Limes is the second short story from the 2010 collection of tales "Archanes and Other Stories" by Valerio Massimo Manfredi (writer of Spartan, The Last Legion and Alexander Trilogy). It is the only short story of the collection to be set in ancient times (Dark Age Europe, precisely) while the others are modern-day thrillers.
The story takes place in 7th century Northern Italy, two centuries later the Fall of the Western Empire (incidentally, it is two centuries later the events of The Last Legion). The Italian peninsula is almost entirely ruled by the Lombards, a Germanic tribe that has conquered much of Italy from Byzantine rule and all but lives separately by their Roman subjects. The Decoy Protagonist is Eutichio Crescenzio Severo, a patrician who boasts his lineage from the founders of the city of Augusta Taurinorum (modern-day Turin). He comes back from a trip to Rome after he receiving some bad news.
He's told that there is a Lombard warrior, Cuniperto, that has settled in the property next to his. Even worse, the Lombard is violating his property by building a sluice for water drainage from Eutichio's river into his land and taking his cows out to pasture into Eutichio's land. Eutichio goes to face him to make him respect his property's borders (the ''limes'' between Rome and the Barbarians, as he calls it), but it gets him nowhere, as he's too proud to compromise with a Barbarian. He finds the Lombard's appearance barely civilized and holds him in contempt as he can't speak Latin.
Enters the picture Serena, Eutichio's youngest daughter and the real protagonist. Once she meets by chance her Lombard neighbour, she finds out not only that he speaks Latin perfectly, but also that he claims they have met before, refusing to tell her when. It's up to Serena to find out what said connection means and to put a stop to the escalating tensions between her father and the neighbor.
The following tropes show up:
- Aerith and Bob: There are some characters name like Serena, Giovanni (Italian for John), Zoe and Antonino (Italian for Anthony) that have aged well. Cuniperto, Eutichio or Anastasio on the other side...aren't.
- Affectionate Nickname:
- Serena was called Bibi by their housekeeper Antonino when she was a child. She laments that he has stopped as soon as she grew up;
- Eno was the nickname of Cuniperto during his childhood. His Roman father couldn't pronounce his real name properly so he called him Eno (Latin for "copper") due to his red hair).
- After the End: The story is set two centuries later the Fall of the Western Empire (when incidentally the events of The Last Legion took place). Italy has been invaded more times and now is almost entirely ruled by the Lombards (save for Rome, where the Pope resides, and Ravenna along with most of Southern Italy, who have stayed in the hands of the Byzantine Emperor). The Roman patrician that have survived the Lombard invasion are less and less relevant when not treated as second-class citizens. Eutichio's son-in-law remarks that Eutichio being able to retain his lands and his fortune almost untouched is more the exception than the rule, if not a miracle.
- Born in the Wrong Century: Eutichio is a survivor of his times. His more realistic sons-in-law explain that it's a miracle that he can still live like a patrician of the Late Roman Empire while his properties have never been confiscated by the new ruling class - the Lombards, but Eutichio has never realised how privileged he is.
- Broken Pedestal: Serena can't bring herself to give the usual good-night kiss to her father, not after learning the Awful Truth about how he hurt Cuniperto (and herself, to a lesser extent).
- Child of Two Worlds: Cuniperto's father was Roman, although a peasant. Cuniperto can in fact speak Latin and was know as "Eno" during his childhood.
- Childhood Friend Romance: The ending implies tha Serena and Cuniperto will get married, after she recognise him as her childhood friend.
- Dark Age Europe: 7th century CE Italy, to be exact.
- Death by Despair: Cuniperto/Eno's mother died shortly after he left his home looking for fortune elsewhere.
- Decoy Protagonist: The story starts with Eutichio being the P.O.V. character and main hero, but after his confrontation with Cuniperto, the focus shifts to his daughter Serena's P.O.V. making her the real protagonist.
- Feuding Families: The Roman patrician Eutichio has some issues with his new neighbor, the Lombard Cuniperto, who is aggressively expanding into his lands.
- Foreshadowing:
- Serena has the feeling of have already met Cuniperto when they meet face-to-face the first time. He later confirms they have, but refuse to tell her when until she figures it out by herself;
- Antonino is subtly shocked when Serena tells him that their Lombard neighbor can speak Latin and claims to have met Serena in the past. He has figured out that's his son. Serena notices his reactions and keeps questioning him until The Reveal.
- A subtle one is when Cuniperto suggests through the interpreter a duel between him and Eutichio's son. When Eutichio replies that he has only daughters, he asks if the daugthers are married or not, so he can duel with one of their husbands. Since he already knew he doesn't have sons, it may have been a subtle way to learn what became of Serena and if she is already married.
- Eutichio laments how difficult will be finding an husband for the feisty and rebellious Serena as she will flat-out refuse to marry someone like her nerdy, cowardly brothers-in-law. He thinks she needs a real man, someone strong and brave. He has the answer to his prayers literally next-door, but is too xenophobic for the idea to dawn on him. Serena, on the other side, isn't.
- Forbidden Friendship: The Reveal shows that Serena and Cuniperto had such friendhsip when they were respectively 7 and 14. They were as close as siblings until the day Eutichio decided that this stable boy was not a companion worthy of his precious little girl.
- Foreign Ruling Class: Much like Anglo-Saxon England, Northern Italy of VII century AD is ruled by a class of lordlings of Germanic origin - the Lombards. The Roman patricians like the protagonist are struggling with their increasing irrelevance in the new order, with most of them losing lands or seeking refuge in the Eastern Empire.
- Forgotten First Meeting: Cuniperto claims to have met Serena in her childhood. And he's telling the truth. Antonino speculates that she has forgotten him due to a combination of her really young age and the trauma of losing him so abruptly, giving that at the time she spent the following weeks in utter despair.
- The other example is Eutichio himself does not recognise Cuniperto as his former stable boy, and unlike Serena he doesn't even see something familiar in him.
- How the Mighty Have Fallen: Eutichio is visiting Rome when the story begins and laments how decayed it is. The once mighty senators, those who have made and decided history, are now deprived of their meaning and doing just mundane burocracy, the ancient forum is in state of desrepair with sheep and goats grazing there.
- Insane Troll Logic:
- Cuniperto takes possesion of the water stream in Eutichio's estate by the claim that everything in the natural world is free and belongs to everyone, and if he didn't need to build a water drainage or fed his beasts he wouldn't break into his property.
- Serena by the same logic defies him by nonchalantly breaking into his land and milking his cows and walking away with their milk. When Cuniperto questions her, she argues that since his cattle are fed the grass of her property, then their milk belongs to her.
- Jock Dad, Nerd Son: In-laws example. Eutichio is very educated, but also was a skilled warrior in his youth. On the other side his sons-in-law are more scholars than warriors (100% the former and 0% the latter), a thing that doesn't really endear them to Eutichio.
- Literally Loving Thy Neighbor: Serena and Cuniperto fall in love and the ending implies they will marry.
- Meaningful Name:
- Eutichio gens name is Crescentii, which means in Latin "growing" or "who gives the growth";
- Eno is Cuniperto's nickname which means "copper";
- Serena shares the name of the Roman wife of general Stilicho, one of the last defensor of Rome who was actually a Romanised Vandal. This foreshadows her eventual marriage.
- Mr. Exposition: Giovanni, the lawman son-in-law of Eutichio, explains to Serena much of the Lombard history (their likely Scandinavian origin, the conquest of Italy and their law code written in Latin, the Edictum Rothari
) and society, which comes straight from Paul Deacon's Historia Langobardorum and modern historical analysis. - Non-Action Guy: Both of Eutichio's sons-in-law have no battle skills. This doesn't earn them much respect from their father-in-law, and also they are utterly useless when he needs someone more intimidating.
- No Doubt the Years Have Changed Me: Serena argues to Cuniperto that she can't recognise him as puberty tend to change boys far more drastically than girls.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Cuniperto pretends not to speak Latin and not knowing Roman property laws because it serves his agenda of trolling Eutichio and putting himself in a position of power since Eutichio doesn't know how to negotiate with him on his own terms. He reveals the truth only to Serena because he hoped she would recognise him.
- Old Retainer: Antonino is the elderly housekeeper and a second father to Serena. Also he is revealed to be Cuniperto's father.
- The Reveal: Antonino reveals to Serena knew Cuniperto in her childhood. He is Antonino's son with a Lombard woman and was formerly employed as a stable boy in the household under the nickname of "Eno". They used to be close as siblings, until the fateful day her father saw him innocently kissing her cheek and kicked him out without a second thought. Serena eventually forgot about him, but Cuniperto didn't and spent the following years making a name of himself until he could get even with her father.
- Sealed with a Kiss: The ending sees Serena playfully kissing Cuniperto after The Reveal, hinting that they will marry and solve the feud between him and her father.
- Subverted Trope: The story plays a bit with stereotypes associated by audience with Dark Age Europe.
- When Cuniperto suggests a duel to decide who owns the piece of land disputed. His sons-in-law comment that the idea is ridiculous and archaic. Except that they live in 7th century, a century after King Arthur and one before Charlemagne, exactly the period of history where you'd expect two men dueling to death over a chunk of land.
- Eutichio's perspective is that he represents the Last Stand of civilization and his neighbor is a savage Barbarian who doesn't even speak Latin neither knows the concept of private property. The subversion is that his neighbor does speak Latin and knows that he's violating his property. The thing is that he has a personal grudge against him and is delightfully trolling him.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: Serena ends the feud between Cuniperto and her father without violence and the same way it started - with a kiss.
- Unreliable Narrator: Eutichio's first description of Cuniperto is ugly and savage, with a long beard and red hair. When the perspective shift towards Serena, she finds that his hair is more of a reddish blonde and his appearance is more polished that she expected from her father's description.
- Wham Line: "Don't you remember about me?" said in perfect Latin by Cuniperto establish a connection between him and Serena and completely change the tone of the story.
