Author Scott-Elliot came into contact with theosophist Charles Webster Leadbeater who said he received knowledge about ancient Atlantis and Lemuria from the Theosophical Masters by "astral clairvoyance." Leadbeater transmitted his clairvoyant findings to Scott-Elliot, who undertook scholarly research to back them up. The Story of Atlantis and The Lost Lemuria are two pieces by W. Scott-Elliot, a Theosophist and an associate of Madame H.P. Blavatsky and Henry Steele Olcott in the early days of the Theosophical Society. The Theosophists believed they were descendants of the Aryans, and that the Aryans had originally come from Atlantis. Atlantis and Lemuria (also called Mu) were continents in the Atlantic and Pacifc oceans that were supposedly destroyed in great catastrophes in prehistoric days and sank beneath the sea. They were said to be highly advanced civilizations, capable of many things not possible in later days.