A Dragon's Tear-Atlantis

Atlantis

She was born again in Atlantis during its golden age, when crystal spires still pierced the clouds, and the wisdom of the ages flowed freely through the streets like water. Even as a small child, she was drawn to water in all its forms - rain, sea, pools, even morning dew. Her dreams were filled with memories of flight among the stars, though in her waking hours these remained just beyond her grasp, like ripples in a disturbed pool.

They found her at age seven, standing in the temple fountains, her small hands trailing through the water as it changed color beneath her touch. The High Priests recognized the ancient soul dwelling within the child - they had been waiting for one such as her. Her deep brown eyes flecked with dragon gold held a deep knowing. She was immediately taken to the Temple of Living Waters, where she would spend the rest of her life serving as guardian of the sacred pools.

The Atlantean pools were unlike anything else in the known world. Twelve pools arranged in concentric circles, each containing a different essence of creation. The outermost circle held nine pools representing the fundamental elements of existence - earth, air, fire, water, ether, light, darkness, spirit, and matter. The inner circle held two pools of synthesis - one gold, one silver - where the elements could be combined in sacred alchemy. But at the very center lay the Mother Pool, the most sacred of all, which contained the original waters of creation itself.

The pools were vast libraries of knowledge, each containing different aspects of universal memory. Those who came to soak in their sacred waters could access the accumulated wisdom of ages. Within the Pool of Fire burned the memory of stars themselves, holding ancient secrets of transformation and the eternal dance of creation and destruction. The Pool of Air rippled with the collected thoughts and dreams of all beings who had ever drawn breath, from the smallest insect to the greatest of cosmic entities. Deep in the Pool of Earth lay the living records of every creature that had walked, crawled, or grown upon any world, their stories preserved in liquid memory.

The Pool of Light radiated with the highest spiritual teachings from across all dimensions, its surface shimmering with divine wisdom that few could bear to witness directly. In stark contrast, the Pool of Darkness held the profound wisdom of the void itself, containing all potential and possibility in its depths, teaching those brave enough to immerse themselves that creation springs eternal from nothingness. The Pool of Water reflected all other pools within its surface, teaching the interconnectedness of all things through its fluid nature. The Pool of Ether hummed with the cosmic frequencies that bound reality together, its waters vibrating with the very music of the spheres.

The Pool of Spirit held the essence of consciousness itself, allowing those who entered to experience the true nature of awareness beyond physical form. The Pool of Matter contained the fundamental patterns of physical existence, teaching the sacred geometry that underlies all material creation. Together, these nine elemental pools formed a complete circle of wisdom, each one indispensable to the whole, each one containing with in its own unique aspect of universal truth.

In the inner circle, the gold and silver pools served as sacred places of synthesis, where the elemental wisdoms could be combined in careful measure to create new understanding. The Gold Pool represented active force, while the Silver Pool embodied receptive potential. When used in harmony, they allowed for the greatest works of Atlantean alchemy - the transformation not just of matter, but of consciousness itself.

At the heart of it all lay the Mother Pool, the most sacred of the twelve, containing the original waters of creation. This pool was different from all others - not just a repository of wisdom, but a living connection to the source of all being. Its waters held not memory, but pure potential, the infinite possibility from which all other pools derived their power. To touch these waters was to touch the very essence of existence itself, to remember what it was to be one with the universe before the first division of light and dark, before the first thought took form, before the first star sparked to life in the cosmic void.

Unbeknownst to her, within the Mother Pool floated her own tear from eons past - that single drop that had carried her dragon’s essence through space and time. It had waited here, in these sacred waters, for her soul to find its way home. This was why she was the only one who could truly communicate with the pools, why the waters sang to her in voices only she could hear. The Mother cared gently over eons for her child, holding her tear in reverence and respect until she was ready. An offering for her to finally heal and begin a new.

As High Priestess of the Living Waters, she spent her days tending to these pools, maintaining their purity and helping others access their wisdom. Seekers came from all corners of the earth to immerse themselves in these sacred waters. Some sought healing, others knowledge, and still others communion with the divine. She would guide them to the appropriate pool, prepare them for immersion, and help them interpret what they experienced in the waters.

But her most sacred duty was to the Mother Pool. Each night when the temples grew quiet, she would sit at its edge, trailing her fingers through waters that held her own ancient tear. In these moments, she could almost remember who she truly was - could almost grasp the memory of white scales and star-flight. The water would glow with a soft white light, reminiscent of her original flame, though she didn't understand why this moved her to such deep sorrow.

She watched as the golden age of Atlantis began to wane. The crystal towers grew darker, the minds of the people more clouded. The pure knowledge of the pools began to be corrupted by those seeking power rather than wisdom. The High Priests, once guardians of sacred knowledge, became obsessed with control and dominion. They spoke of using the pools' power to conquer neighboring lands, of weaponizing the ancient wisdom.

She knew what was coming. She had seen it in the waters - the same pattern of betrayal that had followed her through existence. The powerful would try to take what was not theirs to take, would corrupt what was pure, would destroy what they could not control. But this time, she had a choice. She would not let the sacred waters be corrupted as her flame had been.

One fateful day the armies amassed and were approaching. She could hear their footsteps echoing through the crystal corridors of the temple, could feel their dark intentions rippling through the waters. They came with vessels of gold and silver, intending to drain the pools of their power, to use the sacred waters for dominion and destruction.

She stood at the edge of the ninth pool in the outer circle, the last of the elemental pools. Behind her, eight pools already lay dark and still, their once-vibrant waters now clouded and lifeless. Her hands trembled as she clutched the crystal vial containing the red poison - a mixture she had spent months preparing in secret, knowing this day would come. Each poisoned pool felt like a knife in her own heart, but she knew with terrible certainty that this was the only way.

As she moved inward to the pools of synthesis, her bare feet left wet prints that gleamed like tears on the crystal floor. The gold pool died quickly, its shimmering surface going dull as ash. The silver pool fought longer, its waters swirling in protest before finally submitting to darkness. Each death felt like losing a piece of herself, echoing that ancient loss of her original flame.

Finally, she stood before the Mother Pool, its waters still glowing with that familiar white light she had come to love so deeply. This pool, which contained her own tear from eons past, had been her truest companion through all her years in the temple. In its depths, she had caught glimpses of white scales and starlight, had felt echoes of flight among the galaxies. The water knew her, had always known her, had waited lifetimes for her return.

"Forgive me," she whispered, her voice breaking. The red poison gleamed in the crystal vial, its color reminiscent of blood and betrayal. Her hands shook so violently she could barely hold it. From within the pool, she felt a resonance, a deep understanding - the waters knew, as they had always known, what must be done.

The approaching footsteps grew louder. She could hear voices now, commands being shouted, the clash of weapons. They were almost upon her.

With a cry that held all the grief of multiple lifetimes, she tipped the vial. The first drop hits the surface of the Mother Pool like a tear falling from a great height. The water shuddered, its white glow flickering like a dying flame. Drop by drop, she emptied the vial, each one a death knell, each one an echo of that first betrayal among the stars.

As the last drop fell, she watched the light begin to fade from the waters that had been her home, her sanctuary, her connection to her true self. The Mother Pool's glow dimmed to a pale glimmer, then to darkness. The water that had once sung to her0 fell silent.

Looking into the darkened surface, she could see her own reflection - priestess robes now stained with water from all the pools she had killed, hair wild, face streaked with tears. But for a moment, just a moment, she thought she saw another reflection overlaid upon her own - a white dragon with scales like starlight, eyes filled with ancient sorrow.

The footsteps were at the door now. She had only moments left.

With trembling fingers, she lifted the almost empty vial to her lips, catching the last red drops upon her tongue. As the poison began its swift work, she remained standing at the pool's edge, her reflection rippling in the darkened waters. In that final moment of clarity, before the poison could fully take hold, she felt something crystallize within her - a final single tear fell from her eyes. She watched it fall, this last pure thing, catching the fading light as it descended. Unlike her tears from moments before, this one held something different - the essence of who she truly was, carrying within it the memory of white flame, sacred waters, and the eternal hope of renewal. As it struck the crystal floor, it gleamed with a light of its own, a tiny star fallen to earth.

Only then, with her essence safely preserved outside the corrupted waters, did she take that final step forward and fall into the darkness of the Mother Pool. The waters, though dead, embraced her one final time. Her last thought, as the waters closed over her head, was a prayer that someday, somewhere, the cycle of betrayal might finally be broken - that what was lost might be restored, not through power or force, but through the same sacrifice and love that had first created the sacred pools.

As her body settled into the depths of the Mother Pool, that single tear remained on the crystal floor, untouched by the poisoned waters, carrying within it the eternal cycle of her existence. The waters might be dead, but the essence they had protected would live on, seeking its next incarnation, its next chance to heal what had been broken so long ago.

Long after the armies had come and gone, long after they discovered their victory was meaningless - the pools dead and empty of power - that tear remained, gleaming like a star fallen from heaven, waiting to begin the cycle anew. In time, it would find its way to another life, another chance, carrying with it the unbroken thread of her eternal journey to preserve what was pure in the face of corruption. Shortly after Atlantis fell. The corrupted priest overextending their power causing a powerful almost cataclysmic explosion sinking the island she had called home for so long.

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