What If? - Atlantis Part II

So sorry this is late... but nonetheless...


All of Atlantis stretched before us. The entire continent was amazingly flat, so I could see from coast to coast from my vantage point.

The four rivers flowed in a general southwest direction. They sprang from the Fountain of Youth, which originated in the Garden of Everlasting Light. Now that was a topic that could generate discussion at a feast. You see, our oldest traditions say that a god guards the entrance to the garden, barring our entrance to it. However, when the Great Ones came, they claimed to be greater than the god that guarded the entrance, and that as a result, we ought to listen to them on all matters spiritual and religious. In physical strength and stature, there were definitely greater than those of us who were native Atlanteans, but the Nephilim, as they call themselves, seemed to have few answers.
East of the garden was the land of Nob, where the herdsmen, the Jabaleans, live. They are as protective of their knowledge of animals as we are of our knowledge of metals. Only their animals are considered “clean”, all other breeds being inferior in health and quality; they enjoy a relatively high status as a result.I clicked to Enta again and we flew west. We crossed two of the rivers, Gihon and Hiddekel, and landed on the far side of Hiddekel.

There was quite a crowd assembled who came, they said, to dissuade the Preacher, but in reality, I think they were interested to hear what he had to say… and to see the “project”.
It was huge. Utterly massive - an enormous wooden box that stretched hundreds of paces in every direction, including up. It was not its sheer size that astonished people, for many of our temples were just as big or bigger, but its construction and its alleged purpose. It was entirely of wood, save where metal attachments were required. Its purpose was what fascinated people.
“Beware, my friends!” came a voice. I recognized that the Preacher had momentarily stopped his work to respond to the jeerers. “God’s judgment is coming! This is the only safety!”

“Which god?” Called one person, with snickers and laughter surrounding his comment. “We’ll just get the other ones to protect us from it.”
“Like the Nephilim said!”
The Preacher opened his mouth again, but he was cut off.
“What are you going to save us from in your little wooden box? Dragon fire would incinerate it, rams would crash through it, and an orichalcum axe would hew a timber in half!”
The Preacher’s response was drowned out by laughter. I dropped off the clasps with one of the workers and went back to Enta. The crowd was dispersing now, the midday meal coming on, and many of them passed me as I mounted. I caught random comments from the different spectators as they walked by.
“He’s crazy.”
“He can't know what he’s talking about.”

“Yeah. Crazy old Noah.”