Atlantis Chronicles: Prince of The Olympics

June 12

Michael was up at first light writing in his notebook. He tried to remember the stories about his Mom’s birth, but couldn’t. By the time he had all his thoughts and memories of the previous day down on paper, the sun had burned off the morning mist. When he finally made it down to the great room, Guy was the only one there.

“Thank you for waiting for me Guy. I thought about what you said last night. Let me tell you, it’s made me rather uneasy.”

“I am sorry. That was not my intent. Here, Cad’l left some Volihrah, wild rice and leaf soup in case you are hungry.” Michael realized how ravenous he was. He slurped down a bowlful, but forced

himself to stop there. Again, the dish was strangely sweet.

“Now, what is making you uneasy?”

“I . . . I guess I’ll just come out and say it. We both know that I’m planning to write about my experiences this week, but . . . what is it that you want me to say?”

“Michael, my goal this week is to teach you about being an Atlantean. You will be the one to decide everything about what you write. The truth is that when we part at the end of the week, we may never see each other again. I have many things to prepare, and many Atlanteans to find. This may take a decade, or a century to get them all.”

“Okay. But the next question is, where will they find you?”

“I don’t have an answer for that yet. I have too much preparing to do before then. But I . . . we . . . need to let my Atlantean people know that . . . I am getting things ready for them. In the meantime, however, you still have much to learn. I will have Rann’n meet with you, and begin your Hray-daeand training. ”

“Hray-daeand?”

“Perception.” They started down the living staircase.

“You realize, don’t you, that there are people out there, humans, that will feel threatened by Atlanteans?”

“Which is why you must know about being an Atlantean. You will be able to show them that Atlanteans mean them no harm. Who better to tell humans to accept Atlanteans than a human. We must start work now to begin changing their minds.”

“Why is Rann’n training me? Why not yourself?”

“Rann’n has trained to teach the Hray-daeand, and has trained three Atlanteans in the past- one of them being myself. I leave you in good hands.”

Guy led Michael out of the thicket, but away from the creek they had followed the day before. Michael saw a stand of wild strawberry as they passed. He recognized the blossoms from his neighbor’s yard. There was also a patch of what looked like pumpkin. Guy was careful to walk around the crops. After a few minutes, Guy stopped. He turned to Michael.

“On the fallen log over there. Tell me what you see.”

Michael had been expecting something like this when he first heard the word ‘perception.’ He was looking at a fallen nursery log. A mammoth cedar, at least fourteen feet in diameter had obviously

thundered down a century ago. Two new cedars erupted from the ancient root system, each now standing over twenty feet above the mother log. Much of the fallen trunk had rotted, but there were a few tall spots covered with foliage of almost every kind. There were ferns, mosses everywhere, and plenty of trees. Many were cedar, but at least one yew, and couple hemlock sprouted from the remains of the giant cedar. The sun burst out from behind a cloud, draping the dancing leaves in

shimmering light.

“What do you see?” Guy whispered at his side.

It was a truly beautiful natural setting. Mother Nature showing off her versatility, came to Michael’s mind. It was totally peaceful. There wasn’t a sound, no animals, no birds, no bugs, no wind on his skin. Yet, somehow, the leaves above the center of the nursery log were definitely dancing in the wind. Michael turned to look at Guy who had a grin on his face.

“Tell me what you see,” he whispered again.

Michael walked a few steps toward the nursery log. The leaves on the bracken fern near the center reached upward as they danced, yet there wasn’t a hint of breeze on Michael’s face. It was as if something were pulling the fern up. Michael stared further up, to where the invisible pull would be from. About twenty feet above him, Rann’n, or at least his shimmering outline, was hovering in the air in a sitting position. His long straight brown hair looked to be flowing upward too, just as the leaves were doing well below him. Michael backed up slowly, keeping his eyes on Rann’n, whose eyes were closed and arms outstretched, until he felt Guy again at his side.

“How is he doing that?” Michael whispered.

“What do you see?” Guy continued the whispering.

“It’s Rann’n. He’s floating in the air. It’s like he’s riding on the wind.” Guy’s smile was evident in his words.

“Michael, you have noticed in just seconds what many Atlanteans take months to find.”

“How is he doing that?” Michael asked again.

“He is channeling the Furin Seron, the ‘hidden friend.’ If an Atlantean can focus well enough, they can feel the powers of the universe pulling everything together and pushing everything apart, all at the same time. If they continue to train, an Atlantean can begin to manipulate those powers.”

“Powers of the universe? That’s just like those astronomers were saying!”

“Come back here with me.” Guy led Michael back along their path to where Michael first noticed the nursery log.

“Now, tell me what you see?” Michael looked back for Rann’n, but he had vanished.

“He’s gone!”

“Hidden friend has a double meaning. To those not trained, an Atlantean using Furin Seron cannot be seen. Your Hray-daeand training has begun. You are to sit here, without moving, until you see Rann’n again. If you find him, decide how you managed to. Then walk somewhere else, and find him again. Rann’n will show you back to the house of Cad’l.”

“You’re leaving?”

“I must visit with Bask’n. I must check the progress he is making.”

“When’ll you be back?”

“I will begin the return trip at dusk. Night travel is very common among Atlanteans.”

“Be extra careful of all those lunatics around the park.”

He smiled, “I shall Michael. I shall be extra careful.”

Michael watched him head uphill. When Guy was gone, he tried to find Rann’n again. There was no sign of him. It took him nearly thirty minutes to return to the thought processes that he had earlier. He

again noticed the beauty of the scene in front of him. He saw the plants on the log. Noticed an occasional twitch in the leaves in one area. That is when Rann’n appeared to him. It became easier to find him as the day wore on. Finally, after moving back an eighth time, Rann’n walked up, just as Michael sat.

“You have done very well with Hray-daeand training. Mann’n will be very pleased.”

“Mann’n?”

“Yes. Mann’n. My brother.”

“Yeah! Right!” Rann’n stared at Michael, shaking his head.

“So, what’s next in Hray-daeand?”

“We will return to the house to continue.”

On the stroll back, having stepped in a mud puddle himself, Michael watched as Rann’n too stepped on a different patch of fresh mud, but never sank into it, nor did he even leave a footprint. Michael

stopped.

“Rann’n? How is it that you and Guy don’t leave footprints?”

Rann’n stopped, and turned around. “Guy?”

“Oh. Sorry. Mann’n.”

Rann’n shook his head slightly. “Furin Seron.” He turned again, and walked on. Michael slipped again in the mud trying to catch up. Rann’n had Michael sit in the middle of his bed and close his

eyes in meditation. He then placed something onto Michael’s leg.

“Do not look at the object I have placed on you. Describe it to me. Take as long as you need.” Michael then heard Rann’n walk toward the stairs before sitting too.

At first, Michael tried deducing the object. What was it that the Atlanteans had access to. There was obviously some weight to it, so a stone was most likely. He examined his senses, other than sight, but

gained no new information about the object. After about fifteen minutes, Michael’s thoughts began turning rebellious.

“It’s a stone isn’t it?” he asked.

“You will need more than a guess. Use what you have learned about Hray-daeand from out in the woods,” Rann’n whispered from across the room.

Michael frowned. Out in the woods, he relied on his sense of sight to see the signs. Here he couldn’t do that. He’d already focused on his other senses, but he tried again. A slight breeze through the cedar walls, the inviting aroma of the boughs, the breeze touching his face, nothing about the stone. He then tried putting his thoughts back in the woods. What had led him to find Rann’n? The ferns. The leaves. The movement of Rann’n’s hair in the wind. What did they have in common? They were all living things. But what did all of this have to do with this rock? Or, better yet, how could living things help him describe the rock? After nearly dozing for a time, Michael again became aware of the stone sitting on his leg. He felt the cedar bark through the blankets of his bed. He could feel its texture. spreading out, he heard the faint breaths of someone else in the room- Rann’n he concluded. He felt the presence of a spider far above him, going about the routine of constructing a web. He felt the movement of a robin on the other side of the branch wall, then he heard it sing to the neighborhood until a jay chased her off.

Michael was revisiting the spider when he felt an intrusion. It was the jay. He had penetrated the wall. Michael felt the jay’s hunger as it flitted about the room searching for a morsel. Michael felt the

panic of the spider as it scampered onto the safety of the branch. The jay then landed near Michael. “Curious” flashed into his mind. Michael felt curiosity coming from the jay. Did that mean the jay was

curious about him as well? Eyes tight, he focused further on the jay. There was a flash of silver, a puff of wind, and the jay disappeared back through the wall and was gone.

The jay had been so close to him. Just to Michael’s left, right by the object. The puff of wind drove it off. But the flash of silver? What was that? Michael thought back to the image the jay had seen. It wasn’t a stone. It was silver! Michael imagined himself extending his hand. He imagined examining it closely. It looked to be an old ball bearing. There was a very slight oily smell and feel, something

he hadn’t noticed before, but it definitely was there. This had been manufactured somewhere. In his mind something was etched into it on one of its sides. Maybe, an ‘h’ or a ‘4’. In his mind, the other side

of the ball felt slightly rough, probably some scrapes, or rust.

“It’s a stainless steel ball,” Michael said aloud.

“Very good, Michael,” it was Cad’l. “What else can you tell us?”

“The Jay saw it. There are scratches on one side. Maybe it’s slightly rusty there. It was made by humans. It’s probably pretty old.”

“Well done!” she said, “Do you agree Rann’n?” Michael heard him get up.

“Yes. You may open your eyes.” Michael did. The ball bearing was sitting on his left knee, just as he imagined it. Even the number 4 was there. As he struggled to his feet, Michael noticed the dim light of the room. The sun had set behind the hills. Cad’l congratulated him as she stood.

Michael walked stiffly over to Rann’n and held out the bearing.

“Where’d you get this?” he said.

“I found it in a mine shaft when Mann’n and I first visited the Buckhorn area. He was about your age at the time.” Michael had hiked about the Buckhorn area before as well. He recalled some old mine shafts from the 1800s.

“How was I able to see it so clearly in my mind?” Michael asked.

“Furin Seron.” Both Rann’n and Cad’l replied with a smile.