1 The Briefing

Maelyn Khadim gathered the students and colleagues that were to be accompanying her to the kingdom of Altinyn for the first archeological mission the kingdom had ever allowed to even set foot on the grounds of the historical ruins of their kingdom that had lasted for more than a thousand years while all of the others kingdoms had collapsed or grown so corrupt and complacent that their people had rebelled and overthrown the government. As they all assembled and grew quiet waiting for her to speak, Maelyn called their attention and started her final briefing of what the rules and customs they had to follow while in the kingdom, "Ok people! listen up! We are fixing to be taking flight to Altinyn and there's some things you all need to know before we take off.

First and most important is that this is the first dig this country has EVER allowed so we have to make sure we're at our best and respect these people and their strange ways! this means that even though that thing they do with their arms stretched out to the side in an arch while they bow down looks stupid and it's hard to keep from laughing when we they do it, but that is how they have greeted each other for centuries so make sure you're respectful and greet them in kind.

Second, the site we are going to be digging is the palace of their last dragon queen. it is also considered to be the palace that the next dragon will rule from as king or queen. Add to this that legend has it that there is crystal dragon in this palace that is supposed to pick the next dragon to rule them. Furthermore, add into this numerous other legends and stories passed down from generation to generation so treat this site like the holiest of holy sites on par with the site in Jerusalem that is a central holy site to two separate religions. this means that we must all wear gloves when touching anything outside of the palace. When we are outside of the palace we are to work in pairs and each pair has an official from their government that will be observing them to make sure everything is treated with respects and properly handled while being cataloged, examined, and all that.

Also, when we are finally able to open the palace, their government has stipulated and stressed that only mine and my student Joseph Tanyn's ancestry will allow us in due to my family's ancestry of being the servants of the castle and Joseph's ancestry of having a great great great and a couple more greats grandmother during the time when this dragon queen was supposed to have been ruling was like a second or third cousin to this queen. And, when we do go inside, me and him will also be in a pair and will have to wait to be observed by their prime minister's son who is the head of their antiquities department.

Next, and most important, I am sure that all of you know that this palace is located next to a cave located near the top of a volcanic mountain and, thus was buried in lava around about five hundred years ago. This volcano hasn't erupted since it burying this palace and hasn't been registering as active on the seismometers so it is unofficially dormant but, due to five hundred years not being long enough to consider it to be officially dormant, we have to be careful to monitor the heat of the rocks before we dig down the next inch because we definitely don't want to give this volcano the crack it needs to start another eruption. So be extremely careful and extremely conscious of the surface's heat when on site. This is particularly important for those that are digging into this cave!

Now, as for the cave, it used to be part of the palace and is considered to be a secondary throne room. So, like with the palace, once it is opened, we must wait for mine and Joseph's escort to arrive before anyone will be allowed inside. However, unlike the palace, all of you will be allowed inside the cave but you aren't allowed near what they are saying is the draconic thrones. Which, according to legends, when they were in dragon form they used the cave throne room but when they were able to take human form they would rule from the throne room in the palace.

And, last, I want to make sure to thank all of you for agreeing to go to this little know country up in that volcanic mountain chain. I know this is going to be a potentially dangerous dig due to all the nearby volcanic activity and due to how sensitive this site is to the citizens and especially the government officials of Altinyn. So let's try to always conduct ourselves in a professional manner and to be very respectful of everything we find because there has been so many legends and so much mythological stories passed down about these mythological kings and queens that ruled as dragons that what we might dismiss as insignificant may be a highly valuable item that plays a key role in one of their mythological tales. Now, if we are able to stay professional and respectful of their weird ways, we will one day have legends and myths told about this team that was the only team to have ever talked the people of Altinyn into allowing them to research this castle. So... LET"S …. GO … Team!!!"

After all of the cheering had quieted down, Maelyn saw one of her students with her hand raised so she addressed the student, "Miss Angie Tamm, we're not in the classroom so raising your hand isn't required, but what's your question?"

"Would I be allowed to enter the palace too?" Angie asked, "My family has an ancestor that served as baker for the kingdom and was even mentioned by name in one of their legendary stories! So why doesn't my ancestry let me enter the palace too?"

"Sorry dear," Maelyn answered, "But from what their Legislature has ruled, the only families they deemed to be worthy of entrance into the palace now would be the three families that were allowed entry before it got overrun by lava. Those three families being of course, the family of this last queen, the family of servants, and the Prime Minister and his family. And ironically, the reason we have to wait for the Prime Minister or his son before we can enter, is because they decided that given that only the Prime Minister would have been allowed back then that the current Prime Minister and his son that is to be the next Prime Minister would be the only two from their family allowed in. And, between you and me, the way the discussion of our families was presented, it sounded like they considered my ancestry to be of higher regard than the ancestry of the Prime Minister. So I'd consider myself lucky because you won't have to deal with the circus anything me or joseph even look at will cause in that legislature's chambers."

Maelyn then made sure to pair one colleague with one of her students for the dig to make sure that experience and knowledge would be able to be shared and passed on to the next generation except for one pair that had to be just students. To help make sure they had constant access to knowledge, she told the two of them, "Henry. Whitney. You two are the only pair that doesn't have a colleague to accompany them. So, to make sure that you two will always have access to the knowledge and experience you will need to have available, I want you two to stay close to me and Joseph so you will be able to come over and ask questions or advice when needed during this dig. Ok?"

Whitney agreed while Henry clarified, "But if we have to stay close, won't that effect what we will be able to find?"

"Not hardly." Maelyn told him, "If anything, it will make you able to find stuff faster due to having extra hands available to help dig."

"Sorry ma'am," Henry abashedly replied, "I didn't realize that."

"Don't worry Henry." Maelyn replied, "We will all be learning and discovering stuff during this dig."

After loading all of their equipment and supplies into their plane and having taken off for Altinyn one of the students asked, "Professor, why are they so particular about the ancestry of the people who will be allowed inside the throne room? Shouldn't they be more worried about us taking something from the site than what job our great great great grandparents had if they even lived in this small little country?"

"For most everyone else, yes we would be more concerned about the here and now instead of someone's ancient past but this little kingdom used to be one of the more powerful kingdoms but this country has essentially been on pause ever since the volcano buried the whole palace and it's grounds with a two story high blob of lava, because legend has it that the dragon queen saw the lava coming and told my ancestors to leave the palace with her daughter that had just been born the day before and not to return until her daughter was ready to "carry the flame." Then, according to the legend, the volcano covered the palace so that it would be frozen in time until the new dragon queen returned. But, according to the tales that my family has passed down from generation to generation, after they left the Prime Minister at the time murdered the queen and, with her dying breath, she summoned the lava and told the Prime Minister that the lava would seal the palace and keep him and his descendants from taking the throne.

Personally, I don't believe the part about her being able to summon the lava, but I do believe the part about the Prime Minister murdering the queen, probably right as the lava started to overflow the volcano's caldera thinking that she would get burnt up by the lava and he would be able to take charge of the kingdom. Mostly because the prime Minister back then is on record trying to name himself king but was told that the original dragon king had made it part of the kingdom's constitution that if a king or queen died without any heirs that a new king or queen would only be able to take the throne if they were able to hold the crystal dragon statue and it lit up while in their hand and if it stayed lit when they swore to 'carry the flame.' And so, with the lava rock covering the palace finally cooling off enough for people to walk on it without harm about twenty years ago and not cooling down enough for people to safely remove it last year, the kingdom has been, like I said earlier, on hold all these years being unable to declare a new king and the people being unwilling to let the Prime Minister form a new government to replace the kingdom."

"So, Professor," Another student asked, "Does that mean the reason you chose this small dig in this small unknown country up in the Everglades instead of a more notable dig like the new pyramids in Egypt or that dig in Jerusalem both sides asked for you to do is because it's part of your family's history and you think your great great great great grandmother was really the princess?"

"Sorry John, but no." Maelyn replied, "I don't believe I'm descended from this last queen. And I don't believe that they really were dragons. I think they just found a way to load fresh lava onto a catapult and launch it. I mean, Yes the reason I arranged this dig instead of taking on one of the bigger digs is a personal issue. But that personal issue is because my great grandmother lived to be almost two hundred years old and her mother was said to be almost three hundred years old when she passed away. So I'm wanting to dig into this kingdom's history to see if they have any special plants in their diet or and special way of living that enables them to live so long like how the Hebrews were able to do back in the day. Now before you get all up in arms, yes I know they were probably exaggerating their ages but they did live at least twice as long as everyone else because their religion had them eating a healthier diet than all of the others and I'm wanting to see if Altinyn has a similar dietary secret so I can help everybody else enjoy a longer lifespan."