Atlantis, tall and proud island city. Atlantis, the ruler of everything, the keeper of the world’s secrets. Eternal Atlantis was burning, its tall buildings crumbling to the ground. The Nephilim, who were mindless weapons for the Emperor up until now had rebelled. These giants that had made up Atlantis’ conquering legions were now tearing the city down. Where were the Grigori now? Samyaza, prideful to a fault who had taken the Emperor’s sister for wife and had given the then prince the heavenly mandate. The name of the almighty himself. Azazel, who had thought the prince how to fight with the sword and shot with the bow and had told him of all that lay beyond the borders of the island, when before all it’s inhabitants had thought that it was all there was to it. That they were all alone.

Where were Baraqel and Chazaqiel? Those who helped with the building of the ships and the navigation of the ocean? Where was wise Penemue? The one who thought the prince the mystery of the ink and paper and made him an Emperor? The one who demanded Emperor Nikola’s heart for the gift only to disappear from the man’s quarters when the giants, lead by his own son who he had sired on his female lover Vasiliki, rebelled and begun to tear down the civilization that the Emperor spend a thousand years building?

Emperor Nikola looked out of his window as he saw Pallas, his stepson, hurl a stone at the palace. The building shook and Nikola resumed his drawing on the ground. He had slit his wrists for this. To better paint the symbols needed for his task. He wasn’t going to die. Penemue had shared his immortality with him. Nikola cursed his consort then, for Penemue should have calmed his son. Should have told him that the Nephilim were getting more and more rights, more so than even the Atlanteans. But Penemue had chosen to abandon the island of Atlantis in it’s time of need and now the only one who could do anything to stop the giants was Nikola.

He shouldn’t have laid with an angel of the Lord. He should have left Penemue when Vasiliki became pregnant. Poor, beautiful Vasiliki. His fourteen-year-old great-granddaughter to whom he was supposed to give the throne. But he hadn’t. And now Pallas, who wanted the throne for himself, was rebelling against the one who was both his grandfather and father, the rest of the Nephilim following him. Nikola finished writing the last of the signs and brought the dagger to eye level. Penemue had always liked his emerald eyes. He had composed more than one poem for them. And now Nikola was going to gauge one, or both if it wasn’t enough, out and hope the waters of the ocean proofed a worthy opponent for the beasts. A good grave for his people, their island sinking to the bottom. And if God was merciful then a good grave for him too.

He bit his lips and blood flowed down his jaw as the dagger begun it’s bloody work. He didn’t scream, though. He was 1018 years old. The people who were screaming in terror bellow didn’t have such a long life. But he had to do this. For all of the Nephilim had gathered on the island and if he didn’t kill them all now, they would spread like a plague across the world. His eye fell down on the floor with a wet slosh and Nikola blinked back the tears from his one remaining one. He placed his eyeball in the center of the ritual circle and begun to chant the incantation for rain. The death that ruled the island would multiply the magnitude and when he saw the first raindrops falling from the heavens, he began a chant that awoke the sleeping volcano at the outskirts of the island.

Pallas roared and Nikola allowed himself a smile full of teeth. He was Emperor no longer, for when the storm was over there was not going to be anything left of the island and all the lands that he took over with fire and violence would be free. And he? He would sink to the bottom of the ocean. To be eaten by sharks, his marrow sucked out by fish. Atlantis had been civilization, a place of learning. And now the sun set on it’s magnificent white buildings, the screams of humans and giants alike it’s funeral march. A worthy end for an empire.

Nikola stood up and went to the balcony. The railing was broken from a stone hurled by a giant but Nikola wasn’t afraid of the fall. The ritual needed one more thing so that the island could sink. The torment of the one who cast it. Nikola had never felt braver than in this moment. Penemue’s name was on his lips as he leapt down. A bird’s feather was falling with him. It had the same black color as Penemue’s wings. Nikola allowed himself to snatch it and pretend it had fallen from a wounded Penemue who had attempted to stop his son and save his lover. He closed his remaining eye and smiled softly; feather clutched in his hand. The feather was too small to have come from the angel’s wings. And the reality of this hit Nikola harder than the impact with the ground. And then he knew only darkness.

Water surrounded him. He was in a cage and the animals avoided him. Yet he slept.

The golden light was foreign to the sea dwelling creatures. More than one mermaid had attempted to get the human within out. To drown him and feast on his flesh. They were long lived, these half-humans. And they recognized the hated Emperor of the empire which more than once attempted to subjugate even them. Failing only because it’s greatest weapon, the bestial Nephilim, were slow and prone to drowning in the water. Even their feet not reaching the bottom of the great ocean.

There was a bird’s feather clutched in the young and yet ancient man’s left hand. His expression of turmoil. No matter how much the merfolk screamed at him he didn’t wake.

When, after a hundred years had passed and the human remained in their domain, the merfolk decided to get rid of him. To push him far away from the ruins of his once great city, which now belonged to them, and let those who he had enslaved before recognize him and have their vengeance. Humanity always found a way to get even and here was someone who they must still remember. Who they must still hate. The merfolk used the Emperor’s own golden spear to push the cage made of light in the ocean. Carrying him through warm waters, then leaving him with their cousins who carried him through colder ones.

There was ice around the cage. Yet it never lasted for long. Once per day the ice would melt and the joy of the savage merfolk with it. They all hoped they could leave the human into an iceberg. Where his magic would be too busy keeping him alive in the cold. Yet they didn’t stop their journey for they knew he would one day wake and when he did, they wanted him out of their domain. Cold made way to warmth again and the cage was pushed into a sandy beach. Dissolving immediately now that it wasn’t needed and the merfolk scattered away. Throwing the golden spear at the sleeping figure and cursing him as they swam.

The sun gave Nikola warmth that he hadn’t felt since Atlantis had fallen. He wanted to remain here forever. But he opened his eyes and saw with both of them and then he regretted it immediately. The eye he had gauged out had regenerated. He had deserved for it not to as punishment.

“Penemue, my love, do you hear me?” He prayed just like he used to when the angel first came into his life. “I’m lost and you are the only thing I have left of my old world. I know you are not dead. Please answer me.” A gentle breeze played with Nikola’s now waist length hair and he sighed. “I’m sorry about Pallas. He was as much my son as yours and Vasiliki’s.” Nothing again and Nikola looked down at the feather he was still clutching. He suddenly felt hatred rise within him. This was as much Penemue’s doing as well as his own. He let go of the feather and watched it drift down to the ground. He raised his foot to step on it when it finally touched the sand but then a stray tear fell down his cheek.

Everyone was dead. His island was sunken and destroyed. He was sure of it. The tears kept falling as he knelt down on the ground and cupped the feather in his hands, cleaning it from the sand grains that clutched to it. He had overreached. Had been fearful to give the throne to Pallas. Or even a little bit land for the giant to call his own. And now Pallas…no. He, Nikola, had destroyed everything. He kissed the feather as if it truly belonged to his lover and placed it in the folds of his tunic. Right over his heart.

“Until we meet again, my love.” He whispered brokenly to the wind as he begun to go in the direction of the mountains surrounding the beach. He could be anywhere, he reasoned with himself. But these mountains, which were standing high as if they were columns in truth and which looked eaten belonged to only one place. He was in Asia and if he didn’t have luck, he was in China now. The empire which had fought against him for three centuries before falling to the Nephilim. He had thought it amusing back then to let them keep their giant wall that had been taller even than the tallest giant. Now he only hoped they had burned all his portraits in joy and could no longer recall who he was.

Walking through the forest was terrifying. He knew how to fight, true, but his only weapon was his golden spear. It was ceremonial, mainly, and he had taken it only so he could trade it for food and clothes. A wolf’s howl sounded in the distance and Nikola gripped his spear. He didn’t want to see if he could even regenerate as only bones so he went into the opposite direction of the sound. Something delicious announced to him that he was nearing a settlement. Even if it was only a hut in the woods, he promised to himself that he would be grateful.

Following the scent, he stumbled upon a village. With it’s pointy roofs and dirt streets it announced to him loud and clear that he was indeed in China. He knew the local language. He made it a point to learn all the languages of the nations he subjugated. And yet he drew the eyes to himself. In his crisp white tunic with golden and silver trims and the golden spear by his side he made quite the picture. He wore wool, while they wore hemp and cotton. He had sandals on his feet, his toes showing. They had boots on. He stopped by a street vendor and opened his mouth to say something when the woman put a steamed bun under his nose.

“You must be hungry, young man! We don’t have many travelers passing by. Was there another shipwreck? We didn’t hear anything of it here and we are very close to the coast.”

Nikola took the bun and quickly ate it before the woman could change her mind. He suddenly realized how hungry he was.

“Good woman, do you have a pawn shop here? I’d like to trade this.” He moved the spear forward and the woman shrank back. Realizing his mistake, he placed the spear back on his back.

“We are a small village, young man. I don’t think even old handler Hua would have enough money to buy this off of you. Say, where do you even have it from?”

“I fished it from the sea one day.” Lied Nikola smoothly. There were engravings on the spear that pointed at it’s Atlantean origins. It was best if he didn’t say it was an heirloom or anything. “I’ve been travelling all this way from Troy. Have you heard of Troy, ma’am?” Troy was one of his favorite places. He had gained a foothold on it when he had married one of his grandsons to the local ruler. A bloodless conquest always brought good feelings in him.

“Can’t say that I have, no.” The woman eyed Nikola’s tunic once again and his mane of a hair and gave him another bun. “But you come back after you sell that thing off. You owe me a copper for the second bun. The first one is on the house. I am Nuo Nuying. And you are?”

Nikola entertained the thought of lying to the old lady but then he risked forgetting his new name. And his own name sounded Thracian enough, if anyone here even knew of Thrace.

“Nikola of Troy. And I will repay your kindness, Nuo Nuying.” The old lady pointed to her right. “Old handler Hua is down this road. Look for the yellow lanterns over the red door. Now off with you, I have other customers.” Nikola waved goodbye and moved towards the direction of the shop. He soon found it. It was one of the more well-off buildings in the area, which spoke well for his prospects to get as much gold as he could for his spear.

Walking in he noted the fine porcelain vases that lined the corners. They were tall and elegant things, whit cranes painted on them. Nikola remembered how the crane was thought of as an animal in which people’s souls lingered after their bodies passed on. It was only fair that the first animal he sees in this shop that offered him a new beginning was the crane.

“Do you like them? Will you buy?” Came a rasping voice from the front of the shop. Nikola moved towards the man and he took the spear off of his back.

“I’m here to sell, actually. Nuo Nuying send me to you. I want to sell you this here. It’s from pure gold.” Placing the spear on the counter Nikola watched as the old handler’s eyes lit up. Then the man traced the engravings on the side of the spear and his face darkened.

“Where did you find this…?”

“Nikola.” Was quick to fill in the former emperor. “Nikola of Troy. I found it in the sea.”

The old man’s frown deepened and he pointed the engravings.

“This here says that this was the Emerald Emperor’s spear. The foul wretch of Atlantis, may there still be some meat left on his bones so the magots could continue their feast. I will have to melt it down or else one warlord or another will steal it from me. That means I can only pay you for the gold itself.”

Nikola looked sadly down at the spear. Azazel had crafted it for him, a thousand years ago. This was his scepter. He had stood on more than one battlefield with this spear strapped to his back. This was the last symbol of his power. But he needed to survive, as much as he didn’t deserve it, and repent. He nodded at the trader.

“Fine, so be it. But it’s still quite a bit of gold. Can you pay me for it?”

“I sure can, but not at once. This can set you up for life, Nikola of Troy. Both of us, in fact. Sure, some of it will have to go towards taxes but once I sell this gold, I would be able to close this shop for good. I can pay you a hundred silver upfront and then I’ll get in contact with my agent in the imperial city. I’ll take the taxes out of your share and you’ll get the full profit. You are looking at a five thousand silver pieces at the least. Do we have a deal?”

Nikola ran his fingers over the spear. This was the last time he would be seeing it. Then a thought struck him.

“You said you’ll close the shop, yes? Sell it to me instead. With the house I saw attached to it. I’ll pay you double what they are worth. And I want one copper more with the hundred silver. I need to pay for the second steam bun I ate.”

Hua smiled happily and placed a copper into a leather pouch and handed it to Nikola.

“I’ll move out when I get the money.”

“I would need you to point me to a tailor or a seamstress, good man Hua.” At the respectful way he was being addressed Hua, who turned out to be Ying Hua, send Nikola to the seamstress telling him to place the clothes on Hua’s tab. To be paid with Nikola’s winnings. Happy that his silver would remain in case he needed it Nikola first returned to old lady Nuo Nuying and gave her the copper. When she found out he had no place to stay she cursed handler Hua, calling him a grabbing old geezer, and she offered to host Nikola in her home for fifty coppers per day. That was a bit much, even to Nikola, but the lady had been nothing but kind to him and he felt like she deserved the money. How long could Ying Hua take to melt and sell the spear anyway?

After that it was to the seamstress and she didn’t fleece him. Although she attempted to offer him clothes made of silk. It must be hard for her to sell them in such a small village. Still Nikola was adamant that he wanted cotton. And soon his measurements were taken and he received the promise that if he was to come back just before the shop closed he would receive his first bundle of clothing.

With nothing better to do he returned to old lady Nuying and offered to help her sell the rest of the buns. She was skeptical that he could but when Nikola showed her a magic trick, in which he made a stone spin without touching it, she enthusiastically welcomed him and told him that if they sold all the buns, she would lower his rent to thirty coppers. So here Nikola was, having fun performing magic tricks for the passersby’s.

He didn’t do anything fancy. At one point someone brought a deck of cards and Nikola ended up telling the women of the village their past and, once they confirmed to the nonbelievers that he was indeed right, their future concerning their love life. He did so in exchange for them buying a steam bun and some of them demanded he read their future more than once. And so, the buns were soon all sold out and yet the women kept crowding around Nikola. At a loss for what to do he looked back towards old lady Nuying who had written a sign and was holding it up.

Learn your future for a copper! It read and the old woman was grinning childlike. Nikola resumed reading the fortune of the women around him and he was relieved when the sun began to set for, he had an excuse to get away from the women.

“Gege, don’t go! I want to learn my great-grandson’s fortune next!” Said Mei Chang to whom he had been telling everything about her future grandchildren and their wild love affairs.

“I have to pick up my clothes, Madam Mei. Maybe if you come back tomorrow, I can tell you in exchange for a steamed bun.” At this Nuo Nuying’s face lit up.

“Ok now, kind flowers, do let the oracle go about his business. He will be here tomorrow and for as long as he stays under my roof. But if you want to get your future so badly, I suppose I can arrange meetings for a silver per reading.”

The women were shouting at the old bun seller who merely cackled. Nikola shook his head at his benefactor’s opportunistic nature and he continued towards the seamstress.

“Why don’t you sell me your clothes?” Asked him the seamstress as Nikola was changing into his new ones. “They are from wool, so they are unclean. I can make rags from the fabric. But the gold and silver I can take out. Sell it and give you a cut of the winnings.”

Nikola’s breath hitched. He wasn’t going to wear the tunic ever again anyway. But it was of fine Atlantean make. He gripped the fabric of his new clothes and then looked at his old tunic. Someone could recognize it. It was too rich by far for someone, even a Trojan noble, to have. He needed to get rid of it. And yet…His spear he knew he needed to get rid of because of it’s value and markings. But the tunic? The seamstress was running a finger over the gold plate near the neck area and Nikola gave a sigh. If he could gauge out his own eye and kill off his own people then he could also give up a simple tunic.

“Fine. I’ll leave it in your hands. Just keep making me clothes. And keep putting them on Hua’s tab.”

“Will do, will do, Gege. Good night to you now.” She then unceremoniously pushed Nikola towards the exit. Now dressed in traditional clothing, still more expensive looking than he would like, he fit better in. Then he made his way towards the home of the old bun seller. Two streets from the stall, no turns. A brown door with a yellow lantern in front of it. Had told him the old woman and he looked around himself. The house was small but looked well-kept. He knocked on the door and an exited Nuo Nuying opened it and ushered him in.

“Welcome, Nikola of Troy! I already have dinner prepared. I am adding it to your rent, don’t worry. But do you look handsome now! Like a cultivating immortal, yes!” Nikola knew what that was and he looked like and he straightened his robes a little.

“Well, this was what the seamstress made me. I think she was trying to make me the most expensive thing she could out of cotton.” He was wearing a dark robe with green trims and his underrobe was a nice blue color. All in all, he rather liked his look. He patted his sleeve in which his feather was and he sat down in front of the small table. There was rice with seaweed for dinner but steam was rising from the food so he was sure he could appreciate it.

“Now, tomorrow when we go out to sell buns you have to show new tricks. Can you break boulders on your chest?” Asked the old woman all business like and Nikola winced. That sounded positively painful. Is that what the people around here did to pass the time?

“I can’t. Although I can dance with fire.” Penemue had thought him how to be graceful with a torch in hand. They had danced together like that more than once, the angel liking the danger of catching fire.

“Oh? Show me!” Said the old woman and she picked up a candle from the table and handed it to Nikola. Nikola removed the little plate from the candle and stood up. Then he begun to dance. He imagined it was for a festival for the birth of one of his grandchildren. Or better yet the harvest festival. He threw the candle and it flipped a couple of times before it fell in his hand again, still lit. He quickened his tempo and imagined a festival for Tangra. Even though the people knew of the God that the angels served they still worshiped their totems. And Nikola was never one to deny free worship. His leg made a circular motion and the candle was in the air again. He spans wildly and then knelt down in one swift motion to catch it. Then he jumped up and placed his arms around himself as if he was about to hug Penemue and he spun, candle still in his hand. His leg extended forward and his arms moved as if to hold the invisible body of his lover lower so that he could kiss him. But his nose neared the warm candle and he blinked.

The old lady was up on her feet with her hands clasped in front of her.

“Can you do this with a lantern? One on a chain?” She asked excitedly and Nikola placed the candle back in it’s place.

“It would be easier for me, in fact. But the lantern could ignite. It would be better if we keep it to candles.”

The old woman pouted and then pointed at the rice. “You finish this and then go straight to bed. If we make twenty silvers tomorrow with your dancing, I’ll lower your rent to ten coppers.”

Nikola groaned. That meant he’d be dancing the whole day. He finished his rice and then received a blanket which he put on the wooden floor and he went to sleep. The morning after he washed up and went to the seamstress, who had worked after closing hours to make him another change of clothes, to dress and then he was back at the stall. The old lady excitedly gave him a candle and he begun his dance. Soon a crowd gathered to stare at him. All captivated that the candle was not going off, which he managed with magic, and at how he would twist and bend and catch it every time.

In an hour all the buns were sold and the old lady had another sign which prompted people to leave a copper or two if they enjoyed the show. He was balancing the candle on his nose, body bend backwards and leg raised high behind him when he heard the commotion. A man in a litter had his servants push their way to the front. Many grumbled as they saw that but the man took out a gold piece and had a servant woman give it to old granny Nuo Nuying.

“Don’t stop now!” Scolded him the old woman when she noticed that Nikola wasn’t moving. “Spin around and do that thing where you almost hold someone. The same as you did last night!”

Nikola didn’t like this. He had seen the same look the man was giving him many times at court. It had driven Penemue to jealous bouts every time and had resulted in more than one duel. The angel winning each time. Still, he did as he was told and he ended up balancing the candle on his closed hands. The man in the litter clapped and suddenly everyone was clapping. Another gold piece was given to the old granny and the man left just as he had appeared.

Nikola was still staring at candle’s flame when a woman moved forward, a flower in her hand.

“Do you have a woman at home, Gege?” She asked and she blushed. She was pretty enough; Nikola wasn’t blind and so he could admit it. With her soft hazel eyes and golden skin, she would have made an uproar on the island of Atlantis. So, unlike the local beauties and yet the same. Then Nikola thought of Penemue. Beautiful Penemue who liked to wear purple and have his long brown hair loose so that his curls could fool everyone that he was a very beautiful, albeit flat chested, woman. The feather was a reassuring weight against his skin as he spoke with certainty.

“I do. The wisest and most beautiful of all. Although she is back at Troy.” The woman’s face fell at this then she smiled gently and extended the flower.

“Then take this for her and dry it. Give it to her when next you see her.”

“That may never come to pass. But thank you.” The sadness bled from his voice as he took the flower. He would indeed keep it but he feared it would fall apart before Penemue answered his prayers. The woman stepped back into the crowd and he handed the flower to Nuo Nuying. She put it inside her sleeve and Nikola begun to dance again. Just before nightfall he left the crowd, sweaty all over, to go pick tomorrow’s clothes from the seamstress. He could always change into yesterday’s clothes for dinner after he washed. He hadn’t washed them yet. He was yet to find a washerwoman in this village and it was strange to have to do his own washing when he had never had to do it. Perhaps Nuo Nuying would teach him? He made her a killing today, after all.

Dinner was a happy affair as Nuo Nuying counted her winnings. Thirty silvers, eighty-six coppers and the two gold pieces.

“You were sent to be my grandson! You are a gentleman. Can you also play an instrument?”

“I can’t, I’m sorry.” Penemue had tried to teach him many a time but Nikola simply couldn’t understand the notes well enough to produce a melody. But he could sing. Although he didn’t tell the old woman that. He didn’t want anyone recognizing an old Atlantean tune and ousting him.

“Well, you can’t do everything.” Said the woman, slight disappointment coloring her voice. “But it’s ok. If you keep dancing then the noble Wei Caihong will keep coming back. He is the magistrate of our village. Although he was sent here as a punishment by the emperor. He’s been seen speaking with that lover of that undying wretch the Emerald Emperor of Atlantis. That fallen angel: Penemue.”

Nikola’s head snapped towards the woman. He was on his feet and gripping her hand in desperation before he had time to consider how that looked.

“I have to speak with Wei Caihong! Where does he live?” Nuo Nuying coughed in his face and shook her head.

“No, you really don’t. Nothing good comes from speaking about the Watchers. It’s good thing they no longer have their powers. It seems that the Emerald Emperor stole it from them when he sunk that dung filled island. When he caused the flood that nearly wiped all life from the land away. He was rotten to his last breath; may he rot in Hell.”

“He was trying to stop the Nephilim!” Defended himself Nikola and then the old lady’s face scrunched up in disgust.

“Oh, is that so? Is that what his lickspittles in Troy say about him? My grandmother lived in the Valley. But there is no Valley now. It’s bellow the weaves now and this village grew from all the refugees. There used to be a lot less water before. Why did the folks of the dessert in the land of the hundred volcanos have to all drown? Why is there a new sea between the distant continents of Europe and Africa? I’ll tell you why! The shit filled emperor didn’t want to pass the crown to his heir, the giant Pallas, because his lover cheated on him with a slip of a girl. One of his many grandchildren, at that! How must have he raged when he found the girl pregnant! Oh, what a happy day that must have been!”

Nikola sat down, all fight draining from him. He hadn’t raged. He had been worried. He loved all his grandchildren as if they were his own and he had told Penemue to give Nikola’s immortality to Vasiliki even. So that she could survive the birth. But the angel hadn’t done so no matter how much Nikola had begged him. And Vasiliki had still died. Just as his own sister had died all those centuries ago when he hadn’t known about the danger involved in birthing a Nephilim.

“I still need to speak to Wei Caihong, granny.” The old woman sends him a pitying look but then she nods.

“You’ll need an invitation to his palace at the outstrips of the village. A couple more days of dancing will grant you it. But you be careful when you meet him, Nikola of Troy. He is on the lookout for another lover. Nothing good happens to those he takes. Especially those he can’t marry.”

Nikola had figured as much. But he didn’t need to keep the man’s attention on him for too long. Just enough to find out where Penemue was. He had, or at least will have, money now. And he could spend quite a lot of time manning the antique shop and earning a profit from it. He could provide for both himself and Penemue and when people became suspicious about why they weren’t aging they would simply move. With this thought he went back to his dinner, a simple fare of steamed vegetables and more rice, and watched as granny Nuo Nuying looked at the coins they had gathered today lovingly.