Welcome To Dreadwood

Atlantis

Jane was browsing through the books in the town's public library. She had grown up with a love of reading. Wherever she traveled, the first thing she would do was to go and search for a library or a bookstore. She believed that someone who read many books had lived many lives.

Her favourite genre was autobiography. Reading the adventures of other people took her to different places and times. Today, she was looking for an autobiography.

As she browsed through the autobiography section, she came across a book that seemed out of place. Pulling the book out, she saw that it was old enough to be ancient. The binding of the book was coming apart, and if she wasn't careful, the pages would fall out.

Turning the pages, she noticed that it was a diary. As she started to read, she discovered it was the diary of someone who had lived during Ancient Greece. As she continued to read, she came across a grim entry.

"I write this entry as water starts to come onto our island. A once strong naval force island is being flooded from the water that pours from the sky and the sea. Our people tried to conquer Athens but were defeated by the Athenians who were commanded by Solon. Poseidon has punished us for our aggressive and imperialist actions."

Jane turned the page to find the next day's entry.

"The water is continuing to rise. Our greed for power has sent our island to its demise. We are also experiencing earthquakes along with the flooding. The water is now shoulder-high in the part of the island where I live. I need to move to higher ground."

Jane turned the page, hoping for good news.

"A new day has come, and I find myself on higher ground. The land around us has submerged, leaving the few survivors standing with me on elevated terrain. Our king plans to evacuate the remaining people by boat to the nearest safe island. Athens will be the last place we seek refuge, haunted by the memory of our humiliating defeat by their military."

Jane turned the page, hoping that the writer had made it to safety.

"I write one more entry not knowing when I will write again. The boats have been brought to higher ground, which is also flooding. We are now piling into each of the boats. As I look around, I take a last glance at the island I once called home. The libraries I once walked through are now submerged under the water. All the homes destroyed by the waves of the sea. Our once flourishing culture and its wondrous architecture gone by the power of nature. We, the last few survivors, will carry on the legacy of our people, passing it on from generation to generation. A wave is coming in. We are leaving now before we become like the rest of our people, at the bottom of the sea. I hope we make it to dry land..."

The writing trailed off. The writer had not survived, but the diary and the account of the sinking of Atlantis had endured. Had someone from the island survived and taken the diary with them to dry land?

Jane found a name at the end of the page - Nikos Koronios.

Koronios? That was Jane's last name. She suddenly realised that the diary was in Greek, a language she knew. Jane had just read the diary of her ancestor who had somehow survived. Jane's origin was from Atlantis, a place that many believed to be nothing more than a story.