Sergius’s Architectural Plans

Erich Sundermann in Austria, in a strange winter dream, was given this snippet of information by the Red Giraffe.  The reason for this was that a plan had been found within Janie’s lamp (More commonly known as Aladdin’s Lamp), and the owner of Gerald’s guitar shop, realizing the value of such an item, and the harm, should the plan would fall into in the wrong hands, had cut up the plan (now nearly 2000 years old), in order to keep it from the hands of The Others.  

As an aside,  the architect, better known as  Caius Sergius Orata (fl. c. 95 BC) was also a famed merchant (that information is also important as the pearls relating to his oyster breeding still form the ball bearings for the mechanics of

The Bridges Between. 

(It wasn't until the late eighteenth century that the basic design for bearings was developed - in 1794, Welsh ironmaster Philip Vaughan patented a design for ball bearings to support the axle of a carriage, but in truth, Sergius had discovered this through his connection to the Bhubezi Women).

 Orata became rich due to his inventions; he was distinguished for his love for luxury and refinement, and titled The Orata.  The reason for this was that the orata were a kind of fish so called for its golden color (aurata, "golden," also spelled orata). ... because he wore two big rings of gold.  BUT more about those rings later.

Aside from being well known to his contemporaries for the breeding and commercialization of oysters (we’re talking BC here!)  he was also a noted innovator of the hypocaust underfloor heating.  Although this became a commercial venture for him, it was to disguise his part in building the heating systems which would protect the Women from the Freeze of Between.  Should you receive a piece PLEASE take care of your portion of the map. No doubt The Red Giraffe will be knocking at your door soon.  He and The Traveller need to gather all the pieces to reform the plan in order to mend The Bridges Between.

The Great Fading.

As you may know by now, Cuilans vessel has been the subject of an on-going enquiry, still without conclusion.  Remember - In the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), craftsmen began to intentionally make porcelain with red under glaze in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, known as the capital of ceramics (called Jihong porcelain). 

Ji - sacrifice/Hong - red.

The vessel has been residing in the museum dedicated to Empress Zhangsun - if you visit the country, you wont be able to find it unfortunately - its been sealed off by the government who have been tipped on its value to The Bhubezi Women. 

The result is that with Magenta and Sienna calling from Between, it is fading from that space to reform with them.  It doesn’t matter how much protection The Others can muster, such objects have a way of asserting their asserting their intrinsic life to DO what they were made to do.

Ask Cuilan - she was part of a chain that made all this possible.

Empress Zhangsun's Funery Urn

RECAP:

Kangxi had been entrusted with the funerary urn by his grandfather, who in turn had had the urn passed down from his grandfather.  After the death of Kangxi  the Urn was lost -  to those who cannot see.  It contains the ashes of Empress Zhangsun, one of Those Who Hold Up the World.   In 1975 it was discovered at a kiln site in Jiangxi, next to a tomb dated 1319.  Magenta had managed to snatch it before it could be destroyed by a
thermoluminescence test.

It has been the recent task of The Traveller to dream the urn to Between.  Sergio the Master Builder has been sent by Erich Sundermann to the Shores of Querilty, but all she can repeat is:

hold it

hold it steady

before purple cloud enfolding

and the credits start.

we’re back

to where we began

see those clouds,

perhaps we should

hold each other tight

we need all the speed we can get

in electric storms

and rising tides

something is moving down there

I don’t like it.