The Shadowbolts' Adventures: The Glory and Legend of Eternal City

by Daxn

Visit to the Masoleum

In the hotel's dining room, Sunny Flare was looking down at in her cup, as she slowly dunked her croissant in her caffelatte. The lack of sleep caused by the previous night's events and the lingering shock had taken their toll on her body and mind.

"G'morning Sunny." Indigo Zap said, giving a pat on Sunny's back as she passed by -- almost sending the cup tumbling down on the table and making Sunny gasp. "How're you?"

Sunny Flare looked up at Indigo, glaring as she caught her cup. "I didn't sleep too well, to be perfectly honest."

"Oh? Why's that?" Indigo sat in front of Sunny Flare, a glass of orange juice in her hands. "Did some people start to make ruckus under the window or somethin'?"

"Uumm... they weren't exactly 'people,' at least... not anymore." Sunny Flare said somewhat flustered.

"Whadda mean?" Indigo leaned forward as she took a sip of her juice. "Do ya mean some old coots went to town in the square?"

"No..." Sunny sighed deeply, taking a large bite off her croissant. "I know, it'll sound incredible, impossible even... But you must believe me, when I say that a group of… things, started to play music under the window.”

“‘Things’? What kind of things?” Indigo Zap leaned forward.

“Uhm… I’m not sure if I believe myself on that.” Sunny Flare sighed, massaging her forehead. “It has been just that absurd and unexpected, you know.”

Indigo Zap tilted her head and squinted her eyes as she clearly tried to process what Sunny was exactly saying and trying to imply. Catching on that, Sunny flare took a deep breath, preparing herself to say it.

“Last night, Lemon Zest woke me up and told me to get to the window because she was seeing those things,” she said, massaging her forehead. “I reluctantly followed her… and I saw them. They were there, all slowly marching around the Thousands Bayonets’ Monument, playing marching music and, at the same time, reciting a… mantra, I guess? I’m not even quite sure of what happened, really.”

“Whatdda mean? Who are ‘they’?” Indigo Zap took a slap sip from her juice. “And why are so shaken about it? Were they apparitions or somethin’?”

Sunny Flare shrugged and grinned a little.

Indigo Zap spit-took the of juice all over the dining room's stone floor.

"What?! Are you serious?”

Sunny Flare nodded and, in turn, Indigo stared silently, eyes wide open and a frown.

“Are you completely, two-hundred-percent honest? Or are ya pullin’ my leg?”

“Why would I do that?” Sunny groaned, massaging her forehead as she nibbled on her piece of pastry. “I don’t exactly expect you to do anything about it. Well, actually, I kinda do...”

“What’cha need?”

Sunny Flare raised her head and pulled the scribbled on a sticky note she had fished out of her skirt’s pocket.

“They all were chanting a… mantra, I guess?,” she said while unfolding the note. “I tried to write it down it as best as I could.”

Indigo Zap unsurely took the note and placed it in front of her eyes, scanning it rapidly.

“What is this?” Indigo put the note down. “I can’t read it!”

“They probably lived here, of course they’re going to use the local language.” Sunny sighed and set her hands in her hair.

“Well, considered they’re dead, they could’ve spoken in English just fine.” Indigo said somewhat offended, to which Sunny glared silently, as she went back to sip her caffellatte.

“Anyways, we could ask Sugarcoat once she gets up.” Indigo continued after finishing her glass of juice. “She’s got one of dem pocket dictionaries.”

Sunny Flare nodded, before proceeding to down her caffellatte in one go to then get up and go fetch some more at the breakfast buffet close by. However, noticing the rather long of people reaching for the jugs of it, she sighed and turned around.

“Oh well. I’m going back to our room to put the armband on,” Sunny put down her cup. “See you soon Indigo.”

“See you.” Indigo said.

---

Around a hour later, Sunny Flare was sitting on the bus’ seats, placing her note on Sugarcoat’s knees.

“This is the note I was talking about earlier,” Sunny said. “I am quite sure you can translate it, considered that you likely know the language.”

Sugarcoat lifted up her glasses, as she took up the note and read it silently. She then extracted her pocket dictionary and started quickly browsing through it, stopping for a few brief seconds, before going back to reading.

“The first part is clear. It means ‘Danger is close, go to the august’s mausoleum and avoid our sacrifice to be in vain.’ Not sure about the second part, it seems to say ‘don’t trust your guide’ or ‘don’t trust your leader,’ depending on the context. The other words… don’t appear on this dictionary.”

Sunny Flare just stared blankly for a few good seconds, before shaking her head and sighing.

“So… we gotta go to a mausoleum… of a great person, is what this is saying?” She asked, to which Sugarcoat nodded.”But where that would be.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I know there is a mausoleum of the first emperor of this city. Perhaps we can start from there.”

“Good idea.” Sunny Flare said with a nod. “And let’s hope I didn’t waste anyone’s time with this.”

“At least it’d be something to talk about after this trip,” Indigo Zap barged in. “Like ‘remember when we started goin’ around the city, following the clues left by a gas leak?’ and have a good laugh about it.”

“Yeah, it being just mass hallucinations would make me much, much more comfortable with what I saw.” Lemon Zest commented. “But, hey, still something to tell.”

Everyone nodded, just as the bus abruptly stopped, almost sending Sunny Flare flying against the seat in front of her.

“Let us get moving everyone,” Cinch said with the microphone. “The altar is awaiting us right outside.”

---

After walking down the embankment’s streets with the shadow of ornate palaces looming over them, Sunny Flare and her classmates had finally arrived in front of the Ara Pacis, which was a rectangular low building -- its white marble walls clearly intricately ornate and its copper roof barely showing signs of greening -- placed atop a base made of dirty white marble, and with a small flight of stairs with large steps leading to the top. The only signs of modernity present were an unpainted plywood booth placed next to a mobile fence and a couple of meagre revolving small doors.

Once everyone was at the stair’s first step, Monda Candle gestured for the group to stop. Abacus Cinch for her part, compounded that with a “Stop and listen carefully to Monda!” and to which the group stopped dead in their tracks, causing most of the least reactive members to stumble forward and fall onto the ones in front of them, and Sunny Flare was unfortunate enough to be in the latter category.

“Woah!” She tried to quickly regain balance , as she felt three different sets of hands push onto her shoulders strongly, before retreating quickly, soon followed by an unanimous “Sorry!”

With a sigh, Principal Cinch gestured towards Monda for her to start with her exposition.

“I’m sure you’ve seen this one in History of Art class,” Monda said as she pointed at it. “But, just for the benefit of anyone who had their heads in the clouds back then here…”

Principal Cinch gave a death glare to Monda, which caused Sunny and a few others to snicker,

“This is perhaps one of the most famous monuments built by Emperor Ever Increaser, or, as he would’ve called himself, Semper Augustus. This is a monument built as some sort of propaganda on his efforts to bring about peace and stability to the former republic, by turning it into an empire, eliminating his rivals and essentially pacifying the border populations for the decades to come. On the northern side, there’s one big low relief about the foundation myth of Eternal City, with the legendary twins depicted with Ever Increaser own sons’ features and with a naturalist background that is considered Antiquity’s best; while, on the eastern side, there’s the procession of his entire family, and, on the western side, he is depicted while he is crowned by a crown made out of olive branches by the personification of both Peace and Victory, with the chains of the defeated people’s chains in his hands.”

Monda bowed slightly, then turned around.

“But this is only a brief introduction, let’s get moving to get a real taste of it!” She exclaimed, rapidly climbing the stairs.

Comments

[Daxn]

7572462

Well, unless he deems this fitting enough in his continuity, this is not connected.

[kul]

Intresting. I poke around your profile page for some more info around the story, and all I see is the Civ's V BNW lyrics. ahaha, Im a fan to that game as well. Anyhow, what kind of era that we are dealing with here? There's bayonets and mausoleum, so its a mixed one?

For the culture, Im getting a sense about a mediterranian-like culture?

[Daxn]

7572477

For the culture, Im getting a sense about a mediterranian-like culture?

Specifically Italian-like, as this is supposed to be Rome in EQG world, so history's pretty stratified (hence why there is a monument to the fallen in a modern war and an ancient mausoleum in the same city). Later chapters will have stronger hints about that.

[James-Plasma]

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