Of all the 12 main island groups of Atlantis, Sto was furtherest from the other islands in distance and culture. Descriptions show the culture on Sto developed long before any of the other islands of Atlantis, with artifacts of the earlier Mu and Lemuria cultures said to be found on the island. It was believed that Sto may have been a Mu trading post or colony that survived after the fall of the Mu civilization.
During most of the Wa epoch of Atlantean history, the island of Sto was actually an independent culture, and only allied itself with the other islands of Atlantis to defeat the invaders known only as "the outsiders". Even though Sto sent a representative to the Council of 12 (which decided the affairs of Atlantis), from all accounts nearly everyone on Sto still considered themselves "Stoics" rather than citizens of Atlantis.
The first halos
One of the most interesting aspects about the people of Sto is that the leaders were chosen from those who were "enlightened"......and this term is meant in the LITERAL sense - that the individual actually had light radiating from their body! This is actually the very first description of halos in the history of any civilization, for in most cases the light was said to "surrounded their head from the top of their shoulder to the tips of their hair".
Those who were "enlightened" seem to have special insight to individuals and society, and for this reason were chosen as leaders. It was both a blessing and a curse when a mother bore a child who was "enlightened", for the infant was taken away immediately by the priests and priestesses to be trained in the capitol, Calunota - the city of Light. At age 13 they could return home (usually as village advisors), or remain in service to the capitol.
Later in the Lucia epoch, a few of the "enlightened ones" were said to have special powers beyond their powerful insight. For example there was Tara, who could communicate and impose her will on animals, Braya, whose spirit could travel to far off places when she was asleep, and Fumayto, who could surround himslef with light and disappear. As we will later see, these individuals and other "enlightened ones" played important roles in the civing war - fighting the scientists and those who fell under the influence of the scientist's mind controling "cressas"
Braya's warning
When word spread that the scientists from the main southern island of Atlantia were experimenting with captured Licaga youths to genetically create a great "warrior race", Braya was called to Calunota. At the time Braya was only 15 years old and had spent the previous 2 years teaching in the mountains near her home town of Brano. Her journey back to the capitol was significant, for this was the first time in the history of Sto an "enlightened one" was being called on by the island's elders to use their ability for the state. Braya was being asked to use her talent as a spy.
When Braya arrived in Calunota, she met with Maruka. Sto's representative to the Atlantean "Council of 12" who met in Atlantia each season. Maruka was not an enlighten one, for remarkably Sto kept their enlightened ones a secret from all the other islands - and would not send them on diplomatic or trading missions. (Actually, the island of Sto had a policy very similar to that of China in the 18th century, only allowing foriegners to visit certain ports. In the case of Sto, foriegners were only allowed to visit Caluno, and were also led to believe this port city was the capitol - when in fact is was not!)
Maruka brought back one of the stones from the temple of the Atlantia scientists so Braya would have an artifact for her spirit to focus on. While she could travel to any part of Sto just by thinking of it before she fell asleep, Braya had never 'traveled' to another island before (although it was believed her first experience was being "pulled" to Mt Wasenata on the island of Perco, which had something to do with opening her awareness to her power. *See past article on the island of Perco and the magic of Mt. Wasenata.) The stone was then put under Braya's pillow when she sleeped, with the hope her spirit would travel to the temple to see what else the scientists of Atlantia were up to.
On the first night (which was a full moon), Braya awoke with the horrible news of her travel. She immediately told Sto's elders of the scientists development of the mind controling cressa, and of the plan to sell them to all the other islands as pleasure devices. All of the enlightened ones then met in the great hall of Calunota, and it was said a great light then lit up the sky, and every citizen of Sto instantly knew of the danger (which suggests a form of group mental telepathy). It was later found that even Sto citizens visiting other islands "heard" the warning, showing this impluse traveled over a great distance.
Braya's information came just in time, for the next day an Atlantia trading ship arrived in Caluno with
thousands of cressas. At the same time the first battle of the Atlantean civil war was being fought (on
the island of Licaga), the battle of Sto was already won, with all of the cressas confiscated, and the
Atlantia ship and crew prisoner.
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