Shadows of Atlantis Part One: Awakening

Chapter 8

8

Celebrations through the night,

to strike the flame of life to light.

Underneath the shining moon

is Ka-Ma-Sha’s unerring boon.

Maiden touched by lover’s match,

yet seeing some new plot to hatch.

~*~

Evening sank over Poseidia’s majestic tiers as nodesong echoed across the heights of the citadel. The sky radiated orange and purple hues, reflecting off dark clouds in the distance. The moon was slightly less than full, having been eclipsed the night before. Its light gradually lifted over an oceanic horizon, as large as the city itself.

Resounding horns echoed across the city’s steps, proclaiming the last night of Ka-Ma-Sharri, when all celebrated the mythic union of Belial and his lost love Kama, doomed to separate horizons for all time in their promise to restore what had been lost on the face of Sophaiya. Theirs was a sacrifice to be revered. And on these nights, all of Atlantis went through the traditional motions said to pray for their union, for when they joined again, humanity would be complete.

Music and laughter echoed from all directions. D’Vinid walked with Ofira in the failing sunlight. Confetti drifted through the air. He couldn't shake the memory of how he had felt when Brigitte’s carriage disappeared, or the sickness he felt when he turned his back on her because he couldn’t face Kyliron.

Brigitte had captured his attention completely, and he was not sure how it could be possible. He told himself the obsession would soon pass. She was simply another beautiful woman he could not reach. He knew it was this very fact which made her so desirable. This was how his heart worked. The less he could have her, the more he wanted her. He just had to wait out the fever. He allowed his mind to imagine her as a Watcher. He hated the Watchers, and she should be no different to him.

They listened to the gentle sound of crystal-nodes, as the setting sun brightened the horizon into a vivid orange masterpiece. D’Vinid kept his eyes down while weaving through the alluring stares of fashionably beautiful would-be lovers. Not even Ofira’s wiles could distract him.

His heart sank with the sun. He took a deep breath as they reached Dafni’s Enigma, where his first love awaited. He went to her immediately, caressed her silky strings. Taking her into his embrace was all he usually needed to feel better. But even she didn’t comfort him this evening. She sounded the same at the strum of his fingers, but now Kyliron had managed to extend his ever-pursuing shadow over his beloved dabrina. His hands shook.

He felt miserable. What was he but a charlatan and a maverick with a lazy, self-indulgent lifestyle? Kyliron was the High King of Atlantis. Surely a king would always be more important than D’Vinid. He never understood why Kyliron was so threatened by him.

He put his head down just to close his eyes for a few moments, and was drowned in regret. As he lay in his cabin, that familiar liquid sensation filled him. His heart pounded like a drum, threatening to deafen him to all other sounds. “I am for I am thou,” a voice reverberated through the incessant heartbeat. His vision went black. His heart pounded harder.

Loressai Torbin’s voice emerged in an ethereal whisper. “You are the chosen of Belial. You can stop this before it happens.”

“Loressai?” He twitched, looking around in the darkness. But another vision faded into view.

Brigitte stood before him, dressed in the finest of Atlantean noble-wear. She was alluring beyond all temptation. He reached out to touch her, but she faded away. He burned for her, longed to touch her again.