[ TT ] Plato wrote of a great civilization which disappeared in a single night . What really happened to the lost city of Atlantis ?

It all began with that accursed priest, Cyrus, a stranger who had appeared from seemily nowhere. This'priest' did not worship a god like most Atlanteans did. He spoke of a miraculus paradise where the Atlantean people would not be disturbed by the greedy outsiders who coveted our enormous wealth and prosperity. We would be free to advance the sciences and the arts as we pleased, alone in blessed isolation. The paradise, so he said one quiet morning in the acropolis, was to the west. It was beyond where any had ever sailed before. He would holler and and scream and sing about this wondrous land of plenty, however there was a certain charisma to his mad ravings. Sometimes people listened and slowly, ideas took root. 
 
 In a few years since he had first appeared in our faithful city, Cyrus had gained a large following. Attacks from the outsiders had grown and many seeked refuge from their onslaught. The popularity of Cryus' ideas grew greatly. Support was further compounded by these weird new inventions that he had shown off to the social elite of the city. Cyrus spoke of things that even our best philosphers had trouble understanding, however they could not argue against the results. The priest had made claims that he could construct a'propulsion system' that could carry the entire weight of our floating city amongst the clouds. Even some of his most fervent supportors had doubts, but as the outsider attacks increased it became clear that we had little option. Either put our faith in Cyrus, or be destroyed. 
 
 Acquiring valuable parts for the construction was difficult. Certain parts could not be manufactored at home and needed to be purchased abroad. This was one of the most prominent problem in it's construction, as the outsiders had created an extensive blockade around our city. In order to solve this, Cyrus constructed a'submersible boat' that could sail *below* the waves. These submersibles would slip by the blockade and sail to many of the outsider cities where the agents within could purchase ( or steal ) supplies. During one of these excursions, one of our agents was discovered by an outsider philosopher. This man, after concluding the agent's Atlantean heritage from a tatoo on his forehead, asked to be taken with him to Atlantis and threatened to alert the authorities if he was turned away. The agent hesitantly agreed. 
 
 Cyrus was outraged when Plato ( the foreign philospoher mentioned earlier ) arrived in Atlantis. Thankfully Plato had managed to convince the priest of his usefulness to him and Cyrus relented on the condition that he would be watched at all times and that he would not try to contact any fellow outsiders. At this point it would've been very detrimental to one's personal health to anger Cyrus, as he had gained almost complete control of the city since the construction of the propulsion system began and had been known to execute people not loyal to his ideals. 
 
 The *Flying City* was completed a few months after Plato's arrival. The maiden voyage was accompanied by large celebrations all over the city. I could remember it clearly even after all this time. The ground rumbled and moved and then there was a sense of weightlessness before the city lifted up into the air and flew. We were so high up that the galleys of the outsiders seemed like tiny wooden toys to us. The ships that had been such a menace fired barrages of arrows at us to no avail. Whereas our own barrages hit true and the flaming arrows set aflame many of their ships. We left a forest of burning wrecks in our wake. The amount of destruction displayed that day fueled the rise of a new'militarist' faction that supported the subjugation of the known world rather than the mythical paradise Cyrus spoke of. 
 
 In the initial months of the voyage, morale was high and everyone was happy to be rid of the outsiders. However as the months turned to years, people became much less enthusiasitic. When food and water finally had to be rationed, the zeal of later years turned into anger. People felt betrayed and some were convinced that there was no paradise. Cyrus had isolated himself in his palace and became more insane and desperate by the day. He ordered mass executions and used military force to put down peaceful protests. As the gnarled hands of Poverty and Starvation took hold of the city, open conflict became commonplace. 
 
 Meanwhile, Plato had gathered his own little group of rebels and plotted within the depths of the city. Every month they would gather and work on an airship to carry them back to civilization. Atlantis had been split into two by the militarists and the loyalists. All hope seemed to be lost. 
 
 Everything reached a turning point when Cyrus was found one day in an air balloon floating west of the city. People gathered together and loyalists and militarists alike were enraged. They fired barrages of arrows at him and one of them must've hit, as his balloon went up in smokes. People could hear his screaming even though the balloon had already flew a fair distance away from the city. Shortly after that we finished the airship and used resulting confusion from Cyrus' death to make our escape. We flew back to the Old World as Atlantis burned behind us. 
 
 I do n't know what happened to my home after that. I can only assume that a major system failed somewhere and that they went down over the ocean. Otherwise surely they would've came back already? Perhaps they did find the promised land that Cyrus spoke of? I fear that we may never know.
