• Untitled
    By Eric Hiro
     
    Prologue
    The child of those, whose parents are both half a god, shall be loved by all of both men and gods. Tragedy shall befall him and his homeland erasing both from all of time and space. Yet, in Time, they shall return and once again hold great power.
    ~ A prophecy from the Oracle
    Once there was a land that was called Atlantis. It was a lush paradise filled with life. This land was once attached to the land of Greece. Allied together, they formed the greatest mortal fighting force in the world. Atlantis was a special place favored by only certain gods, and the people, therefore, only worshiped these few.
    Their chief god was Poseidon, to whom they owed their naval prowess and creation. When Poseidon created Atlantis, he caused the land to be separated from the ocean floor. Instead, Atlantis was held up by its central mountain that was called The Mount of Protection. It was a colossal mountain, its peak reached well above the clouds. The peak upon which was Prodigious, a grand city made of pure gold whose splendor rivaled that of Olympus. Apollo, to whom they owed their physical beauty, skill in music, vocal and instrumental, accuracy in archery, and great oracles, blessed this city with eternal light. Even though the sun never set on the city, the weather was always perfect. It was never exceedingly warm or dry. Demeter, who loved the verdant lands of Atlantis above all others, caused many diverse forms of plant life to flourish all over the land. The Gray-Eyed One, Pallas Athena, fostered the greatest minds in the world upon this land. Atlantis was loved so much by these gods that they never had disputes on anything even close to this land.
    Atlantis was ruled from Prodigious, by the children of these gods. The favorite child of each god was chosen to rule jointly over the land. There was the golden time of peace in Atlantis for 1000 years. After the 1000 years, came Delugus, son of Poseidon, husband of Pholia, daughter of Demeter, and Luminous, son of Apollo, husband of Erudite, daughter of Athena. For the first time, the children of the gods married, and ruled together. Each bore a child that ruled after their parents. Delugus and Pholia bore Έlan, and Luminous and Erudite bore Adroit. Adroit became the king and married Έlan. Together, they bore Halcyon.
    Halcyon was the best of the four gods pooled into a single being. His eyes were bluer than the ocean and his hair was like gold. His face was clean-shaven and his features were flawless. He was called the most attractive man in the world. He had a fit athletic build and was quite strong. He was the greatest archer in the land. He could play the lyre with unparalleled skill and his singing was said to be able to calm even the most enraged bull. He was wise well beyond his years and was the greatest tactician ever known. Plants would grow quickly in his presence. He could control water and make it do his will. He was the most skilled horseman ever. Many women, mortal and immortal, threw themselves at him, yet he refused them all and never married until after the prophecy was fulfilled.
    However, Atlantis had one enemy, The Unnamed Ones, who would help the prophecy to be fulfilled…
     
    Part 1
    Chapter 1
    The first time I heard the prophecy was when I was 13 years of age. Honestly, it scared me to death. I knew I was the child of the prophecy. My grandparents’ parents were gods, exactly like the prophecy. Our prophecies were always true. That was the scary part. Well, anyway, I have forgotten my manners! My name is Halcyon, Prince of Atlantis. I am 21 years of age, as I have been for many years. The fact that you are reading this now gives hope to all of Atlantis. First, I should explain how our downfall began.
    It was my 18th birthday. There was going to be a great festival for all of Atlantis. All of my family would be there, my great-grandparents who are gods, my grandparents who are demigods, my parents, and many of my friends from around Atlantis. The festival was over and the gods began giving their presents. From Poseidon, I received a winged-hippocampus, or a horse with a fish tail and wings, and a magic weapon. He explained that the weapon was called Λεβιέ Ταχυτήτων Σχήμα or Shape shifter. It would change into any weapon I wanted. It could shrink to the form of an orb for storage, and if I ever lost it, it would just reappear in my pocket. I named the horse Hotshot. From Apollo, I received an ornate lyre and a magic quiver that would never run out of arrows. From Athena, I received a magic chariot that could never tip over or break, useful for underwater and in the air, and a copy of her Aegis, a shield with Medusa’s face burned onto it, that could be shrunken down to a wristband. From Demeter, I received magic piece of clothing. It felt almost as if it was alive. When I put it on, it suddenly changed into the clothing I had just been wearing. It felt as if it was right up against my skin, yet at the same time, it felt like there was nothing there. It had many pockets and no matter how many items I placed in them, it never felt or looked like there was anything in them. Demeter explained that it could change into any clothing I wanted and that it was made from the strongest plants in the world making it virtually indestructible. She also gave me a hat. Just like the clothing, she explained it could change form and was indestructible. Having given me the gifts, the gods said their goodbyes and left.
    I decided that I should sacrifice to the gods to thank them. As I was about to leave, a thick dark fog rolled in. The fog had an eerie malevolence about it. I wished I had my armor and sword with me, but then I remembered my gifts. The clothing and hat changed into my armor and I put on my Aegis. I picked up Shape shifter and it turned into a sword. I finally put on Apollo’s quiver and then I heard voices all around me. I instantly knew who the voices were. It was the Unnamed Ones. I felt their presence around me. No one had ever actually seen one. It was said that they cloaked themselves in fear and darkness. I prayed that the gods would help me and I rushed into the darkness. The last thing I remembered was an excruciating amount of pain all over my body and the sounds of screaming and shouting. I woke up to see that Apollo was standing over me looking down upon me. I still felt sore, but at least I was alive. I looked around and saw that the room was a wreck. I still felt somewhat dizzy but I was able to walk outside. In the courtyard of the palace, I saw a sight that shook me to my core. I saw what was left my parents and grandparents, their remains still smoldering in the center of a pitch-black circle. I saw Hermes come down saying he could not find their souls to escort to the underworld. I fell to my knees, weeping.
    The week following the attack, the sun for the first time dipped just below the horizon, though it still provided ample light. It was a week of mourning. We held the funeral in the courtyard where the bodies were found. As I burned the funeral shrouds, I uttered a silent prayer that the souls of my family would be found and laid to rest in the underworld. After the week of mourning ended, the sun resumed its normal place in the sky. The people wanted to crown me king, since I was next in line to the throne. I would have refused but Apollo appeared to me and said it was my fate. The next week I was crowned king. There was a festival held in my honor and in honor of the gods who saved my life.
     
    Chapter 2
    It was 3 years before they came back. After about a year, reports started coming in about people seeing the Unnamed Ones around the borders of Atlantis. Every time we went to investigate, nothing was there. Even still, I trained a special guard of demigods to defend against the Unnamed Ones in the event that they returned. They eventually did return.
    It was my 21st birthday and I was summoned to Olympus. I took Hotshot and rode in the chariot to Olympus. When I got there, it felt like I was in Prodigious, but it had more of a feel of raw energy in the air. As I entered the throne room, I knelt down before the 12 Olympians and waited for them to acknowledge me. A voice like Poseidon’s but more thundering, told me to rise. It was Zeus. He told me that for my 21st birthday, all the gods wanted to give me a very special gift. He said that they would grant immortality to me and a person of my choice. I decided to hold off on the “person of my choice”. Zeus agreed to that and then told me that I would never age from this point in my life. As soon as he said that, thunder boomed. Immediately I felt, stronger. It was a strange feeling to have. It is indescribable unless you have experienced it yourself. Someone came up to Zeus and whispered something in his ear. His face became solemn and he turned to face me. He told me I must return home and help my people.
    As I walked outside, I could not see the mountain of my country. All I could see was black smoke trailing over the ocean from where Atlantis should have been. I could see many different islands I had never seen before in the water that filled the area where Atlantis should have been. As I looked over the sea, I saw a large island with black smoke covering it. I realized that it was Atlantis. I rushed off to reach the new island. Right as I neared the city I jumped off my chariot, sword in hand, and landed on the dusty streets of the city. I looked around and saw nothing. I ran to the palace. Inside everything was unusually dark. It was as if everyone had disappeared. From the top of the palace, I see that the island was, in fact, moving. I do not know how, but I immediately knew that we were heading east, and fast. The island was about to crash into Egypt. I knew that I could not possibly make it down to the shores in time to attempt to stop the island, but I tried anyway. I leapt out the window as I prayed that the gods would help me. Hotshot came around under me and I landed safely in the chariot. I saw a massive wave come up in front of the runaway island. At the center was Poseidon’s face. The water began to slow the island down. The smoke around the island intensified. Then, everything seemed to just melt away.
     
    Chapter 3
    When I awakened, I was in the chariot. Hotshot was asleep. I woke him up and he got up slowly. We seemed to be on the shores of Atlantis, but instead of water on the shores, it was nothingness. We ascended the mountain and reached the city. Instead of its usual ruddy glow, the city looked dull, worn, and lifeless. As soon as I entered the gates of the city, it felt like I was being watched. I kept Shape shifter in my hand, just in case. The darkness increased and I was suddenly surrounded. I could tell that they were the Unnamed Ones by their aura of fear. This was the first time anyone got a good look at what they really looked like. They had leathery gray skin and were quite slim. They had six bat-like wings and teeth like needles. They had four skinny arms and two tails with barbs at their ends. Their voices were soft and hissed as air squeezed between their needle-like teeth.
    They removed me of Shape shifter and the Aegis. They then locked me into my own bedroom. My bedroom was almost completely unrecognizable. It looks like Aeolus had a cold and was in my room. There were shelves set up all along the walls. Upon these shelves, were rows upon rows of orbs. Some had swirling clouds of different colors. Others seemed to be empty. There were tiny whispers of voices coming from the orbs that had contents. I could not understand what was being said, but it sounded as if it was in pain. I picked up an orb that seemed to be brighter than all the others were. The moment I touched the orb, I felt as if I was cloaked in warmth. I recognized that it was the same feel that I would get when I was around Apollo. I put the orb back and the sensation went away. I went around inspecting each orb and I found that each orb felt like someone I knew. It then dawned on me that each orb actually was the person. It was their essence and soul trapped in that orb.
    Just then, the door to my room opened. The Unnamed Ones took me out of the room and placed me in a different room. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. The entire room was made of some kind of metal. There was a bed and a table. That was it. A strange light producing orb was suspended in the air at the top of the room. I found paper on the desk along with ink. I decided that I would write. The writings above are evidence of my work.
     
    Part 2
    Chapter 1
    Pandora’s Log # 2973: It is January 1, 2011. We are in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. We have uncovered signs of an ancient civilization. We believe this to be Atlantis. We will be exploring it later today. End Log
    I prepared the sub for launch into the sea. If we found Atlantis, it would be many years’ worth of work paid off. I did a systems check and everything was good. I was ready. The sub was lowered in and the exploration began.
    The sub was equipped for any situation that could happen. When I got down there, though, I was caught completely off guard. There was almost nothing. There were few broken bits of marble and other junk, but no definite ruins. I was about to go up to the surface when something caught my eye. It was shiny. I had to go investigate. I used the sub to move some of the sand away from the object. It was a door. Not like a wooden door or anything like that. It was a very large trapdoor. The thing that had caught my eye was the latch. I decided I was going to investigate. I lifted up the trapdoor, and underneath, was a tunnel. It was quite a big tunnel too. So, I drove the sub right in. The tunnel went down about 10 meters, and then has a right angle turn. The tunnel was made out of some metal I could not recognize. It had an eerie glow about it. It continued forward for about a kilometer and then became land. I beached the sub and got out. I found an opening in the cave and looked out. Out in the cavern, floating in the middle, was an island. I knew that it was Atlantis. The only issue was that I had no way to get there.
    I had come all this way and all I could do was look. I kicked a rock off the edge. I expected it to just fall down to the bottom, but it did not. Instead, it just floated as if weightless. I threw a rock out into the cavern. It did the same thing. I decided to take the leap of faith, literally. I closed my eyes and jumped. I half expected to go plummeting to my death, but I floated, just like everything else. I floated all the way over to the island. As soon as I got over land, gravity came back. I fell flat on my face in the sand. I could not believe it. I was on Atlantis.
    The first thing I did was to go and get up to the city. It was in ruins. It looked as if there had been a tornado or something that had ripped through the city. I ran to the castle. Right in the courtyard was a large metal box. The tunnels were made of the same metal. It did not seem to be locked. I, being the curious woman I am, opened it up. There was a desk with writing instruments, and a bed with some kind of plant growing all over it. I went over to the desk and saw that there were papers on it. The papers were written in Greek. Luckily, for me, my father made me learn Greek from a very young age. I began to read.
    After I finished reading, I realized the plant was Halcyon’s armor. I moved some of the plant aside and was amazed at how amazingly attractive he was. Then he started to wake.
     
    Chapter 2
    The next thing I remember was looking up to see this beautiful young woman smiling down on me. She first spoke in a language I had never heard before. She had beautiful blond hair that flowed down her back. Her eyes were a pure blue. I recognized that she had a small amount of god’s blood in her, but very diluted from many generations. Her clothing looked strange. In addition, she wore pants. I decided that she was some kind of barbarian. I asked her who she was. I was surprised when she answered me in Greek. She said that her name was Pandora. Somehow, she knew everything about me. She asked if I was actually related to gods. I said yes, but she just laughed. I don’t think she believed me. I decided against telling her that she was part god as well.
    I grabbed my hat and walked out of my prison. Pandora followed me. I decided that I should go back to my room to see if I could unlock some of the orbs. When I got there, the orbs felt fainter. They were fading. Pandora had followed me in. When she touched the orb, it opened. Both of us were shocked. Clouds flowed out of the orb. Out of the clouds, Poseidon rose. I bowed to him and signaled Pandora to do the same. She did not see me. She just stared at him. Poseidon asked her why she was staring at him. I don’t think she could believe her eyes. After she recovered from her shock, I tried to open the orbs. For some reason, only she could. In a little while, she had freed everyone from their round imprisonments. From what I found out from my people, the attack had begun as soon as I had left. The sightings on the edges of the country had been them setting some kind of burning substance. Pandora called them “bombs”.
    According to Pandora, Atlantis was one of many great civilizations that suddenly disappeared. The gods were certain that it was the work of Chaos, the father of everything. His minions were called the Havok. They were the ones we called the Unnamed Ones. They were divided into seven sections each led by a powerful spirit. The spirits were Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy, and Gluttony. They have been known throughout time by many different names. Pandora called them the “seven deadly sins”. Our main spirit to fight was Pride. Any time there was a great country, Chaos would send down one of his armies to destroy it. That was what happened with us. Pandora says there must be a lot in the country where she came from.
    We went down to the armory to pick up our weapons and armor. The gods went to the base of the island to try to free the island. Poseidon said he could feel the oceans above us. He decided to open up a hole. He opened a small hole in the cavern above us. Water shot out of the hole in torrents. I thought we were going to get soaked, but we did not. Apparently, the magical barrier that was emplaced when Atlantis was created was still working. The hole widened as more and more water came pouring through. The water was rising rapidly. It had already reached the base of the island. The hole was not wide enough to fit the island. The island was rising with the water now. The hole continued to grow but it still was not big enough. The top of the city was now above the hole. There was a loud screeching sound as the island scraped through the hole.
    The ground trembled violently. Then it suddenly stopped. We were stuck. I could count on one hand the times I had sworn in my life. I felt the situation warranted it, so I did. Everyone else’s head just dropped. I was pretty sure that everyone else was thinking the same thing. We had come all this way, and we were doomed to be stuck here for eternity. Poseidon stabbed his trident into the ground. Suddenly, a large chunk of the island just fell off. We were free. We rose rapidly to the surface. As soon as we broke the surface, everyone cheered. I felt a pressure come off of my hand. I just realized that Pandora and I had been holding each other’s hand the entire time. We both looked down at our hands, embarrassed.
    The people began to whisper. I thought that they were whispering about us, but then I looked around. Everything looked so, different. A light haze seemed to cover everything. On top of that, though, we were in the middle of an ocean. The gods disappeared immediately after the island had broken surface. It was the same kind of haze as when the Havok had taken us. I was immediately suspicious. I took out Shape-shifter and it immediately changed into a sword. Those who were armed and noticed did the same. The haze thickened. Then my mind went blank.
     
    Chapter 3
    When I came to, it was night and there was no one around. By my side, was Shape-shifter, already changed back into a form in which I could carry it. On my other side, was a pile of dead Havok. I walked back into the city and saw as people were helping each other rebuild. I reassembled my guard as an extra measure of protection for the city. I then gathered the city’s best warriors and stationed them around the city. I knew that they could not do much in the event of an attack, but it made them feel important, like they were being a help. Anyway, every bit of help that we could get was useful. I knew that we were still not safe. Reports came in of random attacks at our borders. They were put down every time. They were probably testing our defenses. Both of us knew that they could get through if they wanted to.
    I studied the series of attacks that had been made. Nothing about their choice of targets made sense. I knew every creature had some sort of structure to randomness. Some follow numbers or sequences. Then it hit me. If I divided the island into parts, then tracked the hits to the island, I might find the code. I started with nine sections. I checked the areas of the attacks. First attack: section 3. Second attack: section 1. Third attack: section 4. Fourth attack: section 1. Then sections 5, 9, 2, 6, 5, 3, and 6. I immediately recognized it as pi. I had cracked their code. I could now improve my defenses on the areas where I knew would be hit. That would have been great, if I had been in time.
     
    Chapter 4
    Just as I had finished, the alarm sounded. The city was being surrounded. The city walls’ magical defenses had been restored recently by the gods. I hoped that they would hold up. The Havok had not begun the attack yet, so we had some time.
    By the time I had reached the city, the attack had begun.