by Gene Stiles
“Iasion!” he yelled, “Iasion!”
A roaring chorus of sound bellowed through the air, near shaking the ground beneath them. “Iasion! Iasion! Iasion!” it seemed to echo. Laughing, Rhea said, “What are we waiting for, Cronus? Let us go to meet our friend!”
They moved out on the disk, hovering above the deep divide and through the swirling mists. The beasts surrounding Iasion growled and moaned, filling the air with a tumulus noise. They boiled behind him in a seething mass, but never seemed to intrude on the space before him, leaving the ground bare for Cronus to land on. His eyes narrowed as Cronus stared intently at the form growing before him. The closer they got, the more obvious it became that Iasion was not the one in the silver suit. When the sled slipped over the open air onto the grass-covered ground, he realized it was, in fact, a woman with long, flowing blond hair that waited quietly for their arrival. Cronus unconsciously slid his hand down to the weapon at his belt, carefully watching the animals pressing together behind the woman.
No sooner had Cronus and Rhea touched feet to soil when a few of the beasts surged forward to attack, growling as they came. Without thought, he stepped in front of Rhea, drew his weapon and fired, slicing two of the creatures neatly in two. The woman screamed out, “No!” and rushed to the fallen forms. Behind her, the beasts bolted backward, running in packs for the darkness beneath the One Tree. The woman dropped to the ground, weeping as she stroked the spilt bodies still twitching in their death throws.
Rhea ran to the woman, reaching out to touch her trembling shoulders. At the contact, the woman lashed out tossing her to the ground. Cronus started to move but stopped as the young stranger groveled in front of Rhea, seeming to beg forgiveness in an unintelligible language. Rhea brushed herself off and squatted in front of the woman, cooing soothingly to the trembling form.
Cronus stood back, weapon still in hand, watching the beasts as they retreated into the darkness. “We should get her to the People. We need to find out what has happened.” Rhea bristled at his sharp tone, but said nothing.
After a few moments, the young woman regained her composure and stood on shaky legs, her stance filled with pride. She spoke haltingly, her words touched with anger and separated by long pauses as if the sounds were foreign to her. “I am Haleah, Keeper of the Izon. It is we who have awoken you. Why have you attacked the Clan?”
Cronus and Rhea stared at each other quizzically then back at Haleah. “We meant you no harm,” Cronus responded. “Come with us. There is much we need to know.”
Haleah stared at him for a moment, digesting his words. She looked behind her to where the Clan had gone, deciding what she should do.
Rhea smiled at her saying, “Please. Come with us.”
Haleah hesitated but a moment longer, gazing down at the still forms at her feet. With a deep sigh, she moved to a fur-wrapped bundle that lay a few feet away and picked it up. Pressing it tightly to her bosom, she said, “I am ready.”
Together, they mounted the Polaris disk and headed back to the ships.
Cronus leaned back against the thick cushions of his chair and groaned. “I do not believe this”, he whispered to himself. His trembling hand lay on the hide-bound cover of the ‘Book’. The woman, Haleah, had reverently placed it in his hands before they had returned to the ships. He had not thought much of it at the time and tossed it carelessly under the bed in his cabin, promptly forgetting the existence of it. It was not until these many months later, after the other ships had been opened and the People freed from their confinement that he had found it. Now he wished he never had.
His mind ached with the horror of it, yet tears of grief filled his swollen eyes. He thought of his friend, Iasion and all that he had endured for the sake of his People only to see his kind change into savage beasts. Cronus shivered with sickness at the consequences it meant for the People. His eyes hardened, lips set in a thin line. “They will never know”, he swore to himself. “We will find a way around this. I will not allow the People to become as those things.” He slammed his clenched fist on the arm of the chair. “Never!”
“We have a new world,” Cronus intoned, standing before the Captains of the twelve ships in the spacious sitting room aboard his ship. The black, long-sleeved, floor-length cloak he wore, open in front to reveal his glistening silver Enviro-Suit, was inlaid with thin strands of gold weave, highlighted the mane of flaming curls that hung halfway down his back. His eyes sparkled like jade green gems in bright light of the conference room as they passed over the others sitting around an elongated oval table of burnished borithium.
“Even in the small area we have explored in person,” he continued, “there is such incredible beauty! There is a vast abundance of living things that fill the air with their sounds so pleasing to my ears. The soil is rich in the meadow beyond the One Tree and green with fresh grasses. And the water! Have any of you thought you would ever see so much water? It flows across the land, down from the mountain peaks and surrounds our island. By the Creator, it even falls from the sky! The Sentinel we sent up has charted the landscape in and around our island and has sent us back the most incredible pictures! Let us not destroy it as did our ancestors on Atlan.”
“It is now time to build a city worthy of the hardships and strife we have endured in getting here,” Cronus said after the murmurs of assent had quieted around the table. “There is much do and we must work together to achieve it. I ask for your council,” he finished, sitting down in his high-backed, dark brown chair and opening the floor.
“If I may,” Mnemosyne rose gracefully from her chair, her wavy auburn hair flowing over the front of her shoulders and down to the small of her back like a living cloak. Her light hazel eyes, flecked with tinges of emerald green, shone with a calm, warm intelligence. A misty-green, lightly patterned gown of the thinnest gossamer did little to conceal the scaled, silver Enviro-Suit that clung tightly to every curve of her well-proportioned, seven-foot, two-inch form.
“I would like to propose that we name our island and our capital Atlantis, meaning ‘little Atlan’,” she said, her slender arms outspread as if to encompass the whole of the land outside, “in remembrance of our home and to honor our past. We must never forget where we came from nor the great loss of much of our heritage. To so forget would be to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors.” No dissent came from around the oval table, rather nods, smiles and voiced agreement met her words.
“Then Atlantis it is,” Cronus confirmed, rising from his high-backed chair. “Now we must discuss our immediate concerns.” His warm, baritone voice blanketed the room with a solid sense of purpose and command, strong and firm. “First, we must free ourselves from the remaining rocks and rubble that imprison our ships then clear the surrounding area to construct dwellings for our People and supplies. Next, we will learn which plants and animals can be used to supplement our food stores.”
“I and the Izon can aid in that,” Haleah responded from the long, heavily padded couch that took up most of one wall in the chamber. She began to rise to address the council only to be curtly dismissed by Cronus with a wave of his hand as he would an impetuous child. In sullen silence, she reseated herself, holding her tongue.
“We need to explore our environs,” Coeus interjected, never rising. He brushed back his shoulder-length, softly curling, light brown hair from his dark eyes and absently hooked it over his left ear. He leaned back and steepled his long, thick fingers before his pursed lips.
“We need to survey the contours of the land in person,” he continued after a momentary pause, “to choose where best to build, learn which indigenous materials could be used and plan out the structures required. The Sentinel scans have given us images of the landscapes, but not the articulations. These we need to with our own eyes and equipment.”
“Fresh water should be a priority,” Tethys added from across the table. An elder of the Captains and wife of Oceanus, she rose slowly with a timeless elegance that shown from her smooth, soft skin like
a warm morning sun. The long tresses of her ebony hair, lightly tinged with strands of the purest silver, hanging to mid-back, was tied with a strip of burgundy cloth at the nape of her neck. “We need it both for drinking and for the irrigation of future crops. My husband and I wish to handle this undertaking.”
“My wife speaks the truth,” Oceanus smiled with warm humor, “and I have learned it is best not to disagree with her.” He ran a wide, sun-browned hand over his boulder-like, hairless head, his deep hazel eyes twinkling with mischief. “In truth, I am very anxious to survey the land around us. I have run my hands through the soil beyond the One Tree and it is rich and loamy, ripe for planting the seeds we brought with us. I would also wish to journey to the waters surrounding us. I am in awe of so much of what we never had on Atlan. We are ready at your command, Cronus.”
Rhea, at the right hand of Cronus, arose and addressed her audience. The exquisite beauty of her thin, gently curved face and full, pink lips was muted by the floor-length, deep crimson robe she wore over her Enviro-Suit. Yet it did little to hide the rise of her full breasts, long, athletic body nor her legs as muscled and shapely as those of a dancer. Those at the table were not swayed by her attributes, the way her honey-blonde hair rolled over her wide, square shoulders and down to the rounded curve of her hips, or the sparkle in her crystal-blue eyes. It was the dignified, innate stateliness in which she stood, back straight, head held high, long, slender-fingered hands entwined before her. Even though she was the tallest woman of the People at eight-foot-two, she was still a solid foot shorter than her husband, Cronus, but her height instilled a sense of soft command and intrinsic, graceful power.
“Water is the lifeblood of the world,” Rhea said in a strong, quiet voice that rolled across the room like a gentle summer breeze. “I would join you, Tethys and Oceanus, if you will have me. I am more than intrigued at the source of the rivers and streams. I wish to follow them to their headwaters.” A nod from the husband and wife told her she was welcomed. “Thank you,” she smiled, returning to her seat.
“There is another matter to discuss,” Themis interjected, rising to be heard all the better. She scanned the room with eyes of emerald green, flecked with gold, so large they pulled in all who looked upon her, holding them enthralled in her gaze. Like her sister, Thea, she possessed a beauty rival that of Rhea with brilliant, flaxen hair that hung over her smooth, soft shoulders, past her narrow waist, curved, full hips, and shapely, muscled legs, stopping finally at the back of her knees. The full lips that graced her oval face were as red as a stormy sunrise. Her cheeks, blushed a light pink, only seemed to highlight her slender nose and smooth, tan skin.
Here is where the likeness to her twin ended. Where Thea’s lips always arched in a mischievous grin, Themis held her’s stern. Thea let her sunlit hair flow freely, rippling like a golden meadow with the slightest breeze, Themis trapped hers in a tight, twisted braid. Thea laughed at the most trivial excuse, her voice tinkling like crystal chimes and infecting everyone around her. Themis was all business and only relaxed in the presence of her sister, but when she did, it was near impossible to tell the two apart. The twins were like two halves of a whole, neither fully complete unless they were together.
“We will need a set of rules to organize the People and to keep them on task,” she continued. “There is, and will continue to be, many distractions in our new home and there is much work to be done.”
Hyperion laughed loudly, leaning back so far in his chair it threatened to fall over. He placed one foot upon the table and crossed his long, powerful legs, locking his long, delicate fingers beneath his luxuriously oiled, tightly curled, shoulder length, black hair. His light green eyes shown with merriment like a sky full of a billion stars. The full, sensuous lips beneath a nose as straight as a beam of light had an almost feminine quality offset by his angular, square-jawed, strikingly handsome face. Every council member turned to him and stared, some unable to hide a smile at his infectious, boyish laughter.
Cronus gave him a withering, menacing stare that rolled off Hyperion as would a raindrop from a sheet of glass. “Do you find these proceedings humorous?” he growled.
“Well, yes and no,” Hyperion quipped, never removing his feet from the table. “No disrespect to the lady Themis or the rest of my brother and sister Captains, but you are all missing the grandest of points!”
“And what would that be?” Rhea asked kindly, a trace of a smile gracing her lips.
“Well, the wonder of it all!” Hyperion responded gaily. He slipped his feet from the table and stood with a feline grace, walking around the table and striding the length of the windowless room. His athletic, eight-foot, six-inch body virtually glided across the floor. His sky-blue, richly patterned robe, inlaid with streaks of silver and gold and laced together with strips of dark blue, billowed behind him like a trailing mist.
“You speak of work to be done, but beyond these walls,” he continued, spreading his hands to take in a great expanse, “lies a world of phenomenal marvels, brimming with light and beauty. Never in our lifetimes had we expected to see such so much life! Within our cave on Atlan, there was but One Tree and just look at how it has thrived! Now we see incredibly green forests so expansive that we cannot see the other side. High mountains surround us, capped in fields of snow brilliantly white. The land is rich with grasses and wide-petal flowers in every color in the mind of the Creator! And the water!”
Hyperion stopped just behind Cronus and placed his long, delicate hand on his brother’s shoulder. “These things are things of legend, known to us only through stories, crystals and books! I, for one, thought these stories only flights of fancy, yet now I see the myths with my very own eyes! In fact, it is astonishing and legendary that we are here at all!”
“That does not change the fact that there is much to be done,” Themis responded.
Hyperion slid up next to her, leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on her upturned forehead, causing her to flush a fiery red. “I am not implying it does, but give the People some time to bathe in this astonishing, fabulous, spectacular world before they toil! Is it not the reason we are here?”
Chapter II
Morpheus stood with arms crossed over his chest, silently watching in awe, studying the movements of the beautiful, blond woman in the battle circle before him. The thick, green moss that coated the ground like a blanket beneath the One Tree was untouched by the passage of her dancing feet. Her lithe, supple body moved like the wind while she wove a path of destruction around her three opponents. The larger warriors could not even touch the wraith that slipped like morning mist around them until finally they each found themselves lying flat on the ground staring up at the thick foliage above. Laughing with good humor, they helped each other to their feet and made a show of dusting themselves off.
Anaxus shook his massive shoulders as if shedding water, grinning down at the woman. The red mane of his hair rippled around his boulder-shaped head, twisting in wild shapes in the cool breeze. The scaled silver of his Enviro-Suit glittered even in the dim light beneath the One Tree. “Woman, I must find a way to punish you for making me seem the weakling. I do know it will not be in a tournament though. I would not wish to see the rest of the People make of me a laughing stock.” Standing two heads above her, he rustled her golden mane as a father would do a child, with a hand huge enough to crush her pretty head.
“No one who is clear in the head would laugh at you,” Haleah smiled, dancing away from his paw.
Nuvan and Navis, bear-like twins, converged upon her, picked her up and tossed her between them like a toy. “How do you do that, little woman?” they chimed in unison, their brilliant blue eyes sparkling with mischief.
“Put me down or I shall show you again,” she yelled out.
“Now how can you do it again…?” Nuvan began. Navis finished with, “…if we do not put you down?”
Haleah’s response was to bounce off Nuvan’s chest and flip herself away from the brothers. “Like
that,” she grinned, landing lightly on the balls of her feet.
“Whatever shall we do with you, Haleah?” Morpheus intruded, shaking his head with mock despair. “I am supposed to be the teacher here.”
She bathed him in the glow of sparkling eyes, spreading warmth down the length of his spine. “We learn from each other, Morpheus. There is much I have learned from you…and more I am sure you will share,” a mischievous and wicked smile splaying across her lips.
He dropped his head so she would not see the flush the reddened his cheeks, but the men around her bellowed out and whistled. How could she do this to him so very often? He was not a whelp nor inexperienced in the ways of women. He had been with more than his share back on Atlan, but this woman touched him in ways no one ever had.
Who was this woman to capture his heart so suddenly? It was not the incredible beauty she possessed. He had known others as lovely. It was not just the way her astonishing mind soaked up all she learned only to crave more. Maybe it was the way he saw the most mundane and commonplace of things through her eyes. It was so wondrous and magical, like a child must look at the brand new world around it, fresh and exciting, discovery after discovery.
Haleah took a strange, perverse pleasure in making Morpheus squirm. He had no idea that just under the surface of her composure, he made her shiver as if she stood furless in the wintertime mountains. She loved the way his black, wavy hair cascaded down to the small of his back, flowing like mist in the breeze. At times, it seemed to curl around his neck with a life of its own. His night-black eyes twinkled as if filled with evening stars. Despite the solidness of his heavily muscled frame, wide shoulders and narrow hips, he moved with the grace of a feline. Though they had yet to do more than take walks together, her nights glowed with dreams of him wrapped tightly around her.
“Come, Haleah,” Nuvan started. “Let us bounce back to the sled!” Navis concluded.
