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"The Lost Map of the An-Ordis Dominion: A treasure lost to the ages of time. Now, I'm sure you all have heard these stories before; a lost civilization, half-destroyed, left inthe drain and desperately hidden by the last people who ever saw it blossom. There are millions of them. Atlantis, Eldorado, Shangri-lah. And perhaps the least known, and hardest to wrapone's mind around... Is the An-Ordis Dominion. There has never been a solid story on what the lost land holds. But late last year, there was a rare discovery: a tablet written in cuneiform, believed to be the last piece of evidence of the Dominion to ever exist..."

This is Krystal's third lecture today. It's her 3:25 class at the Enigma Community College and her second month teaching archeology here. She has had no trouble moving into her nice new apartment, funded by the school of course. In the back of her still rented moving truck are countless boxes of little trinkets from other countries and awards for rare finds as well as a mysterious box filled with several steel cases lined up together next to a duffel bag.

A stunning, snowy-white vixen stands at the front of the class in a brown lab coat. Underneath is a green turtleneck and to top it off are surprisingly risque khakis, cut pretty low for a teacher. To say she is beautiful would be as if saying that the Mona Lisa is a "purdy picture." She stands at the front of the class, as I said, writing superbly fast and jotting down every point she makes. It is her current curriculum to teach the lost lands of the modern world. This month is the particular lecture material that you so conveniently intruded upon in her class.

If you take one look around you'll notice that there are no students texting, or talking, or even ignoring the lecture. She has the full attention of everyone in the class male and (in a couple cases) female alike. Sadly, not a one is absorbing this lecture. Behind gorgeous blond and black locks and rolling across notes through thin black-rimmed glasses are the most beautiful green eyes, slightly lower, gliding almost seamlessly between soft lips is the high-toned voice of an angel, her accent is nonexistent, her words are clear and anyone paying attention to the lecture would make an A....Alas, as I said, not a one. Well....maybe not no one. But back to the lecture at hand.

"The Tablet says very little, but tells of the city itself, only a small island the size of Artemis city that floats around the coast of Puerto Rico and actually drifts towards Bermuda and back at different points in the year. Mysteriously, People have scoured this line for years by plane, boat, and more to try and intercept it's path, but not one has ever seen this mist-shrouded island. The method to find this island was considered fantasy. This tablet, however, sheds some light on the island, but no one is any closer to finding this strange phenomenon. The tablet tells briefly of a map, encased in a gilded scroll, written and drawn in the blood of the maker himself and encrusted with the last of the gold from the Idol of the grand temple of An-Ordis-Deus. The scroll was made in the land's dying years for those who would venture out into the real world to live and learn the ways of the world in order to come back and aid the dying civilization. The map would be entrusted to...oops..."

Every desk in the room scooted a little with a loud 'CREEEAK' as over half the class leaned in to see the view. When Miss Krystle drops her chalk, class attention is higher than its collective GPA. But while youve been listening to me... she's continued her lecture...you should pay atten....

"You back there...It is seriously hard to teach when you are muttering to yourself. If it's important, bring it outside and you can borrow my notes after class....till then..."

"Sorry Dr. Kassner"... see...? she's too nice... she's like my favorite teacher...

"When the tribal party would return, the map would be returned to the map maker to improve on it's range according to the adventurers' findings. Unfortunately, the tablet tells of the map's destruction, so many scientists have considered..th.."

"MISS KASSNER!"

"oh... yes? You in the back"

"Isn't it true that the map HASN'T been destroyed?"

"I uh.... I'm not sure... I only know what the papers tell me hehe ^^"

"Oh really? Is it not true that the map WAS found legally by a small group of scientists called the neumasons? Who wanted to find this island to reveal it's heritage?"

Whoa!... I've never seen Miss K look so annoyed ....

"Well young man, I wouldn't know about this particular incident, but I DO know that the neumasons only wish to find An-Ordis to collect its riches, cultivate its heritage and sell it to the highest bidder for wealth and recognition. As for 'Legal,' that's up for dispute. If the map was stolen, let us all hope it simply ends up in a museum and that it is illegible."

"Is it not true that a thief broke into their lab last month and stole the casing of the map before the neumasons could open it, running off before they could identify the culprit?"

"Again, I wouldn't know... I assume it is just media sweeps week this time around... Why one would put herself in such danger to steal from a bunch of pirates like the neumasons is

beyond me...now if you will let me conti..."

"Miss Kassner... I never said the culprit was female...Thieving BITCH!" *Thud!*

My name is Doctor Krystle Kassner. I am an accomplished professor of archeology and unbeknownst to many, a world traveler. I protect ancient artifacts from the clutches of thewealthy and over privileged who would destroy such culture. I've fought tooth and nail against many different cults and gangs to get a strong collection of artifacts safely into hiding with the aid of a few companies who...wish to remain nameless hehe...

This is the story of how I had to leave this lush life of adventure and history. How I left my whip and hat behind and picked up a life of seclusion in the confines of Proteus.

The tiger on the ground with the cocked gun in his paw and my whip coiled around the shattered sandbag that used to be his throat that you just heard shouting at me was a low-level grunt who belongs to a piracy guild posing as a scientist organization that I assume by now you know as the neumasons. They cash in on ... well you've seen the movies right? This is all very cliche', but it's what happened. Well, it wasn't long before panic burst through the classroom and to my dismay, a couple of shots came from outside my door, almost ending this story a bit early. It seems that a bit of the faculty and staff were also on payroll because I soon found myself diving from the window. Normally I frown upon defacing bodies, but as this tiger was already on this whip and I kind of needed it. He provided good cover out the window, but sadly I lost the whip on the way down. The second that my heels hit the ground I sprung into the bushes across from the bottom of my window and escaped into the campus.

I returned to my apartment after hiding in the city for a few hours to grab my effects, only to find I had been setup from the start. The neumasons were tearing through my truck, the apartment was trashed and there were thugs everywhere...Everything the school did to move me into Enigma was a front to get access to everything I had. I couldn't even get passed the front door, nor could I get to my weapons in the truck.

"So where's the bitch run off to?" I heard a gator whisper

"No tellin' mac..." a wolf lazily replied...

"Quiet! She's outside, and thanks to you she's probably dodged us you idiot!" snapped a voice from the dark. I could barely see. It was a pit-bull, pretty short, in a long black trench knocking the wolf off of the balcony. I tried not to give myself away when his neck broke a few inches from my feet. With a few slips back I got a better look at the canine. His left eye was scared over and his right paw I knew myself to be false. I know this because he was the brute I snagged the map from. If he was in charge of this little sting, I was going to have to watch my ass...

No doubt they wouldn't rest until they had the map. Luckily for me... They were on the wrong scent. Time for a night class. At about midnight, when the guild had finished looting my house and I had a moments peace, I broke for the college. No one knew where I hid the map after I stole it, and as irony would have it... that first tiger was closer than any of them.

As I slipped to the side of the building and peeked around the corner to the outside of my class. My heart sank a little. I had lost my coat on the way out of the class earlier and it was my only chance at cover. ARC1121 was on the second floor five doors down the hallway from the door my back was pressed so tightly against. The small of my back touched the cold glass and I felt every strand of fur stand on end. Once I calmed my nerves and got my ears to stop twitching I made for the tree across from my class for cover, diving behind the large pin oak, I sank seamlessly behind the trunk, hoping not to find any late night guards. Once I saw the place was clear I started gunning for the wall. Ive only tried this once before and failed, but I figured if Xena could do it, why not give it another....."SHIT!"

'It seems the wall run was just a bit out of Doc Kassner's reach... Of all the nights for me to be here late huh? But can you blame me? She DID offer to let me use her notes after class, I'd have never caught that thing about who they gave the map to if I hadn't come back. You think a professor killing a student and leaping from a second story window is gonna get you out of a test? You ain't been to college. '

Well, once I heard the bushes rustling I looked out in time to see a nice beautiful woman running up to greet me. Naturally I figured I'd lend her a hand ^_~. As my favorite professor clutched my paw and hung from the open window pane, glassless from her daring escape, I tried my best to heave her in, but as my luck would have it, the second shes in I slip and tumble out instead. Well she's fine but I swear I busted my tail in two on the landing. Not even time for a thank you... So I just rolled into the bushes and went home. Now while Miss K recovers from this little Deus ex moment, I'M grabbin' a sandwich. '

After completely botching the wall run, I thought for sure I was in trouble. I clutched onto something. Surprisingly it was someone's paw, holding me up as if they knew everything. As if fate itself were bringing me to my goal and helping to clear my name of a now bogus murder charge...

'For the record...There was no collab scheme or escape plan... I was just helping her up...she's like my favorite teacher... and a TOTAL babe'

Anyway!...When I slipped through the window, this mass flew passed me and landed in the brush below the window. I had no time to worry about who my savior was. I had to find the map casing and I didn't have much longer before the pit figured where I hid it. No one seemed to think It weird that a British-affiliated school would have an American flagpole in its archeology class of all places.

As I twisted the spear tip off of the flagpole, I neglected to listen for the calm footsteps of canine paws behind me. I slid the scroll out and gazed at it halfway out, entranced by it. It was so beautiful, about 2 feet in length, shining in the moonlight, it looked like solid gold. It was a fittingly beautiful case for the map said to lie within it and it seemed to have a combination lock in the center along two rotating links. It wasn't until the gilded scroll case slipped out of the pole and into my paws that I was aware of the Pit's presence. I couldn't bring my back leg up fast enough before he caught it and threw me to the back of the room, clutching the scroll to my chest.

"How long did you think you could hide the scroll from us you rat thief?"

"You're not getting this from me Samson...." I managed to heave out as I stood up and brought the case to my middle, twisting the center links without thinking and watching in disbelief as each golden end extended; one end to the floor and the other about to my shoulder height. The scroll had become some sort of fighting staff and even though I'd never seen this before...I somehow knew exactly what i was doing. My paws began to move on their own, spinning the now staff-like case faster and faster, bringing it around my shoulder and under my arm, blocking and flinging aside a couple of daggers the pit had thrown at me. Time did not slow down, my world was not more focused, no this was not like the movies. My body moved for me and protected me. The staff twirled across my wrist and with a grip and a flick, twirled around my waist and before I knew it I had deep swung my paw across the floor before me and swiped a students full desk at the ravenous canine. With a loud 'WHOOSH' it flew through the air. I was stunned, but my body never stopped moving.

With a hard smash, the desk splintered into pieces against the pit's head and he was out, twitching on the ground with a massive pool of blood surrounding his limp stature. I tripped myself and sat on the ground with the staff in paw, staring in horror at what I'd done. I felt the blood rushing throughout me still, pumping with such passion for fighting and protecting this ancient treasure. My heart pounded, my breathing was a heavy pant.

I'd known that this scroll was entrusted not to the navigator of the An-Ordisian scouting groups, but the head warrior. What I hadn't known was why; not until I held it like this. When the ends came back together, leaving the scroll about as long as a regular map case of maybe 2 feet long, the markings let out a bright flash and my body began to shudder helplessly, convulsing on the floor as vicious images of war, famine, adventure, and death ravaged my brain. The chief warrior of the An-ordis was to use the map as a weapon to protect himself, because once wielded, the map would imprint itself into the body and mind of it's wielder. If the warrior was vanquished, the scout team was never to return. Why this was being revealed to me was a complete mystery, but it was far too much to handle at once. As a horrid scream escaped my lips, my claws dug deep into the woodcraft flooring and I dropped the scroll. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and there was quiet.

(i have not yet written th dramatic conclusion due to lack of public interest :( )