ONE

**Introduction**

Atlantis; 

Deep in the hallows of the sanctified land that birthed all life in flesh; is a place where  the greatness of monarchies, pharoahnic dynasties prevailed and dominated   the kingdoms  of the world, a place where the legendary creatures; dragons began their course of life on this earth to their untimely extinction, lies  my homeland Atlantis. Situated right in the west -north of the continent, it prospers, ruled by the indigenous pharoahs, the ruthless of them all. Not only has the kingdom perceived  multiple vicious   wars threatening to anhialate the essence of it's life source; it's people, it has survived droughts and other cruel acrimonious deeds that conquerers bring along but still , it has prevailed withstanding all forces and remaining, and  there is always good and positive in the most vilest of things. They even say, even the  foulest of poisons can bear a positive cause. This is what war did to my kingdom, it became an admixture of nationals  and in it's diversity it was able to advance and attain good relations with other nations. Conquerers became the conquered and the conquered were gifted with frindship;, their descendants like I remaining to this day. 

**Chapter One**

The yellow desert sands glowed in the scathing sun as I paced briskly behind my father who was marching ahead of me.  It was very hot. Usually the weather didn't change much in Atlantis as it was  a desert infested area with little to no vegetation but today it was different. Different that the clouds were hovering above in the skies in gloom, threatening a rainy afternoon. We had travelled  far,  for many, many miles hoping to reach our destination soon as we had began our journey at the peak of dawn, 

 by day break we had reached the beginning of the  haunted sacred Kalarim desert lands.

"Come on Anathi, hurry up please, or else we  will be discovered by beasts!" He  called out to me when he  noticed I was trailing behind. 

The journey was usually long and tiring and brought about a form of fear and anxiety,  but I had gotten used to it that it wasn't so bad anymore. In the past eleven months, I had gone with him on this journey at least five times.  I would sink myself into my own  world,  ruminating about my one and only love and before I realized it, the unfathomable desert would have swallowed us deeper into it's land of nothing but golden sands where a cave was located. As you went deeper into the desert you would come upon upon a place were no soul dared to trespass. In this place, they say even the critters of the far away forests nor the deadliest beasts keep away.  They called it 'the hallowed hollow'. 

It was a dark place where the sun shone the brightest and the temperature was the hottest.   A  gorge that  stood tall and the muddy wet hollow   ground that shook beneath your feet as you walked revealed a river once treaded that place  not so  long ago. In this legendary place they say,  dwelt the wildest of entities, marine spirits and old wise beings. It was..., something out horror nightmares. Why was my father bringing me to this place? 

He stopped when we  reached the destination. He stood tall in front of the gorge that led to the deep dark  cave.  Just the thought of what was about to transpire brought chills upon me. I trailed behind him as he led the way into the gorge. 

"I can't believe you made me skip school just for this." I heard my self say. 

"Well if we don't come here for your check up we will never know when you will become normal!" 

"Normal?" I was furious.  "You consider that normal?" I uttered. 

"People think people like us as freaks, monsters, dad. And I'm happy I'm not yet like you. I'll be happy to never become like any of those born like me." I wished I had not uttered those words at all because in that moment, he walked  back to me, and slapped me across the face, drawing blood from my nose. I fell  to  the ground. Now, the ground at the entrance of the gorge  that we treaded on, that was usually soft and wet was cracked and dry. 

I remember feeling horribly  nauseated as I looked down through the cracks and saw a river of  shiny  moving dark silk  of every kind   beneath  it. It was a river of snakes coiling amongst each other probably a million of them. I let out a scream and got up pacing back. 

"No daughter of mine will live on this earth and die like a mundane." He said but I was not paying any attention. His  anger faded away as he noticed I was frightened. He looked down as well and I could tell he was now cautious as he treaded forward towards the cave that stood pitched between the  curved gorge. Nothing was going to stop him from completing his endeavor. 

"Who could live in this place!" He uttered.

"Can we go back?"  I cried to him. 

" Come on!" He kept on calling to me. "I know you're scared but don't look down. This would be the last we come here. I promise!" 

He said as he noticed I was scared. It was something he always said, something he had said the last time yet, here we were, again on the same journey he  promised we would never make the last time we came here.  He always managed to calm my fears. 

We treaded towards the cave and I was  surprised  to  not to see the familiar face I was now used to. 

Where is she!" My dad asked the strange young woman who ignored him and led us in into the cave infested with the wealthiest jewels no human  had laid eyes upon and loved to tell the tale, because as always the dead that had tried to loot had proven that my father was right after all, there there was always something about mundanes that made them greedy that they would die for wealth, they couldn't resist theft for such a thing like this and he said we were different because us supernaturals were tied to nature and our origins and that nor form of greed dared to dwell in our hearts. I believed other wise. 

Legend  had it, if you stole from this cave, your soul would be tied to it. Your body will be bound to the desert with no chance of exit. You would roam the sands to the day of your death. 

I awed at all that was infront of me once again. The skeletons of those that came to rob the wisemen still lay chained to the jewelry.

"This way!" She motioned with her hand, the other holding a lamb light and she led us into a room in the cave. The sound of trickling water from the holy shrine could be heard. This place was horrific enough to creep out someone as valiant as my father who never seemed to be afraid of any thing because in that moment he eyes were bulged and he was as jumpy as anyone can be. 

"Wait!"  she said to my father who seemed drawn to her beauty like a magnet. He held her hand  as she exited but she uncomfortably pulled away leaving me feeling deeply embarrassed of him. 

She went out  for a while. The room was aligned with human skulls and lit candles. In   the middle of the rocky floor was a mat, a hole in the ground filled with water  really clean water. 

  We waited for what seemed to be thirty minutes until she returned. She paced about the room collecting all the thing she would need for the session. Her dress was traditionally woven leather and her hair was  worn in long dark braids beaded with blue peacock  feathers. He lips were a light brown just like her skin tone, her devious eyes were a deep green and her figure was  slim.

" I never knew there were others here besides the wise old woman, Dineo!" My dad began to say to her smiling, but she ignored him. 

"Where is she?"

"Gone!" the young woman answered. 

"Gone where?" 

"She went to lay along with our ancestors and she is never to return to this world." She said, her creepy eyes drilling into my father's. "Anymore questions?"  She seemed annoyed. "We be your sevant from now on and we will help you with your matter!" 

"We?"

There was a deathly silence as she ground her roots infront of us, sitting right adjescent to us. She gazed at us and I  looked down uncomfortably except for my father who was rubbing his hands nervously.

"What do we call you?"  My dad asked her his voice shaking. 

"We have no name!"  She answered him. "We are the sun and the protector and we help as the  seers. We are the water that runs the rivers, the spirit that trails  the winds, the  breeze that the mountains echo, and the animal that humans fear." She said looking down. "We are what we are. " 

"And what is that supposed to mean?" My father uttered. Even now, he thought this had been a bad endeavour. I could tell he wanted to leave. 

"Why are you here?" She asked at last. 

"I'm here for my daughter!" My father replied. 

"You shouldn't force it, just so you know! What is meant to come naturally will  come to her!" She said as I felt more creeped out. At least the wise   old lady we always  saw  before was less ominous than this young traditional healer. 

"My father was speechless at first then disappointed  and he began to lecture her! "You know,  we are a family of werewolves and she is the only one in the clan who has reached her menses and isn't able to transform..." 

"Ssh!" He cut her short. "Listen to what is told to you. A heart that loves to speak will never learn to listen and therefore it remains oblivious because it will never learn anything but a heart that speaks less and likes to listen remains buried deep in wisdom."  She said to him shutting him up. 

She took the powdered dust she had ground from the roots and to my horror, she  blew it in my face, and I began to choke. My eyes stung, as I rubbed them. 

"Hold your breath!" She uttered as she held me by my long dark locks and pulled my head towards the small water hole in the rock's floor. My face was fully submerged in the crystal clear water. I struggled to pull my head out but she held on to it. She was drowning me. At last I took hold of her grip and pulled my head out. 

"What did you see?" She asked me. 

"Nothing!" I replied horrified,  looking at my dad who just sat there gazing in shock.

"Okay try again!" She began to say. "Try to see into  your future, the sacred seeing waters  will show it to you!" She said to me! 

She dunked my head into the water and I was willing because all I wanted was for this to be over; for me to back home again with my sister safe and sound. 

At that moment, visual images began to appear before me. It was after a while when I realized I was fading away, I was drowning. I would wake up later and realize I had drowned till I passed out and the lady had revived me. She showed no shock on her face nor remourse! 

"What did you see!" She asked me unmoved. 

"I was trotting behind my father walking in the forest as he  dragged some one whom I saw transform into a wolf of white form.!" I said to her.

"That is a good thing! She said. "You can go home!" 

"That's it ?" My father who had been watching in shock to afraid to intervene said.

"I said go home!" That's all she said as we stood ready to begin our journey. My father neither argued nor question her any further because he was relieved that at least the future held the solution to my problem. 

"Never again!" Even he uttered as we exited the cave to leave. I hoped it would be the last time my father brings me to this sanctified place to see a seer and for the very first time in a long time, it rained like never before. 

"It is a sign for a new dawn,  that your wishes will be  been answered!" The woman had followed us out and was shouting at the entrance. 

"That's inspiring!" My dad shouted back smiling, politely. 

At that very moment, she morphed into a snake and slithered between the cracks  into the hollowed pit of snakes. My dad shrieked as we crept away. 

 My Name is Anathi, and I was born into a family of werewolves. The dark and most hated creatures in this sacred land, my sweet home, Atlantis...