Chapter Five - K'uk'ulkan and the Kingdom of Talokan

Atlantis

Far away, back in Atlantis, in his lab, Orm was watching the screen.

"She hasn't moved from this spot in ages," he explained to Atlanna, pointing to the dot on the screen that represented the tracker Aurelia had taken with her so that Atlantis could keep an eye on her movements - well, so that he could.

"Don't panic yet," Atlanna said, though her eyes wouldn't leave the screen. "No use jumping to conclusions." However, the former queen did not sound as sure as her words made her seem.

Talokan

Namor enchanted Aurelia with the story of Talokan's creation, launching into the tale.

"My mother and her village were driven from their farms by Spanish conquistadors who brought the smallpox, a hateful language and dogma from another world. Facing war, starvation and disease, my people turned to Chaac-" He gestured to one of the paintings on the wall surrounding them. "-Our god of rain and abundance. Chaac gave our shaman a vision, a way to save his people. Chaac led him to a plant sprouting from a blue rock. My mother was pregnant with me at the time and she did not want to ingest the plant for fear of what it may do to me. But the shaman was convincing. They all fell sick, and their lives, their existence there, ended." She listened intently, completely enraptured. "The plant took away their ability to breathe air but enabled them to draw oxygen from the sea. And so they settled in the ocean, away from war and diseases. My mother gave birth to me there and I became the firstborn son of Talokan. The plant gave me wings on my ankles and ears that pointed to the clouds. I was a mutant. I could swim in the sky and age slower, breathe the air our ancestors breathed. As she grew older, my mother mourned the life on land that she once knew, and died with a broken heart."

"I'm sorry," she sympathized, as someone who had also lost her mother at a young age.

Namor nodded, acknowledging her apology. "She made me promise to bury her in the soil of her homeland. Nothing could prepare me for what I found there."

Aurelia winced - she could only imagine the horror he found there.

"A Spanish man of faith cursed me as he died by my hand. He called me 'el nino sin amor'."

"'The child without love'," she translated.

"Exactly. And I took my name from there: Namor. Because I have no love for the Surface World, and now you understand why."

She took this all in, absorbing his carefully-chosen words. "I appreciate you telling me all this, but why?"

"So you can understand why I have to stop you from furthering your kingdom's connection to the Surface."

"I see..." He was trying to get her to see it from his perspective. "I'd love to see your nation - may I?"

A smile quirked his lips. "And I would love to show you. Let's just say it is a good thing you are an experienced swimmer."

Talokan was incredible. While similar to Atlantis in the ways only underwater empires could be, it was also completely different. Two different underwater cultures, two different underwater wonderlands.

There were people everywhere, swimming about their daily activities, whether working in the market, swimming with sea creatures, or playing sports. They bowed their heads in greeting to Namor, holding their hands together at the wrists, palms open, a greeting which he returned.

A young girl and boy came up to her, smiling at this outsider unlike anyone they had ever seen.

"Hello," she greeted with a return smile. She moved her hands in order to do the gesture, and then turned to Namor, who nodded in encouragement. The kids returned the gesture.

A bright light drew her attention to the city centre, where a large glowing orb was rising ever so slowly, bathing everything in gold.

"It's beautiful."

Namor watched it too. "Yes. It is made of vibranium - in the depths of the ocean, I brought the sun to my people. Now you know what I have to protect."

"You are the first person from the Surface to come to Talokan. Please, take this as a token of our gratitude - my gratitude." He held out a beaded bracelet to her. "It was made with the plant that saved Talokan."

"Thank you." She allowed him to tie it around her wrist. "I'm honoured. And I love jewellery."

"I can tall." His gaze was soft. "Under different circumstances, I would suggest a union of rulers, uniting Atlantis and Talokan."

She blinked back, unsure of what to say. "Well, I'm flattered... And no offense, but I've done the whole marriage arrangement thing and I'm really not a fan."

"No offense taken."

"And, more importantly, I'm in love with my husband. That doesn't really encompass what I'm trying to say, but..." The way her chest swelled when thinking about him, almost to bursting when with him, there was no way she could convey it with words. Instead of saying more, she trailed off.

"I can tell, by the way you're smiling."

"Yeah." But that smile fell. There was a pause before she said, "I truly admire all you have built here, and how you have protected our people. But as Daughter of both the Land and Sea I cannot and will not stand for you threatening my people. And my family, and kingdom, will quickly discover what has happened and will not rest until I am returned. We need to find a peaceful way to resolve this."

His expression was now grave as well. "For centuries, Surface nations have conquered and enslaved people like us. Over resources. Since the day I buried my mother, I have prepared my people for the time when they will come for us. And now they have come for Atlantis and it is a sign that that time is now. I need to know if Atlantis is an ally or an enemy. There is no in-between."

"So you plan to wage war on the entire world and you want Atlantis to help you, when the Surface has done nothing to you?" Boy he could change tactics quickly.

"Not yet."

"That's madness."

"There isn't a nation that would plunder Atlantis if given a chance. If we make an alliance, we can protect each other by striking them first."

"But you forget that I am loyal to the Surface as well."

"When the threat of those nations has been eliminated-"

Now she cut him off. "And if Atlantis does not accept?"

"Then you will be the first nation to fall."

"An attack on my people? When we're not even of the Surface?

"Yes. And I want you to listen to me: Atlantis cannot win a war with Talokan. Instead, let us burn the world together."

She tore off the bracelet and handed it back to him. "Keep your jewellery - this alliance won't work. I need to protect my people too - and that includes the Surface."

He was grim. "Then I have done all I can. Come what may, Queen Aurelia."

Atlantis

The tracker had not budged.

"I can't get a hold of her!" Orm raced around his lab. "I'm panicking now!"

Atlanna wrung her hands. "We need to go after her."

"Yes, I'll go. I can attempt to draw Namor out, question him to see if he has anything to do with her disappearance, which I highly believe he does."

"I'm coming with you." Orm started to protest, but she cut him off. "Let me do this for my daughter."

Con La Brisa moment ;) had to have it!

Thank you so much for reading and, as always, I hope you enjoyed! :)