1 The Beginning

I know you may find this hard to believe but Atlantis was real at one point and not some fairytale that Plato came up with just for his theories. How would I know it was real? Because I was once a part of Atlanta as my story began thousands of years ago. I lived on an island far from the main capital as it was probably near where you now call the Bahamas. My home island was called Dasia, a small farming community so our soil was lush and brilliant. Our land was blessed by the Goddess Eda, the Goddess of Earth. We praised and worshipped her the most, especially during our harvest festival.

To explain the layout a bit, there are several other islands in Atlantis since it's made up of more than just one island, there are sixteen islands total and Dasia is one of the ten small islands that make up the outer ring. The islands are sorted by class and the islands of the outer ring are separated by at least ten miles and are at least a mile in diameter. The outer ring is made up of the lower-class. Then twenty miles into the ring, make the five middle-class islands. They are somewhat bigger than the outer ring islands since they are at least five miles in diameter and are separated by twenty miles. Then at the center of these two rings make the one high-class island of Rhodes. It is probably at least ten miles in diameter but the distance from the middle-class might be around forty to sixty miles.

Dasia is located north of Rhodes and it's considered as one of the bigger islands on the outer ring, being around three and a half miles in diameter. There are around five thousand people living on Dasia but overall produce enough food for almost seven thousand people a year on average. While that may not seem like much, Dasia produces the widest variety of fruits and vegetables due to its amazing climate and soil. Some of these fruits and vegetables produce smaller amounts than others while other farming islands will focus more on certain ones so some islands will produce more than Dasia as a result and some will produce less. Dasia is the biggest due to the fact that it has a wider variety of fruits and vegetables growing on it. Each island has its own pros and cons but that doesn't make one less important than the others since they all have a function.

My name is Perseus but my best friend and childhood friend, Damon, calls me Perci for short. Damon and I were getting ready for the harvest festival by going towards the beach to gather shells for decorations. This was going to be our last harvest festival together before Damon has to move to another island with his new wife. They've been wanting to get off of this farming island since they've been courting each other. They're hoping to become musicians on one of the more populated islands. I'm going to miss him since I decided to stay on this island with my family. Oh right, I almost forgot to mention, my family is actually the head of the island so that's one of the reasons I decided to stay. I would inherit the leadership of the island next to make sure future harvest would run smoothly and everyone's doing their part of the work.

Everyone prefers to follow some sort of leadership. Generations ago, my family ended up being decided to be the leaders of this island and with the blessing of the Gods and Goddesses, my family has been blessed with a natural sense of leadership and honor. It's both a curse and a blessing because this also means we would lay down our lives for this island no matter what the cost is and we are forbidden from leaving the island as well if we are the last of our line. Well, at least my family never has to worry about being corrupted by the power at least. It doesn't bother me anyways since the idea of adventure never seemed to cross my mind no matter who ends up leaving the island for greener pastures.

Anyways, back from that history lesson of my family, we were gathering shells for decorations for the harvest festival. The shells that appear on our beaches are beautiful and bright in color. They may seem common to those from other islands but I always enjoyed the bright colors of the shells. They are one of my favorite things when it comes to my home. I am so grateful that Damon reminded me to grab my pouch so I can have some for myself if we have enough leftover after decorating for the harvest festival. I was trying to pick out the best ones when I spotted something odd.

A boy with wavy hair as dark as night was laying along the shore and his body was built like a fighter. I lifted my hand to brush a strand of his hair to get a better look at his face. Apparently, that was the wrong approach because the moment I touched him, I found myself pinned under this boy. Oh, sweet Goddess of Desire... his eyes were a brilliant shade of green. They are even more vivid than the green-colored shells I carry in my pouch. His eyes were a dark shade of green but the color was absolutely stunning. It was as if I were staring into the darkest parts of the ocean. I couldn't breathe for the moment he stared at me, pinning me against the sand. He seemed cautious and troubled by something. It was as if he saw me as an enemy.

"Where am I?" His deep voice reverberated in a question. He seemed threatening as well as if he would hurt me if I didn't answer his question. It wasn't like I had anything to hide anyways since this was a simple farming community so it wasn't like we could pose much threat to him even though my family was trained to fight in order to protect the community form any sort of threat.

"You're on Dasia," I answered simply as my eyes studied him carefully, waiting for his next move. His eyes widened as he either wasn't expecting an answer at all or wasn't expecting that as his answer. "My name is Perseus. And you are?" I spoke slowly, cautiously as I was trying to figure out whether he wanted to be friendly or not.

He blinked at me before raising a dark brow curiously. "Cephalus... I was a knight of the Rhodes Island court." He explained as now it was my turn for my eyes to widen. Rhodes? He's from Rhodes? That's many miles away! How did he end up in Dasia? Oh right, first things first. "Can you... get off of me?" I hesitantly asked as I almost didn't want him to get off but Damon would get upset if he found a random stranger pinning down his best friend on the beach.

He slowly got up and moved off of me but he ended up collapsing, holding his side as he grunted in pain. His vivid dark green eyes shined with pain and surprise as if he wasn't expecting that pain. I moved quickly to his side and laid him down, leaning over him as my eyes were wide in shock. Where did he get this wound from!? It's very deep, I hope my mother managed to get some herbs brought in today. "Hold on! I'll get help! Damon!" I called out for help as I hoped that he wasn't going to be far away as Cephalus passed out from his injury.

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I wasn't expecting to wake up to a blond boy with brown eyes. His name is Perseus. What a lovely spectacle for a boy as exquisitely beautiful as him. I don't think I can bring myself to go back to Rhodes, at least not without this boy to come with me. He'll be a lovely addition to my home. I can already see it as he's a hard worker from living on this farming island. Such a sweet angel and how he worries so deeply about me. Oh Goddess of Lust and Goddess of Desire, how you've brought me here with your thread of fate. I must have him as mine or I'll die from this injury now if I cannot. I let my eyes close and let the fates decide where my path will lead next. I do pray to the Gods and Goddesses above that it be with him by my side.