Shards: Intro- Part 1 (old)

Chapter One: Disembark

"Excellent, now, for those of you who don't know why we're here, and perhaps your parents purposely didn't explain this to you. I am here to enlighten you. You may have noticed that over the course of your lifetime, you have seen ceremonies like this happen; the day called Excursion Day. January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, and October 1st are official Excursion Days. Today, being April 1st, is an Excursion Day. But what is Excursion Day?"

Matidia grabbed a pointer-shaped object out from the sleeves of her green gown. She pointed it towards the sky and began mumbling incantations before white symbols began appearing. "After the Second Fray of 180 AD. In a sacrificial, final, and heroic act, Poseidon planted his trident (now the eternal altar) into the ground. He used the Trident; his lifeline; to serve as a permanent emitter of protection to provide to all the land. The Veil was this protection."
The words spoken by Matidia were portrayed in the sky as images. I could see not only them, but the abstract confusion and chaos of that time. There were people killing each other, leaders disappearing, nations falling.

"This time saw the end of the golden age of Atlantis, and the beginning of ours. After the great Poseidon's death, we crowned Triton, who aligned all corners of the realm to coordinate a plan to face an uncertain future. Triton accomplished many of the greatest feats during the long years of his reign. He peacefully promised humans left over from the war complete and equal citizenship, and he allowed them to bring their families back from Europe. He stabilized the southern lands after the great bubonic plague centuries ago, and he founded The Endeavor!"

Some nodded in understanding, a few others looked extremely confused.
"Now the voyage of Endeavor is why each and every one of you is here, whether you're about to take it, or watch someone else leave on it. How did it start you may be wondering?"

I leaned in as if I was in a trance. I never learned anything about the history of the Endeavor. All that stuff was in the museums, which I never visited.
"The war with the Romans left our economy in shambles, our literacy rates fallen almost irreparably, and our infrastructure destroyed. Other Magus-populated continents like Mu and Lemuria have also suffered at the hands of the Han Dynasty in the Far East."

"Their plight went noticed by Triton; who offered each of them one ingot. Ingots infused with the power of the Protostar; the source of Poseidon's power. With that power, their leaders conjured veils of their own to protect their respective lands."

"In the waning days of 183 AD, Triton, and de facto leaders from the other two continents raised another hidden land from the sea in the Arctic. That new land would be called Hyperborea. The leaders decided that starting on the first day of the next year, every 3 months, all the newly turned 16 year olds from their lands would be sent up there to learn about their potential as a citizen of their country. However, The founding reasons for such a program was for educational matters, and the need to find the first sentinels who would guard the borders of our veil. In order to fix illiteracy and keep the public calm about potential incursions from the outside world, those problems had to be addressed first. But since that time, it's evolved to serve not only these purposes, but to keep almost the entire population above the poverty line, our workforce active and prosperous, and create our Magus's at such a young age!"

"Huh." I acknowledged in only slight interest.

"Hyperborea has served as the breeding grounds of newly polished citizens for over 1,834 years. Each and every one of those 16 years old and above who isn't in this circle around me has been there. Nobody fails The Endeavor, as it isn't a test; but a chance. You must be willing to go to the ends of the Earth to........well, you'll already be doing that."