THE TELLUSSIA CHRONICLES
by RetroRaider42
"UNDER ATLANTEAN SKIES"
Chapter I - The Road to Atlantis
It was a slow day, and the sun was beating on the well-worn path like it owned the place; which technically it did from a cosmological standpoint. The girl was casting a shadow that was much shorter than when she'd started, and though the trees were just as tall, they were sparser. The platoon she'd passed through earlier had given way to idle deserters; dotting the side of the road with brief, impotent patches of shade that her casually long stride carried her past all too briefly as she started to truly feel the sun's rays upon her.
A native of this land would be used to it, but she had lived for the past sixteen winters in the mid-western portion of Britannia, where such heat was the sort of rarity that grandparents reminisce about in great detail, lest the younger generations never experience the like for themselves. Having failed to take this into account, she was dressed as usual in a fur tunic, shoes, and cloak, and trousers of her clan's blue and orange tartan, which anyone could tell you were a bad choice for walking across a Mediterranean island. Shakespeare had in fact told her, but finding more suitable wears would mean actual work, which went against both the nature of this trip and her own outlook on life. Shakespeare was her pet monkey, whose hobby as a writer meant his name would be an amusing coincidence a few centuries from now, and who was currently sleeping in the top of her well-worn hide shoulder bag.
It had been a good 90 minutes or so since she had left the town of Edward and started on this, the longest portion of her journey, and in that time a quirk of her biology was starting to catch up with her. Being half-neanderthal on her mother's side, she didn't sweat, but instead panted in the heat, making the animal bladder full of water hanging from round her neck do double duty in wetting her throat as well as her thirst. The bladder refilled itself; a birthday present from her cousin Ealga a couple of years prior. She took another drink as she slowed down in her approach to the next tree, sighing in bliss as she moved into its cool embrace and stopped with her back against the trunk. She slid the shoulder bag onto the ground, causing Shakespeare to stir.
"Are we there already, Fei?" he said; his crisp, Saxon tones layered with mild surprise.
"No, just taking a layer off," Fei said as she began rolling her plaid trousers down her legs; as with her arms, they for the most-part resembled those of a regular human, especially since she got her height from her father, but were still somewhat stocky. If she were to dress like the average Saxon or Roman then she could hide her primal heritage pretty well, her hair covering the more pronounced brow ridge.
"Starting to feel the heat?" he said with an amused look about him.
"Well, I may have underestimated the conditions we'd face," she said as she tugged the trousers over her shoes. Shakespeare sat up, observing their surroundings with a flurry of blinks at the light reflecting off the ground.
"I did tell you what it would be like," he said. He stretched with a slight groan; "How far to Atlantis?"
"Oh, we're here now, can't you see?" Fei said with a broad, toothy grin a she indicated with her hand, now loosely clutching her trousers, to the rolling hills and bushes.
"The heat hasn't dulled your sense of humour I see," he said dryly.
"Ah, come on, Shakes, only a few more miles to go," she said as she stuffed her trousers into the bag and slung it back over her shoulder. Shakespeare winced at the nickname, one she only used when in a particularly teasing mood.
"In a few miles we'll be in Atlantis, but I'll still have to hear your jokes." Fei rolled her eyes and smiled, then picked up her bag and stuffed the trousers inside as the two silently admired the landscape; the white sand carpeted with deep green scrub, punctuated by flowers of orange and red and yellow, fanning each other lucidly in the cool breeze. There were the calls of swallows hunting between the bushes, the distant hissing of waves as their white tongues tasted the cliff side a short way to the south, the calls of gulls as they danced up above, and the surprised cry of a girl who fell from the crown of the tree and landed upon her rear in front of them.
This, naturally, caught both Fei and Shakespeare by surprise, the latter suspecting a failed ambush of sorts. Fei, being the more trusting of the two, suspected it was something she ate; possibly one of the mushrooms her uncles had given her the night before. The girl rubbed her forehead gingerly with one hand, the other still supporting her weight. Her skin was the colour of light black marble, and contrasted with her shock of white hair.
"Hello," Fei said as she held her hand out, startling the girl, who apparently hadn't yet noticed them; understandable, given the circumstances. She responded with a gasp, her violet eyes wide with fear.
"You just fell out of this tree, are you okay?" Fei said, before defaulting to her smile, which was her usual manner. "A smile is as good as a handshake," her grandma said, and there was always to possibility of a handshake being turned down.
The girl looked at the hand, then up to Fei, whose partially-silhouetted form was probably not the most comforting sight to see at such a time; she was 6'1", nearly 6'3" with her hair, which was the kind of primal mane that drew queries as to why one had a small mammal sat atop their head. Her aforementioned smile could equally give the impression that she was about to try and eat them, and her furs, along with the spear strapped to the side of her bag, were unlikely to help dissuade that assessment. With some clear hesitation, the girl slowly put her hand to Fei's and allowed herself to be pulled up. Fei noted that she was a good half-foot shorter than herself. Her hair, whose colour matched the rather loose dress she was wearing, reached down to her knees, and was broken on both sides by pointed ears that stretched just further than her shoulders. Fei noticed a sword in its sheath beneath the dress, but decided not to pass comment for now.
"I... I've been worse," she stuttered, glancing around at her surroundings and rubbing the portion of her hip that had taken the brunt of the fall.
Fei looked her up and down; "Anything broken?"
"I don't think so," the girl said, shaking her head as she looked around.
"Where am I?" she said, turning back to face them.
"Atlantis," Fei said.
"But never mind that, why were you up that tree? In fact, who are you? Actually, a better question would be how you got up there without knowing where you are? Did you hit your head?" The girl seemed unsure which question to answer first; not helped by Fei's broad Brittonic accent, the standard for British Celts that could best be best described as a sort of proto-Welsh, since it was.
"I... no. My name is Daere. I was not up any tree, I was..." she closed her eyes and placed a hand to them, trying to recall her actions mere moments ago.
"I was hiding behind a bush, backing away, when I fell." She looked around and moved from under the tree as she spoke, seemingly trying to work out where the bush had got to - and the Underdark, for that matter. She glanced up at the crown of the tree, then stopped and gasped. Fei and Shakespeare joined her out in the open and looked up to see what she did: a patch of shimmering blue light in the air, a few metres each side.
"Ah, now that would explain it," Shakespeare said.
"Yes, there's your bush, Daere. Or at least, it's back through there," Fei said, raising her left hand to her eyes to shield them from the glare of the sun, and the glare Shakespeare gave her choice of words.
"What is it?" Daere said.
"You mean you don't know what a Moongate is?" Fei said, her right hand currently rummaging in her bag.
"A Moongate?" Daere said?
"Yes, or at least I'm pretty sure that's what it is." She produced a stone from her pocket and, after weighing it in her hand for a moment, leant back and threw it at the patch of light, where it left a ripple in the air as it disappeared. Daere turned to Fei in astonishment.
"Where did it go?"
"Well where did you come from?" Fei said, though given Daere's appearance she had a pretty good idea.
"The Underdark," Daere said hesitantly.
"I thought as much," Fei said, noting she was now avoiding their gaze. All Fei's knowledge of worlds beyond Tellussia was from what she'd been told by Ealga, a half-elf whose mother's family were old elves, their lineage going back many moons to one such land; however she did know enough that while drow - dark elves native to the Underdark - had steeple-tipped ears similar to those of other Elven races, it was their offspring with human mates that possessed the flat-lying ears Daere possessed.
After a moment's consideration she said "I don't suppose you have any interest in going back, do you?" Daere's gaze snapped back to meet hers.
"I'd rather die!"
"Very well, then we'd be happy to have you join us. We're on our way to Atlantis, a city a few miles that way," Fei said, pointing down the road to the west.
Daere stammered, "I suppose." Her brow furrowed, "Wait, I thought you said this was Atlantis?"
"Oh, well it is," Fei said. "Atlantis is the island we are on, but also the Greek city state a few miles that way."
Daere seemed to accept this, though clearly thought this fact quite mad.*
She sighed, her mouth staying half-open in silent contemplation for a moment before saying "I suppose I will come with you."
"Splendid!" Fei said, clasping her hands together. Always good to have company! I promise we don't bite." Something approaching a smile formed on Daere's lips as they started on down the road.
"So may I ask your names?" she said.
Fei stopped and brought her hand to her forehead; "Of course! How rude of us, I am Fei the Selgo, and this is Shakespeare."
"How do you do?" he said, holding his hand out from his seat in Fei's bag. Daere carefully accepted the greeting.
"You're a monkey, aren't you?" Daere said as they shook.
Shakespeare said "My, what deduction! You hath uncovered my ruse!" as he placed his hand theatrically to his chest in a manner that he felt he ought to be above, were it not for Fei's influence.
"Do they have monkeys in the Underdark?" Fei said to Daere as they began walking.
"No, but I've seen pictures. I wasn't aware they could talk," she said.
"Well, not all can," Shakespeare said. "Sapient animals are the result of a spell."
Daere looked to Fei; "A spell? Did you cast it on him,"
"Yes, how did you guess?" she beamed.
"I thought it was Ealga," Shakespeare said.
"Well, she actually cast the spell, since I could barely make fire with my fingers at that age, but it was my idea," Fei said; "Can't say my father was that pleased, but they get on well enough. And it was him who left the spell book lying around."
"Is your father a mage?" Daere said.
"Well, of sorts," Fei said. "He's a Bard like myself. We dabble in it; more a hobby than a way of life."
"So what is a Bard?" Daere said.
"We're Celtic Priests. Well, one of them," Fei said as she craned her neck. It looked like Atlantis could well be visible past the ridge they were presently gracing.
"And what are Celts?"
"Why I am a Celt!" Fei said. "So is my father's side of the family, amongst others."
"Yes, but what-"
"Ah yes, sorry, Celts are one of the early groups of people in Britannia and Europe." The words "Celtic" and "Britannia" struck a particularly loud chord with Daere; her mother had told her that theirs was a Celtic line that had come from a land called Britannia a long, long time past, and she'd had a vague hope of reaching there someday; now it seemed that day could suddenly be a lot closer at hand.
"And are Britannia and Europe anywhere near here?"
"Well this island is part of southern Europe, and Britannia is a large island in northern Europe which is in... that direction," Fei said, vaguely pointing to the north-west. "But also a few miles back that way," she said, thumbing over her shoulder.
"How is that possible," Daere said, feeling like she was perhaps being tricked.
"Another Moongate," Fei said.
"Like that?" Daere said, looking back to the one growing dimmer above the tree behind them. "What are they?"
"You really don't know?"
"No, I'm afraid I don't. Are they common?"
"Common enough in this land; they're portals to different parts of the world. Appear and disappear according to the positions of the planets; that one must have appeared while we were under the tree and you popped out. Now rarer are those that lead to the Netherworlds, so hopefully you won't be followed." Daere started, then realized that Fei probably meant in general rather than knowing her circumstances just before she had fallen through the Moongate. As it was, Fei; and Shakespeare for that matter; had simply made a lucky guess, but didn't press that point.
"Now where was I? Yes, geographically, Britannia is that way, but the Moongate leading from there to here is a few miles back that way," Fei said, half-heartedly repeating her hand gestures. "Pretty frequent, that one. There's even an Anglo-Saxon settlement built next to it." Daere decided she didn't quite need to know who the Anglo-Saxons were for now; she was naturally curious, but this was clearly a whole different land to the one she had grown up in, and there was a lot to learn. On the other hand, if Fei was unused to such heat that was nothing to Daere's experience, and it was beginning to affect her somewhat, a fact Fei was beginning to notice.
"Here," she said, pulling the bladder on its string over her head and holding it out to her. "You look like you need a drink."
"Thank you," Daere said, accepting it and tipping it to her lips with both hands, closing her eyes as she did so.
"Ah, there it is!" Fei said, and when Daere opened her eyes she saw it: a mass of white marble on the coast a couple of miles ahead. It was backed by a lone peak, part of the city built into its foothills, and seemed to stretch some way into the bay itself.
Fei grinned at their destination being in sight; "Atlantis!" she said.
"The paintings scarce do it justice," Shakespeare said; "The Jewel of the Greeks."
"Who are- never mind," Daere said.
"Ah, don't worry, there'll be plenty of time for questions once we reach there," Fei said. "First thing we do is find a tavern and have a nice, stiff tankard of mead. Do they have alcohol in the Underdark?"
"Yes, though I've never tried it before," Daere said.
"Well, there's always a first time for everything," Fei said, still taking in the sight the ridge afforded of the city. Shakespeare turned to look back on the path already walked, and was startled to see a lone figure on horseback riding at quite a brisk pace.
"Fei," he said, tapping her arm.
"What?" she said, looking down to him, and then following his gaze to the horseman. Daere turned around and gasped, jumping behind them. Well, in front of them, but behind from the horseman's perspective. Fei eyed them for a moment.
"It was drow who were following you, wasn't it?"
"Yes," Daere said.
"Well then we've nothing to worry about," Fei said, "but we should still keep to the side of the road for now until they've passed." She was walking again now, and Daere began to follow somewhat hesitantly, looking back at the horseman to the extent that she was practically walking sideways.
The ridge began to descend and it was a silent few minutes, Daere keeping close to Fei and fingering her sword. After a time the sound of hooves appeared behind them, carried by the wind. Despite her assurances, Fei began focusing her mind ready to cast any spells if necessary; she didn't have many, but there were a few that could separate horse and man if he was a threat. You never could tell on the open road. Shakespeare was drawing the flap of the bag over himself. He wasn't a complete coward, but if there was to be a horseman wielding sword or sparks coming at them then he had no misconceptions about what use he'd be. If Fei had wanted a guard pet then she should have gone for a dog, or a bird of prey, or an owlbear; her father would certainly have preferred it.
The sound grew, and all three cast their gaze to the crest. The horse burst into view, its rider's face obscured partially by a hood. They put their head to the mane as they passed, leaving much of their features to the imagination as they flashed by. Daere and Shakespeare took breaths, the latter sinking into the depths of the bag, and then immediately emerging when he remembered the sorts of things Fei kept in there. On second thoughts, perhaps a magpie would have made a good pet for her.
"See, what did I say?" Fei said with a smile. Having been taken hunting by her uncles since she could run, there was little that fazed her, and nothing to be gained in her eyes from worrying about the danger now passed. Daere's was quite a bit weaker.
"Why aren't you on a horse?" she said after a moment, noting how far ahead the rider was already.
"Oh, no need. Those things are expensive, and besides, I'm used to walking."
Shakespeare chuckled; "Given the speed he was going I'd say his was a very pricey horse," he said, and Fei echoed his laugh. Daere didn't understand the cause of their amusement, and didn't feel a need to right now.
"So why are you going there?" Daere said.
"Cultural odyssey," Fei said.
Now there was a word Daere hadn't heard in a while; "Odyssey, like a journey?" she said.
"Yes!" Fei said. "You know how I said I'm a Bard?"
"Yes."
"Well, of the Celtic Priests we're the lore masters, the storytellers, the recorders of history. And if you're going to do that it helps to have some experience of other cultures, I should think. So I'm taking a few months or so to travel, see where the wind takes me."
"So why here?" Daere said to Fei.
Fei aimed her index finger in the direction of the city; "Atlantis?" she said. "Well the Greeks have something of an edge on the rest of Europe when it comes to civilization, and Atlantis, the city state that is, is the pinnacle."
"And those parts in the bay, are they really built above the water?"
"In a manner; those parts above the water are an extension of the parts built under the water."
Daere was by now finding this world very queer; "Under it!?" she said.
"Why on earth would anyone build a city under the water?"
"Thalassia Ksotika," Shakespeare said.
"I beg your pardon," Daere said.
"Sea Elves," Shakespeare said with a roll of his eyes. "They have settlements all around the rim of the Mediterranean, but it is the underwater portion of Atlantis that is their capital. A city of scholars, thinkers, and artists, above the waves and beneath them."
"Magnificent," Fei said, "Where did you memorize that from?"
"Well, one of us had to do some actual reading on where we're going."
"Ah, who has time for that!?" Fei said. "Much more fun to just see what awaits." There was a brief silence before Daere spoke.
"I don't suppose there are many like me there?" Fei looked to her, and then gave a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry; you'll be fine with us. We're just a half-neanderthal, a half-drow, and a monkey; nothing unusual about that."
Daere's brow furrowed for the second and what she was sure wasn't the last time that day; "Half-what?"
"Half-neanderthal; Neanderthals are one of the first people to inhabit Europe and Britannia, before the Celts even," Fei said. She was finding these questions to be a good distraction from the walk; "Hunter-gatherer types; actually a human subspecies, so technically I'm all human," she said.
"I admit, I hadn't thought you any different from a human," Daere said.
Fei took that as a compliment; "Happens a lot."
"I wish it were so easy for me," Daere said, looking out to the bay with a sigh. By now the rider was far ahead, a barely visible speck of paint moving across canvas below.
"So which of your parents is human?" Fei said with a hint of unvoiced caution; Daere didn't seem the sort who'd spill all in one go, especially not to one she'd just met ten minutes earlier, rather she'd let it drip out as she was comfortable.
"My mother," Daere said, a barely disguised waver in her voice, and then turned her face to the ocean. Fei decided to leave that avenue alone for now. The silence was broken by the renewed sound of hooves behind them; not only that, but there seemed to be several this time, and they were much closer than the lone rider had been when he'd been spotted. Fearing the worst, Daere threw herself behind a bush beside the road. Fei walked over to her side, though further up it so she could provide cover if it was who they thought it was.
She had barely accomplished this before the hooves' owners, numbering half-a-dozen in total, appeared on the ridge. Their riders did nothing to conceal their faces, which were all Caucasian, though not all human necessarily; it was hard to tell when they were still moving. The one in front held up a hand and they slowed to a stop just before Fei. Shakespeare was in his usual spot in such situations, and so she appeared alone.
"Hail, traveller," the leader said. His faces was the most worn, a thick moustache matching his sand-coloured hair, and his voice was unmistakably Saxon.
"Have you seen a lone rider on this road?"
"Yes, he passed by not long ago," Fei said, pointing towards Atlantis.
"He seemed in rather a hurry. Does he know you?"
"No, though he will soon enough. I'm Captain Wessex, head guard of the town of Edward, Atlantis. He passed through the Moongate on what turned out to be a stolen horse. It's my job to apprehend him."
"Well, good luck," Fei said.
"Thank you. Has your journey been well?"
Fei smiled; "Oh, not much to speak of. The first mile was rather fun but every other after that has been a bit of a letdown."
"Well, they do say it's the destination rather than the journey. Still, safe travels."
"Thank you," Fei said.
Wessex was just about to give the signal to start moving again when one of the men behind him cried out "Drow!" He pointed at the bush and grabbed the handle of his sword. The men all followed his finger, and went for their weapons too when they saw her. She resembled a rabbit just spotted by the hunt, except unlike a rabbit she too had a sword, and placed her hand on its hilt.**
"She's not a drow, she's a half-drow, and she's no danger to you!" Fei said, holding her hands up to steady them, as if it were the horses readying their weapons.
"All drow are a threat!" The younger guard spat.
"At ease, Thomas," Wessex said. "Is she your companion?"
"Yes," Fei said without pause.
"You there, stand up and show yourself," he said to Daere. Fei looked over her shoulder at her.
"Stand up," she said, half-whispering, "And for Ogmios' sake don't draw or they'll drive us both into the sea." Daere shot her a betrayed look, but soon realized that she probably knew what she was doing. She slowly stood, and locked eyes with Wessex.
"What is your name, drow?" he said.
"Half-drow and my name is Daere," she said.
"If you pose no threat then why were you hiding?"
"You never know who you'll meet on the road."
"True enough. But bandits are scarce seen on these roads; I should know since I've ridden them enough times myself. Are there any who might have cause to come after you?"
"None to speak of," Daere stuttered.
"Do you?" she said to Fei, who glanced back at her.
"Me? No, I'm not that popular I'm afraid." She turned back to Wessex; "My friend and I are simply on trip to Atlantis to see the sights. She gets a bit jittery I'm afraid; scared of her own shadow if it sneaks up on her."
"I see. Well have safe walk; not far to go now, eh," Wessex said.
"Come along men, we've wasted enough time already." He kicked his horse into gear, metaphorically speaking, and the group galloped off down the road; on to search for a horse thief in the biggest trading port and cultural centre in southern Europe. Fei did not envy them their task.
"Good riddance," she said, as she went over to Daere. "Sorry about that," she said; "If you'd stayed in the open they'd not have been so suspicious."
"I doubt that's true," Daere replied as Shakespeare emerged from the bag.
"Perhaps," Fei said. "But you have to keep in mind that yes, people will be scared of you, but if you greet them with a smile at least you're making an effort, then it's up to them how to react. You have to give people credit." Daere considered these words for a moment, looking out again to the sea, dotted with ships coming to and from the docks.
"How did you know of my sword?" she said after a moment.
"I saw it when you were on the ground, just after falling from that tree. Were you really trying to hide a great big blade like that under your dress?"
Daere gave a sheepish smile. "It was worth a try."
Fei beamed and said "There's the attitude I like to see!"
"So why not mention it? Surely you've heard of the drow, fear their ways?"
"Well, yes, but there's no limit to how far an apple can fall from the tree, especially when that apple falls through a Moongate on the way to the ground. Besides," Fei said, before taking a drink and offering one to Daere. "You have to give people credit."
"That's all very nice," Shakespeare said as Daere accepted the drink. "But can we please get going? I know patience is a virtue, but so is taking less than a day to walk eight miles."
"You have a point. On we go," Fei said looking back to Daere, who allowed a smile to play across her lips before she began walking, casting a shadow a bit longer than when she'd started. Fei looked ahead to Atlantis. After all that had happened, that mead was going to be all the sweeter.
To be continued.
*To be fair, it was, but as has happened countless times down the centuries, it seemed perfectly sane when the city was the only settlement on the island. The confusion begins when an Egyptian prince founds his own kingdom on the rest of the island, and then some Anglo-Saxons found their own colony in one corner, then Romans establish a port city on the north coast, all having some variation of the name "Atlantis" in them, by which point there's no way the Atlanteans are going to change their name to satisfy some jumped-up opportunistic colonials (their words, not mine.)
**This statement is only true for rabbits that have not had the Awaken spell cast upon them, rendering them sapient as with Shakespeare. These animals are granted personhood and thus killing them is murder, so they are able to call out to alert the hunters of this. Then there are the Pecushom (Beast Men,) a race of humanoids with the features of animals who were created by a student at Oxford University's Mages College in an experiment with magical cross-fertilization. Though a civilized race, there are those who are predisposed towards behaving in a manner similar to the animal they resemble, and there is at least one recorded instance of a rabbit turning his pursuers into squirrels, much to their surprise.