Chapter Five~ Discovering the Past
2986 B.C.
"But TAHB-toap," Princess Kida begged. "It's only fair that the future queen of Atlantis should learn the past of her kingdom. I know there's more to this than meets the eye. What are you hiding from me?"
"Kida," King Kashekim warned. "When you come to the throne, you will understand. But you are still young, far too young to comprehend the things that are happening in this world. Just trust in me when I say that all things happen for a reason."
"TAHB-toap, that isn't enough!" Kida exclaimed angrily. "What happened to MAH-tihm? What was the star I saw in the sky, and where did it go? Why have we been banished down here? Why are you letting your people forget? Some great ruler you are! You are letting your people wear away! We need answers!"
The King cringed. This was the most violent argument he had ever had with his young daughter. Her curiosity was beginning to become too strong. She needed answers. He knew what it felt like to be young and be denied the answers to the most important questions. Perhaps... No, she is still far too young! She cannot know; not yet. She would simply have to be satisfied with the answers she had been getting her whole life, it was the only way to protect her.
"The gods grew jealous of Atlantis and her might. They banished us down here so that we would not overshadow their divinity," the King replied blandly.
"TAHB-toap, that story makes no sense! If the gods were jealous, why not destroy us completely? How did we wind up down here?" Kida shook her head in disbelief. "And why are you having us live in denial of our mighty past? No, TAHB-toap, you are hiding something from me. How am I supposed to respect and honor a king who lies to his subjects and to his own daughter?" With that, Princess Kidagakash stormed out of her father's throne room. Sadly, the King watched her. She has a strong will, he thought. I cannot hide the past from her much longer.
~*~
I need answers, Kida thought to herself. But how would she get them? The adults who remembered the MEH-behl-moak were so tight-lipped about it, and everything was such a blur to her. Oh, if only I could remember what happened that day! She thought angrily. But she could only grasp bits and pieces, and as the centuries progressed, new memories replaced the old, and the thoughts became jumbled in her mind.
As she walked through the overgrown, disintegrating streets, she fingered her crystal pendant, trying to grasp something that would help her untangle the mystery. "Oh, MAH-tihm," she whispered. "I wish you could help me with this."
She lightly stepped over a hunk of twisted metal and stone, then thoughtfully glanced at the destroyed mechanism. A glimmer of a memory flitted through her mind, and then it was gone before she could grasp it. She knelt beside the machine and gently ran her fingers across the control panel. If she could only remember...
"Hey, Kida!" a voice shouted. She looked up and saw her two best friends, Nakia and Meeranakash, heading her way. Nakia's parents were servants at the palace, so she had grown up alongside the princess and Meera.
"SOO-puhk," Kida said, grinning. "Hey, Meera, look at this."
Meera knelt beside Kida, staring at the mangled machine pensively. "It's a vehicle," she said absently. "A-a... Ketak?"
"Yes," Nakia agreed. "It's been a long time since I've seen one of them fly."
"They did fly!" Kida exclaimed. "Meera, do you remember? That time that you and I got loose in one?"
Meera started, and stared at Kida in shock. "Yes, I do! We got out of control and your MAH-tihm rescued us by the skin of our teeth. Oh, that was so long ago! I had forgotten it," she whispered. "But we did fly in one."
"I knew it! Come on, let's try to start one up!" Kida exclaimed. She grabbed Meera by the wrist, who grabbed Nakia in turn, and dragged her down a nearly invisible path that led into the jungle.
"Where are we going?" Nakia gasped, out of breath.
"My special place," Kida replied excitedly. She led them deep into the forest, then took a surprising turn, edging through a cavern behind a waterfall, then slid down a hill into a grotto of some sort. "Here," she cried, gesturing to a Ketak that sat intact, though somewhat grown over by weeds and vines.
"Now, Meera, how did we do it again?" Kida asked breathlessly.
"Um, the crystal goes in that slot," Meera gestured.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Nakia nervously asked. "I mean, what if the King should find out?"
"Who cares?" Kida retorted. "He's hiding something from me, and I'm going to find out. He's letting us forget our former grandeur, but I'm not going without a fight!" She yanked her necklace off and jammed it into the slot defiantly. Nothing happened.
"Try twisting it," Nakia suggested. Kida complied, turning the crystal in the slot. Still nothing happened.
"Oh! I remember!" Meera proclaimed. "You have to put your hand on the inscription pad!" Kida did so. Still, nothing happened. The girls fiddled with it for nearly an hour, but still the Ketak did not respond.
"Argh!" Kida shouted in aggravation. "We shall never figure this stupid thing out!"
Nakia stared at it some more, chewing on her lip. She fingered some carved writing around the inscription pad. "This is probably the instructions," she said.
"If only I could read it!" Kida moaned. She flung herself on the ground in despair. "Curse my father, anyway! Why is he so obstinate?"
Nakia and Meera looked at each other sadly. "We'd better go," Meera said. "It's getting near evening-darkness, and our parents will be expecting us soon." Kida waved them away, and proceeded to pout angrily. Why is he so unreasonable?
The evening-darkness was approaching rapidly, yet the atmosphere was still warm with summertime. How is it that it still gets light and dark down here as it did on the surface? Kida wondered to herself. The seasons change as well. The only thing missing is the sun, the moon, and the stars. She sighed. The stars were still a vivid memory to Kida. She remembered the bright star that used to shine over Atlantis. What was it anyway? She used to know. It had always been there, but then when the city sank, it went away like the sun and the moon. What is keeping us alive down here, anyway? Why didn't the MEH-behl-moak destroy us? Perhaps her TAHB-toap wasn't lying, and the gods merely had banished the Atlanteans to the depths of the sea. But a nagging feeling told Kida otherwise...
"It is rather warm," Kida said to no one in particular. Warmer than usual. She glanced at the sky. It was getting dark quickly, but she did not want to return to the palace. Not yet. She decided to wander to a pool that was nearby and dip her feet in. Maybe she could clear her head.
~*~
Kida wrapped her way around the cascading waterfalls and through the foliage to the water's edge. A pillar with writing all the way around it lay ruined in the middle of the path, covered with overgrowth, where it had probably lain since it fell during the MEH-behl-moak. Kida ran her fingers over the letters, which were nothing but meaningless scribbles to her. It infuriated her that her own written language was forbidden to her, yet it existed, incomprehensible as it may be, all over the city, as if taunting the Atlantean people.
Disgusted, the girl walked past it to where some crumbling steps led into the water. I wonder where these stairs led in ancient times... or not so ancient times, since they were probably still in tact during my infancy. She furrowed her brow and seated herself on a step, dangling her legs into the cool water and letting her daydreams absorb her. Maybe to a temple, or perhaps to a great library, or a city hall... oh, why can't I remember???
Kida sat there pensively for an indefinite amount of time, until she absent-mindedly took of her crystal and began playfully swirling it through the water. It had a most startling effect. As its ripples began to span the distance of the pool, the crystal began glowing brightly, more brightly than Kida had ever seen it shine before. "YAHD-loog!" she gasped, yanking the pendant out of the water and replacing it around her neck, hoping to soothe it. Instead, the crystal began pulling her towards something in the water. She fearfully began running back up the steps, trying to escape this place, hoping that her crystal would calm down, not knowing what to think.
Suddenly a calm voice in the corner of her mind reached out to her. Kida could barely hear it, and couldn't make out what it was saying, but still the voice seemed oddly familiar, though it had been a long, long time since she had heard it last...
"MAH-tihm?" Kida whispered.
"Kida," her mother's voice replied soothingly. Kida turned back and stared at the lagoon again. The crystal started glowing and pulling her again, almost urgently. "Help us," Maralana's voice continued. "So we may not be forgotten."
"We'll never forget you, MAH-tihm," Kida gasped. A determined look washed over her young face. She set her jaw and defiantly undid her purple sarong. Draping it carefully on the grass, Kida, now wearing only her pink crop top and undershorts, walked to the water's edge. She waded in knee deep. Her crystal brightened with each step. There's something down there, the princess thought. And someone wants me to find out what.
She took a deep breath and dove in the water. The crystal lit up before her like a spotlight, revealing what was evidently an underwater tunnel, leading into darkness. The crystal pulled her towards the tunnel. Her eyes widened, and she resurfaced. Better get as much air as possible; who knows how long that tunnel could be?
Kida swam deeper and deeper into the darkness, the jeweled pendant lighting her way. She gazed in amazement as she swam past magnificent ruins covered with jeweled mosaics, and murals that were still as bright as they were the day they were painted despite the years of underwater decay. She swam onward, the crystal still seeming to be leading her somewhere. Kida started getting nervous. She should have run out of breath a long time ago, yet her lungs still felt full. What was going on?
She noticed an air pocket several yards up, and swam up to regain some air. She wasn't going to take any chances. As she dove back down, the crystal appeared to locate its destination. It pulled her through a ruined doorway and towards a mountainous wall, which was covered with murals, and writing surrounding the pictures on all sides. She gasped, choking on a mouthful of water. This place! It appeared to be a temple of some sort. She swam to the far wall and gently touched the murals. This must be what she was searching for! The history of Atlantis. If she could decode these pictures, she could learn what had really happened in the MEH-behl-moak, and the truth about the glowing star- and her MAH-tihm's disappearance.
Kida gazed at the murals sadly. They were surrounded with writing. The writing held the key to what the pictures meant. Once again, it would seem that her dream was being hindered by her illiteracy.
The princess stayed under much longer, the crystal sustaining her breath for much longer than usual. Though nothing became clearer, she left that place more determined than ever. She had to find someone who could read, or she'd find some way to do it herself. Kida knew that she had come one step closer to discovering the past.
She swam back to the surface excitedly. She knew TAHB-toap would be furious that she had come home so late after dark. He would want to know where she had been, but of course he would never find out.
Don't worry, MAH-tihm, she thought. Your memory will be kept alive, and someday, somehow, I will unlock all the mysteries of Atlantis' past...
~*~
2986 B.C.
"But TAHB-toap," Princess Kida begged. "It's only fair that the future queen of Atlantis should learn the past of her kingdom. I know there's more to this than meets the eye. What are you hiding from me?"
"Kida," King Kashekim warned. "When you come to the throne, you will understand. But you are still young, far too young to comprehend the things that are happening in this world. Just trust in me when I say that all things happen for a reason."
"TAHB-toap, that isn't enough!" Kida exclaimed angrily. "What happened to MAH-tihm? What was the star I saw in the sky, and where did it go? Why have we been banished down here? Why are you letting your people forget? Some great ruler you are! You are letting your people wear away! We need answers!"
The King cringed. This was the most violent argument he had ever had with his young daughter. Her curiosity was beginning to become too strong. She needed answers. He knew what it felt like to be young and be denied the answers to the most important questions. Perhaps... No, she is still far too young! She cannot know; not yet. She would simply have to be satisfied with the answers she had been getting her whole life, it was the only way to protect her.
"The gods grew jealous of Atlantis and her might. They banished us down here so that we would not overshadow their divinity," the King replied blandly.
"TAHB-toap, that story makes no sense! If the gods were jealous, why not destroy us completely? How did we wind up down here?" Kida shook her head in disbelief. "And why are you having us live in denial of our mighty past? No, TAHB-toap, you are hiding something from me. How am I supposed to respect and honor a king who lies to his subjects and to his own daughter?" With that, Princess Kidagakash stormed out of her father's throne room. Sadly, the King watched her. She has a strong will, he thought. I cannot hide the past from her much longer.
As she walked through the overgrown, disintegrating streets, she fingered her crystal pendant, trying to grasp something that would help her untangle the mystery. "Oh, MAH-tihm," she whispered. "I wish you could help me with this."
She lightly stepped over a hunk of twisted metal and stone, then thoughtfully glanced at the destroyed mechanism. A glimmer of a memory flitted through her mind, and then it was gone before she could grasp it. She knelt beside the machine and gently ran her fingers across the control panel. If she could only remember...
"Hey, Kida!" a voice shouted. She looked up and saw her two best friends, Nakia and Meeranakash, heading her way. Nakia's parents were servants at the palace, so she had grown up alongside the princess and Meera.
"SOO-puhk," Kida said, grinning. "Hey, Meera, look at this."
Meera knelt beside Kida, staring at the mangled machine pensively. "It's a vehicle," she said absently. "A-a... Ketak?"
"Yes," Nakia agreed. "It's been a long time since I've seen one of them fly."
"They did fly!" Kida exclaimed. "Meera, do you remember? That time that you and I got loose in one?"
Meera started, and stared at Kida in shock. "Yes, I do! We got out of control and your MAH-tihm rescued us by the skin of our teeth. Oh, that was so long ago! I had forgotten it," she whispered. "But we did fly in one."
"I knew it! Come on, let's try to start one up!" Kida exclaimed. She grabbed Meera by the wrist, who grabbed Nakia in turn, and dragged her down a nearly invisible path that led into the jungle.
"Where are we going?" Nakia gasped, out of breath.
"My special place," Kida replied excitedly. She led them deep into the forest, then took a surprising turn, edging through a cavern behind a waterfall, then slid down a hill into a grotto of some sort. "Here," she cried, gesturing to a Ketak that sat intact, though somewhat grown over by weeds and vines.
"Now, Meera, how did we do it again?" Kida asked breathlessly.
"Um, the crystal goes in that slot," Meera gestured.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Nakia nervously asked. "I mean, what if the King should find out?"
"Who cares?" Kida retorted. "He's hiding something from me, and I'm going to find out. He's letting us forget our former grandeur, but I'm not going without a fight!" She yanked her necklace off and jammed it into the slot defiantly. Nothing happened.
"Try twisting it," Nakia suggested. Kida complied, turning the crystal in the slot. Still nothing happened.
"Oh! I remember!" Meera proclaimed. "You have to put your hand on the inscription pad!" Kida did so. Still, nothing happened. The girls fiddled with it for nearly an hour, but still the Ketak did not respond.
"Argh!" Kida shouted in aggravation. "We shall never figure this stupid thing out!"
Nakia stared at it some more, chewing on her lip. She fingered some carved writing around the inscription pad. "This is probably the instructions," she said.
"If only I could read it!" Kida moaned. She flung herself on the ground in despair. "Curse my father, anyway! Why is he so obstinate?"
Nakia and Meera looked at each other sadly. "We'd better go," Meera said. "It's getting near evening-darkness, and our parents will be expecting us soon." Kida waved them away, and proceeded to pout angrily. Why is he so unreasonable?
The evening-darkness was approaching rapidly, yet the atmosphere was still warm with summertime. How is it that it still gets light and dark down here as it did on the surface? Kida wondered to herself. The seasons change as well. The only thing missing is the sun, the moon, and the stars. She sighed. The stars were still a vivid memory to Kida. She remembered the bright star that used to shine over Atlantis. What was it anyway? She used to know. It had always been there, but then when the city sank, it went away like the sun and the moon. What is keeping us alive down here, anyway? Why didn't the MEH-behl-moak destroy us? Perhaps her TAHB-toap wasn't lying, and the gods merely had banished the Atlanteans to the depths of the sea. But a nagging feeling told Kida otherwise...
"It is rather warm," Kida said to no one in particular. Warmer than usual. She glanced at the sky. It was getting dark quickly, but she did not want to return to the palace. Not yet. She decided to wander to a pool that was nearby and dip her feet in. Maybe she could clear her head.
Kida wrapped her way around the cascading waterfalls and through the foliage to the water's edge. A pillar with writing all the way around it lay ruined in the middle of the path, covered with overgrowth, where it had probably lain since it fell during the MEH-behl-moak. Kida ran her fingers over the letters, which were nothing but meaningless scribbles to her. It infuriated her that her own written language was forbidden to her, yet it existed, incomprehensible as it may be, all over the city, as if taunting the Atlantean people.
Disgusted, the girl walked past it to where some crumbling steps led into the water. I wonder where these stairs led in ancient times... or not so ancient times, since they were probably still in tact during my infancy. She furrowed her brow and seated herself on a step, dangling her legs into the cool water and letting her daydreams absorb her. Maybe to a temple, or perhaps to a great library, or a city hall... oh, why can't I remember???
Kida sat there pensively for an indefinite amount of time, until she absent-mindedly took of her crystal and began playfully swirling it through the water. It had a most startling effect. As its ripples began to span the distance of the pool, the crystal began glowing brightly, more brightly than Kida had ever seen it shine before. "YAHD-loog!" she gasped, yanking the pendant out of the water and replacing it around her neck, hoping to soothe it. Instead, the crystal began pulling her towards something in the water. She fearfully began running back up the steps, trying to escape this place, hoping that her crystal would calm down, not knowing what to think.
Suddenly a calm voice in the corner of her mind reached out to her. Kida could barely hear it, and couldn't make out what it was saying, but still the voice seemed oddly familiar, though it had been a long, long time since she had heard it last...
"MAH-tihm?" Kida whispered.
"Kida," her mother's voice replied soothingly. Kida turned back and stared at the lagoon again. The crystal started glowing and pulling her again, almost urgently. "Help us," Maralana's voice continued. "So we may not be forgotten."
"We'll never forget you, MAH-tihm," Kida gasped. A determined look washed over her young face. She set her jaw and defiantly undid her purple sarong. Draping it carefully on the grass, Kida, now wearing only her pink crop top and undershorts, walked to the water's edge. She waded in knee deep. Her crystal brightened with each step. There's something down there, the princess thought. And someone wants me to find out what.
She took a deep breath and dove in the water. The crystal lit up before her like a spotlight, revealing what was evidently an underwater tunnel, leading into darkness. The crystal pulled her towards the tunnel. Her eyes widened, and she resurfaced. Better get as much air as possible; who knows how long that tunnel could be?
Kida swam deeper and deeper into the darkness, the jeweled pendant lighting her way. She gazed in amazement as she swam past magnificent ruins covered with jeweled mosaics, and murals that were still as bright as they were the day they were painted despite the years of underwater decay. She swam onward, the crystal still seeming to be leading her somewhere. Kida started getting nervous. She should have run out of breath a long time ago, yet her lungs still felt full. What was going on?
She noticed an air pocket several yards up, and swam up to regain some air. She wasn't going to take any chances. As she dove back down, the crystal appeared to locate its destination. It pulled her through a ruined doorway and towards a mountainous wall, which was covered with murals, and writing surrounding the pictures on all sides. She gasped, choking on a mouthful of water. This place! It appeared to be a temple of some sort. She swam to the far wall and gently touched the murals. This must be what she was searching for! The history of Atlantis. If she could decode these pictures, she could learn what had really happened in the MEH-behl-moak, and the truth about the glowing star- and her MAH-tihm's disappearance.
Kida gazed at the murals sadly. They were surrounded with writing. The writing held the key to what the pictures meant. Once again, it would seem that her dream was being hindered by her illiteracy.
The princess stayed under much longer, the crystal sustaining her breath for much longer than usual. Though nothing became clearer, she left that place more determined than ever. She had to find someone who could read, or she'd find some way to do it herself. Kida knew that she had come one step closer to discovering the past.
She swam back to the surface excitedly. She knew TAHB-toap would be furious that she had come home so late after dark. He would want to know where she had been, but of course he would never find out.
Don't worry, MAH-tihm, she thought. Your memory will be kept alive, and someday, somehow, I will unlock all the mysteries of Atlantis' past...