Davus
Slaves-
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Last visited
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Player
Sharpie
Custom Fields
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Face Claim
Max Minghella
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Location
Roma
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Face Claim
Max Minghella -
Location
Roma
Recent Posts
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"Mine's Titus Sulpicius Rufus," he said - the slave tag he wore just gave his master's initials (he thought) and those could refer to almost anyone. "I don't suppose you know him, though - he's a senator, though, so you might." There were over six hundred senators so the chances of her knowing his master, out of all of those, was pretty slim.
"And I didn't come straight here from Alexandria, either - I was in Corinth for a bit." It was nice to have someone to talk to, someone who understood his journey and where he'd come from, even if neither of them had been to the other's birthplace. She must be a bit older than him, he thought - maybe four or five years older than him? It was hard to tell, with her hair covered.
"I hope you don't mind me asking," he said, speaking a little quieter. "Why are you wearing that?" There were slave women who covered their hair, but most of the ones he'd seen didn't bother - it was far more common for upper class ladies to cover their hair when they went out.
@Echo
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"I didn't, but it's Davus," Davus said. "You didn't tell me your name, either, though."
Fourteen years with the same mistress? He could barely imagine that; he'd had three masters in the same length of time. "Judea? That's a long way away - even further than Alexandria."
He thought it was, anyway, further towards the rising sun than his birthplace. "I've only been with my current master for six years, the longest I've been anywhere except my very first place."
Only thinking about that reminded him of his mother and then he was reminded of the last time he'd seen her, when they were pulled apart in the huge slave market at Delos.
@Echo
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He shook his head at her question. "No, I've been here for..." he had to pause to work it out. He'd been in the household of Titus Sulpicius Rufus for six years, and in Rome itself for three years before that... "Nine summers?" She looked at least a little interested, at least.
"I was only about ten when I left Alexandria, I'm sure it isn't how I remember it at all." He shifted the shopping basket to sit more comfortably on his arm. "What about you - where are you from?"
She had at least confirmed that she was a slave, like him, which meant he could relax a bit and not have to worry that he might somehow offend a free woman - he wouldn't want to offend anyone, even a slave, but free people were apt to get touchy when their dignity was somehow offended by a slave, and touchy free people were quick to lash out, even when the slave was someone else's property. He risked a sideways glance. This young woman looked altogether too gentle and kind for that sort of reaction - there was something about her that had drawn him and he couldn't even begin to say what it might be.
@Echo
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"Watch where you're going!" Davus instinctively replied in the same language he'd just been addressed in, before registering that the other bore no signs at all of slavery, and Egyptian was an unusual language to be addressed in. Though less unusual in this part of the city; he recognised the statues of Isis and Serapis (well, Serapis was easily recognisable, after all, with his distinctive headdress!). The temple of Isis and Serapis naturally drew worshippers from Egypt, and of course one of them was going to spill his beer down Davus after walking into him.
"I shouldn't have got in your way," he added, just in case this was a free man (there were plenty of those in Rome and several of Egyptian stock, even). Too bad he'd return home smelling of beer and have to get his tunic washed days before it was due for it.
@Liv
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"Thank you," Davus said simply, thinking that she must be very kind - his Latin was by no means as good as hers, though it did help that Latin was a regular language that followed the same sort of patterns, in its own way, as his native Greek did.
"From Alexandria," he said, somehow finding it quite natural to fall into step beside her, although he was perfectly ready to be told to get lost. She must have heard of Alexandria - it was a city renowned for learning and philosophy, after all. "Can I ask where you're from?"
@Echo
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"Not hurt at all," Davus said, thankful that the other was equally uninjured. "Uh, Egyptian," he said, in answer to her question - what an odd question to ask, in a city like this, that had people from all the corners of the empire in it. Her own Latin was accented, though much softer. She had probably spoken Latin for much longer than he had, if she'd ever spoken anything else. He couldn't place hers, although the accent of the few words she'd spoken sounded vaguely familiar - yet not quite. "I'm sorry if I, uh..." He indicated her veil, which she had had to rearrange.
He wasn't sure where she was from, and from the plainness of her dress, she was possibly a slave, and for a slave to cover her head probably meant she was Jewish or something - he remembered them from his childhood in Alexandria.
@Echo
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September 75
"Onions, garlic, figs, cumin, lentils," Davus murmured to himself, repeating the shopping list over again (minus the items he had already bought, of course). "Onions, garlic... oof!" He had been distracted in his search and ended up very nearly walking into someone. The someone, when he'd recovered his wits and stepped backwards, an apology ready, turned out to be a young woman, of similar complexion to him, dressed simply, and with a veil over her head.
"Apologies," he said, checking that he hadn't dropped anything - he hadn't. "I wasn't watching where I was going - I hope you're not hurt?" His Latin was perhaps more melodious than a native would pronounce it, thanks to his Egyptian Greek accent.
@Echo
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DAVUS
24 | July 51 | Slave | House slave | Straight | Original | Max Minghella
Personality.
Davus is generally a quiet, reserved type of person. This is partly due to his upbringing and station in life and partly from natural reserve. He is thoughtful, intelligent and observant, traits that might otherwise get him in trouble - and did so on more than one occasion in his younger days, until he learned to rein himself in and just be what the Romans wanted him to be, a useful tool and of no more intelligence than that. He is very aware of the insecurity that comes with being a slave, having changed owners several times since he was ten, and while he has served in the household of Titus Sulpicius Rufus for six years (the longest he has spent in any one place since his birth), he knows that it would take one word from his master to see him at the slave market again, and he would do almost anything to avoid that.
Appearance
Of average height, Davus is clearly one of the many foreign-born slaves in Rome, although this is given away more by his features than the colour of his skin. He has the dark eyes and dark curly hair that denote his Egyptian background, although the paleness of his skin owes far more to his Roman father than his Egyptian mother. He looks more exotic the more time he spends out of doors in the sun as he naturally tans. He wears the clothing provided by his master - simple tunics in undyed linen with a plain leather belt, although he may be given smarter clothing if he is to serve guests at a party or other event. If he leaves the house, he will have simple leather sandals.
Family
Father: unknown (in reality Gaius Clovius Frontinus, a legionary stationed in Alexandria)
Mother: Tabia (slave)
Siblings: None known
Spouse: None
Children: None
Extended family: None
Other:
History
The web of the Roman slave trade was a wide net, cast right across the Mare Nostrum from Aegyptus to the Pillars of Hercules. Davus was born a slave, the son of a slave, in an Egyptian brothel in Alexandria, but was fortunate enough not to be exposed to die as many prostitutes' babies were. He grew up in the shadow of the Museion and the great Library of Alexandria, although he never had the fortune of entering the place. When he was ten, he and his mother were shipped across the wide blue Mare Nostrum to the biggest slave market in the world at Delos, where he saw even more people than he'd seen in Alexandria, and with other colours of hair like red and gold and very pale skin, which he couldn't recall ever seeing before.
It was at Delos that he was separated from his mother; her buyer didn't want to spend even the few sesterces a ten-year-old would cost, and so Davus endured the first and greatest heartbreak of his life. He was eventually bought by a trader from Corinthos. He served in his house for a few years, before eventually being sold again when his master's fortunes took a turn for the worse. Now aged fifteen, he was sent west across the sea to Ostia and thence to Rome (along with sundry other slaves and various goods from all over the Empire and beyond).
Unable to speak anything other than Greek and a smattering of Egyptian, he was sold again to a senator in whose house he learned Latin (which he still speaks with an Egyptian Greek accent). Eventually, aged eighteen, he exchanged households yet again, finding himself being given as a welcome home gift to one Titus Sulpicius Rufus and his wife, and he has been in their household for the last six years.
He has heard stories of the Christian God all his life, but has not yet decided whether this path is one he is willing to embark on, despite being told of the love and comfort that believers have found in Him.
Sharpie | GMT | Discord (#4424) or PM
@Gothic
Topics I Participated In
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Clumsy cleanse
Started by Artemon ·
October 75 CE
After a successful praying session to the ancient gods of his homeland, Artemon was feeling quite ready to honour another Egyptian custom of old - a nice mug of beer. Even though his deity of choice was Sobek, the crocodile god to whom he had not found a temple yet, he had faith that neither Isis nor Serapis would object too much to being second best.
The small tavern a couple of streets away was mostly frequented by countrymen of his and, as far as Artemon was concerned, had pretty decent beer for its price. He hummed an old tune all the way there and headed straight for the counter upon entering, where he parted with a bit of coin and was given a big cup with a generous amount of beer inside. He took a sip, sighed in delight and made his way outside again, intent on enjoying his drink under the autumn sun...
That was, until he walked into something quite solid and proceeded to spill half his beer over it. As he processed the event he first mourned the loss of his drink, and only a moment later did he realise he had unwittingly given a young man a beer bath. With a sheepish smile Artemon awkwardly and futilely tried to pat the man dry as he apologised in Egyptian. "I'm sorry brother, my mind was elsewhere."
@Sharpie
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Shabbat shalom
Started by Davus ·
September 75
"Onions, garlic, figs, cumin, lentils," Davus murmured to himself, repeating the shopping list over again (minus the items he had already bought, of course). "Onions, garlic... oof!" He had been distracted in his search and ended up very nearly walking into someone. The someone, when he'd recovered his wits and stepped backwards, an apology ready, turned out to be a young woman, of similar complexion to him, dressed simply, and with a veil over her head.
"Apologies," he said, checking that he hadn't dropped anything - he hadn't. "I wasn't watching where I was going - I hope you're not hurt?" His Latin was perhaps more melodious than a native would pronounce it, thanks to his Egyptian Greek accent.
@Echo
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DAVUS
24 | July 51 | Slave | House slave | Straight | Original | Max Minghella
Personality.
Davus is generally a quiet, reserved type of person. This is partly due to his upbringing and station in life and partly from natural reserve. He is thoughtful, intelligent and observant, traits that might otherwise get him in trouble - and did so on more than one occasion in his younger days, until he learned to rein himself in and just be what the Romans wanted him to be, a useful tool and of no more intelligence than that. He is very aware of the insecurity that comes with being a slave, having changed owners several times since he was ten, and while he has served in the household of Titus Sulpicius Rufus for six years (the longest he has spent in any one place since his birth), he knows that it would take one word from his master to see him at the slave market again, and he would do almost anything to avoid that.
Appearance
Of average height, Davus is clearly one of the many foreign-born slaves in Rome, although this is given away more by his features than the colour of his skin. He has the dark eyes and dark curly hair that denote his Egyptian background, although the paleness of his skin owes far more to his Roman father than his Egyptian mother. He looks more exotic the more time he spends out of doors in the sun as he naturally tans. He wears the clothing provided by his master - simple tunics in undyed linen with a plain leather belt, although he may be given smarter clothing if he is to serve guests at a party or other event. If he leaves the house, he will have simple leather sandals.
Family
Father: unknown (in reality Gaius Clovius Frontinus, a legionary stationed in Alexandria)
Mother: Tabia (slave)
Siblings: None known
Spouse: None
Children: None
Extended family: None
Other:
History
The web of the Roman slave trade was a wide net, cast right across the Mare Nostrum from Aegyptus to the Pillars of Hercules. Davus was born a slave, the son of a slave, in an Egyptian brothel in Alexandria, but was fortunate enough not to be exposed to die as many prostitutes' babies were. He grew up in the shadow of the Museion and the great Library of Alexandria, although he never had the fortune of entering the place. When he was ten, he and his mother were shipped across the wide blue Mare Nostrum to the biggest slave market in the world at Delos, where he saw even more people than he'd seen in Alexandria, and with other colours of hair like red and gold and very pale skin, which he couldn't recall ever seeing before.
It was at Delos that he was separated from his mother; her buyer didn't want to spend even the few sesterces a ten-year-old would cost, and so Davus endured the first and greatest heartbreak of his life. He was eventually bought by a trader from Corinthos. He served in his house for a few years, before eventually being sold again when his master's fortunes took a turn for the worse. Now aged fifteen, he was sent west across the sea to Ostia and thence to Rome (along with sundry other slaves and various goods from all over the Empire and beyond).
Unable to speak anything other than Greek and a smattering of Egyptian, he was sold again to a senator in whose house he learned Latin (which he still speaks with an Egyptian Greek accent). Eventually, aged eighteen, he exchanged households yet again, finding himself being given as a welcome home gift to one Titus Sulpicius Rufus and his wife, and he has been in their household for the last six years.
He has heard stories of the Christian God all his life, but has not yet decided whether this path is one he is willing to embark on, despite being told of the love and comfort that believers have found in Him.
Sharpie | GMT | Discord (#4424) or PM
@Gothic
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The gif game
Started by Gothic ·
Basically reply with your character responding to the one above with a gif of their reaction to the person above.
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