Percy Jackson and the World of Magic

Chapter 23: Meeting with the Goddess

3rd Person P.O.V.

Percy stared, not moving, barely breathing. 

So much had collapsed during the island's destruction, but here and there, buildings or at least parts of them survived. He had studied Elysia in school, and had produced several term conches on its art and architecture.

There in the distance, that bowl-shaped structure-that has to be the amphitheater, he thought. And that huge open space flanked by columns, that's the agora-the public square. And there's the Ostrokan, which the Atlanteans called a library. 

Unable to contain himself any longer, he casted a canta prax spell that allowed him to blend in with the surroundings, just like an octopus. As soon as the spell was cast, he swam for the ruins. 

In minutes he was on the outskirts of the city. He swooped down low, determined to enter it as her ancestors had. As he swam through them-stopping to touch a column or lintel-forty centuries instantly fell away. 

He swam into homes both humble and grand. Time and silt covered much, but in one house he saw a mosaic of a man, women, and three children-the family that had lived there. In another, a statue of the Earth Goddess Gaea, maliciously intact. In a third, he saw a human skeleton-a women's, he guessed, judging from the bracelets around her wrists and the rings on her fingers. Her delicate bones were furry with algae. Tiny fish swam in and out of her skull. 

"Atlantis is under an enchantment. Who was she?" Percy wondered sadly.  Had she known the six mages who ruled? Had she seen their talismans? How Percy wished the dead could speak, he dared not do necromancy less their resting place was disturbed. 

In the center of Elysia, he knew was the Hall of the Six Who Ruled and temples dedicated to important gods and goddesses. The Ostrokan was there as well, and the agora too. These public places would be more likely than private homes to have the information he sought. 

At the bottom of the street was what looked like a temple. As Percy neared it, he saw that its roof and walls were intact, unlike many of the neighboring buildings. The temples massive doors, made of bronze, still hung on their hinges. The stone columns flanking the door. Above them were words carved in Greek and his horror grew when he whispered the words out loud "Temple of Morsa"

Based on Zatanna's earlier finings, Chthon had uttered similar words: Daimonas tis Morsa-demon of Morsa. Percy's blood ran cold at the memory. Could this place contain information about Chthon? Or the talismans?

No temple had ever been built for Morsa in Atlantis or any other realm. Atlan had decreed the goddess an abomination who deserved no place in civilization society. As he worked up the nerve to go inside, Percy wondered if Atlan had other reasons for forbidding Morsa's worship. Just as he wondered if Atlan had other reasons for herding the bloodthirsty Trench into the Barrens of Thira, the waters surrounding Atlantis. 

According to historians, Atlan said that he'd driven the cannibals in the Barrens because the ruins were useless to Atlanteans. Percy however believed that Atlan had done so to make sure the true story of Atlantis's demise was never discovered. According to Atlan's bloodsong, handed down to Vraja, the Temple of Morsa was where Orfeo had locked himself during the island's destruction. Was there something inside that Atlan wanted to keep a secret?

"There's only one way to find out" Percy said to himself.

It was dark inside the temple. The buildings narrow windows let in little light from the waters above. Percy casted an illuminata to see where he was going, swirling the suns rays together. As the ball of light flared in his hand, his eyes widened. 

The temple looked exactly as it must have four thousand years ago. Nothing was disturbed. No silt was covering the floor. No algae, anemones, or seaweed had colonized the walls. It was as if even the blind, tiny creatures of the sea knew to shun the goddess.