#rivervale_lodge

Olgar looks up and blinks as Sylvi comes in from school wearing a roman outfit

"Ah...not my biz but do you really think there's a demand for Period make up youtubes that far back?"

"You'd be surprised, Dad. There's this hair designer who has gotten famous for recreating the hair techniques shown on Grecian statues...they did weaves back then, too!" She sets down her school books and takes off her helmet, shaking out her helmet-hair. "We were reenacting the defeat of Boudica."

"I was Gaius Suetonius Paulinus. Also known as Chief of the Baddies."

"oh, " he looks amused "Enjoy yourself?"

"Yyyyessss?" she hedges. "I mean, y'know, mixed feelings, right?"

"Hey, some of the best actors in the world do well playing the bad guys on stage or set, and then being sweet to the folks off it. Kiddo, you love attention, it's part of your winter side. Even Seelie feel their winter side. Just don't let it rule you, and it can be a source of strength. "

"Well...yeah, I mean, it was a blast to make speeches and tell people where to go and have them actually DO what they're told, and watching them march exactly where they needed to be. But it's also kind of annoying that my guy bragged about his big win while outnumbered, but failed to mention that they'd already taken most of the weapons away from their enemies. I mean, yeah, the Iceni were bad-ass, but they basically had nothing to fight with but clubs, while the Romans has spears and swords and javelins and metal shields and armor and training." She pauses. "Just bugs me."

"But you learned about that, so you know how full of shit he was. Your education is paying off. You know, Victors only get to keep writing the histories while honest folks stay ignorant . So, in way, you get to ham it up, AND ruin his little centuries old PR" a nod "Now can I get you a snack?"

"Yeah, thanks," Sylvi says, but she still seems distracted as she follows her dad. "It's not just the Roman, though. The Celts thought it was gonna be an easy win because they had much bigger numbers, so they brought their families to see the big decisive battle, right? Like it was a show? So there are all these family wagons at one end of the battlefield, and when the Celts realized they had to retreat, they couldn't because the wagons were in the way...and the Romans killed EVERYBODY. Even the cart horses and dogs and stuff."

"Different cultures do not always share the same values" Olgar nods

She sighs. "I guess the lesson is, even if you're sure you're gonna win, don't be a jerk about it, or that'll come back and bite you."

"Good lesson." He nods "I think you're right there." Olgar leads her and gets a snack out of the fridge, one of her favorite ice cream treats.

Sylvi thanks him and unwraps it, elbows on the kitchen counter. "Would be a way different world if she'd won, huh? Like, Romans getting sent back to Rome, the empire falling apart earlier...."

"Oh sure, lots of speculation from smarter guys than your old man about that. Fiction about what a more celtic England would have grown to be if allowed to modernize. Not like the Roman tech would suddenly be forgotten. The Celts would have tried to emulate some of it fortheir own good."

A grin "For that matter, take a look at the kith.. heavy celtic touches, when you think about it, we changelings have formed socieities based on non roman stuff"

"Yeah...I mean..." Sylvi looks around to make sure that they're alone and lowers her voice a bit. "The Romans kind of made me think of the sidhe a bit."

"Oh that would rile them. Most of them think of themselves as Celtic" A smirk "But yeah, they got a similiar attitude. Expand or die... a certain sense of others as barbarians"

"And stack the decks by taking away resources."

"Oh they're hardly the only empire to do it..and for that matter, some folks think the romans weren't even in the top five as empires go. Spain once had most of the world in it's palm before England bumped them out. But going back, can't ignore the Mongolians... sneer at 'a lot of steppe' if you want, but it was a lot of Steppe. And the Empire of Mali, rich as hell."

She nibbles on her ice cream. "I guess. And somehow knowing that is absolutely not making me feel better about this world, Dad, thanks." A wry grin.

"Hey...there must have been fae involved in all that, right? I mean, that was before everything got broken up. So...are there any fae stories from that battle?"

"Of course, and as the saying goes, they're all true. More than one sidhe house claims Boudicia was kinian to their house, or a mortal in service .. or mused for a time by them. But then the sidhe tend to latch onto anything cool. Even trolls have a story... Rodimus..sworn to the Romans by Oath and the idea that maybe the Romans would provide the safety the world needed. Once the romans won all, there would at last be peace for many, versus Calithaxa, who spat on the idea of these patriarchal bastards being DOG sitters let alone rulers of the world. IF you believe that tale, they countered each other at that very battle... as the Code of Dagda demanded even then. And no one is sure who won .Some say Rodimus died but left Calithaxa so weak she could only watch the people she had sided with be slaughtered as you say." A pondering "And then, there's the treasures"

Sylvi listens avidly to the story of Rodimus and Calithaxa. "What treasures?"

"The ramifications of that battle fueled dreamers from the get go.. Romans remember the victory, the proof that they were inevitable" Her father makes a snap motion, perhaps ot show he too has watched movies, "And yes, the gauntlet Imperial was said to be formed of it. Stories vary, but rumor is it, it's got some Soveriegn like abiilities and grants greater strength besides. Then there's the Torc of Defiance... love that one. Boudicia didn't really get her props until later, but what a boost there... Boudicia's torc either was enfused, or imagined to be the sort that whoever wields it can resist to the end. It's said to counter soveriegn, and, act as armor against any blow a man delivers, by weapon or open fist. After all, the Queen of Icini was said to take her own LIFE.. the romans never finished her off"

"Those two treasures are the stuff of indiana jones level searches."

Sylvi's eyes light up, especially at the mention of the torc and its powers. "Ooooh...I just got shivers," she smiles.

"Ha. Yeah, the torc is the one commoners tend to sigh over.. it's out there somewhere, anything dreamed can exist in our world, but how strong it is oncee you bring it to the autumn world, or where it's to be found? I don't know. Still, even a bit more resistance to the powers of soveriegn appeals."

"Hmmm..." she grins and looks off for a moment, considering the possibilities...then her eyes go wide in shock. "Dad...I think I've got an idea about that..."

"I was wondering if I should have kept my yap shut" Dryly but his ugly face shows more amusement than regret "What, full contact history isn't enough for your action fix?"

"No, I mean...what if...what if Ruth Bader Ginsberg's dissent collar is really the torc?"

He blinks

"Right?"

She knows the look. Her dad doesn't get it often. It means he's acutally been caught off guard

When she was little, it worried her. Now? it might make her a bit proud

"That's...brilliant"

"Right?!"

A proud smile!

"Holy shit... if the theory about treasures being drawn to those who already have the traits is true... and she wore it all the time and... holy crap, kiddo."

Her father looks at her "Okay, color me impressed , I thought I'd gotten rather apathetic about how smart you are but bam.. I'm back in the fan club"

She laughs, then holds up a finger to correct him. "She only wore the dissent collar to dissent. She wore a different collar other times. So...could it change appearance?"

"Oh good point, or maybe the dissent collar was it ,but she didn't need it the other times or had innate respect for it.Sometimes some mortals , ones of Destiny , fae blood, or just incredibly powerful dreamers can sense things like an instinct. Huhm. This is good, kid. Did they bury her in it, or is it going to the smithsonian or something?"

"I don't know. Guess I can find out."

"Something worth looking into. I like the idea. I really do" Her dad admits and gives her a squeeze "I got to go patrol a bit. You enjoy your well earned ice cream.." A sniff "And a shower. For once, I smell better than you" A grin

"Heyyy!" A pout, but not a long-lived one. "Have a good patrol, Dad."

And she finishes her ice cream while pondering new notions. And then, yes, has a shower.

And Olgar grabs his axe, pondering getting a 'my daughter is smarter than your idiot kid' T shirt. Before heading out

(end Scene)

And so it is, that Kerri or Brekke find a book by Talia Amur on a shelf in the lodge.

Kerri notices it, yes. There's already an odd assortment of books on the shelves, given the variety of kiths and ages living here. Not a lot of "dime store romance" shows up, but it's not unheard of. She glances at the cover, looks at the blurb on the back....