Hades's Estate is a private horse farming property owned by Anthony "Hades" DeSaxe, located in the Alsace-Lorraine historical region in France.
History[]
Early History[]
Built over the remnants of a pre-World War II loading station on the Maginot Line in Alsace-Lorraine, an estate was established to serve as a horse farm, and was acquired by Anthony "Hades" DeSaxe in the late 20th/early 21st century. For some years, Hades kept ponies used used polo at the estate, and often brought his sons there for vacations.
A few years before 2016, Hades put the estate up for sale, but then bought it himself, so that the transaction could serve as a front to make it appear that he no longer owned the property, intended to keep the estate private and off-the-books so that it could be a hideaway for an event where he needed one.
Hades did not seem to inform his sons of the decision, and for whatever reason, they left their private ICON A10 seaplanes behind at the lake.
After the Trial of the Cities, Jack West Jr and his team reunited at Hades's safehouse in Rome, but found that it was too small for all of them to research the Trial of the Mountains in and denied them any means of a quick escape route. To meet these requirements, Hades brought them to his Alsace-Lorraine estate, assuring them of its privacy, size and access to a concealed runway.
After having E-147 and Jack's pets brought over from his farm in Australia, the team spent the new few weeks at the estate doing their research in the trial and potential means to defeat the automatons they'd previously encountered, as well as attempt to locate Lily West.
While Jack, Alby Calvin, Aloysius Knight and Rufus were away, facial recognition software found Lily in Moscow, Stretch, Pooh Bear and Sky Monster took off from the estate in the Sky Warrior to go rescue her, while Hades, Zoe and the rest of the team remained behind.
The Two Lost Mountains[]
After Jack's sub-team returned to the estate - with Stretch, Knight and Lily all rendered comatose by a Siren bell - they began discussing the requirements for the Trial of the Mountains and prepared to set out once more. While Nobody did a flight check on one of the seaplanes, the others got the sleepers comfortable and gathered their equipment. Once they had departed, only Alby and Easton were left at the estate to watch over the animals and sleepers.
While the team was gone, Easton finished storing the newly-made bullets capable of piercing a bronzeman's armour in the lake house's storage basement, while Alby did research into the Supreme Labyrinth, Imhotep and the lost iron mountains in the main house. As the team were radioing in to report their progress, a worldwide broadcast from Sphinx revealed that he knew that the team had been basing themselves out of Hades's (now deceased) estate. As soon as they heard that, Alby and Easton began rushing to evacuate, grabbing the hospital beds containing the sleepers, just as Yago DeSaxe, a few Knights of the Golden Eight and their bronzemen emerged from the tree-line.
Alby and Easton used an elevator to get down to the old Maginot Line's loading platform, where a small escape train sat waiting. As they started getting Lily, Knight and Stretch on board, the invaders fired a missile at the mansion above and blew it to pieces. A piece of the platform's ceiling was dislodged and fell between the dogs Ash and Roxy and the carriage. While Roxy jumped over the debris, Ash whimpered behind the pillar; seeing this, Easton turned back to grab her, telling Alby to start moving the train, even as bronzemen emerged from the elevator. Easton managed to throw Ash on board the carriage, but before he could follow he was shot in the thigh and felled. Alby, knowing he could not afford to stop, reluctantly continued accelerating the train, continuing the escape.
Once Easton had been captured, Yago and the invaders led him away from the estate to their own plane at a nearby airfield.
Having learned of the assault and Easton's capture, Jack and his sub-team quickly returned to the ruined estate and gathered up their specialised ammunition before heading off to pursue Yago.
Not long after, Sky Monster and Pooh Bear, having been presumed killed in Russia by the rest of the team, arrived back at the estate and assessed the situation before taking the second seaplane in search of their friends.
Features[]
Main House[]
A mansion used as the main house on the estate, which was maintained by Hades to serve as a safehouse, one that he had sold to himself in a false transaction so that records would not have his name on the property. The main house was large enough to accommodate the 13 members of Jack's team during the three weeks they spent there researching and planning, with some team members having an entire wing to themselves if they wished.
Maginot Line Loading Platform[]
A small fort built in the 1930s by the French in an attempt to defend from German invaders, the Maginot Line at the estate has since been built on top of by the main house, though an elevator leads down to the old loading platform. Hades kept an small train previously used to transport supplies via an underground tunnel at this station, and maintained it so that it could serve as an emergency escape vehicle should the need arise.
Lake and Lake House[]
A small lake located on the estate, which is large enough to allow small light-sport seaplanes like the ICON A10s the length they need to take-off and land. A smaller house is located on the lake-front, which contains a secure storage basement.
Hanger and Concealed Runway[]
A World War II era hanger that Hades used to use to store his private aircraft while staying at the estate, using a concealed runway nearby for take-offs and landings. While the team was using the estate as a base, the hanger was presumably used to shelter the Sky Warrior and Black Raven.
Trivia[]
- The region the estate is located in, Alsace-Lorraine, has been renamed Alsace-Moselle.