Chapter Text
PROLOGUE: ARCADIAN ORIGINS
Five hundred years ago, the first settlers from the Americas traveled from the eastern coast of the Atlantic to the western borders, where they saw the vast expanse known as the Pacific Ocean. Establishing cities and towns along the coastline, a few brave adventurers journeyed out to the open waters—eventually, small islands were discovered off the coast, and mankind populated those as well.
One island in particular was named after its founder, Arcadia, set foot on its land. She declared the island as a settlement dedicated towards the future progress of mankind, and with her resources and determination, Arcadia Island became a center of academic progress and technology advancement.
A hundred years later, one of the lead scholars of Arcadia Island devoted himself towards discovering more about the world they lived in. Though mankind could live well on land, he wondered what lied in the sea—it was a terrain that was relatively unknown. After humanity had discovered most, if not all, the islands off the west coast, there were attempts to go farther west; all failed, with the crew returning either starved or dehydrated from days out in the pitiless sun. Despite those stories, the scholar remained determined to discover what secrets the ocean had, and he rounded up a brave crew for a great, wooden ship that would head into the unknown.
The result was almost a disaster. Heading straight west from Arcadia Island, the ship fared well for the first few days, but the burning heat of the sun in the sky bore on their backs, and the crew began to think their journey would bear no fruit. The scholar, however, urged them to keep going, believing strongly that there was more out there; he would not falter on this mission, not when his resolve drove him so strongly. After several more days out at sea, however, the crew were at their wit's end, their water and food were gone, and the scholar felt despair begin to consume him.
Slumped over the side of the ship, the scholar reached a shaking hand towards the waters, begging for a sign that he had not brought the crew to their own deaths, pleading that this journey had not been a waste of potential. He did not expect an answer from God, nor from the heavens, but neither did he expect an answer from the ocean itself—and the seas granted him his wish.
Around the ship rose beings from the deep; they looked almost exactly like humankind, but their hands and feet webbed like a frog's, they had small slits on their necks that were gills, and they donned some kind of skintight suit that allowed them to swim easily through the sea. Taking pity on the wretched crew, they provided potable water and edible seafood from their own lands. The scholar could not believe what he was seeing—another race, humanoid in appearance except for their aquatic features, out here living in the ocean!
As the other-worldly beings took care of the crew, the scholar took to finding out more about their saviors. They called themselves 'Atlanteans', or citizens from the city of Atlantis. They had the ability to breathe on both land and in water, but they preferred water as intense heat was their weakness. What surprised him most was when they donned human clothing, they looked and passed as humans as well. Mouth agape at this newfound knowledge, the scholar pressed for more, asking more questions about the Atlanteans. He questioned their ability to speak his language, and the Atlanteans laughed—they'd been observing mankind since they'd stepped foot on the west coast of the Americas. There were even a rare few that had lived among the humans for a time, learning their language and culture, and bringing it back to Atlantis. He asked why the rest of the ships that had gone west failed to do so; the Atlanteans answered that they did not reside in the waters that the other ships traveled to, and because they wished not to intervene in mankind's matters; but they had taken pity on the scholar and his crew after seeing the his adamant determination.
The scholar was perplexed about the Atlanteans' wish not to intervene, and he voiced his confusion aloud. The Atlanteans all exchanged looks; one of them stepped forward and admitted that mankind's technology was primitive compared to theirs, but the Atlanteans wished not to play god with mankind, instead deciding to let man progress and evolve at its own natural pace. They also mentioned something else—when they had first observed humanity on land, they had been confused as to why humans were not able to manipulate the land as easily as the Atlanteans manipulated water. The scholar watched in awe as the Atlanteans were able to summon and bend water at their will, and using their combined strength, the Atlanteans used the ocean waves to bring the ship back to land while the ship's crew cheered.
Understanding that the Atlanteans wielded much more power than he could possibly imagine, the scholar understood why they had not wanted to play god with humanity, and was humbled at their humility and responsibility. However, with this new knowledge, the scholar saw an opportunity.
Turning to the Atlanteans, he proposed a relationship of sorts between the two races. He offered to be an ambassador between mankind and Atlantis, to forge relations between the two and to also assist humanity with developing more advanced technologies. Though the Atlanteans hesitated, the scholar persuaded them that in return, mankind could offer knowledge of the lands, of the mountains, of the forests and jungles and tundra and deserts that existed across the mainland. The two races could help each other learn more about the other—the land and the sea, finally coming together.
Thus, the relations between the Atlanteans and mankind was born. The Atlanteans introduced electricity, allowing mankind to work well into the night through the light of their lamps, and in return, the scholar showed the Atlanteans various paintings and artworks of foreign lands, from the colossal European castles to the sloped roofs of the Eastern nations. The Atlanteans were astonished at painting especially—underwater art was hard to produce, but seeing artwork on canvases was a marvel, and the Atlanteans sought to understand more about human art.
Together, the two races convened at Arcadia Island, where the scholar spearheaded the efforts to integrate Atlantean technology with mankind's and where Atlantean historians led the foray into studying more of human paintings and art. Scientists and scholars from both races came to the island, and mankind was introduced into an Industrial Revolution as the combination of fire and water allowed steam energy to be harnessed on the surface, without the need for steam vents from the ocean floor. Designers and masters of any art flocked to the island as well, and the Atlanteans experienced a cultural renaissance as waterproof paintings were discovered, allowing them to bring their own visions of Atlantis and the sea to life.
The two races worked in harmony and peace for some time, and the scholar gained worldwide fame, success, and riches as he profited from the joint technological marvels that he and the Atlanteans created.
But the scholar found himself wanting more, and he asked the Atlanteans for permission to visit Atlantis itself. After so many years of collaboration, they agreed, and through their water manipulation, allowed the scholar to safely breathe underwater as they brought him to the city of Atlantis.
It was more than he could have ever dreamed.
Atlantis was a feat of Atlantean engineering. They had created several large domes that rested at the bottom of the ocean floor, powered by sea vents, whose energy was used to create electricity. Within the domes resided magnificent and grand buildings and palaces crafted carefully from marble or stone. Though the Atlanteans could breathe underwater just fine, temperature of the waters affected them just as much as temperatures on lands affect mankind. The domes served as protective air bubbles that provided not only shelter to the plant life of the sea but also gave the Atlanteans the oxygen they needed to breathe.
The scholar was given access to the labs of Atlantis, where future wonders were being made. The Atlantean scientists introduced the scholar to their most recent marvel—an artifact that could manipulate both the seas and air, allowing the ability for any kind of travel across the ocean at anytime. At the current moment though, the scientists sadly admitted, it was difficult to control, and the power to wield the elements required an enormous amount of effort and focus from multiple Atlanteans. Intrigued by the untapped potential of this tool, the scholar asked to try it out himself—the scientists immediately denied him, citing that the instability of it could cause massive storms and hurricanes to occur if put in the wrong hands.
After that, the Atlanteans returned the scholar back to Arcadia Island, but the scholar now realized what he wanted, what he needed to bring humanity into a new age, with him as its leader—the Atlantean tool to manipulate ocean and air. He crafted a plan to infiltrate Atlantis and take the tool as his own.
The scholar succeeded, and once the Atlanteans learned of the betrayal of trust, all hell broke loose.
The Atlanteans raised an offensive, intimidating force to attack the island in response. Summoning his most loyal followers, the scholar raised up his own army to defend Arcadia Island from the Atlantean assaults. War between the two races quickly shattered the progressive alliance between them, and blood spilled from both sides as the Atlanteans attempted to recover their stolen artifact.
What the scholar had not anticipated was his inability to activate the tool itself. It was a nondescript golden sphere, but no matter which way he turned it and held it, it remained stubbornly dormant. Filled with rage and frustration, he ordered his forces to continue its defensive position until he could figure out how to unlock the power of the seas and winds for himself.
The scholar was slipping, becoming more unstable as his fury rose with time as the artifact stayed inactive. He did not become aware that Atlanteans had infiltrated his own army, hiding among his own troops. One night, when the scholar was in a restless sleep, the Atlanteans secretly stole the artifact away, returning to the ocean from whence they came.
The next morning, the scholar was beside himself with anger and rage at his loss. He ordered his entire army to board as many ships as possible to sail to Atlantis at once—as his fleet headed west into the ocean, storm clouds gathered on the horizon, and the sea became restless and aggressive, ocean waves slamming into the sides of each ship. Howling winds and thunderous storms, combined with the infinite strength of the sea caused each of the scholar's ships to capsize and turn, or be smashed in half as massive waves consumed them. As soon as his entire fleet was destroyed, the skies cleared and the sea calmed itself, and the scholar realized, as he clung to a raft, that the Atlanteans were using the artifact against him, preventing him from ever seeing Atlantis again.
He returned to Arcadia Island, bitter and resentful of his loss, but nonetheless still determined to retrieve the power of the artifact. The scholar sent ship after ship after ship into the west, trying to find a way to return to Atlantis, but either the ship never returned or what few survivors that did return reported instantaneous storms and furious waves that engulfed and decimated the ship and crew. Since then, any ship that attempted to cross the West from Arcadia Island met doom and destruction.
The scholar grew old, and despite the fact that he was beyond wealthy from his inventions and collaborations, he remained forever embittered and angered at the loss of the artifact. No one ever saw an Atlantean again after the Great Ocean War, and the scholar knew that the Atlanteans would never return to ally themselves with mankind.
In his last few breaths, the scholar ordered his sons and daughters to carry on his legacy—to find the lost artifact and bring humanity to a golden age and let their family be the leaders of mankind.
The scholar's name was Bartholomew Prescott.
Young Kate Marsh closed the history book she'd been reading in the dim light of the lantern on her desk. Prescott. That explained so many things. Kate sat there for a moment, looking at the leather cover of the book in her hands, and she knew that the knowledge she had now would prepare her for the future.
Kate Marsh was eight years old then, and it had been roughly three hundred and fifty years since the Great Ocean War. Her training began tomorrow, and after she proved her faith, she would be granted access to everything and anyone her parents knew.
Standing up and putting the book back on the shelf, Kate picked up the lantern and stood by the window of her wooden home as it floated across a swampy lagoon; in between patches of plants and greenery, the water reflected the stars of the night sky. Just in the distance, beyond the tangles of trees and branches, Kate could make out the ocean and she breathed a wistful sigh.
Atlantis is out there. And I'm gonna go there one day.
Gripping the cross that hung around her neck, Kate took one last look out at the sea. From afar, the light in Kate Marsh's room turned off, and the night went still.