1.1 Ancient Secrets

The Phoenix & The Golden Egg

THE 12 GODS OF THE ATLAN EMPIRE:

Atalon ~ King of the Atlan Empire, god of Divinity

Bakkon ~ god of the Skies

Halios ~ god of War

Halki ~ god of Intelligence

Malodon ~ god of Transformation

Dell ~ god of Mercantile

Medena ~ goddess of Plenty

Hedena ~ goddess of Conformity

Seton ~ god of Medication

Orius ~ god of Technology

Vikkar - god of Lightning

Torus ~ god of the Underworld

Part One: The Phoenix & the Golden Girl

Chapter 1: Ancient Secrets

Sometime a long time ago when Atlan was a Great Empire…

         Orius, the god of Technology gazed out his office window through the veil of rain that obscured the layered islands in the distance, pondering the latest 'prophecy'; he wasn’t convinced. Although immensely proud of the role he played for Atalon, the king of Atlan, he never really felt like a god, and home never felt like home, no new insights or knowledge of his past seemed to change that; not that he had much. His eyes focused on the lofty peaks of Kergal, looming through the fog in the distance. A deep urge stirred inside whenever he gazed upon the wretched isle. Gazing out the window towards Lemuria had become an addiction lately, a form of self-sabotage perhaps, for reasons he knew not why.

         Without warning, a dark being sped swiftly behind him, alerted he spun around but there was nothing there… A knock on the door broke the silence.

         "Come in" he answered, stiffening, pondering the coincidental timing.

         Seton, the god of the Medication entered with great enthusiasm, clutching a small stack of red folders. 

        The City of Atlan was ruled by twelve Anunnaki gods, each one had a specific role in the operations of the Firmary, the governing body of the Atlan Empire. King Atalon was the most powerful god, and his eleven siblings were each allotted certain powers of their own, so long as the King consented to their usage. Seton was the Doctor, the healer, the master of potions and powerful tinctures, an unusual visitor in the Infrastructure Department. Today the doctor had a spring in his step.

         "Orius my friend... I hope you are well?"

         "Your Honor" Orius made a sharp salute and gestured towards the chair. "Take a seat."

         "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time?"

         "No, not at all.."

         Orius liked Seton, the doctor was one of the few gods he could share his most intimate concerns with, they had a trusting bond which extended beyond the Moha Lab. "Can I offer you some wine?"

         "There's no time for wine today." The doctor was all smiles, eager to share the contents of his folders. "I’ve had an idea, and I need your help."

         Orius wasn't used to doctor Seton asking him for help, he eyed the folders with some reservation. "My help?"

         "Yes. I have been working on alternative solutions to the malfunctioning Goldens…" He began leafing through the folders, now being spread out on Orius's desk. "You know we've been losing our most valuable examples lately?"

         "Yes" Orius nodded, he had lost a few from his offices.

         "Well, the situation has been getting worse." Seton pulled out a pie chart. "Look at these statistics. It is my professional observation that Atalon secretly fears another exodus brewing!"

         "Another exodus?" It was shocking to suggest, but Orius had wondered about the missing aribu lately, he hadn't pictured such an extreme scenario, however. "Go on..."

         "You spoke once of the Lunies and their ancient medicines, their magical plants..."

         Orius listened with growing concern as he learned the Lunies had been cast in the latest scheme.

         "I know what you're thinking" Seton continued, his expressions presented an open book, "but you're wrong. I'm opening my mind to the possibilities of their potential."

         "Why?"

          "Their solutions would be water soluble."

         "Water soluble? And?"

         "Easier to dispense."

         "Easier to dispense?" Orius echoed, deeply concerned now. His gaze drifted back across the misty seas to Lemuria once again. He really didn't like where the conversation was going, Seton's medications had done more damage than good in the past, the last thing he wanted was to bring Lemuria into his latest experiment.

         "I need fresh ingredients to work with" the doctor confessed, hesitating to elaborate. "We’re desperate."

         Orius knew how hard it was for the doctor to admit defeat. "I didn't know Atalon was…"

         "Atalon's finally listening to me now because he's realized it's almost too late."

         "You want me to get you some of their medicines?"

         "Not exactly…" The doctor had a plan worked out already. "I need some biological samples, you know, just enough to experiment with myself. Who knows, perhaps these new ingredients could turn into a lucrative business for those poor Lemurian farmers... It's a promising plan, don't you think?"

         Orius eyed the lofty peaks of Kergal, thinking hard. What could go wrong? Seton did have a valid point, times had changed and it was time they all got along, and it would be good if the Lunies could cash in on some of the Atlan wealth.

         "What makes you think their plants will have any positive effects? I thought you didn't believe in them, I thought your medications were cutting edge."

         "This isn't simply about medication, this is about a new concept."

         "A new concept?" Orius was lost.

         "This is about maintenance medication."

         "Maintenance medication?"

         "Exactly! Think... Medification" he elaborated. "In the same way that the virgin drinks optimize the aribu supply, this will maintain their functioning at the optimum levels giving us greater control of our return on investment. It's not fixing something, it's preventing it from breaking." Seton had obviously been developing this idea for a while. "I understand their plants have psychotropic qualities, something our modern formulas are unable to duplicate; these are the magic ingredients we need. Imagine the doors that these ingredients could open? Imagine a medication that maintained conformity in thought without regular programming activities? We've almost perfected the aribu races, it would be a shame to lose them like we did the Origians."

         "Hmmm…" Orius didn't see it that way at all, he knew exactly where the aribu had gone. He still felt somewhat responsible for the way things had turned out, for the slaughters that had taken place and his position in the Firmary. "You want me to go to Lemuria."

         "Yes" Seton nodded. "Atalon's orders."

         Once again Orius turned towards the misty profile taunting from across the sea, was it a coincidence? He pondered the dark being once again, the timing, on top of this all. The idea sparked a flame, he hadn't been back for a very long time, the guilt was still so fresh, would he even be welcome there? The pressure had been building for decades and the offer touched upon deep urges to set things straight.

         He returned his attention to the messenger, the unusual messenger. Seton's smiling face was only encouraging him to relax and accept the offer with great enthusiasm. He knew there was no choice in the matter, perhaps it would be good to patch things up over there. "When do we leave?"