3.63 It's All Gone

A search for survivors in Lemuria ensued as soon as it was physically possible, but as so many had already known in their hearts, searching was futile. There were no bodies to recover, anything with a heartbeat or a biological cell had been incinerated beyond recognition, the farmlands and fruit trees were nothing but charred fragments of what they once were, there was little to salvage of Anur, outside the Crystal Temple only memories and battered remains were left of a once bustling and happy place. Only because they were insulated by the heavy quartz walls of the Crystal Temple, were there survivors in Anur. And because they had prepared, there was hope for their survival. Quickly they organized and began to reassemble their lives as best they could.

         The raging sea which doused the fire on the land, made starting a fire difficult now. Dry wood was scarce, kindling even more so as much of it had been swept away. With heavy hearts they had to open the ancient book chests and burn the now life-saving pages of wisdom, the only combustible materials that had survived the drenching of the raging sea.

         Everyone had changed, no one had been spared the trauma. The little boy who had been thrust into Zara's world at the climax of destruction was still clinging to her side, her clothing hadn't escaped his clenched fists since the moment they collided. Zara stroked his little head, he was such a beautiful little boy, she knew how dear he had to be to his mother…. What had become of her? She scanned the survivors in the room, searching for faces searching for his. She could barely tell the refugees from Lunies now, they all looked the same. Traumatized, lost and covered in a muddy layer of history. They were all equal now. All equally dressed. All equally damaged. She pulled her damp blanket up around the little boy's shoulders, feeling the arctic storm outside, inside. From a raging furnace to a frigid winter, outside the weather was getting worse, the wind was now icy cold.

         She studied the Lemurians as they so bravely ripped the pages out of their beloved books, how skillfully they kindled the flames, magically bringing the hearth back to life. She was beginning to see how dependent her society had been on something so basic as heat. No one in Atlan had ever been taught how to take care of themselves like the Lemurians did. Without a warm fire to dry the firewood, they surely would have perished. Had they been in Atlan still, there wouldn't have been any books to burn.

         She studied the flames as they leapt up filling her heart with hope, pondering their story of Eternal Knowledge. So many of their stories she found hard to believe, nevertheless the coincidences were astounding, she could see why these stories had been made up. How curious it was that the element of fire, their savior at this moment in time, was only attainable from the books of Knowledge that had sprung from it's Eternal Flame?

        

         Gradually the temple warmed up and the survivors became preoccupied with rebuilding instead of keeping warm. Mina turned the logs drying beside the fire. She noticed the little boy clinging to Zara’s side, his parents had not been found and had likely perished outside.

         "His name is Cane."

         "Cane?" Zara smiled, sensing Mina's approval.

         "I think Cane may need a new Mother. He's taken a liking to you."

         "Oh?" Mina brought up a subject that was playing on Zara's mind which she had dared not mention.

         "He's chosen you it seems, how do you feel about taking on that responsibility?"

         As if Mina's words allowed the love to unleash inside, Zara felt her heart ache for it, emotions surged, there was no doubt in her mind at all, she was ready for that role.

         "I have a whole lifetime of love to give him!" She kissed his head tenderly as the seed sprung a root, finally her love could be fulfilled, how could something she needed so badly, be born from a devastation like this?

         Together, Akku and Jasun set out to assess the damage of their town, every step was heartbreaking. Anur was nothing but a barren wasteland, all they could see was burned trees and debris strewn everywhere, the countryside almost completely obliterated beyond recognition. But as they limped along the road to Mu, past the vineyards the sounds of crashing waves were really loud! The purple-grey haze that had enshrouded the land made it too dark to see very far, where were they coming from?

         "Akku!" Jasun grabbed his arm just as he plunged forward into the water, catching himself just in time from making the same mistake. He heaved Akku back up onto what was now a dead end road, he was now soaked, but alive.

         "My God…." They sat in shock at the edge of a cliff. The road to Mu was gone. In it's place was an angry sea, waves crashing violently against the newly defined shoreline.

         "Come, let's go…" But Akku couldn’t take his eyes away from the vast expanse of grey. There were no familiar hills of southern Lemuria, no Crystal Mountain... No Falias… It was all gone! "Mu…"

         Jasun clutched his heart, struggling to grasp the enormity of the situation... Akku wasn't hallucinating, they both saw nothing. Their families, friends and music were all gone forever, lost beneath the waves of the unforgiving sea. Through the fog he scanned the new coastline towards Kergal, unable to see that far or make out enough of the land to be certain the village had remained intact.

         "Hopefully the Dogons survived okay, they'll probably be okay up there" he had more reassurance to offer. "I'm sure Neter is safe with them..."

         Across the globe in Ebar, the notion of utter destruction was popular among the immigrant gods, the only one upset about it was King Orius, but there was nothing he could do, realizing now, the Firmary had simply moved, it had been renovated, it was here now.

         According to Dion, Dell and Seton the New Empire was off to an excellent start. They gathered around the table for their first meeting to discuss the next stages of economic development. The flooding was good, it had created an opportunity to revise the infrastructure and would stimulate the economy. It was time for the old to be torn down in preparation for the new.

         Orius quickly suspected their colonization plans included removing him from his post, too. He tried not to let it bother him, he was learning to play their game. He had built a name for himself in Ebar, the people loved him, it was something more valuable than the gods even realized. Now all he needed was patience, patience to sit back and catch it all when it fell.

         "A message for you, your Honor" a courier entered the meeting room with a scroll for the king. Hush fell upon the room, a message so soon? Imaginations ran wild as Orius unfurled the scroll, reading the message to himself. The news wasn't good, Dion could tell.

         "What's wrong?"

         "There was supposed to be a cargo ship arrive full of gold...."