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--- shared_worlds:radulf [2013/02/17 14:47] – Petike
+++ shared_worlds:radulf [2020/02/07 22:01] (current) – Updating to new link format eofpi
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 === Session 1 ===
-**[[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=1533188&postcount=52|Radulf begins... (476-492 AD)]]**
+**[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-1533188|Radulf begins... (476-492 AD)]]**
 I was born on the 8th of February, during the year when Odoacer deposed the last Emperor of Rome, and the Western Roman Empire finally died - 476 AD.
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 Utterly mesmerized, I witnessed the fierce duel for what seemed like hours, until it happened... One of the men clearly got the upper hand over the other, and the other man was soon on his knees. The victorious one briefly said something to the other (allthough I could not hear what) and then he swiftly cut his head off with a single swing of his blade. What I saw next, was beyond description - it was as if a thunderstorm suddendly broke loose, with the victorious one of the two swordfighters being at the centre of it. I later learnt that this was the quickening, but even then, I immediately realized that this was something very special, and that I too had something to do with it.
-Whilst strucken with sheer amazement as I withnessed the Quickening for the first time, I remember losing my balance and falling on the street in sheer amazement. I may even have let out a shriek. But whatever sound I made, the surviving swordsman certainly heard it - as soon as the Quickening had subsided, he looked right at me. As he walked towards me, I was frozen with fear.
+Whilst strucken with sheer amazement as I withnessed the Quickening for the first time, I remember losing my balance and falling on the street in sheer amazement. I may even have let out a shriek. But whatever sound I made, the surviving swordsman certainly heard it - as soon as the Quickening had subsided, he looked right at me. As he walked towards me, I was frozen with fear.\\
 "Please sir, spare my life - I won't tell anyone, I swear!" I tried to say - if it weren't for the fear that had paralyzed my tongue.
-The man grabbed me by my mantle, lifted me up, and said "sorry lad, no withnesses", after which I felt the cold steel of his blade slice right through my chest, piercing my heart and lungs. My face twisted with pain, and as I coughed up my own blood in my attempts to draw what I believed to be my last few breaths, all I could think was "Lord, have mercy on my soul...". And then, I lost consciousness.
+The man grabbed me by my mantle, lifted me up, and said "sorry lad, no withnesses", after which I felt the cold steel of his blade slice right through my chest, piercing my heart and lungs. My face twisted with pain, and as I coughed up my own blood in my attempts to draw what I believed to be my last few breaths, all I could think was "Lord, have mercy on my soul...". And then, I lost consciousness.\\
-I must have lied there for hours, bathing in my own blood. And then, the impossible happened. As I felt the gentle rays of the morning sun caress my face, I slowly opened my eyes.
+I must have lied there for hours, bathing in my own blood. And then, the impossible happened. As I felt the gentle rays of the morning sun caress my face, I slowly opened my eyes.\\
-"Is this heaven?" I thought for a moment.
+"Is this heaven?" I thought for a moment.\\
-But then I realized that I was still lying in the exact same spot as where I had lost consciousness during the night. My bloodstained clothes and the pool of blood around me convinced me that a miracle must have happened, and that I was still alive. Immediately, I thanked the Lord for my miraculous survival - even though I instinctively realized that this was about more than just divine intervention... As I tried to stand up, I noticed that the wound had appearantly healed, as I felt no pain or anything. After that, I immediately went home. My mother was very worried, as I was not the kind of person to stay away all night. And when she saw my blood-stained clothes, she immediately panicked. Deciding that I didn't want to draw too much attention to me, I told my mother that I was ambushed by a bandit that night, but that I had managed to kill him in a fight (thus explaining the blood on my clothes and the absence of any wounds on my body). Though my parents and siblings were still shocked by the whole ordeal, life soon resumed as normal.
+But then I realized that I was still lying in the exact same spot as where I had lost consciousness during the night. My bloodstained clothes and the pool of blood around me convinced me that a miracle must have happened, and that I was still alive. Immediately, I thanked the Lord for my miraculous survival - even though I instinctively realized that this was about more than just divine intervention... As I tried to stand up, I noticed that the wound had appearantly healed, as I felt no pain or anything. After that, I immediately went home. My mother was very worried, as I was not the kind of person to stay away all night. And when she saw my blood-stained clothes, she immediately panicked. Deciding that I didn't want to draw too much attention to me, I told my mother that I was ambushed by a bandit that night, but that I had managed to kill him in a fight (thus explaining the blood on my clothes and the absence of any wounds on my body). Though my parents and siblings were still shocked by the whole ordeal, life soon resumed as normal.\\
-...for my relatives, that is.
+...for my relatives, that is.\\
-After that fateful night, all I could think of was what I had happened that night, and finding the man who was responsable for nearly killing me. For weeks, I searched throughout Ravenna for this man, and many times, I returned to that alley where it all had happened. And after over a month of searching, when I was on the verge of giving up, I found him. He was right there, in plain sight, walking around on the marketplace in broad daylight. I recognized him as soon as I spotted him, and I immediately began to make my way through the crowd, moving towards him as fast as I could.
+After that fateful night, all I could think of was what I had happened that night, and finding the man who was responsable for nearly killing me. For weeks, I searched throughout Ravenna for this man, and many times, I returned to that alley where it all had happened. And after over a month of searching, when I was on the verge of giving up, I found him. He was right there, in plain sight, walking around on the marketplace in broad daylight. I recognized him as soon as I spotted him, and I immediately began to make my way through the crowd, moving towards him as fast as I could. When I got closer, it appeared that he noticed me. In response to me getting closer, I saw him moving towards an alley on the edge of the market.\\
-When I got closer, it appeared that he noticed me. In response to me getting closer, I saw him moving towards an alley on the edge of the market.
+"You want to lure me into an alley so you can kill me again, eh ?" I thought "well, so be it - but this time, I won't be going without a fight !"\\
-"You want to lure me into an alley so you can kill me again, eh?" I thought "well, so be it - but this time, I won't be going without a fight!"
+Against my better judgement, I walked into the alley. I took a few turns, walking deeper into narrow deserted alleys, nearly losing him twice - and there he was...\\
-Against my better judgement, I walked into the alley.
+He was standing in the middle of an alley, waiting for me, making no attempt to escape whatsoever. We looked each other in the eye.\\
-I took a few turns, walking deeper into narrow deserted alleys, nearly losing him twice - and there he was...
+"You..." I said, giving him a furious look.\\
-He was standing in the middle of an alley, waiting for me, making no attempt to escape whatsoever.
+He looked back at me in a nonchalant manner, as if he weren't suprised at all to see me alive.\\
-We looked eachother in the eye.
+"...I do not know what that fight was about - but you killed a man, and you tried to kill me" I said "You're a murder - and I swear that I'll make you pay for your vile deeds!"\\
-"You..." I said, giving him a furious look.
+"...and how were you going to do that, eh, boy?" he suddendly replied.\\
-He looked back at me in a nonchalant manner, as if he weren't suprised at all to see me alive.
+"You've seen me fight, and I reckon that you realize what I can do with a sword..." he continued "What makes you think that an inexperienced boy like you can take on the likes of me?"\\
-"...I do not know what that fight was about - but you killed a man, and you tried to kill me" I said "You're a murder - and I swear that I'll make you pay for your vile deeds!"
+Knowing that he was right, and that he'd propably slice me to pieces in a real fight, I replied "...but I'm not interested in fighting you - all I want is to bring you to justice, no matter how."\\
-"...and how were you going to do that, eh, boy?" he suddendly replied.
+He grinned.\\
-"You've seen me fight, and I reckon that you realize what I can do with a sword..." he continued "What makes you think that an inexperienced boy like you can take on the likes of me?"
+"You want to take this to the authorities? You want the king himself to judge me, and condemn me to the dungeons or death?"\\
-Knowing that he was right, and that he'd propably slice me to pieces in a real fight, I replied "...but I'm not interested in fighting you - all I want is to bring you to justice, no matter how."
+"I could kill you right now, boy" he continued "or I could just tell you to run back to your mother and stay out of fights until you're old enough to wield a sword properly..."\\
-He grinned.
+"...but you're a special case, lad, and your perseverance definitely deserves a reward."\\
-"You want to take this to the authorities? You want the king himself to judge me, and condemn me to the dungeons or death?"
+"Come to the western side entrance of the king's palace tonight, and tell the guards that you're Apollonios' new messenger - they'll let you through."\\
-"I could kill you right now, boy" he continued "or I could just tell you to run back to your mother and stay out of fights until you're old enough to wield a sword properly..."
+He then turned his back tome, and walked away.\\
-"...but you're a special case, lad, and your perseverance definitely deserves a reward"
+"Oh, and Apollonios is my name" he added.\\
-"Come to the western side entrance of the king's palace tonight, and tell the guards that you're Apollonios' new messenger - they'll let you through"
+"Apollonios, eh ?"\\
-He then turned his back tome, and walked away.
+"So that's my enemies' name..." I whispered to myself.\\
-"Oh, and Apollonios is my name" he added.
+I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about the things he had said to me. I was convinced that he was attempting to lure me into a trap, and every bit of common sense in me told me not to go.\\
-"Apollonios, eh?"
-"So that's my enemies' name..." I whispered to myself.
-I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about the things he had said to me. I was convinced that he was attempting to lure me into a trap, and every bit of common sense in me told me not to go.
 But I felt that urge again - the same urge forced me to take a closer look at the fight that got me into this mess in the first place... And that urge was now telling me to go to the palace, and find out and face whatever Apollonios had in store for me... Again, that nameless urge turned out to be more powerful than logic, reason or common sense, as I found myself standing outside the western wing of the king's palace about an hour after sunset.
-It didn't take me very long to find the side entrance Apollonios was talking about.
+It didn't take me very long to find the side entrance Apollonios was talking about.\\
-And sure enough, one of the guards approached me, saying "HALT! Who goes there?"
+And sure enough, one of the guards approached me, saying "HALT! Who goes there?"\\
-"I'm the new messenger of Apollonios" I replied, not expecting that the guard would accept this answer.
+"I'm the new messenger of Apollonios" I replied, not expecting that the guard would accept this answer.\\
-But the guard took a closer look at me, and said "Allright, go right ahead. Appolonios is expecting you."
+But the guard took a closer look at me, and said "Allright, go right ahead. Appolonios is expecting you."\\
-Another guard beckoned me to follow him, and after walking through several rooms and hallways, the two of us arrived in the room of Apollonios.
+Another guard beckoned me to follow him, and after walking through several rooms and hallways, the two of us arrived in the room of Apollonios.\\
-"The new messenger you have requested has arrived, sir!' the guard said.
+"The new messenger you have requested has arrived, sir!' the guard said.\\
-"Very well. Dismissed." a familiar voice said, after which the guard immediately left and closed the door behind him.
+"Very well. Dismissed." a familiar voice said, after which the guard immediately left and closed the door behind him.\\
 === Session 2 ===
-**[[http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=1533188&postcount=52|Radulf begins... (476-492 AD)]]**
+**[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/1/post-1542202|Radulf speaks of his language skills and favourite languages]]**
-==== See Also ====
+__[[Gregorios]]:__ By the way, what are your favourite languages that you've learned to speak over the years? And what "extinct" or "endangered" languages do you speak?
-**[[Autobiographies of Eternals|Eternal Autobiography Interviews Main Page]]**
+__Radulf:__ Well, my favourite would still be my native Ostrogothic language, allthough I like old Italian a lot too (it's propably officially called vulgar Latin, but it's really more like archaic Italian than classic Latin).
-**[[AH.com Eternals]]**
+And as I had a proper education during my youth in Ravenna, I can also speak and read classic Latin, classic Greek, Koine Greek, and old Church Gothic.
+Throughout the Medieval Ages, I picked up a bit of Visigothic, Burgundian, Vandalian, Old Frankish, Carthaginian Romance (never really managed to understand Punic Carthaginian, though), old Hispanic Romance, Qipchaq Turkish, Old South Slavic, Medieval Punjabi, Medieval Sindhi, and a few common Aramaic/Syriac vernacular dialects - but I never really mastered those languages.
+Languages I did master during the Medieval Ages include various vernacular dialects of Arabic and Persian, various old Byzantine vernacular Greek dialects during that period, old Basque, Medieval Georgian, Medieval eastern Armenian, various Turkish languages (such as a few old Oghuz Turkish dialects, Qarluq Turkish, Chagatai Turkish and the Uyghur(?) dialect of the Qara-Khanids), Medieval Kashmiri, late Medieval Mongolian, old Russian, Lingua Franca, old French, and old German.
+I also learnt to read and write Arabic when I was a slave in Egypt between 847 and 858 (my master soon found out that I was an educated man, and decided that I could do better things than simple chores and menial labour), and I learnt Middle Persian and classic Syriac in Baghdad, during the early 11th century. (for a while, I ended up in a Nestorian monastery in Baghdad, but that's a long story).
+During the early 15th century, I ended up in western Europe, where I more or less settled down. And as a result, I became fluent in French, Aquitanian, old Dutch, Spanish, Catalan, Portugese, various Italian dialects, and eventually, English.
+And during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, I spent a several decades in the East Indies, where I learnt Malay, along with some Javanese and Balinese. I also visited Dejima a few times, but I never really learnt the Japanese language.
+...and that's pretty much all the languages that I can remember right now...
+==== Personal information ====
+**Birth Name:**\\
+**Birth Date:** \\
+**Birth Place:**\\
+**Status at Birth:** \\
+**Relation to other Eternals:** \\
+**Current Pseudonym:**\\
+**Past Pseudonyms:**\\
+**Current Home:** \\
+**Past Homes:** \\
+**Current Occupation:** \\
+**Skills:** \\
+**Languages Spoken:** \\
+==== See Also ====
 **[[The Trust]]**
+==== Navigation ====
+**[[Autobiographies of Eternals|Eternal Autobiography Interviews]]**
+**[[AH.com Eternals]]**