<div dir="ltr">I've been liking the story so far. I think you did an especially nice job with Bitt's culture shock!</div> <div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Jan 9, 2020 at 11:49 PM <<a href="mailto:mkguild-request@lists.integral.org">mkguild-request@lists.integral.org</a>> wrote: </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Send MKGuild mailing list submissions to <a href="mailto:mkguild@lists.integral.org" target="_blank">mkguild@lists.integral.org</a> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit <a href="http://lists.integral.org/listinfo/mkguild" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://lists.integral.org/listinfo/mkguild</a> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to <a href="mailto:mkguild-request@lists.integral.org" target="_blank">mkguild-request@lists.integral.org</a> You can reach the person managing the list at <a href="mailto:mkguild-owner@lists.integral.org" target="_blank">mkguild-owner@lists.integral.org</a> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of MKGuild digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Roman story Part 4 (<a href="mailto:cokane8116@aol.com" target="_blank">cokane8116@aol.com</a>) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2020 04:42:21 +0000 (UTC) From: <a href="mailto:cokane8116@aol.com" target="_blank">cokane8116@aol.com</a> To: <a href="mailto:furry-lit@Lists.Integral.org" target="_blank">furry-lit@Lists.Integral.org</a>, <a href="mailto:mkguild@lists.integral.org" target="_blank">mkguild@lists.integral.org</a>, <a href="mailto:jackthefrilledlizard@gmail.com" target="_blank">jackthefrilledlizard@gmail.com</a> Subject: [Mkguild] Roman story Part 4 Message-ID: <<a href="mailto:1464863196.6174066.1578631341149@mail.yahoo.com" target="_blank">1464863196.6174066.1578631341149@mail.yahoo.com</a>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Withthe ceremony done Bitt?s group was led off to the left while the prey specieswere led off to the right. The fox turned and looked back at the prey tiros. Hewondered if he would ever see the rabbit again.??? ?Bitt,? the centurion ordered. ?You?re nothere to gawk.???? ?Yes sir!???? They were lined up on one side of the paradeground so that the centurion was standing in the shade of the only tree.??? ?Here is your uniform,? the centurion said.??? A legionnaire walked down the line ofrecruits. He came to Bitt and shoved a pile of clothes into the fox?s hands.??? Bitt found it consisted of:1Tunic, linen, red.1Cape with hood.1belt, leather with dangly bits in front1pair sandals,1wooden canteen2pieces of oddly shaped linen cloth.??? He held up the tunic and found it was prettyshort. It wouldn?t even go down to his knees. ?Where is the rest????? ?You?ve been issued everything,? thecenturion snarled.??? He eyed the tunic carefully. On closerexamination it didn?t seem to get any bi gger. ?Where are the pants????? ?Pants? You don?t need any pants,? thecenturion countered. ?A tunic is good enough for me and its good enough foryou.???? The wolf was wearing a red tunic held inplace by a leather belt whose buckle was of silver chased with gold. All he hadon below the tunic was a pair of sandals on his paws.??? Bitt had traveled light. Aside from severalshirts and tunics he had three pairs of pants and a pair of shoes. Also he hada knife, fork, spoon of pewter, a small bronze bowl to eat from and brush andcomb all of which were stuffed into a large satchel made of linen.??? ?This is Vinius,? the centurion said andpointed to one of the people standing nearby. ?He is the Decanus of your newContubernium.???? The figure that stepped forward was acanine. The dog had thin fur the color of bleached sand and a bushy tail thatcurled up so much its tip rubbed the back of the red tunic he was wearing.??? ?Do you speak Aramaic?? The canine asked in somewhatstilted Latin e.??? ?A little,? the fox responded. ?I do speakLatine well.???? The canine just scowled at him. ?You?d bestlearn it. Not only do all the civilians speak it but most of the legionnairesas well.???? ?I?m good at languages,? Bitt responded.?? ??Ihope so,? Vinius responded darkly. ?What did you bring with you?? Vinius askedas they walked. ?Aside from that satchel.???? ?Just the essentials,? Bitt answeredhonestly. ?Some boots, a few tunics and pants and a knife, fork and spoon. Ohand a brush and comb.???? The Decanus nodded. ?Traveled light? Good.You?ll need to get an extra tunic or two and another pair of sandals,? Viniuscommented.? ?Also you might want a decentchest to store things in. There?s a place outside the gate I?ll show you.???? Thebarracks was a long low, one story structure with white plastered walls andlined with doors. The place was alive with people. Wolves, dogs, lions,leopards and other species that Bitt didn?t recognize were moving about. Somewere in armor and some weren?t but all were plainly legionnaires. The fox triedto take it all in and noticed one fact.??? ?No Long Ears?? Bitt asked.??? ?What?? The canine asked.??? ?Sorry,? Bitt responded. ?All I see arecarnivores. No herbivores????? Vinius pointed to across the open paradeground. ?They are in the second century.???? ?They two don?t serve together?? Bitt wassurprised.??? Vinius cocked his head to one side. ?Ofcourse not. They?re in different centuries.???? ?They do in the Tenth,? The fox countered.??? The canine came to a halt. ?Well. This isn?tthe Tenth. Now is it?? He snarled.??? He shook his head. ?No sir. No it?s not.?And the two kept walking.??? They were greeted at the door by a tall lionin full armor and weapons who was just leaving.??? ?This is Tossius,? The Decanus said.??? Vinius pointed to a leopard seated on abunk. The feline was wearing a somewhat battered tunic and was cleaning hisarmor. But the feline seemed to be more interested in the jug next to him on theb ed. ?That is Eteiwi.???? He pointed to the fox. ?Eteiwi, this isBitilus our newest Tiro,???? ?Most just call me Bitt.???? Bitt bowed to the feline who only nodded hishead in response. ?Another Tiro to worry about.???? ?As warm and friendly as always,? Viniussnarled.??? Decebalus was relatively tall and fromlooking at him Bitilus was reminded of the gray wolves back home. But he wasthinner and could be described as lanky. His fur was a light brown except alonghis back where it was dark to the point it could almost be black.??? Their part of the barracks and Bitt?s newhome was a large room. The walls closest to the door were lined with racks andtables holding the legionnaires equipment, weapons and armor. The back part wascrowded with five sets of bunk beds. Against one wall was a small stove. It wasreally just some stones carefully mortared into a little walled fire pit barelyankle high. To boil water you placed a pot filled with water on the stones andit was positioned so th e flames just touching the bottom. Just the rightheight. To grill something they used either a wire grill or a metal plateplaced on the walls. Simple but practical and it worked fine.??? Bitt was assigned 2 pegs, a section of shelfand square of floor space for his tunic & cape, helmet and shieldrespectively.??? ?What is this?? Bitt said and held up one ofthe odd, roughly triangularly shaped pieces of linen.???? ?That is your subligaculum,?the hyena answered.??? ?And exactly what is a subligaculum?? Heasked.??? ?It?s a loin cloth,? The hyena explained.?Haven?t you ever worn one before????? ?I?m from the north? Bitt explained. ?Wecover the important body parts. What isn?t covered in deep winter will freezeand fall off.???? Several of the legionnaires winced and theothers laughed.??? ?Your biggest enemy here,? the lionexplained. ?Is the heat. Trying to keep cool.???? ?How do I put this on?? The fox asked.??? ?First, tie the strings around your waistwith the long part hanging do wn back, covering your butt. Next, bring the longpart between your legs and pull it up behind the knot you tied in front. Thendrape it over the ties so it forms a loincloth,? the lion responded.??? Bitt stripped out of his pants and tunic andstood naked for a moment as he looked at the loin cloth. It seemed to be allcords and odd shapes. He fumbled with it for several minutes as everyone elseoffered (unwanted) advice. Finally he got it on in something he believed wasthe right way.??? It seemed mighty small and left more of hisbody exposed than he would have preferred.??? ?How does it feel????? ?Drafty,? the fox responded. ?I?m not usedto being this naked.???? ?I thought all you barbarians fought naked,?the jackal laughed.??? Bitt shook his head. ?We stopped runninginto battle naked a long time ago.???? ?They really did it?? Kegan asked.Surprised. ?I thought it was just a story.???? The fox shook his head. ?Oh no. It wastrue!???? ?Why? Why run into battle naked????? ?It was a n ego thing,? the fox explained.?I?m so tough I don?t need armor.? He waved his hands. ?Makes no sense to me.If I am going into battle I?m making sure all the important parts are covered. Noone does it anymore. Except my uncle Keagan. He NEVER wears any clothes.???? ?Ever?? The hyena asked nervously.??? ?Never. Even in midwinter,? the fox shookhis head. ?But Mom says he caught a fever as a child and it effected his mind.???? ?Maybe you should send him a few loinclothes?? the hound joked.??? ?The whole clan would be grateful if he didwear them,? Bitt responded.??? The lion pointed to the fox?s right armwhere there was a long thin scar.??? ?That,? the fox said and ran a finger slowlyalong the scar. ?A Mintiri spear did that.???? ?The Mintiri are?? The hyena asked.??? ?Rude neighbors to the north,? the foxanswered. ?They?ve always been trouble. Raiding and stealing but lately they?vegrown bolder and more violent.???? The rest of the group nodded in agreement.?We all know how th at feels.???? ?A good-sized group had raided clan farmsalong the border,? the fox explained. ?They weren?t just looting and stealingcattle. They were killing people. So we had to stop them.???? ?It was decided that I was finally oldenough to take part in real combat,? the fox said. ?I was to go on a raid tostop the Mintiri.???? ?How did you feel?? The lion asked softly.He was watching the fox intently.??? ?Excited, nervous, confused, proud andterrified!? The fox answered. ?So, with a score of my family and friendsincluding my father, two elder brothers and fourteen cousins we set off.???? ?It was two days of running and searchingbefore we caught up to them. There were only a few ways to cross the river. Sothe 10th legion set themselves up at two of the fords and we guardedthe third. It was our luck that they came to ours.???? ?The fight was chaotic,? the fox shook his head.?I remember a lot of screaming, shouting and running around. Suddenly a tallwolf came charging at me wi th a spear.??The fox shivered. ?I still remember how he looked. Down to the smallestdetail.???? ?Did you kill him????? Bitt shrugged. ?I don?t know. He stabbed meand I stabbed him. I stumbled backwards and lost him in the confusion. I meantto kill him then with all my heart. But now I hope I didn?t.???? ?Just remember one thing Bitt,? Vinius saidfirmly. ?This is not a duel. The point is to simply kill the enemy. In battleyour opponent is there to kill you. You have to kill him before he can killyou.???? ?And if you don?t,? the hyena added. ?You?llget yourself and probably some of us killed too.????? Bitt leaned forward, closer to the hyena.?I am aware,? he growled. ?Of that fact. But it?s one thing to say you willkill someone and another to do it for real for the first time.???? ?All that will come with time and training,?the decanus said interrupting the two.??? ?During the swearing in,? the fox said. ?Wewere standing in front of that statue. ?The Legatus didn?t say the emp eror?sname."??? "He couldn't remember the name of thedead emperor,? the lion commented.??? ?So who is the emperor on the statue?? Thefox asked.??? The lion and hound both shrugged. ?We don?tknow either.???? ?You don?t know?? The fox askedincredulously. ?Isn?t it inscribed on the base????? Shaking of the head was their answer. ?Itwas there once but someone chiseled it off.???? Thefox gave a bark of laughter. ?I guess someone didn?t like him.???? The hyena shrugged. ?Just some long deadrabbit.???? ?Where are you from?? The jackal asked andpassed a jug to Bitt.??? Bitt took a sip from the jug and found itcontained a white liquid that tasted like a fruit drink. But this one had astrong kick to it.??? ?What is this?? Bitt asked as he handed thejug back.??? ?Date Palm wine,? Grattius explained as hetook the wine jug.??? ?Interesting taste,? the fox asked. ?What?sit made from? Not grapes.???? ?It?s made from dates,? the jackalexplained.??? ?Where are you from????? Bitt pointed off to the north west. ?Theempire calls it Magdaburgum.???? Rolozius leaned toward the fox. ?And what doyour people call it????? ?Tirontach. It?s always been called that andno long dead, Imperial, Long ear is going to change that,? Bitt said with moreanger than he had intended.??? The hound laughed. ?Sounds like you are madat the empire.???? ?Notthe entire empire,? the fox explained. ?Just one of its rulers.???? ?A long dead one I hope,? the hyena asked.??? ?Of course. I?ve got no grudge with thecurrent one,? Bitt answered and hesitated. ?Ah.???? ?You don?t know the current emperors name doyou?? The hyena commented with a touch of humor in his voice.??? Bitt leaned closer. ?Do you?? He asked in acold tone.??? A cold silence and tension filled the room.??? ?Does it matter?? Philippus interjectedputting himself between the two. ?They change emperors so fast why bother?Besides we haven?t had an order from the capital in decades. We fight and dieto protect the empire and it?s like w e don?t exist.???? The fox laughed a humorless laugh. ?I knowthe feeling. Last year we received a message from the Emperor for governorPlebinius.???? ?And?? The fennec asked.??? ?Plebinius, May God rest his soul, diedfifty years ago,? Bitt explained.??? The hyena just shook his head. ?I thought wewere the only ones the empire forgot.???? ?No memory, no gratitude,? the fox muttered.??? Kegan took a sip of wine. ?The locals hereare grateful for all we do.???? ?We ARE the locals,? Tossius countered. ?Athird of us here are the children of legionnaires. And the rest were all bornhere.???? Bitt nodded. ?That?s the 10thback home too.???? The lion stood and held up his cup. ?Here!Here! To governor Plebinius and all those who serve.???? Bitt lifted his own cup. ?To all of us whohold back the chaos.???**************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <<a href="http://lists.integral.org/archives/mkguild/attachments/20200110/eecd09b5/attachment.html" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://lists.integral.org/archives/mkguild/attachments/20200110/eecd09b5/attachment.html</a>> ------------------------------ _______________________________________________ MKGuild mailing list <a href="mailto:MKGuild@lists.integral.org" target="_blank">MKGuild@lists.integral.org</a> <a href="http://lists.integral.org/listinfo/mkguild" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://lists.integral.org/listinfo/mkguild</a> End of MKGuild Digest, Vol 149, Issue 6 *************************************** </blockquote></div>