1863, evil men gather at the base of Soufriere St. Vincent. General Atthow Benton is a fanatical leader of the Knights of the Golden Circle, and the Confederate States of America. General Benton is here to carry out what he considers to be his great family's noble vision.
General Benton has at his fingertips a task force of 40 of the most advanced airships the world has ever seen. and the 3,200 men needed to carry out his most glorious mission in the name of the South. The airships themselves are far more advanced than the airship built by the great Henri Giffard 11 years earlier. The airships carry wooden gondolas designed like ships, capable of carrying as many as 100 people, and are suspended from the framework of the envelope. The original design for these airships was actually conceived 15 years before Henri Giffard's flight, however the idea had come from a cousin of General Benton, and that cousin was now dead to the Benton family. Nonetheless General Benton told himself that this cousin's ideas were the rightful property of the Benton family name, and he was honored to now put them to use to advance the cause of the South.
The British Controlled Island of St. Vincent was of course part of the Confederacy's greater design for their Empire of the Golden Circle, to be established after the war. But that is not why General Benton is here. Edgar Allan Poe was considered by the Benton family to be a great mind of the South, almost on the level of the Bentons themselves, and while Poe's 1838 novel "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" had been purely a work of fiction, the Benton family had been amongst those who thought there could be a grain of truth to the Hollow Earth Theory. Whatever lay at the center of our world, General Benton would claim for the South.
The expedition also brought with it a few families to settle the supposed world in the center of the earth. In hiding amongst them was a family who had no loyalty to the south, or to slavery, or to any ideas based in colonialism. The Collingwoods had come from the Muscogee Nation in Indian Territory, and were willing to do whatever they could to sabotage this mission.
When the Confederate invasion of Indian Territory had become imminent, the Collingwoods had supported Chief Opothleyahola and the Unionist Muscogees. However, when the Confederates invaded, Zeke Collingwood knew that his elderly parents would not survive the treacherous march to Kansas during the winter, especially with the enemy hot on their heels. So, they stayed behind with the Muscogee who supported the Confederacy. Zeke, who is 43, his parents Tom and Samantha, who are now 70 and 65 respectively, Zeke's 23-year-old daughter Ramona, her husband John, and Zeke's 18-year-old son Robin had all resolved to just do what they could from behind enemy lines.
Zeke's wife Amelia had died in 1853. and in late June of 1862 after a friend of Zeke's from the University of Missouri had died in the Battle of St. Charles in Arkansas, his widow Charlotte and her 14-year-old son Samuel arrived in the Muscogee Nation. Since Charlotte had lost everything, and since she had always found Zeke charming, she had come hoping to marry him so she could make a future for Samuel and herself away from the fighting, and from the danger of her 14-year-old son Samuel being drafted by the Confederates. The Collingwoods were relieved that Charlotte and Samuel were against the Confederates and slavery, and Zeke agreed to marry Charlotte.
In late March of 1863, the Collingwoods learned of Chief Opothleyahola's death is Kansas. The unfortunate knowledge of the passing of their hero Opothleyahola, and the realization that the fighting would soon reach the Muscogee Nation, made the Collingwoods think harder about what chances they had at a future, especially now that Charlotte was now five months pregnant. So, when the Confederates, and the Knights of the Golden Circle began looking for volunteers to "help settle the center of the earth", the Collingwoods agreed to go along, as much out of desperation to survive as out of curiosity.
"I know it's a little late to be asking this again, but are we absolutely sure about this?" Samantha asked her family.
"Definately not, dear." Replied Tom.
"If it turns out that all of this is madness than we can just run away to Kingstown instead of going back to the Confederacy." Zeke spoke up.
"And what if the Confederates decide to occupy the entire island?" Asked Ramona.
Charlotte answered "Frankly, I don't think that the South is ready to wage war on the European imperial powers."
"They could if they find a whole world of unimaginable resources in the center of the earth." Said Robin.
Zeke said "Well you know son, if there is a world down there, and if there are people in that world, we'll find a way to help them resist the colonizers, so that hopefully the center of the earth turns out better than this world."
"I'm looking forward to that." Replied Robin.
Robin turned to look at Samuel and asked "Are you looking forward to that too little brother?"
"Absolutely." Replied Samuel.
"I think General Benton is going to start speaking." said John,
General Benton stood before his forces and began his speech, "My fellow Confederates, today we begin to undertake the greatest mission in history, all in the name of our cause. Atop this volcano Soufriere St. Vincent, lies a cavernous hidden volcanic tube which my family has discovered, and that with the grace of God will lead us all the way to another world within ours. The Confederate States of America will be the first to claim this land, and its bountiful resources. And if there are any heathens living down there, we will show them the way of the Lord Almighty, and teach them the virtue of the great institution. This is the first step to flying the flag of our new nation across the Golden Circle, and beyond. Praise the Lord!"
"Praise the Lord!" The Confederates all yelled back in reply.
"Now everyone, get onto your ships," General Benton ordered. "The time has come."
Then one by one, the airships flew to the top of Soufrieir St. Vincent and descended into the volcanic tube. The Collingwoods all held hands as they descended into the darkness.
...
2,000 miles beneath Soufriere St. Vincent, in the middle of the outer core, lies the Empire of Xraimyaig. While the earth spun, the mass of gases and bioluminescent microbes that roll across the ceiling of the cavern 17 miles above the ground, and illuminate the world in the center of the earth, appear overhead, and shine on a farm. The farm is built partway underground as a m eans to defend the inhabitants from giant carnivorous dinosaurs. Here lived 18-year-old May (short for Maiwxolpch) with her two fathers Yash (short for Yashxloo) and Losh (short for Naiyulosh).
May and her fathers were awoken by the horrifying screeches of menacing creatures, which is normal for this part of the center of the earth.
In 1863, in the center of the earth, in the Xraimyaig Empire, Maiwxolpch has just been chosen as one of the body doubles for Princess Yothiblircs. Now a Confederate General and his army have found their way to the center of the earth, and plot to claim it for the Confederacy.
Princess Yothiblircs' grandfather, the Emperor of Xraimyaig, has aligned himself with the Confederates in exchange for their aid in defeating his enemies.
Maiwxolpch and Yothiblircs however see through the Confederates' tricks, and fight for more than the Emperor's ego. Maiwxolpch must now stand by Yothiblircs to rally their allies against the Emperor, to free their lands from the grip of the Confederacy, and make the center of the earth a better place.
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