So there you have it, a little bit of Áine’s story. Some of you were already a bit unsure about the War Priestess before, but you’re probably even more on her case knowing that she had kept Áine as a slave.
But what will Ashling make of her surprising ‘inheritance’? Check in next week to find out!
Aoife, get your mind out of the gutter. There’s not enough room for both of us in here. 😛
@Azrael: Sorry, but I’m pretty sure Aoife has dibs on the gutter.
@Rawr: Personally, I find using Cauldron-born a much bigger question mark over the War Priestess’s character than Aine having been a slave. “Slave” is a much more loaded word now than it was two millennia ago. At least in my experience, when most people hear that word they think of African slavery in the antebellum American South, which was an exceptionally pathological form of that particular institution. In the ancient world, slavery ran the gamut from pretty benign to downright monstrous. We forget that sometimes slavery was not as bad as we tend to think of it. For example, in some societies slaves could actually earn money and eventually purchase their freedom. In some cases the social situation of some slaves was not that much different from, say, household servants of the Victorian era. So what being a slave meant to Aine is still an open question.
@Azrael: I think Aoife has a time-share in the gutter and spends her holidays there 😀
@Kessy: While trying not to spill too many spoilers, you are pretty close to the mark in your discription of slavery with regards to how Áine was kept as the Priestess’ slave. Back in Chapter 5 we have seen Áine extremely upset by the knowledge that so much time has passed that her mistress was long dead, suggesting that she really cared for her. More will be revealed in Chapter 7, but what I can tell you now is that they did have a positive relationship, where she was cared for by the War Priestess and that they worked together.
That’s all I can say without spoiling more story. Chapter 7 isn’t that far away, and Chapter 6 will end after 21 pages (just 1 page over my production goal)
In my opinion, slavery didn’t end in the 1860’s, it just got rebranded as credit. As such, I believe Aine will be just fine. Ashling will probably stress out about it more than Aine will. After all, a person of conscience recognizes they are responsible for the well being of that slave.
@Kessy: Nonsense. I’m a D. O. M. I have tenure. 😛
Actually sounds like Áine was more of a apprentice / indentured servant than a thrall
@ShirouZhiwu: While a full discussion of the social ramifications of credit is a bit beyond the scope of this post, comparing it to a system where your master could sell off your family so none of you would ever see each other again in order to make a quick buck seems a bit extreme. And I would point out that humans are extremely good at rationalizing all sorts of unconscionable acts.
However, I do agree that Ashling will probably have more of a problem with the idea of slavery that Aine. After all, Aine has been living with it for who knows how long. It’s even possible that if Ashling loudly declares that Aine is *not* her slave that Aine could interpret that as rejection.
Kess; though you make a valid point that Aine might consider Ash’s rejection of her status to Aine, Fi could rightfully intervene & remind 1)Ash of Aine’s attitude due to being from 1500+ years in the past and 2) Aine of what in hers & Ash’s current worldview (as well as in general) that slavery, as such, whether incisions bt Aine or currently, is repugnant..
That she needs to see Ash’s refusal of Aine’s status to her is wrong but that Ash might accept her as a friend & teacher instead….
Kess; though you make a valid point that Aine might consider Ash’s rejection of her status to Aine, Fi could rightfully intervene & remind 1)Ash of Aine’s attitude due to being from 1500+ years in the past and 2) Aine of what in hers & Ash’s current worldview (as well as in general) that slavery, as such, whether decisions by Aine or currently, is repugnant..
That she needs to see Ash’s refusal of Aine’s status to her is wrong but that Ash might accept her as a friend & teacher instead….
@James: You’re right, and I only meant to point out the possibility. I suspect that Ashling would likely be more diplomatic than that – she doesn’t strike me as the type to sort of just start shouting at something like that.
And we still don’t have a real good idea of how Aine feels about it. Although she seems to have had a good relationship with the war priestess, that doesn’t necessarily mean she was thrilled about being a slave. It also probably depends a lot on how Aine wound up being a slave. So we just have to wait on Rawr at this point.
@Shirow: You’re pretty much correct on how Ashling will deal with this. Friday’s update will reveal Ashling’s reaction (which on reflection here, should have been more :/ )
@Tigertomcat: You are very close Tigertomcat 😀 I’ll reveal more in Chapter 7, but Aine was treated well and was essentially in training under the War Priestess.
@Kessy: Dang…I’m kind of wishing I did that. I do *something else* with the remaining 5 pages, but given the page limit I made a fairly brief reaction. Thankfully there is always Chapter 7, which I’m scripting up now 🙂
@James: It’s this kind of culture shock that I’m trying to inject into this ‘book’ of Bata Neart. Many of the upcoming chapters will deal as much with Aine’s relationship with the 21st Century, than it will with Ashling’s exploration of her new abilities. In doing this I’m trying my best not to fall into the trap of time travel cliches (an early draft had Aine freaking out when seeing a TV), and focus on how a celtic-era Irish girl would relate to today’s world and the people in it. As we see now she’s already clung onto Ashling & Aoife…although this may have been based on a latent desire to follow her mistress, which as far as she was concerned was now Ashling.
In coming chapters she’s going to shed this need and develop genuine friendships with the girls. As a sneak peak, I can tell you that Chapter 7 will be split between some backstory with the War Priestess, and the development of a friendship between Aine and Aoife.
@Kessy: I have all of Aine’s backstory in my head (as well as for the other girls). How she became a slave is something I’m going to save until much later in the story, but what I can still say is that her time with the War Priestess was much better than the times that led up to it. Again…more to be revealed in Chapter 7, but you should have a slightly better idea of how she feels about all this by the end of this chapter.
That’s not very PC of you, Aoife…
@melaredblu: I know….
It’s just…you don’t often get to make fun of your friend for owning a slave….I let my desires get the better of me 😀
Rereading the story and I’m surprised that nobody pointed out that that slaves in Europe were treated much better than slaves in the southern states of the USA. I recall that Roman slaves could earn their freedom and become citizens of Rome and I believe only the USA had hereditary slavery.
I guess it really depended on circumstance and situation. I’m not an expert at all, but yes it did seem that slavery in antiquity had very different characteristics to the 17, 18 and 19th Century slavery practiced in the Americas (and not just by the US. The French, British and Spanish Empires were just as bad…they just banned it earlier).
Áine was certainly treated better as the Muinteoir’s slave. She was being cared for and trained as a witch, and had she ever earned her Bata Driochta back then…she would have earned her “freedom” too.