by Ben Kane
The dagger tip swept from gall bladder to other points on the purple organ. The haruspex began muttering rapidly. Tarquinius found he could only pick out occasional words. He gazed at the liver, delighted that he could also see what Olenus was reading.
'A huge battle, which the Romans lose. Slavery. A long march into the east. The Lion of Macedon's path.'
Tarquinius smiled. Some said the Rasenna — the name the Etruscans called themselves — had come from further afield than Lydia. Perhaps he would learn something from the travels of Alexander.
'Margiana. A journey by river, then another by sea.' Olenus' expression grew troubled. 'Egypt? The mother of terror?'
'What is it?' Tarquinius tried to see what had alarmed his mentor.
'Nothing! I saw nothing.' The old man threw the lamb's liver down, taking a few steps backwards. 'I must be mistaken.'
Tarquinius stepped closer. The gall bladder had begun to leak a thin, greenish fluid onto the stone. Concentrating hard, he still found it difficult to interpret. Then his vision cleared. 'Egypt! The city of Alexander!'
'It is not.' Sounding angry and scared, Olenus pushed Tarquinius out of the way, turning the liver over so he could no longer see the underside. 'Time to see the sword of Tarquin.'
'Why? What have you seen?'
'Many things, Arun.' Olenus' eyes darkened. 'It is sometimes best not to say.'
'I have a right to know my own fate.' Tarquinius squared his shoulders. 'You saw yours.'
Olenus' face sagged. 'True enough.' He gestured with the blade. 'Look, then.'
Tarquinius held back, considering the options. He had learned how to read the liver thoroughly at last and would have plenty of opportunity to do so in years to come. His mentor had seen a fascinating future. But there had also been something quite unexpected.
Tarquinius had little desire to know everything that would happen to him.
'It will be revealed in time,' he said calmly.
Relieved, Olenus picked up the lituus and pointed back into the cave. 'We must find the sword. You are ready.' He patted Tarquinius affectionately.
Before they entered the dark interior, Olenus produced a handful of rushes, their ends dipped in wax. Using two pieces of flint, he lit a pair of torches. 'Take one.'
Making sure the burning wax did not run down his arm, Tarquinius followed the old man inside. The cave opened out as they went deeper, running straight into the rock for a good three hundred paces. The air was cool but dry.
He jumped as the torchlight revealed richly coloured paintings on the walls.
'This place has been sacred for many centuries.' Olenus pointed out the figure of a haruspex, obvious with his blunt-peaked hat and lituus. 'See how he holds the liver in his left hand and looks at the sky?'
'This must be Tinia.' Tarquinius bowed before an unusually large image, depicting a figure identical to the little terracotta statue kept on a shrine in Olenus' hut. The deity had staring, almond-shaped eyes and a straight nose, framed by tight curls and a short, pointed beard.
'The Romans call him Jupiter.'
Olenus scowled. 'They even took our most important god.'
The soothsayer beckoned Tarquinius deeper into the gloom, past more paintings of ancient rituals and feasts. Musicians played lyres and the auletos, the Etruscan double flute. Graceful dark women in colourful, flowing robes danced with fat, naked men as satyrs leered from nearby rocks. Mighty Etruscan warriors in full armour guarded one scene, and a naked male figure with wings and a lion's head hovered overhead. The intensity in the beast's eyes stirred something deep in him.
'Gods above!' Tarquinius swelled with pride, imagining Etruria in its glory days. 'These are better than anything in Caelius' house!'
'Or most villas in Rome.' The old man came to a halt by the entrance to a side chamber. Raising his torch, Olenus moved a few steps towards a large shape on the floor.
'What is it?'
The haruspex did not answer and Tarquinius dragged his gaze away from the murals. It was a moment before he took in the ornate bronze panels, metal-clad wheels and square fighting platform of an Etruscan battle chariot. He gasped.
'Achilles is receiving his armour from Thetis, his mother.' Olenus pointed at the depiction on the chariot's front section.
Chunks of ivory, amber and semiprecious stones had been carved to colour the scene. The central tongue and twin neckpieces for horses were similarly covered with tiny pictures of the gods. Even the nine-spoked wheels had sacred symbols etched on their sides.
Full of awe, Tarquinius ran his fingers over the wood and bronze, soaking up the details and dislodging a thick layer of dust. 'How old is it?'
'It belonged to Priscus, the last to call himself king of the Etruscans,' replied Olenus solemnly. 'And it was over three centuries ago that he ruled Falerii. They say he led more than a hundred of these into battle.'
The young man shivered with delight, picturing the impressive sight of the king dressed in plates of bronze armour, standing with a drawn bow behind his charioteer. Following in a vast wedge would have been the rest of the chariots and then the massed ranks of infantry.
'The testudo formations could withstand their charges though,' sighed Olenus. 'Simply closed up and weathered the arrow storms.'
Tarquinius nodded sadly, familiar with the story of Falerii's end. Somehow it had endured for more than seventy years after Rome had crushed all of its neighbours. When it did arrive, the fate of Falerii — last of the proud city states — had been decided in a few short hours. The Roman legionaries had massacred the less disciplined Etruscan foot soldiers and cut down many of the charioteers with well-thrown javelins. His army in tatters, the mortally wounded Priscus had fled the field. 'Is he buried in here?' he asked, staring into the corners.
Olenus shook his head. 'The king's final wish was that his body should be burned. The surviving warriors followed his orders, carrying the chariot here, away from the pillage of the city.'
'Wouldn't they have burned it too?'
There was a shrug. 'Perhaps they hoped Etruria would rise again one day.'
Tarquinius scowled. 'None of them was a haruspex then.'
'You cannot fight our people 's destiny, Tarquinius,' said Olenus, patting his arm. 'Our time is nearly over.'
'I know.' He closed his eyes, offering a prayer to the faithful followers who had sweated to bring the magnificent chariot all the way up the mountain, hoping that one day it would reclaim its former glory. It wouldn't. Etruria's glory was gone for ever. He knew that. It was time he accepted it once and for all.
Olenus was watching him, his eyes inscrutable. 'Come.' The old man beckoned, leading him back into the main chamber.
They walked further into the cave, coming to a halt before a low stone altar with a strange picture on the wall above it.
'This is Charon. Demon of death.' Olenus bowed. 'He guards Tarquin's sword. Here it has lain for over three hundred years.'
Tarquinius stared with revulsion and a little fear at the squat blue creature with red hair. It had feathered wings sprouting from its back and a snarling mouth of sharp teeth. Charon held a large hammer poised above his head, ready to crush anyone who approached.
On the flat slab below lay a short straight-edged sword with a gold pommel. Torchlight winked off polished metal. Olenus bowed again before reverently handing the weapon to him.
Tarquinius balanced the intricately wired hilt across one palm, then swung the sword through the air in a gentle arc. 'Perfectly weighted. Handles well too.'
'Of course! It was forged for a king. Priscus was the last to wield it.' The haruspex gestured and Tarquinius quickly handed the gladius back.
Olenus pointed to an enormous ruby embedded in the base of the hilt. 'This is worth a huge fortune. It will attract a lot of attention, so keep it safe. Might come in useful one day.'
Tarquinius' eyes widened at the beautifully cut gemstone, far larger than any he had seen.
'That's enough for one day.' Olenus
suddenly seemed drained, the lines deep on his face. 'Let's cook that lamb.'
Tarquinius did not protest. All his expectations for the journey had been exceeded. He had much to think about.
Silently they walked back to the entrance.
Before it got dark, Tarquinius went to find some firewood, and to check for any signs of movement, animal or human. To his relief, all he could find were wolf tracks. Returning with laden arms, he found that Olenus had started a small fire with some twigs. It did not take long to build up the blaze.
The two men sat side by side on a blanket, enjoying the heat and watching their dinner cook. Globules of fat dripped into the flames, flaring as they fell.
As if wanting to lighten the atmosphere, Olenus began talking about a great feasting hall in the city that had once existed below the cave.
'It was a magnificent long room with high couches arranged around dinner tables.' Olenus closed his eyes, leaning towards the fire. 'The tables were marble topped, quite low, with exquisitely worked legs inlaid with plaques of embossed gold. Musicians played while every type of food was served. And both men and women attended the banquets.'
'Really?' Roman nobility usually kept women away from official dinners. Tarquinius turned the lamb slightly on its spit. 'You're sure?'
Olenus nodded, beady eyes fixed on the cooking meat.
'From the paintings?'
'The oldest surviving haruspex told me when I was a boy.' He waved derisively at the guttering rush torch. 'Nothing cheap for our ancestors! They had great bronze tripods with lion's claw feet, topped with silver candelabras.'
Tarquinius' sole experience of luxury was occasionally seeing the simple banqueting hall in Caelius' villa. Its statues and paintings were drab in comparison. His master did not waste money on frivolity.
'The Rasenna were a wealthy people,' Olenus continued. 'In our heyday we ruled the Mediterranean Sea, trading jewellery, bronze figures and amphorae with every civilisation that existed.'
'What did our forebears look like?'
'Wealthy ladies dressed elegantly in fine robes, with beautiful necklaces, arm rings and bracelets of silver and gold. Some wore long hair loose over their shoulders. Others had tresses to the side of the face.'
'Good company for dinner!'
'Not sure they would feel the same way. Here we are — an old haruspex and a young man with only a bow and arrow to his name!' Both laughed at the image of two Etruscans in a cave, celebrating the wealth of a race who had crumbled into dust generations before.
The lamb was very tender, flesh tearing off the bone with ease. As Tarquinius watched the haruspex devour more than half the roasted meat, an image of Dexter came to him. Tarquinius pushed the burly foreman from his mind. He was determined to enjoy the meal, the last days with Olenus.
When they had finished, the two men curled up by the warm embers.
Tarquinius could not shake off his sadness and Olenus seemed content to remain silent.
He watched the sleeping soothsayer for a long time. A faint smile occasionally played on his wrinkled features. Olenus was at peace.
It was many hours before Tarquinius' eyes closed.
When he awoke, Olenus had produced bundles of manuscripts, leaving them in dusty piles on the basalt altar. He made Tarquinius study for hours, continually asking him questions about their content. There was a real sense of urgency in the haruspex' manner and Tarquinius concentrated hard, memorising every last detail.
Olenus also handed him a map, unfolding the cracked leather with enormous care.
'You've never shown me this before.'
'Didn't see a need to,' smiled the old man slyly.
'Who drew it?'
'One of our ancestors. A soldier in Alexander's army perhaps.' He shrugged. 'Who knows? The Periplus was ancient before I was born.'
Tarquinius pored over the parchment. He had seen none of it yet, but the world outside Etruria was totally fascinating to him.
Olenus indicated the centre of the drawing. 'This is the Mediterranean Sea. Ever since they destroyed Carthage, the Romans have called it Mare Nostrum. Our sea.'
'Arrogant bastards.'
'Pay attention!' Olenus' voice was sharp. 'Italy and Greece you know. Here is Lydia in the southwest of Asia Minor. Following the coastline, Syria, Judaea and Egypt.'
'And this?' Tarquinius pointed east of where Olenus' finger had indicated.
'That is Parthia and beyond it lies Margiana.' A strange look flitted across Olenus' face, but he did not elaborate. 'Tarchun came from Resen, a city on the great River Tigris. The land was called Assyria well before the Parthians conquered it.'
'Tarchun!' Tarquinius spoke the name aloud with pride.
'He was a giant to bring our people through so many perils without harm.' Olenus tapped the faded leather again, near the right-hand margin, above Margiana. 'This is Sogdia. Its people have yellow skin and long black hair. They are expert horsemen who fight with bows. To the southeast is Scythia, where Alexander of Macedon finally came to grief.'
Tarquinius was intrigued. The places were further away than he could imagine. 'Did the Rasenna come from Parthia?'
'Who knows?' Olenus lifted a bushy eyebrow. 'Find out for yourself.'
The haruspex' reading came back in a flash. It was beyond Tarquinius' wildest dreams to think of following the route travelled by the first Etruscans.
'A journey back to our origins.' Olenus surveyed the mountainside where he had spent his whole life. 'I would have liked to do the same myself,' he said quietly.
'I will think of you everywhere!'
'That would please me, Arun.'
Awareness of Olenus' impending death never left Tarquinius but he consoled himself by relishing every moment of their time together. To his dismay, the old man announced on the second evening that Tarquinius would have to leave next morning.
'Take it all!' he said. 'Liver, sword, lituus, the map. Everything.'
'We need at least one more day,' pleaded Tarquinius. 'There is so much to learn!'
'I've taught you everything, Arun.' The haruspex had taken to using the ancient term all the time. 'And you know it. You still have to kill that sixth wolf, remember?'
'I don't care!' Tarquinius picked up the gladius, stabbing an imaginary Caelius. 'I'll gut that bastard!'
'Not now.'
He looked at Olenus keenly. 'What do you mean?'
'Destiny cannot be avoided. Caelius will come in three days.'
Tarquinius clenched his fists.
'Tomorrow morning you will leave and I will spend the day with the ancestors, preparing myself for the end.'
Tarquinius sighed. The last few hours together might as well be happy ones. 'Talk me through the points on the liver one more time.'
With a smile, the haruspex obeyed.
'I'll bury it with the lituus near the estate buildings. It will be safe there.'
'No!' Olenus said sharply. 'The bronze can be hidden as you say, but everything else must go with you.'
'Why? They'll be there when I get back.'
The wrinkled face was impenetrable.
Tarquinius shivered. 'I won't be returning?'
There was real sadness in Olenus' eyes. He shook his head once in reply.
'May my travels last many years then!'
'They will, Arun. More than two decades.' He touched the map gently. 'The Periplus will be of enormous use. Write down all that you see. Complete the knowledge of our ancestors and take it to the city of Alexander.'
Tarquinius tried to take in the scale of the task before him.
'The lituus must be there at the end.' Olenus' voice was sombre. 'And burned with your body.'
For once, Tarquinius himself did not acknowledge the comment. 'Andwhen the soldiers have killed you?'
'The birds can pick my bones clean,' said Olenus calmly. 'It does not matter.'
'I will come back,' vowed Tarquinius. 'I will build a pyre. Perform the rituals.'
Olenus seemed ple
ased. 'Be sure Caelius has gone. I don't want all my hard work going to waste.'
A lump formed in Tarquinius' throat.
'We Etruscans will live on through the Romans. Even without the liver, their ambition and the information in the libri will help them conquer the world.' Olenus saw Tarquinius glance towards the cave and its huge pile of manuscripts. 'Those I will burn. But the Romans already possess many copies taken from our cities. The most important set is already locked away inside the temple of Jupiter in Rome.' He laughed. 'The superstitious fools only consult it in times of great danger.'
Tarquinius was filled with sadness. He had to make himself look the old man in the eye. 'And our people will just wither into dust?'
'You will pass on much information,' replied Olenus enigmatically.
'To whom? There are few pure-bred Etruscans left in the world.'
Olenus removed a small gold ring from his left forefinger. 'Take this.' Finely decorated with a scarab beetle, it had been on the old man's hand as long as Tarquinius had known him. 'Give this to your adopted son at the end. Although Roman, he will be known as a friend of the Rasenna. Some will always remember.'
'Adopted son?'
'All will become clear, Arun.'
Tarquinius waited, hoping for more.
Suddenly Olenus grabbed his arm. 'Caesar must remember he is mortal,' he hissed. 'Do not forget. Your son must tell him that.'
'What?' Tarquinius had no idea what Olenus meant.
'One day a divination will explain everything.' The haruspex turned away and would no longer respond to questions. He shrank into himself, deep in a trance that lasted till the next morning. It was as if Olenus had been drained of all energy, leaving nothing but an empty husk.
Tarquinius' heart was heavy as he filed away Olenus' words at the back of his mind. Gently he laid out the old man in a comfortable position by the fire and for what remained of the night, sat by him, keeping vigil. He had accepted that everything was pre-ordained, but had never imagined having to accept the death of someone so close. Waves of grief washed over him and the sky was paling before Tarquinius had reconciled himself to the fate of someone dearer than his own father. He was now the last haruspex and only his efforts would prevent the ancient knowledge being forgotten for ever. Except by the Romans. Olenus' years of love and effort must not be wasted. It was a heavy burden, but his burning pride in his ancestry gave the young Etruscan a huge sense of purpose.
