On Friday morning, October 18, a magnificent galley nosed out of Ostia harbor on its way towards an ancient world cruise. Exactly 15 days later, the official "Gold Launch" of AncientWorlds ended the remarkable cruise of
The Golden Phoenix and all its passengers. In the meantime, between the antics aboard ship and the magical offerings in Machu Picchu, Germania, Celtia, Egypt, Athens, Babylon, and Rome, AncientWorlds logged up several thousand additional posts, the scribes and citizens their fingers to the bone, a great deal of history was learned, and cartloads of intoxicating liquors were shared in delight at having our home back up, running, and ready to open its virtual doors!
The action occurred
aboard the vessel, and at each city's Gold Launch thread, where topics and neighborhoods had been carefully built in preparation. The passengers actually had a sense of "traveling" from the ship to the cities and back again, by porters, camel high-speed trains, luxurious barges, "Taran tubes," and every variety of ancient labor-saving transport device.
Starting on October 18, the ship cruised to
Machu Picchu where, on the 19th, we had a full-day excursion to Cos'co, with bearers taking the worst of the work out of the mountain heights. Besides plenty of historical posts about the Incas, the first totem of the Gold Launch made its appearance in the
Sacsayhuaman Llama Race. Llamas ran rampant from Day 2 of the launch until its very end! [For those who don't know that Studdeley was later nominated for a special ìmammalian support award,read the posts and weep.] A fine high-altitude banquet concluded with the passengers whisked back to the ship and a rapid-fire cruise to the North Sea. On October 21, the passengers met in the elegant bar of the vessel, "The Apotheosis Lounge," to meet Alaric, conqueror of Rome, interviewed in a chat by a reporter for the
ACTA DIURNA. Alaric, to say the least, left a lasting impression on all present, including the Romans!
Arriving at the mouth of the Rhine, we found the Roman governor, Varus, sweeping up with his entourage to welcome us to
Germania. Then, after a fascinating trip up river and a stop at a Roman outpost town, we were led deep into the interior where the tribes had prepared an incredible celebration for the unwary tourists. Ask Cornellia and the other modest ladies what they thought of the finale entertainment in the
Great Feast Hall of Mattiacum!
Leaving Germania full of gold and beer, passengers were wafted to not one, or two, but
three different areas showing the richness of
Celtia's culture. On October 23, a shipboard chat was held with that intimidating lady with the torques and the daggers, Boudica, Queen of the Iceni. On the 24th, stops were made in
Ynes Mon, Cork, Eboracum, and a hair-raising chariot race to Hadrian's Wall, all encompassed thanks to the modern technological miracle of the "Taran Tube" which whisked passengers through time and space in minutes. A spear toss, a
Bardic competition, and a wee touch of the pixies kept most of the passengers happily busy.
By this time, souvenir hunting had become a spectator sport. Each city outdid its predecessors in passports, gifts, medallions, and plaques, and a great many of them were contributed by the inimitable Voluptua of the "House of Amytas." Music was everywhere, and the number of bars springing up caused some concern that the passengers wouldn't survive the voyage! Not to mention, the fact that llamas, breeding in the hold of the vessel as an unwanted souvenir of Machu, became the gossip of choice. Tuckered scribes were being revived in the
Phoenix Clinic by infusions of peculiar herbs in extremely alcoholic liquors!
On October 26, the ship docked in spectacular Alexandria for the beginning of the
Egyptian tour: perhaps AW's most ambitious tour, in which FOUR different Egyptian historical periods, and four major rulers, provided chats, posts, entertainment, and excitement throughout the day. After the extraordinary Pyramid-climbing contest and the amazing
maze, the evening ended with an enlightening chat with Cleopatra VII. Of course, the Wet T-Unics contest went on into the night, until the authorities were forcibly called.
By this time, party fatigue was beginning to set in. Prescriptions for herbal hangover remedies had literally become dearer than gold (which was lying about in heaps, anyway). Everyone on the vessel knew that Voluptua, lovely queen of Babylon, was charging half-a-dozen-annual-income's worth on her charge cards in every city. Studdeley the llama was
"news," as well as Heraklia's other peculiar acquisitions. Julius Caesar was seen lurking in corners of the vessel, while Ceres the Vestal AND Maximius the Pontifex Maximus were both discovered on board ship, leaving Rome, presumably, high and religiously dry during their vacations. Llamas were breeding like rabbits and were definitely disrupting shipboard life!
On October 28, while cruising towards Athens, the passengers met Pericles for a wee dram, followed by arrival in
golden Athens on the 28th and a full day of shopping and trips all over the fabled city. That night, in a remarkable ceremony, Pericles and numerous legendary Athenians re-dedicated
the Parthenon, while the second most popular place on site was Dionysius' Drink Stand!
October 29-30 saw the Phoenix winging towards elegant
Babylon, and on the 29th it docked at Tyre, after a chat with Nebuchadnezzer himself. Beginning with the Yacht race, then
the royal lion hunt, THEN the Camel Race, and ending with a night under the stars with the Bedu, Babylon knocked the socks and, sometimes, the heads, right off its visitors!
On All Hallow's Eve,
The Phoenix was returning home at last; after docking in Ostia, bearers transported the exhausted party animals to a migrating
Halloween in Hades before Rome's celebrations began on November 1, following a chat with the Divine Julius. A Triumphal Parade concluded Rome's celebrations, and the llama issue was - it was thought - finally resolved by the Emperor himself. Have we seen the last of Studdeley?
By Saturday, November 2, passengers were disembarking from the beloved
Phoenix and visitors were streaming in from invitations extended to our old Ancientsites membership. The entire site partied throughout the day, which seems impossible based on what had gone before. Finally, on Saturday evening, the gods themselves descended to help the city scribes thank those whose
contributions to the Gold Launch had been particularly outstanding, in the first of many awards, we hope, for support "above and beyond" the call of duty. Awards were also granted to the
runners for the Beta-Launch, and the whole site cheered itself hoarse.
While the last parties extended late into the night, your humble reporter took the Pookah, Toodles the Lion Cub, left Studdeley with his new pal, the Emperor, and went home to bed! (It was darkly rumored, later, that Tobius Tullius sank
The Golden Phoenix in an excess of piratical wrath, but that Onions rescued all the llamas still retained below decks!)
It was truly a once-in-a-virtual-lifetime launch, and dozens of citizens were instrumental in it. Helping coordinate this was one of the most wonderful things I've ever done online. What a celebration - and avete, or hail, all citizens of AncientWorlds!
