Chapter Nine

Thera cried and fell to her knees. She knew her sister Otria had been right. Somehow, she'd known it all along. She just refused to admit it, even to herself. Wanting to close her eyes and shut out what would happen next, she cried out to the Masters to protect her people below.

She pleaded for them to spare the Atlanteans even if they would not spare Atlantis. A piece of the crystal tower jerked loose and flew through the air. Thera never knew what hit her.

An odd sound, like the tearing of strong material, shrieked over the other noises and the lost continent of Atlantis settled into place on top of the waters. Huge waves, tsunamis some called them, fanned out from the newly raised land in all directions. Ships capsized and the anchor cables holding the barges broke loose.

"We never accounted for the displacement of the water by the land mass when she rose. Perhaps, we did not truly believe..." Aluride muttered to himself as he gazed at the unbelievable events.

Aluride watched, horrified, as his beloved Atlantis shuddered and trembled. Then lava spewed from the mountaintops. A beam of energy from one of the crystals carved out huge chunks of the continent and mountains crumbled back into the sea. Another beam, this one from the north, cut across the rays from his crystal. An explosion rocked the land mass, followed closely by another. He heard more and more explosions and cried out in agony as Atlantis disintegrated into rocks and rubble before his eyes.

"What have I done? Masters, please, what have I done?" The tower holding the 'Fire Crystal' near him buckled and the precious stone fell sideways into the water.

The energy from the crystal superheated the water and the flesh of Aluride's human body melted as the resulting wave washed over him. His last thought was of Diatrese.

"Would that I could have proven you wrong, Ancient One."

* * * * *

Diatrese huddled with the remaining masses of his kind in the underwater caverns. Even deep within they could feel the shifts and changes in the currents as Aluride and his followers tried to raise Atlantis. He shook his head at the foolishness. They had been lured by the desire to walk above and they would pay a terrible price.

He too wanted Atlantis restored. He would sacrifice his own life if it would make it so. But it would only be done according to the timetable of the great Masters. Until then, he would be content in the state in which he found himself.

Atlantis... Eden... Paradise... Utopia... Whatever name one chose to call it, neither the people of Earth nor the Atlanteans were ready for the secrets that would be revealed with the raising of the lost continent of Atlantis.

Diatrese reconciled himself to many more long years of foraging along the ocean floor while he waited to be rescued by his Masters and carried home above the stars. Until then he would do his best to care for his 'lost' Atlanteans.

The End