1.4 Lunie Land

        From the windows of the penthouse suite crowning the Headquarters building, King Atalon had a stunning view of the empire from his chamber window, an old empire that had run it's course and was coming to an end; as it was intended to do. He had salvaged it from the ruins of greatness it once was and turned it into this: the Golden Egg of an even greater greatness, a New Empire, it’s yolk was fertile, nurtured and designed by the true Creator God he was proving to be; the real Phoenix.

Signs of The Time were being written in the sky, a new comet had appeared, pointing to Ebar, details and charts of which had already been provided by Bakkon, god of the Skies. Atalon pondered the state of the empire as he gazed out of the window at the faint, sparkling dot, there had been plenty of warning signs, already. What was he missing? What message lay behind the recent surge in vanishing aribu? Was Malodon, god of Transformation right? Was the Gen race in fact, unsalvageable? Were they really headed for an exodus again? The timing was curious and there was one other explanation worth considering. Aquilla. Aquilla was perhaps breaking into the TLS Prison and feeding on them...

Halios, god of War and Dr Seton were seated by the fireplace, visibly less troubled by the aribu mystery that clouded Atalon's mind. Convinced the Lunie plants would offer new solutions Seton was too preoccupied with confident anticipation, optimistic for this new venture, at very least it was a good excuse to expand the Lab.

Halios picked up the dice and paused the game, glancing towards the window; the king had been looking out across the water towards Lemuria for quite a few rounds now. Halios had amassed a military might that could compete against any enemy, except one. He knew what was troubling the king.

         "Do you think Vikkar will cooperate?"

         "He want's Vida back" Atalon replied, visibly lacking Dr Seton's optimism. The only reason he was willing to even go to Lemuria was because he was desperate, his failure to control the disappearances was becoming an embarrassment. Too many had noticed it lately. A sharp knock on the door interrupted the moment.

         "COME IN!"

         It was Orius with news from Lemuria. "Your Honor!" He made a sharp salute.

         "Orius! Come in, tell us!" The king liked Orius, his performance had been disappointing of late, however over the years he had proven his loyalties to the Firmary. "Have a seat!"

         Orius took a seat beside the king as Halios poured him a goblet of wine.

         "He want's Vida in return."

         "Really!" Atalon feigned surprise. The success of the Atlan Empire had not occurred by chance, predicting such outcomes was his gift, this was exactly why he was the god of Divinity, and why he was king.

         

The details were problematic, however. 

    "A full day of horseback riding to go see a Lunie garden?" Unimpressed, Atalon was feeling like he had already awarded Seton's ideas too much merit without there being any evidence to support them. "Let me remind you about the Vimana project, imagine if they actually flew? You'd be gone a few hours at the most. I'm embarrassed that we still need to go horseback riding in Lunie Land!"

         "Maybe Halki could take stock of future assets while we're over there?" Halios pitched, he saw nothing but potential for such a rare excursion.

         "Future assets?" Orius didn't like where this was going at all, were they actually regurgitating the idea of colonizing Lemuria? "Why do we all need to go? You might scare them off. Why don't I just go alone?" It was a daring pitch, but Orius wanted to be part of the solution, not responsible for damaging the situation any more. "I know how to negotiate with the tribes."

         "Halki, eh?" Atalon liked Halios's idea.

         "What do you say?" Halios could tell Atalon was interested by the way he rubbed his chin. "Is a chicken count not long overdue?"

         "You know I hate that place." Atalon returned to the window and gazed out across the sea towards his nemesis in the distance, pondering the possible ramifications of the trip... Aquilla would know they were there...  He might even find it threatening... Hmmmm... I think it's an excellent idea!" He decided. "We could use some updated maps."

         "Very well!" Halios turned to Orius. "Have the ship ready to go at sunrise."

         "What about Vida?"

         "Vida's at the Moha Lab." Seton replied. "I'll have Adon authorize her release, you can pick her up in the morning."