The Forgotten Zodiac

Luna nodded, then glanced up at the artificial sun. She did not have to squint to see it, as she was a sunlight being. She glanced upwards, noting that none of the walls were visible. Obviously. The cavern they were in was gigantic.

Welk licked Werr's hand gently, running his warm, rough cat tongue over the boy's skin. He rose to his paws and walked over to Cynyr, who still in panther form and was uncurling himself from around Airlia to stand up and stretch. Welk rubbed up against him, startling the panther slightly. Cynyr straightened up as Welk crossed around behind him and rubbed against his other side, purring the whole while. He rubbed his head under Cynyr's chin, smiling wider at the rustic, scratchy purr that he could faintly hear in his brother's throat. Then the blonde half-cat moved away and bounded back over to Werr, taking human form in mid-stride and hugging the boy tightly, purring louder and louder.

Werr laughed a bit. "Back to being yourself again, I take it? Great." He grinned, hugging his friend tightly. It was a long moment before he pulled away again, though still smiling. "Alright, Luna...lead the way, I guess." He said after double-checking that everyone was awake. He was pretty sure Cici was, though she was awfully quiet.

Luna nodded, then turned and started walking, leading towards a narrow pathway heading into the forest. Seria wordlessly got up and followed the rest of them, keeping her arms firmly clenched around her sides.

Welk nuzzled Werr's shoulder, then took his hand and trotted along with him, letting the boy set the pace they walked at as Welk chattered random little things at him.

Cynyr rolled his eyes, then nudged Airlia forward and walked beside her. He owed her some time with him, after all. He was, no matter how much he hadn't liked it at first, her master.

Jag followed them all in gryphon form, Spy sitting on his head and Lily riding him. His back was covered in soft feathers that faded into fur, with his huge wings on either side. It made a very comfortable place to sit as they moved along.

The forest grew thicker and thicker, the canopy easily blotting out the rock that served as the sun. Werr listened to Welk and responded happily, though he couldn't help but get a horrid feeling in the pit of his stomach. Like the worst was going to happen. His mind flicked back to the leaf-dress woman from last night. No one else had seemed to see her...as unusual as it was. Would she show up again, or had she been a figment of his imagination?

Finally, they arrived at the place where, a long time ago, there had been a gate with a beautiful bridge behind it.

Now, there was just the broken gate.

It was solid gold with diamonds placed in various spots in it, but everything was tarnished and covered in vines. One of the beautiful doors hung on its hinges and no plants other than weeds grew here. This was a place of sorrow and hurt, as if the worlds itself had suffered when the gate had been broken by some unseen force.

Which, in a way, it had.

Without the magic of the Amnairians going to and from their world, the land had been weakened, allowing the Dark Magic to creep in by Obelisk.

Cynyr moved forward, taking human form, seemingly drawn to the broken gate. His eyes had fogged over slightly, giving them a distant look. He reached up and placed his left hand on the gate, the one with the star-shaped mark on it. Nothing happened, as he wasn't trying to do anything, but he didn't move from that position. He just stood there, staring at the golden gates with his hand touching one of the massive doors.

Werr watched, a little confused. "Weren't we supposed to go through this gate? What happened?" He asked, looking at Luna.

"It was broken." The woman, that leaf-clothed woman, appeared beside him. She touched him gently on the cheek, causing a shiver to run down his spine. "This sacred place was once overflowing with magic and power. Humans came here to be refreshed and healed from grave illnesses, some they even had at birth. Then they turned against us...so, the place was hidden. And then he came along...Obelisk..." Werr pulled away and stumbled back, his cheek bleeding ever so slightly from the woman's nails scraping against his skin. She sighed and walked to the front of the group, smiling at Cynyr.

She then addressed everyone. "Greetings, all. My name is Resu. More commonly referred to as 'The Guardian'. You have rested here; you drank from the water, eaten creature and plant alike. Which is perfectly fine, as you caused no disturbance. But you have tread on soil that musn't be tread upon by those deemed unworthy. As such, I must proceed to give you each a test. I shall be testing mind, strength and soul alike. I wish I could tell you to turn back, but as per the rules, you must either pass my test or remain here for the rest of eternity.

"Oh, and another matter that must be addressed. Since my position over this place was determined, there has only been one human deemed worthy. All others who came here, came to die." She glanced over at Luna and Forin. "Obviously, there are already some of you who are exempt from my trials..."

Forin reacted at once. "I respectfully request that my summoner be spared," He said firmly.

She turned and looked at him, then down at Diana. "So young, and so troubled...she is of gentle heart and mind, I can see clearly due to her young age." She looked back up at Forin. "You would take her place?"

"I would suffer a thousand trials and a thousand deaths before I would willfully allow harm upon my mistress."

Resu pursed her lips, seemingly thinking about it. "I can sense your truths. She joins you in your exempt status, Forin Dulce." Forin stepped back and pulled Diana with him, unable to hide a heavy sigh of relief.

((FIXED.))

Luna stepped back as well. She said nothing due to the fact that she had no summoner for which to speak for. She knew as well as Forin the importance of these tests. The bridge joined the land with both of their worlds; it was not something that untrustworthy beings could join them in.

Welk hissed at Resu as she touched Werr, flattening his ears against his head. He glanced over at Cynyr, aware of the fact that the panther hadn't so much as blinked when the strange woman had smiled at him. It was like he was lost in a trance that had drawn him to the gate and had forced him to render himself useless to all of his senses.

Zephyr snorted and said "Understandable reasons for testing, I suppose. I would do the same if I were her."

Luen looked scared, ducking behind Nate fearfully.

Resu dipped her head at Zephyr. "Thank you for understanding. It is unfortunate that you, too, must be tested. But, rules are rules. We shall begin in order of difficulty and length. Gryphon Jag and human Lily, step forward." She waited until the two of them were standing in front of her. "Do you accept to proceed through the challenges you shall be facing, at risk of death?"

Jag glared at her as if looks could kill. If he had his way, she would've been in the most terrible pain he could've imagined for her. He wrapped his arms around Lily, holding her against him. He wanted to take her away, to a place where they could both just live without fear of something going wrong or someone getting in their way. They had no choice now, however.

"Yes." he said, putting as much hate as he had in his entire being into the one word. And he had a lot of hate. He gently tilted Lily's head back and kissed her delicately on her lips, murmuring that he loved her.

Lily kissed him back, murmuring the same to him. She then looked at Resu and nodded. "I...I'll do anything."

"Very well then. Understand that even if your test is not fatal, failure to succeed will force me to kill you myself." Resu dipped her head, then looked up at both of them. "Lily the human, you are hereby tried upon the ability to withstand great pain without any utterance of complaint or cries of pain. Jag the gryphon, you are hereby tried with a test of your courage and dedication. Lily will be hidden somewhere within the forest. Knowing that you are not to use your wings, nor can she call out to you, you are tasked to find her and save her from certain death before her illness takes her."

"Illness?" Lily blinked in confusion, then nearly shrieked in pain as a snake sunk its teeth into her ankle. She barely held it back as Resu snapped her fingers. Lily was gone in the next instant, transported to somewhere else in the vast forest. "Trial begin."

Jag's jaw dropped as Resu spoke, looking horrified. Lily shrieked before he could protest against the trial. As soon as Resu snapped, he felt a weight leave his back and glanced over his shoulder in shock. His wings had temporarily vanished, leaving his back as bare as any normal human's. His mouth opened further in shock, then he steeled himself and took gryphon form, racing off as fast as he could, which was very fast. He plunged off into the massive forest, not bothering to call for Lily. He just ran, searching for the thing he knew he could use to his advantage. He plunged through the undergrowth, his crest pressed flat against his head. He squawked and skidded to a halt when he suddenly came up on a deep ravine. He stared over the edge, knowing that without his wings, he wouldn't be able to get across like he normally would. He quickly turned away and kept running, not about to stop until he had located Lily and had used his powers to help her.

Resu didn't waste time before continuing on to Nate. After he agreed to the trials, she gave him his task. "Nate the Dragonian, you are hereby tried in wit and haste. Discover what has been lost and recover it before all other trials are completed. It awaits you somewhere within the Garden. Trial begin." Nate was quick to start, understanding at once how serious all this really was. Resu then turned to Luen, and hurried along with the starting procedures. "Luen the Wolfling, you are to be tried with strength of mind. Nate Furhblast is now being hunted. It is your task to find this hunter and put an end to him before Nate is killed. The catch is this; Nate's hunter is an exact copy of Nate himself. Begin task."

Luen flinched sharply in shock. "What?!" he gasped, feeling a terrible tremor race down his spine. "N-no! I...I can't-" But he had already agreed, thus forcing him to begin. He couldn't waste time. His legs quivering badly, he took wolf form and galloped off into the forest, using his sense of smell to attempt to follow Nate. Unfortunately, Nate had gotten a good head-start and was fairly fast, so Luen had difficulty following him. The wolfling's heart was beating fast and he occasionally tripped because his legs were shaking. 'Put an end to him'. He knew that meant he had to kill the copy of Nate, and before the copy was able to murder the real Nate.

Luen picked up speed, ignoring the tears already falling silently from his eyes.

Resu looked up at Zephyr, and down at Airlia. After they agreed to the trial, she continued on in her usual manner. "Zephyr the Dragon, you are to be challenged in gentleness in battle. you are to complete this task in your largest form. If you revert to a smaller size, your life will be forfeit. Airlia the Fallen, you shall be challenged in the facing of fears. Your task is simpler than some, though hardly easy. Do not move."

Airlia froze, but paled and screamed with what happened next. A spider the size of her scurried out of the forest, scooped her up in its front legs and hobbled back into the forest. It appeared again on the ceiling, attaching Airlia to its web so she couldn't break loose before the trial began. And with word from Resu, it did.

Zephyr snorted and took to his largest form, towering over the trees. When Airlia screamed, he flinched and his entire, long body rippled as he jerked his head around to see what had happened. He growled, which shook the ground under him, then spread his wings and jumped up into the air. He flew upwards, heading after Airlia. He quickly realized that being gentle in battle would be harder than he thought. In this huge size, he threatened to kill Airlia by accident when he tried to get the spider away from her. He shook his head, continuing his flight upwards. One thing at a time, he told himself.

"Werr the human, and Welk the half-cat." Resu turned on the last two remaining. "The bond between you both is incredible. You easily pick up where the other falls short; Werr, with a superior mind, and Welk, with the strength and energy needed to fight. With this in mind, like most others here, you will endure tasks that test this bond. Do you agree to face these tasks with all you have, even at risk of loss of your life?"

Welk looked over at Werr and stared at him, which was returned, and then they both hugged for a long moment. "Promise me you'll do okay." Welk whispered, holding his best friend tightly. "You have to. I know you can." He pressed his face against Werr's neck, feeling the boy's heart beating faintly against his own chest. He swallowed nervously and Werr felt it, but he also felt Welk's strength and determination.

((Edited last post. Dunno what I was thinking last night. xD))

"I will." Werr nodded, before Resu interrupted them.

"Do you agree, or not?" She said, looking somewhat impatient. Of course, she needed to monitor each of the tasks to ensure none of them attempted to escape during their trials. That, and she was awfully curious to see how each of them would do. To be wasting so much time here was an irritation.

"I...I agree." Werr nodded. She waited for Welk's concurrence before moving forward. "Welk the half-cat, you are to be tried in your determination and power. You may not use any magic during this trial. Werr Grehi will be attacked by numerous enemies. If he is killed at their hands, you will have failed." She turned to Werr.

"Understand this, Grehi. Your trial will test your friendship and strength of mind. Welk will be struggling to save you. The moment you complete your trial, Welk's will be completed as well." She placed a hand on his head, then pulled Cici off of his back. "You will face the same state of mind as you had under the dark lord Obelisk's influence. You have fought against this before. Your task is to beat it." She placed two fingers on Werr's forehead, watching as the boy went all but limp in Welk's arms, a distant and dreadfully familiar expression crossing his face.

Resu looked back at Welk. "Trial...begin." She said almost sweetly, snapping her fingers. Welk and Werr were both whisked off to a clearing. Things were quiet again. Werr looked around groggily, blinking slowly. "Puppets," He slurred. He hadn't been able to speak, last time he was like this, but he could definitely talk now. He sat down and looked up at Welk. "We're all puppets."

Back at the gate with Diana and Luna, Forin observed as Resu called forth strange, moving pedestals. They shuffled into place around her, and immediately started to show the others. Lily, who was silently crying and clutching a swollen leg. Jag, who was searching desperately for her. Nate, who had apparently paused to think. Luen, who was still running to catch up. Airlia, all wrapped up in webs and in obvious hysterics, and Zephyr, who was still putting together an attack plan. Werr and Welk, obviously, and oddly enough...Seria, who was sitting nearby. Doing nothing.

Forin understood at once. Seria's task had already begun. On any other day, the healer would be desperate to run and heal Lily, warn Nate, try and figure out how to fix Werr...but no. Her task was to do nothing at all. Forin sighed, glancing over at Luna. "Do you think they can do it?" He asked quietly, naming no one in particular. He meant all of them. It would be a miracle for all of these tasks to be completed, when only one other had ever managed it. But then, all of these seemed relatively easy, with the exception of Werr's. There had to be some other catch...

((Now help me think of another catch. xD))

Welk looked horrified immediately, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. He all-out froze for several long moments before bending down and pressing his forehead against Werr's. He didn't say anything, just sat like that for a long moment, until the enemies spawned. They were ugly, twisted monstrous creatures that seemed to shift and waver, as if made of goo. They weren't, however, and they seemed easy enough to kill.

The only problem was that there was a lot of them.

As soon as he heard the first one's feet hit the ground, Welk was in cat form and lunging at it with his teeth bared in a snarl. It was as if someone had set off a whirlwind. He attacked ferociously, but with a carefulness Werr had never seen before. Welk knew that he wasn't able to use his powers, but he didn't care. He had fought before without them, after all. What he was concerned about was the fact that this fighting wouldn't be over until Werr cleared his trial and managed to repair his own mind back to full strength. Thus the careful and planned out attack patterns. He fought the creatures away from Werr while saving strength for further into the attack.

Luna closed her eyes for a moment, then said "I would not have brought them here if I thought they could not have passed these tests. If I did not think they were capable of doing it, I would have only brought Cynyr with me and left the others all behind." She looked over at Forin and smiled slightly, then bent down towards Diana and smiled a bit wider. The snow leopard reached down to the ground and touched one spot in the dirt, where a pretty pink flower immediately sprung up and grew tall. Luna plucked the flower and tucked it behind Diana's ear, saying "There. Beautiful."

((-has no idea- o3o ))

Werr watched, but soon became disinterested. Inside his mind, he was indeed struggling with all his might. Forcing his mind to reel through thoughts that his subconscious wanted desperately to reject. He didn't seem capable of paying attention to one thing at a time, instead flicking from thing to thing like a sugar-hyped child. A sugar-hyped child riddled with the logic that everything hated him and that there was no real point to anything he could do, because everything hated him anyways, so nothing would work.

Werr was reduced to pulling at the grass and imagining that it was screaming 'I hate you' at him. "Dancing puppets hanging from strings. I wonder who's pulling on them." He mumbled, then looked up at Welk. The monsters didn't register at first, though somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew how serious this danger was. Unfortunately, that part of him was too busy trying to put the other parts back together. Too busy to stop himself from standing up and approaching Welk, wanting a hug.

"Good to know," Forin shrugged.

"What would she have given me to do?" Diana trembled a bit at the thought.

"We'll never know now, thankfully." Forin shook his head, sitting down and letting Diana curl up in his lap.

"W-well...thank you," She leaned against him, smiling a little bit up at Forin and Luna both.

"Always, dear miss Diana."