Imperius Rex
9/3/1930, The Royal Palace, Atlantis
The first thing that was in his mind was how such a small man would be dangerous, “You have recreated the Ancient Arts of Replication, Vyrra.” His grandfather had said towards the small man, “By Atlantean Law I should condemn you to Death for this blasphemy.” Thakorr had told the small Vyrra, “I did what I did only out of a Scientist’s natural curiosity, My Lord.” the Scientist had told him.
At that, Thakorr had sighed as he had spoken, “I understand this, Vyrra, and because of that…” the King said, looking to the guards who were ready to slay him if so desired, “…and because of your former place of honor in Atlantis, I have decided to be Merciful,” the King had said, making Namor smile before he spoke again, “I therefore command that you be forever banished from Atlantis!”
That had confused the young prince as his mother had spoken, “You see, my son?” she had asked of Namor, “Someday, when YOU rule Atlantis, you will be called upon to make decisions such as this.” Fen had said towards him, “I hope you will make them as wisely as your Grandfather.” she had said and Namor was quick to speak, “Yes, mother, but…” Namor went, unsure as he went to follow after his now swimming mother.
The last image of the scientist being that of the small man being dragged away and sad at his current fate, “…I do not understand what Vyrra DID.” he said, “The Science of Cloning has long been forbidden in our culture, Namor.” Fen had told him as they had continued to move, “Many hundreds of years ago, a scientist named Kyral first perfected a way of growing whole creatures from single cells.”
“At first this was seen as a good thing, since it could be used to increase the food supply.” The Princess had explained to her son, “But it was not long before others conceived the notion of using Kyral’s process to create a race of SLAVES.” she had said, disliking the sound of the word just like Namor, it sounded constricting, restraining to a person as it were as Fen continued to speak.
“Soon the clones gre so numerous they outnumbered true Atlanteans. They became a tremendous drain on our Environment.” The Princess had explained to her son who didn’t like the sound of that, “Then, in what I suppose would seem a natural step, they began to demand equal rights with True Atlanteans.” she had said, to her, that sounded right and wondered if they were given them.
“Once clone in particular, called Delta Nine, rallied the others to his violent cause.” she had said and that had made him surprised and wondering what the King of that time did, “Your Great, Great, Great Grandfather, King Thallo, saw only one solution to the problem, he ordered all the clones put to death!” she had said, shocking the young boy at that but Fen was focused on the story.
“And so, in one terrible day this deed was done. The waters of Atlantis ran a darker blue for weeks after.” she said, looking sad and regretful at the action, “And the Art of Cloning was itself declared a Crime punishable by death.” Fen had said, “For your grandfather to only exile him, when he could have restarted The Night of The Long Spears with one simple mistake.” She had told her son.
“That is why we must show no mercy to any Cloners.” Fen had said as the two of them had went swam towards the garden that Queen Korra and his little cousin Bobo were in, the former making sure that the vegetation gre properly while the latter was playing chase the little thieves away, “Namor!” Bobo had shouted, going and swimming towards his cousin while Fen went to help her mother.
“I’m gonna go with Byrrah to touch the surface, wanna come?” he had asked, making the Prince smile towards Bobo, “Yeah!” he had said towards him, both looking to Fen and Korra who waved them off, trusting Byrrah to keep them from dying as the two boys had wen and swam to find Byrrah and his friends right now, the two of them looking until they had seen them.
It was Byrrah there with Beemer, Meranno and a few others that were friends and family there, all of them circled around something, as the two approached, all of them wearing the scaled swimwear all of them but Byrrah and a few others wearing a sarong instead, except for one of them, “What’s going on?” Namor had asked as they had seen that it was a girl, her black hair around like a living mane.
She had a binding on her chest with a skirt but it was made for quick movement like the boys, scaled swimwear underneath as well, “Come on!” the girl had snapped to them, pushing them as they had went and started to tug her hair and push her as well, Namor and Bobo didn’t like that as they had went and swam over, “Hey! Stop that!” Bobo had shouted as Namor had went and gotten her out of the circle.
“Are you–?” “Get off!” The girl had said, pushing him off, confusing Namor at that as Byrrah had snorted, “We were just playing, you two.” He said as the girl had glared at him, “Are you Namor?” she had asked him, looking him over as if she was trying to find something, “Ye– Yes?” he had said to her, making the girl snort at that, “Good to know.” she had told him which was when he noticed the tattoo on her right shoulder.
She was a Sar, a servant of someone which made Namor curious, “Why are you here?” he had asked her, the girl covering her shoulder now, “My lady had told me to play with you.” she had said to him, making Namor curious, “Who?” he had asked of her, making the girl smirk, “Find out yourself.” she had said, surprising Namor at her attitude as Bobo had went and approached.
“Hey there, Nuuma!” he had said, making Namor grin, “So, your name is Nuuma?” he had asked her, making the servant roll her eyes, “It’s NAMMU.” she had said to them, “Are your ears clogged with algae or something?” She had said to Bobo who had gotten embarrassed at that, “Oh go easy on him, Nuuma, Aunty Zarina and Uncle always said they were lucky if he understood half of what they said.”
That had made Nammu in question smiling at that as Byrrah, Meranno and Beemer had approached, “Alright, Namor, we’re playing Atlanteans and Americans again, are you ready?” he had asked, making the boys both go to approach when Nammu had did the same, “Uh–uh, no girls.” he had said towards her which made her glare, “Come on! I’m as tough as any boy!” She had told them.
That had made the trio look at the before thinking, “Fine, if you can beat Namor in a fight, then you can join.” Byrrah had said, making the other two older boys smile at that as Nammu had looked to the pink skinned boy, “Deal.” Nammu had said, surprising Namor at that as she had went and charged him through the water, as she had done as much, Namor had gripped her fingers.
The two of them had pushed at each other, both of them swimming when they had heard the laughter of the older boys as they had wrestled, the two of them disliking that as they had both looked to each other, “I don’t want to play anymore.” she said, letting go and Namor had nodded at that, “Sorry they wouldn’t let you play.” she had said and hearing that, Bobo had nodded.
“Thank you.” she had said towards the two boys, smiling at them before going and swimming away from them, as the two saw this, they had then went and turned towards the older boys, “Ready to go and play Atlanteans and Americans?” Byrrah had asked, making the two of them nod, Byrrah glad they were done with the annoyance as they had all went and swam away to go play, all but two focusing on the game.
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9/3/1930, Dorma’s Quarters, The Royal Palace
Dorma was grooming her hair, looking into her reflection before realizing that someone had entered, “Nammu.” Dorma had said as she had turned to the girl her age, “ Did you see him?” she had asked her servant and best friend, the two of them being together since she was born, “Namor? Or his jerk cousins?” She had said and hearing that, Dorma raised an eyebrow, “Namor.” she said.
That had made Nammu sigh as she had went and sat in a chair, “He was nice, nicer than the boys, actually wanted to play with me.” she had told the Lady who had turned to her, “Well, it’s good to hear that.” She had told her servant who had went and gotten up and swam around, noticing her dress, the cape draped on her shoulders and the deep red hair that she had groomed with her circlet keeping it controlled lightly as the anklets had chains looping between her big and index toe.
“I have to ask though,” she had went, whispering this part, “Is it true about how pale he is?” she had whispered, hearing that, Nammu nodded, “He is, and he does have feathered wings on his ankles!” Nammu had whispered, that had made both girls giggle at that, both of them having heard the rumors of how different he was compared to the average Atlantean, “I wish you came with me.” Nammu said.
“I would have, but Grandfather would have noticed me missing compared to you.” She had said and hearing that, Nammu had nodded, she may have grown up in their household, she may have been valued by Dorma and her family, but she was still a Sar, a servant that was bound to the Lady Dorma until either Lady Dorma or more likely she would die.
“Well I may be able to join them in their next game!” she had said, making Dorma chuckle at that, liking how adventurous she was and always willing to confront anybody that would harm Dorma or those that she cared for, as the two of them went to go onto Dorma’s bed, they had started to talk between each other on what had been going on and what they were going to do next time they were here.
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9/19/1930, Surface Border, Arctic Ocean
Namor had been swimming with his cousin, the two of them watching for American Ships like they had been warned by his mother and their grandmother, as they swam, the two saw Byrrah and Meranno, “Hey, Namor, Bobo, come on!” Byrrah had shouted out, “We’re gonna build a boat an’ play American Invaders! Wanna be Americans or Sub–Mariners?” Byrrah had asked.
“I don’t care…” Namor gad told them, “We’ll be Americans if you want us to!” Bobo had said and hearing that, the two of them had went and swam after the two of them and the pair had followed after each other so that they would be able to play, the four of them emerging and getting to work, as they did as much, Bobo had started on working while Meranno and Byrrah were putting in the details for it.
“You two ALWAYS wanna be the Americans so you can ruin the ship!” Byrrah had snapped to them, “But this time, WE’RE gonna be The Americans!” He had said with Bobo and Namor not caring at that, “All right, Byrrah, but I really AM an American… well, anyway, HALF!” He had said, having heard the story of Leonard McKenzie, Bobo nodding at that as they had went to get ready.
“Alright, we’ve got the Ice Bombs made… everybody who’s a Sub–Mariner’s got to dive under the water!” Byrrah had said, “Okay, let’s go!” Bobo had said as the two of them had went to leap in, as they did so, the two of them had started to swim, circling the Ice boat that had been made, “Careful, don’t want them to hit us with those stupid–!” Bobo started before the two of them were hit.
“OWWWTCH!” Namor went, angry now as the two of them swam up, “What’s the big idea, you guys?” Bobo demanded, “You hit ME twice, right on top of the head!” Namor snarled, the two young boys hating the fact, “Watch where you drop those things!” the young prince had warned and that just made the two of them laugh, “Yaa–a–ah! Sissy!” Meranno had shouted.
“We big Americans! We KILL lousy Sub–Mariners! YAAAAH!” Byrrah said, both acting like them, like his father was some savage which enraged Namor deeply, “Oh, no you don’t!” he had snarled, Bobo leaping up and attacking them, “I don’t care if you ARE Grandpa’s stepson, we’re gonna let that slide!” Bobo had warned towards the two of them, “WAH! Cut it out!” Byrrah went as the three fell in.
As they did as much, the crevice that they had fallen into had collided with each side, the two of them had did as much, Namor had tried to do as much, but there was no chance, “Help! Help!” he had shouted out towards them, but there seemed to be no way for him in, he was going to dehydrate and die, just like his mother had warned him of, thinking of that, he had went and looked around, trying to find a way in.
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“NAMOR!” Bobo had shouted out, trying to get in, the two older boys had looked at each other, unsure what they had just done, “He’s going to die up there! We have to rescue him!” Bobo had shouted out to them, making Byrrah speak up, “Bobo, pause for a second, if we say anything, we’ll get in trouble–” “If we do nothing, he dies and we’ll be in even MORE trouble!” Bobo said.
Hearing that, the two older boys had looked to each other, realizing the younger boy was right as they had all realized that there was a problem, “Okay, we go to Princess Fen and tell her, okay?” he had asked, nervous as Bobo had went to go and swim that way, the other boys following after him so that they could make sure that he was alright and didn’t say the wrong thing to them.
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The young Prince was walking now, looking for another Crevice that had possibly appeared now that the old one was gone, as he had walked, Namor had shivered, wishing that he had worn something warmer for the surface until noticing that there was a Penguin, seeing the little creature and how it had a fish in its mouth, he had realized that there was a possible fissure there.
Seeing this, he had planned to start looking for them, but for now, he was tired, not from lack of water, but from the fight and from his moving all day, he figured that the seals would not be too put out by him going to sleep with them, the young man going to do as much, he had rested his eyes and as he had done as much, Namor had wondered if Bobo had gotten help yet.
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9/19/1930, The Royal Palace, Atlantis
The Princess had gripped her stepbrothers shoulders in anger, “Byrrah! If what you all are saying is true, Namor could be dead by now!” she snapped, Bobo nodding as Meranno was sent home, “Why did you take him and Bobo to the surface?!” she had snapped, “W– We were just going to play, Princess Fen! Namor got mad at us! I– I’m s– sorry!” he had said to her.
But Fen wasn’t in the mood, “Bobo! Show me where it was! We’ll go and retrieve him this second!” she had said, already swimming forward with some of her personal guard following after her and as they had went and swam away, Byrrah couldn’t help but feel anger and shame that he wasn’t following after them for the mistake that had been made on his part that could lead to Namor’s POSSIBLE death.
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9/19/1930, Surface Border, Arctic Ocean
Fen was getting more and more worried for her son as the Atlantean warriors had drilled away at the ice, trying to get through it until eventually they had reached the surface, seeing this, Fen and Bobo had both shot up and out of the water onto the surface, “NAMOR!” Fen had shouted out in fear, looking around in panic as she had realized that there was footprints.
“Follow the prints! Find my son!” she had ordered of them and the soldiers had both nodded at this, going and heading out, looking around and as she had done as much, one of them had spoken up, “Princess, there!” he had said, pointing towards the supine form of The Prince by some seals, “Namor!” Fen had screamed, terrified for her son as she had ran towards him, Bobo close behind.
The two of them had crashed onto either side of Namor and each grabbed and arm to shake, terrified for their son and cousin when his eyes had fluttered awake, “You’re here.” he had said, starting to get up, “Careful, Namor, in your condition–” “I’m fine, mother.” he had said, as surprised as them at that turn of events, “I feel perfectly fine.” he said, as surprised as them at it.
“How’s that possible?” Bobo had asked, looking at his cousin who looked at his arms, “I don’t know,” Fen said, as shocked as her nephew and her son at this reveal, “I do not know.” she had whispered before helping both boys back to the crevice so that they could make sure that this was true and that there was nothing dangerous happening right now for the young boy.
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9/21/1930, Medical Lab, Atlantis
“I have run through every possible test that I could think of, Princess Fen.” he had said towards the two royals, but as far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with him at all.” he had said and hearing that, the boy was smiling, about to leave when his mother spoke again, “How is this possible? He should have asphyxiated after how long he was up there.” she said, glad he was alive but still curious.
At that, the doctor had shrugged, “I am not sure, my princess, there has only ever been one case before him and that one has remained in the water for all of their life.” he had said, making the two of them curious at that as he had continued to speak, “If we were to do a test and–” “What kind of test?” Fen had asked of him, worried for her son and ready to gut him if needed.
“Nothing dangerous.” he had explained, “There are a few buoys and such that litter the ocean left by the surface dwellers, correct?” he had asked, Namor nodding, having seen some of them, “All I recommend is that he go onto the surface and see how long he can last, an hour or so first, and longer and then longer to see.” he said, the two looking to the boy and already finding that he was gone.
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9/22/1930, Surface Border, Atlantic Ocean
“Are you sure about this?” Bobo had asked his cousin as he had looked at the timer and then at the surface border which had made Namor nod at him, ‘Yeah! I wanna see how long I can survive up there!” He had said and hearing that, the cousin was a bit more nervous at that as he had nodded, “I’m ready when you are.” he had said and hearing that, Namor had smiled.
“Great! I’m going up now!” he had said before doing as much, his wings helping propel him through the water and out of it, as it had done as much, Namor had seen a buoy and went to get onto it, his feet put onto the railing as he had sat there, looking out towards the waters as they had moved and as they had twisted, he had seen it all and had seen the kingdom that he would inherit if his grandfather’s wish would come true.
He was the heir to a kingdom full of roving tribes, he was a prince that he was going to become king of, seeing that, Namor was going to take what his family had left and he was going to make it greater, make it stronger, the whole of it was going to become an Empire like the ones of old which he had been told of back in the stories, of before the sinking of the city.
As Namor had thought on what he would do, and of the fact he would need something to entertain himself later as the Prince had seen that Bobo was motioning for him to go down, with that, Namor had went and stood up, looking around the whole of the place before he had said the words their warriors chanted before going into battle, “Imperius Rex.” he had whispered before going and leaping in.