Atlantis Book 1 Chapter 1

“If she chooses a race that has no ties to you or your [Domain], any Karmic ties that bind the two of you will be severed,” the [System Administer] warned as they watched [Time] rewind and System  give the inhabitants of Earth a second chance

“Restrict her choices,” Teigh, God of Illusion and Glamour, demanded. “Allow her to choose between Atlantis, Tuatha de Danann, or a Hybrid of the two. If I am going to use the boon System owes me, I will give this girl as much of an advantage as possible.”

“It is done. The changes made. There can be no other interference or an imbalance will be formed. You have balanced the Karmic threads that tie the two of you together. Her choices have been restricted as much as the [Law] of [Free Will] will allow,” The [System Administrator] said, even as she adjusted Asteria’s character creation choices. 

***

When she first realized where she was and what was happening, she wondered if she had regressed in time and if this wasn’t a nightmare version of Groundhog’s Day. Was she stuck in a time loop? 

But the portal was real, and she could try to figure out what was going on until time ran out or face her future head-on.

This time Asteria would not allow her fate to be decided by the vagaries of the System. She took a deep breath and walked forward, making the decision to confront her future on her own two feet, not huddled under the blankets of her bed, refusing to face the world.

The portal opened into a field. An ideal summer setting, complete with a stream, warm sun, and the buzzing of insects. It was a sanctuary, a safe place where she could make her decisions peacefully without the pressure of time limits forcing her to make ill-advised decisions.

This small island of peace was broken when a holographic System screen appeared, prompting her to confirm her name. The flashing text demanded she confirm with no way to change the name that had been assigned, but she refused. She hadn’t been given a choice the first time around, but one thing was certain, she would not be known by this name a second time around.

Something was trying to keep her identity tied to the one she had always had. An identity that had been part of the reason she had been bullied and treated harshly even before the System integration. How she had responded to a lifetime of bullying had played a major role in the race the System had assigned her.

Asteria Antonius, the name seemed innocent enough. Still, when people started shortening it to double-A, a misnomer that aligned well with her underdeveloped chest, that name had become a taunt, a means to bully and demean her.

She refused to go through a second chance at life, or whatever this was, with that same stigma. She could not bring herself to be ridiculed as the double-A reject one more time.

“Not going to happen,” Asteria stated emphatically.

She began searching for a way to get help or reset the display screen. The System display didn’t come with a keyboard and there was no way to alt-tab out of the current configuration.

Even her previous experience of manipulating System windows seemed useless as the menu refused to respond to any of her mental prompts. “Damn it! I want to file a complaint,” Asteria finally shouted in frustration. 

Light gathered and the air began to swirl as the System responded. A [System Administrator] began to take shape in response to Asteria’s help request.  A spark of intelligence that left Asteria unsure of herself blazed as a women, sharply dressed in a business suit stepped forward.

The [System Administrator] glanced at Asteria, waiting patiently, a look of benevolence or tolerance gracing her features. The woman seemed to shift between forms, her shape and face taking on different designs and occupations.

“What seems to be the problem?” A kindly matronly looking woman asked, the [System Administrator] deciding on a form after guaging Asteria’s response to each incarnation.

“This thing won’t let me change my name,” Asteria replied, relaxing almost immediately now that there was a person for her to interact with.

“The name change option becomes available once you select your race and class.”

“Please,” Asteria almost begged, “I know exactly what is going to happen.  I’ll page to the next screen and will be forced to choose Mousekin for my race. The next page will force me to choose Miner for my class. And the next page will force me to select the Gisen Tunnels for my starting location.”

Asteria wasn’t sure why, but she knew that something like this had been done when with System 1.0. She might not have made the choices, but she felt that fate might be in play, and that she was doomed to follow the same path she had already tread.

“I will never be offered a choice. This entire integration is a scam, and I refuse to play a game that won’t even let me change my name.  I’ll just sit here taking up space in this field until System Integration 3.0!”

The woman ignored Asteria’s fit of pique. She reached forward creating a newly available keyboard and hit the enter key. Asteria was about to scream in rage when the screen changed and she stopped in disbelief, reading the new prompt that was flashing.

[Scanning…

[User has the option of the following races to choose from:

[Sidhe (rare)- (sub-races available)

[Atlantian (elite)-

[Atlantian/Sidhe Hybrid (rare)-

[Mousekin (common)…

Asteria had choices. She read the list, then read it again. This was completely different from what she expected. Although Mousekin was still there taunting her, it was only one choice. One she knew she would rather rot in this field for all eternity than select.

Tabbing through the selection, Asteria was able to highlight each choice to get a better description. 

[Sidhe (rare)- The progeny of the Tuatha de Danann, the Sidhe, have formed two courts. The Summer Court is associated with the Seelie and is ruled by King Oberon. The Winter Court is associated with the Unseelie and is ruled by Queen Mab.

The Summer and Winter Courts have historically battled for supremacy. Currently, the King of Summer and Queen of Winter have agreed to a truce, one that will last for one hundred years after System Integration.

Bloodline Detected - Celtic(Glamour)

Alliances - Atlantian. Aztec. Mayan. The People. Egypt.

Enemies - Asgard. Greek Olympus. Roman Olympus.

If Sidhe is selected, a choice of Court must also be selected. This selection opens a sub-menu of available Seelie or Unseelie races.

Bonus to Magic. Bonus to Vitality. Bonus to Illusion and Glamour.

Weakness to Oak. Weakness to Silver. Weakness to Elfshot.]

[Atlantian (elite)- The continent and people of Atlantis have been restored. Once lost and destroyed, the Atlantis Pantheon of Gods has been reborn. The Atlantian people have been forced to adapt to environmental factors. Natural selection has allowed these people to evolve their Psionic abilities along with the technological capability that allows them to build cities that can withstand even the harshest pressure beneath the ocean’s depths.

Earth 2.0 has been merged with a number of celestial bodies within the solar system, increasing in size by a factor of four. The oceans of the world cover seventy percent of the planet, allowing the Atlantians to share the lion's share of the planet with a few aquatic races.

Bloodline Detected - Atlantian(Illusion)

Alliances- Tuatha de Danann. 

Enemies- Greek Olympus. Roman Olympus. Asgard.

If Atlantian is selected, a choice of cultivation must be chosen: Mind, Body, or Spirit.

Bonus to underwater survivability. Bonus to Psionic abilities. Bonus to Pet Taming.

Weakness to Heat. Weakness to Death Magic. Weakness to Airborne Poison.]

[Sidhe/Atlantian Hybrid (rare)- The Sidhe are a long-lived race, immortal unless killed. That long life comes with low population growth. But their ties with nature's magic and blessings from Danu make them able to breed with every other race. The Sidhe/Atlantian Hybrid combines the strengths and weaknesses of both species to create a homogenized blending that can be as strong or stronger than the originating species.

The Hybrid race available for this selection requires the individual to choose to merge Atlantis’ genetics with Kelpie, Selkie, or Sea Hag. Each race adapted to survive within the ocean’s depth. 

Bloodline Detected - Atlantian(Illusion) Celtic(Glamour)

Alliances - Tuatha de Danann. 

Sidhe will serve as the primary race and give access to a magic system. Atlantis will serve as the secondary race and require a cultivation method be selected: Mind, Body, or Spirit.

Bonus to Psionic Abilities. Bonus to Pet Taming. Bonus to Illusion and Glamour.

Weakness to Death Magic. Weakness to Oak. Weakness to Elfshot.]

Asteria considered her choices, two rare races, one that was elite. She had refused to highlight and look at the Mousekin information available, afraid that simply by selecting it to compare this version to the past, she would somehow lock in that race as her selection.

The [System Administrator] nodded to herself as she faded, returning to the betwixt and between. The errors of the previous timeline were sorting themselves out quickly, and she was satisfied that Teigh would be happy with how things were progressing.

Asteria Antonius was a direct descendant of Teigh’s original body’s bloodline. There were others, but Teigh had recognized something in the personality of this young woman that resonated with the God that Teigh had become. Something about her was different from any of the others that shared his bloodline.

Asteria hesitated briefly, switching between the other choices and Sidhe/Atlantian hybrid. The hybrid seemed the better choice, but she feared something was there she wasn’t seeing. A glaring flaw that she was missing.

She finally clenched her teeth and selected the hybrid.  Even if there were drawbacks and disadvantages she was missing, the race was legions better than living another life as a Mousekin miner. A life living in slavery and never seeing the sun.

[Kelpie, Selkie, or Sea Hag...

Asteria wasn't sure what difference any of the three choices offered. She didn't know what a Kelpie or Selkie was, so she decided to go with Sea Hag. At least she knew what the two words meant.

[Your bloodline has awakened…

[Bloodline Progenitor identified: Teigh, God of [Illusion and Glamour]…

[Teigh has been gifted with a Duality of Divine Domains. He is part of the Tuatha de Danann Pantheon of Gods and the Atlantis Pantheon of Gods…

[You gain [Teigh’s Blessing]…

[Bonus to [Illusion and Glamour] skills, spells, or abilities…

[Choose which cultivation method you will practice: Body, Mind, or Soul…

Asteria had an easier time with this choice. One of the reasons she had gravitated towards this choice was the strength of the race with its bonus to psychic abilities. It seemed obvious to her that with that bonus, she would be an idiot if she didn’t cultivate the mind.

[Name…

And there it was. The chance to change her name as the [System Administrator] had promised. She would keep Asteria; she had always thought her first name beautiful and unique, but the last name had to go. 

Her mother had often told her how she had selected it. Many would have thought posting an online poll, asking friends to vote, to help select a name wrong. But Asteria’s mother had always explained that she had wanted to share the joy that creating a new life and bringing her into the world felt with people who cared. 

People that had supported her mother as she’d labored to give birth and then guided and shared the growth of Asteria with those friends and supporters.

She would keep Asteria as her name. As for her last name? It seemed fitting she paid respect to the Bloodline Progenitor that had made everything possible. Without Teigh, would there even have been an Asteria?

Asteria firmly and carefully keyed in her new name.

[Asteria Teigh…

For good or ill, she would embrace this new identity.