It is a Sunday afternoon in the streets of York. A mother, Edith, decided to take a stroll carrying her little child in her arms.
"It's a fresh and quiet day isn't it my little baby?" chuckled Edith, looking at her son.
Her child pouted back.
Edith laughed. "You're so quiet but yet so cute!" She began to playfully rub her nose against his—breaking open a reluctant smile out of him.
"There's the giggle!" With a large smile on her face.
Suddenly a swarm of children ran past them all heading to the same direction.
"Mommy I wanna listen to Cuthbert's story!" cried a child, tugging at her mother's dress.
The mother looked at her child and picked her up. "Alright, alright. We're going." She groaned.
"Looks like we should check it out too, don't you think, Leofric?" Edith looking at her child.
"Mm?" Leofric's head tilted to the side full of curiosity.
"Oh you'll love it. Let's listen to Cuthbert together!" Edith then carried her child with joyful anticipation.
As they arrived both children and their parents settled on the cushions laid out on the floor before a singular chair. Edith found an empty cushion at the back, sitting down with Leofric by her lap. Next to her sat the same mother and daughter.
An old man on a cane slowly approached the chair. The girl's eyes sparkled upon recognising him.
"It's Cuthbert mommy, it's Cuthbert!" the child exclaimed excitedly.
"Shh, keep it down dear, other children want to listen too." The mother smiled awkwardly and gently rubbed on her child's head.
Edith noticed them then let out a soft smile.
"Thank you, dear children, for gathering here today. Please forgive an old man for his slow pace." Cuthbert chuckled raspily.
"Cuthbert, tell us about an amazing story today!" a small child eagerly called out.
"Oh my, do I have one very special story to tell you all." Stroked his beard with an eager smile.
All of the children's eyes glimmered, their hands either both on their chest or on the ground leaning towards Cuthbert.
"I shall tell you all about the legend of Agartha. A mystical place right below us. Beneath this rock, this air, and in this world." Cuthbert picked up a book from his leather pouch bag.
"Tell me children, do you believe in magic?"
"Me!" said the crowd all together but Leofric and Edith.
Edith looked at Leofric's quiet gaze towards Cuthbert with curiosity.
Cuthbert chuckled at the response and presented the book's cover to the children. The cover was old and rusty with a sun drawn inside of a circle, yet traces of gold still remained in the worn out drawing.
Leofric's eyes dilated—surprised. Edith noticed his eyes then followed his gaze towards the book's cover.
"Ah, so you're liking this story already?" chuckled Edith.
Leofric nodded back with a warm smile on his face.
Cuthbert opened the book to the audience. It revealed a map of Agartha but it too was heavily worn out and the labels were obscured. "Agartha, the Hollow Earth. A land inside of this planet, another Earth. The land where souls rest—A place that embodies the purest of souls."
"It is believed the nine gods reigned in Agartha each possessing their own unique elements."
Cutherbet flips the page revealing a two-page portrait of 9 people with their own unique distinct features.
"These gods held and possessed their own unique element: Wind, Lightning, Fire, Sand, Stone, Planta, Sonus, and Snow."
Cuthbert points at an empty space in the centre of the page. The drawing had deteriorated—the ink barely resembled a figure but rather rays instead.
"Some believe there is another god—a 10th element. These gods were immortal, it was believed that the Agarthians used to work with us humans on the surface long ago when civilization started to bloom."
A Roman soldier approached the deck where Julius Caesar stood who had been looking out over the bow of the ship.
"Imperator Caesar, the lands of our destination are in sight. We will disembark soon."
Julius turned his gaze to the soldier. "Very well, prepare the men."
Julius Caesar, the first man to have ever set foot in these lands of Northumbria was also the first to have encountered Agarthians in these records.
"Imperator!" The scout came rushing excitedly.
"What is the matter?"
The soldier spoke frantically. "I spot gold! A land—no… people with the shine of gold!"
"W-what are you baffling about?"
One of Caesar's scouts was the first to meet with Agartha's golden aura.
"Just look, Sir!"
"Nonsens-…"
Julius and the Romans' thought the scout had been exaggerating until a voice, a woman singing in a language they had never heard of before.
"It's beautiful… like an angel had descended upon the skies…" Caesar and his men watched the hilltop glow and shine with more rays of gold as the angelic voice grew more coherent.
"Ah! People of the surface!" Chuckles a woman walking uphill in front of the crowd of Roman soldiers.
She closed her eyes with her hands together, kneeled and lowered her head in front of the Romans.
She did not dare to look them in the eye nor raise her head, until Caesar spoke.
Caesar and his soldiers all unsheathed their swords.
"Who are you?!" Grunted Caesar.
"Oh dear, what did I do to get you all aggravated?" The woman opened her eyes, standing up and began fidgeting her fingers.
"Answer me or we'll fight!"
"I-I'm the Wind Goddess!" the woman stammered and looked them in the eyes.
But to their surprise, the woman looked like a ghost, her iris was blank like a blind woman's, yet they were shining with gold.
An archer shouted. "A goddess? Are you trying to mess with us, you ghost?!"
However, when another archer fired his arrow, the lightning god struck the arrow with his lightning bolt and then a series more towards the Romans.
"You mortals dare attack a god?" The lightning god descended from the sky gritting his teeth.
"T-that's enough Namarrkon!" stammered The Wind Goddess.
"You fool! They threatened you and yet you yielded?"
Unexpectedly, Caesar stabbed his sword to the ground and kneeled upon the gods.
"We yield." Said Caesar.
The goddess walked towards Caesar and lifted his head.
"Please, rise. I always wanted to meet people on the surface!"
Caesar lifted his head with shock, he stood up with the help of his sword.
"I'm happy to have you as the first human to ever shake my hand!" The Wind Goddess exclaimed, taking his hand eagerly shaking them.
"Forgive a bunch of foolish men for drawing our weapons. " Caesar lowered his head.
"Oh no, no, no, it's alright! Please raise your head. We've made up already through this handshake. Right, Namarrkon?" She turned her head towards the Lightning God while shaking Caesar's hand with both of her hands.
"Tch." Namarrkon crossed his arms and turned his gaze away—furrowing his brows.
The Wind Goddess laughed nervously.
The Wind Goddess was extremely welcoming to the Romans, but the Lighting God… not so much…
The Water Goddess creeped out of the puddle with tears traveling down her face. "I thought more people would die again."
"And from now on we'll make sure no one else will. The surface and Agarthians will work in harmony." Exclaimed the Wind Goddess with an enthusiastic smile.
"I was close to causing another thundersto-"
"That is not needed to be said Seriyandra!" The Wind Goddess swiftly covered the Water Goddess' mouth with her hand.
The Water Goddess was highly sentimental but within her lies an extremely destructive goddess.
"Wind Goddess, may I ask what song you were singing when you approached us?" A soldier eagerly asked.
The gods could speak multiple languages and adapt to who they chose to speak to.
"Hm? Sorry to break it to you but… it has no title hehe… But it's in langue d'oïl!"
"Langue d'...?" The soldier's voice started trailing—his tongue twisting.
"Ah… so the language has yet to be adopted by you Romans."
The Wind Goddess had spoken a language that would not exist until present times, langue d'oïl was later spoken by Francus centuries later after the Roman empire fell!
"Wind Goddess, Water Goddess, and Lightning God, I thank all of you for your cooperation and contribution to the Roman Empire. It is my utmost gratitude and honour to have worked with divinity." Caesar placed his palm by his heart and lowered his head.
Following suit, a Roman soldier held a basket of offerings consisting of bread, fruits, and a bowl of moretum spread.
"Moretum and bread!" Stood the Wind Goddess from her seat excitedly.
"I am more than grateful for us deciding to work with you people of the surface." The Wind Goddess exclaimed.
Namarrkon while crossing his arms looked over at Seriyandra—she was already crying with tears streaming down her cheek.
"Always so sentimental." Sighed Namarrkon.
However a tragedy would soon come and disrupt harmony with Agartha.
"Wind Goddess! Water Goddess! Lightning God! We have terrible news!" An Agarthian and a Roman soldier came rushing hurriedly to the gods.
"What's the matter?"
"Caesar had been assassinated! Not by an opponent, but by the whole senate!"
The Wind Goddess' golden gaze dulled, the Water Goddess wept, and the Lightning god's sparks began to crackle.
"However, he had left a letter to all of you, specifically you Wind Goddess. He had anticipated something like this may happen and to have this letter be sent when it did." The Roman handed over a papyrus scroll to the Wind Goddess with two hands.
The Wind Goddess, still in disbelief, opened the scroll from Caesar. No one knows what was written.
The Wind Goddess closed the scroll and handed it over to the Namarrkon without saying a word—a tear flowing down her cheek.
Caesar had been murdered by the Senate, stabbed 35 times by his own people… Even by his own friend.
"It's over, Aeliana, we ought to return to Agartha." Namarrkon now spoke with a serious tone.
Aeliana remained silent looking down at her broken up bread and half-filled bowl of moretum.
"N-no… it's not over…" Aeliana's voice began to break.
"I warned you about why the other gods had returned to the surface. Humanity will always fall back down into violence. They're the only species to kill each other and affect everyone else." Namarrkon crossed his arms.
"Wind Goddess, is there really no other way aside from returning back?" Exclaimed the Agarthian.
The Water Goddess with tears still streaming down her face. Stroking the Agarthian's back. "Aeliana's in a state of grief, there is no other way dear."
The Agarthian looked at the Roman soldier with her face nearing to cry. She ran towards him and hugged with a tight embrace.
"I am sorry, I may never see you again…"
The Roman soldier, though surprised, gave in to the hug and hugged the Agarthian back.
"Oh… I–see…"
"Live life as you enjoy it, okay? Maybe then I'll have a second chance at seeing you again." The Agarthian reluctantly held back her tears—her voice slowly breaking.
The Roman empire's stability not only fell, but so did our harmony with Agartha.
"All of Agartha must be erased off the surface. Not a single trace must know about Agartha returning to being a myth once more." Namarrkon proclaimed to the lands of Northumbria through the sounds of his lightning bolts striking down from the sky.
Seriyandra looked over at Namarrkon, her tears now overflowing.
"I'm so sorry, dear children…"
The Agarthians saw that the world was still too violent—for centuries, nothing had changed. However, one Roman… was spared!
Namarrkon charges a lightning bolt, his antennas lightning up with a blue hue—crackling the more his bolt grows.
Aeliana raised her head to the sound while looking depressed.
The Lightning God's lightning bolt struck towards the Roman soldier at an incredible speed. The Agarthian embraced the Roman tighter around her arms.
However lightning bolts had been stopped, inches away from shocking the Roman soldier. A strong gust of wind had been constantly pushing the bolt away from its direction. The lightning bolt now hovering and crackling inches away from the Roman.
"Aeliana, explain yourself." Namarrkon boldly asked.
The Wind Goddess had protected the Roman soldier, commanding the wind to blow the lightning bolt to a halt!
"You dare kill an innocent man and nearly kill your own kind, Namarrkon?!"
The Wind Goddess' violent winds emanated throughout Northumbria, her rage and frustration bringing the darkest clouds to approach across the world!
"Tch." Proclaimed Namarrkon.
He lifts his finger up leading the lightning bolt to be shot up into the darkest clouds. The shockwave of electricity spread like veins on skin crackling throughout Northumbria.
"We're sealing off all of the tunnels and not a single human on the surface will ever be able to enter Agartha." Namarrkon shrugged, walking away from the scene. His lightning bolts crackling within the dark clouds of the sky.
"It is such a shame we ought to head back… I wanted to stay for a little longer." Tsunami laid her hand below her face collecting a small puddle of tears on her palm.
Using her tears, the Water Goddess threw her puddle of tears to the sky. Unleashing the heavy rain the dark clouds had been holding onto.
"There began the great thunderstorm of the whole world. The gods final punishment to the world's violence. shunning all of Agartha away from the surface. Leaving no trace of Agartha behind, crumbling its existence down to a myth." Cuthbert closed the book.
Leofric raised his hand. Edith was also a little surprised at her child's gesture.
"Oh, do you have a question, little child?" exclaimed Cuthbert.
"H-how was this story able to come by if all of Agartha was erased?" Leofric asked shyly.
Cuthbert laughed. "Maybe the gods spared one individual that was able to keep Agartha's divinity alive!"
"B-but who could that be?" The girl beside Leofric asked.
"Perhaps it was that one Roman soldier who was spared." Cuthbert began stroking his beard.
The thunderstorm had already started. Rain poured like Seriyandra's tears, lightning strikes roared like Namarrkon's rage, and the wind blew furiously like Aeliana's thoughts.
"Roman, what is your name?" Asked Aeliana.
"Gnaeus Vergilius Nero, dear Wind Goddess." Kneeled the Roman soldier on one knee.
"I grant you a fraction of Agartha's blessing. You will be saved from this terrible storm… my gift to you for choosing not to fall into the path of violence." Aeliana gestured to the female Agarthian who had hugged the Roman to get something.
"How can you know I had not fallen down that path?" Vergilius raised head with his eyes widened.
"Your soul is not tainted…" Aeliana's eyes began to glow again, her smile slowly coming back.
"Wind goddess." The Agarthian handed over a shiny golden apple.
"Well done, Adrienne." Aeliana took the golden apple from her palms.
"Vergilius." Aeliana placed her fingers by the sides of the apple.
"Yes, Wind Goddess." Vergilius spoke in a serious tone.
Aeliana pulls a piece of the golden apple with her bare hands.
"I will grant you a piece of Agartha's blessing. It is on my behalf that you receive protection from this great thunderstorm." The golden apple's juices continue to drip down Aeliana's hand with its shiny skin reflecting Vergilius' face.
The juice dripped down to the grass—immediately flowers begun to sprout and bloom.
"Put your hands out." Aeliana demanded, then Vergilius followed suit.
"Your loyalty to Caesar and your time serving us, the three gods of lighting, wind and water have warmed my heart." Aeliana places the piece of the golden apple on top of his palm.
"You may now consume the apple." Vergilius looked at the piece and stared at his own reflection again on the skin. Without hesitation, he eats the piece chewing it seeing his own eyes dilate through the apple's reflection.
"Farewell… humanity. It has been a great pleasure… being here." The gods and the Agartians all turned their backs and walked away.
"Vergilius, I hope to see you in a few decades." Aeliana spoke as she walked away with the others.
Vergilius swallowed the piece—almost immediately, his eyes began to glow green.
The winds grew more violent, the rain continued to pour heavily, and the lightning roared across the whole continent.
"I can… sense it… I can feel it!" Vergilius stepped away.
Seconds after, a whole tree impaled the ground deep right where Vergilius previously stood.
Destroying the flowers that once bloomed from the apple…
"From the fruit of their lips people enjoy good things, but the unfaithful have an appetite for violence."
—Proverbs 13:2