The Aurelian Funerary Palace

The Aurelian Funerary Palace is a funerary complex located at the heart of the Cipritine Necropolis, which houses the remains of Aurelion Aurelos, founder of the modern-day Turian Hierarchy, and several of his close relatives. The site is dominated by Aurelion's Spire, an 800ft tall heptagonal pyramid, built entirely from polished white granite. Completed a few decades before Aurelion's death, the palace and its pyramid have stood for over two millennia, with the pyramid remaining the tallest building in the Turian Empire since its construction. The structure is listed as one of the Wonders of the Pre-Council Era and is a site of cultural, historical and religious importance, protected by Council law.

## History

It took just under ten years to build the complex, with the pyramid taking up the bulk of construction time. It is estimated that the construction of the pyramid alone would have cost 12 billion credits in today's currency, though it should be noted that currency did not exist in the turian world at the time.

Although it serves as a tomb today, the palace was not originally designed as such. Instead, Aurelion ordered the construction of this colossal palace to serve both as a symbol of reunification and cenotaph to honour all those who had died in his service during the war. It was only later, mid-way through the building's construction, that the architectural plans were altered to include an actual burial chamber.

## Exterior

### **Plaza**

In the plaza outside the palace are eight monolithic stabs of polished marble, divided into two groups of four, that are arranged horizontally on either side of the grand staircase. Each monolith represents a planet; one for each of the seven original colonies and one for Palaven itself. The name of every man and woman who died in service to Aurelion during the Unification War is inscribed upon their homeworld's corresponding monolith.

Many modern-day turian families can trace their lineages back to these listed individuals, whose names were immortalised in stone almost three millennia ago. When the convention of adopting family names became common practice after Aurelion's death, the surnames of these individuals were posthumously added. Among the dead are famous historical figures like Valexus Victus, as well as former slaves like Anaea Abrudas. Each is honoured equally in death, regardless of their rank in life. On Unification Day the names of the dead are read aloud by Cipritine's high priest, in an annual ceremony of remembrance.

### **Portico**

The entrance to the palace is dominated by the grand staircase, which leads up to the portico. The portico is made entirely of polished white marble and arranged in the classical octostyle. These eight rectangular columns support an imposing triangular pediment, which is decorated with a relief sculpture of a rising sun. The entrance to the temple faces due West.

## Interior

### **Aurelion's Chamber**

Located at the heart of the complex, beneath the apex of the great pyramid, is Aurelion's burial chamber. Like the pyramid above, the chamber is heptagonal in shape - a number which is intrinsically linked to Aurelian iconography. The interior walls are carved from limestone and decorated with traditional frescos, while the supporting columns are carved from polished marble. The floor of the chamber is covered in a huge sunburst mosaic, while the ceiling above is painted with images of the original seven colonies of the Turian Empire. At the centre of the room lies Aurelion's sarcophagus, the sacred heart of the entire complex.

#### **Frescos**

The vibrant frescos which decorate the walls of Aurelion's burial chamber are some of the best-preserved examples of Aurelian-era artwork in the empire. They depict key moments and events from Aurelion's life, including his birth, coronation, marriage and death; the events of the Unification War and the peace which followed; and his ascension to divinity in the eyes of his people. Certain historical figures are represented multiple times in the frescos, which provides modern-day historians with accurate references for what these people would have looked like in life.

In total, there are seven frescos lining the walls of Aurelion's chamber:

* *Xerus:* This fresco depicts the birth of Aurelion and his youth spent on the planet Macedyn. To the left of the image, an infant Aurelion can be seen being delivered from his mother's womb to be held aloft by his father. The centre of the image depicts Aurelion's academic education as a boy, in which he surrounded by tomes on military strategy, history and philosophy. In his talons, he holds a golden kyrix - a musical instrument which Aurelion was known to have mastered from a very young age - while at his feet are several ancient star charts and a globe model of Palaven. To the right of the image, Aurelion - now an adult - sits astride an armoured shatha with mexta in-hand, his martial education complete. As in all the frescos, Aurelion is always crowned in a sunburst halo, even when painted as an infant; a visual metaphor for his perceived divinity.

* *Abrudanti:* This fresco depicts the Liberation of Tyra and the freeing of the Carthaanean slaves. At its centre, Aurelion is shown striking off the chains of Markus Abrudas, who is tearfully pledging his undying devotion to him. Directly behind Markus are two fellow slaves, whom historians believe to be Markus' parents, Barka and Anaea. In the background, the enslaved Carthaaneans are rejoicing at the sight of Aurelion's imperial forces putting down their former masters.

#### **Sarcophagus**

At the centre of the room lies Aurelion's sarcophagus, which holds the mummified remains of the man himself. It is layered in gold and precious stones. The sarcophagus' lid features a relief of Aurelion's likeness, dressed in full ceremonial armour and holding a sword and sceptre in each hand.

During the Reaper War, Aurelion's sarcophagus experienced substantial damage from falling masonry. One particularly large chunk of stonework managed to crack the sarcophagus' 20-tonne lid completely in two. Fearing greater internal damage and the potential destruction of Aurelion's body, Primarch Adrien Victus established an emergency team of veteran archaeologists and engineers to ensure the integrity of Aurelion's remains. The team was lead by Cipritine's chief archaeological officer, Salur Darikun.

Miraculously, Aurelion's remains sustained no damage from the destruction of his sarcophagus' lid. Such a miracle was heralded as divine providence. News of Aurelion's continued integrity was soon circulated throughout the empire, which proved to be a major boost in morale for its citizens. In a time of extreme hardship after the most devasting war in their history, the turians unified around their empire's deified founder; like Aurelion, they too would endure.

Darikun gave a written account of Aurelion's body which was publicised soon after reconstruction of the Cipritine Necropolis:

> *"I count myself among the most fortunate to have gazed upon his most sacred visage with my own eyes. Despite being covered in a layer of dust and mortar from the cracked sarphogus lid, he lay in such dignified repose. He had been embalmed in the finest silk strands and dressed in gleaming ceremonial armour. About his neck he wore a collar of gold, studded with imperial diamonds, and across his chest he wore a sash of Tyrian purple, fastened with a sunburst brooch at his left shoulder. His face was concealed by a death mask of such exquiste beauty; so true to life that it were as if the great man was merely reclined in relaxation before me."*
>
>

The original lid of the sarcophagus was successfully repaired using a mortar mix containing silica-rich volcanic sand and high-density mass effect fields. It was promptly returned to the tomb, which was then resealed. As Aurelion's tomb had been sealed since the time of his burial, great care was taken to painstakingly document the contents of his sarcophagus. The written accounts of the archaeologists go into great detail, to compensate for the cultural taboo against photographing/filming the dead. Darikun drew sketches of several grave goods in his field journal, including Aurelion's kyrix, mexta and death mask. His sketches were then used with permission by the University of Cipritine to create highly detailed replicas. These replicas are now housed in the Aurelian Wing of Cipritine's Imperial Museum.

Aurelion was buried with a number of grave goods, some of which are personal possessions of his while others are exquisitely crafted funeral gifts from his bereaved family. Darikun listed each of the items buried alongside Aurelion, going into great detail about their design and purpose. These include:

#### "**The Aurelian Anomaly"**

During the investigation into the integrity of Aurelion's remains, it was discovered that the shattered sarcophagus contained a second, previously unknown occupant. The existence of this second body had never been mentioned in any of the recorded histories about Aurelion, confounding the experts. This historical conundrum was dubbed "The Aurelian Anomaly" by the archaeological team.

Darikun hypothesised that the body could be that of Markus Abrudas, first Primarch of Carthaan, basing his theory on the likeness of the body's death mask with the artistic depictions of Markus, as well as the distinctly Carthaanean armour the body was dressed in. To confirm his theory, Darikun requested that a DNA test be performed. However, this would require harvesting organic tissue from the second body to compare with the genetic material of Markus' closest living relative; an extremely taboo act in turian culture.

Private negotiations with House Abrudas proved to be long and divisive. While the House's incumbent parriarch, Gaius Abrudas, was sympathetic to Darikun, he continued to repeatedly deny his request. His official stance was that Markus was interred in the Tyra Necropolis on Carthaan and had been since his death.

### **Trebia's Chamber**

Directly to the east of Aurelion's Chamber lies Trebia's Chamber. This chamber, known colloquially as the Ladies' Chamber, contains the remains of Aurelion's estranged wife, Septonia Halabrian, and their daughter, Trebia Aurelos. Eighteen years into her father's reign, Trebia died unexpectedly in childbirth on Carthaan. Aurelion was said to be inconsolable when news of his beloved daughter's death reached him. To ease his grief, he threw himself into designing an elaborate tomb befitting of her. Aurelion's original plans, created with the help of his chief architect, have survived to this day and are on display in Cipritine's Imperial Museum. They quite clearly show the tender, loving detail that he put into designing his daughter's final resting place.

Trebia's mother, Septonia, died several decades after her daughter. Aurelion ordered that her own sarcophagus be built beside that of their daughter, proclaiming that *"In life, the love for our daughter was the succour which sustained her; so it shall remain in death."*