2.81 A Voice, Unchained

Tongue tied and overdosing on adrenaline, Zara gripped the podium with sweaty hands, in spite of her overwhelming fears. From here she could see the whole square, there were hundreds of faces looking at her, expecting a coherent explanation... Suddenly her mind went blank.

         "Zara?" Neter urged, noticing her anxiety.
         "I'm fine..." She stiffened, conscious once again of her task, scanning the audience in search of where to begin… As she searched within for a place to begin, painful images flooded her mind, there was no place to begin, was there? Then she realized, the beginning was in the ending... Her story began with her ending, with Sophia, so eager to confess her sins to the goddess of the Earth, so enslaved by the lies she had believed, so afraid of the Hellias she believed in. How dearly Sophia would have loved Lemuria... If only she had known... Zara resisted the urge to wipe her tear away, feeling the truth empower her. She stiffened again and puffed out her chest.

         "Hi..." she gave a feeble wave.

         The crowds barely responded, they knew the refugees had mental problems, they just waited patiently to hear the words she was struggling to say.

         "There's a tunnel…" The lump in her throat was back, she swallowed hard but it wouldn't go away.

         "Louder!" A villager broke out from the back of the crowd.

         "We can't hear you!" Another taunted.

         Pulse racing hard, Zara gripped the podium, daring herself to speak louder… She filled her lungs... "There's a tunnel to Hellias…" she pushed her voice out, well out of her comfort zone, she had never spoken so loudly in her life. "There's a tunnel with a sign at the entrance that says... It says the tunnel goes to Hellias!"

         The crowds were so silent, a mouse could be heard scurrying.

         "I took this tunnel to Hellias, because it seemed like I had a better chance of survival than taking the path to the Promised Land…" She could see the crowds were genuinely interested, their faces were full of concern, it empowered her.

         "That tunnel to Hellias led me here, to Lemuria!"

         Murmurs stirred the silence, heads were nodding, they knew of the tunnel she spoke of.

         "I was supposed to go to The Promised Land because I had expired…"

         Again the crowds fell silent, unsure what she meant. Zara noted the questioning faces, she knew her story was coming out all jumbled.

         "I was sent to die, they just don't say it that way." She felt a rush as the forbidden truth left her lips. "I don't understand why I was sent to die, I think I can still work, my head is getting better, I still have my abilities, my talents and skill I was a valuable Cog in the Great Machine, like anyone else."

         The crowd exchanged shrugs and raised eyebrows, they had never heard anyone speak of modern Atlan before. Sent to die? It was quite shocking! Zara was quite shocking! She looked like she had come from Hellias alright!

         "The thing is" she continued, becoming more comfortable with her voice now, "there are hundreds of aribu like me. Every day they send us to the TLS Program to die, aribu as willing and capable of working as I am!"

         Gasps swept throughout the crowd, Zara noticed their concerned reactions and continued to fan the flames with the truth.

         "But before they sent me to the Promised Land" she continued, "they sacrificed my beautiful baby boy to their fake Creator god, Medel. They made me watch them slice off his head and fill the Golden Goblet with his blood!" She bit her lip hard, bridling her emotions as angry shouts and fists raised in protest, they wanted to hear more. As if born with natural talents of leadership she never knew she had, Zara forgot her fears and her delivery became even more powerful.

         "We must rescue the aribu of Atlan!" She presented the challenge to the people with a raised fist herself. “Medel is nothing but a LIE, and those poor souls just don't know any different, THEY CAN'T EVEN SEE OVER THE WALL! We're going to give them a chance to escape their wretched Hellias!" Cheers and whistles erupted from the crowds, urging her on. "As we gather here today, the Anunnaki are holding an event in the Grand Courtyard" she explained. "They are celebrating the end of the Old Empire and the birth of the New Empire, an Empire that is to be fertilized with Aquilla's blood!"

         It was like a riot was about to erupt in Mu, angry outbursts rocked the crowds as they learned the truth about their lost children. They had heard all these things before, but thought they were only rumors. Now her words confirmed their authenticity, now rage was setting in.

         "We will disturb their plans!" Zara no longer feared the crowds, she had forgotten her fears in lieu of anger too, the crowds were fueling her own flames now. "We will crash their party and set their minds free with music and love!"

         Cheers and whistles filled the town square, the idea was an instant hit here too.

         "We must show the aribu what they're missing, what they don't know in order to lure them here. We must show them the things they are not allowed to have... Your love... Your families... Your beautiful babies... Your music…" Zara paused as the wave of emotions threatened her composure. "Love… Music… Families... All these things are FORBIDDEN in the Atlan Empire!"

         Shouts rang out, the Star tribe were horrified, deeply troubled by the cruel account of the Hellias across the pond.

         "But we cannot all go to crash their party" Zara too had to dampen the flames. "For this reason I am here. I have been given the task of choosing the most beautiful lovers, musicians and children that would reignite the aribu's Phoenix Flame" she continued. "And so tonight, I challenge you all to a Talent Contest!"

         Cheers and applause assured a positive turn out, there was one caveat.

         "It's not going to be easy to convince them" she warned. "The aribu love their false reality, they believe in their truths about Hellias.... They're scared of Medel and he’s watching over the Grand Courtyard…" She hesitated for a moment before informing them of the ultimate catch, "and, unfortunately, they think you're nothing but Lunatic Savages."

         The crowd responded with solemn nods, the truth was ancient gossip, they all knew.

         "We only have one chance to win their hearts" she urged. "We'll need to blow them away... We'll need everything you've got… The Unicorn, the babies, the pregnancies, the music; you'll need to put on a real show if we hope for them to question their illusory lives!"