Name: Artemis
Gender: Nonbinary (biological female)
Greatest Treasure/Thing Found:
- Artemis found the ruins of an ancient Sima city (translated as Mountain Refuge) that likely belonged to the ancient Earth Clan when they had recently split from the ancient Nature Clan. The city was carved inside a mountain with many small caves that held artifacts such as pottery made from stone, coins made from metal, and bones. While it hadn’t been immediately apparent just how old the city was, carbon dating the bones and matching the coins from others that had been recovered from that time period made the mountain city an extremely important find. When Artemis and their team checked the records and legends of the Earth Clan, mentions of a thriving city in the mountains shortly after the Earth-Nature split were found and there were hints that the city extended farther underground and had been carved by Simas that were masters of their element. While the city is still an active archeological site, with new carvings, pottery and furniture, and bones being found every year, it hasn’t also become a pilgrimage site for Earth Simas due to its historical importance. Artemis visits the city every once in a while to check how the digs are going, but has moved onto other adventures for now.
- Artemis never had realized that the “overworld” was real, as it had been the stuff of legends for many years. However, the day that the underground had been discovered by outsiders changed the lives of many forever. Some Underground Simas were hostile to the newcomers, others were apathetic, and still others were curious. Artemis was one of those curious ones. They accepted the offer of a supervised visit to the overworked and was fascinated by what they saw. Green grass was everywhere! The sky was so blue! And there was so much history to explore! Like why had their ancestors gone underground? When? Were there any other times the underground and overworld intersected? That day, Artemis decided to devote their time to searching legends and stories for historical sites in hopes of finding such mentions and times. While they now spend their time looking for any and all historical sites lost to legend, this was the moment that shaped their life.
One day, before Artemis’s career was fully realized, they decided to bring down a few overworld Simas on a supervised tour. This was certainly an adventure, as the group consisted mostly of parents and their kits. One kit in particular, Florence, decided to wander off without supervision and her ability to manipulate both shadows and the mind allowed her to hide easily. When Artemis realized that the kit had disappeared, their heart almost stopped from fright. This shouldn’t have happened! they thought to themselves. But it had. The kit’s father, Victor, went nearly mad with fright at the thought of his little girl going missing. Artemis decided to enlist the help of several other overworld Simas who were on the tour. They were a Nature male (Edd), an Air female (Eleni), Light twins (Bridget and Hinox), and of course the father, Victor. Between them, they found Florence relatively quickly although it created a great deal of chaos as they looked.
Artemis, who’d led the group to a crowded market, had to spend the better part of the day asking various merchants and vendors if they had seen a dark-furred dual pink-and-purple kit from the overworld. Those he’d chosen to help constantly reported that they’d found no trace of Florence except for the occasional hesitation that was common of an inexperienced Mind’s influence. Of course, this alone wasn’t enough to pinpoint the kit, as her shadow powers made it far easier for her to hide. During this time, Artemis’s mind was consumed with worry. Had the kit gotten herself lost in the market? In an inhospitable cavern? Had she gotten hurt? Maybe even killed? It wasn’t common, but then she was an overworld kit, not an underground kit who‘d have known which caverns to avoid.
At one point, Artemis looked underneath the stall of an elderly Fire merchant who sold glass plates and knocked over a few (which then broke on the rocky cave floor), which caused them to become extremely embarrassed at making such a mistake. Thankfully, the merchant wasn’t angry with them but rather chastised them for letting the kit out of their sight in the first place. The merchant then pointed in the direction of a side cavern where he thought the kit had run off to, as there was an odd hole in his memory of a few minutes prior related to the direction of that cavern. Artemis thanked the elderly merchant and called to the overworld Simas to follow them into the side cavern.
The cavern in question was known as Glimmer Cave for the multitude of gemstones, crystals, and minerals that had been cultivated by various Earth Simas over the centuries. At various points, there were balls of light that had been placed by Light Simas both ancient and recent. Once again, Artemis expressed an appreciation for their ancestors who had fled underground; at least they had an appreciation of the arts. And finally, finally they found Florence. The kit was sitting in the center of the cavern, looking no worse than she had several hours before when she had disappeared. The expression on her muzzle was that of wonder and awe. The same feeling that Artemis could remember when they first toured Glimmer Cave as a kit with their class. Florence started when she noticed the group that was watching her from the entrance. She flicked an ear before her eyes found her father. And then she whimpered.
“Florence, baby,” whispered Victor once he’d galloped over to his daughter. “I thought you got lost! You could have gotten hurt. Or killed!” At the last, his voice cracked.
“I’m sorry, papa,” whispered Florence, eyes lowered in shame. “I saw the lights and they were really pretty. I wanted to go back so...”
“You went back,” finished Artemis in an even voice. “You do realize that using your powers on another Sima is considered a crime that could get you imprisoned, or even executed had you been older and more inclined to malicious intent?” Victor breathed in sharply and Florence let out a whine of fear. “If you promise to stay with the group, however,” continued Artemis once they were sure that the message had sunk in, “I won’t tell anyone. Promise?” Florence nodded slowly. “Good. Let’s go, because I have something interesting to show the group.”
Artemis padded back to the entrance of the cave and waited for Victor to prod his daughter to her paws. They shook their head; this had been much more than they’d initially thought this job to be. And then they smiled. Florence was safe and sound, no permanent damage had been done, and the group could finish up at the Sapphire Falls, an underground waterfall that was the color of the stones it was named after.
Indeed, the rest of the day had been good, but Artemis resigned later that week. It was time to move on. Time to realize their dream of exploring ancient historical sites and bringing them to light. Finally.
Extra 1: history
Extra 2: seeing the sea for the first time
