by M. Arcturus
A high priestess led the blonde-haired stranger through the common grounds of the temple and tried to direct his attention to specific areas designated for outsiders. A soft voice caught his attention and he drifted away from his guide. As the high priestess tried to move him along to the next area, he shooed her away with a slight flick of his hand. She gave the prince some room, but stayed close enough to watch his every move as he walked deeper into the temple. He was enchanted as he watched a young priestess compassionately console a mother who had just lost her son to the war against the Persians. Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, was determined to extend the rule of his kingdom. There were rumors that the king was fair and just, but the Phoenicians didn’t trust the gossip spread by the merchants from the territories already under King Cyrus’s reign.
Overhearing the women mention King Cyrus pained the prince. He had lost his sister to the Persian King. Although he had made many attempts to dissuade his sister, she had been persuaded by the King’s generosity, and refused to return home with him. When the woman and the priestess finished their conversation, the silence disrupted his memories of the past. As the priestess turned from the woman, she nearly bumped into the prince. She looked up and met his soft, honey-colored eyes. The anguish from his past subsided as their eyes locked on each other. The priestess couldn’t turn away, nor could the prince. They felt they were destined to meet.
Through the next few months, as their love grew, he warned her that he was from a distant place, further away than what she could fathom. Yet as she looked deeper into his pale brown eyes, she ignored all logic. He had two arms, two legs, and a heart just like hers. What difference did it make that he was from a far-off place? Soon he was going to take her away to his kingdom where they would live together forever.
As fate would have it, the Persians conquered Phoenicia before her lover’s ship was able to arrive at the port to take them back to his kingdom. One day, as King Cyrus’s men patrolled the streets to keep peace and order, a general and a small entourage of four men walked into the temple. Due to the prince’s attempts to save his sister, the Persian general recognized him and quickly ordered the soldiers to take him. He was torn away from his beloved priestess. The soldiers dragged him out of the temple and through the streets. The prince reached for her as the crowd closed in behind the soldiers who pulled him away. With all of her might, she pushed through the crowd, and managed to grasp his hand. Knowing she would not be safe there anymore, he told her to leave Tyre by the way of a ship with golden sails; docked in the port only during certain times well after dark. The ship was not from his kingdom, but it would carry her away to safety. The crowd became too thick and too strong for their grasp. She watched him disappear into the masses, leaving her to face her own fear and confusion.
Along the way, the soldiers collected more people from the crowd who they deemed disobedient, accusing them of disrupting the peace and stealing from the local venders. The soldiers dragged the offenders through the streets until they reached the center of the town. They held onto their hostages tightly as their general rode up on his horse. The prince was the first, ordering soldiers to break his knees, the general drove his sword through her lover’s heart. His screams of pain washed over the crowd as she tried to fight her way to him. Even though she couldn’t see what had happened, there was no doubt in her mind that he was gone; his scream would echo in her ears until her death.
She retreated to the temple and only after the crowd had gone away, did she venture out again to find her beloved. She ran to him as her sheer robes fluttered behind her. Kneeling at his side, she gently touched his hair and took note of the wound in his back. Still hoping against despair, she checked for a pulse. He felt cold to her touch. Her mind still cluttered with innumerable questions. Her body numb from the terror she witnessed. She pulled her knees up to her chest, sitting right beside him, she tucked her head down and cried far into the late evening.
As night descended, she peered over her knees at the port off in the distance. All of the street lanterns and torches had become lit, as brisk noises emanated through the darkness of town, indicating excitement. She stared through the brown ringlets of her hair. The sky was bright pink on the horizon, fading into a deep purple, and there, sailing into port, was a ship as bright and golden as the sun. Throughout her years living in Tyre, she had never seen a ship such as this!
Lights came on in the homes closest to port in response to the golden light radiating off the ship’s sails. Figures from darkened alleyways and unlit houses began to run toward the ship. There were not many of them, but one pair caught the priestess’s attention. It appeared to be a mother grasping tightly onto her child’s hand as they moved stealthfully toward the port. No one chased after them, but they ran like their life depended on it. The woman and child slowed for a brief moment as the hood started to fall from her head. She looked down at the fallen body, her pale hazel eyes filled with regret and a bit of hidden shock as she recognized the priestess. She quickened their pace toward the port. The priestess sat in bewilderment. She didn’t quite know what was going on, but it seemed that they were fugitives. What kept running through her mind was the look on the woman’s face, which seemed to ask why she wasn’t running with them toward the golden ship.
Shortly after that evening, the priestess discovered she was with child. For months that evening didn’t make sense to the priestess until her baby was born. The warning of her deceased lover soon made all the difference. They had a child together, born with sea-green hair and passionate violet eyes. Despite Selené’s surprising appearance, she was a sight to behold! The bond between mother and daughter was strong and inseparable. The midwife was horrified at the sight of Selené, the other priestesses begged her to agree to Selené’s disposal, but the priestess refused to abandon Selené. However, she knew Selené would never be safe in the new Tyre dominated by the Persian government. The expression on the woman’s face from that fateful evening a few months earlier no longer held mystery to the priestess. The stranger must have had an extraordinary sense of intuition and knew the priestess was pregnant with the outsider’s child, but didn’t want to interfere. It would be seven years of hiding in the temple before that magical night would repeat itself. Once again, the ship with golden sails beckoned to them. Only this time, the mother would be her, and the child dragged behind was her precious Selené as they ran toward the golden ship offering them their freedom.
The crowd was thick, much larger than the one seven years prior. The priestess held tightly onto Selené as they were being pushed and pulled from all sides. Selené’s hood began to slip from her head due to all of the jostling. Her innocent violet eyes widened as she viewed the illuminated ship with an eye painted on the side of the bow, and a curved tail on the stern, which looked like the tail of a scorpion. The ship seemed so mysterious and magical. Little did Selené know that the ship would carry her away to an isle that could vanish at will, where time stood still, and was the only place on Earth known to be the gateway to the stars. At last her gaze rested on another child about her age standing in the crowd. They looked at each other and smiled for one brief moment until Selené heard her mother scream, for as they started to walk up the gangplank, Selené was violently torn away from her mother’s hand.
The priestess kept screaming to be let go, but the crew members of the ship would not heed her words. Panic flooded Selené. She screamed back at her mother as they became further and further apart. Barely cutting through the cries of the people, the crew shouted that there were too many people on board and that her child, among many others, were to be left behind. The crew worked together to clear the gangplank of extra people and moved them away from the ship. Tears streamed down from the eyes of both the mother and child, as they could no longer see each other through the crowd. The unbearable grief in their chests was heart wrenching. Not knowing what to do next, both were frozen in place from the sudden loss and the crushing force of
the crowd. Just as the plank to the shore was being lifted, a heavy firm foot slammed down onto the plank, jarring it out of the sailors’ grip. They looked in disbelief at the slender hooded figure that wielded so much strength.
There were no jewels or lavish embroidery on her dark gray hooded cloak. Without being able to see her face she seemed rather ordinary, but her voice rose above the chatter of those surrounding the ship, and bellowed with authority. “You will accept that woman’s child along with me and my own daughter!” she announced to the crew.
The captain from the deck high above leaned over the railing, “I’m sorry, madam, but we have accepted as many as we can carry.”
“Three more bodies, two of them children, will not make a difference.”
“But madam—”
“I believe I made myself clear!” Her voice was full of power. As both children sought refuge under her cloak, she removed her hood. Long, soft, pointed ears were revealed, and her long, curly, blood-red hair fell freely about her shoulders. A delicate, golden tiara encrusted with emeralds sat elegantly on her head. Her auburn eyes were full of anger, which were only accentuated by the light shining off of the sails. They gleamed in the light, just daring someone to stand in her way so she could exercise her power. As firm as a mountain, her words continued, “You have no choice!”
The captain lowered his head in respect, and admirably accepted his last three passengers. As she stepped onto the deck, he apologized to his Lady. She nodded her head in acknowledgment, and then she calmly walked over and stood beside the priestess. Selené was returned to her mother’s arms, and she hugged her mother tightly. The ship started to moan as if it were being forced to stay awake on a full stomach, and when the sails took their first breath of ocean wind, they shuttered and shimmered with bright flecks of gold light, making the ship appear as if it were alive. Selené wiggled from her mother’s arms and took off toward the starboard side rail to watch the ship pull away from the dock. Her awe turned to sadness when she looked down at the people remaining on the dock. They were crying as the ship sailed away. They looked as if they were watching their life fade away before their very eyes.
Selené turned to ask her mother why the people were so sad, but her mother and the Lady, who kept them united, had stepped away from the railing and were talking together in low voices. While talking, her mother broke down into tears, and buried her face in her hands. Selené started to run toward her mom, but was stopped by the child she had smiled at before. Her new friend assured her that her mother would be fine, that their parents were having grown-up talk, and they should probably leave them alone and invited her to play.
The Lady looked calmly into the priestess’s teary eyes and spoke very quietly, “He only died because he was alien to them and he had the ability to do things that they were incapable of doing. To them, his very existence was a threat.”
The priestess tried to understand the Lady’s words, but what ability did her prince have? The Lady’s insight into her past caused memories to surface as tears fell from her eyes. Reliving the pain of his sudden death and the thought that Selené would never know her father, was almost too much for her to bear. It took another day or two of travel before she was informed of the magnitude of the distance to her lover’s home. For days, Selené watched her mother break down crying, and felt guilty for not having the power to help her.
The moon waxed and waned as they traveled the waves of the high seas. Daily, her mother cried. And daily, Selené felt useless for not having any way to cheer her up. She loved her mother and hated to see her grieve. As the months past, the mothers conversed with each other; eventually, her mother began to mourn less; and the two young girls became the best of friends. Hours were spent creating stories from the pictures painted on the Phoenician vases and amphoras, which stored the crew’s food and wine, and playing hide-and-seek, Selené watched as her new friend, Pandora, exercised her extraordinary gifts. In amazement, Selené beheld Pandora making the moss grow with every step she took. The crew was not happy with this as they were the ones who continually scraped the plant-life off of the deck. Every time they tried to protest, Pandora’s mother was not far behind, giving them a warning look, and protected her daughter’s practice time and advancement.
Atlantis may have been a small isle, but it looked vast on the horizon. Spacecrafts flew by overhead, flying toward a massive metal elliptical-shaped skyport, drifting high above the land. The reverberating noise from the spacecrafts’ engines rang in Selené’s ears. Instinctively, she ducked down low in awe and fear. She had seen nothing like this in Tyre! Once again, her friend Pandora was there, stooping down beside her, assuring her that everything was fine. Selené slowly stood up and peeked over the railing. The dome-shaped houses glittered with different colors in the light of the setting sun. Everything seemed so alien to her!
When they arrived on Atlantis, it was more like a small colony than a large, thriving, intergalactic empire. Everything was shiny and clean. In the excitement, Selené wandered away from her mom. She became fascinated with a large blue centipede-looking individual who was at least fifteen feet in length. This was the first Urilliad she had ever seen. He adjusted his glasses to look the young girl over. Just as he was about to address her, Selené’s mother called.
Selené darted in and out of the crowd as quickly as she could to reach her mother. She wasn’t paying any attention to the loud foot falls approaching. Her mother cried out a warning just as the massive, pink gelatinous, elephantine foot hit the ground. The blue centipede scurried over, and snatched Selené out of the way just in time. The giant didn’t even stop. He only half-heartedly yelled, “Sorry,” and was off on his way. Other than his bald head and pear-shaped body, Selené didn’t get a good look at the giant, and she didn’t recall ever seeing the likes of him again. Those were her first memories of Atlantis.
The next few hundred years after that, her mom had established a booth in the marketplace. The priestess became known as the most powerful Oracle of Atlantis, and the line of people waiting for their fortunes was so long it wrapped around the perimeter of the marketplace. Despite all of her customers, she never allowed Selené out of her sight. Studying to be an oracle herself, Selené wished with all of her heart to be as strong and powerful as her mother. As time passed, the Persian language stopped falling from Selené’s lips and was instead replaced with Atlantean. Memories of Tyre were the next to go, along with the life of her mother. After her mother’s death, Selené’s only source of knowledge came from the records in Atlantis’s archive. Without her mother’s love and guidance, she started to flounder in the use of her abilities, incapable of growing stronger. Giving up on her oracle studies, she dedicated all of her time and energy to the archive, studying human culture and trying to decipher the texts and scrolls left behind by an ancient race called ‘The Elders’—the founders of Atlantis.
Selené brought her attention from the memory of the Phoenician vases from that trip so long ago back to the present. Looking around, the people didn’t appear to have changed. It all still reminded her of a masquerade, but here the masks were actually people’s faces. Not that she ever took real interest in the business aspect of the marketplace, but while walking past the merchants, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. On Atlantis, there was never money, only diversity, universal trade, and knowledge, which were the cornerstones for purity and natural advancement. In exchange for free technology, any discovery made with that technology had to be shared with the governing body of the alien race who created the device or tool that aided in the discovery. From what she gathered, the person who made the discovery got to keep the credit for their findings.
Looking past the people, she noticed that the city itself had changed a great deal from the first day she had arrived nearly four hundred years ago. Back then, everything was new and clean. There were still people from all walks of life who gathered in the courtyard, magical and human alike. Chil
dren laughed while playing tag near their parents, and vendors yelled to attract attention. Musicians still played their creative music and actors performed their latest inspiration, but if one looked closely enough, the buildings were not in good repair and it was apparent that the people no longer possessed the level of pride and enthusiasm which had once made the city thrive and grow.
What bothered her most was that the alien community on Atlantis had diminished greatly. They either left or had died off. There used to be quite a few extraterrestrials that came to trade, to mingle, and to learn. Even Kajaka and Shadow didn’t trade their plants and elixirs like they used to. So technically, there were only two remaining alien species that still came to deal business—the Neubians and the Ackrids.
Selené’s favorite, the Neubians, were the most patient she had ever encountered. They were four feet in height, had grayish colored skin, and big black almond-shaped eyes. Unison, the eldest of the Neubian merchants, was talking to Raydorian, the loudest Atlantean merchant ever known. Raydorian’s black, curly, hair looked wild as it poked out from underneath his red and orange kufi cap, and by the way his laugh blustered, you could tell was he was thoroughly enjoying the conversation. Unison, on the other hand, was not that enthused with the interaction. It was obvious by the dreadful look on Unison’s face that he clearly wanted to drop off his shipment of musical instruments and get away from Raydorian as soon as possible.
The Neubians were best known for their medical and scientific inventions like the aging pod, vaccine distributor, and the space distorter. She guessed that they thought Raydorian was damaging enough selling their musical instruments and was not to be trusted with anything more technical.