Christopher Columbus and the Lost City of Atlantis

by E. J. Robinson

  The woman scoffed.

  A second whistle rang out. This time, the call was answered when several dark shapes approached beneath the surf.

  “Equi Oceanus,” Elara said.

  “Water horses,” Columbus translated.

  “Eldocks,” Elara clarified.

  Seven strange mammals surfaced. They were the size of baby whales and looked like a hybrid of walruses and horses. Each bore a saddle and a thin, golden bridle that ran over their brows. One chittered excitedly when it saw Elara. She walked into the water and ran a hand over its hide. The two obviously shared a bond.

  A feeling of wonderment tickled Columbus’s senses. Now this is the kind of thing I was expecting.

  Fanucio sidled up to Columbus and whispered, “Are we meant to ride atop these beasts?”

  “Better atop than within,” Columbus replied.

  The remaining warriors walked into the surf to mount their eldocks. It was obvious Columbus’s crew was expected to follow.

  “Well?” Nyx asked. “Are we going with them?”

  “Even if we were in a position to refuse, which we are not,” Vespucci said, “I, for one, would like very much to get off this island before any more of those things appear.”

  “He’s right,” Columbus said. “At least, about this.”

  Vespucci strode into the water and mounted an eldock behind the male twin warrior. As Nyx and Fanucio followed, Columbus turned to the Pygmies. “Are you coming?”

  The Pygmies stood, arms crossed, pouting. Columbus groaned. “I wasn’t the one that attacked them without provocation. If you wish to get your spears back, you’ll have to ask them. I would suggest doing it nicely this time. Unless you’d rather stay here until dark and reunite with our singing friends.”

  Monday and Tuesday grudgingly followed.

  Columbus avoided Dion’s eyes as he climbed up and nestled in against Elara. “Bucked as a child. I’m sure you understand.”

  The curl of Elara’s mouth suggested she understood perfectly. She called out and the pack turned in unison, cantering out to sea.

  On the back of the rearmost eldock, Monday signaled Tuesday.

  “Intriguing motion,” he said. “Reminds me of the first hippo I ever mastered.”

  Monday snorted. “Reminds me of my first wife.”

  The water was surprisingly warm, the temperature fair. After a short spell, the party slipped into a current and moved deeper out to sea. Though the eldocks moved at a brisk pace, Columbus suspected they could go much faster. He reached down and ran a hand over the creature’s hide. It was thick and clammy, firm muscles moving beneath.

  Elara rode her eldock without reins. She used her knees and balance to dictate direction and speed. Even if Columbus hadn’t seen their greeting on the beach, he’d be able to identify the obvious bond between animal and master. Do the others share similar relationships with their eldocks? Columbus couldn’t tell. Did Elara’s know she’d been held captive? How long was she imprisoned there?

  Columbus knew he should have been more concerned about where they were headed, but he was too astonished by the sights around him. Everywhere he looked there were islands. Some were sprawling with verdant meadows, teeming with life. Others bore singular trees that jutted high into the sky.

  Wildlife was everywhere. Some of it was recognizable—deer and elk, squirrels chittering in trees. Others were astonishingly unique. Howler monkeys that changed colors. Eels that scuttled between water and shore. Exotic birds with plumage in unbelievable colors.

  With a shout, Nyx broke Columbus from his reverie. She pointed beneath them. Far below the surface, a team of eldock riders in familiar uniforms appeared to be harvesting plankton while stave-bearing warriors patrolled the area.

  “How do they breathe?” Columbus asked.

  Elara tapped a mask hanging from her saddle. Each rider had one. Columbus saw Vespucci’s envious eyes take them in. He wants one. Truth told, so did Columbus, but for different reasons. He had sailed atop the waves his entire life. To explore beneath the surface—to see the world as no man had before—would have been a revelation.

  Out of nowhere, Dion surged his eldock forward, his golden stave in his heavy hand. Columbus heard the buzz build moments before a large shadow appeared to their left. The biggest sea turtle Columbus had ever seen breached, rows of trumpet-like protrusions on its translucent shell.

  Fanucio whooped. “It’s like Soupy, me ol’ pet! Think it’ll mind if a give ‘er a nuzzle?”

  The giant turtle opened its mouth for a huge breath. As it exhaled, dozens of minuscule coral projectiles shot out, caroming off Dion’s magical shield, which he’d activated a second before. He fired his stave into the water and the turtle quickly submerged and swam off.

  “Nuzzle away,” Columbus laughed. “Maybe you’ll earn a new nickname.”

  Fanucio paled.

  A few moments later, Nyx’s eldock drew alongside Columbus, and she caught his eye.

  “Is this what you expected?” Nyx asked.

  Was it? He’d read accounts of Atlantis from a score of different cultures. Few had anything in common beyond the sinking of a powerful island nation. He was disappointed Plato’s city was nowhere to be seen—with its concentric rings and glimmering towers—but this was equally unique.

  “No,” he said eventually. “Though I daresay we’ve barely scratched the surface. Perhaps more awaits in some unseen corner of this world.”

  He heard Vespucci scoff. Columbus didn’t care. All his claims had been validated. His hard work paid off. Now he only needed to find the treasure. It was out there somewhere. He was certain of it.

  As the ride continued, the strange sun poured down heat. Columbus felt beads of sweat dotting his hairline.

  Passing a long peninsula, Elara turned. “Postquam autem interrogavit Atlantis?”

  “Yes,” Columbus answered.

  She smiled and nodded ahead as they rounded the peninsula. “Ibi est Atlantis. Regnum et domum suam.”

  The crew gasped.

  Like a mirage, it emerged from around the bend. On a low, circular island in the distance sat a city of glimmering towers that shone brilliantly in red and gold. The spires that rose like translucent blades of grass seemed to both reflect light and absorb it. Even from afar, Columbus could see elevated walkways devoid of buttresses and sprawling domes that defied gravity. It was a feat of engineering beyond anything known to man. Even the great Plato’s description failed to do it justice.

  “It’s how I always imagined heaven would look,” Nyx whispered.

  Columbus looked at the girl. It was as if she had taken the words right out of his mouth. This was a city of enlightenment. The city of his dreams. He had nearly lost his life in pursuit of it a hundred times. The years he’d spent searching, the crew members lost, his blessed ship sunk—all led up to this. It was all worth it, he decided. A thousand times over.

  “It could be heaven, or it could be hell,” Columbus said. “That’s the true allure of the adventuring life, Brommet. In this realm or any other, no man—or woman—knows fully what wonders await.”

  “Or how they shall be received,” Vespucci added.

  Columbus refused to let Vespucci ruin the moment. “Given our previous actions, I’d say with a hero’s welcome.”

  Elara’s head tilted slightly. Can she understand us? Not likely. But their awe was apparent. Still, she seemed to take no joy in it. That surprised Columbus. As did the fact that the nearer they drew, the darker her features grew. It was almost as if they emanated not from eagerness but from trepidation.

  Columbus soon found his initial excitement tempered on approach. A bevy of glass-like projections ran from the city, out over the water to different isles. But many of these were cracked or broken; some laying in ruin, abandoned long ago.

  Even more perplexing were the signs of wear. The spires that shined so brightly from afar lost their luster on approach. The highest had been shorn near its pinnacle. Fissures wound thro
ugh stone edifices. Gilded statues had grown dull. Even now, a crew of workers sat perched along the side of one tower, working hastily on repairs. This was not Elysium.

  This was a city in decay.

  The reason quickly became evident. Behind and above the city brooded a dark mass of clouds. It was as if a storm of unparalleled size was preparing to feast on Atlantis. Maybe it had already begun. Only when they passed into the city’s shadows did Columbus realize it wasn’t a storm at all. It was the invisible barrier that protected the underwater kingdom. And it was pulsing as if it were alive.

  Chapter Eight

  The cry that went up from the watchtowers set in motion a flurry of activity as Elara’s name echoed across the burnished ramparts with joyful reactions. It reaffirmed Columbus’s belief that Elara was a person of real importance. Hopefully the part they played in liberating her would play in their favor.

  The party drew to a halt fifty yards from the city wall. No clear entrance could be seen. Elara and Dion conferred briefly before Dion signaled the watchtower above. A moment passed before a jolt shook the city walls, the sounds of rusty gears preceding the rise of a large circular plate near the water’s entrance, revealing a tunnel half-filled with water.

  As the group entered, dust and debris wafted down from above. Columbus suspected it was because this path was rarely used.

  The tunnel carried on for a spell, eventually emptying out into a cavernous stone bay with scores of gated water pens. Within lanterns affixed to the walls were red alchemical lights that burned with an otherworldly glow.

  A man waited on a stone quay. He was older, with a plaited beard and scarlet frock coat that suggested he was someone of importance. He, too, wore one of those healing crystals around his neck. Other than Dion’s, Columbus hadn’t seen another. Were they rare and valuable? If so, Elara might get into trouble for using one on him.

  As the group arrived, the older man signaled a group of youths, who quickly corralled the eldocks and helped their riders off.

  When Elara stood, the older man embraced her warmly, relief evident as they spoke. Fanucio whispered to Columbus, asking if he thought the man was her father. Columbus didn’t think so.

  The quay shook when Dion climbed onto it. Whereas the other warriors helped the charges to their feet, the giant merely stepped back to supervise the proceedings.

  The older man glanced briefly at the strangers, his gaze darkening. Elara shook her head and spoke that odd phrase again.

  “What do you suppose it means?” Nyx asked. “Anak-Ta Eleece?”

  Columbus had no idea, so he shushed her instead.

  Once the party was dismounted, the young workers ushered the eldocks into individual pens, locking them behind steel gates that sunk beneath the surface. Elara’s eldock was the last. She knelt by the quay and rubbed the creature’s head. It chittered once again. Then the older man directed it to the nearest pen with a long wooden pole. When the gate closed, the old man looked at the youths. Each stood in front of a pen. With a single nod, they all bent down, reached inside the cage and removed the golden bridle covering the eldocks’ heads. Instantly, the eldocks started thrashing in their cages and screeching so loud that Columbus and his crew had to cover their ears. It was a striking change from the passive animals they’d ridden for the past hour.

  The crew was escorted down a long stone hallway into a moderate-sized room lined with partitions bearing more scarlet uniforms. The room smelled of salt and sweat.

  At the room’s center was a raised, circular platform with the edifice of a mouth carved in the ceiling directly above. Dion pointed to Columbus and then the platform.

  Columbus shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”

  Dion gestured with his hands, and several of his warriors laughed. Elara spoke one word and the laughter died. She nodded toward the female twin, whom she called Thetra. To the surprise of Columbus’s crew, Thetra stripped off her clothes and stepped onto the platform. Dion struck a red plate on the wall, and a shower of water sprayed from the ceiling’s mouth. A rush of hot air dried her an instant later, and the woman walked to a partition to put on a lighter set of clothes. Her twin brother, Sareen, followed.

  “No way in hell I’m doing that,” Nyx said, looking pale.

  The giant sneered, waiting to see what Columbus would do next. He peeled off his torn shirt and trousers.

  “No one cares for your giblets, girl. Unless you’re afraid we’ll see you’re a boy after all?”

  Nyx looked away, mortified and angry.

  Having stripped bare, Columbus stepped onto the platform. He glanced at Elara, but she was busy removing her torn uniform. He smiled, thinking she was trying hard not to look his way.

  Dion struck the red plate again, but this time only a trickle came out.

  Columbus snickered. “Weak stream?”

  Glowering, Dion punched the plate twice more before the water finally began to pour, blessedly hot. The relief it brought was instantaneous. Columbus felt half his tension ebb away. When he was done, he glanced at the red plate again. It was the same sanguine material that made up part of the city’s towers. He remembered Plato spoke of a similar, precious metal, known only to the Atlanteans. Orichalcum. It was said to be a mixture of rare metals, possibly gold. Was it plentiful here? Columbus made a point to find out.

  Freshly showered, the group was given threadbare robes before they were escorted into an adjacent room. Columbus looked back as Elara stepped under the shower, locking eyes with her just before the door closed.

  Hours passed, during which they were provided what appeared to be dried seaweed and water. Nyx asked after a latrine and was shown to a closet with even more orichalcum plates. The others weren’t privy to what happened inside, but when Nyx reappeared, her face was flush, and she refused to utter a word. The Pygmies went off to see the closet for themselves and didn’t return.

  Through a cracked rear door, Columbus watched as four grim-faced men and one woman questioned Elara. They wore robes similar to the eldock wrangler, but they had serious faces, reeking of self-importance and faux concern. Columbus knew their type well. Elara answered their questions before they shuffled off, leaving her looking troubled. She glanced at his door once before signaling Thetra and whispering in her ear. Trepidation briefly lit her features before she hustled off. Columbus hustled back to his seat a moment before Elara walked through.

  She spoke in Latin again, trying not to let her fatigue show. Her tone was serious, escalating the tension in the room.

  “Wot goin’ on?” Fanucio asked.

  Nyx hushed him before pulling close. “She said we’ve been summoned to something called the Nave. I think it must be the city’s center.”

  “Who summoned us? Her leaders?”

  “No, the king. Now, be still.”

  After Elara had spoken, Columbus and Vespucci both asked her questions. There was some fumbling—her Latin was far more archaic than theirs. Finally, she left the room.

  “What?” Fanucio asked. “Somethin’ wrong, isn’t it?”

  Columbus leaned forward, chin in hand.

  “Apparently, we’ve come at a bad time. There’s trouble in paradise, though she wouldn’t elaborate. Also, they appear to hold some pretty hard feelings toward us.”

  “Us? Us who?”

  “Man,” Vespucci said. “Presumably she means the Athenians.”

  “It’s almost as if they see themselves differently. As a species, I mean. What was that phrase she used?”

  Vespucci repeated it in Latin.

  “Wot’s it mean?” Fanucio asked.

  “Really, Fanucio,” Nyx snapped, “didn’t you study Latin when you were young?”

  “Latin? Ha! I was born in a fishing village, lass. We had stars for a roof and mud for a floor. The only letters I studied were them on our eviction notice. Where did you learn it?”

  The others curiously looked to the girl.

  “At school,” she answered vaguely.

  Co
lumbus knew she was hiding something, but he didn’t have the time or inclination to figure out what. There were far more important things to worry about.

  Vespucci cleared his throat. “She said, ‘Though eons have passed, the strife between our races has not been forgotten.’ Doesn’t bode well for us, does it?”

  Columbus heard heavy footfalls approaching. “We’re about to find out.”

  The door opened, and four warriors signaled them to follow. One of them noticed the Pygmies had disappeared and asked Columbus about them.

  “Haven’t a clue, friend,” Columbus said.

  Their escorts led them through the daunting city, down circular tunnels that fed to hubs, each branching off into four or five different directions. Those strange alchemical lamps burned at each intersection, bathing everything in a dull red glow.

  At one of the larger hubs, Columbus noticed a series of vacant tubes that ran from high atop the tower to somewhere far below them. At first, he assumed they were for ventilation. Then, a rushing sound shook the tube as it filled with liquid. An instant later, two people rose from below and stepped through an invisible door, dry as could be. Columbus and his crew could only marvel at this remarkable form of transportation.

  More citizens emerged as they walked on—men, women, and children. They wore pale-colored garb of unusual fabric, unadorned but for the occasional belt or necklace. Like the warriors before, all were fair-skinned with light or reddish hair. A few of the men had beards, but most were clean-shaven. One constant, however, were the gems that graced a single side of every face. The patterns and colors seemed to signify something, though Columbus couldn’t guess what. Children had fewer than the adults. Still, none came close to the warriors. Theirs ran from just above the brow, around the eye, and down to the jawline. Are these marks of honor? Or do they indicate one’s name or trade? Columbus made a mental note to ask Elara later.

  The crowd’s gazes weren’t overtly hostile, but they were tinged with suspicion. A few children laughed and tried to get close, only to be drawn away and scolded by their parents. Word of the newcomers’ arrival must have spread through the city, so no one was surprised by their presence. Still, there was an intensity to the crowd, as if they were all eager to see what happened next.