Just beneath the surface

A moment of Respite

The Mherekast departed, to find another land they could conquer. Having lost their God, they needed to find a new one in order to unite their tribes. That night, there was dancing and singing. The crowds cheered and laughed as they drank.

"Seven generations of kings passed before me, yet none of them failed as much as I have. It's such a pity. I brought the kingdom to ruins, I brought upon my people the fear of being eaten by a dog", Mard Geerus said, already drunk.

"No sir, circumstances were against you, but I doesn't mean you are weak", Fernando replied.

"With that being said, it's thanks to you that I have regained my supreme rule! The heathen sky hast blest me with thy power to destroy my enemies, to trample them to the ground!", Mard Geerus exclaimed.

"Uh sir you seem pretty drunk", Jahmil remarked.

"Oh~ is that so?", Mard Geerus asked. With a slight motion of his hands, he commanded the water from a nearby pond to slap him in the face.

"What was that?" Andres asked, intrigued.

"Oh, all of the royal Atlantean bloodlines have compatibility with world mana. Mana gives one the ability to use the forces of nature to one's will, for example, the command over freshwater, which I possess", Mard Geerus replied.

So that must be how that hooded man could appear from one place to another, he must have had command over mana, and which could mean he was an Atlantean, Jahmil thought.

"Why can't we do things like that?" Andres asked.

"Well, you cannot directly seek the mana, it's the mana that seeks you. If it finds a worthy holder, it will do everything in its power to dwell inside you", Mard Geerus replied. Some of his royal guard arrived, bringing with them an orb.

"As a token of our gratitude, take this", Mard Geerus said, handing over the orb to Fernando.

"This is the orb of transcendence, you can use it to go back and forth between worlds", Mard Geerus said.

"Thanks but, if you had this why didn't you return to Atlantis?" Fernando asked.

"The second Quezian king actually attempted to return, but when he arrived at the other world, Atlantis was nowhere to be found", Mard Geerus replied.

"So you do not actually know where Atlantis is?" Jahmil asked.

"None of us do. All we know is that it's our homeland, where we come from. You can never look away from your past, but the fact that we know it existed is enough for us", Mard Geerus replied.

"So wait, where do you come from?" Mard Geerus asked.

"We are from lands distant from each other. Lands that are far from the ocean where Atlantis resides. However we came together united at one cause; to find Atlantis and raise it from the depths", Fernando replied.

"There's no way you can, the only map to finding its true location was destroyed" Mard Geerus said.

"It was split into three, not destroyed", Fernando replied, holding out his book. Jahmil and Andres did the same. Mard Geerus' eyes began to water with tears.

"The mana those stones are emitting, they give me the feeling of what Atlantis truly was, even though I never even felt it", he said.

"We thought they had dissipated into oblivion, but now we are assured a chance to go home!" He exclaimed.

"Well, I wouldn't put my hopes up yet. There's a lot of materials needed to fully encrypt the map. First of all, we need Terracetacean sap", Fernando replied.

"Oh, that's all?" Mard Geerus said, instructing one of his servants to chop a hole in one of the trees.

"Wait you're joking right?" Fernando asked.

"Where did you anchor your ship?", Mard Geerus asked.

"To the seabed?" Pedro replied.

"Oh... goodluck getting back to it", Mard Geerus laughed.

"What are you talking about?" Jahmil asked.

"We are actually on top of a massive creature, and it's called a terracetacean", Mard Geerus replied.

"We're standing on a-" Jahmil asked, startled. Suddenly a hill in the middle of the island erupted with a gyser of water.

"Oh it's about time it woke up", Mard Geerus replied.

"So... the ship is... far behind?" Fernando asked.

"By now probably", Mard Geerus replied. "Don't worry we'll bring you there".

Viscous sap came gushing out from the tree, and in the sun, it shined like liquified gold. In the distance, another island appeared out of nowhere.

"Is that what I think it is?" Andres asked.

"Yes, but let's just hope that doesn't carry any hostile creature with it", Mard Geerus said.

"Mind if we go and meet it?" Fernando suggested.

Back at the Invasor the men who didn't go with the marines woke up after their nap. They looked out from the deck, and noticed something strange. There was no island in front of them. They looked around, and just around 10 o'clock there were two islands.

"I... I guess we should check those islands", Victor said. The ship sailed towards the two islands, and it was manned by a dozen confused sailors.

Fernando and his men returned from the coast.

"Guess what?" He said. "It was those Mherekast people again, and right when they took sight of us, they immediately withdrew", he continued.

"There is no rush right?" Mard Geerus asked.

"Hmmm, not really, why ?" Fernando replied.

"I'm not so sure if we can repel attacks like these in the future, so we might need a little help in creating weapons such as those", Mard Geerus said.

"It would be our pleasure. Just pay us back with supplies for our trip back, and probably a few things we could sell back in our world", Fernando said.

They stayed for around two weeks. The Quezian world was a great place to prepare for the rest of the journey ahead. They found some resources their world did not.

"Self recreating gunpowder? Randall asked.

"Yup, all we need to do now is load musket balls and shoot", Fernando replied. They had been creating weapons for Mard Geerus' people, and training them. In the process they found a lot of valuable items. Mard Geerus' wife, Halla, brought Andres and some of the crew to the edge of the island. There lied a garden, but one like none they had seen before. It was filled with flowers of different colors, but unlike gardens back at their world, they glowed like stars that had set foot on the soil. Bees frolicked about, their glowing yellow abdomens busy collecting nectar.

"These flowers grow back the moment one is picked off", Halla said, as she demonstrated by picking a flower from its stem, then one immediately taking its place.

"That is so amazing!" Andres exclaimed.

"I'm pretty sure they would fill their weight in gold back at your world, so pick as many as you like. As long as the orb exists in your world, they will never lose their light. But if for example the orb is transported here, they will lose their light, then it will return once the orb returns", Halla explained. the crew stuttered when they said thank you. They picked the flowers and placed them in barrels.

"Terracetaceans live for a thousand years. This one lived since my ancestors first settled, and it was already massive to begin with", Mard Geerus said.

"So, do you think it would be easy to transfer to the other world?" Jahmil asked.

"It would never be the same, I'll tell you that, but it's where we originally belong. Here, we are outsiders", Mard Geerus replied. Then there was a moment of silence.

"Of the three of you, you seem to have the most ties to the bloodline", he continued.

"How can you tell that?" Jahmil asked.

"Our royalty has a feature that no other has, and that's our two toned eyes. The most related to the bloodline have blue and purple eyes, such as yours", Mard Geerus replied.

"It appears that not only are you a descendant of the bloodline, but you are actually heir to the throne of one of the kingdoms", He continued. Jahmil stood up, and sighed.

"Well, I'm flattered. I obviously can't do what you do with that water thing. But, I'll see what I can do", Jahmil replied.

"That's the spirit", Mard Geerus said.

"Take a look at this!" Fernando called out. The Quezian military was about to perform their first firing drill, and they were ready for it.

"Halt!" Their commander shouted.

"Load!" He continued.

"Aim!", at that order, the men moved in unison, like they were a band of puppets controlled by the puppeteer, masterfully coordinated for the art of war.

"Fire!" The commander shouted. The troops fired, and because of the peculiar gunpowder, they needed not to reload the powder into the g*n.

"Switch! And fire!" The commander shouted.

"Your men are very easy to train. They learn fast, so i think they're well on their own", Fernando remarked.

"I don't think I'll still have the dignity to ask more from you, as you have already given me so much", Mard Geerus said.

"Don't worry, we'll reclaim Atlantis, I'm sure of it", Fernando replied.

The crew began to load the ship with the supplies they needed, along with the treasures they reaped from the island. A barrel of the infinitely recreating gunpowder, a dozen barrels of the glowing flowers, and a barrel of the sap. The ship was anchored to the island itself, to allow it to be tugged. They soon realised that the entire Quezian world was water, an endless stretch of sea. The only land there were the backs of terracetaceans. Mard Geerus followed the crew to their ship, to appreciate its splendour.

"I'll be having thing structure in construction starting tomorrow", he said.

"Do you have a drawing of it already?" Fernando asked.

"Yes, but I'll still have to figure out what works and what does not", Mard Geerus said. He then took the orb, then shook it. In the orb, images of places appeared and reappeared, and He stopped when the image of Fernando's world could be seen.

"So, you just shake it?" Fernando asked.

"Yes but, don't use it too lightly. The size of the portal, and the duration of its opening will affect how much energy it uses. The larger the greater strain it holds. Too much or too wide, and the orb will shatter. If you know how to control mana, you can trade life energy in exchange for a longer duration period, so don't just use it out of a whim", Mard Geerus replied.

"Oh and don't go to the green world, it's just a blank acidic desert of burning water", Halla said. A portal appeared right in front of the ship, and Mard Geerus handed the orb to Fernando.

Mard Geerus then rappelled back down to his boat and waved.

"Tell us of your triumph, we'll be waiting!" He shouted.

"We will!" Fernando shouted back, as the invasor plowed into the portal. Right after the ship entered, the portal disappeared. Fernando checked his compass, and it's tip pointed steadily in the direction of the north.

"So where to next?" Jahmil asked. One ingredient down, a two more to go, hopefully.

"Well, I think I know exactly where to go next", Fernando replied.