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The Rise and Fall of Atlantis: Empire Chapter 4

The Rise and Fall of Atlantis: Empire

Chapter 4

 

By Zarin

 

                                  

Seeds

 

pyramidtroptriangle8   I, Sor-el, now establish the consequences following the Battle of Parmal.This conflict, which occurred so far back in the history of our magnificent civilization; was an arguable victory over the formidable forces mobilized against Malis. This one great engagement was the catalyst which would lead to the creation of our vast world-wide Empire.

 

   Nearly 2,000 years have passed since this singular battle, the most decisive in our long history. One does wonder if the many recollections and writings, concerning this battle, hold all of the real truths. Of that, however, I cannot consider or am unable to yet relate.

 

With his victory at Parmal, Malis was now the undisputed ruler of Atlantis. The Great Headman of both north and south.

He immediately stopped covering himself in blue paint. The color was definitely intimidating and tended to distract people from his natural good looks. Moreover, he wanted to appear less like a barbaric Mutag.

He was becoming more aware, each day, that the Atlantis he had coveted was no more.

The social structure was in ruins. Over half the population was either dead, sick or dying. Strange skin eruptions and severe coughing afflictions were popping up all over. The air was thick with flies and the ghastly smell of decomposition.

What made things worse was that the most experienced healers, many quite old, were dead. These elder healers were some of the very first to perish. All of their vast medical expertise and healing knowledge now tragically lost.

The majority of the farms and fishing villages on the eastern side of Atalan were destroyed by the Mutags. Rioting, looting and fire had caused major damage to the residential areas around the capitol. The Adept buildings were still intact, but had been ransacked by the Adepts, themselves. All in a desperate search for food. The Great Council building was unaffected, as this was where Amalek and his supporters had gathered for protection. The Library had been somewhat damaged. No one knew what records were either lost or destroyed.

Only the tomb of E-osu was left untouched. Either the people considered this place too sacred to violate, or it was thought not likely to have any food in it.

The Great Headman was becoming increasingly concerned.

The remnant of his remaining Mutag army of 100+ was simply not sufficient to control the huge land area of Atlantis outside of Atalan. There were only a small number of surviving Adepts as well. Which included three Yellows, 6 Reds, 10 Blues and around 15 initiates. Plus, the only remaining White... Quatal.

Malis felt that it could take many years to return Atlantis to its former level of abundance. Years of unpredictable possibilities. His first priority was to establish order. And as quickly as possible. The political environment on the continent would remain unstable until he was able to bring his army up to the level necessary to insure his complete control.

Malis, initially, kept his troops close by for his own protection. Although most of the Adepts were very loyal to him, he did not trust Quatal. And even in the Mutag north, starvation and some destruction had also taken place. The Dolphins had specifically targeted the Mutag areas and were particularly vengeful towards them. Malis was not entirely sure he could hold onto the Mutag loyalty. Yet the north was where he was most likely going to train and immediately resupply his needed reinforcements. However, the Mutags were fiercely loyal to him. He had united them and given them a destiny. The Mutags never considered the cost or the consequences, either. Only that they had won out against those who had once banished their ancestors from Paradise. That their new leader had been responsible for these accomplishments. Several hundred trained warriors from the north were immediately rushed to the south. He also began to recruit southern Mako warriors into his ranks as well. Most willing to join merely to get food. In a matter of months, the Great Headman had sufficient forces in place to feel safe enough to begin the drastic changes he had planned.

What worried the Great Headman most was that many of the northwestern villages had none of his troops present at all. Including the village of Duros. This caused his paranoia to become ever growing. Any unified resistance by a group of these communities could launch another civil war and completely forestall his stabilization efforts. Moreover, all that was needed was for a leader to arise in one of these communities. Fortunately, for Malis, one never did.

Everyone everywhere was in a state of shock. Moreover, after what had occurred to Karos and Kulum, most were too intimidated to even try. If Malis could take down two White Adepts, they reasoned; who could possibly hope to stand against him?

The Great Headman had one immediate and paramount problem. How to provide sufficient food?

Most of the fishing fleet, previously found anchored at the docks of Atalan, had been destroyed by the Dolphins. The port was looking more like a ghost town. Only a very few undamaged fishing boats were moving in and out. Even with the dolphin war over, not enough sea food was coming in. New boats would have to be built and people trained to use them. Many of the experienced fishermen were victims of the Dolphin attacks. Malis knew that it wouldn't take long to train new fishermen. “What good would this do without sufficient boats?” He questioned.

The Great Headman applied every resource into rebuilding the fishing industry. He even had some of his Mutag warriors cutting down trees to speed up boat construction.

Moreover, without many Adepts, he knew rebuilding would now take far longer to accomplish. The Adepts had become the principle agency for most of the heavy moving and construction. The few that remained would be very busy until their ranks could be rebuilt as well.

Quatal had informed Malis that it could take anywhere from 20-40 years to get the Adepts back up to their pre-war numbers. What worried him most about the Adepts was that two of the Yellows could become Whites at any time.

Malis' very first step, once safely ensconced in Atalan, was to set up strict curfews. Mainly to keep people off the streets at night. Evening hunger riots had to be quashed. Everyone was forbidden to gather together in large unemployed groups at anytime. His Mutag mercenaries were instructed to be absolutely ruthless in enforcing these curfew laws. They would accept no excuse of any kind from those caught out during the night. During day light they had to be busy rebuilding, out fishing, planting and/or harvesting. And repeat scofflaws would just simply disappear. “One less mouth to feed:” reasoned Malis.

The Mutags were especially cruel towards the southern women. Atlantean women were used to complete equality and took it for granted. No one had ever limited their freedom to come and go. A form of severe culture shock set in among the surviving females. Already dazed by the horrible catastrophe present around them, they soon became aware of their now severely lowered status. And grew to deeply resent it.

Moreover, many southern men and women had volunteered to become slaves just to get sufficient food. Little did they realize that this status would become permanent for both themselves and their descendants.

   Malis immediately employed gangs of hungry men. Offering them limited amounts of food to remove and bury the large numbers of dead. This was done expeditiously by placing the many bodies into mass graves at some distance from the capitol. Primarily to eliminate the smell. The normal form of internment was totally abandoned. The traditional method would have taken far too much time and resources. Most of these mass graves were not marked and have since become lost to posterity.

A psychological malaise had begun setting into the surviving population.

The only things now desired were a full belly, heath and security

   Malis eventually decreed that common people could no longer to be buried in the ground.

They could only be placed into tightly wrapped cloth or reed shrouds, painted red on the exterior and ceremoniously dumped into the sea. All ordinary dead would now be deposited into the ocean at a special point on the south-eastern tip of the continent's mass. Where the outer ring joined to it. Strong currents present there would take the bodies far out to sea. It wasn't a strict requirement as many distant seaside communities would occasionally bury in the ground but ended up doing  the same thing out of convenience. However, almost everyone wanted their bodies to be placed into the sea at this special location.

This unique burial site became known as Dolon's graveyard. Named after the newly declared Sea God. This ocean deity was believed to watch over the spirits of all those who were placed into his watery domain. A great temple, one of unsurpassed beauty, would be built at this location. What became the magnificent Temple of Dolon.

It it soon was a common belief that people, who died and were placed into the sea, would be transformed into mermaids or mermen. Then they would go to live in a fabulous underwater kingdom ruled over by the Sea God.

These water burials were eventually performed with profuse offerings of food, flowers, music and improvised mystical ceremonies. An imitation of the Dolphin song, the one originally sung at E-osu's passing, was attempted and performed with flutes. Not quite the same, but still beautiful none the less. Often those attending would sing along with the flute playing. Unfortunately, the human voice could never truly imitate the Dolphin refrain.

All of this ceremony was purposely designed by Malis in an attempt to placate the Dolphins. He was constantly worried that they might resume their attack on Atlantis.

However, the Dolphins had left the regional waters around Atalan and could only be seen outside the western side of the outer ring. And then only on very rare occasions. The Dolphins could care less what Malis did as long as it did not affect them.

   The Great Headman did permit royal and "special" persons to be entombed. However, only above ground. After what happened at Parmal, the Great Headman had acquired a fear of being buried alive. He abhorred the darkness of death. Especially after his sojourn into the cold night time black of the deep ocean. He specifically did not want to be covered by dirt. He desired that his corpse to be surrounded by light. Thus, he had already begun imagining plans for construction of his future tomb. A tomb to be built entirely of clear Atal crystal...including the sarcophagus. All for allowing both sunlight and firelight to surround his final internment. Malis dreamed of creating an edifice whose magnificence, he hoped, would surpass anything ever built on Atlantis. Especially that of anything connected to E-osu..

   Moreover, fearing that the danger of the Dolphins to the food and water supplies could occur again, He strictly forbade anyone to ever harm them...under penalty of a most horrible death. Now that the War of the Dolphins was over, he did not want it to be newly provoked...especially by accident. He had, only at the last, become aware of the Dolphins' true power and their former importance to Atlantean stability.

If Malis respected anything, it was power.

Although his attacks on the Cetaceans inadvertently created the conditions that eased his rise over Atlantis; Malis knew that these provocations could also have ruined his plans as well. He now fully understood that mankind could never have won the war with the Dolphins. Especially, if it had gone on endlessly. Why it mysteriously ended, he never came to know. That it did, he considered was a boon to his cause.

There was not much about the Dolphins the Great Headman ever actually understood.

The Great Headman would even begin construction on the Temple of Dolon. Designed to establish a center of worship to this particular deity. One, who would come to represent the Cetaceans and all other sea creatures. Malis even suggested that this god's visage be partially dolphin. Dolon would be represented as half man and half Dolphin to make a direct connection with them. The Great Headman hoped to return the Dolphins to their sacred relationship with Atlantis.

Within their newly re-united Collective, the Dolphins could have cared less. They would have been appalled to know that a half-human god represented their advanced spiritual awareness. They were still reeling from the termination of so many spirits and far too much of the former Collective's knowledge. They were deeply saddened by the loss of both E-osu's spirit and his great wisdom. They would choose not to return to the water of the inner rings for many years. The only human they would ever now approach was my own ancestor, the first Umballa. They would rise up and hoot and click at him as he stood at an isolated beach on the western edge of the outermost ring. Umballa greatly enjoyed the peacefulness of this particular spot. It reminded him of his boyhood home.He always treasured the appearance of the Dolphins around him. The Cetaceans sensed his gentle goodness...his deep spiritual nature. One, which still endured, despite all that he had suffered as a slave. My ancestor knew the Dolphins cared for him. However, he made no attempt to communicate. He respected and understood their need to heal. Strangely, when the first Umballa passed away and his body was placed into the sea; some said that they could faintly hear a beautiful, haunting song. Believed to be the one which the Dolphins used to sing during the first day of E-osu's Festival. This would be the last time the Dolphin song would be heard again for a great length of time.

   Malis had established his Mutag warriors both as a police force and body guard. These brutish men were given first priority to whatever food resources were available. Malis immediately forbade them from eating human flesh once food began regularly coming in. And quickly demonstrated the consequences, if they broke this restriction. It only took one splattered Mutag to bring them into prompt acceptance of his dictates. Mutag brutality, in return, brought instant compliance from the general population as well. Malis had eagerly embraced the social concepts the Mutags had created in their own areas and had no problem introducing them to the south.

After stability was fully established and many more Mutag mercenaries were sufficiently in place, females were declared the property of and had to be subservient to all males. At all times. Women could no longer have any role in the choosing of their mates. Only males were allowed to select mates. No woman would be allowed to survive on her own. Any female always had to be under the custody of a male. Moreover, there didn't seem to be much the general female population could do about these severe and drastic changes. At least that is what the Mutags assumed.

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