Chrichtildna and the Aurochs By John Barker, IV   Copyright 2005 by John Barker, IV All rights reserved   A look at one of the early adventures of the mighty young amazon we will come to know as Pulcherima later   Read another Pulcherima adventure here.     "There are better flowers over here!  Hurry Chrichtildna, it's getting late!"   A tall raven-haired woman dressed in animal skins smiled at the girlish enthusiasm of her young cousin, and rose good-naturedly to follow her to the newly discovered flower patch in a meadow.  They were gathering flowers that they would weave into garlands for the Day of Spring on the morrow.  All the tribe would celebrate the final victory of the sun over winter with dancing, feasting, and sacrifices to the gods.  But first, there would be the garlanding with flowers of the Maying Poles, and the dancing around them.    "If they hewed down every tree in the forest as a Maying Pole, we already have enough flowers to bedeck them all, and then some, Brachtnada."    Chrichtildna remembered that she herself had been as enthusiastic for the Maying not so long ago.  But there were other things on her mind now, so the Maying had paled somewhat in her interests this year.  She only protested mildly, then helped Brachtnada gather dozens more blossoms.    After twenty minutes' work, with the sun sinking in the west, Chrichtildna hefted the not-insubstantial basket of gathered blooms onto her broad shoulders.   "Brachtnada!  It is time.  We must return and weave our garlands.  Otherwise we will look very stupid if we have a thousand blossoms, and not a single garland! "   The setting sun glistened orange and silver on the surface of the river that later generations would call the Elbe.   Crickets began their night song, and the birds were chirping good-night to their kin.  Darkness was slowly gathering on this spring night, and the twilight grew grayer as they walked along the path the two miles back to the village.  A breeze that must have originated in Siberia began to help both to appreciate the skins they wore, though the late April sun of late afternoon had almost made them regret them.   Their tribe had moved into this Elbe Valley some twenty years ago, just before Chrichtildna had been born, and had settled to a life of abundant hunting and some limited farming.  They were semi-nomadic, moving every few decades when their primitive farming methods left the soil exhausted and unproductive, and their hunting had wiped out the nearby prey and become too difficult.       The tribe's next move would be difficult.  Not far to their west was the guarded border of the Roman Empire.  Already, traders sometimes found the tribe, and had begun to spread "civilization" among them.  There were other nomadic peoples putting pressure on the tribe's eastern boundaries.  The hunting was still sufficient, as were the yields of crops.  But in another ten to fifteen years, another move would be necessary, though only Thorkk knew where they might go.    This year's Maying propitiations were to have special significance, and were to be grander than usual.  The priests would sacrifice five volunteer sin-bearers, as well as ten criminals, and scores of sheep, goats, and cattle.  The day would start with flowers, and the night would be crowned by a torrent of blood offerings.    Chrichtildna, now 19, was approaching her mating.  In fact, her betrothal and first coupling with her mate would take place on the morrow, as part of the festivities.  She was the only daughter of the high chief, and had no brothers.  Her noble lineage showed in her person.  She stood just under 6'3" tall, erect, and perfectly formed, with quick, agile reflexes.  She was an improved version of both her father and her mother, who had been the greatest beauty in the history of the tribe, until Chrichtildna's beauty had blossomed.  She was both intelligent and shrewd, and could handle weapons as well as her father could.  She had already proven herself as a hunter.    She was confident, a trait she picked up from both her parents.  And why shouldn't she be?  She had never met her match in any endeavor.  As the daughter of the high chief, the man she mated with would be his successor.  The children she would bear and who would suckle at her copious breasts, would also be leaders of the tribe.    The amazing thing about Chrichtildna was not her intelligence, her confidence, her beauty (though that was breathtaking enough), or her skills at every aspect of tribal life.  It was her size and strength.  She was taller than all the other women of the tribe, and most of the men, as well.  Her limbs were powerful, so that her strength stood out even in a tribe where muscular male physiques were common.  Her bulging biceps played and rolled beneath the skins she wore, and when she flexed them to silence the boasting of foolish men, they measured 181/2 inches.    There had been incidents, of course, as she came of age.  Three years ago, teased by young men of no status in the tribe, instead of ignoring them with hauteur as a princess ought, she had beaten them, breaking several arms and legs and fracturing one skull rather easily.    Not even a year ago, during a period when the hunting had not been plentiful at all, she had been walking unarmed near the village in the forest.  She then came across a large elk.  She had silently stalked it, then suddenly had sprung from cover, tackled it, and, after a brief struggle, broken its neck with her bare hands.   All the men of the tribe boasted that they could have done as much, but the truth is that none could have.    Her strength, through constant exercise, good diet, and superior genes, seemed to grow steadily.  It showed not just in her giant biceps and thick forearms, but also in hugely powerful thighs and shapely yet powerful calves, as well as rock-solid abdominal muscles, and a back that rippled with power as she used arms or legs for any hard task.   Her muscles, however, were not out of proportion to her great height and solid frame.  She supported them very appealingly.  Her hips remained wide, and her breasts large and full, as if she could bear and nurse an army of babies without effort.  Her long legs, though hard as mature oaks, were very shapely, and she moved with the grace of a forest goddess.  Her hard but very shapely buttocks swayed hypnotically when she wanted them to.  Her long, wavy black hair cascaded almost to the small of her back, and often threatened to hide her piercing blue eyes.  Her nose could be described as pert, and her high cheeks kept their natural blush, while her lips were rich, full and ruby-red in a tribe that had no idea of cosmetics.    Chrichtildna was a happy young woman, one certain of an exciting and fulfilling life ahead of her.  Her life had little drudgery, though certainly far more than that of a Roman noblewoman, from what she had heard.  She was content with her family, with the ritual life of the her tribe, and with spending this time on the day before her betrothal in the company of a favorite young cousin.    Brachtnada also enjoyed this attention from an elder.  She basked in the interchanges with her almost-giant cousin, and felt happy and secure in her company.  She skipped and capered as they made their way back to the village, with questions and fragments of songs on her lips from time to time.    Chrichtildna's thoughts inevitably drifted ahead to her betrothal to Vercotromnix.  The lad was three years older than she was, and had been a close friend since childhood.  He was handsome, taller than Chrichtildna, though not as strong, but was a respected hunter and warrior.  He was the scion of a noble family, one possessing almost as many slaves and retainers as Chrichtildna's.  To make matters even more pleasant, her parents were on very friendly terms with Vercotromnix's, and his parents were both pleased with the match and with Chrichtildna, who had been close to them since birth.  Though they relished each other's company, they had not coupled yet (as that would be contrary to custom before the betrothal, and an insult to their parents), but Chrichtildna was looking forward to the consummation of their passion and the beginning of the formal period of betrothal avidly.  Her face had a dreamy quality to it now, that added to her beauty, and she licked her lips with scarcely hidden desire.    As they ambled along the trail, Brachtnada prattling precociously, Chrichtildna dreaming of Vercotromnix's arms about her, the sun sank into the west, and the twilight gathered about them.  The crickets' night song had taken on a steady rhythm, and the birds were beginning to subside in their nocturnal greetings.   Then suddenly, the hair on the back of Chrichtildna's neck began to rise.  The cricket song stopped, as did the birds.  This was an uneasy and disquieting silence.  Something was wrong.  Brachtnada caught the sudden silence and quieted down as well.  Chrichtildna was wary, and on full alert.  Then, after a turn in the path, she saw why things had suddenly gone silent.   There, twenty yards ahead, facing them, and angrily eying them, stood an enormous wild ox or aurochs.  The beast stood over five and half feet at the shoulders, and possessed impressively sharp horns.  It must have weighed at least nine hundred pounds.  It rippled with huge strength, and registered anger at the intrusion of these two human females.  A contemptuous snort, and a pawing of the ground indicated that it was in no mood to yield the path to man.   Chrichtildna grabbed Brachtnada's hand, and swiftly thrust her behind her.  They were too far from the village for a shout for help to be effective.    "Stay behind me!"   The child was too frightened to respond, but began to weep.   "Stay calm.  Just stay behind me and I will protect you."   Chrichtildna thought about lifting the child and running at full tilt off the path into the brush.  But there was no telling how fast the aurochs might be.  She did not know if she could outrun it.  She had seen angry aurochs outrun fully grown men in their prime.  And she did not like the prospect of being run down and gored by those awful horns while running away.  If she was going to be killed, she preferred to face the beast killing her and have a chance to do something to it.    Chrichtildna crouched in a combat stance, with her arms out before her at the ready.  She stared the aurochs in the eyes.  Her heart was pounding, and her breath came fast.  She realized that what she was feeling was not all fear, though that was present, too.   "Stay away from us, beast, or I will kill you!"   She was not at all sure whether she could do that, because this was a very large, strong ox, young, and without apparent injury.  But it could not hurt to put up a confident front.  Brachtnada's tears seemed to abate.  At least the child believed her, even if the aurochs, which had not ceased roaring and pawing the ground and roaring challenges, did not.   The aurochs was clearly preparing to charge them.  Chrichtildna did not dare let the creature gather the momentum of a twenty-yard charge.  Such force would plough both Chrichtildna and Brachtnada under the soil.   "Brachtnada, run for the village and bring help as soon as I move, understand?"   "Y-ye-yes, Chrichtildna.  What are you going to do?"   "Don't worry about me.  I'm a proven warrior and hunter, remember?  We'll both move on the count of three, OK?"   "One."   "I'm scared!"   "Be brave.  I'll deal with this over-grown roast beef.  You just get yourself to the village and get help, OK?"   "OK."   "Two."   "THREE!!!  GO!!!!"   Chrichtildna dashed forward, closing on the aurochs at her top speed.  At the same time, Brachtnada dashed into the woods to Chrichtildna's right.   Chrichtildna's attack surprised the aurochs.  Man had always run from him before.  Nevertheless, he recovered himself quickly enough to lower his horns and run forward a few yards before the black-haired amazon and he collided.  He felt his horns grasped, one in each of the large woman's strong hands.   The impact did not throw Chrichtildna back as she expected.  At first, the aurochs gave way a few inches.  But then it steadied, and began to drive the tall woman back steadily.  Chrichtildna planted and tried to brace her feet, but the enormous strength of the aurochs steadily pushed her back, her feet ploughing up two furrows in the path.    Four feet, eight feet, twelve feet, twenty feet, the aurochs drove back the German amazon. The aurochs, seeing a tree directly in front of him at the turn of the path, planned to impale the woman against the tree.    Then Chrichtildna's feet caught on a large stone under the path's surface, and the power of the aurochs bent her legs almost to the breaking point.  But her legs did not break.  The strain was enormous as the aurochs pushed against her.  Her knees were bent, and she could feel the hot fetid breath of the beast on her torso.   It was a tremendous test of strength, and the strength that was contending here was extraordinary.  Finally, the aurochs, failing to push Chrichtildna any further, and surprised at the power of the woman, was even more surprised to find the large woman pushing back against it, and slowly, slowly, straightening her legs against all the pressure he was exerting.    Chrichtildna was indeed straightening her legs out, a fraction of an inch, by a fraction of an inch.  The resistance of the aurochs was as nothing Chrichtildna had ever encountered before.  But with both feet braced against the stone, and with her back bending to take the strain, she was indeed straightening her legs out.    The aurochs, seeing its initial plans frustrated, now began to jab at the woman with his horns.  If he could not force her back to the tree to gore her there, he would try to gore her right here by jabbing at her.   Chrichtildna felt the jabs before they were made.  It was more than intuition.  The aurochs, confident of its strength, was telegraphing its moves by the way it moved its body.  With a horn in each of her mighty hands, she began both to try to control the jabs, and to dodge and weave as best she could without losing her footing in the battle for turf.   The aurochs jabbed with his right horn, and Chrichtildna half-blunted the jab with her grip on the horn, and half wriggled out of the way.  The aurochs tried to jab again with the right horn,  and she did the same thing.  It next tried to jab with the left horn, but that one was held in the barbarian woman's dominant right hand, and the grip of that steely hand almost entirely contained the aurochs' jab.    Both efforts, resisting the jabs and pushing against the aurochs for turf, were costing Chrichtildna enormous amounts of energy.  Sweat was pouring off of her, coating almost every inch of her incredible body. Every impressive muscle, and almost every vein, stood out as if she had been chiseled from stone.  Her whole body trembled slightly. She bore other signs of strain, in her gritted teeth and reddened skin, and uneven breath.   But the aurochs also showed evident signs of strain.  Its breath was uneven.  It was trembling with the effort as well.   Another jab with the right horn, and this time, Chrichtildna was almost able to contain it with just her hand.  Then came another, and Chrichtildna mastered it completely.  The aurochs tried to jab with the left horn, but Chrichtildna not only prevented it but began to push the left horn up.   The aurochs now tried several frantic jabs with its right horn, but the Germanic amazon contained all of the efforts through her grip on the horns.  Once, at the peak of its efforts, one horn not only touched, but slightly pricked the skin of her torso, but she rallied her might and pushed the horns back some inches.    Now it was a test of strength.  Amazingly, Chrichtildna was holding her own against the giant beast.  But she knew that she had to do more than just keep the creature's horns from piercing her flesh to stay alive.  She had to devise a way to slay this beast.  A simple plan began to form in her mind.   The strain on her body was tremendous.  Even her magnificent physique could not sustain this struggle forever.  Her whole flesh was wet with sweat, as if she had been in a downpour.  A trickle of blood issued from her superficial wound.  Her face, torso, arms and legs were flushed with the effort.  She continued to tremble, as did the aurochs.    She concentrated all the strength she could muster that she did not need to keep its horns at bay and to keep her balance, in her right hand, grasping the left horn.  Barbarian amazon and aurochs seemed, to any observer who might have seen them, like a carved statue, as there had been no outward movement by either in some time now.  But immense strength was clashing here.  Chrichtildna wanted to add movement to the picture.  She needed to twist the left horn up (and the right down).   At first there was no progress, just more and more strain on the two combatants.  Chrichtildna's whole body trembled with the effort, but the muscles of the aurochs' neck remained steady, holding the horns in place.   If she could just push this less dominant left horn up with her powerful right hand...   Chrichtildna poured more and more power into the effort.  The muscles of her back, shoulders, and arms rippled as wave after wave of tremendous strength coursed through them to her mighty hands.  She was afraid she would lose her grip on the horns, she was sweating so much.   Chrichtildna exerted another titanic effort against the horn.  Then another.  Then another.    Finally, there was the smallest indication of a giving way.  Chrichtildna felt the horn turn a fraction of an inch.  But the aurochs made a giant effort, and reversed the gain.  The aurochs was rallying, and Chrichtildna only hoped that the aurochs did not find the strength to resume jabbing, as she doubted she could resist.   The sweat-covered amazon tried again.   "You or me, beast.  You or me!"  She couldd not even spare the breath to taunt, so the thought would have to be enough.    The aurochs' breath came hoarse and ragged.  Its trembling had increased.    "You or me!"   Chrichtildna tried yet again, and yet more waves of power flowed and rippled through the muscles of back, shoulder, and arms.  Both arms were now equally engaged, the right trying to raise the left horn, while the left tried to lower the right.   Movement again, a slight turning, though just a fraction of an inch.   "You or me, beast!"   Another almost-superhuman effort, and the horns turned slightly, twisting the auroch's neck ever so slightly.   "You or me!"   More power coursed through the sinewy arms of the German barbarian woman, and the horns of the aurochs turned again ever so slightly.   The aurochs made an enormous effort, but this time failed to reverse the gains that Chrichtildna had made.  He gained no relief at all.   The breath of the aurochs was very ragged now.  It felt cold now on Chrichtildna's chest.  Its tongue protruded from its mouth.   But Chrichtildna's breath was hardly even, either.  All her flesh was almost purple now with the exertion.  Muscles and veins of enormous proportions looked as if they would burst from her skin.  Her teeth were clenched and bared, and the grunts issuing from behind them could scarcely be distinguished from those of the aurochs.    Aside from the contest of strength playing out in the pathway, there was total silence.  Brachtnada, who had only run about 20 yards into the woods, then stopped to watch the battle in absolute fascination, was scarcely breathing.  She had never been so still and so intent in her young life.  Her thoughts, and prayers, too, willed the progress of the mighty hands of her cousin.    Chrichtildna made another gigantic effort, and the horns of the aurochs turned, seemingly more easily.    "Its weakening!!!  You or me!!!"   Encouraged now with the progress, she poured on the power as she had never before in her life.  She made a huge, continuous, sustained effort.  The aurochs resisted with all it had left.  Despite its best efforts, its horns were now turning slowly, ever so slowly, but inexorably in the mighty hands of the German woman.  It let out a roar, which started out fierce and sharp, but faded and grew duller, finally petering out.  Its breath was more ragged and uneven still.    More strength surged through Chrichtildna's arms to her hands, slowly overwhelming the resistance of the muscles of the aurochs' neck.  More and more, the horns turned in the iron hands of the black-haired German woman.    Now she had turned the horns as far up and down as they could naturally turn.  Its head could not turn further without its neck breaking.    Chrichtildna gathered her strength for a final effort.  Then, might such as she had never known she possessed flowed, coursed and surged through her rippling muscles.  At first, the rresistance of the aurochs was firm, and seemingly unbreakable.  But the young amazon was determined to end its life and poured on the power, strengthened by new confidence.    "You or me!"  For the first time, out loud.   Her efforts continued a good twenty seconds before she felt the horns move again in her hands.   "CCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAACCCCCCKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"   The aurochs slumped to the ground, and Chrichtildna, holding onto the horns, slumped with it.  She twisted its now-unresisting neck as far as the flesh would bear, then, with all her might, she pushed straight back.   "You or me!!!!" she yelled.    ""CCCCRRRRUUUUNNNNNCCCCHHHH!!!!!!!!"   More bones broke with a gristly snapping crunch.   She held the head back it this impossible angle.  She held it for ten seconds, then released the horns.  The glimmer of life dimmed and faded away in the eyes of the aurochs.  As she let go of the horns, sfell over the huge, lifeless body.  For the first time, she understood that she had overcome and killed the great beast.  There were tears in her eyes.  Her trembling, instead of subsiding increased, so that she was visibly shaking.  Her tears turned to sobs.  She felt cold, suddenly.  She was drained both physically and emotionally.   Suddenly, after a second or two, the silence was burst, as Brachtnada dashed forward.   "Chrichtildna!  Chrichtildna!"   The child threw her arms lovingly around her heroic cousin.   "You've killed him with your bare hands, Chrichtildna!  Thorkk knows what strength you must have!  Why are you crying?"   "It isn't everyday you go out to pick flowers for your betrothal, and end up in a life-or-death battle with an aurochs."  It was the best she could manage.    "You must be the strongest woman in the whole world, Chrichtildna!"   "Well, the strongest in this pathway, anyway."  She smiled at the child's simple, honest admiration.    The aurochs was butchered that night, after the men of the tribe tired of trying to find any wound in the body of the beast other than the clearly broken neck.  Its meat was the principal dish at the Maying feast, which was also the betrothal feast for Chrichtildna and Vercotromnix.   In their tribe, betrothal was essentially the beginning of married life.    The betrothed would live together as man and wife.  The arrangement became unbreakable and permanent with the woman's first pregnancy.    Alone for the first time in what would be her home, Chrichtildna waited in the bedchamber, naked under the blanket, while Vercotromnix saw off the last of the well-wishers.    When he entered the chamber, she threw off the blankets, and stood before him for the first time in all her glory.   Vercotromnix was speechless for a few moments.  Then a smile came to his face and both love and desire supplemented the awe he felt.   "My love, I have never imagined such beauty as you possess.  Or such strength.  I think there has never been one as lovely as you in this tribe, perhaps in the world.  I am the luckiest man of all tonight and from now on.  I shall try to be a good husband to you, dear Chrichtildna."   "I am the luckiest of women, too, so we are well-matched, my life-long friend and my dearest love.  Just use me gently tonight, dearest, as I am still sore from last night's work."   "I shall be as gentle as my surging passion allows."   Chrichtildna smiled, then turned serious.  She had one more ritual that she must fulfill before the love play could begin.   "I have never lain with any other man, by my word and troth.  But the skin of my maidenhead was broken two years ago in exertion, training for the hunt."   "As befits a great warrior and hunter."   They embraced and kissed long and ardently.    "You are a little overdressed for the occasion my love, let me help you."   As she stepped back to come to grips with his garments, Vercotromnix. exclaimed, "Chrichtildna, you have the most spectacular woman's body ever created!  More beautiful than any other, more powerful than any other!  I am in awe!"   "What you call my beauty is all natural.  But what you call strength, I've worked at long and hard, as you well know, though my parents had something to do with it, too."   "I am in awe of what you have done, what you can do."   She stepped back a bit more, so that he could get a look at her whole body, and slowly flexed both arms.  She also thrust out both her large breasts as far as she could, and then moved her hips, and showed her legs to advantage.   "Would it please you, dear husband,  if I myself recounted for you how I slew the beast last night with just my bare hands."   "Darling wife," he gulped, "It would please me very well, just be not long in the telling, as my desire is urgent."   "Well, if the need is so great, then the story will wait an hour or two."