Originally Posted by
Doombot
- How I would open a new Sub-Mariner story is with the revelation of a century long secret.
- As a youth, Namor had many adventures exploring the areas beyond Thakorr's Atlantis in the Southern Ocean that surround Antarctica. The adventurous spirit of a young Namor would have taken him all throughout the Souther Ocean, it's canyons, mounts and coasts of Antarctica itself. He would have seen many wonders, settlements of other Atlanteans, dangerous creatures, the strange warm waters surrounding the hidden Savage Land, but what captured young Namor's imagination was the idea of Subterranea. At that time Subterranea was only a myth and Namor would spend his free time exploring terrifying caves of deep darkness in hopes of discovering some hidden passage to a world beneath the oceans. What he ends up discovering while exploring a large cavern opening beneath a great sea mount range at the foot of the continent of Antarctica is not Subterranea, but that the cavern itself opens up beneath the mountain range to a great agarthan plain, stretching beneath the entire mountain range and extending under both the sea floor and the continent itself. These great plains would be something that would stay with Namor for years afterwards. He would explore them, finding a handful of caverns that lead from the plains to the open ocean under the mountains and that the plains are possibly as big as Madagasgar or New Zealand.
- This is only a backstory of Namor's discovery and would only be teased as the story developed.
- The opening of the story would be a team of Atlantean archeologists unearthing an ancient monument from the great ruins of continental Atlantis. Namor himself is on hand to witness the discovery of a massive seated statue of what appears to be an ancient king. A few are saying it to be Kull of Atlantis. The team looks to Namor for consent, and Namor tells them to take the artifact to the "City of Dorma" to be studied before risking it being brought into the "Sacred City". (The City of Dorma being the name of current Atlantis, but only to Namor and his inner circle)
- In the Mid-Pacific, one of the satellite cities north of Lemuria (which is south of the equator in the mid-pacific) is recovering from a recent attack from the "Golden Shoal". Attuma's great horde, which has a stronghold in the north pacific, is known to all people of the sea as the Great or Golden Shoal and in recent years has only grown more brazen, attacking and testing all boundaries of civilized cities in the Pacific, Indian and even northern Atlanic oceans. The Shoal and the name Attuma is a terror to everyone in every ocean.
- All cities, settlements and former Provinces of Atlantis are in decline, many having lost contact with Atlantis, been destroyed or overtaken by the Golden Shoal, or willingly isolated themselves from Atlantis and insulated their territories. The oceanic peoples of the world are as confused and lost about the status of Atlantis as we the reader are. It's power faded, it's influence all but gone, it's King seen as weak and ineffectual. The powerful city state of Lemuria and it's surrounding vassal territories are the lone stable power in the ocean, aside from the terror of Attuma's Great Shoal.
- A warmwater reef cliffside, off the northern coast of Brazil, facing the open ocean is the current home of Arliss Tigershark. Tigershark is unwell, going through one of his many mutations, enduring painful and unstable changes due to his unnatural enhancements years ago at the hands of Doctor Dorcas. He thinks he's delusional when he looks out of his home and sees an island. A floating island, a small floating island with a fortress atop, coming out of the fog of the deep ocean. Once it comes close to the cliffside it calls to him and bids him to enter.
- Namor swims quietly away from his entourage towards a large monument in the centre square of a dimly lit city street. He lays a great wreath upon the monument, returns to his people, quietly commanding they now leave and return to the Sacred City. The monument is dedicated the King Thakorr and the silent city is the Atlantis of Namor's youth. It is the anniversary of Thakorr's death and his Atlantis is now the Imperial Necropolis.
- Namor sits quietly in his Imperial Cruiser, the crew make sure not to disturb their monarch as he gazes out the window from his seat in the rear of the cruiser. It passes into mist, they continue south towards Antarctica, the area they enter is covered in blue-grey mist with jagged, shattered mountains distant beyond them. The jet black cruiser speeds toward the mountain range, passing what looks like ancient runestones scattered on the sea floor. They look primeval and otherworldy, covered with glyphs and ancient text, along with the mist, hide the fact the stones are actually full of scanners and other high-tech detection equipment that view the cruiser and it's contents inside and out.
-The cruiser enters the mouth of a cavern at the root of the mountain, and begins a deep decline through a nightmarish black canyon that seems to go on forever. As the cruiser approaches a glowing light on the far side of the caverns, the silhouettes of two giant sentinels in the dark, unmoving, their glowing eyes coldly scan the ship as it passes towards the light. Before they enter the light, Namor commands the ship to stop. The King of Atlantis wishes to enter the Sacred City alone, ahead of the ship.
- The Sacred City, of course, is Atlantis. King Namor's greatest secret, his greatest triumph, as well as the source of his greatest guilt. Namor swims into the city, it is vast, sprawling as wide as can be seen, with barley a glimpse of the bare plains that continue on the far edges of the city. There is a great bridge, or freeway like structure piercing the centre of the city, from the canyon entrance all the way to the heart of the city where the Imperial Palace takes prominence. The city is a beautiful mixture of a futuristic society with personal aquatic bikes and ship speeders jetting around the city, yet has a timeless look of antiquity with many of it's structures looking vaguely influenced by ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and the mediterranean empires. Great palaces, temples, and structures of all sorts. It is a true Atlantis. There are a few massive pillars throughout, reaching up to the roof of the gigantic open plains that emit light, illuminating the roof of the cavern and mimicking the hours of both sun and moon light. The city is filled with art, sculpture and artifacts from every era, from today to the ages before the cataclysm. For decades Namor has had teams of archeologists and historians scour the oceans to bring the greatest art and buildings to this Atlantis, even rebuilding many structures brick for brick. It is rumoured Neptune himself appeared in the city and helped King Namor bless a recreated pyramid from pre-cataclysmic Atlantis that was first built to commune with the god. The city is at once, the most beautiful and most advanced place on the face of the earth, having rediscovered the art, science and magics of all lost ages of Atlantis.
- How was this done? How did Namor create this and keep it a secret?
- He began dreaming of this undertaking while still a young Prince of Thakorr's Atlantis. When Atlantis was bombed multiple times and Namor came into power, one of his first actions as sovereign was having teams begin development in the cavern plains. As it became apparent that Atlantis would never again be safe in the open ocean, he made the decision the begin the work of transferring Atlantis into the cavern plains. A good third of the population was moved into the plains and would live and build the city as time went on bearing their children along the way. More and more of Atlantean society moved into the plains, as the city was continuously built year after year. The national project was now a national passion of creating the city inside the plains until only the Imperial military and their families were populating the open sea Atlantis. The might, wealth and creativity of Atlantis is all focused in the great plains, which is why the Atlantis the world knows seems so feeble and their populations so small. The open sea Atlantises have been false. Facades, held up by the will of Namor and the sacrifices of the Imperial military and their families. All attacks on Atlantis have been against half empty cities of poorly resourced military and civilians. Inside the great plains Atlantis grows and flourishes thanks to this sacrifice. The population is in the millions, with an entire full generation of Atlanteans having been born and grown to adulthood inside the Sacred City. Many never having seen the outside. Depending on the timescale one chooses, Namor could have been up to this for the better part of a century.
- The sacrifice the open sea Atlanteans have made for so many years weighs heavy on Namor, each death is a wound upon his heart. But the time has finally come to call them home, to reach out to all cities and lost provinces, no one has been forgotten, nothing has been in vain and Atlantis is not dead. Atlantis is reborn and will make her presence known to all who live in the sea.
- This revelation would obviously cause quite a few issues as new powers have since come in to fill the vacuum Atlantis had left behind. Attuma is more powerful then ever, Lemuria has never been willing to submit to Atlantis. This is all on top of the fact many provinces and territories have long since given up on Atlantis and most likely will not easily fall back into the fold.
- There are now endless possibilities to build supporting characters, both inside and out of Atlantis. New rivals, new enemies and revitalized old ones. I have ideas for many new characters as well, but I fear I'm probably boring people as it is.
Imperious Rex.