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Amat Victoria Curam
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Aslaug
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, Teric, if it's -any- consolation to you, I wept so hard writing that part that I couldn't see my screen. I had to go back twice to fix spelling mistakes before I even sent it off to the proofreaders.

Then I got Valaina on the telephone...and the first thing she said was 'DAMNED you, Joan...damned you'...and then she sobbed incoherently for twenty minutes. Literally.

That chapter is -one- of the reasons why I say AVC is my best writing to date...
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Teric
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 6:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is finished. Caligula is no more, and Leonidas has found his peace.

My heart weeps and rejoices at once. A fine tale, to be sure, one that shall be remembered and treasured.

Thank you, Aslaug. Thank you.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 2:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You are very welcome, Teric. I am glad you found it to your liking, and that you were touched by some of the scenes.

The deaths of Vipsania and Enid were hard to write, obviously. I really came to care for them both. I don't know if you've read Tigermark's small follow-up story to AVC. I always weep when I do that...and I've read it a good few times now.

On to Transitions II which I can see you've already gotten started at.
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SalAgrippinensis
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aslaug wrote:
You are very welcome, Teric. I am glad you found it to your liking, and that you were touched by some of the scenes.

The deaths of Vipsania and Enid were hard to write, obviously. I really came to care for them both. I don't know if you've read Tigermark's small follow-up story to AVC. I always weep when I do that...and I've read it a good few times now.

On to Transitions II which I can see you've already gotten started at.


Dear Writer,
I read with much interest your novel and I'd wish to ask you something, if I can:
a) are you a male or a female?
b) you, very curiously. did write a good portrait of Agrippina (if I did understand well); is this normal in your Country, since she was friendly with German and Celtic peoples, or are you an exception also in your Country?
c) do you think to go on in your beatiful novel and to write about Agrippina in Nero's times?
d) did you read French comics book "Murena"?
e) did you read Agrippina's biography by Anthony Barrett?
f) do you know www.queendido.org?
g) do you have no doubt about Agrippina's death or do you have one doubt?
h) what do you think about Tacitus opinion on Agrippina? Did he hate her or did he love her?
Well, sorry for all these questions.
Thank you so much,
Salvatore
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Aslaug
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 7:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SalAgrippinensis wrote:
Dear Writer,
I read with much interest your novel and I'd wish to ask you something, if I can:
a) are you a male or a female?
b) you, very curiously. did write a good portrait of Agrippina (if I did understand well); is this normal in your Country, since she was friendly with German and Celtic peoples, or are you an exception also in your Country?
c) do you think to go on in your beatiful novel and to write about Agrippina in Nero's times?
d) did you read French comics book "Murena"?
e) did you read Agrippina's biography by Anthony Barrett?
f) do you know www.queendido.org?
g) do you have no doubt about Agrippina's death or do you have one doubt?
h) what do you think about Tacitus opinion on Agrippina? Did he hate her or did he love her?
Well, sorry for all these questions.
Thank you so much,
Salvatore


Well met, Salvatore. It is very good to see a new reader joining the board and the debate. You are very welcome here.

Let me answer your questions one at a time.

a) I'm female. But as most of my readership knows, I wasn't -born- female. I'm post-operation transsexual, although I simply see myself as a woman. Fair's fair though, and I don't keep it a secret.

b) I think it is safe to say I am an exception in a great many ways. I tend to think of myself as a 'minority of one'. But the reason why I managed to write a reasonably accurate description of Agrippina was that I actually took the time to do a little research before I started writing Amat Victoria Curam. I am a historian (currently working on my thesis), and while there are innaccuracies and a lot of creative license in AVC, I did try to be true to the spirit of the period and the real people. Agrippina is one of the most interesting Roman women at all...and there were a lot of -very- fascinating ones to choose from. I'm glad my version of her finds approval with you.

c) Sadly no. Amat Victoria Curam does not have a sequel coming. I think the story works well as it is. It apparently has an impact with those who read it. It has a lot of good qualities. It's epic in quite a number of places, such as Enid's final stand or Quintus as Leonidas at Thermopylae. It is tragic in other places, like when Enid has to let go of Vipsania in a dank, stinking basement underneath the Circus Maximus or when the horrible truth of Vibius Minucius' scheming sinks in with old Senator Virginus. It tells a story within a story, too, such as Caligula's death-scene and how Cassius Chaerea found Claudius hiding behind a tapistry, wetting his toga in terror afterwards. Those things happened, as far as the sources can tell us what went on. And it does not have a happy ending. I did not think that story could. It has the -right- ending...but not a happy one. Even if Tacita and Kaeso get each other in the end, and even if Marcus Virginus gets to be a hero and liberator of Rome, killing the mad emperor...Quintus has lost everything. Friends, name, standing. Everything, except his self esteem and his memories. I think it would be sad to write a sequel to AVC for that reason. The story works...as it is. But nonetheless, I thank you for your question and for the nice way you describe Amat Victoria Curam. I still tell everyone that I think it's my best writing yet.

d) No, I didn't read that. If I find a translation to English or Danish one day, I'll take a look for sure.

e) I did not read all of it, but it was one of the books I skimmed when looking into Agrippina's history. I had to settle for excerpts, however, since it wasn't at the university library. Instead I looked at various lexicalia and general histories of Rome. It is not my main period...but my grades in antique history from the University of Oslo where I spent one semester last fall shows that it is at least a period I KNOW something about. I got straight A's in antique history...and one hell of a recommendation from my supervisor Very Happy

f) Can't say I do...at least I didn't until now. I'll take a closer look. Until you mentioned that site, my knowledge of Dido was more or less limited to the play by Kit Marlowe and passing mention. Dido was, after all, Carthaginian...not Roman.

g) Oooh, that's an interesting question to ask a historian!! You're asking me to be critical of the sources *rubs hands together and looks gleeful*. Well, put it this way...I think ancient sources must always be taken with a big, big grain of salt, ESPECIALLY when they relate to powerful women. However, I do believe in this case, that there is good reason to assume that Agrippina did in fact die the way the history-books tend to tell us. Namely that she ruled for approximately three years, through her son, Nero. Those were Nero's three 'good' years as emperor. Then he got tired of having mommy dearest telling him what to do, and he contrived to have her murdered. First by staging her drowning in a rather elaborate scheme that failed, involving a deliberately misconstructed ship and a cruise around the bay of Naples, and later by simply having his men kill her outright. Allegedly, she asked to be stabbed in the womb, as a symbolic gesture of defiance. As in 'This is where the monster grew. Hurt me there'.

h) I assume you are referring to the classical historian Tacitus, and not the character from AVC. Whether the historical Tacitus hated Agrippina or not is a good question. It's speculation, after all, since we can't really ask the man himself how he felt. What we can do, of course, is look at what he wrote and what I think is that he had a sort of morbid, highly reluctant fascination with her. A fascination he probably didn't like, himself. He was a Roman male, and for a Roman male to admit that a woman had held as much power as Agrippina had done was...a sore spot. Women were not supposed to behave like Agrippina had done, after all. Therefor, I think he resented her. But I also think he probably held a quiet and very personal fascination and respect for her achievements. Otherwise, he would not have written about her except in passing. Other strong, powerful women in Roman history are barely mentioned by their contemporary historians. Women like Atia Balba, Poppea Sabina, Livia and others are FAR less thoroughly described than men who lived at the same time and held far less influence. Ancient Rome was a patriarchy first and foremost. I think the answer to your question is that it can't be seen as black and white like that. I think he resented how she had tried to break the social code for feminine behavior...but like in the case of Κλυταιμνήστρα (Clytemnestra for those who don't read Greek) from the Oresteia, she was -fascinating- because she did so and because she got away with it for so long.

I think that answers all your questions. Don't apologize for asking them. I am quite happy that someone takes the time to ask.

I do hope you'll stick around and maybe read some of the other things I've created...although they are not set in ancient Rome Smile
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SalAgrippinensis
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 12:01 pm    Post subject: Agrippina Reply with quote

Dear Joan,
thank you so much for your reply.
a) I look with much respect and admiration to your will strenght about your change of sex. Now I think you are a perfect Feminine, since your wish to be a woman makes you a perfect woman. You did well to wish also a body of woman;
b) I knew you are a "minority of one";
c) Since your ideas about Agrippina's fall and death... I'm glad there is no sequel... Wink) ;
d) Text is pretty bad; images are gorgeous; especially Agrippina's ones of course...;
e) University is far from truth; Barrett is just a good beginning;
f) Dido was a model for Virgil and Tacitus; during Nero's times, Tacitus surprisingly talks about the "Treasure of Dido"; I think this is related to Agrippina;
g-h) We don't have different opinions. We simply did read different sources. Do you know Latin? You did read Tacitus, 1st level of writing. I did read Tacitus, 2nd level of writing;

Anyway, it's strange: you did write a beatiful Agrippina, different from current opinion, even if your opinion seems different from your own writing.
I'd be happy to read more from you.

Love peace and justice,
Salvatore
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Aslaug
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 19, 2007 4:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Agrippina Reply with quote

SalAgrippinensis wrote:
Dear Joan,
thank you so much for your reply.
a) I look with much respect and admiration to your will strenght about your change of sex. Now I think you are a perfect Feminine, since your wish to be a woman makes you a perfect woman. You did well to wish also a body of woman;
b) I knew you are a "minority of one";
c) Since your ideas about Agrippina's fall and death... I'm glad there is no sequel... Wink) ;
d) Text is pretty bad; images are gorgeous; especially Agrippina's ones of course...;
e) University is far from truth; Barrett is just a good beginning;
f) Dido was a model for Virgil and Tacitus; during Nero's times, Tacitus surprisingly talks about the "Treasure of Dido"; I think this is related to Agrippina;
g-h) We don't have different opinions. We simply did read different sources. Do you know Latin? You did read Tacitus, 1st level of writing. I did read Tacitus, 2nd level of writing;

Anyway, it's strange: you did write a beatiful Agrippina, different from current opinion, even if your opinion seems different from your own writing.
I'd be happy to read more from you.

Love peace and justice,
Salvatore


Well, you're welcome to read what other stories are on the site of course Smile Those are not historical, though...just with a strong element of 'me' in them, so to say. As in a few of the characters having a lot of traits in common with me.

I realize that the Agrippina I wrote is, as you say, different from current opinion. But she was not the main character, simply a very strong supporting character. I still did some research and tried to not deviate too much from what I learned that way. However, the main storyline was always supposed to follow the fictional characters first and foremost; Quintus, Enid and Vipsania. They are the heart of the story...and I think I managed to do that fairly well.

Anyway, should you decide to read some of the other material, I'd be interested in your comments on those on the forum as well.
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mwalimu
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 2:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I finished reading AVC last night, and I must say I haven't been as drawn into a story as I was like that in a long time. While it looks like many of the regulars here have read everything that's been on RBS and followed it as it's been posted, I can't count myself among them and even now there is a fair backlist of material on RBS that I have not yet read. I mentioned in another thread that Transitions is at this moment one of those I haven't yet read, and I wasn't even aware until I started reading this thread that it was actually a "story within a story" of that one. I have to compliment you on how well you wrote AVC as a fully standalone story without any "bleedover" of whatever is going on in Transitions. In one sense I'm glad I read it after the whole story was completed, since I would have had a more difficult time keeping all the characters and plot threads straight in my head if it had been reading the chapters as they were posted.

One thing I'm a little unclear on is what exactly happened in the incident where Sextus was killed and Quintus was framed for the murder. Earlier on it appeared that Vibius had engineered it, with Sextus being the convenient murder victim Quintus could be framed for prior to being "rescued" to the ludus. But later it appeared that Sextus was part of a plot to kill Caligula and it was Quintus who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. So which is it? Or was it both and they just happened to conveniently overlap? Also, while it was stated that the reason Vibius sent Quintus off to learn to fight was so that he could one day kill Caligula, did we ever get any indication how they expected that face-off to ultimately take place? (And by the way, it was only somewhere around chapter 31 that I finally got the idea this probably wasn't going to happen.) Finally, am I correct in thinking that whatever bribes Vibius had going to the ludus stopped around the time he was confronted by Caius? I'm sure some of this will become clearer on a second reading, so apologies in advance for my impatience for bringing it up here.

Something I had somehow expected to happen that never panned out was that Quintus would end up with a love interest, and for a while there appeared to be several likely candidates, but all but one of them either ended up dead or paired off with someone else, and the whole idea never really entered into the story. By the way, what became of gladiators who were too badly injured or disabled to continue as gladiators and had not earned or been given their freedom?

Reunion was a well-written and beautifully written story, but there were several things about it that didn't set well with me. For Quintus/Leonidas, getting settled in for a low-profile life as the caretaker at Aggrapina's exile estate made perfect sense initially, since Caligula wanted him dead, not to mention that he was probably still officially considered guilty of the murder of Sextus (even though all the key players in the story knew otherwise) and he was a runaway gladiator. But it would have been only a matter of weeks at most before word got back to them that Caligula was dead, and Aggrapina could have gotten him formally exonerated both for the murder and for any outstanding obligation/liability as a gladiator. This in turn would have made it safe for him to get back in touch with his family, whom he obviously loved and didn't want to disgrace. So he's been through one hell of an ordeal and needs some time to recover - that's understandable - but for him to settle into and never leave the quiet life of managing an estate just doesn't fit him at all. I can't imagine him never once traveling back to Rome to see his family or to visit the grave of Vipsania and Enid. And after the leadership he demonstrated in the reenactment it seems uncharacteristic of him that he would never rise up to become a great leader in other ways later in his life, at least within the community where he lives (although probably not in any sort of military capacity if he never fully recovered from his injuries, which it sounds like he didn't). Last but not least, I find it hard to swallow that decades later, when some of his children are old enough to have grandchildren, he's never told them about his experience as a gladiator or how he came to be what he was before he had them. Though it's a beautifully written story, for these reasons I have a very difficult time accepting it as canon to the main story.

One of the other things that I wondered about as I was reading was what would become of Quintus when it was all over with (and Reunion notwithstanding). One possibility that crossed my mind was that he might end up in charge of the ludus where had trained. While I never considered that a likely possibility, it was completely obliterated after what he went through in the reenactment. Now it seems laughable, but for a first-time reader it seemed somewhat plausible for part of the way through.

There was a discussion here a while back about why Caligula didn't continue to pursue Quintus after the battle on the road with Enid. The explanation of no longer being able to track him by scent makes perfect sense. Apparently both Manius and Caligula screwed themselves with their pride - Manius for being too vengeful and overconfident that he could take Enid on her own, and Caligula for his lust to see another gladiatorial fight rather than having several of his guards overpower her while keeping his tracker safe. Having said that, although tracking by scent was no longer an option, as was explained well, they could have continued the pursuit on the assumption that he would most likely continue along the road, and quite possibly would have found him in the ditch if Rasce and Larth didn't find him first.

An excellent story with a lot to keep going over and over in my head, as you can probably tell from all of my above ramblings. One final comment - I see you have only the first chapter available as a teaser now that the story is coming available in book form. I think it would be a much better teaser if you put up the first two chapters. While the first chapter is good for introducing many of the main characters and giving the reader a sense of the complexity of what's to come, it isn't until the second chapter that a couple of major events occur that could really hook a reader into purchasing the book. Now to see what Transitions has in store for me...

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Aslaug
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mwalimu wrote:
One thing I'm a little unclear on is what exactly happened in the incident where Sextus was killed and Quintus was framed for the murder. Earlier on it appeared that Vibius had engineered it, with Sextus being the convenient murder victim Quintus could be framed for prior to being "rescued" to the ludus. But later it appeared that Sextus was part of a plot to kill Caligula and it was Quintus who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. So which is it? Or was it both and they just happened to conveniently overlap?


AHA! Excellent question, and one that was deliberately left a bit ambiguous. If you recall, then the conversation taking place early in the story in a dark alley speaks of someone with a feminine voice hiring someone to do the dark deed and "sending a message". I deliberately never revealed who it was, since it is of no consequence but it is a good thing to keep people guessing about. The 'soft, feminine voice' is a trademark of Felix (incidentally, that name means 'cat' in Latin but it could also be the servant girl of Vipsania or a servant of Vibius. Vibius' plot, however, involved getting a gladiator to do the killing, and that gladiator was going to be Quintus. Which would mean the destruction of the entire Virginus family ... so as the old saying goes "with friends like these, who needs enemies"? However, it COULD be an earlier plot of his. I know who it is ... but I'm not telling Very Happy

mwalimu wrote:
Also, while it was stated that the reason Vibius sent Quintus off to learn to fight was so that he could one day kill Caligula, did we ever get any indication how they expected that face-off to ultimately take place? (And by the way, it was only somewhere around chapter 31 that I finally got the idea this probably wasn't going to happen.) Finally, am I correct in thinking that whatever bribes Vibius had going to the ludus stopped around the time he was confronted by Caius? I'm sure some of this will become clearer on a second reading, so apologies in advance for my impatience for bringing it up here.


Yes, that was the idea as stated above. No, there were no indications of how he expected that to happen since that plot was killed before it got very far ... and as you hint, the payments then stopped coming. After all, Vibius no longer had any particular interest in Quintus AND he couldn't very well haul him out of the Ludus, and then send him home with a nice note tied around his neck. "Here you go, old friend, I really sent your son off to learn the skills he needed to become a regicide, but I changed my mind and he really isn't dead at all". It wouldn't exactly have endeared Vibius any further to the Virginus family, and Marcus might have decided to go back and NOT still his paw the second time around Smile

mwalimu wrote:
Something I had somehow expected to happen that never panned out was that Quintus would end up with a love interest, and for a while there appeared to be several likely candidates, but all but one of them either ended up dead or paired off with someone else, and the whole idea never really entered into the story. By the way, what became of gladiators who were too badly injured or disabled to continue as gladiators and had not earned or been given their freedom?


That was also deliberate. There's always a love-story hidden in these kinds of tales and I'm personally fed up with it. Why must the hero always find the love of his life under adversity? I'd be more concerned with staying alive, myself Very Happy

Besides, there are three other love stories. One that transcends morality ... Vipsania and Enid ... who are both female (of lesser importance to the Romans although it would be frowned upon because it was so public) but more importantly because Enid was a barbarian. One that transcends class ... Tacita and Kaeso ... which is probably the "sweetest" and most "traditional" kind of love-story I've ever written, and finally Decipor/Tacitus and Isetnofret, who transcend their harsh lot in life to make a good existence for themselves anyway. There was enough love in the story as it was without hitching Quintus with someone too Very Happy

As for what happened to gladiators too severely injured to continue fighting but who had not earned their freedom. If they could still be of use around the Ludus, they'd sometimes be put to work in other ways. A one-armed gladiator with years of experience might still be a good trainer for instance. But if they were truly maimed, they'd be allowed to die off. The medical care was exceptionally good for its time at the large ludii. But it was withheld from gladiators who would be of no further use. Gladiators were slaves. Objects that were owned. Objects ... without Animus. Without spirit. Ergo, letting one die was no more cruel by Roman standards than tossing out a broken jar or breaking up a broken chair for kindling.

mwalimu wrote:
Reunion was a well-written and beautifully written story, but there were several things about it that didn't set well with me. For Quintus/Leonidas, getting settled in for a low-profile life as the caretaker at Aggrapina's exile estate made perfect sense initially, since Caligula wanted him dead, not to mention that he was probably still officially considered guilty of the murder of Sextus (even though all the key players in the story knew otherwise) and he was a runaway gladiator. But it would have been only a matter of weeks at most before word got back to them that Caligula was dead, and Aggrapina could have gotten him formally exonerated both for the murder and for any outstanding obligation/liability as a gladiator. This in turn would have made it safe for him to get back in touch with his family, whom he obviously loved and didn't want to disgrace. So he's been through one hell of an ordeal and needs some time to recover - that's understandable - but for him to settle into and never leave the quiet life of managing an estate just doesn't fit him at all. I can't imagine him never once traveling back to Rome to see his family or to visit the grave of Vipsania and Enid. And after the leadership he demonstrated in the reenactment it seems uncharacteristic of him that he would never rise up to become a great leader in other ways later in his life, at least within the community where he lives (although probably not in any sort of military capacity if he never fully recovered from his injuries, which it sounds like he didn't). Last but not least, I find it hard to swallow that decades later, when some of his children are old enough to have grandchildren, he's never told them about his experience as a gladiator or how he came to be what he was before he had them. Though it's a beautifully written story, for these reasons I have a very difficult time accepting it as canon to the main story.


Well, Tigermark never intended for it to be canon and I believe he wrote a disclaimer about it. However, there are a few issues I should point out. First and foremost, the fur that was Quintus and became Leonidas by his own choosing, would probably have visited Rome at some point ... to visit the graves of his friends. But that would have been YEARS later. Yes, he could have been exhonorated and probably quietly was (after all, no one seemingly came looking for this runaway slave who had humiliated an emperor of the still-ruling family). But he was sick to his stomach by everything that had happened. This is precisely why he leaves "Quintus" behind. That is what that whole scene is meant to convey. When his paws won't stop clenching and unclenching constantly, until he finally puts away Quintus and assumes the name of his character from the reenactment. Because all that he's seen and all he's gone through has sickened him and has taught him that Enid was right all along. That Rome was a sick, terrible, perverted place with morals that disgusted him. Why would he become a leader in a Roman community? He didn't LIKE what Rome stood for anymore. He raised his children to be good furs with morals like his own, like he promised Enid ... but on the other hand, you question why he never told them before.

Let me ask you this: have you ever heard stories of wartime veterans who told their families about their experiences only on their deathbeds? I have. My grandmother and grandfather were both active in the Danish WWII resistance and I was EXTREMELY hard pressed to get them to tell me about it. My grandfather flat out refused and I only learned later that he was probably involved in the killing of at least one informant. It was shocking to me to find out. But really, really awful experiences are not always something people want to share. The same goes for Quintus/Leonidas ... who wanted to grow old and live happily with his family, and not burden them with the horrible things he had to do.

And therein lies the real twist. What he has done IS horrible. He knows it. He knows he had to, to survive, but that doesn't change the fact that he led forty furs in a mass slaughter for the entertainment of others. He could have chosen not to fight and only those forty would have died ... and one in ten of the many noxii would have lived. But the will to live, the DRIVE to live made him fight back, and hundreds paid for it with their lives. He did what he had to, but there are moral questions to what he did ... and he knows it. He just couldn't have acted any differently.


mwalimu wrote:
One of the other things that I wondered about as I was reading was what would become of Quintus when it was all over with (and Reunion notwithstanding). One possibility that crossed my mind was that he might end up in charge of the ludus where had trained. While I never considered that a likely possibility, it was completely obliterated after what he went through in the reenactment. Now it seems laughable, but for a first-time reader it seemed somewhat plausible for part of the way through.


It's quite funny you mention it because I distinctly remember one of my proofers making the same observation back then ... that they thought he'd be a natural choice to take over the Ludus, and that this would give him a perfect opportunity to get rid of Manius. Of course, that was before they knew what happened later. Very Happy

mwalimu wrote:
There was a discussion here a while back about why Caligula didn't continue to pursue Quintus after the battle on the road with Enid. The explanation of no longer being able to track him by scent makes perfect sense. Apparently both Manius and Caligula screwed themselves with their pride - Manius for being too vengeful and overconfident that he could take Enid on her own, and Caligula for his lust to see another gladiatorial fight rather than having several of his guards overpower her while keeping his tracker safe. Having said that, although tracking by scent was no longer an option, as was explained well, they could have continued the pursuit on the assumption that he would most likely continue along the road, and quite possibly would have found him in the ditch if Rasce and Larth didn't find him first.


That is true, but Caligula was never the most mentally stable of types Very Happy He was the one who ordered his entire army to muster for war to conquor Britannia, and then got bored of the venture and sent them to collect seashells to show Rome as booty and proof that he'd conquered the sea instead. His tracker dead, it's likely he'd be so disgusted with the entire situation, PARTICULARLY with Enid's final words, that he would simply turn back to Rome to get some entertainment to cheer him up. Live-and-screaming-hamster-being-inserted-into-crocodile for example.

mwalimu wrote:
An excellent story with a lot to keep going over and over in my head, as you can probably tell from all of my above ramblings. One final comment - I see you have only the first chapter available as a teaser now that the story is coming available in book form. I think it would be a much better teaser if you put up the first two chapters. While the first chapter is good for introducing many of the main characters and giving the reader a sense of the complexity of what's to come, it isn't until the second chapter that a couple of major events occur that could really hook a reader into purchasing the book. Now to see what Transitions has in store for me...


Thank you very much. I think I'll keep it to one chapter as a teaser, though Smile But thanks for the comments and I am very glad you enjoyed it. Remember if you need more transitions I chapters, let me know.

Now, if only someone would put me up for that Ursus Major award for AVC now ... *gets megalomanic look in eyes* *twirls non-existent mustache* MUAHAHAHAHAH ...
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 7:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's a lot here I could reply to, but I'll keep to a couple of points here, in part because I have only so much time to write a reply.

Quote:
If you recall, then the conversation taking place early in the story in a dark alley speaks of someone with a feminine voice hiring someone to do the dark deed and "sending a message". I deliberately never revealed who it was, since it is of no consequence but it is a good thing to keep people guessing about. The 'soft, feminine voice' is a trademark of Felix (incidentally, that name means 'cat' in Latin but it could also be the servant girl of Vipsania or a servant of Vibius. [...] I know who it is ... but I'm not telling

I had surmised that the male was almost certainly Hamilbal. I had assumed the 'female voice' was Felix, but now I see reason to doubt that. There were a number of scenes where there was a mystery female voice, some of which are almost certainly Felix, but some almost certainly are not. The one I was most certain wasn't him was the one Kaeso encountered who steered him to his first meeting with Tacita, but that seems more possible now that I'm doubting the first voice above was (since it seems very unlikely both were the same).

Quote:
That Rome was a sick, terrible, perverted place with morals that disgusted him. Why would he become a leader in a Roman community? He didn't LIKE what Rome stood for anymore. He raised his children to be good furs with morals like his own, like he promised Enid

No doubt, any leadership role he took on would have to be consistent with his morals. If change is needed, whether in Rome or in Massillia, why not take up the cause and try to bring it about? (Unless perhaps trying to champion that kind of change in that environment would have been virtually suicidal and therefore broken his promise to Enid.) Of course we aren't told much about what he DID do with his life, other than marrying and raising children, but I can't imagine him not being a leader in some capacity, even one that didn't risk any conflict with a Roman society he no longer wanted to be a part of.

Quote:
Let me ask you this: have you ever heard stories of wartime veterans who told their families about their experiences only on their deathbeds? I have. My grandmother and grandfather were both active in the Danish WWII resistance and I was EXTREMELY hard pressed to get them to tell me about it. My grandfather flat out refused and I only learned later that he was probably involved in the killing of at least one informant. It was shocking to me to find out. But really, really awful experiences are not always something people want to share. The same goes for Quintus/Leonidas ... who wanted to grow old and live happily with his family, and not burden them with the horrible things he had to do.

Now that you mention it I do recall hearing a number of anecdotes of that sort around the time the movie Saving Private Ryan came out. One could question whether Leonidas might have too many acquaintances that know about his time as a gladiator that could bring it up (or at least make his family wonder how he went from being a member of a Patrician Roman family to what he was - after all the wartime veterans might have kept the traumatic experiences to themselves but it was no secret that they were veterans of the war), but I'll concede the point that it could easily be something he would never want to talk about.

Quote:
Now, if only someone would put me up for that Ursus Major award for AVC now ... *gets megalomanic look in eyes* *twirls non-existent mustache* MUAHAHAHAHAH ...

Oddly enough, I was thinking that very thing before you posted it. It probably shouldn't be done before the printed version is officially available from RBS but it looks like that's going to happen within a matter of weeks. A couple of years ago I thought it questionable that The Human Memoirs received an Ursa Major nomination based on a republication in Anthro magazine, despite the fact that it has been available on the web since sometime in the early-mid 1990s, but for the time being it appears they will accept nominations for newly republished material previously available on the web, moreso in your case since the web-published version is no longer available online.

By the way, I peeked at the first chapter of Transitions I and saw an error in the copyright notice. You've got Wanda Vixen listed as being (c) James Bruner, whereas I'm pretty sure she should be (c) Chris Yost.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 4:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

*shudder* There's no way for me to go in and fix all those many chapters. I'll have to leave it there for now. But thanks for notifying me and I will make absolutely sure to credit Chris with it in the future. I was of the impression she was James Bruner's character, that's all. Particularly since the copyright notice is mostly copied from his and just adjusted where it's necessary.
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 12:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mike Regan wrote:
And now,

The Sound Track

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/302725/

FYI... This is no longer available. Apparently Fox is one of those FA users who periodically clears out older works from his gallery. (A couple of other personal favorite artists who do the same thing are Dingbat and S0lar1x; I have no idea how many formerly favorited works by them I lost before I started saving everything I fav'ed on FA.)

The good news, for me at least, is that about a year and a half ago I saved most of what Fox had available on FA, which included "Amat Victoria Curam", so I already have it. For others who don't, might I suggest adding it to the RBS music room? (Provided of course that Fox will give permission to do so.)

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PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 8:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you could get his permission to do that, it'd be awesome. Smile
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 6:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Would you like to see a murmillo and a retiarius go at it? Very Happy

I found this on Youtube this morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-QqrFMATg&feature=PlayList&p=9FFDFE51AF0C9502&index=26

It's about 1:45 into the episode and onwards.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 3:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just a heads up.

I am looking into the possibility of re-posting the entirety of AVC as one big file. It would be the finished version as it appeared in the book, complete with a number of edits.

Also, I'd be posting the internal artwork and the cover as it ended up appearing.
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