Pathways of the Druids

by Christopher J. Pine

  Sirarch

  An elf who passes as a human, he travels as a forest ranger. Always a loyal friend, he can live for several human lifetimes and is not sure of his own age. His skills are minor magic and field craft for clandestine work. He wears dark green and blue clothing.

  Soliel

  A dusky-skinned slave girl, short and with long dark hair.

  Sulis (Sul, Suliviae)

  An ancient and a powerful Celtic goddess of healing and wisdom. Her major shrine is situated at Aqua Sulis (modern Bath). Sulis is a solar deity and she is normally associated with a boar and an owl.

  Taranis

  A powerful Celtic god of ancient times, he is called ‘The Thunderer’, known to drive a solar chariot across the skies where he is in control of the elements of the weather, rain storms, thunder and lightning.

  Tehbazile

  A witch who belongs to ‘The Sisterhood’, a slave trading organisation. She is of small build and has brown curly hair and dark, sharp eyes.

  Teper

  A mountain dwarf, he is now old and his hair and beard are grey. He is a highly skilled master blacksmith who makes weapons from rare metals.

  Tiberius Claudius Togodumnus

  He was a Celt who as a boy was raised and educated in Rome. He became the Roman appointed ruler of Britannia, king of the Regnenses who were a confederation of Celtic tribes in southern Britannia.

  Tiberius Septimus Marcus

  A tall centurion with short black hair, twenty-four years old and of slim build. He has been sent directly from Rome by Emperor Nero.

  Tibullus

  He is an optio, serving with the XIV Augusta Gemina Legion. He is twenty-five years old, tall and of average build with short dark hair; he is well educated and unmarried.

  Timar

  A waiter at the Tavern of the Four Paths. He is middle-aged, overweight and balding with short brown hair.

  Titus

  A Roman legionary who is thirty years old, tall and of thick-set build. He was originally a gladiator in Rome and is now a combat instructor to the XIV Augusta Gemina Legion.

  Toki

  A Norse raider, twenty-two years old, arrogant and cruel. He is of medium build with red hair.

  Trianuc

  A tall young man of slight build, a deeper thinker than most. He uses his wits to get himself out of trouble.

  Tristan

  A skilled Celtic warrior, during his life he has been in many skirmishes with the Romans and other Celtic tribes. He is thirty years old, tall with light blue eyes, long black hair and a large drooping moustache. He is heavy in build and wears green tartan check trousers with brown leather boots.

  Varin

  The younger brother of Toki, thin and tall.

  Venthl

  The chief haruspex (augur) overseeing all priestly work and divination for the Roman legions. He is of average height and stout build, with a round face and short cropped grey hair. As a senior priest he carries the symbol of office of a staff with the figure of Apollo on the tip.

  Vulcan

  A Roman god. Some of his many gifts are fire and craftsmanship, and his forge is located deep beneath Mount Etna.

  Whettam

  The son of Tehbazile, he is a youth of short and stocky build. His hair and eyes are dark brown.

  Wilda

  Harbman’s loyal and trusting wife, she is forty-three years old. She has black hair and grey eyes, tall and of average build but now putting on weight. She wears a dark blue smock so that she can cope with the hard work at the inn.

  A Glossary Of Terms

  Aqua Sulis (the modern city of Bath) was a sacred site in the isle of Britannia and the home of the goddess Sulis.

  Athame (pronounced Ath-a-me): a pointed knife with a blade that was sharp on both edges leading to a point at the tip. This knife was used only as a tool for directing magical energies.

  Augur: please see haruspex.

  Augury: a psychic reading of the future; to ‘read the auguries’ was to find the best possible time for a specific action.

  Avalon: the Isle of Avalon was where the mythical Celtic order of priestesses resided. (Glastonbury has been identified as a possible site.)

  Belenus: the Sun god of the Celts.

  Bronze rings were a unit of Celtic currency and were available in various sizes and weights.

  Bucinator: a trumpeter in the Roman army.

  Carnyx: a Celtic war trumpet that was sounded in battle to terrify the enemy. It was made out of a beaten bronze sheet in the shape of a boar’s head, designed to stand at least one metre higher than the warriors who were carrying it. The noise that it produced called the attention of their many gods.

  Camulodunon (now Colchester) was the capital of the Trinovantes. The Roman name was Camulodonum.

  Cauldron: a large cooking vessel in which the family’s food was prepared. It was also used as a magical vessel.

  Cohort: a division of the Roman army, a nominal 800 infantrymen strong.

  Core juice was made from fermented apples (cider).

  Crwth: a musical instrument, a type of lyre and a precursor of the harp.

  Druids were the priest caste of the Celtic nations. They had access to many different types of arcane knowledge such as astrology, astronomy, herb lore and magic, and the ability to foretell the future. They were all highly educated individuals able to read and write and converse in several languages. For reasons of secrecy, they kept no written records of their knowledge and history. This knowledge was always passed on by word of mouth at a very young age. The druids’ staffs were made of rowan wood, as they considered it to be the wood best suited for divination.

  Dryads, or wood nymphs, were the spirits that inhabited the trees. Though normally female in character, their demeanour depended on the type of tree they resided in.

  Gaul was a country, now known as France.

  Gladius: a type of Roman short sword.

  Haruspex (or augur): a priest from the College of Auguries based in Rome. These priests were trained in the many skills of divination and reading the omens. In this they were able to serve the Roman state by foretelling the future. Each Roman legion would have had its own trained haruspex priest attached.

  Heads: the taking of heads was an ancient Celtic battle custom. They believed that experience, knowledge and power could be extracted from a person’s head and then absorbed by the victor to increase his own knowledge and power.

  Imago (or image): a large three-dimensional copy of the emperor’s head in silver. This was placed on a pole and every legion carried one on display.

  Legion: a large unit of the Roman army consisting of 4,200 infantrymen and 300 cavalrymen. In Britannia, the Roman army comprised four legions: the Ninth (IX) Hispania, the Twentieth (XX), the Fourteenth (XIV) Augusta Gemina, and the Eleventh (XI) Augusta. There would also have been auxiliary units attached to each legion.

  Lindum is now known as Lincoln.

  Londinium is now known as London.

  Mona is now known as Anglesey. This was where the druids’ most sacred site in Britannia was located.

  Oppida: a Roman description for a Celtic hill fort.

  Omen: an event or a sequence of events that can give a possible indication of the future.

  Pilum: a Roman spear that was specially designed to bend on impact so that when it had been thrown it could not be re-used by an enemy.

  Pommel: part of a sword, at the top end of the grip.

  Pot-mash: a form of porridge.

  Scrying: the ability to view images of the past, present or future. This could be done by various means such as looking into a fire or into a bowl of water. Other methods included gazing into a crystal ball, looking at cloud formations or staring into a black surface
as a focus for the mind.

  Sickle: a knife in the shape of a crescent moon. The druids used this for magical purposes, such as cutting the sacred mistletoe from a tree.

  Stater coins, either gold or silver, were a very old measure of currency in the Celtic world.

  Tamesa river (meaning ‘The Dark One’) was the Celtic name for the modern Thames river. The Tamesis was the Roman name.

  Tir Na Gog was the Celtic name for ‘the land of the forever young’, the other lands, the summer lands, where a soul travels after death in this world.

  Toga: a Roman form of dress.

  Torc: a large crescent-shaped neck ornament. It was an extremely valuable item, fashioned out of gold or silver, denoting high status. The torc could also be magically charged for a specific purpose to affect the wearer.

  Totem: a personal spirit guide, possibly an animal, a bird or an insect, which could help to guide one through life’s trials.

  Tribune: a mid-ranking officer in a Roman legion.

  Turnae: a Roman cavalry unit comprising of twenty-four cavalrymen.

  Valetudinarian: a Roman hospital.

  Valhalla: in Norse mythology this was the hall of slain heroes, ruled by the king of the gods, Odin.

  Valkyries: in Norse mythology these were warrior maidens. Their main actions were to visit the battlefields and carry the slain heroes to the halls of Valhalla.

  Verulamium is now known as St Albans.

  Votive offering: a gift to the gods. A valuable article was placed in a sacred lake or pool. This was done to placate, or encourage favours from, the gods.

  Ward: a magical barrier that could be placed around a valuable object to deflect the viewer’s gaze away. It might make the viewer imagine that they were seeing something else.

  Woad: a blue dye used by the Celts as a lotion on their skin in order to frighten their enemies. It also contained antiseptic properties to help heal injuries.

  Wyrd: a Nordic expression for karma, synchronicity, fate or destiny.

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