Atlantis Chronicles: Prince of The Olympics

June 11 - PM

It was a bird! Michael found himself in a bed, perfectly comfortable, but he was hearing birds. He opened his eyes and looked over toward the sound. Not more than eight feet from him, was a small nest. Inside were two fuzzy little gray chicks. Some kind of finch was forcing dinner into one of the chicks’ mouths. Michael was famished! He had a hot dog up at Hurricane Ridge Lodge last night for dinner, but . . . he didn’t know what time it was. And where was he? He remembered the steamy tree house and then, the woman in his thoughts. The remnants of the headache that the memory brought lingered in his mind. Looking about, this was not the same room. It was much smaller, consisting mostly of the bed itself. He was on what looked like a shelf on a cedar tree. The branches around him made a sort of moving wall in front of him. The breeze played gently with the cedar boughs. He couldn’t see the sun, but the air was warm and dry. He sat up, ending the songs of the infant birds. The parent had flown off to continue the search for food. Looking over the edge of the shelf, Michael was about forty feet up in a giant red cedar. He noticed that there was a series of branches off to his right. He could make his way around the side of the tree. Looking back at his bed, he saw there was a blanket of some kind. The bed was made mostly of moss and cedar boughs. He picked up the blanket carefully.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Jeez . . .” Michael dropped the blanket as he spun to see Guy step toward the bed walking on the branches.

“You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“I am sorry. Are you better?”

“What did she do to me, Guy?”

“She learned English from you. It was the same as I did.”

“No. It wasn’t the same. It was painful.”

“Yes. She knows. Is it still painful for you?”

“No, not really.”

“Good. Then she has healed her footsteps in your mind.”

“Well, I don’t want her doing that to me anymore.”

“In our culture, a hostess is the only one allowed to use her gifts. It is one of our highest laws. Thus, I could not do it for her, and it is her duty as hostess to know how to please her guests. To do that for you, she needed English.”

“I understand, but . . . I guess I’m not too anxious to go through that again.”

“I came to inform you, Rann’n has arrived and. . .”

“Another one? How many people will be going through my mind?”

“None. Cad’l has the responsibility now to teach everyone your English. I am sorry, but it was decided long ago to not teach any non-Atlanteans our tongue, or I would have.”

“That old Enrai, huh? Well, a little bit of pain once in a while is probably a good thing.” Michael folded the blanket again, then followed Guy around the stepping branches to the same room in which Cad’l had invaded his mind. He nearly fell off the first branch, then remembered how to walk in Atlantean slippers. The sunlight was coming from a different direction. The yellow robes had been put away. The mist, and constant drops had stopped. Guy led him over near the staircase, where a man was sitting on a branch, munching on something.

“Michael, this is Rann’n Dack, my brother. We have been talking about you.”

“Coe laandy don doe, Rann’n Dack,” said Michael with the bow he had learned that morning.

Amused, Rann’n returned the bow. His face was the spitting image of Guy, but for hair and eye color. Rann’n’s hair was the color of Michael’s own, light brown. His blue eyes again mirrored Michael’s.

“Coe laandy don doe, Michael’n Claude.” Rann’n replied. “My brother has spoken of your kindness and openness quite often in these last two moon cycles.” Michael noted the mention of his own father’s name, but was amazed at the resemblance in body type that he himself shared with Rann’n. They were both about the same height, both thin, both lanky. Though, Michael did like his own haircut better than Rann’n’s straight shoulder length look.

“Cad’l left some food if you would wish.”

Michael looked in the serving bowl, not knowing what to expect. In the bowl were orangish-brown bulbs with some kind of sauce. Nuts were mixed in along with a reddish powder. It smelled heavenly. Guy dished a bowl full to Michael, then took half a bowl for himself. The little nuts were terrific. The bulb tasted similar to an onion. He recognized honey in the sauce.

“What is this called?” he asked.

Guy swallowed. “It is a dish named ‘Go-wyin.’ It is made from a root we call ‘doyuba.’ It is mixed with honey, dew, pine nuts and an herb made from dried fu-eya leaves. I am sorry, but I do not know the names of the plants that you are familiar with.”

“It’s good!” Michael reached for the serving spoon again, but the look on Rann’n’s face was pure disgust, so he stopped himself. Instead, he looked for his backpack on the wall. Not finding it, he

turned to Guy.

“Where’s the ’privy?” Guy led him past the statues and down the stairs. As they reached the bottom of the staircase, Michael asked about Atlantean customs with seconds.

“If the hostess asks, feel free. It is not good manners to help yourself without permission.” When they returned, Cad’l and Rann’n were talking quietly in the same room. Cad’l walked right up to Michael.

“Coe laandy don doe, Mik’l’n Clod. I am so sorry that I caused you such pain. I should practice my meltra more often. It is a poor way to meet your guest, knocking him out. Please allow me to show you the true Atlantean way.”

“S- sure!” She put her arm in his and proceeded to show him around her forest tree home. Both Guy and Rann’n followed. The house was on five levels, the ‘great room’ being the second of the levels, the sauna the first. Cad’l carefully talked about how she had the trees grow just right in relation to one another. Michael’s room was right above Guy’s. His backpack and traveling clothes were there. Rann’n was staying with Guy. All of the rooms were connected to the living staircase. Cad’l and the kitchens were between Guy and the great room. The set up was ingenious. Small fires from the kitchen and from the sauna warmed the house in the winter and on mornings. Food was stored in the kitchens by placing them in inverted shelf spaces above the kitchen fires. This kept the other residents of the thicket, the jays, squirrels, snakes, bats and even raccoons out. Morning dew was collected into drinking pools in every room. Of course the local residents knew about the water reservoir. Cad’l loved the questions that Michael asked. The tour was so thorough, that the sun skimmed the ridge to the west in the great room as they returned.

“I will leave you to speak with Mann’n and Rann’n while I prepare a dinner.” They watched her leave allowing Michael the opportunity to ask about the statues.

“Cad’l has spent her lifetime learning to coax plants to grow,” Rann’n said, “she has much of the history of Atlantis here. There is Atlan, father to Atlanteans. There is Enrai Benn’n. Oceanna is that

city over there. Prince Nehfu is there. Cad’l’s father is by the stairs as is her mother.” Rann’n answered Michael’s questions. Enrai Benn’n was the last Enrai, the one that scattered his people after the fall of Oceanna. Prince Nehfu, the only human in Cad’l’s gallery, was a true prince of Egypt. He had gained the trust of Benn’n and the Atlanteans, and died leading a combined Atlantean and Egyptian army against their enemies.

After a dinner of sweet bread and nuts, Michael and Guy walked up the great staircase together toward their rooms.

“Guy, I have a question for you. When you were at my house, you told me that the Enrai, the high king, told all the Atlanteans to scatter around the world before he died. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, when Cad’l was in my head today, she said that you were the Enrai.”

“Yes. I see how that is confusing to you. Atlanteans do not have large families. Only one child is born to each couple. However, every few millennium, a second child is born into a family. That

blessed second child is the Enrai. So, according to Atlantean history, that means me. It is a birthright with huge responsibilities in our society.”

“So . . . what are you doing with me? Shouldn’t you be talking with the President or someone important?”

“There is so much work that I must do before I get to that. First, I must gather my people. They are scattered everywhere, and that is where you and your book come in.”

Michael stopped. With a flushed face, he asked, “You know about the book?”

“Michael, I am so grateful that you are the one I get to share all of this with. Your open-mindedness and perceptions are so very . . . Atlantean.”

“But how can that be?” Guy smiled.

“You must ask your grandmother about the night of your mother’s birth. Marie and I have meet before. But for now, I wish a good night to you. Soon, the daylight will be done. We do not use fires or other lights here.” He turned and headed back to the stairs.