Zara could hardly believe the breathtaking vista of the Promised Land appearing before her eyes, it was a
magical and very unexpected twist of fate. She was high up on a mountainside,
no wonder the last part of her journey through the tunnel had felt like such a long, arduous
climb. To her right an indigo sea sparkled in the fading golden light of an
afternoon sun... The horizon, layered with islands looked so familiar...
She
had envisioned something different
than the world she knew although she couldn't really define what that would be. There
was only one conclusion; she had died in the tunnel and dying hadn’t been so bad
after all! Warmed inside by feelings of hope, she could smile again, against
all odds she had made it to the Promised Land without having confessed her sins to the goddess of the Earth!
Somewhere in this beautiful place, she
would find Orien! Reminding
herself of the fate she fled, Zara checked once again for sounds of pursuit,
but the silence behind her only confirmed she really was in the Promised Land. She dared to step out farther to
see the vastness beyond her limited view. Fears of savage dogons and angry
guards slipped her mind as she found herself caught in the mystery of her new
reality… Something didn't quite make sense. How could she have died an
Honorable death if Aquilla killed her? How could it have been an Honorable
death if it wasn’t celebrated?
She
pinched herself… The pain was real, feelings even felt like they always had
felt. She took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet air, seasoned with the salty
ocean like her old world had been… Where was
this Promised Land? She had always somehow perceived it to be up in the sky
somewhere. Thoughts began to morph in all kinds of directions as she tried to
figure out where she was, it felt so real. For some reason she never expected
the Promised Land would be so tangible, so audible, so aromatic…
Finally
she concluded the Promised Land was a real land! Everything was sweet and
beautiful here, it wasn't just a dream or a myth, it really was a second life
in paradise! Hope blossomed forth once again, knowing, here she would find
Orien, here he would be real too, here she would have a second chance to be
with him, she would hold him tight and never let him go!
Feeling
a wave of gratitude surge inside, Zara searched for a way forward, once again there
was a well worn trail leading the way. She reflected upon the signage at the
tunnel entrance once again. Why did it say Hellias instead of The Promised
Land? Why would the journey to the Promised Land include such a terrifying encounter
with Aquilla? Was Hellias simply the
journey to the Promised Land?
She
thought about the journey in this new light. There had been Eternal Darkness…
It had been Eternally cold, that could have passed for ‘Winter’… There was an
Aquilla and his flaming breath, but no dogons, no houses made of bones and she
didn’t see any of the alleged skins collected from his victims, in fact, he
wasn't wearing any clothes at all!
Then
another thought. Did Sophia simply avoid
Hellias by confessing her sins? Would she be here too?
There was only one way to find out. Zara focused on the trail ahead, wondering where it led, had Orien travelled the same path?
Without signs of danger to fear, she coaxed herself farther, pausing now and
again to make sure it wasn't a trap…
She
stopped to study the islands as they filtered into view, these were profiles
she recognized… Something wasn’t right… As she wandered a little farther down
the trail she could see plumes of smoke, rising from what looked like a city… A big walled city.... She recognized the smoke plumes, too… "Atlan…"
She gasped, breathless for a moment, unable to believe her own eyes, now she
was completely bamboozled. How could it
be? Thoughts raced, photographic reproductions of the ancient maps on the
printing room walls scrolled though her mind with incredible detail, helping
her orient herself to the layout of the land. When all of a sudden she realized
where she actually was. "This is Lemuria…"
Zara sat for a moment of wonder as reality sunk in. It all added up, all she
had to do was reflect upon the scenes in the Mythology text books and add the
ancient Underworld map, like a final puzzle piece snapping into place, she
understood how she got here. She had travelled through one of the ancient Aquillan
tunnels marked on the map in the printing room!
Seconds
later Nolan’s words of wisdom echoed through her mind. ‘It's dogon territory…’ She spun around, once again gripped with
fear. If she was in Lemuria, she wasn't safe from dogons at all. In fact, she was in grave danger! This was Aquilla’s hunting grounds!
Thoughts racing, Zara scrambled to her feet, digging through the archives of her mind for all she had learned about Lemuria, she had
learned very little in Culloom and Fina about the land of the Serpents, dogon
country and Aquilla's hunting grounds. Somehow she had made the mistake of believing that Mythology wasn't real, or that it was ancient history.
The
truth was, she didn't know much about Lemuria, she knew of the legendary gods
and mystical creatures which had spawned its bad reputation, none of whom were
supposed to actually exist, save for Aquilla and his dogons. They only briefly
studied Lemuria in geography class, just enough to give her an idea of its
location and resources; it was a place which was just too dangerous to get
excited about. Now she was grateful for her time alone in the Printing Room, it had given her some valuable information regarding the unexpected challenge she faced, today.
She
scanned the rugged slope with awakening senses; there were no signs of dogons,
Aquilla or dangerous gods anywhere on the mountainside. Instead the path
beaconed with bright colors of fall, the land around her was so beautiful,
between lapses of fear she felt drunk with sensations of hope, desire and
euphoria. In spite of its nasty reputation, Lemuria hardly fitted the
description of Hellias, so perhaps it wouldn't present the dangers she was
dreading?
Then
a new realization dawned. If this wasn’t the Promised land, she
wasn't dead. If this wasn’t the Promised Land, she wouldn’t find Orien here. With a heavy sigh, blinking a tear away, Zara searched for resolution. The only thing going for her was
that from here, there was still a chance she would find the Promised Land.
As
she continued cautiously forward, the trail curved around the mountain, from
where she could see more of the countryside around her. There were plumes of
smoke rising from the neighboring slope, perhaps it was a Nefilim tribe? Or Savages? Reality was hard to face, she
had to remind herself of the facts, she was in Lemuria. She was in the
wilderness on her own. Savages were cannibals, Nefilim were mean, Aquilla was a
hunter, there was no one to save her according to the mythology texts, nor was there any going back, ever!
She
had mixed feelings about her second life as she inched forward along the trail,
it presented scary realities. How would she find food? She scanned the bushes, heavy with fruit they were losing their leaves, were the berries edible? How
would she know what to eat? Her head was starting to throb, she reached for her
forehead, wet with sweat, then noticed the blood on her hand… She was bleeding? Could the dogons smell her blood?
Terrified
anew, Zara spun around, scanning the bushes for signs of the dangerous
predators… But there were no dogons nearby. Terrified, she continued along the
trail in the direction of the smoke, but the sound of a branch snapping stopped
her once again. She spun around expecting to face a dogon, but there was no
movement amongst the shrubs, no more sounds to offer any clues. She was sure she had heard a twig snap!
"Hello?"
she called out, listening... 
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