TheNexusProject/TheBridgeOfEbullientMaidens

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The Bridge of Ebullient Maidens

by Everyl

"Ah, such beauty in both form and function! The ancient architects must have been true masters to create 'ebullient maidens' that can shine through so much uncivilized filth in the city around them!"
- Cacophonous Wren, visiting Dynastic art critic (and part-time bigot)

"Hah! You hear that? He thinks it's named after the pillars. Guess he's never gone under the bridge, huh?" *snickers*
- Rian Shimmercloud, local resident of Bastion

---

Bridging a river near the border of the Cinnabar and Bastion districts, the Bridge of Ebullient Maidens is seen by many as the symbol of the divide between the wealthy residents of Bastion and, well, pretty much everyone else. The bridge is a relic of First Age architecture, constructed of gleaming cerulean stone that no stonecutter has yet been able to identify. The bridge is wide enough for four oxcarts to cross it abreast, and is sloped slightly upwards toward the Bastion side - when the river underneath floods, it spills into Cinnabar, keeping Bastion high and dry. Four-foot-high walls run along both sides of the bridge, keeping it clear of the worst of the flood-muck. While the bridge can get as dirty as anything else, even the worst flood-residue seems to just slide off under even a gentle rain.

The most striking feature of the Bridge of Ebullient Maidens is the eight pillars that support it, four to a side, rising out of the waters below. The pillars are made of the same cerulean stone as the bridge itself, and are intricately carved. Below the bridge level, these carvings are bas-relief depictions of throngs of women in flowing robes, dancing. Each pillar is also capped with a 9-foot-tall statue of a beautiful, naked woman. Each statue is unique, standing in a different pose, though all are suggestive of dance and continued motion. Even the fine features of the statues differ - they have different faces and varying hair length. Those who have examined them closely (and will admit it - staring at beautiful naked statues will earn one a strange reputation in the "refined" social circles of Bastion) even claim that, while each is reasonably trim and athletic, there are significant differences in the builds of each statue. All eight statues are smiling, though nobody can agree whether they are smiling innocently or invitingly - or whether all eight statues even share the same degree of innocence.

The neighborhood around either side of the bridge is relatively clean and safe by Nexus standards. A number of shops cluster around either end of the bridge, taking advantage of the heavy traffic it receives. Most of these shops are upscale, specialized establishments, such as Darque Chocolat's establishment and the River Province Cartographical Society, among others. The shops quickly give way to residential neighborhoods, though.

The underside of the bridge belies the top's simplicity with a tangle of support beams and girders, all made of the same cerulean stone as the rest of the bridge. It is possible for a careful individual to cross the bridge by climbing along this network of beams. Most consider this to be highly unsafe, as there is nothing to prevent one from falling into the river below; it's only a few dozen feet to the water's surface, but nobody wants to get wet with Nexus riverwater. Around each pillar, underneath the bridge, there is a small platform, mostly obscured from sight by the complex network of support beams surrounding it. These platforms are safe and stable, and give the perfect vantage point to examine the intricate bas relief carvings on the pillar itself; such close examination reveals that the dancing women depicted on each pillar all have faces and builds identical to that of the statue that caps the pillar.

One might expect these platforms to attract vagrants and squatters, and that was indeed the case at one time. The locals on the Bastion side of the bridge eventually got fed up with this, however, and hired the Golden Lion Guild to drive the vagrants out. They have been discouraged from coming back, as Righteous Squisher of Unrighteous Skulls is still seen sniffing around the bridge at irregular intervals, and nobody wants to risk getting caught by the Celestial Lion.

In the decades since the Golden Lion Guild's first purge of the area, however, the underside of the bridge has fallen to another use - it has become a popular place for trysts among the youth of Bastion. Nobody is certain who first noticed that the stench of the river never seemed to reach the eight platforms under the bridge, or that the supports effectively blocked enough sight to grant privacy down there, or that the sound of the river running below drowned out most sounds a couple made above, but the practice has become extremely common. Some superstitions have sprung up among teenage boys, saying that the bridge is enchanted so that a woman under it cannot refuse a proposition... but the truth is, the young women also know of the practice, and only accept invitations to "go look at the pillars" if they intend to accept further activities down there, as well.

The bridge's current name is actually a result of its popularity as a trysting location; before so many maidens lost their maidenhood there, it was known as the Serene Bridge, and official records still refer to it as such. Locals in the know often joke around about those ignorant of this fact from just within earshot, and "gone under the bridge" has become a local slang term for sex, especially for one's first time.

Rumors

• A rumor pops up occasionally, saying that the bridge was built by Anathema and dedicated to one of their foul deities, but it never spreads very far because people tend to forget it.
• Some say that, during Calibration, the eight statues can move, and will re-pose themselves when nobody is looking, but usually in such subtle ways that people are never quite certain ("Hey, wasn't her hair hanging over her other shoulder yesterday? Nah, I must be remembering wrong"). Some even claim that the statues occasionally swap pillars with one another.

Secret

• Glorious Treader upon the Unworthy, the Celestial Lion of the Golden Lion Guild, is only paid to sniff around the bridge - nothing more. His contract basically pays him to wander by and look like he's investigating something at least once a fortnight, more often if convenient. Since this has been enough to scare away anyone who would attempt to squat under the bridge, there has been no need for the locals to pay the Guild any extra to do a real search for vagrants.

Comments

Yeah, I bent the rules a bit in doing this... but someone else made the original phantom link, I just used it in one of my other entries. I thought the idea was cool enough to justify a little bending of the rules, but I'll take it down it's a problem. -Everyl

I actually seem to recall Moxiane explicitly stating that that was okay. Comment might be archived by now, though. Incidentally, nice new nickname for Righteous -- I'll have to remember that one. Although, keep in mind that the Golden Lion Guild only takes contracts for good causes -- not sure if this counts .... But I do like the rumour! I'm glad to see one that isn't a deus ex machina. Oh! And also like the sex slang; great local colour. You should add it to the page for slang terms whose name I forget.
~ Shataina

Thanks! I'm glad you like it! I remember seeing a comment from Moxiane *somewhere* on the Nexus Project about "borrowed" phantom links, but I couldn't remember what the verdict was. I already added the slang to the jargon glossary, too. I wasn't thinking about it when I wrote it, but since Righteous is the sole judge of what "good causes" are for the Golden Lion Guild, it's quite possible that he accepted this contract out of guilt. After all, he is the former guardian of a holy site; if the bridge really is dedicated to one of the Anathema's gods, he'd probably have no problem with keeping vagrants and squatters from messing the place up. -Everyl

Good call on the religious site thing. I hadn't thought of it, but you're way right.
~ Shataina