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Chapter 8: Welcome to Atlantis (4394 BC)
Chapter 8: Welcome to Atlantis (4394 BC)
Chapter 8: Welcome to Atlantis (4394 BC)
Atlantis throne room, Atlantis, 4394 BC
(POV King Atlan III)
It was a regular day in Atlantis here in Atlantis and Atlan was quite bored with the paperwork he still had to go through. It was expected of him as an elected king to make sure that everything was running smoothly. Unfortunately for him, nobody told him about the monotony of his position before he announced hid candidature for the position. It's been a few millennia's since he even studied magic as he did in his youth. And while he's still the most powerful water elemental in the city, there's still so much he could discover. Alas, this is not the time to ponder upon the decisions of his youth.
I wish to have found an apprentice or a successor to my legacy by now, but since the population size is regulated in the city, the number of possible successors is low. To maintain a stable population, an automatic and temporary infertility ward is cast around the island if the population reaches 100'000 citizens. Considering the mortality rate is very low because of the availability of the fountain of youth, people generally either choose to die, fed up with their life, or are killed.
Even then no one in the academy seems to have the magical talent necessary or most importantly, the temperament required for ruling. Blast the population quota, destroying my hopes of retirement. As a king, I cannot leave my post except by announcing my successor or by dying. I am personally hoping for the former. The clans can truly be ambitious, and I expect if I do not choose my successor soon, they'll attempt to assassinate me. The Grimm clan has been especially restless recently and I expect them to attempt something in a few centuries.
Suddenly, I feel the wards inform me that there has been an intruder on the island. An outsider, this is unprecedented. There hasn't been a single outsider in Atlantis since its creation. I investigate the breach and find there to be no damage to the wards. Interesting. Looking around, I find a girl with black hair, passed out face first into the sand. The first thing that comes to mind when I start sensing her magic is Power. She is not that powerful right now, but her potential is immense, and very talented. I'll have to test her when I get her into the infirmary. Considering how young she looks and the power she will one day wield, it may be possible to train her to be my successor. Perhaps my prayers were answered.
(POV Morgan)
I wake up, confused; I am not in my bed. I'm in some sort of infirmary, a magical infirmary to be certain. I can feel the magic everywhere around, too much magic for a muggle to not see. I need to know where I am and how long I've been passed out for. First, I check my mental shields. They're intact, good. I decide to use the tempus charm to find out how long I have been out. It comes out inconclusive. That's weird; tempus is a charm that connects to an indestructible clock created centuries ago in Greenwich.
Something must be interfering with the charm. I modify the charm to determine the date using the position of the stars and then the position of the sun to find out the time. Thank God I was bored for a weekend and ended up finishing up the astronomy curriculum. Extremely boring but can be dead useful in rituals, potions and funnily enough my situation. As I use my modified charm, I wait for the calculations to finish and it's the year that baffles me: -4394. This must be a malfunction; I can't be in the past, especially this far back. I recheck my calculations and everything checks out. I suddenly remember what happened to me before passing out. I touched an unfamiliar ancient locket in a museum, it activated and I remember being drained of my magic. I feel my magic, fortunately, it's seems to have replenished. I remember the locket acting like a portkey, my landing on a beach and the locket turning to ash. It could be possible considering what kind of ancient magic bullshit is possible.
But there isn't supposed to be a civilization this advanced in this time. Am I in an alien city? I remember the Kree invading the Earth in the past but I don't remember exactly when they invaded.
I look at the window to find out where I landed and I gasp at the beauty of it. The city is magnificent, seemingly carved out of a single mountain with its white marble houses, towers, and palace. Nerved with golden veins in them, which reflected the sunlight in such a way that it looked as if it came out of a fairytale. In the middle of the city, is a great tower, far larger than the empire state building. I use my telepathy to sense that there are exactly 100'000 habitats in this city. I can feel them using magic everywhere, enchanting everything they need. This feels like what magic should be. What the wizarding world should have been. This feels like home, and I expect it would for anyone that practices magic. The only word I could have used to describe the magnificence of this place is Paradise.
"Not quite my dear girl."
I realized I spoke the last word out loud and, in a language, I never learnt before. It's time like this that I thank God that I had my languages talent. After a moment of silence, I reply, "And what would you call it?"
"I would call it home, but you can call it Atlantis."
I freeze at the name, not believing I was in the legendary fallen city. A place of birth of so many myths, especially for magical society. A single item coming from Atlantis, no matter how insignificant and useless it is, would be priceless in the future. A place rumored to be the birthplace of magic itself, although I know for a fact that's not true. There was a theory, about how all wizards are descendants of the citizen of Atlantis.
I don't know if he didn't see my baffled look or just didn't care because he continued, "You were found in the beach with a case of internal magical exhaustion. Now, it's not every day we find little girls passed out with a rune of power on their forehead and with a lot of time energy residue on her. Now who are you girl? And how did you bypass Atlantis' protection?"
"Isn't it polite to introduce oneself before demanding the identity of another?"
He sighs, "Fine, my name is Atlan the third and I am today, the king of Atlantis."
I freeze, not expecting him to actually be the king himself. He looks old yet he moves like guy in his twenties. He reminds me of a muscular Odin without the eyepatch. As I attempt to sense his magic, I am astonished. I have never been in a position where my magic was so far more inferior to someone else. His magic feels of the ocean, and hurricanes. His sea green eyes feel like they could hold storms inside them. I feel intimidated to be honest.
He clears his throat, startling me, "This is the part where you introduce yourself."
"Yeah, sorry, my name is Morgan Evanshade and I don't know exactly what happened, but I accidentally touched an artifact and arrived here. As you have probably guessed, I am not of this time."
"Odd, time usually tends to stop people going back in time in fear of destroying the timestream. They usually end up disintegrating. The fact that you are in one piece can be considered a miracle. Or as if you were always meant to come here. You must have a role affecting the world's history somehow."
"Is there any way you could send me back?"
"I'll have a Master of Chronomancy study your case but I wouldn't be optimistic if I were you. If you were brought here by the powers then you will probably won't be allowed to leave before you have achieved what you're fated to do."
"What if there's a prophecy concerning me in the future, how can I fulfill it and have a destiny in my world's past. It doesn't make any sense."
"It seems that you'll have to take the long way to your present. For now, do not speak of your experiences of the future. We cannot afford to create a paradox."
"Of course, king Atlan."
He turns around and exits the room, leaving me contemplating on how I'll live for 6000 years without going insane. But think of the history I can live and experience. The magics I can uncover. And it's not like there's anyone in my life for me to miss. Other than Alfred and Tilly, I barely spoke to anyone in my last few years of living alone. The Potter's don't count because they're not family, not anymore. Family is a group of people that care and protects one another. Bonds are thicker than blood. What they are to me is the same as a sperm donor in a medical clinic. You might share blood but you will never be family.
A few hours later
Atlan enters the room with a neutral expression on his face. The moment I look into his eyes, I knew I would not be going home. I'm surprisingly okay with this.
As expected, "Morgan Evanshade, I have some bad news. I asked a few masters of time magic and I'm afraid you can't return to your home. I know this is unfortunate but the best I can do is to help you have a comfortable stay here in Atlantis. You will be given an Atlantean name, a residence in my palace and a magical education."
I barely stop myself from squealing. "Thank you, king Atlan, but do not feel guilty, I have no one to go back to."
He frowns and nods, "I have performed an abilities test on your magic to choose the area on magic your magic prefers. It says here you're a shapeshifter. A useful ability. You have some good amount of talent in elemental magic, with shadow magic being your most favorable element. Your potential in soul magic and blood magic seems remarkably high for someone outside a clan. Your potential in transmutation and physical magic is average at best. Your weakest potential is for Healing magic and Holy magic. However, your potential in runes and mind magic eclipses any I have ever seen before or seen documented before. That's of course excluding external magic or sorcery where your success depends on your intelligence and hard work. That's an affinity that cannot be inherited."
I just nodded stupefied with my magical potential. Ever since I have met Atlan, I have felt like an ant before him. To realize I have the potential to stand amongst them is astounding.
"You will enter the academy until you understand the basics of each magical branch. When you graduate, if you do a good enough job, you will be offered an apprenticeship with a master. If you really impress me, I could even offer you an apprenticeship myself. On another note, why is your name so long?"
"I don't understand, both my names are short."
"You have two names?" to which I replied, "Yes the first name is mine and the second one my family's"
"Ah, so you put your clan's name at the end your name."
"Well yeah but I don't really have a clan, I just chose Evanshade because I liked how it sounded."
"Why do you not have a clan, young one?"
"When I was younger, a man attacked my family and tried to kill me and my brother. He used a soul-based attack, a curse that cannot be stopped and it hit me. But rather than killing me, it somehow reflected upon him, causing his demise. That is how I received my rune scar. After the attack they thought my brother was the one attacked and celebrated his victory. However, they feared retaliation from the man's followers and grew paranoid. They found an obscure blood ward they wanted to use but that can only contain three people. And so, I was chosen to be left with my aunt who was terrified of magic and after a few years of being her servant, I was left for dead in an unknown place. After their abandonment, I couldn't bare to consider them as family. I understand why they did what they did, and I don't hate them for it. They are simply not family anymore." I say, feeling that pain in my heart well up, and my eyes water.
Atlan gives me a hug, his eyes full of kindness and compassion, and I pour my heart out on his shoulder. It's the first time since I came into this world when I really felt like I had a person I could depend on. Maybe traveling to the past wasn't such a bad thing after all.
"Now since you're staying here, you will need to get used to the traditions here. We only have one name, and we only need one name. As your new King, it's an honor for me to name you. Welcome to Atlantis ... Morrigan."