Free Unknown by Dayanara Sanar Ryelle

later earned her silver branch. With the permission of the archdruid, Selene married a sort of chieftain in 60, at the age of 27. It is said she had three children; sadly, none of them followed her into the priestly arts. Selene lived a long and happy life for that era and died in 105 at the age of seventy-two.
    Her mother, on the other hand, enjoyed much more mystique. Julia quickly became renowned across Hibernia for her healing skills as much as her sorcery. Those who knew her well called her “Daughter of Danu”, while those who feared her swore that she worshipped the Morrigan. It is the crossing of these legends, perhaps, that is responsible for the story that Julia was such a powerful sorceress that she was able to enchant and marry a minor king or prince regnant. From then on, she is often referred to as “Queen Danu”. Despite her great magic, Queen Danu faded from history in her winter years, only resurfacing when she died in 90 at the age of eighty-five.

Glossary
     
     
     
     
    Ankh: the Egyptian symbol of life.
    Aramaic: the language of Judea at the time Jesus was alive.
    Asinæ: (Latin) “ass”.
    Avia: (Latin) “grandmother”.
     
     
    Bet Shammai: “House of Shammai”. One of the two primary schools of Judaist thought; the other being Bet Hillel .
     
     
    Chiton: (Greek) a body-length tunic sewn all the way up to the arms and pinned at the shoulders. Most commonly worn by women.
    Cubicularius: (Latin) “chamberlain”.
     
     
    Domina: (Latin) “Lady”. Sometimes “madam” or “mistress of the household”.
    Domina Templum: (Latin) “Lady of the Temple”.
    Dominus: the masculine form of domina .
    Dominus Praefectus: (Latin) “Lord Prefect”.
    Domus: (Latin) “house”.
    Duat: the Ancient Egyptian underworld.
     
     
    Equestrian: the third highest Roman social class, supposedly based on money. Only the Senatorial and Imperial classes were higher.
     
     
    Fibula: (Latin) “brooch”. 4
    Flaminica Imperialis: (Latin) “Imperial Priestess”.
     
     
    Hoshana: Hebrew rendering of the Christian praise word “hosanna”.
     
     
    Isis: Egyptian mother goddess revered the world over.
     
     
    Lake Gennesaret: another name for the Sea of Galilee.
    Latrinum: (Latin) “toilet”. Almost certainly the origin of the modern word “latrine”.
    Maiden: lieutenant to the high priestess and usually the next in line for the role.
    Manus: (Latin) “hand”. In ancient Rome, the manus was a form of ownership; a girl’s father kept her manus in childhood and it was given to her husband when they married. The term also applied to slaves—whoever had the manus owned the slave, which is why freeing a slave was called manumission .
    Maudlin: (Yiddish) “sentimental”.
     
     
    Night of Tears: (June 16) an ancient Egyptian holy day marking the time in which Isis was said to flood the Nile with her tears for her lost husband.
     
     
    Palla: a long piece of material worn by Roman women as a mantle or cloak and pinned in place by one or more fibulae .
    Passover: spring holy day that celebrates the Jews being freed from Egypt.
    Per Medjat: (ancient Egyptian) “house of books”.
    Puella: (Latin) “little girl”.
     
     
    Sanhedrin: (Hebrew) “sitting together”. A religious judiciary made up of twenty-three men that often made up a sort of governing body of the Jews.
    Sekhmet: the Egyptian goddess of war, who was depicted as having the head of a lion.
    Silver branch: a staff reportedly carried by Druids that included silver bells and other symbols that indicated a certain level of achievement. The highest of these awards was the golden branch; it is unknown if there was anything lower than silver.
    Stola: a long, pleated dress worn over a tunic; the feminine analogy to the toga.
    Stultus: (Latin) “idiot”.
    Subura: lower-class Roman neighborhood where Julius Caesar grew up.
     
     
    Tetrarch: (Greek) a subordinate prince or the governor of one quarter of a territory.
    Tiberias: a city on the