Aurum

Human history has always been determined by greed and an unbridled thirst for power. Since ancient times, the primary symbol of material wealth has been gold, while its symbolic and immaterial sublimation, alchemical gold, i.e. inner beauty and wealth, represents its negation. The story thrives on this contrast between attachment to material things and the path of the soul that leads to universal love. It was precisely to get hold of the gold, which was once abundant in western Piedmont and the Aosta Valley, that the Roman consul Appius Claudius Pulcher unleashed a series of bloody campaigns of conquest against the Celtic people of the Salassi. The latter tried in every way to defend not so much their wealth as their cultural and spiritual identity from the dark shadow of Rome’s material power, which was spreading like wildfire throughout the known world.It was around 130 BC. The young Republic of Rome, after attacking the Celtic populations of Transalpine Gaul, at the opposite end of the Italian peninsula, found itself simultaneously engaged in dealing with the revolts that would lead to the Servile Wars. On the Mediterranean island, the slave Euno, freed from the Roman yoke, started a revolt that would set Sicily ablaze and which the Roman army would suffocate in blood. In this historical context, the archdruid Deaglan, keeper of an arcane initiatory and esoteric tradition rooted in the most ancient history of mankind, meets Hipparchus of Nicaea, the greatest astronomer of antiquity. Between historical reality and fantasy, the love story between the two protagonists also unfolds: Meylir, a Celtic druid, and Maeja, the daughter of Euno. Their relationship transcends distance and adversity, overcoming differences. Together they are more than the sum of both, they complement each other, even transcending the limits of space and time. They are soul mates and their bond, transcending the limits of the flesh, is renewed life after life. They are destined to meet, meet, meet… and recognise each other.