Son of Atlantis: Chapter IV

Chapter 4

Hope

 

Kylos’s father had been in a coma for three days, and despite Kylos’s teen years being a blend of tenseness and anxiety created by his father’s presence in the house, emptiness now lingered at home with his father away in the hospital. Amblix still carried out his duties by attending to Kylos’s needs for food and conversation, although Kylos did not take much of either

Going to school was the last thing on his mind, though he missed Peleus and Chiron’s fascinating lessons. He even missed the sour scolding of Akadia. But he was glad to get a break from Ballero for awhile. The more time that passed between their previous encounter and their next meeting, the better he would feel.

Every day, Kylos went to sit by his father’s bedside in the private room. His father seemed so calm in the unnatural sleep. Kylos gazed down and realized that he had never really looked at his father in the face for longer than a few moments. Over the past years, Kylos had cowered with downcast eyes for fear of unleashing some verbal accosting or raging outburst.

But Kylos noticed that his father’s serene features had a striking resemblance to his own. It was mostly in the shape of the eyes and mouth. Also the high forehead was another trait they shared. The rest must have come from his mother.

The blue robes and medallion of office of Royal Astronomer and Scientist hung on a peg on the white stucco wall. It was the first time since Kylos was young that he had seen his father not wearing them. Their daily routines scarcely coincided, which brought Kylos relief and happiness. But in his heart, he hated seeing his father like this and wished his old man would just get up and go home.

With tears starting to form, he took his father’s hand. It was soft, but felt like it had well-developed muscles. Kylos could not imagine how it got that way, as his father’s position did not lend itself to physical strains and labors. He always thought his father a soft knowledge seeker who cared more about his brain than body.

A knock came at the doorway, startling Kylos from his thoughts. Galen, his father’s twenty-year-old apprentice, bowed and said, “May I enter?”

“Yeah, Come on in.”

Galen shuffled to the opposite side of the bed and looked down with tearful eyes. Galen clearly respected Ziustros. Maybe if Kylos had decided to pursue the path of knowledge, he may have felt the same reverence and respect for his father. At least their relationship would have been more stable. But that was not his path.

“I’m sorry about your father.”

“Thanks.”

A long awkward pause followed.

“I was with him that night.”

“I thought as much… So, what happened, then? The physicians knew nothing, just that he was doing astral projection and something went wrong. They had no details.”

Galen looked down at his feet. “Umm, yeah. That’s what I told them when we brought him here in the medical transport.”

More pause.

“Well?” Kylos said, his voice gaining a cutting edge from Galen’s evasive talk.

“Well, the truth of the matter is, I didn’t say much because I didn’t want him to lose his position.”

“What do you mean?”

Galen paced back and forth rubbing his chin. “He’s a great man—and a gifted scientist.”

Is he talking about Father?

“I’ve been apprenticed to him for two years now and I’ve heard so much. He’s a good teacher.”

“Get to the point.”

“I’ve come to truly respect your father. He follows the rules and protocols set by the Royal Astronomers before him. He’s always been cautious, even when training me in astral projection. Even though I wanted to jump right in and travel the stars, he wouldn’t let me. He was trying to protect me. I see that now.”

“Protect you from what?”

Galen’s thin long fingers stretched out towards the comatose Ziustros.

Kylos’s blood boiled. “Tell me what happened right now!”

Galen gestured for Kylos to calm down. The apprentice walked to the door and looked into the hallway. He nodded and gestured for silence. This dancing about in some secrecy made Kylos’s fist clench and his eyes target Galen’s long nose.

“All right, I’ll tell. But please don’t tell anyone. It might ruin his career and royal standing. Do you understand?”

What’s this apprentice getting at?

With a stern tone, Galen clenched his jaw. “Do you promise, as an Atlantean?”

“Yes!”

“Okay,” Galen said. He lowered his voice and his tone to a whisper, and it had on edge of conspiracy behind it. “On that night of the incident, your father said he wanted to project himself to Mars. Everything was going well. I sat at my desk to take any notes, as usual, in case he had anything to report.”

Kylos sat back with arms crossed and Galen started to pace again.

“Your father must have arrived at Mars, but he never said anything. His face tensed up and he looked worried, like he saw something that scared him. The next thing I know is—BOOM!”

Kylos jumped in his seat.

“Your father flung himself out of The Chair. He looked panicked. I asked him if he was all right, but he didn’t answer. I figured he didn’t follow protocol and rejoined his body too quickly. The shock must have been painful.”

Galen looked at Ziustros with pity, closed his eyes, and shook his head. He looked at Kylos and continued by saying, “Anyway, he managed to crawl a bit muttering something that I couldn’t make out. He got to his desk and tried to get himself up. He said, ‘Stylus,’ and so I gave it to him with some parchment. His look hadn’t changed. His eyes were wild and lost, like he was mad with fever. He took the stylus and started to draw a line, and then a circle, but collapsed into the coma.”

The pacing stopped and Galen peered into the eyes of Kylos. “So, do you see now why you can’t say anything? Your father may lose his position if they discover that he didn’t follow protocol.”

Kylos nodded.

“Good,” Galen said with an exhale of relief. “Well, I have to get home and get some sleep before tonight’s shift. I just wanted you to know the truth.”

He made his way to the door but stopped midway. He turned to Kylos and said, “The observatory hasn’t been the same since the incident. It’s empty and lacks passionate energy. Your father’s a remarkable man. At times… at times I’m jealous that he’s your father.”

“Then you’re a damn fool! Go back to your observatory.”

With gritted teeth, Galen turned and huffed out of the bed chamber.

Kylos looked to his father. His fist clenched ready to strike the sleeping Royal Astronomer. How could he be that caring and warm to that worm Galen? Why doesn’t he make his own son feel the same way?

His fist opened and his arm released the tension. He closed his eyes and took in several deep breaths. He was calm and composed. He got up from his chair and strode to the door. “See you around, Father.”

The next morning Kylos decided to go back to school. It was better than sitting around and waiting. Also, he really missed Peleus.

The two friends planned to meet in front of the bakery. Kylos arrived earlier than his friend and looked for Ellena. Once he saw her, all of his hard feelings of the past week melted away. Her glowing smile conjured a smile on his face, and he realized he had not used those face muscles that way for many days.

“How are you today, Kylos?”

“I’m all right. I’ve had a pretty hard week, though.”

“Well, you don’t look like it.”

“It’s because of you.”

She blushed at the flattery. With a coy look she went to the door of the bakery and said, “Hey, I’ll be back in a few minutes!”

Acknowledgement came from a back kitchen area, and Kylos saw her curious mother’s face peek out from behind a corner. Ellena also saw her mother, laughed, and pulled Kylos’s arm. They jogged away from the shop and Ellena said, “Things can be so busy at our bakery… and my family can be nosy.”

“Well, my household situation is the complete opposite.”

She looked at Kylos, and he could see the concern on her face. He smiled and gave a reassuring laugh. “Well, let’s not worry about it. I don’t want to ruin my good feeling now. And I’d rather see your smile.”

She obliged him with a huge silly toothy grin. They both laughed.

“So, when’s your next Pelota match?”

“Oh, probably not for awhile, I’d guess. We still have to recover from the last game.”

“Do you go to school?”

“Yeah. My friend Peleus and I are going there this morning. I’m meeting him here soon. I wanted to get here a little early… ”

He took a chance.

“To see you.”

Again, his words brought about a blush, but she did not try to retreat or shuffle away from awkwardness. Maybe she liked him.

“Well, I’m happy you did,” she said. Her light brown eyes met his and he was transfixed. The attraction tugged at him.

“I was wondering,” he said with a nervous cough, “umm… would you like to do something with me sometime?”

Her face gave him the answer. He did not even have to hear her say, “Yes.”

“Great. Well, let’s—”

“Hey, Kylos! There you are!” Peleus said as he hustled to meet Kylos “I’ve been looking for—oh, sorry.”

Peleus nodded to Ellena, who smirked at the remnants of breakfast clinging to his cheeks. Peleus said, “I hate to interrupt, but we’ve got to go.”

“Yeah,” Kylos said, “in just a minute.”

“Oh, Okay. I’ll just wait over there,” Peleus said while meandering towards a display stand with a variety of tarts.

“You’d better get going,” Ellena said. “I don’t want to get you in trouble with your teacher.”

“No, it’s not a problem if I’m a little late,” he said with a smile.

She cocked her head to one side and touched his arm. “It’s all right. Go. We’ll meet again.”

He shivered with anticipation and then sighed. He said, “I’ll see you soon then.”

He gave a little nod and ran over to his portly friend and took him by the arm, pulling him along to school. After a few minutes, Peleus—brimming over with excitement—said, “Hey, it’s been so long! How’ve you been? I wanted to call out to you, but with your father and all, I thought you needed some time.”

“Thanks. It’s been tough, but I’m doing all right. What’s new with you?”

“Well, Master Chiron was asking all of us about the night that you and I saw Omphalos. Thank the Gods they didn’t catch us then. I guess the Royalty is tying hard to find us. I don’t know why. I’m sure we weren’t the only ones who’ve ever seen the crystal.”

“Yeah, it’s strange. Did you confess?”

“Gods, no! Old Chiron looked around and said, ‘Besides the supreme virtue of never taking a life of an Atlantean, the next weighty virtue is the truth. A good Atlantean owns up to the truth even if it costs him his life.’”

“That’s a good impersonation of him,” Kylos said with a smile.

“Thanks. Well, it was the usual speech. But the thing is, he looked right at me when he was saying it, like he knew it was me. Of course, I didn’t say anything. I’d rather be alive and not in trouble than be killed by either the King or my dad.”

“Yeah, this’ll be our little secret.”

As they jogged, they clasped arms and shook three times to seal the bargain. Soon they arrived at the school and did the usual routine to get in. The class was boisterous inside, but went quiet when Kylos entered the study chamber. Murmurings and stares were the only communication going on. Kylos was well aware now that the news of the fight had spread. He could feel the burning glare of contempt from Ballero without even having to look at him.

Akadia strolled in and beat the floor with his staff. Kylos had never been so happy to hear that sound as he did at that moment. Master Chiron was announced, and he entered with his usual confidence. He invoked the Gods for inspirations, and after the solemn silence, he turned to the class and looked to Kylos. “I’m deeply sorry to hear about your father.”

Kylos bowed his head and said, “Thank you, Master. He still lies in a coma.”

“I see,” Chiron said. He scratched his bearded chin and addressed the class, “Boys, in honor of our stricken Royal Astronomer and Scientist, I’d like to talk about a subject today that your fellow classmate here should know a lot about…”

Kylos shuffled in discomfort on his stone seat. He knew what was coming next.

“Kylos,” Chiron said, “could you please tell us about the stars?”

With a lowered his head, he replied, “Sorry, Master. Actually I can’t.”

“Can’t?” Chiron said in surprise. “Your father is the Royal Astronomer! What do you mean you can’t?”

“We had never discussed the stars, Master,” Kylos said, still looking down.

The class broke into a laugher. Chiron lowered his head and shook it. Kylos looked up and saw the disappointment on his teacher’s face and shared it. Old Akadia pounded his staff on the floor calling for silence.

“Well, then,” Chiron said, once the clamor had stopped, “what do you know about the stars?”

Kylos looked to Peleus and looked back to the ground. “They’re the Gods and heroes.”

“As hard as it is for me to believe my ears, and, especially coming from you, I realize that I must educate you and your fellow classmates about those ‘Gods’ in the sky.”

Chiron started his lecturing pace around the arena and said, “No, Kylos, they are neither the Gods nor heroes that you are thinking of, or may have been told about. In fact, they’re great spheres of fire of different sizes and colors. Contrary to what the superstitious leaders would have you think, there aren’t merely the hundreds that you might see on a clear night from the savannahs of Atlantis, but rather there are billions upon billions of them. There’s probably one star for ever grain of sand on Plate Beach… perhaps for every beach in the world.”

The students looked to each other wide-eyed.But Kylos caught Ballero staring at him with a satisfied grin. Kylos knew that his troubles with his classmate had only just begun.

“The Gods may have made the stars, but most certainly they are not the stars themselves. We’re only beginning to map out our cosmos. It will probably take many generations to finish that task. This generation’s stellar cartographer is in peril of his life even as I speak. We need to pray to the Gods for his quick recovery so he can carry on with his honorable work.”

“Master Chiron,” a student said, “I thought you just told us that the Gods aren’t the stars. Where are they then? Who are we praying to?”

“Good questions. I’m glad you were paying attention. They aren’t the stars, but I can say with some certainty that they reside in our hearts and minds, where they are most needed. We aren’t immortal, we aren’t infallible. We need their wisdom, guidance and support from time to time, when our own abilities fall short of what is required. Never ask the Gods for what only you can do for yourself. Only consult them when what you ask for is beyond your own power to make happen.”

Kylos understood Chiron’s view.

“Now, once again, let’s pray for Master Ziustros’s swift recovery,” Chiron said with his face lit up by the sunlight from the portal. The students bowed their heads in silence. Kylos sat unsure as to whether he actually wanted to pray. Perhaps he was better off without his father.

A nudge directed Kylos’s attention to his knowing friend. Peleus looked at Kylos, and gave a solemn nod.

Kylos closed his eyes, sighed, bowed his head, and prayed to the Gods for his father’s swift recovery.

 

 

***Special****

If you would like a comlimentary copy of Chapter 5 or if you would like to become a Fan of Atlantis, please send a request to christopherpelletierauthor@yahoo.com. Be sure to include your name. Thanks for enjoying the journey so far. and I promise you that the adventure has only begun…