SMST: The Mythic Age! – BY DS Wynne
Disclaimer: None of the principal characters and concepts belongs to ME.
Note: This is a multi-genre story.
Part 7: "The Age of Iron" (Beta)
It is said that when empires "fall", such an occurrence can come about by way of fire, or by way of darkness, such as when the Mayan's great civilization had simply collapsed for no rhyme or reason. Other times, an empire can fall through conflict, as other more ruthless "competitors" emerge victorious decisively, such as when the Greeks destroyed the Trojans with the use of guile. And then there was the civilization of the Romans, which died over a long period of time, thanks to the likes of Caligula and Nero. Their excesses allowed the empire to be destroyed from without and within. And yet, with the rise of Christianity, the language, culture and history of those days would persevere, even to serve as "object lessons" of the dangers of excess.
However, the concerns of Ranma Saotome, Usagi Tsukino, Hoshi Sato, T'Pol of Vulcan and Makoto Kino deal with none of that, for they had a higher purpose in mind…
70 AD.
Ranma shook his head, as he stood perched over the hillside looking down into Jerusalem. The Roman general "Titus" had ordered the city to be burned to the ground, which was standard policy of the Romans whenever a "client state" openly rebelled one-too many times. And the only reason why Ranma even knew about it was because of his Antonius. Antonius was the only child between himself and his late wife Shoshana, who died during an illness when Antonius was a young child. The irony was that Shoshana could have survived the illness, but chose to risk her health in order to save others with her skills as a Healer in her community. Later, at Shoshana's request, Ranma took Antonius to live with his mother's family. Thankfully, Ranma was around when Antonius' curse became active, and had taught his son how to control the curse…
Ranma stares at the flaming city, until he sensed a familiar presence.
"You have the Ark?" Ranma says, as he turns around.
"Yes, Father," Antonius says, as he and his companions carried a large, wooden crate with long wooden poles. With the help of the priests of the Temple of Solomon, Antonius and Usagi were able to secure the Ark of the Covenant, as well as other sacred Temple artifacts, for safe keeping.
"It was not easy, Ranma," Usagi says, as she checked to make sure that the Ark was secured within its container. "Titus has given a standing order that NOTHING was to be left unscathed."
The concern was that what was developed in the ancient world would soon be lost, even as province after province within the Roman Empire began to openly rebel. Unfortunately, as Rome began its crackdown, there was a risk that priceless artifacts could go the way of the torch.
"T'Pol and Hoshi will receive you at THIS location," Ranma says, as he gives his son a scroll. "Once you give this to them, they'll know what to do next."
Ranma then gets on his high horse.
"In the mean time, I have to go to Pompeii, and rendezvous with Makoto. She's supposed to be returning from Asia Minor, after she fulfills her duties with the other 'Sisters of Hippolyta' contingent."
The so-called "Sisters of Hippolyta" were Amazons who neither followed the legendary Queen Hippolyta to "Paradise Island", nor sought vengeance like Queen Antipoe—the sister of Hippolyta—and her followers did. Essentially, they are caretakers of the site of where the first city of the Amazon nation once was: Themiscyria. Although Ranma and the others were Amazons themselves, their other obligations keep them from being more involved in Amazon affairs than they want to be.
"Very well," Usagi says, as she takes Ranma's hand and squeezes it in support. "As soon as the artifacts are secured in Alexandria, we'll meet you there as well."
"Good," Ranma says, as he begins to leave.
"Father?"
Ranma turns back to his son.
"Mother did not blame you for being away a lot," Antonius says.
Ranma simply nods his head, before galloping northward.
79 AD.
RUMBLE!
The sudden eruption of Mt. Vesuvius took even Ranma by surprise, particularly because Ranma and the gang were attending yet another party (thanks to an invitation of their friend General Lucius Cornelius Divius…the future master vampire Lucius LaCroix of the Ventrue clan). And although it was too late to save the city, at least they can keep the disaster from spreading to the rest of the peninsula.
"Are the families from the lower quarter taken care of?" Ranma says, as he used a combination of jutsus to redirect the flow of lava and ash away from the main town square.
"Makoto is taking care of it," Usagi says, as she drew heat from the lava. "I just wish that we could have done something about this. But, what I want to know is how Vesuvius erupted in the first place?"
"Hoshi told me that two Immortals fought at the Temple of Jupiter," Ranma says, as he produced enough water to 'freeze' the lava flow in place. "It's a good thing she decided to go to the theater instead of hanging out with US."
"That is…insane!" Usagi replied, as she slammed her foot on the ground, causing a fissure to open up. This allowed the excess lava to flow into the ground. "Everyone KNOWS that if a Quickening occurs on holy ground, the elements go wild."
"Well, it's too late for that…and this city," Ranma says, as he used his 'Dragon Rising Ascension' to cut a path through the tumbling ash, for them to clear out of the vicinity of the volcano's path of destruction. "We get Hoshi, Makoto, Lucius and let's get the heck out of here!"
Usagi nods her head, as she followed her best friend out of harm's way. Ever since they began this strange journey, she has depended on Ranma for her strength, whether as a close confidant or a lover.
A short time later, Ranma and Usagi arrive at Lucius central estate.
"Lucius!" Usagi called out, as the ground continued to shake. Hoshi was already safe with some of the survivors of the city, so it was now time to find their friends. "Makoto!"
"Wait," Ranma says, as he suddenly stops. The hair on the back of his neck began to prickle.
"There's something wrong happening here…"
The two enter the inner chambers of the residence to find a pre-teen girl gnawing the neck of their friend Makoto.
"Divia?" Usagi says with caution.
The blond haired girl looks up from her meal to bare her fangs, as her eyes glowed a strange greenish, orange-red hue.
"Usagi, stay back," Ranma says. "Divia, what are you doing?"
"My daughter is feeding, of course," Lucius says, as he steps out of the shadows. He, like his daughter, had the same look.
Ranma examines his friend's aura. It looked different, as if there was a shadow within his soul…
"Lucius, you have the look of those…'Bacchi'," Usagi says.
Contrary to popular belief, Bacchus and Dionysus were two related, but different Olympian gods. While Dionysus represented joyful merriment, Bacchus represents dark seduction and hedonistic violence. In fact, Nero and Caligula were Bacchus' acolytes. Worse, Bacchus can seduce women into becoming bacchi, who can infect other women into becoming bacchi. In fact, the Bacchi, succubi and other vampiric species were related in one form of another. Officially, Usagi and the others have never met vampires before…at least, not knowingly.
"No, I am of another kind," Lucius says as he goes to his daughter's side.
"Was THIS your doing, General?" Ranma asked, as he prepped his mind for action.
"No…it was my daughter's. Funny how it was a child that turned me into something much more."
Lucius guided Divia away from Makoto's unconscious form.
"Until next time, my friends," Lucius says, as he and his daughter suddenly took off into the night sky.
"We better hurry," Ranma says, as he and Usagi went over to Makoto.
"She's alive…but barely," Usagi says, after a quick check.
Ranma nods his head. He just hoped that Makoto was not going to be infected by whatever turned Lucius and his daughter into monsters.
80 AD.
"Eeeeeerrrgh!" grunts a short man with a blond mustache and wing helm, as he sets the large ore into the furnace.
KLONK!
"Thanks, Asterix," Ranma says, as he performed a fire-style jutsus.
FWOOSH!
"Boy, your people musta be as special as mine, Ranmix," the man says. "Care for some honey mead?"
"Soon as I get this ore melted, I'll take you up on yer offer," Ranma says. "I just hope that your friend is okay."
"Obelix? That friend of mine is so dense that if the entire world fell on him, it would seem like a scratch."
"I guess so."
"So, what do you need this metal for?"
"A friend in Britannia wants me to acquire raw material for a new sword," Ranma says, as he stokes the flames. "And he wants to use this sword as a symbol for something great…or some junk like that. And it's a good thing that this 'rock' fell from the skies last night."
"So…this thing you had me carry is a gift from the gods?"
"Who knows, but I know that ore this rare comes once in a life time…"
Meanwhile…In a secluded hut near the coasts of Brittany, Usagi and Hoshi were trying to attend to their sick friend.
"Poor dear," Hoshi says, as she takes a washcloth to wipe the sweat from Makoto's forehead. She then turns to Usagi.
"Are you sure you can't do anymore for Makoto?"
"My powers are…limited," Usagi says, as she fixed the special herbal tea. "I can get rid of the evil within Makoto, but there is some psychological damage that Divia inflicted on her. We'll need T'Pol's help to take care of THAT part of her illness, since there is very little use of our Bene Gesserit and my own Jedi training in this case."
"Ah, the Vulcan mind-meld," Hoshi says with a nod.
"Right. Makoto was not lucky to have the same mental discipline training that you, I, T'Pol and even Ranma had, but for sure, T'Pol is better than all of us combined."
Usagi goes over to Makoto and Hoshi with Makoto's tea.
"The only thing we can do is keep Makoto comfortable until we make it back to Britannia-"
KNOCK-KNOCK!
Hoshi and Usagi turn to look at each other, before looking at the door.
"Who is it?" Hoshi says, as she gets up to open the door.
Standing at the doorway was an old friend of Usagi's. In fact, this friend was a student of hers.
"Good morning, Lady Hoshi," says the friend. "Danu sent me to escort you and your companions to her realm with…your patient, since I wanted to inspect Lord Ranmax's work here in Brittany."
Usagi smiles upon hearing this. She was glad that Merlin Ambrosius, fellow magus, was here to help.
Tbc.
