Muirna stumbled through the moor, her mare on the reins. She knew each of the sharp blades of grass that grew on the moor from early childhood. In the early spring, after the snow had melted, the water in the moor was so high that only a little grass peeked above the water level, but now in summer the water was barely visible under the tussocks. The places where one could set one's foot and get a secure foothold were nevertheless quite easy to recognise: The round tufts of grass grew like a hemisphere. In the middle, safe footing was certain. It was not possible to misstep here or sink into the bog, no, this high bog held a completely different danger. As round as the tufts grew, as round as a perfect hemisphere was the vegetation as far as the eye could see. No tree or bush gave orientation. One could only get lost here; unless the stars and the sun guided the way. However, fog always hung over the moor, deep clouds that only bathed the view of the sky in uniform grey. Not even shades could be discerned. A light drizzle reflected the sadness in her heart. Where was Ambiorix? Muirna's agreement with the young victor against Caesar's legions was to meet him at a place here on the moors. As she had foreseen, the fortunes of war had deserted him. That didn't change the fact that he had fought for her. For her and her faith. The Romans despised women. Their world of gods saw women only as beautiful, scheming and obstructive staffage. What a difference from how Muirna saw the world: the goddess preserved the world. She was all that was needed to live in her eyes. Air to breathe, love, passion, the endless chain of life. Men could protect and destroy it. But the links of the chain could only be women. She had to admit to herself: For her, men were only staffage, a proud, pompous one at that, which could sometimes be dangerous. Nevertheless, she was grateful to Ambiorix. He had kept her faith that the goddess could also love and not only demanded priestess duty from her. Making plans with him against the Romans had given her almost thievish joy. Until Ambiorix had to turn his attention to the other Celtic chieftains and she had to begin preparations for her escape. They had not seen each other for almost two years. Now their destination, their oasis in the mist, had to deliver what she had promised him. Even if he didn't come back. Slowly, the vegetation changed on their way. Birches and hazel bushes appeared sporadically. She knew she would soon be standing on a cliff overlooking a fertile valley. And on the opposite side stood the first stone tower they had ever dared to build. She had consulted many druids and seers about it. Finally, the Galatians were able to help her. The nice effect was that she learned to write. It was crazy that the druids forbade this. She had agreed with the Galatians that only writing really preserved knowledge. Surely this had nothing to do with the Romans! She had taken the plans for the stone tower and built the "Allo" together with the other women and children of the Eburones. They had gathered the slate stones and piled them up. From there they had a view over the entire valley. No Roman would set foot in it! Moreover, the moor protected them almost from all sides. Only to the south lay the mountains of Arduinna. This was where the goddess lived. She would protect them. She shaded her eyes with her hand as she looked down into the valley, which was free of mist. How beautifully peaceful the hustle and bustle there looked. The Rur flowed a little more sluggishly now in early summer than it normally did. In winter it was raging and cold. Little Ammanti jumped towards her. Ammanti had to look at her from the viewing platform opposite the Allo have spotted. They had only built a wooden house there. But the platform on the mountain of joy - that's what they had called the rocky peak - was obviously used at least by the children. From the rocky peak they had seen the valley for the first time and had known that it was the solution: the solution how to avoid the all-dominating Romans for centuries. And to preserve the world for the Eburonian people without abandoning their faith and culture and condemning the female half of their people to a life of shame and disgrace as Roman slaves under Roman law. "Mountain of joy", indeed it was. Eburonian women had always been special. The goddess Arduinna had given them more importance than women among all other Celtic peoples, let alone the Roman ones. This was perhaps because big game hunting was not possible here. There were only small game or deer and roe deer. The whole thing was not particularly strenuous. And one had to fight for survival, for the joy of life, but certainly not for the land of Arduinna. Nobody wanted it anyway. At least no one who didn't know it, like they did.

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