less than a mile from the village gate, a man jumped out from forest 50 feet or so in front of us and looked straight at us. In that moment my memory played back that whole night in the forest not so far from here. I immediately drew my scythe, it would be of little use against someone determined to kill us. Before I had even gained a good footing on the ground he took of his cloak and I immediately noticed it was the Scythian boy from earlier. He looked at me and the scythe in my hand then kneeled down on one knee and bowed down. He lifted up scroll in his hand obviously wanting me to take it. You, my dear friend, who knows me, knows by now that I'm suspicious of people by nature. So I gave my scythe to my niece and told her to make a run for the village as soon as we were near him. I would see what he had in mind, if he got up and ran after her I could push him to the ground and she would be able to run to the village.

If he jumped at me she would be behind her with my scythe. As we approached I took the scroll from his hand as we agreed and she started dashing towards the village. To my mild surprise he didn't move a muscle. The scroll read that the owner of this slave noticed that we left one bag at his shop and decided to send the slave to return it. This is one of the perks of being a shaman, people tend to treat you nicely and don't steal from you out of fear of being cursed. Once I had finished reading I rolled up the scroll and handed it to him, he reached into his bag and took out a small purse. I looked at it for a moment and realized it wasn't mine. I looked at the Scythian and told him it is not my. To my surprise the Scythian grinned and nodded. He spoke in a combination of Scythian and Latin. Just enough for me to understand that he stole the purse from a fat merchant who was buying grinded elk horn as a aphrodisiac. Then he had claimed it belonged to me, to use it to come after us, his old master was by now in deep trouble, he made sure the thievery would be linked to him.

I, at that point looked at him quite stunned and asked why would he tell me this? After a few moments of difficult conversations it became apparent that he wanted to marry my niece, and thought I was her father so it would be within my rights to allow it. I told him I am not nor would I allow it without her consent even if I was, but that I would take him to see her to see how things work. Before I had the chance to finish I saw a group of villagers running towards us with weapons. I rushed to explain that there was no danger that this person was now my quest.

One should neverunderestimate the running speed of a young woman in a hurry! I took the Scythian to my village and took him in as slave, he would have accepted anything to be near my niece. Later when the 3 of us were visiting londinium the trader whom had previously owned the Scythian had been publicly lashed and shipped out. Apparently he wasn't rich enough to buy his way out of the trouble he was in. As time went on the two of them got closer together, which brings me up to the point of this letter Dear Friend.

• ...some Book Reviews!
• Forgotten Legion by Ben Kane
• The Complete Roman Army
• The Roman Army by P. Southern

I invite you to come to the wedding of Alicia Petros and Sogdian Al Terenozhkin to be

held at the village hall in Canterbury on the summer solstice of the coming year. Bring gifts for the new couple to receive a blessing. -Gregorius Petros

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