Atlantis

**Atlantis** is the titular location of *Atlantis: The Lost Empire*. It was a powerful empire established thousands of years ago that was mostly destroyed in a terrible cataclysm around 6586 BC and was rediscovered in 1914 in the events of the film.

## Setting/Areas

Atlantis is a water-based area in Kingdom Hearts: Rise of the Keybearer. It comprises three sections: **The Ulysses, The Caverns** and **The City.**

### The Ulysses

The Ulysses is a submarine area where the group concedes at. The main area is the **Deck,** where the party can control the sub around the ocean. The only other area of interest is the **Bedrooms,** where they can rest and/or save their progress.

### The Caverns

The Caverns are accessed after the Leviathan is defeated. The party starts in the **Dark Grotto,** which is full of seaweed and pools of water. Continuing down farther is a show game-original area, the **Cold Caverns,** which are frozen ice caverns created as a result of Heath's meddling. After the Cold Caverns comes quite the opposite, a **Dormant Volcano,** which features lava-filled caverns and first based enemies. Toward the end there is the **Firefly Chamber,** which uses a firefly light gimmick to go to the City.

### The City

The City is where the party meets Kida and finishes the story. There are Atlanteans throughout the city that may trade items with you, provided you have the right materials. The city also has several water tunnels that lead to many different areas around town. In the center of it all is the **Crystal Chamber.**

## History

Sometime presumably before 100,000 BC, Atlantis was simply another civilization in the world and the Atlanteans were a normal race like any other. One fateful day, a huge comet passed over the Earth. A single piece broke off and fell upon the landmass that was inhabited by the Atlanteans. To their astonishment, they managed to discover the great properties possessed by the comet fragment. Soon, they would use the fragment, which they called the Heart of Atlantis, as their source into becoming a more advanced civilization than any other before in history.

But instead of using their new found technological powers for good, they exercised it to dominate other lands, establishing colonies all over the ancient world and subjugating the people there. They created a fearsome armada of flying machines called Martags and artificially-intelligent Leviathans that waged war with unmatched strength. However, their hubris would become their undoing when an accidental discharge caused a Great Flood that threatened to wipe out Atlantis as a whole. The crystal that had fueled their technology and gifted them with extended longevity, would save a part of the city, though it would be buried beneath the waters and deep into the Earth.

Humbled by the result of their arrogance, the elder leaders of Atlantis, in particular its King Kashekim Nedakh, decided to keep the crystal secret, even from its people, forever so as not to repeat their actions. Kashekim went further by ordering all of Atlantis' history to be destroyed and hid the crystal deep within the city through the throne room. Overtime, their past glory had been all but forgotten.

At some point, a shepherd named Aziz managed to stumble upon Atlantis. For two years, he secretly immersed himself it its culture, uncovering bits and pieces of its past, including the location of the Heart of Atlantis. Upon his return to the surface, however, he was considered a madman and subsequently sent to an asylum. While imprisoned, he would detail his journey in great detail, albeit in the Atlantean Language. His writings would become known as the Shepherd's Journal.

The Journal would pass through many hands over time, thus bringing the legend of Atlantis back into the consciousness of the surface world. Some considered it fact, others called it fiction, the discovery of the lost empire was nonetheless considered one of the greatest treasures all archaeologists strive to achieve.

In 1914, Preston Whitmore funds an expedition to Atlantis following the recovery of the Shepherd's Journal three years prior. Under the command of Lyle Rourke and guided by Milo Thatch's translation of the book, the expedition succeeds in finding Atlantis, despite suffering a loss of well over half its crew.

Rourke attempts to steal the Heart of Atlantis after he manages to locate it, uncaring that to remove the crystal from the city would bring about imminent death to its people. Milo leads an effort to stop Rourke and returns the crystal in time to avoid the city being engulfed by lava form an erupting volcano. While the expedition returns to the surface, Milo stays behind the help the people rediscover their past and lead them to a better future. Whitmore Industries ensured that the secret of Atlantis would be kept hidden, but would allow trips to the city in secret for celebrities, dignitaries and Whitmore Industries employees. Among the more notable visitors were Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Houdini, H.G. Wells, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, who became popular enough with the people of Atlantis for a bed and breakfast to be named for him.

Several years after the expedition, Atlantis is raised by the Crystal and the Spear of Atlantis combined to it's original position in the middle of a fishing spot at the Atlantic Ocean, out of sight of nearby nation. With Atlantis re-emerged, the world became 'a better place'.

## Geography

According to Plato, Atlantis is located somewhere beyond "the pillars of Heracles." The exact position has been debated by scholars for centuries with no theory being any better than the other. Many have even reasoned that it may not be in the Atlantic Ocean as has generally been believed.

At the height of its power, Atlantis was, as Plato described, "an island which was larger than Libya and Asia together," by which he meant the ancient Libyan domain and Asia Minor. Following the Great Flood, all that remains is a small island that has been buried within a deep cave system resembling those found within old Hollow Earth theories. Despite being a fraction of its once enormous size, Atlantis is still a very large city, comparable to the size of the major cities on the surface such as New York City, Paris, Tokyo, and London. The city is divided into several rings and once held a form of monorail transport.

The journey to Atlantis is a difficult venture unto itself. One must first descend toward a specific point in the Atlantic Ocean. Travelers must then successfully pass a Leviathan to an underground tunnel it guards. Upon surfacing into the entrance of a cavern, travelers must trek for days through the catacombs of Atlantean ruins, facing various dangers such as forgotten Atlantean machines, deep chasms, and hostile wildlife such as Pyreflies. Finally, there is a dormant volcano they must pass before reaching Atlantis. Around 1000 BC, during the time of the shepherd Aziz, he was able to access the Atlantean catacombs by way of a cave on the surface, an entrance which had become submerged by the time of a failed Viking expedition in 793. As told in the framing story of the *Atlantis Subterranean Tours*guidebook, after the original expedition, Whitmore Enterprises discovered other means of reaching the Atlantean Highway through hidden caverns in Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. These would be the routes they would use to allow celebrities, dignitaries, and Whitmore employees to visit Atlantis on secret trips.

What remains of Atlantis is situated atop flowing lava, protected by the power of the Heart of Atlantis. While the city is mostly ruins, it is still vibrant with life. Following the events of the city's rediscovery by the Whitmore Expedition, the Guardians of Atlantis, previously thought to have been lost in the Great Flood, have surfaced from their dwelling beneath the city's waters and stand in an encompassing circle, signifying the range of their protection. The Heart of Atlantis, once hidden deep within the city, now shines above, hovering over the city. A circulation system provides Atlantis with water, powered by the Heart of Atlantis.

After the events of *Atlantis: Milo's Return*, the city of Atlantis is now situated in the center of the Atlantic Ocean again, out of sight of any nearby land, but in the middle of a fishing ground.

## Government

Atlantis appears to be a monarchy led by a King and Queen. However, in the sequel, Kida mentions a Council that she says can look over the city while she is away, implying that Atlantis has another branch of government with as much power as the King and Queen themselves, a branch which is democratically elected. The royal bloodline has a special connection with the Heart of Atlantis, which means they are in charge of defense of the city, development of technology, and use of the crystal's power. The Council likely is in charge of more day-to-day activities and the creation and enforcement of laws.

## Fauna

Various types of strange animals live in and around Atlantis. They were likely inhabitants of the continent where the city originally existed, but have gone extinct everywhere else except the city due to the flood.

Some examples of Atlantean animal life include:

* Parrot Lizards, beaked flying lizards that similar to parrots, are kept as pets and raised for food.
* Pyreflies, small bioluminescent and combustible insects that nest in large groups
* Blue ostrich-like reptiles, possibly domesticated as they are seen in a marketplace
* Marine animals such as fish, crustaceans, and eurypterids, which the Atlantean people catch and eat
* Lava dogs, domesticated dog-like omnivorous animals which can withstand the temperature of magma
* Lava whales, larger relatives of lava dogs
* Bahadmok Tigers, domesticated creatures resembling blue dicynodonts
* Giant domesticated crabs which the Atlantean people ride on

## Role in Sora’s Adventures

This world is visited for the first time in Sora's Adventures in Atlantis. Milo, the history teacher of Radiant Garden High School, selects Sora, Riku, Ventus, Roxas and Joshua to accompany him on a government-funded field trip to explore the world. The four boys bring their crew along for the ride as sanctioned by their teacher, board the Ulysses and meet Commander Rourke and his crew.