History Archive · Age Five
Shadow of Vesuvius
Pompeii, the Fortunas & Hades
- Setting: Pompeii and the region beneath Vesuvius
- Key mortals: the Fortuna family and Sempre / Siempre
- Rogue threat: Hades
- Long-term consequence: Xandir’s deepest personal wound becomes tied to the Fortuna bloodline
A Mission at the Base of a Volcano
The High Seraph sends Xandir to Pompeii to pursue a rogue Watcher. What appears to be another dangerous assignment quickly becomes personal when Xandir reconnects with the Fortuna family and with Sempre.
Love Inside a Forbidden History
The Pompeii storyline reveals that Xandir’s later bitterness toward mortal attachment is not abstract. He chooses a relationship despite the history of the Watchers and the danger he knows such attachments can bring.
Why Pompeii Echoes Forward
The Fortuna name survives into the modern storyline, and Xandir’s memories of this age shape how he reacts when Phillip and Eden Fortuna appear centuries later. Pompeii becomes one of the emotional hinges connecting the prequel to the main series.
Sempre / Siempre · Phillip Fortuna · Eden Fortuna · Next: Sower and Supplanter
Michael D. Young 