The Forgotten Zodiac

((I missed you, too.

Yes, but as soon as sleepy-time comes, we really should cut to the bad guys. Gurushi will be quite a mess and his orgins will be revealed then (or so I plan). Either that, or Lily will get into trrrooouuubbbbllleeee. :T

And okay. Forin was just being Forin, then. :3))

Forin just gave a small, 'tch' and looked away. He had met such hateful glares before, he was no stranger to them. The faded scars lacing his chest, back and arms were definite proof that he had met his fair share of those who hated him. It wasn't pleasant, knowing that there was someone around (that he apparently had to travel with) that hated him in such ways. Forin sighed inwardly, knowing that this meant that he had to watch his step around Cynyr. For Diana's safety as much as his own.

Airlia just beamed and pulled a small bucket out of her bag, the same one she had used last time she had fetched water. Apparently she had been carrying it this entire time. She flew off with a quick, "Yes, master!"

((I have an adorable-to-turn-bad scene in mind for this group later. Seria's going to give Nate something that will prompt a dance to help them relax. I have this cute thing in mind where Luen dances with Diana and Welk notices Seria by herself, then convinces Nate to ask her to dance in order to make Cynyr jealous. It works, Cynyr has a dance with her, he starts to get a flicker of old love feelings for her, the dark magic in him flares up, dance is ruined.))

Cynyr watched the girl go, then turned when Welk hugged him again. "Stop hugging me." the older half-cat said. "I despise them."

"No you don't." Welk said happily.

"Yes." Cynyr snarled, shoving the other boy off. "I do."

Welk frowned unhappily, but he wasn't scared off easily when it came to Cynyr. He was used to receiving threats from him. "Hey!" he suddenly said. "Hey Cynyr! Guess what?"

Cynyr was staring off into the forest.

"I'm a mage now!" Welk said, waving his hands around crazily. "A fire mage! I knew there was a reason why I was always drawn to fire."

Cynyr turned and looked back at him, this time with a strange, hungry look in his eyes. "A...fire mage?" he said softly, his voice low.

"Yeah!" Welk said. "Watch this!" He held up his hands and ignited small fireballs. "Isn't that neat?" he asked, flicking his stump tail around behind him.

"Yes..." Cynyr said faintly, looking Welk up and down with interest. "It is..."

((Yaaaay, adorable-turn-to-bad. Dancing without music? xDD

Forin hates music, though. He'll sit as far away as he dares, with his hands over his ears. What fun~))

Werr felt something churning in the pit of his stomach at this. First the hate, and now this...he was about to suggest that they get a move on again, but he remembered that Airlia might not be able to find them. He sighed and leaned back against the ruined wall, thinking. None of the traps had been active, apparently, as they were all still here and no one had been seriously injured. Which...was odd, because the Ruins traps reset themselves, according to father's book. Someone had disabled them. Maybe it was the soldier who had been killed not too long ago, though Werr knew nothing of that.

And Gurushi...that had been terrifying. He had walked through Welk's fire like it was nothing. If Cynyr hadn't showed up, there was no telling what could have happened.

Having walked a few feet away (thanks to Cynyr's glare), Forin was sitting with Diana, and having trouble keeping himself from shaking. Gurushi was not something to be trifled with. Worse yet, whoever his master was. Forin could definitely feel it close by, too, having recovered from being thrown. The sun was the only thing that kept it from attacking again. To be honest, Forin wanted to get as far away from the treeline as he could, but he was fairly certain that no one would heed his warning.

((I have a plan for that. :3

Darn, I was counting on him for part of it. xD Oh well, I can improvise~!))

Welk didn't seem to notice Werr's unease. He was still too blinded by the fact that Cynyr was back to really notice anything wrong with him. It dulled a little at what Cynyr did next, however. "What happened to your tail?" the older half-cat asked.

"Um..." Welk murmured uncomfortably. He shifted a little, giving his ragged tail a weak twitch. "I-it got...cut off. When we were in town. The one in that direction." He pointed back in the direction of the town they had last come from. "We got attacked and I found out I was a fire mage, but the townsfolk didn't believe us and they hurt Werr and they grabbed me and took me to their jail and some of the guards beat me up and when I remember waking up Werr was holding me and then...t-then..." He broke off, weakly taking his tail into his hand. "I found out the guards hacked off my tail w-while I was unconscious..." Tears started to drip from his eyes at the painful memories, but when he tried to hug Cynyr for comfort, like he had always done before, Cynyr pushed him away. Welk was shocked. Cynyr had always comforted him before! What was wrong with him?

"Stop crying." Cynyr snapped in a cold tone. "Tears are worthless and useless. Don't waste them on me." And then he turned and was staring blankly up at the sky.

Welk put a hand over his mouth and let out a muffled sob, backing up from his brother, then turned and fled over to Werr, burying his head against the boy's neck.

((Improvisation is always good. :T))

Werr wrapped his arms around Welk at once, frowning deeper still. He hadn't known Cynyr for very long, but it was obvious that he had allowed hugging before, as Welk was trying to do it now. Werr could do nothing but comfort Welk, though...

After a few more minutes, Airlia returned, a bucket full of chilly water in hand. It had spilled a bit, but Airlia took the hem of her shirt to the sides of the bucket, drying it before carrying it over to Cynyr. "Here, master. Your water," She held it up with a happy smile on her face. Personally, she didn't care how Cynyr acted, she just wanted to serve him any way she could.

Cynyr took the bucket without a word and promptly dumped it over his head.

Silence.

The half-cat sighed as the cold water soaked into his clothes and trickled down his skin, then shook himself, flinging cold water everywhere. He then turned on his heel and stalked into the ruins, returning moments later with Luen, who Cynyr was nearly dragging by the collar of his shirt. The panther half-cat shoved Luen forward, who stumbled and landed roughly on his hands and knees.

Cynyr glared at him, then shook his head and turned away, as if displeased with the ice mage over something, cold water still dripping from his body.

Airlia scrambled back as Luen was shoved, though she said nothing. Diana, on the other hand, stood up at once and ran to help Luen up. "Why would you do that?" She asked Cynyr sadly, looking hurt, as though he had shoved her rather than Luen. "Don't do that to my friend..."

"Don't baby him like that." Cynyr snapped. "He is a mage. If he is too weak to make it through a simple push, he isn't worth anything to this group."

"How dare you!" Seria shouted. "Why in the world would you say something like that?! You don't even know Luen!"

"And I hope I never do." Cynyr said, then suddenly frowned a little. "I...don't know why I would say that." he said. "I...can't remember why I said it." He looked confused now, and he didn't go back to staring blankly at something. He glanced at them all, puzzled, then laid eyes on Werr and Welk. "Oh." he said simply. "Hey."

Luen carefully stood up, holding Diana's hand. He looked over at Cynyr, wondering if this was how he normally acted.

((Lulz, I kinda want Cynyr to try and hurt Diana. xP))

Werr just frowned at Cynyr. "Hey? Is that all you have to say?" He said bitterly.

Diana moved behind Luen out of fear, knowing that Forin was right behind them. He was still a little ways back though, which was odd. Even more odd was the fact that he was looking around as though he were afraid of something that might jump out and attack them, or something of the like. He was keeping an eye on the forest, his attention divided between that and the others.

((He won't. The dark magic receeded for a moment.))

"What are you talking about?" Cynyr said, sounding a little miffed. "Bah, whatever. We should get moving. You're still heading to the war-zone, correct?"

Welk lifted his head slightly and nodded tearfully.

"Then come on." Cynyr said, starting to walk. "We should get moving. I'm tired of standing around."

Seria fumed after him, then sighed and picked up her bag, following after him.

Luen clasped Diana's hand gently in his, then walked over to Forin and touched his shoulder lightly. "Forin?" he said softly. "We're moving."

((Fiddlesticks. xDD If anyone tries to hurt her in anger, though, he pretty much gives himself up as a punching bag instead of Diana. :T

Anyways, it's about time I told you about the possibilities that tie in with my yet-to-be-decided way of getting all the way to Storaph Palace.

A, Werr discovers stuff and goes to Nightlash's city to get his father's books back, breaks into the place semi-alone and is kidnapped and whisked away to Storaph by Gurushi or some controlled drones, leaving Welk and the others to go and rescue him (this would also lead into him finding the staff).

B, Werr discovers stuff and goes to Nightlash's city to get his father's books back, breaks into the place with everyone, finds out that Nightlash is controlled and sets off to help the poor guy, which ultimately leads them to Storaph Palace. They break in, Nate leads them into the palace and they find the staff before being found by guards and Obelisk.

C, Obelisk, with the discovery that Cynyr has returned to the group, gets fed up and sends out people to capture all of them one by one, landing them in the dungeons and puts them in positions that they can't really move from so they can't escape. Werr does, though, finds the staff, somehow manages to break out Welk, and possibly Luen before being caught by Obelisk and there's a fight and so on.

That's all I have right now. Do feel free to throw in an opinion or suggestion.))

Werr released Welk with a sigh, moving to follow. "Come on, we might as well go..."

Forin jumped and looked at Luen, a flicker of fear flashing in his eyes for a heartbeat. "Moving. Yes, good. Perfect." He nodded, taking Diana's other hand. He looked at Luen, his tone quiet and serious. "It's there. Hiding among the trees...its hidden its magic aura from you lot, but I feel it..." He couldn't supress a shiver from running down his spine. "We need to get as far away as possible, and as fast as possible."

"Forin? What is it?" Diana whimpered a bit.

"A creature of dark magic. Possibly the one who had conrolled that boy before...I don't know why its here or how it got here, but..."

((2. We're going with 2. It's the best out of them all. That will help with an idea I have which involves Cynyr temporarily turning to Obelisk's side, since the dark magic would be near-completely controlling him by that time. Werr will be able to talk to him and rouse his real consciousness, then use the staff to destory the dark magic in him and stoof, because Cynyr will be completely unresponsive to anything Welk says.))

Welk nodded, then carefully stood up and walked near Werr. He moved to wind his tail into Werr's hand, then stopped when he remembered. He sighed despondently, then took Werr's hand with his own and simply walked this way, his crimson eyes fixed on Cynyr's back.

Luen stared fearfully at Forin, then glanced around, unnerved by what Forin had said. "Is it the thing from before?" the wolfling asked. "That weird man? Do you think he could've been controlling the child?"

((I forgot to mention that 2 involves Nate being stabbed through the chest at one point and the others have to leave him behind so he gets tortured and stuff, but yeah. Sure.

Then you have to help me figure out how Werr will find the staff. Truly and honestly, the one I've thought out the most would be the first one.))

"Yes, the 'weird man'," Forin hissed, glaring aroud at the trees before they started moving. "I don't know. I just know that thing has incredible dark magic capabilities, and we're extremely lucky that there aren't any clouds today, or we'd all probably be dead..." He froze for a moment, then shook his head back and forth, covering his ears. "It's trying to get into my head. It knows what I am..." He walked faster, tearing Diana's hand out of Luen's as he desperately tried to get away from the dark magic that distressed him so.

((D: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Not my dragonian! Fine, we'll go with the first one, though I had liked 2 best. Until you told me that.

I had thought that they explore Storaph Palace and find the room with the staff when they get close to it, because Cynyr starts having bad reactions from being near the light magic. When they're getting ready to leave that room, they get captured.))

Luen quickly sped up, following them. He scooped Diana up into his arms and glanced over his shoulder, wondering how they could stop something like this. "Can you mentally fight it away?" he asked Forin, worried. "Is there anything I can do to try and help?"

((Pfft, okay. You liked 2 because it didn't involve anyone being seriously hurt, at first glance. :T Werr won't get too hurt, just a few scratches, really. Then he'll find the staff and discover that he can protect himself with it, so he'll hide in a room until the others come to rescue him. xD

That wouldn't work so well, because reflecting on it, I realize that Obelisk will know the instant they're inside the palace, since they're magical and the like. Only Werr and maybe Nate would be able to get in unnoticed, and even then it would only be for a little while.

So number one would indeed work best, as Obelisk wouldn't realize that Werr had escaped the dungeons until it was too late.))

"No. Nothing you can do," Forin shook his head. "I'll be fine. I'm fighting it now. The further we get away, the better. It's sheer luck that it didn't try something like this when we were closer..." His pace did slow, though, despite his apparent attempts to keep moving quickly. There was a war waging in the deepest depths of his complex mind.

You hate them. You hate them all.

'No, I don't.'

Yes, you do. Kill them. They are nothing but a hindrance.

'I won't.'

Then you are worthless. Weak. Pathetic. Why do you not take revenge for your torment in the past? All these on this world despise you, whether they realize it or not. You have so much hate...I like that.

'...'

Why do you fight me? Why do you fight anything at all, if you're too weak to stand up for yourself?

'I'm not weak.'

You are.

But I can fix that.

I can unlock your true self. You know what lies within you...I can help you reach it.

'No.'

You'll gain more power than anything in existence...

'Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Everything I strive towards, everything I live to protect, would all be destroyed. I will not allow that to befall Diana, or any of these people. Not even this...Cynyr. Not while I have a say in it. Now get out of my head, you monster.'

...

Forin relaxed again and picked up speed once more, though he said nothing.

Luen watched him closely, his soft white ears flicking to and fro as he listened to sounds around them. When he saw Forin relax, a small smile crossed his features. Then he scurried after them, not wanting to get left behind.

((Sorry for short post. I'm busy atm. We skip to Jag and Lily naow?))

((Sure. And that's okay.))

Lily was busy scrubbing one of the corners of the throne room. And she looked absolutely terrified.

Of course she was; Obelisk was back behind the curtain, as she was well aware of. Princess Holly's heel was clicking against the tiled floor as she tapped it against the floor boredly. To add to it, something had made Obelisk upset, as was apparent by the black...something that was seeping out from underneath the curtain, fading when it got more than a few inches away. Lily did her best to ignore all of this, but it was difficult. Obelisk had killed her mother and sent her brother somewhere, and punished her with more pain than Lily had known that she could bear. Holly had punished her in similar ways on several occasions, for tiny mistakes in tasks like cleaning.

Lily jumped terribly when Obelisk suddenly spoke. "Slave, come here." She turned shakily, setting down her mop and walking towards the curtain. Bandages slid out from the curtains and dropped a wooden chess set into her hands, the pieces rattling inside the folded board. "Clean it," Obelisk ordered. "And do it somewhere else. You reek of fear, and it's very annoying."

Lily trembled at this, not sure what to do. "I-I...I'm so-sorry, I..." She stammered, taking a step back. Her foot slid on the freshly-polished floor, and the next thing she knew, she was on the floor with chess peices rolling around her, the board cracked in two.

There was silence for a long moment, and Lily almost screamed as she felt one of Obelisk's agony-inducing spikes lightly touching the back of her neck, preparing to dig in.

"You shouldn't have done that..." Obelisk's gnarled voice hissed in anger.

A few seconds later, there was a flash of feathers, colored like a pretty blue-jay's wings, and Lily was swept upwards. Strong arms encircled her body, holding her close to a lanky form.

Jag, in human form, flapped his huge wings as he spiraled back from Obelisk, a snarl plastered over his face. "How dare you!" he shouted, his voice as sharp as his beak in gryphon form. "She did nothing to deserve your foul pain! A tiny slip? A chess board broken? I won't let you harm her over nothing!" He was furious, but he was trying hard not to show any true concern over Lily. If Obelisk knew of their relationship... Jag shook his head, then hovered lightly, ready for any attacks that came his way.

"Hmm?" Holly hummed in mild interest. "So defensive over a pathetic slave. Feeling a little heroic today, are we, Jag?" She smirked. Lily, knowing how important it was that they remain a secret, restrained herself. She kept herself from wailing and burying her face into her dearest friend's shirt, holding stock-still and putting on a frightened and confused face.

"Tch," Obelisk growled, the spike vanishing. "She attempted to flee once already, and now she goes and breaks my chess board. You are quite mistaken, shouting at me, Jag...I would pluck you bald if I didn't need your wings right now. Gurushi has taken damage from the sun's rays, near those old ruins I tore down. Later this evening, after the sun falls, you are to go pick him up. Right now, though, you are going to get me a new chess set. Since you defend a slave, you shall do the work of a slave."

Jag resisted the urge to curl his lip and snarl. He instead chose to nod once, saying "Yes, sir." His voice was tight and curt when he spoke. He slowed his flapping and desended downwards, landing gracefully. He set Lily down and didn't look at her, not wanting to give anything away in the slightest. He moved over and gathered up the pieces of the broken chess board, then turned to leave. "Slave." he said, staring over at Lily and forcing a cold look in his eyes. "Come with me. You are to return to your room." He led her out, then, when he was sure Obelisk couldn't hear them, whispered gently "Go to my room and wait for me. I'll be there once I get O-blah-lisk his chess board."

((I've changed their ages one last, final time. Jag is twenty and Lily should be 18.))