Podcasts about Roman Empire

In the modern world, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, not by barbarian invasions, but by endless notifications, political noise, and the constant pressure to be "on." Resilience isn't a talent you're born with, or something you buy in a self-help book. What if the antidote to our modern anxiety was perfected two thousand years ago, written on wax tablets and sent across the Roman Empire? This series is your essential training manual for mental resilience, drawn from the deepest well of ancient wisdom: Stoicism. Over the next seven days, you're going to build a mental foundation that can withstand anything. This is your Unbroken Mind, and it's structured around one of the greatest resilience coaches in history: the Roman philosopher and statesman, Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Every single episode is a workshop to make this ancient philosophy immediately actionable today. ALL ABOUT THIS WEEK'S SERIES Welcome to "The Unbroken Mind: A 7-Day Guide to Ancient Strategies for Modern Trauma" This series draws on the timeless wisdom of ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, integrating modern neuroscience, to prepare your mind and heart to face life's inevitable shocks—loss, grief, and uncertainty—not just with courage, but with unshakable clarity. This is day 1 of a 7-day meditation series, "The Unbroken Mind: A 7-Day Guide to Ancient Strategies for Modern Trauma," episodes 3423-3429. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: "The Acceptance Code" Your mission this week: practice Cognitive Separation, isolating facts from your emotional judgments about them. Whenever you feel stress, pause and list only the neutral facts of the situation (Katalepsis), then discard the "externals" you cannot change. This prepares your Inner Citadel to respond strategically, rather than reactively, to uncertainty and daily irritations. THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEY  Day 1:  Inner Citadel Meditation Day 2:  Affirmation: "My peace is governed only by my internal response, not by external events." Day 3:  Kumbhaka (Retention Breath) Day 4:  Dhyana mudra for self-awareness Day 5:  Fifth chakra for inner truth Day 6:  Courage Flow meditation, combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

Congratulations on reaching Day 7 of creating your own inner authority and calm. When you intentionally slow your breath, relax your posture, or force yourself to smile (a biological signal of safety), you activate the Vagus nerve. This activation sends a massive inhibitory signal to the amygdala and other stress centers, effectively dampening your panic response. ALL ABOUT THIS WEEK'S SERIES Welcome to The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm. If you've ever felt your energy drain away in a stressful situation, if your hands shake before a presentation, or if you struggle to maintain focus under pressure, this series is for you. We often try to solve problems of confidence and anxiety with our thoughts—we argue with our inner critic, we try to logically reason our way into feeling secure. But the ancient Romans understood a profound truth: Your body is the source of your authority. The Roman Empire was built on more than just discipline; it was built on an embodied presence that they called Gravitas—a personal weight, seriousness, and undeniable importance. This journey is a practical masterclass in self-command. By the end of this series, you won't just feel more confident—you will have a physical, repeatable, and accessible code to embody that confidence whenever you need it. This is day 7 of a 7-day meditation series, The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm," episodes 3416-3422. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Intentional Micro-Posturing Quest: Check your posture, adjust your shoulders, back, relax your jaw, and hold the Gaze of Authority (steady, calm eye contact). This challenge forces you to consciously apply the Roman techniques in low-stakes situations, building the neural pathways for Embodied Power to become automatic. THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEY  Day 1:  Dignity Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "I command my presence and own my peace." Day 3:  Praetor's Pause Day 4:  Ganesha mudra for overcoming obstacles Day 5:  Seventh Chakra for Interconnectedness Day 6:  Mental Focus Flow meditation, combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

In this episode we turn east to consider Byzantium. We last spoke about the eastern Romans, or the Byzantines, in episode 113 when I described the emperor Leo III's victory in the winter of 717/718 over an immense Umayyad army and navy intent on taking Constantinople. This was a pivotal moment in history. Few people at the time would have expected Byzantium to survive. But it did. And the Umayyad Caliphate's advance into Europe was blocked. But before we move on to the rest of Leo's reign, the question I want to ask in this episode, is how did Byzantium do it? How was it able to fend off Islam, by far the greatest power of its age? For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.comFind my latest book, Justinian's Empire, on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. For German listeners, find the German translation of the first book in my series on the 'Fall of the Roman Empire', Die römische Revolution, on Amazon.de. Finally check out my new YouTube videos on the fall of the Roman Empire.

A 416-year-old grapevine in Tibet is the oldest in the world. The second story recounts a 77-year-old man from Chile returning a marble fragment his father took from the Parthenon nearly a century ago. Scientists have created the most detailed digital map of the Roman Empire's road network, expanding its estimated size to 180,000 miles. The largest male great white shark, weighing 1,653 pounds, was recently recorded off the coast of New Jersey. Lastly, 30 previously unknown deep-sea species were discovered near Montagu Island, including a predatory sponge called the 'death ball' and zombie worms that feed on whale bones.Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed!Subscribe now for exclusive shows like 'Palace Intrigue,' and get bonus content from Deep Crown (our exclusive Palace Insider!) Or get 'Daily Comedy News,' and '5 Good News Stories' with no commercials! Plans start at $4.99 per month, or save 20% with a yearly plan at $49.99. Join today and help support the show!We now have Merch!  FREE SHIPPING! Check out all the products like T-shirts, mugs, bags, jackets and more with logos and slogans from your favorite shows! Did we mention there's free shipping? Get 10% off with code NewMerch10 Go to Caloroga.comGet more info from Caloroga Shark Media and if you have any comments, suggestions, or just want to get in touch our email is info@caloroga.com

Day 6 is the synthesis of your entire training, moving your individual power cues into a single, automated reflex called Actio—the unified performance of command. We dive into the science of Myelination and State-Dependent Memory, explaining how layering your Posture, Breath, and Gaze physically hard-wires your brain for effortless calm and focus. Learn how to transition from chaotic input to an unshakeable state in mere seconds, becoming the veteran who maintains formation even when the enemy charges. ALL ABOUT THIS WEEK'S SERIES Welcome to The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm. If you've ever felt your energy drain away in a stressful situation, if your hands shake before a presentation, or if you struggle to maintain focus under pressure, this series is for you. We often try to solve problems of confidence and anxiety with our thoughts—we argue with our inner critic, we try to logically reason our way into feeling secure. But the ancient Romans understood a profound truth: Your body is the source of your authority. The Roman Empire was built on more than just discipline; it was built on an embodied presence that they called Gravitas—a personal weight, seriousness, and undeniable importance. This journey is a practical masterclass in self-command. By the end of this series, you won't just feel more confident—you will have a physical, repeatable, and accessible code to embody that confidence whenever you need it. This is day 6 of a 7-day meditation series, The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm," episodes 3416-3422. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Intentional Micro-Posturing Quest: Check your posture, adjust your shoulders, back, relax your jaw, and hold the Gaze of Authority (steady, calm eye contact). This challenge forces you to consciously apply the Roman techniques in low-stakes situations, building the neural pathways for Embodied Power to become automatic. THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEY  Day 1:  Dignity Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "I command my presence and own my peace." Day 3:  Praetor's Pause Day 4:  Ganesha mudra for overcoming obstacles Day 5:  Seventh Chakra for Interconnectedness Day 6:  Mental Focus Flow meditation, combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

Baalbek is situated in Lebanon and there's one question about it everyone keeps asking: who placed all these massive stones here? It is the site of one of the most mysterious ruins of the Roman Empire. It's a monumental temple that's 2 thousand years old and sits atop three thousand-ton stone blocks. These are the largest building blocks on Earth. Why can't anyone repeat these building technologies? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day 6 is the synthesis of your entire training, moving your individual power cues into a single, automated reflex called Actio—the unified performance of command. We dive into the science of Myelination and State-Dependent Memory, explaining how layering your Posture, Breath, and Gaze physically hard-wires your brain for effortless calm and focus. Learn how to transition from chaotic input to an unshakeable state in mere seconds, becoming the veteran who maintains formation even when the enemy charges. ALL ABOUT THIS WEEK'S SERIES Welcome to The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm. If you've ever felt your energy drain away in a stressful situation, if your hands shake before a presentation, or if you struggle to maintain focus under pressure, this series is for you. We often try to solve problems of confidence and anxiety with our thoughts—we argue with our inner critic, we try to logically reason our way into feeling secure. But the ancient Romans understood a profound truth: Your body is the source of your authority. The Roman Empire was built on more than just discipline; it was built on an embodied presence that they called Gravitas—a personal weight, seriousness, and undeniable importance. This journey is a practical masterclass in self-command. By the end of this series, you won't just feel more confident—you will have a physical, repeatable, and accessible code to embody that confidence whenever you need it. This is day 6 of a 7-day meditation series, The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm," episodes 3416-3422. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Intentional Micro-Posturing Quest: Check your posture, adjust your shoulders, back, relax your jaw, and hold the Gaze of Authority (steady, calm eye contact). This challenge forces you to consciously apply the Roman techniques in low-stakes situations, building the neural pathways for Embodied Power to become automatic. THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEY  Day 1:  Dignity Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "I command my presence and own my peace." Day 3:  Praetor's Pause Day 4:  Ganesha mudra for overcoming obstacles Day 5:  Seventh Chakra for Interconnectedness Day 6:  Mental Focus Flow meditation, combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

Welcome to Episode #191 of the Way of the Bible podcast. This is our seventh of eight episodes in our Twenty-Fourth mini-series entitled The Return of Jesus Christ [3]. On today's episode, we will begin with background on the state of Eschatological thinking today, and then compare the Rapture of the church and the Second Coming of Jesus on the Day of the Lord. We will then begin an exploration into what's happening in heaven after the church is taken off the earth and before the tribulations on earth begin. I've been saying since the beginning of these mini-series on the return of Jesus, that the signs of the times are lining up such that if something as paradigm-shifting as the Rapture were to occur, it would not be outrageous and unexplainable. And yet, so few, and I mean very few, in the visible church today are even aware of such a thing called the Rapture. Let me start there and work toward the materials for today.It wasn't always this way. I'd presented on Episode #189 a boatload of New Testament rapture passages validating that the snatching away/Rapture of the church was the eschatological position of Jesus, his apostles, and the early church fathers through the second century. The eschatology of the church was radically, or better yet, hard-wired to drop this view and pick up another when the church married the world under Emperor Theodosius I. The marriage idiom for the church is critical when thinking of the Bible. This marriage happened when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD. Prior to that, during the church's engagement period to the world, Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. This ended the state-sponsored persecution of Christians and began a period of religious tolerance of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire. Constantine built churches, declared Sunday a public holiday, and granted the church legal and financial advantages. You could say the visible church, in which the bride of Christ is hidden, exchanged remaining pure for the anticipated return of Jesus for enmeshment and acceptance in the world, and to reengage opportunities to indulge in the idolatries of the world from which had been forsaken by the teachings of the epistles for almost 300 years. Why would it do that?

Send us a textIn this first episode after the reconquest of Constantinople we see the retaliation that was planned for the Greeks in the form of a Crusade. Charles of Anjou prepares a mighty army in Sicily to invade the Balkans and capture the city of Constantinople from the Nicaeans. But Emperor Michael Palaiologos was ready for this, and used his network of spies to encourage rebellion amongst the local Sicilians, and by the Grace of God, the island rebelled against he French in what has become known to history as the Sicilian Vesper Revolution.Here is a link to see the Sicilian Vesper Flag, in use during one of the Sicilian Independence Marches.https://youtu.be/QoozWKTBq1k?si=y_CRIXH1F7UxFnttThe History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the events from Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, and the fall of Constantinople in 1453, to the years under the Ottoman Empire, and 1821 when the Greeks fought for independence... all the way to the modern-day.Website: www.moderngreecepodcast.comSOCIAL MEDIA: Go here to chat with us. https://www.instagram.com/historyofmodern%20greece/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578023316172Music by Mark Jungerman: www.marcjungermann.comCheck out our 2nd Podcast: www.antecedors.com

The Time Riders: Part 12 Teaching Nanu about the modern world. Based on a post by BiscuitHammer, in 16 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Some minutes passed before Becky pressed her forehead to Nanu's, holding her by the cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Nanu; I thought I'd lost you. I'm sorry; I'll teach you how to be careful. I promise." "I'm sorry, Mistress, I didn't mean to be thoughtless and frighten you," Nanu sniffled, her eyes bleary. As much as the fright by the wheeled monster, she was disconcerted by how upset her Mistress was. Rebe-kah was genuinely terrified that she'd nearly lost Nanu. It made her love her Mistress even more. "Let's go back inside," Becky suggested, pulling Nanu to her feet. "I promise, we'll try again later." She looked both ways before taking them across the road, holding Nanu close, even possessively. Becky was taking no chances. "Mistress?" "Yes, my love?" As they reached the curb back in front of Becky's house, Nanu held up the hem of her long shirt, heedless of the fact that she was flashing her cunt to a random woman walking by as she showed Becky something. "I'm sorry, the monster, it frightened me. I; I pissed myself and ruined the sack." Becky's response was somewhere between a laugh, a choke, and a sob and she caressed Nanu's shoulder as they continued walking. "Don't worry, I'll find you another." "Can it have a flaming cock on it again?" Nanu asked. "I think I rather like that." Becky smiled. "I'll buy you some more flaming cock shirts, my love. I promise." The door shut behind them, and it was time to relax. It had been quite the eventful day and it was barely noon. After a nap. "Do you have friends, Mistress?" Nanu asked as she lay on her back on the bed, gazing up at Becky. She ground and pumped her hips, slithering her cunt against her lover's, while Becky looked down at her, churning and undulating. Becky was fondling one of her ample tits, while the other was caressing one of Nanu's. In turn, Nanu was groping Becky, while her free hand had reached down and was holding her nether lips wide, exposing her throbbing clit to be brushed by Becky's. They'd already cum a few times, but were simply enjoying the sensations now. "Of course, silly," Becky giggled, loving how wet and sticky their pussies felt together. "You just haven't met any of them yet. The only person you know aside from me is Mark." "If we meet your friends, what will you tell them about me?" One of the things that Becky appreciated about Nanu was that she could fuck and still hold a conversation if she felt the need. Business didn't interfere with pleasure. "I admit, I haven't given it too much thought yet, but I would probably tell them that you're a student from another country who I have staying with me, and you don't speak English." Nanu arched her hips and side, pressing hard against Becky's cunt. "Mistress, what; what is the name of the place we are in? Where in the empire of the Romans is it?" Becky had to stop fucking because she broke down laughing. She leaned down and pressed her body to Nanu's hugging her tight while she jiggled uncontrollably. Nanu held her Mistress, but she was frowning, wondering what was so funny. She stopped frowning when Becky kissed her lovingly. "Oh, Nanu," the blonde woman said, smiling into her companion's eyes. "I have so much to explain to you still;” She sat up and then pulled Nanu into her lap. Nanu's legs wrapped around her Mistress' waist and she just looked contentedly into Becky's blue eyes. She knew she was in for an explanation she wouldn't completely understand, but as long as she was naked like this with Becky, she didn't mind, either. There wasn't much Nanu couldn't endure, as long as she kept getting fucked on a regular basis. And Becky seemed to like fucking as much as she did. It was a wonderful match, as far as Nanu was concerned. "Baby," Becky cooed, pushing a stray damp hair away from Nanu's lovely face. "Where we are now, we are very, very far from the boundaries of the Roman Empire. The place I live, it is a nation called 'Canada'." "Kaaa-na-daaa;” she said quietly. She liked the sound of it. "Is Kaaa-na-daaa a large place?" Becky tried to remember her ancient history, not to mention what she knew about her own geography. "Well," she said finally, having figured it out. "Canada is larger than the entire Roman empire at its height. Canada is the second largest nation in the world." Nanu's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Impossible!" she almost hissed in disbelief. "How have you fought off the Roman devils? Is Kaaa-na-daaa mighty?" Becky drew in a breath. This is where it got difficult. "Nanu, I know you can read, and you can count, but; do big numbers mean anything to you?" Nanu shrugged. "I could count higher than any of the other slaves in the Flavian household, and even a few of my masters and mistresses. Sometimes I was too smart and they beat me for it. I think I count well." "I'm asking because;” Becky continued, seeming hesitant. "The Roman Empire, it fell around one-thousand five-hundred years ago." Nanu said nothing, trying to understand what she had just been told. The Empire, gone? Life without Rome? Becky blushed. "It; and the time you were from, Nanu, that was just under three hundred years before Rome fell. My time, where we live now, is about eighteen-hundred years after your own." A long silence followed. Nanu shook her head. When she looked at Becky, her hazel eyes were full of worry. "Mistress, are; are you lying to me?" Becky shook her head slowly. "No, Nanu. I promised you I wouldn't lie to you." "But I don't understand what you mean," the Egyptian girl almost pleaded. "These numbers you are saying, they; I don't understand them!" She took Becky's hands in hers, her expression somewhere between afraid and desperate. "Please help me understand, Mistress.." Becky thought about what she could possibly do to help her beloved Nanu understand. She considered, her eyes closed for some seconds. When she opened them, she nodded. "Come downstairs with me and I will try," she said. Nanu clambered out of her lap and the two girls rose. Taking Nanu's hand, Becky led her downstairs to the living room. She made Nanu sit on the floor while she walked over to a corner. In said corner, behind a decorative screen, she kept a large, bluish water container, like one would find supplying the water cooler in an office. With a grunt, she began rolling it out from its storage space and toward Nanu. The former slave-girl watched curiously while Becky now turned it over with some effort, spilling out what looked to Nanu like tiny brown coins. Endless numbers of them, chinking and tinkling into a pile on the rug. "There," Becky breathed, wiping her brow. She'd already been sweaty from sex with Nanu, and the effort of rolling and tipping her change barrel had her feeling warm. She now lay down on her stomach on the carpet opposite Nanu, with the piles of tiny brown coins between them. "Nanu, these are called 'pennies', and they are a type of coin we use in my time. They are made of aeramen (copper), like some coins you know." Nanu nodded slowly. Becky held up a penny. "We're going to pretend each of these is a year. We're going to count them. And when we get to a certain point, that is how long ago the Roman Empire fell. But think of them as years, Nanu." Nanu drew a deep breath, sat with her legs crossed, and began counting, picking up the pennies and placing them into a new pile she started. "One; two; three;” Fifteen minutes later. Nanu had stopped pushing the pennies, but was still counting aloud while Becky moved the coins. "Six hundred fifty-one; six hundred fifty-two;” Becky could tell her beloved friend was getting very upset, but she kept going, because she needed Nanu to understand. The minutes dragged by, but Nanu kept counting. "Nine hundred eighty-five;” she said in a quavering voice. "Nine hundred eighty-six; nine hundred; No!" Nanu shoved the ever-growing pile of pennies away, scattering the coins, and Becky reared back in surprise. The Egyptian girl was scrambling backward on her ass, her eyes wide in fear and disbelief. She bumped into the couch before she yelped and leapt to her feet, dashing out of the room. "You're Lying!" "Nanu!" Becky called, getting hastily to her feet as the smaller girl opened the front door and burst onto the street. She was still naked, and Becky could hear her sobbing. "Shit shit shit shit;” Becky said under her breath as she pulled a long jacket out of the closet and then dashed out the door, looking around. "Nanu?" she called frantically. "Nanu!" But the girl was nowhere in sight. She looked up and down the street, seeing no bewildered pedestrians. Thank God it was Sunday, but how long could it possibly be before a tiny naked woman was noticed running around the neighborhood sobbing to herself and unable to speak English? She'd be picked up by the police, be terrified, and they would have absolutely no way of identifying her. Heaven only knows what would happen then. Poor Nanu! Becky took a chance and began heading in the direction she heard a dog barking from. She kept calling Nanu's name, having no clue where she could have gone. How on earth had no one seen her yet? Becky cursed herself. There were so many things she hadn't anticipated. How could she? She and Mark had brought Nanu forward in time to make her life better, to free her from the chains of slavery. It seemed like such a good thing to do. It had to be. After all, hadn't time let them do it? She wasn't even exactly certain what had set Nanu off, but she had an inkling. Yet another thing Becky hadn't known she needed to think through. Why would she know that? She'd never brought anyone forward in time before. How many people had? One ten millionth of this time's people? Maybe? She didn't know! This was almost as new to her as it was to Nanu. But Becky was making her own choices and knew she didn't need to be afraid. Nanu was completely surrounded by a universe she knew nothing about. Even the air had to smell completely different to her! She stopped just outside of a parkette and looked around. "Nanu!" she called loudly. She heard a gasp and then muffled sobbing, along with the rustling of foliage. She turned and saw the shrubs that marked the boundaries of the parkette moving awkwardly. She moved toward the disturbance, hoping her search was over. She stopped in front of the shrubs and spoke gently. "Nanu?" "En!" the girl hissed in panic. "Annoi!" Becky had no idea what Nanu had just said, since it wasn't Latin, but she could guess. She stopped coming forward and simply knelt down in the cold grass, determined to give Nanu the time she needed. She could see the girl now, stuffed bodily into the thicket, her hazel eyes brittle with fright. Poor Nanu had to be in agony, wedged in with all those branches and sticks poking and scratching her. How had she done it to begin with? "I'm here, Nanu," she said softly, letting Nanu see her smile, but she stayed still. "I'm sorry you got frightened. Will you please tell me what happened? I am trying so hard to understand, but I am not perfect at this, as you can see." Nanu was sobbing quietly, trying to not be heard. But after some moments, she seemed to be trying to rein in her crying so that she could speak. It took some time, words only coming out as choked gasps. Becky stayed still. She would wait however long was necessary. For Nanu, no length of time was too much. She owed it to the lovely, frightened young woman. And Nanu finally spoke. "They're gone, Mistress," she said in little more than a whisper. "They're all gone." Becky thought about what Nanu was saying and it sent a chill through her. "Nanu, do you mean your family?" "They're dead," she managed to say in a rasping whimper. "They're all dead; my mother, my father; my brothers and sisters; my Ki; her little baby daughter, Nanu; they are dust; dust;” Becky couldn't help it, she began crying too. She bent her head and her chest shuddered as she tried not to vocalize, and tears streamed down her face. This was a horrifying thought when she examined it from Nanu's point of view. Everything Nanu knew to be real was gone. And not even recently. The pennies had forced Nanu to see things in a way she was never meant to. Her family, they weren't newly dead, remembered by anyone. They weren't even decaying in graves. They were dust, nothing more than the endless sands of the land Nanu had grown up in. They'd become a sort of nothingness. "Nanu," Becky whispered, tears stinging her eyes and cold on her cheeks. "I'm so sorry. I; wish I knew what to say." "What can you say?" the girl murmured. "You are not a god, you cannot bring them to life for me. All I can ever do is go and see them, as they once were, alive and remembering me. But I will always be thinking that I live many ages of the moon after they are nothingness. I will never be rid of that realization, Mistress." "You're right, of course," Becky admitted, nodding. "It's different for you. Lots of my family members are dead, but I never met them, I never knew them. You lived with them all." "Please be honest with me, Mistress," Nanu said quietly. "How much more counting was there to do? How much bigger was the pile of coins going to get?" Becky blushed, feeling stupid for thinking it had been a good idea. The road to Hell was paved with good intentions. "It was going to be twice that size, Nanu. We; we got halfway through the counting." She closed her eyes while Nanu wept quietly again. Someone walked by, staring at her in confusion as she knelt in front of the shrubs in a long jacket, but just kept walking. Maybe it was a weird meditation thing. Nanu finally stopped crying but went silent. Becky did the only thing she could, and remained silent, waiting to see what happened next. Some minutes passed before Nanu finally spoke. "There are twigs and leaves stuck in my cunt." Despite herself, Becky began to snicker, squeezing her knees as she tried to stop. "Mistress," Nanu protested, but she was also trying to keep from giggling. "It's not funny, it hurts. Why did you let me do this?" "I'm sorry, baby," the blonde woman said finally, wiping a tear from her eye and smiling. "I'll try harder to keep you from doing crazy things. I promise." "I am naked, Mistress," Nanu pointed out. "Did you bring me something to wear?" "No, honey, I forgot, because I was so worried about you," admitted Becky. "Why are you stuffed into a shrub, anyway?" There was a pause before Nanu answered. "The dog scared me when it barked at me. Dogs scare me. The Romans use dogs for guards and for war. Why does Ka-na-da have war dogs?" "They aren't war dogs, my love," Becky said, wondering what to do next. "People keep dogs as pets. I used to have a dog when I was a little girl. I miss him very much." Nanu considered. "What was his name?" Becky was almost reluctant to say, since it now sounded silly. "His name was Frankincense. I; I just called him Frank for short." There was another pause. "What does that name even mean?" Becky shrugged. "He's named after a substance I think the Romans called olibanum." "You named your dog after that shit my Flavian masters kept burning in their rooms?" Nanu queried, clearly not impressed. "Hey, I like that smell, thank you," Becky replied. "And you be nice about my little Frankie, or you can keep the leaves and twigs in your cunt, young lady." "Sorry," Nanu snickered. "I'm sure your dog with the stupid name was very nice, Mistress." "Okay, are you ready to come home now?" asked the blonde, pondering their situation. "I can't leave you here like this, so; I guess I'll just hide you inside my coat and hope for the best. I mean, it's only seven blocks back to the house." There was a pause for some moment before Nanu answered. "Okay. I'm; I'm sorry, Mistress. I; I got scared." "I don't blame you, my love," Becky said gently. "Nobody can understand what you're feeling. Nobody, anywhere, can understand. Even Mark and I can't truly." She leaned forward and spoke quietly. "But I promise you, Nanu. We love you. And we want you to be happy. We wanted to free you from slavery and show you the wonders that Mark and I experience. But; we are not very good at planning, because even we don't know what to expect. But please believe me when I say that we want your happiness." "I know, Mistress. And I am sorry I said you were lying and ran away. I just felt terrified. Nothing made sense. It; still doesn't. All I can do is place my faith in you now." Becky nodded solemnly. Nanu was right. Becky couldn't even take her home, because Mark was the one with the time machine, and they wouldn't see him for the next three months. All this trauma had happened on Day One. Not a smooth start. She sighed. Maybe the chroniques dealer she'd found hidden away downtown could find someone to take Nanu back to her own time if she really wanted to return? She'd talk with Nanu about it in due course. She owed Nanu an out if she wanted one. "Okay," she said finally. "I'm going to move to the bush and open my coat, Nanu. Then you; uh; you get inside, I guess, and hug me with your arms and legs. Then I'll try to close my coat and get us home, okay?" The bush rustled as Nanu nodded, and then she moved forward, grunting and swearing as she unstuck herself from her deciduous prison. She almost tumbled into Becky, who was also nude underneath the long garment. She prayed that it would somehow fit around them both. As Nanu snuggled into her, Becky knelt up straight, presenting her waist. She fought to keep herself balanced as Nanu wrapped her arms and legs around her torso, her face squashed between Becky's ample tits. Great; Becky thought as she pushed to her feet and began struggling to close the coat around herself and the Nanu-shaped bundle now hanging onto her. She wheezed almost comically. If I manage to close the damn coat, I'm gonna smother Nanu between my tits. She'll suffocate before I get her the seven blocks home. How on earth did she get this far to begin with? Naked? Becky turned slowly and began to waddle out of the parkette. She pivoted ponderously onto the street and began the slow, awkward trek home. She could hear Nanu snuffling and trying to breathe inside the stretch-tight coat. As she waddled, Becky pulled the top of the coat open slightly, hoping to give Nanu some air. She looked down, seeing Nanu looking back up at her out of the darkness. "Thank you, Mistress;” the girl whispered. Becky could begin to imagine how she looked at the moment; she probably looked like she was trying to give birth to a horse. Or was smuggling a primate beneath her coat. Close enough, really. The occasional person walked by, giving her a curious glance, but then continuing on. This neighborhood wasn't known for being terribly nosy, as long as you weren't too dark of skin. Becky hadn't quite figured out how to solve that problem yet. "Eep! Nanu!" she hissed, shivering as Nanu's mouth found one of her nipples and began sucking on it. She heard Nanu hum contentedly, clearly willing to occupy herself this way while Becky got them home. "What're you doing, you brat?" Nanu ignored her, and Becky realized she'd been speaking English, so Nanu was free to not notice anything she said and had a perfectly viable excuse for doing so. Becky bit her lip as Nanu's wicked tongue swirled around her nipple before she began sucking again. Worse, one of the little brat's hands found her cunt and began stoking it. Whether she wanted to or not, Becky started getting wet and she tried waddling faster. Becky was going to kill Nanu when they got home. She was going to fuck her to death! Another block down. Becky could feel her face was flushed, and she was sweating now, and not only from the effort of carrying Nanu around her middle beneath the damned coat. She bit her lip and groaned as her eyes almost rolled up into her head. Dammit, one of Nanu's fingers found her way inside Becky's cunt! She tried closing her legs as she walked, to force the little tramp's finger out, but she quickly realized she would lose her balance and fall over if she kept this up. Sighing in frustration, she kept her legs open while she walked, doing her best to walk faster. "What're you smuggling under your coat, Fischer?" guffawed a neighbor as he walked by. "An orangutan?" "Uh; just groceries I have to protect!" Becky replied hastily, wrapping her arms under Nanu's ass as if holding the aforementioned imaginary groceries. She heard Nanu sigh and wiggle her cheeks on the hands. She kept sucking on Becky's tits and fingering her cunt. Becky's knees were trembling, and she was fairly certain she was dripping, leaving a path of sticky droplets on the sidewalk her behind her. Her whole body was tingling, even as she struggled to walk. "Uh!" Becky gasped loudly as Nanu bit and tugged on the nipple, the delicious sting lancing along the blonde's nervous system. "You little brat," she hissed, pulling the top of the coat open and scowling down into it. "When we get home, I am spanking your ass right off, young lady!" "If you make it that far, Mistress," Nanu replied, smirking up at her evilly. "If you make it home before you cum, I will eat a whole package of that bay-kon as punishment." Becky waddled faster, panting now as she fought for control. Nanu had two fingers in her now, making scooping motions along her upper wall. "Uh, that's cheating, you little slut!" "It is taking us so long to get home, Mistress," Nanu teased, slithering her tongue around a nipple. "How far are we walking? The length of your Ka-na-da?" Staggering quickly, almost wheezing like she was about to give birth, Becky moved on relentlessly. She almost couldn't see anything as pleasure kept flooding through her, promising orgasm was just around the corner. But Becky knew she didn't have strength to climax and keep moving. If she came, she would be collapsing to her knees and cumming on the sidewalk. If she was lucky, she'd remain kneeling. Sweat was streaming from her body. She was amazed Nanu was still able to hold on at all. C'mon; c'mon. She moaned as Nanu got a third slender finger inside her Mistress, and some woman chose that exact moment to go jogging by, giving Becky a confused look. Becky ignored her and just soldiered on as best she could. She could feel her arousal trickling down her inner thighs. How ridiculous must she have looked, barefoot, waddling around in a long jacket, smuggling an octopus while grunting and moaning like she was in a porn movie? She had barely turned up onto the little walkway leading up to her house before she tore the coat open and burst into a run, stampeding up the stairs while Nanu squeaked in alarm. She flung the door open and staggered inside, panting like she'd just run a marathon and sweating like she'd been fucked by twenty men in a row. Nanu was goggling up at her Mistress in shock (and maybe a little panic). Becky's blue eyes flashed and she grabbed the slave-girl and shoved her down her sweat-slicked body. Nanu's knees hit the wooden floor and she barely had time to register what had happened before Becky grabbed her head and jammed it against her steaming cunt. Nanu grunted and almost choked as Becky ground her hips with a dreadful eagerness, desperate to cum. Nanu slid her tongue inside and lashed her Mistress' cunt frantically. One of Becky's hands scrabbled for and finally grabbed onto the front door, managing to swing it closed so that they couldn't be seen from outside anymore. Leaning back against the wall, she bucked her hips furiously against Nanu's face, both her hands now gripping the Egyptian girl's black hair. She hissed and panted, her entire body shaking. Becky clamped her hands over her mouth and shrieked, juddering as the orgasm rocked her. She was barely cognizant of Nanu below her, trying not to drown as Becky's cunt flooded over. Becky pumped and ground greedily, reality spinning around her. She felt herself slumping down the wall to the floor, her hand on the back of Nanu's head, making sure the girl didn't try to escape. Becky felt like her eyes had switched sockets. Thank God this hadn't happened on the street or she would have been arrested, no question. At last, she opened her eyes and Nanu was kneeling in front of her, waiting patiently with her hands in her lap. Her face and much of her upper chest were glistening with Becky's cum. Not surprisingly, she didn't seem to mind. She stayed quiet until Becky seemed more focused before she finally spoke. "I guess I'm going to have the shits for a few days after the bay-kon, aren't I, Mistress? I lost the wager." Becky wearily reached up and caressed her beloved Nanu's hair. "I'm not letting you eat all my bacon, you silly slut. I love bacon. I'll figure some other way to punish you for losing the wager, like tonguing my ass or something." Nanu nodded. "I think I will enjoy losing wagers to you, Mistress." Becky laughed tiredly. They weren't even through their first day yet and she was exhausted. How many millions more things did she have to teach Nanu before this would was safe for her? And she only had three months to do it! Who would've thought that introducing someone to the future would prove so troublesome? "So you do want to see how the television works?" Becky asked, holding up the remote. Nanu looked at her curiously. They were both naked again, and in all likelihood intended to stay that way, unless they had to leave the house. Becky imagined that Nanu's ass probably still hurt somewhat, and anything she could do to relieve the discomfort was likely in order. Not wearing clothes seemed like a good start. "Mistress, I don't even know what it does, never mind how it works," the Egyptian girl pointed out, sitting on the floor, cross-legged. She gestured at the small black device her mistress held. "Wassa?" "This controls the television for me," Becky said, sitting down next to her charge and showing Nanu all the tiny buttons on the device. Granted, Nanu didn't know what buttons were, so she merely frowned at the remote in mild confusion. "I use it to watch things on the television. It allows me to select what I watch." She pointed the remote at the television and pushed the Power button. The High Definition unit, which was actually longer than Nanu was tall, winked on, and noise blared from it as images came on the screen. Nanu squealed at the sound and scrambled behind Becky, hiding and clutching her mistress' flanks. Becky giggled and lowered the volume. "You can come out now, hero," Becky said, smirking. "I lowered the volume." Nanu peeked out from behind her mistress, looking at the screen warily. She stared for some seconds, unable to understand what she was seeing. Some yellow-haired woman, ridiculously overclothed, was looking at Nanu and babbling in what she could only assume was En-gush. She had a serious look on her face as she spoke into what looked like a black cock. It was windy, apparently, because her hair was blowing around. Nanu slowly crawled toward the TV, her eyes narrowing. Becky watched in amusement, still sitting some distance away. Nanu had a great ass, and she could stare at it endlessly. The younger woman moved close to the screen, staring in bewilderment. Becky had lowered the volume sufficiently so that the news reporter wasn't yelling in Nanu's face. Nanu stared, then moved to the side of the television, looking around and behind it, sitting on its smoked glass countertop. She crawled around to the other side and looked behind again. Finally, she turned and looked at Becky in confusion. "Mistress?" she asked uncertainly. "Why do you keep the woman in the tiny box? How?" Becky had half-expected the question, of course, but it was still funny to hear. Once she was done snickering (Nanu waited patiently, looking only slightly annoyed), Becky replied. "She is not trapped inside the television, darling. It is a device that can show me other people. You have paintings in Rome and back in Egypt, right?" Nanu nodded. "And of course, a painting is just an illustration of someone," Becky explained. She'd had a little bit of time to put thought into this. "They're not actually in the painting, trapped." "So;” Nanu ventured, thinking about it. "The woman inside the box is a painting? Why can it move and talk to me?" "It's not a painting, it's a representation of her," Becky replied, knowing this would get awkward. "A television allows me to see things that are happening elsewhere." Nanu's eyes widened in shock. "The woman you see on the television is here in the city somewhere. I can see other people as well;” She changed the channel, and the television now displayed a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Unfortunately, a split second after the cartoon came up, Tom screamed loudly, having stabbed himself in the ass with a needle on the end of a pool cue. Nanu yelped in fright and threw herself into Becky's arms, shaking. Becky wheezed as she tumbled onto her back, holding onto her young ward. Nanu was trembling, her face stuffed between Becky's boobs. "Mistress, the box frightens me," the girl whispered. "It is too loud." "We can change how loud it is, Nanu," Becky said gently, pushing herself up into a sitting position and hugging Nanu, who was still wrapped around her, refusing to let go. "My world is probably rather loud compared to the one you know, my love. And the noises will be things you're not used to. But I promise you that you will adapt. Just like you did to life in Rome, and just like you will to bacon." Nanu nodded and then turned her head to look back at the TV. "Is; is that supposed to be a mouse and a cat?" Becky nodded. "Someone drew them to look comical and make people laugh." "The mouse is trying to kill the cat," Nanu pointed out. "He struck the cat on the head with the stick so that the cat screamed and swallowed that rolling ball. The mouse is evil. Are cats not sacred in your time, Mistress?" "Cats think they are, but many people just keep them as pets," Becky laughed. "Turn around and let me show you more. And I promise you, Nanu, nobody is caught inside the box. I don't quite know how to explain yet, but I will when I can. The television is meant to entertain." She changed the channel again and Nanu watched intently as Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago slugging it out on the screen. "You have gladiators in your society, Mistress?" she breathed, watching the bulging muscles flex as the two men pummeled one another. "We pay some athletes to fight, but we do not have death sports, like you remember," Becky replied, shrugging as she hugged Nanu, who was still sitting in her lap. "I mean, maybe some countries like the Veniti (Russians) do, but they're rather barbaric. We have Olympics, like you remember, just a lot more events. But this is just a story being told, this isn't real." "It looks very real," Nanu said, still glued to the screen. "I can hear them hitting each other." "Did you ever see a drama or play, Nanu?" Becky asked, which got a nodding head from the smaller girl. "Well, just like in those plays or dramas, the actors can pretend to strike one another. In my time, we might just be better at making it look real." "How do you tell fake fights and real fights apart?" Nanu asked. Becky could feel the other girl squirming in her lap. Nanu was getting turned on watching muscular men beat one another up. "Circumiastentia, (context)," Becky replied. "The television will tell you if you are watching something that actually happened, or whether it is a drama." Nanu tilted her head. "Can you show me a real fight?" Becky considered and then switched to a sports channel. Quickly enough, she came across an MMA fight between two women. Nanu gaped as she watched the women grapple and beat the shit out of one another. "Oh, Nunes! She Just Hurt Cyborg!" crowed the announcer. Not that the Egyptian girl understood what he was saying. "And; they never use weapons?" Nanu asked in a quiet but somehow hopeful voice. "No, you bloodthirsty little thing," Becky giggled, hugging her tight and wiggling her boobs into Nanu's back. "If you see weapons, it is probably a drama and not real." "These women are not very attractive, and punching each other just makes it worse," Nanu said, wrinkling her nose. "I would not fuck them. Are they fighting over a man?" Becky wasn't about to try to explain that Amanda Nunes was married to another woman who was also an MMA fighter. She just let her continue to watch while blood and teeth flew everywhere. "What else, does the magic box show us?" Becky thought of how to explain. She thought about anything Nanu might have been familiar with. "Do you; remember how announcements were placed in the Forum in Rome for people to read?" Nanu nodded. "The acta diurna. They told us about things that were happening. I was one of three Flavian slaves who could read them. It made the others jealous. But mostly we just found out about things from hearsay, people telling other people things." "Well, there are people who are paid to report nuntium (news)," Becky said. "That way, you can know what's going on, not just here in the city, but almost anywhere in the world." Nanu leaned back into Becky and looked up at her. "What IS the name of this city you live in, Mistress?" "Toronto," Becky said. This drew a frown from Nanu. Becky picked up Nanu's hand and gently pressed her lips against her palm. "To-ron-to." Nanu shook her head. "Maybe if you said it against my lips, Mistress." Becky giggled and shook her head. "You little slut;” She leaned down and her lips barely touched Nanu's. "Tor-ron-to." Fifteen minutes of almost kissing passed before Nanu could say Toronto. Becky wasn't at all surprised. It occurred to her that maybe one way to ease Nanu into her new environs and life was to find ways in which it was similar to her old one. "I know you don't speak English yet, darling, but I might be able to help you learn a little more quickly. Can you spell your name?" "Nanu nodded. "I can speak Latin and read some, Mistress, but; I only know how to write a few words. One of them is my name." "Come," Becky said, getting Nanu out of her lap and getting to her feet. Nanu followed suit. "Let's go to the kitchen;” She brought Nanu by the hand into the kitchen and stopped in front of the fridge. She had a small whiteboard stuck to it, and some colored markers alongside. She popped the top of the black marker and then drew a large dot on the board, demonstrating for Nanu how it worked. She then handed the marker to Nanu. The Egyptian girl looked at it curiously and then sniffed the tip. "Don't lick it, Nanu," Becky said gently but firmly. Nanu grimaced and stuck her tongue back in her mouth, sighing and turning toward the whiteboard. It was a glossy white color she'd almost never seen before. She gripped the marker awkwardly, in her fist, and pressed the tip against the white surface, obeying Becky's instructions to not press so hard. She slowly drew out her name on the surface. NANV "Good," Becky said as the slave-girl wiped her forehead. "Now, watch me spell your name in English;” NANU Nanu looked shocked. "Mistress, they are almost exactly the same," she breathed. "Why are they so similar?" Becky smiled. "My language borrows many, many things from Latin, including the alphabet. Many words have Latin origins as well." She wrote the name of Rome in Latin and English for Nanu, followed by the words for Egypt. ROMA ROME AEGYPTUS EGYPT. Nanu got quiet for a moment. "Mistress, I; I know my family is gone now but; what does my home look like?" "Do you mean Egypt?" Becky asked. Nanu nodded. "Well, it is still largely desert, except along the river, but there are many large cities like my own there now. The city that is the capital of the Egyptian nation is one of the largest in the world." Nanu almost looked excited. "My people are numerous and mighty?" Becky paused a second too long in answering and Nanu's expression changed to one of concern. "Mistress? Tell me the truth." Becky led her over to two small chairs and held her hand while they sat down. Becky drew a deep breath. "It is hard to explain, Nanu. Your nation is populated, like I said, but; I don't think the people there are Egyptians the way you understand them." Nanu almost went pale. "We have been destroyed?" "No, not as such," Becky fumbled, trying to explain. "But; for centuries after your time, there were waves of people who moved through the lands. Do you know who the Arabs are?" Nanu thought about that. "They are nomads from the great desert, aren't they?" Becky nodded. "After the Roman Empire fell, the next great empire was one ruled by the Arab tribes. Egypt fell to them. Modern scholars believe that the Arabs are the blood of Egypt now, and much of northern Africa. They had children with your people, and then with those children in time, and soon; your blood, true Egyptian blood, was no more. Not as you would think of it." The Egyptian girl was silent for some time, staring at nothing. Or Becky's boobs. It was a fair bet with Nanu. "My people are gone;” she murmured, looking at the floor. "We are no more;” Becky nodded sadly. "There are many civilizations in the world that has happened to, Nanu. Egypt, your Egypt, just happens to be one of them. If the scholars are right about that, then you are the only person in my world of your bloodline, your people." Nanu finally looked up at Becky and nodded. "Then I must fuck and have children so that the people of the Black Land may rise again. I will be the new queen of a new, mighty people of Keme." Becky smiled warmly. Nothing ever seemed to daunt Nanu for long. "Nanu, my love, somehow I do not doubt that about you. Let's eat, shall we?" This time around, Becky chose the foods carefully, mostly relying on fresh fruits and vegetables. She did her best to buy organic products, free of pesticides and preservatives, so hopefully this meal would not wreak havoc on Nanu's digestive tract. Nanu watched patiently as her mistress prepared the food, cutting into a loaf of what seemed to be bread, and smelled wonderful. Becky had baked it not long before she and Mark had gone to retrieve Nanu, so it was still quite fresh. She brought everything to the table and sat Nanu down before sitting herself. "Apples, pears, blackberries, celery, scallions, cherry tomatoes, bread I made myself, with butter and my own peanut butter," Becky said, pointing to everything in turn. "I think you'll like it." Nanu made a wry face when she looked at the peanut butter. "What is that, Mistress? I would be rude if I said what it looked like." Becky snickered, remembering that the Romans had no damn idea what a peanut was. "It is a paste made of a ground up nut. You have eaten almonds?" The Egyptian girl nodded, still looking at the brown goop suspiciously. "This is like almonds, but I have ground them up and made a paste out of them. Try a bit on your spoon." Nanu trusted her mistress enough to dip her spoon in the goop that looked like warm shit, and licked it with her tongue apprehensively. She smacked her lips as she tasted the peanut butter, her eyes darting back and forth. Then she blinked and dunked her spoon into the condiment, scooping up a huge glob and shoving it in her mouth eagerly. "Leave some for me, you brat!" Becky laughed. "You spread it on your bread, although you can also put it on some of your fruits and vegetables, like the apples or celery. Let me show you." She demonstrated spreading the peanut butter on her piece of bread, and Nanu followed suit. Nanu devoured the bread covered in peanut butter quickly, then began experimenting with putting the substance on the other foods on her plate. Some were a miss, but she seemed delighted with the peanut butter on the apples and celery, as her mistress had suggested. "Mistress, I cannot wait to lick this off of you;” the Egyptian girl breathed. "This is as good as licking honey off a cunt." "All in due course, my dear," Becky assured her. "For now, just eat." "How will I eat, Mistress?" Nanu asked as she shoveled apple and peanut butter down her gullet. "You said that you must work, you are to be gone for long parts of some days. How will I feed myself if I cannot work the food makers?" "I will start teaching you," the blonde said, smiling. "But until then, I will make food for you and leave it in the cold box and you can eat it when you get hungry. It might be cold food, but you will like it, I promise. And maybe I can show you how to prepare some things that don't require the heat makers." "I would like to learn, Mistress," Nanu said, pausing eating long enough to indicate she was serious. "I want to thrive in my new world, and to do that, I must be able to feed myself. You said you teach young minds?" Becky nodded. "Young men and women, from the ages of thirteen to eighteen. I teach them sciences." "Why are girls taught, Mistress?" Nanu asked. "If they just need to be able to read before they marry and have children, why would they learn anything else? Especially a science?" Becky almost laughed. "In this day and age, Nanu, education is the right of everyone, man or woman, girl or boy. Women, as it turns out, are every bit as capable as men when it comes to academia. That's why I'm a teacher, after all." "I just thought you were smarter than everyone else and exceptional," Nanu grunted, going back to her food. "You are certainly smarter than M-ark." "You'll get no argument from me, darling," giggled the older girl, drinking some milk. "Mark is currently failing my science class." "Do you beat him?" queried Nanu. "In my time, negligent boys are held down and whipped with a leather strap if they are failing in their studies." "No, we don't beat our students, tempting as that sounds," Becky said, picturing herself beating Mark's ass for yet another D grade in her class. "But when I work, which is generally five days a week, I leave in the morning and am back in the mid-afternoon. Between eight and nine hours." "That is a long time for me to be alone, Mistress, but I will manage," Nanu sighed. "If you show me how to do things and keep myself amused, I will be fine. Maybe I can teach myself about your world." "I absolutely believe that about you, Nanu, you are a very smart young woman," Becky said, nodding and smiling. "You may have just been a dancing slave in your old life, but I'll bet you could be anything you want here in my world, if you are diligent and work hard." Nanu's eyes widened. "You mean I could become a mighty and feared queen who conquers her enemies? I will work so very hard, Mistress!" "Let's just make sure you can conquer to the TV remote first," Becky laughed as she began to clear off the table, leaving the peanut butter for Nanu. It had been a long time since she'd had it licked off her tits or her cunt, after all. They spent a good deal of the afternoon in the bathtub, where Nanu was resting back against her mistress, humming in contentment as she luxuriated in the hot, scented water. Becky was fond of adding oils to her bath, making her skin smooth, and she loved how it made her smell, even after a vigorous workout at her Krav-Maga class. "Hmm, this feels so nice, Mistress," the Egyptian girl murmured, snuggling back against Becky, her eyes closed. "Even warmer than the baths of Trajan, and much warmer than my master kept his." "I like it," Becky said agreeably, scooping up water in her hands and pouring it down over Nanu's tits and down her torso. She caressed the smooth, tan skin gently, making Nanu sigh in pleasure. They'd fucked again before the bath, making each other cum at least twice. Nanu had indeed licked peanut butter off Becky's cunt, and out of it. The brat in her came out and she managed to smear it all over Becky's front before the blonde could stop her, resulting in Nanu having to lick it all off, apparently. A terrible dilemma for them both. Once they'd showered, Becky drew a bath, and this was where they found themselves now, relaxing and winding down the day. "And you can't take me with you to your work?" Nanu asked, her head nuzzled back between the twin pillows of Becky's tits. "It's not a good idea right now, my love," the teacher answered, stroking her lover. "It's hard to explain, but Mark is there, and he can't see you right now." "I thought you said we couldn't see Mark for three whole months?" Nanu asked, making a wry face. "But you see him at your school every day?" Becky considered how to explain. "You now understand that Mark and I travel through time, right?" Nanu nodded. "I don't understand at all how you do it, but I have seen it for myself, so yes." "Well; imagine if I took you to see your family, but before you were even born. Like, if your parents were so young that they haven't even met yet. You might know who they are, but they would have no idea who you were, because you weren't born yet." Nanu squeezed her eyes shut, thinking very hard, but it was a losing battle. "Keep going, Mistress." "The Mark you would see in my school doesn't know about time travel yet, or you. He isn't my lover yet. He won't be until three months from now. The Mark you know and love is from three months ahead of us, darling. So; you meeting the Mark who exists at the same time we do is a bad idea." Nanu shook her head. "I don't understand how meeting this Mark could be bad when meeting the Mark of tomorrow isn't. But I guess I must just take your word for it; again." "Probably for the best, Nanu," Becky giggled. "Don't worry, I don't like it either." "Three months without cock, Mistress," the younger girl almost groused. "How do you survive it?" "Nanu, just because we can't see Mark doesn't mean we can't have sex with men," Becky pointed out. "Mark doesn't own us, we can fuck whomever we please, just as he can." "Just not your students," Nanu grunted. "Who else is there?" Becky shrugged. "There's quite a few teachers, but that's awkward to me. I don't want to fuck my co-workers." "There must be lots of people in this world to fuck, Mistress," Nanu insisted. "And yes, I love you, and your cunt, but three months without cock is long time for me. I could have it nightly if I wanted when I was a slave." Becky reflected on that conundrum. Before she'd begun time travelling with Mark, she'd actually been experiencing quite a drought when it came to getting laid. It had been more than a year since she'd gotten any, and that pent-up tension had a tendency to come out during her Krav-Maga lessons. She couldn't help but think that maybe, in a world so very many times larger than Nanu's, she'd made her own life difficult by being overly fussy. After all, she'd hardly shown any restraint at all once she'd gotten into the time stream, had she? In Renaissance France, she'd fucked the innkeeper's two daughters quite readily. She rarely been with a woman since her days at university. And at the Flavian villa in Nanu's Rome, she'd fucked several men and women at once, because she could. It was an orgy, after all. What the Hell was so hard about getting laid in her own time? "Nanu, I promise you, we will fuck men before we meet Mark again," she assured her charge. "Maybe I don't know who yet, but I'll make it happen." Nanu nodded drowsily, the warmth of the water in the tub getting to her. "Hmm, glad to hear it, Mistress. I do love a stiff cock in my cunt." "So do I, my love," Becky sighed, finding her own mind wandering because of the water and the sensation of Nanu's soft body against hers. She had to admit, she normally wasn't this relaxed, even after her yoga and meditation. Sometimes, there was just no substitute for getting lots of sex. "I don't want you to worry about me going to work and leaving you tomorrow. I will make sure you are fed and have things to do. We'll make all your food tonight so that it's ready for tomorrow." "Where can we get some cock, Mistress?" Nanu asked, seemingly becoming fixated. Not that Becky blamed her. The blonde closed her eyes and pondered that for a few moments. Where was she guaranteed to get Nanu and herself laid without big risk? Of course! Talk about surefire! She smiled down at her companion and hugged her close. "Nanu, I have an idea, and it will certainly result in cock for you. All the cock you want and very likely the biggest. But you'll need to bear with me first, okay? I have to teach you some things." Nanu looked back at her and nodded eagerly. "Yes, Mistress. I will learn so well if it means I get some cock!" I can't tell if she's more food-motivated or sex-motivated, Becky thought with a smirk. "Okay, then. It'll likely be later this week, so you need to be patient. But there's much to do before then." Becky reached out of the tub and picked up her cellphone, which Nanu looked at curiously. Becky pressed some small dots on the surface, which had a very lifelike picture of her Mistress on it. Becky could see Nanu's confusion and remembered that the girl had no idea what the Hell a button was. Where in ancient Rome would she have seen a button? She keyed in a number and then hit the speaker button, allowing Nanu to hear what was happening. She made a shush gesture with her finger, indicating that Nanu was to be quiet. The Egyptian girl nodded and watched intently. Nanu frowned as she heard a weird buzzing sound that was uncomfortable in her ears. Then it stopped and was replaced by a lyrical, wondrous voice. "Hello?" "Heya, Lady Prof," Becky said cheerfully. "It's Becky." What sounded like a gasp of delight emanated from the little box Becky held, and then the wonderful voice again. "Rebecca Nightingale Fischer! How are you, my dearest and most talented student?" "I'm good, thanks," Becky replied, feeling a delicious tingle at the sound of that voice. "If you and Lord High Eve

Day 5 unlocks the secret to immediate inner calm by mastering your Vultus, or facial expression, the single fastest way your body betrays anxiety. Discover the neurological power of the Facial Feedback Hypothesis—how consciously relaxing your jaw and brow sends a "Stand Down" signal directly to your brain's fear center. Learn the Face Reset drill, inspired by the unwavering countenance of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, to instantly lower cortisol and embody unshakeable command under pressure. ALL ABOUT THIS WEEK'S SERIES Welcome to The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm. If you've ever felt your energy drain away in a stressful situation, if your hands shake before a presentation, or if you struggle to maintain focus under pressure, this series is for you. We often try to solve problems of confidence and anxiety with our thoughts—we argue with our inner critic, we try to logically reason our way into feeling secure. But the ancient Romans understood a profound truth: Your body is the source of your authority. The Roman Empire was built on more than just discipline; it was built on an embodied presence that they called Gravitas—a personal weight, seriousness, and undeniable importance. This journey is a practical masterclass in self-command. By the end of this series, you won't just feel more confident—you will have a physical, repeatable, and accessible code to embody that confidence whenever you need it. This is day 5 of a 7-day meditation series, The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm," episodes 3416-3422. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Intentional Micro-Posturing Quest: Check your posture, adjust your shoulders, back, relax your jaw, and hold the Gaze of Authority (steady, calm eye contact). This challenge forces you to consciously apply the Roman techniques in low-stakes situations, building the neural pathways for Embodied Power to become automatic. THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEY  Day 1:  Dignity Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "I command my presence and own my peace." Day 3:  Praetor's Pause Day 4:  Ganesha mudra for overcoming obstacles Day 5:  Seventh Chakra for Interconnectedness Day 6:  Mental Focus Flow meditation, combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

Discover why uncontrolled hand movements instantly betray your anxiety and compromise your authority. We explore the codified Roman rhetoric of gestures, revealing how intentional stillness sends a powerful signal of clarity and calm to both your audience and your own nervous system. Finally, we integrate the story of Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who used unwavering hand control as his shield against external turmoil and a testament to his ultimate inner freedom. ALL ABOUT THIS WEEK'S SERIES Welcome to The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm. If you've ever felt your energy drain away in a stressful situation, if your hands shake before a presentation, or if you struggle to maintain focus under pressure, this series is for you. We often try to solve problems of confidence and anxiety with our thoughts—we argue with our inner critic, we try to logically reason our way into feeling secure. But the ancient Romans understood a profound truth: Your body is the source of your authority. The Roman Empire was built on more than just discipline; it was built on an embodied presence that they called Gravitas—a personal weight, seriousness, and undeniable importance. This journey is a practical masterclass in self-command. By the end of this series, you won't just feel more confident—you will have a physical, repeatable, and accessible code to embody that confidence whenever you need it. This is day 4 of a 7-day meditation series, The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm," episodes 3416-3422. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Intentional Micro-Posturing Quest: Check your posture, adjust your shoulders, back, relax your jaw, and hold the Gaze of Authority (steady, calm eye contact). This challenge forces you to consciously apply the Roman techniques in low-stakes situations, building the neural pathways for Embodied Power to become automatic. THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEY  Day 1:  Dignity Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "I command my presence and own my peace." Day 3:  Praetor's Pause Day 4:  Ganesha mudra for overcoming obstacles Day 5:  Seventh Chakra for Interconnectedness Day 6:  Mental Focus Flow meditation, combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

Support us on Patreon for Member access to our special podcast series where we go in depth on books of the Bible. Ongoing season: Exodus. You will also gain access to the entire archive of Season 1: The Gospel of John.Apply for Saint Paul's House of FormationEmail usMusic by Richard Proulx and the Cathedral Singers from Sublime Chant. Copyright GIA Publications Word & Table Episode Index

Johanna är äntligen ur influensa-dvalan och Olsson Systrarna ska från och med nu (snart) bli Sveriges mest proffsiga podd. Vi djupdyker i influencer-branchens svar på The Roman Empire: Alice & Klara-bråket! Vems fel var det egentligen? Johanna har dessutom haft sitt filler-uppvaknande och halverat sitt ansikte och vi snackar Megan Fox–syndromet: när man är naturligt snygg men ändå går overboard.Produceras av More Than Words Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joe Pags reacts as Gov. Greg Abbott officially declares CAIR a terrorist group, blocking them from buying land in Texas — and the fallout is major. Then, a heated debate out of Dearborn as the Muslim mayor responds to complaints over the mosque's call to prayer; Pags explains why volume and intrusion matter, not religion. He also reveals reports that CAIR is handing out $1,000 checks to anti-Israel agitators punished by colleges. Then — Jeremy Ryan Slate joins Pags for a fascinating breakdown of the Roman Empire's decline and the shocking parallels to America today. Immigration, entitlements, taxation, cultural collapse — are we repeating Rome's mistakes? You have to hear this one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SHOW 11-17-25 CBS EYE ON THE WORLD WITH JOHN BATCHELOR 1899 UKRAINE THE SHOW BEGINS IN THE DOUBTS ABOUT POTUS... FIRST HOUR 9-915 Pakistan's Military Dominance: Field Marshal Munir's Power and US Relations Guest: Ambassador Husain Haqqani Ambassador Husain Haqqani detailed the institutional dominance of Pakistan's military, noting that Parliament recently granted Field Marshal Asim Munir legal immunity for life and expanded his power by designating him Chief of Defense Forces, giving him control over the entire military, as Munir aims for presidential privileges without directly taking power, backed by a national narrative that Pakistan is perpetually under threat from India, and gained significant political and psychological advantage through two meetings and praise from President Trump, despite no new US aid or weapons, while Trump, who favors strongmen, may also be using this praise to leverage concessions from Indian Prime Minister Modi, as Munir is taking risks by adopting a firmer stance regarding violence on the Northwest frontier with the Taliban, an approach not well received by the Afghans, with Pakistani politicians historically conceding ground to the military to secure a shared portion of power. 915-930 CONTINUED Pakistan's Military Dominance: Field Marshal Munir's Power and US Relations Guest: Ambassador Husain Haqqani Ambassador Husain Haqqani detailed the institutional dominance of Pakistan's military, noting that Parliament recently granted Field Marshal Asim Munir legal immunity for life and expanded his power 930-945 China's Economic Slump: Export Decline, Policy Failures, and Property Market Stagnation Guests: Anne Stevenson-Yang and Gordon Chang Anne Stevenson-Yang and Gordon Chang discussed the unprecedented slump in China's economic activity, noting cooled investment and slowing industrial output, with exports falling 25% to the US, attributing this long-term decline to the government's 2008 decision to pull back economic reforms and the current 15th Five-Year Plan lacking viable solutions or bailouts for hurting localities, while consumption remains dangerously low (around 38% of GDP) and is expected to shrink further as the government prioritizes technological development and factory production, with the property market collapsing as capital investment, land sales, and unit prices decline, forcing people to hold onto decaying apartments and risking stagnation for decades similar to Japan post-1989, a problem largely self-created due to overcapacity, although other countries like Brazil are also restricting Chinese imports. 945-1000 China's Role in Global Drug Epidemics: Meth Precursors and Weaponizing Chemicals. Guests: Kelly Curry and Gordon Chang. Kelly Curry and Gordon Chang detailed China's crucial role in the global drug trade, asserting that China's chemical exports are fueling a "tsunami of meth" across Asia. Chinese manufacturers supply meth precursor chemicals to warlords, notably the Chinese-aligned, US-sanctioned United Wa State Army in Myanmar. This production (Yaba/ice) is believed to have been diverted from China's domestic market in the 1990s. Both guests confirmed this activity is impossible without the explicit knowledge and support of the Central Committee, noting China grants export subsidies, tax rebates, and uses state banks for money laundering associated with the drug trade. China benefits financially and strategically by weakening US-backed allies like Thailand and South Korea who are flooded with the drugs. This structure mirrors the fentanyl crisis in North America, and experts predict increasing co-production and sharing of chemical methods between Asian drug groups and Mexican cartels. SECOND HOUR 10-1015 Syria's Complex Geopolitics: Air Bases, Sanctions, Accountability, and Great Power Mediation Guest: Ahmad Sharawi Ahmad Sharawi discussed the non-transparent situation in Syria, focusing on reports of potential US air bases (Mezzeh and Dumayr), with denials from the Syrian government suggesting they won't possess the bases but might allow US use for counter-ISIS missions or potentially a security agreement requested by Israel for deconfliction, noting a recent US C-130 spotted landing at the Mezzeh air base near Damascus, while during a reported White House visit, Syrian requests included the removal of Caesar sanctions (partially waived by President Trump) and an Israeli withdrawal from the southern border buffer zone, with domestic movement towards accountability for the Suwayda province massacre and government security forces being arrested, as a Russian military delegation visited Damascus and southern Syria, potentially acting as a deconfliction mechanism between Syria and Israeli forces, with Russia's goal appearing to be balancing regional interests while maintaining its bases in western Syria. 1015-1030 CONTINUED Syria's Complex Geopolitics: Air Bases, Sanctions, Accountability, and Great Power Mediation Guest: Ahmad Sharawi Ahmad Sharawi discussed the non-transparent situation in Syria, focusing on reports of potential US air bases (Mezzeh and Dumayr), with denials from the Syrian government... 1030-1045 Venezuela Crisis: Potential Maduro Exit and Shifting Political Tides in Latin America Guests: Ernesto Araújo and Alejandro Peña Esclusa Alejandro Peña Esclusa and Ernesto Araújo discussed the crisis in Venezuela, noting a powerful US fleet gathered nearby, with Maduro fearing military intervention and reportedly wanting to discuss surrender conditions with President Trump, though his exit is complicated by his ally Diosdado Cabello, who heads operations for the Cartel of the Suns and has no path for redemption, while Maduro's potential fall would deliver a severe blow to the organized crime and drug trafficking networks that permeate South America's political structures, with the opposition, led by María Corina Machado, having transition plans, and Brazilian President Lula neutralized from strongly opposing US actions due to ongoing tariff negotiations with Trump, as the conversation highlighted a new conservative political wave in Latin America, with optimism reported in Argentina following elections that strengthened Javier Milei, and in Chile, where conservative José Antonio Kast is strongly positioned, representing a blend of economic freedom, anti-organized crime platforms, and conservative values. 1045-1100 CONTINUED Venezuela Crisis: Potential Maduro Exit and Shifting Political Tides in Latin America Guests: Ernesto Araújo and Alejandro Peña Esclusa Alejandro Peña Esclusa and Ernesto Araújo discussed the crisis in Venezuela, noting a powerful US fleet gathered nearby, with Maduro fearing military intervention and... THIRD HOUR 1100-1115 1/4 Jews Versus Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion and the Cost of Diaspora Revolts Professor Barry Strauss of Cornell University, Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, discusses the history of Jewish resistance against the Roman Empire as detailed in his book Jews versus Rome. Following the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, rebellion continued among Jewish communities scattered across the Roman world. 1115-1130 CONTINUED 2/4 During Emperor Trajan's campaign against the Parthian Empire, a widespread and coordinated "diaspora revolt" erupted in 115–117 AD, beginning in Libya and spreading to Egypt, Cyprus, and Mesopotamia. This was a major challenge, forcing Trajan to divert a legion, as Egypt was the empire's strategic breadbasket. The revolt was spurred by the insulting Jewish tax, the fiscus Judaicus, paid to Jupiter, and the frustrated expectation that the Temple would be rebuilt within 70 years. The Jewish community in Alexandria, possibly the largest Jewish city in the ancient world, was wiped out during the suppression, a disaster for diaspora Judaism. 1130-1145 CONTINUED 3/4 srajan's successor, Hadrian, revered the war against Parthia but recognized the Jews' disloyalty. Starting in 117 AD, Hadrian planned to rebuild Jerusalem as a pagan city named Aelia Capitolina to demonstrate that the Temple would never be restored and to discourage collusion between Jews and Parthians. This provoked the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132 AD. The leader, Simon Bar Kosa, took the messianic title Bar Kokhba, meaning "Son of the Star," and was accepted as the Messiah by some leading rabbis, including Rabbi Akiva. 1145-1200 CONTINUED The rebels utilized successful asymmetrical warfare, operating from underground tunnel systems and ambushing Roman forces. The conflict was so severe that Hadrian deployed reinforcements from across the empire, including Britain, and the Roman army was badly mauled. The revolt ended bloodily at the stronghold of Betar. As lasting punishment for centuries of trouble and rebellion, the Romans renamed the province from Judea to Syria Palestina. Pockets of resistance continued, notably the Gallus Revolt in 351–352 AD. Guest: Professor Barry Strauss. FOURTH HOUR 12-1215 Iran's Multi-Faceted Crises: Water Scarcity, Pollution, and Transnational Repression Guest: Jonathan Sayah Jonathan Sayah discussed the multi-faceted crises plaguing Iran, reflecting poor management and ecological decline, with Tehran overwhelmed by severe water scarcity as dams dry up and crippling air pollution with CO2 levels 10 times the WHO standard, while the water crisis is worsened by the regime, especially IRGC-affiliated contractors, who prioritize their support base through unregulated mega-projects, leading to rivers and lakes drying up, a deliberate deprivation of clean water that constitutes a human rights violation, as environmental disasters have driven widespread internal migration into Tehran, taxing infrastructure and leading to issues like land subsidence, with the population considered "prime for unrest," while separately, Iran continues its policy of transnational repression, highlighted by the recent foiled plot to assassinate Israel's ambassador in Mexico, as Iran targets both Israeli/American officials and relies on criminal networks to repress Iranian dissidents abroad, while consistently holding American dual citizens hostage as political leverage. 1215-1230 CONTINUED 1230-1245 Ukraine Conflict: French Arms Deal, Sabotage, and the Perilous Battle for Pokrovsk. Guest: John Hardy. John Hardy reported that Ukraine signed a letter of intent with France to obtain 100 Rafale warplanes over 10 years, along with air defense systems. While this partnership is encouraging, Hardy expressed concern that Ukraine is excessively over-diversifying its future air fleet (including F-16, Grippen, Mirage, and Rafale) which complicates long-term sustainment and maintenance. Simultaneously, alarming reports surfaced that sabotage was blamed for an explosion on a major railway line in Poland used to supply Ukraine, fitting a pattern of suspected Russian covert operations against European infrastructure. On the battlefield, fighting continues in Pokrovsk (Picro). Hardy warned that if Ukrainian forces prioritize a politically motivated hold, they risk the encirclement and destruction of troops in nearby areas. Poor weather, such as fog, plays a significant role in the conflict, as Russians often time assaults during these conditions to impede Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance and FPV drones 1245-100 AM raq Elections and Yemen's Houthi Crackdown Guest: Bridget Toomey Bridget Toomey discussed recent developments in Iraq and Yemen, noting that Iraqi parliamentary elections saw a higher-than-expected 56% voter turnout, with preliminary results suggesting Shiite parties close to Tehran performed well and might secure enough seats to form the next government, despite internal infighting and votes remaining largely sectarian, while Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani received credit for stability and his party performed strongly, though many Iraqis doubt the elections affect real change, believing critical decisions are made via elite backroom deals, and turning to Yemen, the Houthis announced the arrest of a purported Saudi-American-Israeli spy ring, a paranoid crackdown following Israel's successful targeting of Houthi government and military leaders in August, with arrests including 59 UN workers and prosecutors requesting the death sentence for 21, aiming to intimidate domestic dissent and signal resolve to Western and regional adversaries, especially in sensitive Houthi locations in Sana'a.

1/4 Jews Versus Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion and the Cost of Diaspora Revolts Professor Barry Strauss of Cornell University, Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, discusses the history of Jewish resistance against the Roman Empire as detailed in his book Jews versus Rome. Following the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, rebellion continued among Jewish communities scattered across the Roman world. 1888 SULLA SACKING ROME

Angel Studios https://Angel.com/Herman Join the Angel Guild today where you can stream Thank You, Dr. Fauci and be part of the conversation demanding truth and accountability.  Renue Healthcare https://Renue.Healthcare/ToddYour journey to a better life starts at Renue Healthcare. Visit https://Renue.Healthcare/Todd Bulwark Capital https://KnowYourRiskPodcast.comRegister now for the free Review/Preview Webinar THIS Thursday 3:30pm Pacific, schedule your free Know Your Risk Portfolio Review, and subscribe to Zach's Daily Market Recap at Know Your Risk Podcast dot com. Alan's Soaps https://www.AlansArtisanSoaps.comUse coupon code TODD to save an additional 10% off the bundle price.Bonefrog https://BonefrogCoffee.com/ToddThe new GOLDEN AGE is here!  Use code TODD at checkout to receive 10% off your first purchase and 15% on subscriptions.LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE at:The Todd Herman Show - Podcast - Apple PodcastsThe Todd Herman Show | Podcast on SpotifyWATCH and SUBSCRIBE at: Todd Herman - The Todd Herman Show - YouTubeMarjorie Taylor Greene: Lying or Repenting? // The Epstein Connection to Sam Altman's Gene-Editing of Babies // On Ben Shapiro's Million Dollars to a Christian Group… Episode Links:Raskin: We are a big tent. We must be a huge, vast tent. I say this is a party that's got room for Marjorie Taylor Greene if she wants to come over.JFK's grandson Jack Schlossberg: "President Trump is so obsessed with the Kennedys and the Kennedy name that he caged one and put in his cabinet— a rabid dog in his cabinet. Put a collar on my cousin RFK Jr and has him there barking, spreading lies and misinformation."An illegal alien attacked a woman with a hammer while she was out jogging in Plano, Texas, Thursday. The victim fought back even after being struck twice, causing the 17-year-old attacker, Sergio Noe De Nova Duarte, to flee the scene. Fox & Friends: “The 17-year-old suspect was quickly arrested. Police say when his fingerprints were processed, they received a notification to place him under an ICE hold.” “So far, he's been charged with aggravated kidnapping with bodily injury and is now being held by ICE.”MTG just took full ownership on CNN and it's one of the most unexpected moments of the year. When asked why she only denounced Trump's rhetoric after it was directed at her, she didn't deflect. She owned it: “That's fair criticism… and I would like to say humbly, I'm sorry for taking part in the toxic politics. It's very bad for our country.”Elon Musk on how Optimus will provide access to the best medical care for anyone in the world:OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and His Husband Are Funding the Creation of Genetically Engineered Babies; The rebirth of Frankenstein in the era of CRISPR and AILarry Summers steps back from public roles after House release of Epstein correspondenceFormer Harvard president says he's 'deeply ashamed' of continued communication with disgraced financierBen Shapiro donated $1M to TPUSA to help "bring people back to Christ, and bring people back to church, and back to biblical values," as Charlie wanted. The nonstop slander against him is clearly well-funded and highly organized.According to Ben Shapiro himself, Jesus was a "bad guy" who tried to overthrow the Roman Empire and was killed for "his troubles." - "I don't believe in the Jesus."Do non-Jews or non-Noahides go to heaven?What Are the Seven Noahide Laws?

In ancient Roman times, the voice was considered a weapon. A high-pitched or rushed voice signaled panic; a slow, deep, modulated voice signaled confidence and control. The goal wasn't volume, but resonance, achieved through deep abdominal breathing. Modern Science shares the discovery of Vagus Nerve Toning. Deep, slow breathing—especially extending the exhale—and vocalizing at a lower pitch stimulates the Vagus Nerve, directly lowering heart rate and increasing Heart Rate Variability (HRV). This physiological change instantly shifts you into a state of relaxed control. ALL ABOUT THIS WEEK'S SERIES Welcome to The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm. If you've ever felt your energy drain away in a stressful situation, if your hands shake before a presentation, or if you struggle to maintain focus under pressure, this series is for you. We often try to solve problems of confidence and anxiety with our thoughts—we argue with our inner critic, we try to logically reason our way into feeling secure. But the ancient Romans understood a profound truth: Your body is the source of your authority. The Roman Empire was built on more than just discipline; it was built on an embodied presence that they called Gravitas—a personal weight, seriousness, and undeniable importance. This journey is a practical masterclass in self-command. By the end of this series, you won't just feel more confident—you will have a physical, repeatable, and accessible code to embody that confidence whenever you need it. This is day 3 of a 7-day meditation series, The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm," episodes 3416-3422. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Intentional Micro-Posturing Quest: Check your posture, adjust your shoulders, back, relax your jaw, and hold the Gaze of Authority (steady, calm eye contact). This challenge forces you to consciously apply the Roman techniques in low-stakes situations, building the neural pathways for Embodied Power to become automatic. THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEY  Day 1:  Dignity Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "I command my presence and own my peace." Day 3:  Praetor's Pause Day 4:  Ganesha mudra for overcoming obstacles Day 5:  Seventh Chakra for Interconnectedness Day 6:  Mental Focus Flow meditation, combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

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In this episode, I talk with Diana Butler Bass about her new book A Beautiful Year and the deeper story that sits beneath our experience of time. We explore how the Roman calendar still shapes us with the imagination of empire - militarism, consumerism, and control - and how the Christian calendar offers a counter-formation rooted in love, hope, peace, and a circular sense of time that keeps drawing us deeper into God. Diana walks us through Advent's darkness and silence, the meaning of waiting in an age addicted to noise, the subversive beauty of St. Martin's Day on November 11, and the power of saying “no” to imperial narratives through the ordinary practices that shape a life. We talk about storytelling, grief, Candlemas, the parables of Jesus, and how the Christian year can help us embody a different kind of presence in the world - one marked by compassion, courage, and light. This is a conversation about time, but really, it's about learning to live a better story.Diana Butler Bass, Ph.D. (Duke University) is an award-winning author of eleven books, a speaker, preacher, and a trusted commentator on religion and contemporary spirituality. Her bylines include The New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, CNN Opinion, On Being, and Readers Digest. She has appeared on CBS, CNN, PBS, NPR, and other global news outlets. She currently writes The Cottage, one of the most widely-read Substack newsletters. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia.Diana's Book:A Beautiful YearConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTubeConsider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Contact me to advertise: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.com Support the show

Today you explore the Roman concept of Oculi, or the Gaze of Authority, which they believed was the truest signal of constantia—unwavering stability and resolve. We explore the modern science behind why a steady gaze calms your nervous system. You'll learn the 70/30 Rule and the Focal Point Drill, giving you a simple, repeatable physical technique to anchor your vision and claim your presence under pressure. ALL ABOUT THIS WEEK'S SERIES Welcome to The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm. If you've ever felt your energy drain away in a stressful situation, if your hands shake before a presentation, or if you struggle to maintain focus under pressure, this series is for you. We often try to solve problems of confidence and anxiety with our thoughts—we argue with our inner critic, we try to logically reason our way into feeling secure. But the ancient Romans understood a profound truth: Your body is the source of your authority. The Roman Empire was built on more than just discipline; it was built on an embodied presence that they called Gravitas—a personal weight, seriousness, and undeniable importance. This journey is a practical masterclass in self-command. By the end of this series, you won't just feel more confident—you will have a physical, repeatable, and accessible code to embody that confidence whenever you need it. This is day 1 of a 7-day meditation series, The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm," episodes 3416-3422. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Intentional Micro-Posturing Quest: Check your posture, adjust your shoulders, back, relax your jaw, and hold the Gaze of Authority (steady, calm eye contact). This challenge forces you to consciously apply the Roman techniques in low-stakes situations, building the neural pathways for Embodied Power to become automatic. THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEY  Day 1:  Dignity Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "I command my presence and own my peace." Day 3:  Praetor's Pause Day 4:  Ganesha mudra for overcoming obstacles Day 5:  Seventh Chakra for Interconnectedness Day 6:  Mental Focus Flow meditation, combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

Joseph Morris shares powerful insights into the signs pointing to the imminent return of the Lord. In this episode, filmed in Cobbs Creek, Virginia, Joseph discusses various current events and their biblical significance. From the Fourth of July camp meeting in Shreveport to the preparations in Israel for potential conflict with Iran, the signs of the end times are becoming increasingly evident. Joseph highlights the restoration of Israel, the regathering of Jerusalem, and the revival of the Roman Empire as key indicators of the approaching Second Coming. Join Joseph as he delves into prophetic events happening around the world, including heavenly signs, geopolitical tensions, and the rise of digital currency. Discover how these events align with biblical prophecies and explore the urgency to prepare spiritually for the coming of the King. Don't miss this eye-opening episode of [Music] Update with Joseph Morris. Subscribe to the channel and turn on notifications to stay updated on future videos. If you have been blessed by Joseph's teachings, consider supporting Joseph Morris Ministries through a donation or becoming a monthly partner. Thank you for tuning in, and may the love of God overshadow every aspect of your life. See you next week!

The Time Riders: Part 9 Planning Another Vacation Time Travel. Based on a post by BiscuitHammer, in 16 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Cast of Characters: Mark Simmons: 18 year old High School grad, enamored with Miss Becky Fischer. He finds the time machine and builds a new life. Uses various aliases in traveling. Rebecca 'Becky' Fischer: Mark's Physics teacher. Very intelligent, in her later twenties, Shapely Tall Blonde, lusty bisexual, D Cup tits. Martial arts expert, Uses various aliases in traveling. Henri: Claims to be a French physician and Apothicary. Chester Edgerton: Time traveling mentor, living in 17th Century French village. Cardinal Richelieu: ‘The Red Duke'. Statesman and Roman Catholic Cardinal. Dispises Queen Anne. Alexandra D'Assaut ('Alexa', or 'Lexi': Lady in waiting (and trusted advisor) to Queen Anne of France, Lusty bisexual, Very Tall, Busty DD tits, long golden blonde hair, Blue eyed. Lisette: servant (and lover) of Lady Alexandra, young, bespeckled brown eyes. Short, shapely, with wavy dark hair, bisexual. Dhallyla: Mark's mother. Roxy: Mark's sister. Nanu: An Egyptian slave of Pompeneia Flavius, purchased by Becky, dark complexion. Pompeneia: Roman hostess of Orgies. Lusty wife of Flavius, Mother of Domitia, bisexual, tall and shapely. Flavius: Roman aristocrat, husband of Pompeneia, protective father of Dometia, Domitia: Lusty young daughter of Pompeneia and Flavius. A pledged Vestal Virgin, Escapes to Sumeria when sentenced to death by starvation by Roman court. The Retiallis: A gladiator of the Collosseum. Prefers the trident spear and netting, to subdue opponents. Escapes to Sumeria. Rullus: A bulky gladiator of huge physical dimensions. Has an affection for Achilleia. Escapes to Sumeria. Achilleia: A fierce female gladiator. Prefers the whip and sword as weapons. Has a crush on Rullus. Escapes to Sumeria. Roxy stomped out of his room, trying to not slam the door behind her. Once he heard her heading down the stairs, Mark sank onto the corner of his bed and exhaled loudly, another shiver running up his spine. He suddenly had to pee. Had he really told Roxy the truth? He hadn't planned to, but he didn't exactly know what he planned to tell her, either. Now that he thought of it, telling her the truth was even more ridiculous than any appreciable lie he could have come up with, wasn't it? Of course she wouldn't believe him about a time machine, and she was quite reasonable not to. Just because it was true didn't mean she was committing an error in judgment. But now what? He had no idea how long her coerced 'promise' would hold her. She was really hot under the collar, and Roxy didn't take losing well at the best of times. He'd just have to be careful, he supposed. More so. He sighed and looked down at her little weed pipe, still in its baggie. In a moment of panic, when Roxy had been standing over him and threatening to slug him across the jaw, he'd made an instant decision; taking a lesson from his playbook with Becky; and resolved that he would get into Danni's house and filch the pipe, because he knew Roxy kept it there. He'd heard her talking over the phone about it with Danni at various points, and never really thought anything of it. Until now. He was familiar with Danni's house, since she'd been best friends with Roxy since they were little. When the two families were having dinner together, the girls had often dragged Mark upstairs and dressed him in girl's clothes and put makeup on him, like he was a doll for their tea parties. He also knew that Danni's parents didn't care if she smoked, because he'd heard Roxy lament this fact over the phone, wishing her parents were that cool. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to do the math of all this in his head. It would take Roxy thirty minutes to reach Danni's house in her car, to ask what the Hell had happened. But Danni would protest, insisting she'd never betray her friend and give Mark the pipe. Then she'd prove it by showing Roxy it was exactly where it was supposed to be, which was taped inside to the top of her underwear drawer. Only it wouldn't be there. Unless Mark went back to Danni's place and stashed it again, before the girls got up to her room. And then got out again. That'd really fuck with Roxy's head, and make Danni think Rox had gone insane. It took eight minutes for Mark to fire up and prime the Holmes Field Device, which was sitting in a corner in the basement that no one ever used. It was dead space, and as safe as any place else could be that wasn't Becky's basement. Eight minutes to prime it and program in the coordinates and the time. Like, literally a minute after he'd apparently gotten the pipe out of there to begin with. What? His mind was almost spinning at the logic flips. He had to return the pipe before he actually stole it? When did he steal it if he hadn't done it before returning it? And did that mean he had to steal it twice? He could account, apparently, for Danni not being in her room the first time, because he'd seemingly gotten away with it. If he landed a minute or so after he had burgled her, he would have the time he needed, he hoped, before she came back from wherever she was. Return it; steal it later, when no one is looking, then return it; I think. He heard the distinct sound of Roxy's Mustang roaring away down the road angrily. He somehow doubted that he had thirty minutes. What if he miscalculated and got caught? The obvious issues aside, how did he explain the Holmes Field Device? Could he explain it? People in this era thought time travel was fanciful sci-fi, after all. What happened then? He dropped the baggie on the bed, clasped his face in his hands and groaned, the number of calculations he needed to do making his head hurt. He really needed to stop pulling his solutions out of his ass, he was going to give himself a time-hemorrhoid. Time was wasting. "Wow, Mark," Becky mused as she sat in her lounger, sipping at the Falernian wine. Her bottles were almost gone, and they'd soon have to go back to their secret place in the woods and get more. It had been a rather involved operation, getting the giant vats aged a certain number of years back in the Roman era, then transporting them into the present and burying them again, so that they had a large stock of perfectly aged wine. "You sure like to play with fire, don't you?" "Tell me about it," he said wearily, as he sat on the couch, long pull drink from his own wine glass. "Can't believe it went off without a hitch." "You were near death that first night with me," Becky said rather somberly, concerned about the stress on her student's face. "And that only required one trip on your part, and my belief in myself. This little circus, however, I'll be amazed if your time cops don't show up to lecture you again. You'd deserve it." "I felt trapped, okay?" he said, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice. He knew Becky was right, and he didn't want to snap at her. It had just really worn him out. He'd lost track of when he was supposed to be there, and how often. He'd eventually concluded that dumb luck had saved him from criminal charges, not to mention any other headaches. "I just; when telling her the truth didn't make her go away, I jumped into my playbook, which at this time, consists of what I did with you." "What would you have done, exactly, if she'd believed you about the Holmes Field Device?" Becky queried, looking at him with interest. He considered and gave a halfhearted shrug. "I guess I knew she wouldn't, because if I told Roxy I was a guy, she'd yank my pants down to make sure. But to answer your question, I; I dunno. I was just really outta options." "I know you know this, Mark, but we obviously have to find ways for you to be even more careful," she said in a gentle tone. "You haven't timelocked yourself yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if you came really close there." "No shit," he muttered, scowling at his glass. "Sorry, just stressed." "Oh, poor baby," Becky cooed, getting out of her seat and coming over to sit down next to Mark. She pulled him into lean on her and then rested his face between her opulent tits, knowing exactly the effect this would have on him. "Just relax, it's all fine now." Mark sighed and nuzzled into her tits, relaxing a little. His teacher's scent and her glorious softness had a calming effect on his frazzled nerves. "Uhd, we should go on vacation in some remote time for a year or so. I could use it." Becky giggled, stroking her fingers through her student's dark hair. "If only we could." "Well, why couldn't we?" Mark reasoned, still nuzzling and refusing to leave his nest. "We've got a time machine, don't we?" "Mark, a two-week vacation is one thing, but longer stretches are problematic." "Why?" Becky sighed and put down her wine, opting to just hold him while he nuzzled her boobs. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy the sensation, after all. She knew that Mark, even though he was at least as experienced a time traveler as she was at this point, was still an eighteen-year-old boy, who had failed her Physics course. He just wasn't good at this stuff yet. But he took her with him readily, and she would have all the patience in the world until he caught up. If he ever did. "Mark, let's say you and I did indeed go on vacation for a year, somewhere in the time stream," she began, still stroking his wavy, dark hair. "And let's say we left tonight." "Sounds good, I'm in," Mark replied in a muffled tone. She smirked and continued. "And we come back after a year, to, say, an hour after we left, no one would notice, right?" "That's the beauty of it," he agreed, nodding in her boobs. "But we'd notice," she pointed out. We'd be a whole year older than when we left. When you got back, everyone would be trying to celebrate your nineteenth birthday, when, in reality, you're twenty. And you're the only one aside from me who knows it. Thanks to my captivity in the Louvre, I'm already a month older than our calendar indicates, so my birthday is technically inaccurate." He paused as he considered what she was saying. "And let's say, God forbid, that the time machine broke down somewhere in the past," she said, her voice taking on a serious tone. "Neither of us knows how to fix it, and there's absolutely no guarantee that we'd be able to find someone who could. What if it took the two of us five years to repair it, against all odds? We'd arrive back, an hour after we left, if we could, and everyone would notice we were magically five years older. I'd be thirty, you'd be twenty-three. We'd both look somewhat older, undoubtedly. How would we account for that?" Mark said nothing, just listening. "The only alternative would be to arrive five years in the future, to make up the difference, but then we've been AWOL with no explanation for five years," she continued. "Sure, maybe you can say you joined the merchant marines without a moment's notice, but what would I say?" She took his chin gently and turned his head to look up into her blue eyes. "We can't mess with the time stream and people's lives like that," she said quietly, almost sadly. "We're not from an era where time travel is the norm and people know what to expect." "You sure know how to take the fun out of time travel, Becks," he sighed, shaking his head. She giggled and cradled him in her bosom again, knowing he didn't mean it. "Silly," she cooed, jiggling her tits against his face a little. "You know better than anyone how much fun I can be in the time stream." "Yeah, that's true," Mark admitted, smiling and turning over on his back to look up at her while he lay in her lap. She was wearing black yoga pants, and a tight tank top and gave her impressive bust lots of breathing room. "But I really could use a little time away, to be honest. This nonsense stressed me out." "I'm sure it did, and hopefully you'll start thinking about these things ahead of time," she agreed, poking him in the nose. "In terms of what we could do, I have been giving the matter some thought." Mark raised an eyebrow. Becky never had bad ideas. Not compared to his, in any event. "I'm all ears." "Hardly," Becky giggled, reaching her hand down to gently cup his crotch beneath his jeans. "Let me explain first. You're not the only one with a predicament, although mine isn't necessarily self-inflicted." "Still listening," Mark said dryly, noticing the cheerful jibe. "It's difficult, being separated by three months the way we are," Becky said, caressing his cheek. "You, the Mark lying in my lap, you're from my upcoming summer. Me, I'm still waiting for the school year to finish. And three times a week, I see you in my classroom, and have to remind myself that the you sitting in that desk is not only still a minor, still, but has absolutely no idea about any of this." Mark said nothing, considering. "And I have to constantly be on guard, making sure I'm not sitting behind my desk, gazing at you dreamily in an off moment, or reminding myself not to sext you from the bathroom." "Damn, now I kinda wish you had," Mark mused, making her snicker. "Silly. What I'm saying, is that I think in the very near future, we'll need to not see each other for three months, as agonizing as that sounds, so that I can catch up with you." Mark screwed up his face as he thought about that. "That does sound sucky." "Oh, it won't be for you," Becky pointed out. "You get to hop on your time machine and return to three months from now, just like you always do every time we meet up. You won't even notice the difference. But you've also very tacitly avoided my future self for now, haven't you?" He nodded. "Yeah, you said to. Not that hard; it's a big city, and you told me where you tend to be at any given time, so it isn't much of a challenge." "Well, I want to catch up," Becky said firmly. "I want us to be on the same relative time frame, so that we don't need to worry about twists and so on, where things can go wrong. And if that means not seeing this you for three months," she whispered, placing her hand gently on his crotch, "and no time travelling for me because you've got the Holmes Field Device, then I'll manage. But it needs fixing, Mark." "Okay, done," Mark agreed, nodding. "But you mentioned something fun, which hasn't come up yet in this presentation so far." "Well," Becky began again. "I was thinking that we really should go and get Nanu and bring her forward with us. "It's not fair to leave her in that villa by herself. She doesn't really know how to look after herself, after all." "But we can keep visiting her," Mark pointed out. "She doesn't understand time travel, she'd hardly notice." "If we keep coming back to the same point in time to visit her, or at least within the same period frequently, it's true that little or no time will have passed for her," Becky said. "But we have our own lives, and goodness only knows when we'll have the time to pop out to Imperial Rome again. Years might pass for us before we can see her. How would we explain how much older we look to her?" "That again," Mark sighed, resenting the mathematical drudgery of time travel. "Yeah, that would freak her out. And as far as she's concerned, I'm still your slave, and she is too." "It's a notion I'll have to disabuse her of, once we bring her back here," Becky confirmed. "But I was thinking we'd have some fun when we go back and get her, and then she could stay with me. I'd spend our three months apart teaching her about our time and world, and when you meet us, we'd all be caught up together. Sound good?" "Well, I can't imagine it not being fun if you're around," Mark replied, grinning and sitting up, feeling considerably better after this talk with his teacher. "What're we gonna use to get the funds?" "Well," Becky said, making a cute show of thinking. "I've actually checked with that chroniques dealer? The one over on Adelaide that we were directed to?" "You've been busy!" Mark laughed, putting his arm around her shoulder. "I like to be prepared," she purred, snuggling into his side. "Anyway, I told him about my complete collection of Monchhichi minis that I inherited from my older cousin when I was young. Never did anything with 'em, because they just took up shelf space. But he's willing to give me a lot of money for them, apparently they're huge in the thirty-third century." "Well, of course they are," Mark said, rolling his eyes. "I; what the Hell are they, anyway? Never heard of 'em." "Oh, just collectible figurines from Japan in the Seventies, they look like cute little lolicon monkeys, along with a plushie toyline and several cartoons," she explained, waiving dismissively. "I couldn't care less about them, and if they make some person happy thirteen hundred years in the future, great. I'm getting lots of money for 'em." "Okay," Mark agreed, shrugging. "I was gonna sell my dad's Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots or Micronauts if we needed the geld. I'd probably get a good price on those, too." "You will," she confirmed. "But my lolicon monkeys are worth more, so we'll use them. So, we'll go see Nanu, tell her what's really up, have a lot of fun, spread my money around, and then bring her back. Sound good? I think two weeks of solid sucking and fucking should make you forget your woes." "I can hardly wait," Mark declared. "Why wait at all, big boy?" she purred again, as she undid his fly and bent her head down while fishing his cock out of his pants. Nanu sighed as she sat on the solium, kicking her legs back and forth slowly as she looked at the mosaic on the floor. It had been over a week now since she had seen anybody, let alone her mistress. As gorgeous as her surroundings were, this expansive villa hidden in the distant hills outside of mighty Rome, she was decidedly lonely. She'd never really spent any appreciable time by herself before Lady Aurora had purchased her from the Flavians. Despite her mistress' unwelcome absence, she found herself smiling as she thought of her. Lovely, lovely Lady Aurora Horatia; tall, with long, golden blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, sensuous lips that were always parted to show her white teeth and radiant smile. Her thoughts turned to the lady's other parts now, and she blushed. She thought of her mistress' lovely neck, supple shoulders, her large, perky bust, trim waist and glorious, tight ass. Nanu felt warm as she pictured Lady Aurora's cunt, which she kept smooth and clean; so unusual for a Roman patrician woman. She had long, strong dancer's legs, just like Nanu. She remembered how captivated she'd been while she watched Lady Aurora dance at the orgy. Bonosus. Lady Aurora's principal slave, and her lover. Dark, wavy hair, and deep brown eyes; he was unnaturally tall, at least to Nanu, with an athletic build, broad shoulders, and a small waist that was hard to the touch; and his cock was huge. It had felt like it was tearing Nanu apart when she rode on it with wild abandon. She came out of her reverie and looked around again, sighing forlornly. The villa was beautiful, with plastered walls covered in colorful frescoes, mosaic floors, indoor bathing chambers and toilets, beautiful gardens, a stream just behind the building, and all the delicious food she could eat. She had all the creature comforts any slave could ever want, but it was still quiet and lonely for her. She looked down at herself, using her fingers to pull slightly at the material of the top of the dress she wore. It was a spare garment, made of quality linen, one of several Lady Aurora had bought for Nanu from the Flavius family. Of course, the slave girl was thrilled beyond words to wear such a thing, and in all ways, she saw her ownership by Lady Aurora as a turning point in her life, the beginning of something wonderful beyond words. She and Bonosus were the luckiest slaves to ever live. But not if she was so very alone. Nanu, born into poverty in the tiny settlement of Akhmim in Egypt, the youngest of twelve children. Sold into slavery to the Flavians at a tender age to help feed her family, she'd lived a hard life, doing the most menial of tasks for the wealthy Roman family at their home in Tepihu, far up the Nile. But then they discovered she could dance, and dance well. She was sent to the principal Flavian household in distant Rome, a place she'd only ever heard of, and could never imagine. She danced for the patriarch and his wife, and they agreed to keep her on, as long as her legs held out. So Nanu danced relentlessly, determined to never return to the misery she'd known before. Within a year, she was the leader of the dancing girls the Flavians owned, and whatever jealousies the other girls might have held were quickly cast aside. Nanu understood that if she treated them all equally, she was more likely to prosper, rather than looking after only herself at their expense. She was lovers with all of them, and it wasn't long before she was fucking the lord and lady as well. Her position was as secure as a slave's could be under such circumstances. True, she was still punished, quite often for things beyond her control. But the Flavians were not overly harsh with her, having her flogged with short, thin reed brooms, to avoid scarring her. It hurt, and she cried, but she inevitably recovered, usually to be fucked by Master Flavius as she soon as she could walk. She left the chair and walked over to a small table, on which sat a highly polished silver mirror. She picked it up and looked at herself, pursing her lips, assessing her features. She'd always concluded that she was at least somewhat attractive, since men (and women) always wanted to fuck her. She was aware that being a highly trained dancer gave her a desirable physique for a slave, and her strong, taut muscles kept her cunt tight. Her tits were not overly large, but were pronounced from her torso, and jiggled when she danced or ran. She thought they swayed nicely when she walked. She had the creamy bronze skin of the people of the Black Lands, children of the pharaohs. Her thick hair was a glossy blue-black, and she kept it trimmed to just past her jaw, in the manner of women in her country. Her eyes were a warm hazel, with tawny flecks many of the other dancing girls described as bewitching and seductive. If only she could- "Well now, if it isn't everyone's favorite dancing slave," quipped a lyrical voice from nearby. Nanu's head snapped around and she cried out in delight as she espied Lady Aurora standing in the door nearby, with Bonuses just behind, looming over her and grinning. Nanu had been so wrapped up in looking at her reflection and feeling sorry for herself that she hadn't even heard them approach. "Mistress!" the Egyptian girl called out as she darted across the room and threw herself into Lady Aurora's waiting arms. "Magistra! How I Have Missed You!" "We've missed you too, Nanu," Becky said softly, hugging the shorter girl and kissing the top of her head while Nanu burst into tears. "I'm sorry we were away for so long." "It felt like forever, mistress, I won't lie," Nanu said, choking back her sobs before pressing her mouth to Becky's and kissing her fiercely. Becky returned the kiss gladly, and the women greeted one another with tangling tongues and wandering hands for nearly a minute before they needed to breathe. Nanu looked up at Becky now, her eyes still wide and wet with emotion. "May I; may I say hello to Bonosus, mistress?" "I'm pretty sure he's counting on it," Becky said, stepping aside and giggling as Nanu flung herself against Mark, kissing him feverishly, but with her hands predictably snaking down his frame and under his tunic to fondle his cock. "Goodness, girl, did those toys I left get no love from you in my absence?" "Oh, mistress, they got loved day and night," Nanu replied, turning to look at Becky since she was being addressed. "But I do not need to tell you that it is hardly the same as the real thing, as to have a real lover. And I am sorry if it makes me sound deficient, but; I am not good at being alone. I am not at all used to it." "Oh, I'm sorry, darling," Becky said as Mark picked Nanu up in his arms and carried her back into the room. Nanu had her arms around his neck, and seemed to be in absolute heaven, now that the two most important people in her life had returned. "But we're back now, and we have no intention of leaving you behind again." Nanu looked curious. "Won't leave me behind again; are we going somewhere, mistress? Are we to leave the villa?" "It will take some explaining, I promise you that," Becky answered, nodding. "But first, I think the three of us should fuck one another stupid all over the villa, don't you?" Nanu's face lit up at her mistress' suggestion and she nodded eagerly. "Yes, mistress! I want to fuck you both until I cannot see or walk straight!" Becky made a grand gesture with her hand, taking in the whole villa. "Then you may pick where we fuck, my love. Anywhere, as much as you please. We await your pleasure." Nanu looked around in almost breathless excitement as Mark put her down. She didn't know where to begin, only that she wanted to fuck Mistress Aurora and Bonosus in every single area of the villa. She'd been so glum that she barely noticed how horny she was. Now the rampant feelings of lust washed over her, and her cunt was shamefully wet. She grabbed Becky's hand and pulled her excitedly along through the house. "This way!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide with anticipation. "I want us to bathe and fuck!" Becky and Mark laughed as they followed the Egyptian girl into the small antechamber in front of the sudatorium, which Mark and Becky would normally identify as a sauna. They were amazed at the speed with which Nanu had not only removed her own clothes, but also undressed the two of them. Clearly she was in great need and had no intention of waiting. She had apparently lit the fire to heat the small room earlier in the day, for her own use, and now all she had to do was scrub the three of them down before bringing them inside. With a small sponge and rough linen cloths, she did this quickly. She then brought them into the sweat room, which was filled with steam already. Rocks in the little containment chamber over the brazier heated water and caused the steam, while small pouches of herbs hung over the rocks, and wine dripped through them to sizzle and evaporate, giving the steam a heady, aromatic quality that often left guests somewhat drunk. The three now stretched out on the wooden benches that lined the wall, sighing and relaxing for a moment before Nanu's eagerness overtook her. She crawled on top of Becky and kissed her deeply, squirming her body down into her mistress' while they fondled one another. Mark watched on lazily, knowing that the day was young, and it was best that he conserve his strength. Keeping up with Nanu's libido was no small task, not to mention Becky's once she got going. It wasn't long before the two girls were locked in a slippery, trembling sixty-nine, moaning as they lapped at one another's twats and fingered each other's puckered knots. Nanu came so hard she almost shrieked inside Becky's cunt, while the blonde goddess shuddered and speared her tongue deep inside her lover as she came, glazing Nanu's face with her cum. Both girls seemed almost to become puddles, sighing languidly as they lay together, bodies shining with sweat. Through the haze of steam, Mark could see them kissing one another's pussies gently, and the look on Nanu's face could only be described as rapture, mixed with a sense of relief and contentment. She was so happy her mistress had come back to her. But Nanu recovered quickly, turning her head to look at her fellow 'slave', whom she knew as Bonosus. Mark was lying on his side on the bench he occupied, idly stroking his cock. Nanu had already focused on his manhood like an arrow, and managed to extricate herself from Becky without disturbing her mistress' bliss, and crawled across the tile floor on all fours, her hazel eyes glinting. Without waiting, she knelt next to him, moved Mark's hand aside, and took his cock into her grip. She began stroking slowly and gently, before leaning in to kiss the swelling tool lovingly. She swirled her tongue around the head, then up and down the hardening shaft several times, her hand following her tongue. Then she popped her mouth around the head and slowly pushed down, humming as she moved wetly down his length. Mark sighed in pleasure and began running his hand through her raven hair. Becky now watched, caressing her creamy cunt as she gazed over at the lovers. Mark was half on his back, half on his side, while Nanu was kneeling on the floor, bent over and bobbing up and down on his stiff cock. Her tiny hand made a gentle twisting motion on the smooth skin of his shaft, following her warm, wet mouth. Becky smiled, knowing how great it was to give her student head, since she'd done it countless times herself now. Things would be so much easier for them all when she finally caught up with him in the timeline. Mark stroked down Nanu's back and reached her ass, giving one of the tight, perk cheeks a squeeze before nudging her. Nanu took the hint readily and stood up, clambering over Mark's face and looking down his body. The bench wouldn't have been big enough for Mark and Becky to do what was now happening, but Nanu was considerably smaller than Becky, and somehow managed. She leaned down his body, crying out suddenly as Mark pulled her ass cheeks apart and slid his tongue around her gooey cunt. She trembled and squirmed for several moments before composing herself and returning to the task of sucking on his cock hungrily. He was at full mast now, and Nanu's tiny hand could hardly fit around the girth of his shaft. Amazingly, though, she could take his manhood all the way inside her mouth, and down her throat readily. Becky's slave was as gifted as she was shameless, clearly. Nanu grunted as Mark slid one of his fingers inside her ass. Mark had larger hands than most people from her home era, and his finger was larger than some dicks she'd had back there before. Or at least, it certainly felt that way at the moment. She accepted the intrusion willingly, squirming back against his hand, and squeezing her tight tunnel around it while he massaged her cunt and clit with her tongue. She let out little moans, still bobbing up and down while giving Becky a sidelong look with heavily lidded, glazed eyes. Determined to not be left out, Becky slowly rose from her bench and wiggled over across the small area. She observed the setting with a critical eye for several moments, working out the logistics of how to best fit into this carnal puzzle. Just like she could not readily engage in a sixty-nine with Mark on these relatively (to them) narrow benches, she could not straddle him and fuck him to proper effect either. The answer presented itself quickly. She eased Nanu up into a sitting position over Mark's face, and if the slave girl was disappointed in having to relinquish that delicious cock, the feeling quickly gave way to yelps of delight as she sank her cunt even further down onto Mark's tongue, squirming and grinding lustily. Becky pumped and stroked Mark's cock steadily for several seconds, making sure he would stay hard. He was lying down the length of the bench, his tool ramrod-erect for her. She then stood and moved over his midsection, facing out into the tiny chamber. She bent her knees and reached under, steadying his throbbing cock while she guided it to her cuntlips. One she had him in place, she slowly sat down, sighing as he pushed up inside her steaming depths. Her ass come to rest on his hips, while she sat sideways on him, pinned to his cock. She closed her eyes and just savored the sensation for several seconds, her fingers flexing against his stomach and his knee, respectively. She finally opened her blue eyes and turned her head to smile at Nanu, who was moving up and down slowly on Mark's tireless tongue. Becky leaned in toward the slave, who immediately moved her torso forward to meet Becky. They kissed over Mark's long form, tongues tangling while Becky began to move up and down slowly, loving the feel of this unique position with him deep inside her. The threesome slowly squirmed and undulated against one another, time lost within the confines of the tiny, steaming chamber. The dim, amber light of the fire beneath the heated stones was their only illumination, but in this misty, ethereal sitting, it was utter perfection. The scent of spiced wine mingled with the aromas of bodies making love. Becky could taste the wine in Nanu's sweat as she drew her tongue along the girl's collarbone and over her tits. "I think it's about time for you to fuck Nanu and cum in her, Mark," Becky panted after several minutes of churning up and down on his thick rod. She was massaging and groping her tits, or Nanu's as she rode. The Egyptian girl had reached forward and was massaging her mistress' cunt dutifully as well. "It's been a few weeks for her, and you just filled me up this morning." "Relatively speaking," Mark quipped from beneath Nanu's writhing hips. "You sit on the bench and spread 'em, Becks, and she can kneel and lick you. I'll get behind her." Becky had no problem with this plan, and quickly coaxed Nanu off Mark's face, to kneel on the floor in front of her. Nanu's eyes widened with delight as Becky smiled and parted her legs, before reaching down with two fingers to spread her thick nether lips wide, exposing her glistening inner pink to the slave girl. Nanu practically dived in, and Becky grunted and almost jumped, clasping the girl's head suddenly, her feet leaving the floor. "Nuh, fuck!" she wheezed as Nanu began lapping at her like she was eating her last meal before she died. Her fingers gripped Nanu's black hair while she began grinding her snatch against the girl's face desperately. Nanu licked cunt like nobody's business. Mark, meanwhile, had positioned himself behind Nanu, and lined his cock up with her dripping twat, holding her by the ass cheeks. Nanu trembled while he slid his cockhead up and down her slippery lips, and against her tingling clit, making her squeak and whimper into Becky's cunt. He braced her for only the briefest of moments before sliding inside her without any warning, sinking in to the hilt. The Egyptian slave-girl wailed in ecstasy as he forced her wide, pinning her to him. Mark began fucking Nanu with a steady, strong pace, and she yelped into her mistress' cunt with each thrust, even while lapping at her pink twat hungrily. Her face was shining with sweat, and Becky's wetness, her tongue thick with the cloying sweetness of the blonde woman. Nanu's head was spinning in delight. Surely this was the heavenly afterlife? Becky almost curled up on herself, her fingernails threatening to leave grooves in Nanu's scalp as she shook uncontrollably and came, barely able to keep herself from screeching. She slathered Nanu's face in her essence, her entire body tingling with fire. Nanu shuddered and writhed, wailing as she came, her cunt tightening around Mark's cock fiendishly. As if on cue, Mark arched his back, gritted his teeth and growled, pumping all his cum inside Nanu, thrusting strongly. The trio rocked and writhed in depraved unison for close to a minute before Mark leaned forward on Nanu's back, breathing heavily. Becky sighed in exhaustion, sinking down on the bench, her cunt pressing into Nanu's face. The slave girl, pinned in place between her mistress and her fellow slave, simply held still, surrounded by warm, slick flesh and gently caressing fingers. She could still feel Bonosus throbbing deep inside her, and her mistress' cunt oozed against her mouth. She felt so blessed and safe like this. But then she looked up from between Becky's legs, her own glinting with eagerness. "Come! I know where we need to fuck next!" And with that, the Egyptian girl extricated herself from between them and wiggled quickly out of the room. Mark groaned and sagged forward between Becky's tits, and she held onto him wearily. "Now I know why we can't leave her for weeks on end," he mumbled in her cleavage. "Because we won't survive the backlog of fucking we need to do;” Nanu was sitting in the chair, her expression one of bewilderment. She seemed to have forgotten the goblet of wine in her hand, and she sat with her arms and legs tucked in close to her body. Clearly, she was confused and feeling uncertain about what she was hearing. "You're; mistress, you're not a Roman at all?" she asked quietly as she stared at Becky. They were sitting in the atrium of the villa, and it was a quiet evening. Birds sang, and a gentle breeze caressed their faces and the nearby blossoms as it dipped over the villa and into the central opening. Becky shook her head, knowing that this was going to take a lot of patience on her and Mark's part; and even more on Nanu's. Everything she was in the process of telling the girl would sound completely preposterous, even more so than Mark's explanation to his sister the day before. "No, Nanu, I'm not a Roman of any sort," the blonde woman confessed, trying to smile. "And my name is not Aurora Horatia. My name is Rebecca." "Rebekah?" Nanu queried, making a wry face. "That is a Hebrew name." She looked Becky up and down skeptically. "You don't look like a Hebrew." The slave girl looked at Mark. "And your name is not Bonosus, and you're not a Roman either?" He shook his head. "Nope. I'm Mark. And Becks is actually my teacher." Nanu squeezed her eyes shut for several seconds and when she finally opened them, they were filled with worry. "Are; are you going to kill me?" Despite herself, Becky burst into giggle fits at the question. Nanu looked confused, and then slightly irked at the response from her 'mistress'. She thought it was a perfectly reasonable question, under these circumstances. She folded her arms, crossed her legs, and looked off at the sky over the far wall, annoyed. "I'm sorry, Nanu," Becky said finally reining herself in. "I wasn't laughing at you, I mean it. It just wasn't what I expected to hear at all, and we both love you too much to ever consider killing you. Hell, I'm not sure we could if we tried." "Well I don't know what to believe," sniffed the younger girl. "You've bought me, and taken me away from a comfortable, if not happy life, and nearly gotten me killed at least once, and then there was that; thing; that you two ride around on;” "The Holmes Field Device," Becky said, nodding. "It doesn't just take us where we want to go, it allows us to travel through time, which is why we are here at all." Nanu shook her head, indicating that she had no idea what Becky meant. The teacher leaned forward slightly, smiling. They weren't sitting that far apart, but she had allowed for a small amount of distance between them, so that Nanu didn't feel trapped or pressured if she took all this poorly. To be honest, she was taking it surprisingly well, even if she wasn't buying all of it. "Nanu, I apologize for asking simple questions, but please bear with me;” she said quietly, noticing that even if she was listening, Nanu was now staring at Becky's cleavage, framed between her arms while she sat forward. Mark was staring too. Some thing would never change. "You understand the concepts of yesterday, today and tomorrow, yes?" Nanu nodded slowly. "Yes, mistress." "Do you ever wish you could visit days that have gone by?" Becky asked. "Like maybe go back and visit your childhood, or meet some member of your family who was lost years ago? Or even see the Sphinx getting built?" The girl looked confused again. "Suh-finx?" Becky looked at Mark, hoping for some help. He still had the chip that let him speak Egyptian in his head. He pondered the issue for a moment before the tiny computer in his noggin gave him the answer. He looked at Nanu and smiled. "Horemakhet." Nanu's eyes went wide. To see the Horus of the Western Horizon being built by the gods. She shook her head. "What you say is impossible!" Becky smiled now, not blaming Nunu for her disbelief. "Nanu, a long time ago, people would have thought that chariots were impossible, that mastering fire and steel were impossible. But you know they're not just possible, you know that these things are fact." Nanu nodded, willing to listen to her beloved mistress, who apparently wasn't her mistress. But she listened. "Mark and I come from many, many tomorrows away, a time many years from now. That device that we travel on, it allows us to do it." The Egyptian girl screwed up her face, trying to understand. She thought she'd heard outlandish things in her life before, but this was so far beyond her conceptions and experience that it sounded like a ridiculous fable her grandmother would tell her. But she had stepped on the wondrous device, and it had taken them somewhere far away from Rome in the blink of an eye, and back. She could not deny this had happened, even if she didn't understand it. Which brought up a big question for her. "Why do you do this?" she queried, looking at each of them. Mark shrugged. "It's fun to move through time and do things." Another skeptical look from Nanu. "You think it's fun to have the gladiators of Rome try to kill you?" Mark faltered slightly. "I; well, no, not that part." Becky giggled. "No, Nanu, that part is unplanned. Mark and I like to travel to different times, to see important events, and to fuck there." Nanu tilted her head curiously at the statement. "What it so important about fucking in these places?" Becky considered her answer. "There's nothing important about it, you're right. But it's still fun. We love to do these things, because almost no one else can. And hopefully it's exciting but not dangerous. If we didn't do this, we never would have met you, and we wouldn't be fucking you now. And we both wouldn't be crazy about you." Nanu's stomach was in her feet as she thought about what her mis; what Rebekah was saying. She was horrified by the thought now that she might never have met them, they she might not have been bought, or living here, in freedom, and getting fucked to her little heart's content. "But if you are not; not from today;” she murmured, trying to formulate her thoughts around these strange concepts. "Then you will keep leaving me. You might come back, but you will keep leaving." Becky could see the tears welling in Nanu's eyes, and she rose from her chair and moved to sit with the smaller girl, cradling her into her bosom as Nanu tried not to cry. "Oh, Nanu, I'm sorry," she cooed. "I didn't realize how hard it was for you to be alone." "I've never been alone," sniffled the raven-haired girl, wrapping her arms around Becky's waist tightly, unwilling to let go. "My whole life, I've never been alone for so much as a day, never mind a week. It was terrifying. I'm a slave, you know." Becky caressed her fingers through Nanu's hair and kissed the top of her said. "I understand now. And I am sorry. But Mark and I wanted to talk to you about that, actually." Nanu choked back a sob and looked up at Becky, ready to hear what she had to say. "Mark and I want to bring you with us," Becky explained, using a thumb to wipe some tears from Nanu's cheek. "Come back to our time, and perhaps take you with us on our adventures." Nanu's eyes went wide. "L; leave Rome?" Becky shrugged. "Is there anyone left for you to care about?" "Well, no." Nanu admitted. "And as I've already told you, Mark and I are crazy about you, so since we cannot stay here in Rome with you, maybe you should come with us, Becky continued. "I love having you around." Nanu's face lit up at Becky's words, but then a cloud passed over her face as things occurred to her. "But I; know nothing about this place you are from. How would I live?" "Well I would teach you, of course," Becky replied, smiling. "And it'll probably be terrifying at first, since you will see things you cannot even imagine, but Mark and I will protect you and help you learn." "I; would stay with you?" Nanu asked in a voice begging for assurance. Becky nodded. "You won't leave me alone?" The blonde woman smiled. "Well, I might have to step out the door once in a while to go and get food, or go to my job, but I won't leave you alone for days at a time, I promise." Nanu returned to hugging Becky, looking off at the far wall across the atrium. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she thought about what she should do. Did she take these two up on their weird offer? Did she just ask to stay here at the villa, and take her chances about when they could visit? Did she ask to be sent back to the Flavius household? Every option terrified her. She finally looked up at Becky again and drew a deep breath. "Can we; fuck some more, while I think about it?" Becky and Mark both laughed and nodded their assent. It was the most Nanu thing Nanu had ever said. Predictably, Nanu, after much fucking and pondering, had decided to take Mark and Becky up on their offer. Delighted, Becky had declared that they would be doing some shopping first, heading into Rome to get things she wanted. Nanu was always happy to visit the city, she was always enthralled by the sights and sounds around her. "But I; I must point out something," she confessed, looking uneasy. "I know you keep saying that I need not be your slave anymore, but it is not safe for me to walk around freely, Mistress, no matter what you tell me. If you say you don't own me, I am still a slave to them. They'll put me in chains and have me on the auction block again in no time, but probably not before they do awful things to me." "She has a point, Becks," Mark started, shrugging as he fastened his tunic in place. "We may know slavery is immoral, but Rome doesn't give a shit. As far as they're concerned, you're still a patrician woman, and we're still your slaves." "Which brings up another troublesome fact," Becky sighed, building on Mark's premise. "You're the most hated individual in Rome. You defiled a Vestal Virgin;” "Pervert," Nanu said in a low voice, nudging Mark. "You made a mockery of the legal system, and turned the Colosseum into a sexual freak show. I wouldn't be surprised if every soldier in Rome had orders to skewer you on sight." "Hey, I'm not the one who dropped a giant canvas sail on the emperor's head and wiggled my tits at seventy thousand people, you know!" Mark protested. "Well, that part was fun," Becky mused, smirking, lapsing into English for a moment. "So what do we do? I want to go shopping, but without getting you killed." "Yeah, you've got a point there," Mark allowed, looking at the ground as he pondered the issue. Nanu looked back and forth between them as they spoke in their unintelligible gibberish. "Well, we either need a disguise for me, so I don't look like Bonosus anymore, or we need to jump back a few days to before we arrived, and before anyone would know us." "More of your time twists," Becky chided, holding up a finger. "Didn't you learn?" "I know what you mean, but I kinda think we did that," Mark replied. "Don't you remember how you said people were waving at you like they knew you already, and you thought that was weird? That maybe they'd mistaken you for someone else? It's kinda unlikely that they are mistaking you for anyone, Becks. You're as tall as most of the men, and you're like a living embodiment of Venus to them, with blonde hair." "I'm afraid you may be right," Becky sighed, not liking the hypothesis, but forced to admit it was probably accurate. "So we go back maybe a week before we first arrived, do our shopping, and split?" Mark turned and looked at Nanu now. "Nanu, have you been into the city of Rome any time in the last week before you met us? Or anyone from the Flavius household?" "Ooh, good catch, Mark," Becky mentioned, nodding. "Can't have her running into herself by accident, no matter how unlikely." Nanu considered for a moment and then shook her head. "No, before you arrived, it had been more than a month, I think. Master Flavius resented paying the prices they wanted in the city, he usually made us shop in Lavinium, it was cheaper." Mark shrugged. "We could probably do your shopping and find some fun, Becks. Then we'll plan our next move. Sound good?" Becky removed her outfit, letting pool around her feet before sitting down in a low chair. She held out her arms, beckoning for Nanu to join her. The Egyptian girl shed her clothing, and then went to sit naked in her blonde lover's lap, their lovely tits squashing together. They kissed for some moments before Becky smiled at Nanu. "I want to buy you some outfits, Nanu, outfits like I wear. Would you like to dress and look like mistress?" It seemed as though Nanu might faint. Becky was also pretty sure she felt the girl getting wet. She giggled and kissed Nanu's nose. "I'll take that as a yes." Rome. The litter glided through the crowded street, with people dutifully making way for it; whomever was inside was clearly important. The four dark-skinned slaves bearing it on their shoulders walked along silently, seemingly not bothered by the weight within. The litter itself was simple in design, but ornate in appearance, the canopy held aloft on carved poles, and much of it decorated with gold leaf or edging. Diaphanous curtains on all sides obscured the women within. Becky and Nanu lay on their sides, facing in toward one another. Nanu was wearing a beautiful stola, just like Becky, and she gazed down at her raiment in wonder, running a hand delicately over the fabric. Becky smiled as she watched the Egyptian girl while reaching into a bowl between them and putting a grape in her mouth. "Mistress, this is wonderful," Nanu whispered, knowing to not refer to Becky as her mistress too loudly. "I've never felt anything like this in my life, except on someone else." "Well, it's yours, and yours alone, so enjoy it," Becky said cheerfully, enjoying Nanu's elation. She put another grape between her teeth and smiled slyly. Nanu leaned in and took the grape between her own teeth, their lips touching. As Nanu masticated on the grape, Becky opened the gauze-like drapes in the back if the litter and called out gently. "How we doing back there, Mark?" "Oh, just fine, thanks so very much for asking," muttered the student-slave, who trudged along behind the litter, carrying several handbags made of linen and animal skins, filled with shopping goods. His hands and shoulders ached. How the Hell could Becky purchase so much shit in an era that didn't have electronics? "How much farther we got?" "Not too much longer, I think," mused the blonde teacher casually. She wasn't too worried about Mark having to carry stuff, he'd been through worse recently. She'd bought outfits and jewelry, pretty house furnishings, and other curios to take home. She considered what she'd need to buy for Nanu upon their return. Clothes aside, she would somehow need to procure ID for her, some sorts of medical records, and so forth. How did she get any of that done? "Will I like my new life, mistress?" Nanu asked, eating another grape. "I am sure I will love living with you, but;” Becky smiled and caressed her face lovingly. "It will be very, very different, Nanu. And at times it will seem frightening. But there are so many things I cannot wait to show you." "Then I will wait and trust you," the Egyptian girl said softly, giving herself over to her mistress' carefully in her mind. "Because I believe you when you say you love me and want the best for me." Nanu was silent for some time, as if deep in thought. "What's on your mind, darling?" Becky asked, curious. Nanu sighed. "I just miss my family. I have not seen them since I was young. And I dreamed of returning to them one day." Becky smiled. "Oh, you want t

Welcome back to The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm. If you've ever felt your energy drain away in a stressful situation, if your hands shake before a presentation, or if you struggle to maintain focus under pressure, this series is for you. We often try to solve problems of confidence and anxiety with our thoughts—we argue with our inner critic, we try to logically reason our way into feeling secure. But the ancient Romans understood a profound truth: Your body is the source of your authority. The Roman Empire was built on more than just discipline; it was built on an embodied presence that they called Gravitas—a personal weight, seriousness, and undeniable importance. This journey is a practical masterclass in self-command. By the end of this series, you won't just feel more confident—you will have a physical, repeatable, and accessible code to embody that confidence whenever you need it. This is day 1 of a 7-day meditation series, The Roman Power Code: 7 Days to Inner Authority and Calm," episodes 3416-3422. YOUR WEEKLY CHALLENGE: Intentional Micro-Posturing Quest: Check your posture, adjust your shoulders, back, relax your jaw, and hold the Gaze of Authority (steady, calm eye contact). This challenge forces you to consciously apply the Roman techniques in low-stakes situations, building the neural pathways for Embodied Power to become automatic. THIS WEEK'S MEDITATION JOURNEY  Day 1:  Dignity Visualization Day 2:  Affirmation: "I command my presence and own my peace." Day 3:  Praetor's Pause Day 4:  Ganesha mudra for overcoming obstacles Day 5:  Seventh Chakra for Interconnectedness Day 6:  Mental Focus Flow meditation, combining the week's techniques Day 7:  Weekly review meditation and closure SHARE YOUR MEDITATION JOURNEY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEDITATORS Let's connect and inspire each other! Please share a little about how meditation has helped you by reaching out to me at Mary@SipandOm.com or better yet -- direct message me on https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om. We'd love to hear about your meditation ritual!  WAYS TO SUPPORT THE DAILY MEDITATION PODCAST SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss a single episode. Consistency is the KEY to a successful meditation ritual. SHARE the podcast with someone who could use a little extra support. I'd be honored if you left me a podcast review. If you do, please email me at Mary@sipandom.com and let me know a little about yourself and how meditation has helped you. I'd love to share your journey to inspire fellow meditators on the podcast! All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com. FOR DAILY EXTRA SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE PODCAST Each day's meditation techniques are shared at: sip.and.om Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sip.and.om/ sip and om Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SipandOm/ SIP AND OM MEDITATION APP Looking for a little more support? If you're ready for a more in-depth meditation experience, allow Mary to guide you in daily 30-minute guided meditations on the Sip and Om meditation app. Give it a whirl for 7-days free! Receive access to 2,000+ 30-minute guided meditations customized around a weekly theme to help you manage emotions. Receive a Clarity Journal and a Slow Down Guide customized for each weekly theme.  2-Week's Free Access on iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sip-and-om/id1216664612?platform=iphone&preserveScrollPosition=true#platform/iphone All meditations are created by Mary Meckley and are her original content. Please request permission to use any of Mary's content by sending an email to Mary@sipandom.com.Let go of repetitive negative thoughts. The beach waves were composed by Mike Koenig. Music composed by Christopher Lloyd Clark licensed by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com, and also by musician Greg Keller.

In this episode of the Conscious Rebels Podcast, Caitlin sits down with Paul Davis for a conversation that goes straight into the heart of religious deconstruction. Together they explore who Jesus actually was before the Roman Empire rewrote his message, why so many people are waking up to the cracks in modern Christianity, and how fear-based doctrine replaced the original teachings of love, oneness, and empowerment.This is the kind of honest, uncensored conversation you cannot have on social media without getting flagged or misunderstood. Which is exactly why it's happening here.If you want to watch the full unedited version, including the live Q&A with Caitlin and Paul, you can access the complete recording inside Conscious Rebels Network. And if you want to be part of conversations like this live, CRN is where we go deep without censorship.

Sermon Summary: This sermon explores the profound prophecy of God's kingdom as revealed through Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2 and fulfilled in Messiah's first coming. The pastor demonstrates how the "stone cut without hands" represents Messiah, who came during the Roman Empire as prophesied, was rejected by the builders (Jewish leadership), and became the chief cornerstone of God's eternal kingdom. Rather than arriving with sudden, observable power, the kingdom began small—like a mustard seed or stone—and has been growing into a mountain that fills the earth over the past 2,000 years. The message emphasizes that the kingdom of God is not exclusively Jewish but for all nations, tribes, and tongues, spreading through messengers (apostles, disciples, believers) who carry the gospel worldwide. The kingdom exists within believers and continues expanding until Messiah returns to fully inherit His kingdom.

As the Bronze Age gave way to the Iron Age, the economy of the Mediterranean shifted dramatically. It expanded to encompass the entire sea for the first time, everywhere from the Levant to Iberia, and laid the foundations for what would eventually become the Roman Empire.Patrick's new book - Lost Worlds: The Rise and Fall of Human Societies from the Ice Age to the Bronze Age - is now available for preorder, and will be released on May 5th! Preorder in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWLostWorlds. And don't forget, you can still Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge.Also Patrick is launching a brand-new history show on December 3rd! It's called Past Lives, and every episode explores the life of a real person who lived in the past. He'll have a lot more to say about it very soon, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.Listen to new episodes 1 week early, to exclusive seasons 1 and 2, and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/tidesofhistoryBe the first to know about Wondery's newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As we start to anticipate the time of Advent and ultimately the birth of Jesus, what are some of the contextual things we should be aware of? Each historical period had an influence on God's people. To kick off the "Advent of Advent" mini-series, we are going back to a conversation I had last year with Dr. George Athas. He is a professor at Moore College and the author of an excellent book Bridging the Testaments. Today we revisit his overview of the major time periods leading up to the Roman Empire's arrival on the scene along with his explanation of Jewish thought that makes the gospels' claim that Jesus is from the line of David so explosive.Listen to the original podcast with Dr. Athas Here:  Part 1  and Part 2Find out more about Dr. Athas HERERead more about his book HERESee his many other writings HEREContact Cyndi Parker through Narrative of Place.Join Cyndi Parker's  Patreon Team!

State Builders from the Steppe: A History of the First Bulgarian Empire (This is RETHINK, 2025) explores how the Proto-Bulgarians were able to build both an empire and an identity amidst the turmoil of the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages. From creating the Cyrillic Alphabet and crowning the first ever Tsar to defeating the first Arab invasion of Europe and nearly conquering the last vestiges of the Roman Empire, the history of the First Bulgarian Empire is equal parts fascinating and dramatic. In this episode, Eric Halsey joins me to discuss the little-known history of the First Bulgarian Empire, its nomadic pastoralist origins, why the empire collapsed, and its legacies in Bulgaria today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

State Builders from the Steppe: A History of the First Bulgarian Empire (This is RETHINK, 2025) explores how the Proto-Bulgarians were able to build both an empire and an identity amidst the turmoil of the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages. From creating the Cyrillic Alphabet and crowning the first ever Tsar to defeating the first Arab invasion of Europe and nearly conquering the last vestiges of the Roman Empire, the history of the First Bulgarian Empire is equal parts fascinating and dramatic. In this episode, Eric Halsey joins me to discuss the little-known history of the First Bulgarian Empire, its nomadic pastoralist origins, why the empire collapsed, and its legacies in Bulgaria today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

State Builders from the Steppe: A History of the First Bulgarian Empire (This is RETHINK, 2025) explores how the Proto-Bulgarians were able to build both an empire and an identity amidst the turmoil of the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages. From creating the Cyrillic Alphabet and crowning the first ever Tsar to defeating the first Arab invasion of Europe and nearly conquering the last vestiges of the Roman Empire, the history of the First Bulgarian Empire is equal parts fascinating and dramatic. In this episode, Eric Halsey joins me to discuss the little-known history of the First Bulgarian Empire, its nomadic pastoralist origins, why the empire collapsed, and its legacies in Bulgaria today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

State Builders from the Steppe: A History of the First Bulgarian Empire (This is RETHINK, 2025) explores how the Proto-Bulgarians were able to build both an empire and an identity amidst the turmoil of the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages. From creating the Cyrillic Alphabet and crowning the first ever Tsar to defeating the first Arab invasion of Europe and nearly conquering the last vestiges of the Roman Empire, the history of the First Bulgarian Empire is equal parts fascinating and dramatic. In this episode, Eric Halsey joins me to discuss the little-known history of the First Bulgarian Empire, its nomadic pastoralist origins, why the empire collapsed, and its legacies in Bulgaria today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

State Builders from the Steppe: A History of the First Bulgarian Empire (This is RETHINK, 2025) explores how the Proto-Bulgarians were able to build both an empire and an identity amidst the turmoil of the Balkans in the Early Middle Ages. From creating the Cyrillic Alphabet and crowning the first ever Tsar to defeating the first Arab invasion of Europe and nearly conquering the last vestiges of the Roman Empire, the history of the First Bulgarian Empire is equal parts fascinating and dramatic. In this episode, Eric Halsey joins me to discuss the little-known history of the First Bulgarian Empire, its nomadic pastoralist origins, why the empire collapsed, and its legacies in Bulgaria today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Bible Story, Saul and Barnabas team up to advance the gospel in Antioch. Saul is still learning about what it truly means to walk with Jesus, and Barnabas acts as a brilliant mentor and friend. This story is inspired by Acts 11:19-30. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Acts 11:26 from the King James Version.Episode 226: As more men and women came to faith in Jerusalem, more were beaten and thrown into jail. Because of this, many believers scattered across the Roman Empire setting as far as Cyprus and Antioch for safety. In these cities, the gospel began to break out from being a Jewish-only message, now Greeks and Hellenists were receiving Jesus too! The attitude of the believers in the city was so helpful that people began to refer to these followers as little Christs, a name that has stuck with us for generations.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world’s greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Book of Romans Series: Nikki and Colleen discuss Romans 13:5–7. The Bible mandates that Christians are to be faithful in paying their taxes to the government because the rulers in government are servants of God. Think about the type of government that the Christians were under when this was written—the Roman Empire—a power that persecuted and martyred Christians.Music: Falling Awake © 2010 Nathanael Tinker. Used by permission.Support the showWebsite, donation link: http://proclamationmagazine.com/Facebook—Former Adventist: https://www.facebook.com/FormerAdventist/Facebook—Life Assurance Ministries: https://www.facebook.com/ProclamationMagazine/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FormerAdventist

#sspx #catholic #catholicchurchWe have a special feast day today, the dedication of the archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. It is interesting that the Church makes this a second class feast, while the feast of the dedication of St. Peter's Basilica, which will take place next Tuesday, is only a third-class feast.The main reason for the special honor given to St. John Lateran is that it was the first official church of the Catholic Church. When you visit St. John Lateran in Rome, you see an inscription written on it: “the mother and head of all the churches in the world”.You know that Catholics were persecuted by the Roman Empire as soon as the Church was founded. Sts. Peter and Paul themselves were martyred in Rome.The persecutions continued for an extremely long time, for close to 300 years! Some Roman emperors were more aggressive than others in their attempt to destroy the Catholic Church but the fact is that the Catholic religion was more or less illegal for these 300 years.Imagine what it was like for the faithful during these difficult times. They knew that Our Lord was God; they knew that they belonged to the true faith. At the same time, they had a heavy price to pay for the practice of their faith.They could not use public buildings to practice their religion or build their own temples. They rather had to meet in secret, in their homes and in the catacombs. They had to be careful who they talked to. They had to be very discreet in telling people that they were Catholic.Think about how weary they must have been with this situation, when it continued decade after decade. The persecutions made it difficult to convert people to the faith, because everyone knew that the Empire did not like Catholicism. Everyone knew that they could be executed if they became a Catholic.Think of all the prayers that the Catholics of the first centuries lifted up to Heaven, to ask Our Lord to send them an emperor who would at least allow them to practice their Catholic faith in peace.Our Lord did not want to intervene right away to help these first Catholics. On the contrary, He wanted the first Catholics to be strong and sacrificial. He wanted them to have their life on the line at all times.For that reason, He waited! He waited not for 100 or 200 years, but for over 250 years. This is how we have the examples of all those martyr saints from the first centuries of the Church. This is why we have so many great saints to honor from those centuries.In due time, however, Our Lord decided that He would make His Church triumph. He decided that He would answer all of that blood that was shed and all of those prayers that were offered.He gave to the Catholics of the empire something they were always dreaming about but had never been given: an emperor who converted to the Catholic faith.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Chris Hoklotubbe and Dr. Danny Zacharias about their book Reading the Bible on Turtle Island and how Indigenous wisdom invites us to see Scripture through a different lens. We explore how the Bible, written by tribal people deeply connected to land and kinship, calls us back into right relationship with Creator, creation, and one another. Chris and Danny share stories that connect the Trail of Tears to the exile in Babylon, the teachings of Jesus to the call of Jubilee, and how truth-telling and reconciliation are part of our ongoing discipleship. This conversation challenges the transactional faith that has shaped so much of Western Christianity and reclaims a relational vision of faith grounded in love, harmony, and gratitude. It's a reminder that reading the Bible through Indigenous eyes doesn't just reveal something new about the text, it helps us remember who we are and how to walk the bright path of Jesus together.H. Daniel Zacharias (PhD, Highland Theological College/Aberdeen) is a Cree-Anishinaabe/Métis and Austrian man originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba (Treaty One territory), with ancestors also residing in Treaty Two, Treaty Three, and Treaty Five territories. He lives in Mi'kma'ki (Nova Scotia) with his wife, Maria, and four children in Wolfville, NS. He is associate dean and professor of New Testament studies at Acadia Divinity College, where he has worked since 2007. He also serves as an adjunct faculty for NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community.T. Christopher Hoklotubbe (ThD, Harvard) is a proud member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He is the director of graduate studies of NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community, the first accredited Indigenous designed, developed, delivered, and governed theological institute. He is also assistant professor of classics at Cornell College (Mount Vernon, Iowa). He is the author of Civilized Piety: The Rhetoric of Pietas in the Pastoral Epistles and the Roman Empire, which was awarded the Manfred Lautenschläger Award for Theological Promise. He and his wife, Stephanie, have two daughters and live near Cedar Rapids, Iowa.Chris & Danny's Book:Reading the Bible on Turtle IslandConnect with Joshua: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.comGo to www.shiftingculturepodcast.com to interact and donate. Every donation helps to produce more podcasts for you to enjoy.Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, Bluesky or YouTubeConsider Giving to the podcast and to the ministry that my wife and I do around the world. Just click on the support the show link below Contact me to advertise: jjohnson@shiftingculturepodcast.com Support the show

The Wilderness E11 — After his death and resurrection, Jesus sends his disciples out into the world to share the good news of the Kingdom and make disciples. These disciples, also known as apostles, plant churches across the Roman Empire and write letters to congregations made up of Jewish and Gentile believers. And their letters often wrestle with the tension of living in the new age of Jesus' reign while also living in the old age of idolatry, corruption, and injustice. To talk about the overlap of these two ages, the apostles use a familiar metaphor: the wilderness. In this final episode of the series, Jon and Tim discuss how the New Testament authors use wilderness imagery to encourage and warn followers of Jesus to stay close to their good shepherd through the danger and deception of this present age.View all of our resources for The Wilderness →CHAPTERSThe Wilderness Pattern in 1 Corinthians 10 (0:00-27:00)The Wilderness Warnings in 1 Corinthians 3 and 5  (27:00-37:08)More Wilderness Warnings in Hebrews 3-4 (37:08-52:43)Concluding Thoughts on the Wilderness (52:43-1:00:21)OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTView this episode's official transcript.REFERENCED RESOURCESFirst Corinthians: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching by Richard B. HaysEchoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul by Richard B. HaysThe Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis In chapter 1, Tim mentions our video Eternal Life, which you watch here.You can view annotations for this episode—plus our entire library of videos, podcasts, articles, and classes—in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.Check out Tim's extensive collection of recommended books here.SHOW MUSIC“familydinner” by Lofi Sunday, Cassidy Godwin“Cruise” by Lofi Sunday, Just Derrick“Silver N Gold” by Lofi Sunday, Yoni CharisBibleProject theme song by TENTSSHOW CREDITSProduction of today's episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today's episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty does our show notes, and Hannah Woo provides the annotations for our app. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie. Powered and distributed by Simplecast. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Russian Aggression, NATO Tensions, and the Specter of 1914. Gaius and Germanicus, hosting the Friends of History Debating Society in Londinium, discuss the future of the Roman Empire's inheritor, the United States, and its empire in the 21st century. The conversation, held by the turbulent Thames, focuses on the extreme challenges facing US institutions, both outside and inside its borders. The primary external challenge discussed is Russian aggression against Ukraine and the heightened tensions along the NATO frontier. Gaius is reliably told that any provocation, such as blockading the Russian shadow fleet or shooting down a Russian warplane, could lead to Mr. Putin's removal by his right-wing compatriots who believe he has supervised a bad war. Germanicus notes that while no one plans provocations, accidents happen, and hotheads exist in NATO alongside appeasers. Putin is seen as driven by his right-wing elements, demanding recognition and respect for Russia, with conditions comparing the situation to 1914, not 1939. Germanicus counters that Putin is a "Kaiser" (Caesar), comparable to the emperor in Washington, D.C., and must secure a "big victory." Putin's attack on the Ukrainian electrical grid is viewed as smart, bringing Ukraine to the brink without destroying the whole grid, thereby deterring Western media backlash and demonstrating Russia's capacity against NATO. Gaius observes that Washington (specifically the neocons) thinks it must win. The comparison to 1914 suggests that a quick collapse of the Ukrainian war effort could spark a dangerous "July crisis" if the West loses its head. Germanicus, however, sees domestic US political turmoil and European weakness making a major war "almost impossible," suggesting Democrats might prefer Russia to win to politically damage Mr. Trump. 1923 PETROGRAD

Anno 117: Pax Romana puts you in the place of a new Roman Governor at a crucial point in the history of the Roman Empire. Rome has never been more powerful but the mighty Emperor Trajan has died. You must choose how to keep the peace in your new province, whether in the Celtic wilds of Albion or on the Mediterranean coastlines of Latium.In this special episode recorded live at Gamescom 2025, Matt Lewis and Dr Holly Nielsen ask the senior game writer, Matt Cook, about which historical people and events inspired the game's story, how they addressed ancient attitudes to slavery, religion and warfare, and what real historical facts the developers' couldn't include for being too incredible. How does history get adapted into a video game?Echoes of History is a Ubisoft podcast, brought to you by History Hit. Hosted by: Matt LewisEdited by: Robin McConnellProduced by: Robin McConnellSenior Producer: Anne-Marie LuffProduction Manager: Beth DonaldsonExecutive Producers: Etienne Bouvier, Julien Fabre, Steve Lanham, Jen BennettMusic by DynamedionIf you liked this podcast please subscribe, share, rate & review. Take part in our listener survey here.Tell us your favourite Assassin's Creed game or podcast episode at echoes-of-history@historyhit.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Send us a textIn this powerful and liberating conversation, Christina sits down with Crystal Dawn, founder of Crystal Dawn Academy and a leading voice for spiritual sovereignty, feminine empowerment, and reclaiming ancient wisdom beyond religious programming.Crystal shares her journey growing up as a pastor's daughter, immersed in purity culture and fundamentalist Christianity, and the moment she had to choose to be true to herself.She speaks openly about leaving the church, facing shame and conditioning, and finding healing and freedom through uncovering early Christian teachings, the role of the Roman Empire in current religious texts and feminine wisdom traditions.Together, Christina and Crystal explore:What spiritual sovereignty really meansHow labels shape identity and learning to step beyond themWitch-wounding and reclaiming the word “witch” as wise womanHow the church erased feminine powerThe mysticism and empowerment at the heart of early Christian teachingsWhy women are remembering and rising nowWhat it means and how to return to inner authority, intuition, and embodied divinityThis episode is for anyone deconstructing religious conditioning, reclaiming intuition, or honoring the sacred feminine within spiritual practice.Learn more about Crystal Dawn's work at www.crystaldawnalchemy.comFollow her on:IG: @crystaldawnalchemy4TikTok: @crystaldawnalchemy  If you're exploring your own spiritual freedom, healing from religious conditioning, or reconnecting to your intuitive feminine power… you're not alone. Share your reflections, ah-ha moments, or personal awakening journey in the comments or message Christina or Crystal directly. Download Christina's 3 Practices for Holiday Calm HEREChristina Fletcher is a Spiritual Alignment coach, energy worker, author, speaker and host of the podcast Showing Up Whole.She specialises in practical spirituality and integrating inner work with outer living, so you can get self development off of the hobby shelf and integrated as a powerful fuel to your life. Through mindset, spiritual connection, intuitive guidance, manifestation, and mindfulness techniques Christina helps her clients overcome overwhelm and shame to find a place of flow, ease, and deep heart-centered connection.Christina has been a spiritual alignment coach, healer and spiritually aware parent coach for 7 years and trained in Therapeutic Touch 8 years ago. She is also a meditation teacher and speaker. For more information please visit her website www.spirituallyawareliving.com Want to uncover where you need the most energy alignment? Take her new Energy Alignment Quiz to identify which of your energetic worlds (mind, body, heart or spirit) needs aligning the most! Or Follow her on her social media accounts:FacebookInstagramorLinkedin...

President Trump grants Hungary a one-year exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil and gas purchases during a visit to the White House by his right wing ally, Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban. The sanctions were introduced in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Also: Senators fail to agree a compromise to pay essential federal workers, including air traffic controllers, during the US Government shutdown; more than 200 people have been charged with treason after protests against the disputed election in Tanzania; Nobel Prize-winning American scientist James Watson, one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA, has died aged 97; and archaeologists have compiled the most detailed map yet of the roads that criss-crossed the Roman Empire from Great Britain to North Africa. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The final political legacy of the Roman Empire in western Europe was the Holy Roman Empire. Amazingly, this curious political institution lasted until Napoleon abolished it in 1806. In the eighteenth century, the French political philosopher Voltaire famously described it as neither Holy nor Roman nor an Empire. He may have been right in his own age, but it was originally born with the dream of restoring Charlemagne's empire, itself a restoration of the once mighty Roman Empire. It was a dream that would last a thousand years.For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.comFind my latest book, Justinian's Empire, on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. For German listeners, find the German translation of the first book in my series on the 'Fall of the Roman Empire', Die römische Revolution, on Amazon.de. Finally check out my new YouTube videos on the fall of the Roman Empire.

In this episodeMichael Gibson's origin storyMeeting Peter Thiel and launching the Thiel FellowshipThe importance of AristotleIs intelligence enough?Failure of philosophy is present in Plato's work...not Aristotle'sAlexander the Great's major influenceInspiration from the immortalsWhy victory is better than happinessFriends as a second self Gigasoul

Pastor Ray Bentley says persecution doesn't dampen the growth of the church. Smyrna and the persecution it experienced set the stage for the next 200 years. The church was oppressed and persecuted by the Roman Empire. Ironically, today they say there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 billion. Whether it be followers of this man, Jesus. Smyrna had the fragrance of Christ

PREVIEW. The Monarchy's Trouble with Spares. Gregory Copley discusses the monarchy's inherent troubles with "spares," specifically second sons like Prince Andrew and Prince Harry. Historically, this issue was sometimes settled violently, referencing the Roman Empire. Today, these spares, lacking training beyond a backup role, can become petulant, losing their ability to discern duty, unlike those further down the chain, such as Princess Anne. JAMES I

Britt has tried to unpack her ‘Roman Empire’ this week that has to do with her husband’s huge tattoo that is actually somewhat related to the Roman Empire.Have you ever seen a monument or a wonder of the world on a walk of shame? We know this is a niche call out but it will likely make more sense if you’re reading it after listening to us speak about it in today’s episode.When it comes to TV series or films, are you a repeat watcher or do you like to keep it fresh? Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now? Have Our ‘Symbols’ Of Success Changed? There’s been a very viral and very controversial article published in Vogue that argues that for many straight women today, having a boyfriend no longer carries the same status it once did. Rather than being a milestone or achievement, partnership can feel like something to hide or soften online. We weigh in on how the trends of content have shifted and how we feel about this author’s take.We also speak about how Keeshia feels completely indifferent about marriage and some of the reasons that she has never dreamt of the ‘marriage milestone’. You can watch us on Youtube Find us on Instagram Join us on tiktok Or join the Facebook Discussion Group Hosted by Britt Hockley & Keeshia Pettit Produced by Keeshia Pettit Video Produced by Vanessa Beckford Recorded on Cammeraygal Land Tell your mum, tell your dad, tell your dog, tell your friend and share the love because WE LOVE LOVE! XxSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Episode 455 and we are just fish in a haunted barrel. Today Em brings us to their home state for the 6304 Beryl Road Haunting complete with evil tumbleweeds. Then Christine covers the murder of Shelia von Wiese-Mack which has us breaking out our police lights. And is the Grinch our new Roman Empire? …and that's why we drink! Get a free 30-day trial of our Yappy Hours on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/3L28lDw when you subscribe this month! Or subscribe on Patreon: http://patreon.com/ATWWDPodcast Grab your Paraween merch at atwwdmerch.com !___________________Go to http://quince.com/drink for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Go to http://hellofresh.com/drink10fm now to Get 10 Free Meals + a Free Item for Life! Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to http://rocketmoney.com/drink For a limited time, get 60% off your first order, plus free shipping, when you head to http://smalls.com/DRINK If you think you or someone you know might be struggling with OCD, please don't wait to get help. Go to https://learn.nocd.com/ATTWD and book a free call with their team to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices