Chapter 20.
Atl’As gazed out across Atlantis. The city had began shaking violently in the depths of the night. He was pleased his siblings chose to evacuate. The entirety of the previous day had been a wild rush to escape, in the escalating chaos a riot had almost broke out upon the pristine streets, yet the kings of Atlantis managed to keep their people united. Those who did not wish to take to Ra’Atlantek moved north east, to take refuge amidst the mountains of their fertile mainland.
From within the statue of Poseidon itself, high above the temple, Atl’As had withdrawn the golden sheets that made the immortal mask’s eyes, granting him an un-obscured view to the furthest reaches of his home. He glared up the central canal, across the concentric rings that outlined the districts of his city, and the deep turquoise waterways that separated them. He stared dreamily to the copper outer walls, and back across the radiant metropolis. The sun’s rays reflected off the towering gypsum rooftops, giving the entire place an appearance of glistening gold.
He prayed the ocean’s tumultuous surface and violent earthquakes did not confirm Nati’s warnings, what if the icecap truly has slid into Ra’Atlantek? existence cannot be at its end, Poseidon, father of Atl’An, let my people be safe upon the sea. His mind shifted chaotically between wild ideas and desperate prayers.
“My king!” A servant called out from beneath, “Please, my king, let us make haste to a vessel! No one has returned, let us escape, please.” Atl’As shook his head.
“If it is the end, Amal, fleeing is futile, come, watch.” Even upon the promise of death the male obeyed. He climbed a ladder and joined his king in the statue, together they stood and watched from Poeseidon’s eyes out towards the sea. Far beyond his vision, a wall of water cascading amongst the clouds swept across the Atlantic Ocean. High above Atl’As, a dark tempest preceded the encroaching wave, crawling slowly across the heavens in its bid to block out the sun. Jagged flashes of lightning stretched out across the sky, releasing the full fury of a stirring storm upon his city, yet he could hear nothing but a deep grumbling hum out towards the ocean surrounding Atlantis. For a brief moment the winds fell dead. Not a being disturbed the silence for the city was empty.
In the morning light a silver wall appeared from the furthest reaches of the ancient king’s vision. He raised a hand and unstrapped his golden mask, revealing a gaunt face. The wall grew tremendously in size with each passing moment, becoming clearer and clearer to his aged eyesight. Atl’As shook uncontrollably.
He had hoped for the day that his god would usurp the lands he wished to conquer, though looking across Atlantis, with a fear he could not conceal, he never believed Poseidon would allow the ocean to wash away his own existence. He had once believed the outer walls of his home to be the grandest sight he would ever see, yet as the sea roared from afar, the tidal wave which approached Atlantis already blocked out the sky.
The temple on which Poseidon’s statue rest began to judder violently, Atl’As was hurled forward, feeling the gold structure buckle beneath his feet. Poseidon, my father, pray you save my home. Your home. Your people’s home. The whispers under his breath became erratic. The wave stood hundreds of times higher than the copper lined wall protecting thousands of gypsum buildings. He could only watch the roaring ocean encroach, becoming louder even than the rupturing earthquakes that shook his lands.
Struggling to remain on their feet the two male’s chattered incoherently, whispering prayers to their god, yet they both fell silent upon watching the impending doom hurtle into and through the first titan of Atlantis. The colossal structure was uprooted and ripped from its beautiful gypsum pillars with a sound of cracking stone and cringing metal. All that it stood for, a statement of power and supremacy, was abruptly consumed by the silver wave.
The outer walls vanished at contact with the ocean barrier, the sea surged over them without the slightest hindrance. On impact with the gypsum structures, rooftops were ripped away and colossal columns propelled high into the sky, only to be engulfed by the unstoppable barrage of liquid. As the city’s foundations trembled, tears streamed down the ancient king’s face. All his ancestors had built was crumbling before him. Faster than his thoughts could react the gargantuan wave swallowed the outer district and the second, before its unstoppable mass thundered into the statue of Poseidon, claiming Atl’As and his nation, subsiding all that stood in its path beneath the waves.
The Echoes of Solon Page 32