by M. Arcturus
Atlantis
City of Mages
By M. Arcturus
Dedicated to all of my family and friends.
This is where the adventure begins!
Copyright © 2021 M. Arcturus
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-7364415-0-3
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the e-mail address below.
[email protected]
Words of Gratitude and Appreciation
I want to thank my family and friends for all of your support. I know my storytelling of this book captured your curiosity on many occasions and you lived vicariously through the characters in my book. Your curiosity about what was to happen next kept my pen flowing and spirits high through many sleepless nights of writing. Your encouragement kept me going and my journey would not have been the same without you cheering me on.
And I give a special thanks to Mirav Tarkka, Natasa Ivancevic, Parul Agrawal, Heidi De Love, Martina Wojtylová Opava, Debra Clark, Megan Hinman, Georgia Wilhelm, Arturo Valenzuela, Olivia DeLouch, Francesca Leader-Hastorun, ijil Rainbow Hawk Giver, Cathy Marinan, Dori Babbit, and Karen Clark, and my launching team. All of you helped me launch my book to the next level. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Book Reviews
“A colorful style of writing, descriptive and thrilling at the same time. Pirates, space, other planets - wow, every sci-fi fan should read this!”
- Martina Wojtylová Opava, Best-Selling Author and Founder of Soul Clearing Ritual for Parents Kids
“Embark on an extraordinary journey with “Atlantis” by Maven Arcturus. A story that will have you enchanted from the very beginning, Atlantis has all the ingredients of a fantasy novel. Strange creatures, dragons, villains and heroes, with her beautiful descriptive writing, Maven manages to paint a world that allows you to get lost in an adventure and escape the everyday mundane. I sure hope this is a first in a series! A book for the young and the old who stayed young at heart.”
- Heidi De Love, Best-Selling Editor and Author
“Great book, with a wonderful cast of characters. The author takes her time in the first chapter to develop the characters and establish strong world building. By the second chapter the real story begins. With an interesting twist on fantasy characters and history, you’ll enjoy this story until the end.”
- Arturo Valenzuela, Editor and Book Connoisseur
“This book had me truly captivated from beginning to end. The author has this way of describing the setting and the characters to make them so real you begin to question if this really happened in the final days of Atlantis. You will find yourself laughing and crying as you see the world through the eyes of the different characters. Anyone who enjoys magical, spellbinding adventures, with a splash of humor, would love this book.”
– Debra Clark, Founder of Mystic Heartspace, LLC., on Facebook, and Light Language Awakening group.
“Capturing. Thrilling. Mind teasing.
In her first book, the author manages to pull you in with brilliant writing and an extraordinary story-telling ability.
Unforgettable characters, exquisite writing style, originality, and magic. An amazing read taking you to another world, bringing it into yours, and in some ways- making it yours.”
- Mirav Tarkka, 5 times Best-Selling Author,
Trainer and Speaker.
Dear Reader,
As I sit here finishing up the last few lines of my story, I wonder how much excitement and adventure you will experience while you’re reading my book. My desire is to stretch your imagination past what we are taught about the world around us and to open your mind to new possibilities. I wanted to create a story that put a new twist to old myths and legends. A story that made you laugh, cry, and kept you on the edge of your seat. I know that my book might even cause some controversy, but that is the way I wanted it. I want you to form your own opinion and spark conversations about it. That’s what spurs and stirs the imagination in other people. I know that every life my book touches, it will cause a ripple effect, even if it’s on the tip of your subconscious.
May the journey you take, while reading my book, keep you entertained for hours and your mind racing. May there be at least one character that speaks to your heart. There are a few small hints about where Atlantis is located now, but the answer will be revealed in the sequel. The sequel promises to be more thrilling than the first; however, you must learn the history of the isle before knowing its finale fate.
Adventure and Excitement Awaits!
Much Love,
-M. Arcturus
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One: The Vision
Chapter Two: The Breaking of Waves
Chapter Three: And the Earth Shall Quake at His Coming
Chapter Four: The Heartbeat of a Thousand Ships
Chapter Five: Too Many Triangles Not Enough Love
Chapter Six: Leonardo da Vinci’s Return
Chapter Seven: As Light As a Feather
Chapter Eight: Hell’s Fire and Second Chances
Chapter Nine: A Heros’ End
Chapter Ten: Nemesis, the Time of Reckoning
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Prologue
I still remember the fall of the Empire. We didn’t have streets paved with gold nor the fountain of youth, but we had corruption and ill-fated greed. In ignorance, we blamed a traveler for the ruin of our culture, when we should have taken the blame for our own destruction. The traveler was never the destroyer we made her out to be. Instead, she was a much-needed outside voice whispering in our ears. She came to us when we were already deep in an era of decay, which sadly drowned her message below the cries of the community. Juron knew where we were headed, yet he pretended to be like us, blind to the situation. He used the traveler as a scapegoat and we, not fully seeing the picture, clung onto the fearful beliefs of the masses. Now, I openly admit that I was wrong, and to the generations henceforth, I want all to know...I’m sorry, Giséi...I’m sorry.
Chapter One
The Vision
Selené’s heart raced as she experienced the beginning of her dream’s destination. Her eyes darted left to right as she entered REM sleep. A dense fog consumed her dream, hindering her sight. Her heart beat so hard it influenced the rhythm of her dream. Her vision came to her in flashes that pulsed in time with her heart. She was hit by bursts of color with each heart’s pound, and soon after, detailed images of time and space developed.
The first flash of collected sight was on the deck of a ship. The salty sea air filled her lungs while whipping her hair about her face. The wind rippled through the ship’s sails and the damp atmosphere made the moisture condensate on the bamboo railings of the ship, making them slick, almost slimy to the touch. She saw the multiple fanned sails of deep imperial red fluttering above the glowing Chinese lanterns, which were brought to life with dancing flames. The gold-painted supports for the side rails were carved into elaborate Oriental dragons. One palpitating second at a time, she slowly scanned her surroundings. Taking it all in, Selené realized she was on a grand, seafaring Chinese junk, one of the finest ship
s ever crafted; however, this one was badly in need of repair.
The dense fog soon engulfed her again, only to reveal her descending down a rickety, wooden staircase to the lower deck. In the next rhythmic window of sight, she saw chains hanging down from a metal grate. They clanged together, causing the surroundings to feel absolutely forbidding and mysteriously vacant. When she passed under the grate, water dripped on her head as she cautiously made her way toward a pile of wooden crates where she saw a burlap sack. Her heart beat again, and she was suddenly closer to the sack. So close, she could see its contents through the crude grain of the burlap. Inside was a young girl, bound hand to feet and blindfolded with a black silk cloth. She appeared as if she had been without food for days.
“No!” Selené gasped as she broke away from her dream. Quickly sitting up in bed, she looked around her quarters through damp strands of hair. She peered past the sheer, aqua curtains of her apple-red Mediterranean canopy bed, hand painted with an intricate gold and green floral pattern. With her heart still beating wildly from the dream, she surveyed her room to see if everything was in its proper place. Her eyes lifted up to the domed ceiling tiled with foot by foot, off-white squares trimmed in dark brown wood. She looked at the beige walls and the cherry hardwood floor covered with a Persian area rug that tied the room’s colors together into one lavish pattern. She was pleased to know that she was still in her own room.
But, it wasn’t working—the ambiance of her room was usually enough to calm her; however, tonight it was not alleviating her anxiety. The nightmare was so vivid it made reality surreal. So, she tried to replace the memories of the nightmare with happy thoughts.
She reflected back to the first day she stepped into her quarters. It was shortly after her mother’s death, and the fifteen-foot-high ceiling intimidated her. Juron, the Governor of Atlantis, came to her rescue. He instructed one of the Atlantean architects to add dark brown beams and rafters where the walls met the base of the dome. This created a nine-foot-high false ceiling, which made her feel better. Selené couldn’t stand the main source of lighting for her quarters. It cast an odd, eerie blue glow throughout the room before changing into a soothing orange radiance. After adding track lighting along the rafters and sparkling, emerald-green cylinder lights to soften the mood, her quarters became the perfect refuge.
Only after observing the stillness of her dimly lit quarters, and reminiscing about happy memories, did she begin to relax. She cautiously leaned back against her headboard. Closing her eyes, she tried to still her nerves while her mind retrieved the events of her disturbing dream. Selené rarely had visions in her dreams, but she trusted them.
“What turn of events could have caused The Destroyer of Worlds to come before us?” she whispered to herself. While reviewing more scenes from her dream she began to wonder when her vision would come to pass. For they always did.
After a moment of silence, she began to stir again. Her hair, still damp from perspiration, was plastered onto the sides of her face. Her lips were dry from dehydration, and she felt chilled from the sweat that had oozed from every pore. She pushed back the covers with considerable effort, and slowly walked to her vanity. Standing before the mirror, she put her long sea-green hair into a ponytail, then wiped the crusty sleep from her violet eyes. Wanting to talk to someone about her dream, she grabbed the blue and violet robe off the back of her chair, slipped it on, and headed toward the door. Before closing the door behind her, she looked out of her circular window, only to be met by darkness.
Among the many residents living at the palace, and despite her many years on Atlantis, Selené only had two real friends. Pandora had been her best friend since childhood. Her only other friend was Juron. Although she looked up to him, given the nature of his job, she didn’t get the chance to speak to him as often as she would have liked. As she eagerly locked her bedroom door she thought, Pandora must be fast asleep; good luck waking her up. Hopefully, Juron will be up. Besides him, there’s no one else who would be crazy enough to be awake at this time of the night.
Her feet softly padding down the mirrored floor of the corridors, she made her way to Juron’s quarters. Thinking about the occasional late nights she used to have talking with Juron in his quarters, she could almost smell the cherry scented tobacco of his pipe and taste the chamomile tea he usually offered her. His quarters looked like a museum. His stateroom, which seemed to stretch on for miles, was filled with rare artifacts and treasures far beyond anything she had ever known before. Juron had a story behind every item he had procured. He would talk about his treasure hunting excursions and his adventures as the Governor of Atlantis. She would listen filled with envy, yearning to have adventures herself, but tonight would be different. Yet, she was still hoping for the comforting cherry aroma and the soothing tea to calm her nerves.
She finally arrived at Juron’s door. Selené desperately pushed the button on the keypad to ring the doorbell. As she did, she was reminded again that the advanced technology of Atlantis was failing— there was a short ring followed immediately by an awful electrical buzzing sound. Then the bell shorted out, so she just knocked instead. When he didn’t answer the door, she decided to visit his office, known as the Governor’s Chamber.
As she neared his office, she was in luck; she could hear the low rumble of his muffled voice, it echoed off of the dark sparkling columns in the hallways and it quickly reached her ears. Before gracing the last few yards for Juron’s door, she suspiciously eyed the ten pair of guards lining the two rows of columns leading to his office. They always guarded his door, but this time, something seemed different. Making a quiet dash for the door, she was abruptly met by the metallic clang of crossed spears. Backing up, she realized the last pair of guards closest to Juron’s door had denied her access. They had never barred her from his office before, and she could feel empathy radiating through their blank stern exteriors. Giving a shy little nod, she headed back down the hallway.
Just a few corridors down from the Governor’s Chamber, still consumed in thought, Selené ran right into Kajaka, another member of the Atlantean Council.
Kajaka stood there, an air of strength surrounding him as he stared down into her eyes. The only indication that she had bumped into him was a little swish his waist-long black hair gave before it stilled. When it swished, she caught a glimpse of the orange-gold flecks mixed throughout his hair, which looked like the eyes of a peacock’s feather shining like flames in the low candlelight of the hallway. His tear-shaped, smoke-colored eyes softened when they met hers.
“You’ll need this to eavesdrop on Juron,” he said smiling as he handed her the cloak in his hand. She wanted to respond, but he was already disappearing down the hall. The green feathers covering his robe, rustled softly against each other as he went.
“How do they do that?” asked Selené out loud to herself, the look of perplexity still on her face. “How do they know before anything happens?”
Long before her time, these bird-loving beings came from the farthest reaches of the universe, not only to trade with the Atlanteans, but also to be active members on the Council. Over time, only two remained. Kajaka was always the quiet one of the two. Zachushaporiel, his mate, was much more forward and colorfully ornate in his presence and wear. Zachushaporiel was a flamboyant and complicated name for a flamboyant and complicated bird. His name meant “way of the shadows.” So in no time at all, he was referred to as Shaporiel, or Selené’s personal favorite, Shadow. The people were not quite sure what type of beings they were. They looked human, but there were some minor differences that most people overlooked. Their eyes appeared to be slightly larger than the average human eye. They had high cheekbones, and the ala of their noses were smaller than those on a human’s nose. What astounded Selené the most were the feathered cloaks they never seemed to take off, and their sizable affinity for the Bennu bird, a form of firebird, which inhabited the isle.
Selené felt honore
d to receive the cloak from Kajaka. This was not only because of his breed being so mysterious, but more for his type of personality—quiet, reserved, and doing only what was tremendously important. Selené knew he was the driving force and power behind his mate and the other board members.
After gently putting the gifted robe around her shoulders, Selené pulled the hood carefully up over her head. There was a thin, see-through veil attached to the hood. Using the veil to cover her face, she hid among the columns, realizing that she was not invisible, but instead more or less transparent like a shadow. Slipping in and out of the dark shadows cast by the columns, she returned to the last corridor before the Governor’s Chamber.
As she stared at Juron’s door she started to second guess the notion of spying on him. She had never done so before, but something inside her was driving her to do it. The feeling nagged at her and made her feel like it was imperative. The cloak reminded her about meeting Kajaka in the hallway, which instilled validation for her suspicions.
Once she settled her doubts she surveyed her surroundings. She decided to use the column just to the left of Juron’s door. This column was unique. It had a high relief of Sylvia, the sea nymph, carved into it. She was one of Juron’s ex-girlfriends, and was very beautiful in person, but Selené didn’t like the sculptor’s depiction of her; he made her look too masculine. But Selené was more interested in Sylvia’s left arm, which extended out from her body so that her long delicate fingers touched the header of Juron’s door. It was the perfect way to eavesdrop on Juron. Surely, the massive arm and hand would be able to hold her weight. It was the guards she was worried about. Studying the guards, she looked for a way to move undetected past them to get closer to his door.