The Dream of Magnus (Originalish/Playing Fast And Loose With History and Myth)

[Scherazade]

A crow soars overhead, above a rural land. Finger-like lengths of land divide up areas of grass and heath below, and square structures here and there. But on one field, there's a lot of clashing of swords, and men dying. The crow swoops down to investigate, and sees gladius bash against shield, of javelins be traded for spears, of copper swords and bronze knives, of blood spilled on the ground, and the smell of dung and sweat in the air.

But then the crow paused, and did not partake in the feast, and it flew a league to the west, and found a burnt out house, and a cried-out girl, kneeling next to a dead woman, with her eyes closed.

"Hello, crow." she said, without looking, "Are you here to take my mummy away?"

"Caw." the crow crowed.

"I'm sorry, but you can't eat her yet. I need to let her soul leave first."

She picked up the box next to her, and placed trinkets next to her mother's corpse. A golden coin was placed on the lips, and a small hammer was placed on the older woman's chest.

"Caw!"

"In a minute! I just need a moment. Stay a while, I guarantee you her flesh."

A flute of bone was placed next to the woman's head, and a small vase of water was poured over the woman's face.

"I love you, mummy, but it's time to go."

A soft glow enamated from the corpse, and a spectral woman stood up. Hair trailing back as if from a ethereal breeze, and eyes that shone of lost stars.

"Elena." it spoke, before the unfelt breeze picked up, and tore the woman's soul to realms unseen, as if she was made of sand in a hurricane.

"CAW!"

"oh, go on then, I'm sure you're hungry."

The girl watched as the crow ate the corpse, and smiled softly.


Somewhere in Sicily, the young Emperor of Rome, Magnus, woke up in the barracks with a cold sweat.

"What the blazes was that dream?"

Spoiler: A/N

Had the inspiration lately to rewrite some myths on reddit, and it was well recieved there, so I thought I'd do my own version of the Dream of Magnus with a lot of alterations. Namely, magic and the gods exist, and Elena maybe isn't a chief-king's daughter. The story in its original form is basically 'Roman Emperor gets a vision of a pretty Welsh girl, ends up sending all the men to find her, eventally does, and makes her father the official ruler of the lands properly. Also her broher might be the origin of the name Conan, so that's fun. There's a few aspects of the original story that I am certain are common tropes in Celtic myth, so I'm borrowing from everything

.

Spoiler: Spoilers for later on!

so the plan for later is that the pair are being dicked around by the love/fertility goddesses Venus and Aine of Hellenistic Roman and Celtic pantheons respectively (presumably the gods are aware they're going to maybe merge with how Romans are, so they're working... not quite together, but not wholly to seperate ends), whilst Elena is being... watched, maybe, by the Morrigan, and Magnus has always had Mars' attentions upon him. The sudden and forceful invasion of Britain, far beyond previous attempts, will put the two cultures in great tension, and gods of love, war, and death, all around, would be getting involved in the funniest shit that's gone down since the whole Trojan fuckup pile up.

 

[Scherazade]

Oracles, Magnus mused, were highly unreliable.
Prophecy was more of a tool under Roman occupation to compell the populace to serve.

However, if the Emperor had a vision...

But sometimes, it gave truths, and their guidance gave context to the surreal visions that some get in their slumber.

"Emperor! Hail!" the priest of Apollo slapped an arm against his chest, then raised it.

The Emperor of Rome dismounted, and his troops dispersed around the temple, communicating arrangements as to their bedding with the temple workers.

"Peace, priest. I come, perhaps not wholly in my role as Emperor, but as a man in need of guidance with a vision I have recieved."

"Very well. There's a room we use for contemplation, come with me."

Magnus lit a stick of incense as he passed the shrine of Apollo, and was led to a plain looking room.

"So, tell me what you saw!" the priest's eyes were animated, and almost youthful despite his age.

"A young girl. A child, named Elena. She spoke Welsh, and looked not unlike the big statue of Trivia in Thebes, albeit youthful. She was performing a strange funeral rite over her mother's body, and her mother's spirit briefly appeared, before a crow ate the mother."

"A black crow?"

"Yes. That and the vision is why I came here, for surely it is a symbol of Apollo's anger. I assume as omens go, this is a bad one?"

"You assume the interpretation of a god's will, Emperor, but that does not mean you assume correctly... May I have a piece of your hair?"

"Of course."

The Emperor cut off a lock of his hair.

The priest examined the hair, then threw it to the ground.

"Hmm. Viewing... Something is facilitating you to get visions... Conflict... You're destined for conflict... Family? And also fire, which could mean energy, and then... Tartarus? Strange."

"Is this a sign of my death?"

"Not... Necessarily. Could just mean her ability to send people to Tartarus. My interpretation of this is that your life and this Elena's are intertwined, but you will find it difficult. Apollo has sent you this vision, and as one of his servants, I can only implore you to seek out this girl, and find out what the gods want yourself."

The Emperor stroked his beard.

"So I must go to Britain then. It strikes me as odd. By the time I get there, this girl would be a woman grown. Do the gods mean..."

The priest hit the Emperor's head with a stick.

"Stop. Assuming. Gods are strange, human hubris gets you nowhere, even great kings fall to folly before them."

Magnus rubbed his head.

"That hurt."

"Privelege of being a servant of a god- means I can strike silly mortals in His name." the priest smirked.

"I am sure it does not work like that, but very well."