Extra Credit 5

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EXTRA CREDIT 5
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Dinner with Attila the Hun
This was bound to be one of the most important, if not the greatest dinners of any Roman official, in its history. It had taken me and my convoy a total of thirteen days to arrive finally in the chiefdom of Attila the Hun, a man who had made a name for himself and his people for his savagery in his relentless pursuit of treasures around Europe. He has already sacked Ravenna, Milan, and Padua, and it was just a matter of time before he came to our beloved city of Rome (Strandskogen & Berit, 23). The Huns certainly seemed even more bloodthirsty and battle-hungry with each victory. Europe had become to them, the ‘land of milk and honey.' As I sat there, I wondered, where did these Huns come from? They seemed to have appeared in Europe at once, like an army of locusts.
From the many stories I had heard of him and his people, Attila was extremely short tempered and ready for a duel. He knew how to strike fear into the hearts of the people by his cruelty. Their horses were always ready for war, and the Huns it seemed, were born on those saddles due to their prowess while on them. It was said that they spent their free time training using their famous reflex bows, which had won them many battles around Europe. Each time I thought of these things, I tried figuring out what he could do to my beloved Rome. There was no way, no other way. He had claimed that he wanted Valentinian's daughter, the princess full of splendor and the fairest of them all (Strandskogen & Berit, 24).
The negotiation room which also acted as the dinner room was warmer than I expected. It was a temporary structure since the Huns were naturally nomadic. The long table could serve at least ten officials, five from each side, while the chairs were made of animal skin. There was some weird stench from the mixture of sweat, animal skin, blood and dried meat but I had to play comfortable so as not to betray my reactions and send my entourage to the gallows (Strandskogen & Berit, 24).The food was not pleasant, but I had to partake, we had to.
The Huns were scary by every standard. Their heads were oval in shape, and their language, which was more like grumbling, seemed war-like. They appeared to be alert to anything that happened around their king. Attila himself, a short man with a broad chest, big eyes, and huge head, seemed to be a lover of wine. Here, before I was the man the...