- — Raydan Lykel, if you decide to take the Golden Mountain Fang displayed in the gardens[1]
Aurelia, or The Gilded City, is a location in The Crown & The Flame series. East of The Five Kingdoms, it is the city-state spoken of in the Legend of Aurelia.
The Crown & The Flame
It is said to have fabled gardens, gold mines, and riches beyond imagination. The city is built from a special ore that are mined from its grounds; its weapons and soldier armor also come from the mineral. Many people do not believe it actually exists, and very few know how to find it.
Aurelia can be accessed in three known ways: visitors may either follow a hidden path laced with misdirection and traps, scale the mountainside as what Marco's scouts did to outpace Kenna's group, or travel by air as what Hex did.
Due to its immeasurable wealth, Aurelia is believed to host parties everyday, and rumor has it that every inhabitant owns a peacock. Likewise, it is also a magnet for plunderers, and Aurelia has employed mercenaries to protect it from bandits, with one of their contacts being Val Greaves.
It is also renowned for its beautiful gardens and the legendary Golden Mountain Fang, a golden glaive that can cut through virtually anything. The glaives were stored deep underground for hundreds of years until they were used for Kenna's reclamation of Stormholt.
At first, Aurelia is indifferent to the Five Kingdoms and the wars they wage, offering no aid to visitors. Its gates are closely guarded and all visitors must surrender all weapons to gain entrance. However, after the Nevrakis captured the city, Aurelia has participated in its savior Kenna's quest to end Nevrakis rule and, later, Ducitora's tyranny.
In a premium scene of Book 3, Chapter 13, after Zenobia's claim that Lykos has the best dancing in the world, Annelyse challenges her to a dance off via the ancient Aurelian tradition of 'the broken heel' as Fabian explains when Annelyse walks over to her, takes off one shoe, snaps off its heel, and drops it in her lap. The person challenged cannot pass on the challenge: "Once the broken heel is thrown, your family's honor is at stake. If you don't dance... blood must be spilled." Both parties declare a second who will be their respective dance partner. House Nevrakis concedes after the second round.
Gallery
Trivia
- Aurelia bears a strong resemblance to Thai and Khmer architecture, especially the Grand Palace in Bangkok and the Royal Palace in Phnom-Penh.
- In Bloodbound, Book 1, Chapter 9, Lily Spencer references Aurelia in an expletive (Holy Aurelia!) and Marcel Lafayette's gardens bear somewhat resemblance to the Gardens in Aurelia.
- Aurelia's name may come from gold's Latin name, which is Aurum, meaning "shiny" or "radiant". Also, Aurum (Au) is the chemical symbol for gold in the periodic table.
- Other inspiration for the name could be the roman gens Aurelia, which comes from the Latin adjective aureus, meaning "golden".
- Aurelia is also the name of a real city in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States.[2] In addition to the following places:
Memorable Quotes
- "Well, yeah, actually. But the important thing is that they have money. Lots of money."
- —Severin Cale, if you ask him if it is true that everyone owns a peacock[5]
- "Aurelia is supposed to be a place of perpetual merriment."
- —Marco Nevrakis, after Kenna spoke to Annelyse about her betrayal by him[6]
- "I have a message for you and those you protect... Your city is a travesty of wasted abundance. Surrender your wealth to me or face ultimate destruction!"
- —Hex, stating her demands to the Aurelian guards upon arriving at the city[7]