The Forgotten Zodiac

((The gate is located deep inside the forest, standing in a small clearing. There is nothing on the other side of it. When the doors are open, it leads to the bridge between worlds. If the gate is open and someone walks around the gate, they won't see the bridge. The bridge is through the gate only.

Also, I forgot how we said Tartarans and Amnairians were born/made. :I))

Luna fell to her knees immediately, murmuring chants towards the creature.

The Divine looked pleased at that, then snorted and brought its enormous, clawed, black hand forward and placed just the tip of one claw under Forin's chin, forcing him to tilt his head back so the Divine could look at him. "Ahh." the creature murmured. "I know you. Forin Dulce, summon to the female child known as Diana Harelt. I know everything about you. I was there, from the moment when you first began to live and acknowledge things. Yes, I know you." Just the very tip of its claw was enough to fit snugly under Forin's chin.

((Hmm, alright. Nothing on the other side of it? Nothing as in 'more forest', or 'black void of absolutely nothing', like a tunnel? Where does this pressing darkness come from, if it's the former?

As for how they were born/made, I thought they were just made with magic. Divines would be the actual children of the king/queen, in that case.))

Forin wanted strongly to bat the claw away, but he figured it would be a terrible idea. "If you claim to know me so well, you would know that I am not Forin Dulce. I am the embodiment of his discarded emotions, merged with this form he used naturally once. Forin Dulce was becoming a danger to our summoners, so I sealed him away and took control. We share knowledge and memories, as well as names." He shifted his arm uncomfortably, wanting to hide the scars his tattered shirt revealed. "But we are, in fact...different. You could say that I suffer more than he, but I suffer for the sake of my summoners."

"F-Forin is a good summoner," Diana spoke up, staring at the massive claw that was mere millimeters away from an easy kill. Her voice was awfully small, and obviously fearful. "Please don't hurt him..."

((More forest.

Oh yeah.))

The Divine stared down at him with a not-so-nice smile on its face for a moment, then suddenly mentally attacked the Tartaran. Forin's mind was shattered and repaired back to its current state in a millisecond, leaving no damage whatsoever except for the knowledge that it had happened. It had been that easy for Forin's well-protected mind to be broken into and fixed. The powers of the Divine were greater than that of the king of Tartarus and the queen of Amnairus combined. And that was extremely powerful.

"Don't you dare act up to me, little one, or I'll leave your mind scattered like dust in the wind." the Divine warned, using one finger to pat Forin on the head. It showed Forin every thought and feeling he had ever had in an instant. "I know everything about you." it purred, bending down to look at him through one huge eye. It looked down at Diana and its lips parted into a smile that showed off sharp, deadly teeth. "Don't worry, child." it said. "I didn't hurt your summon."

((That didn't hurt Forin. It was just to scare him.))

((Where the dark abyss come from, then? Did it come on gradually as they walked over the bridge, the forest melting away into nothing with each step?))

Forin took a step back, barely concealing his stumble. He pulled Diana behind him as she whimpered. "Are we allowed to pass through here?" Werr brought himself to ask, albeit quietly. He might have felt courageous about facing the Divine, but he reminded himself that the creature was still a massive, super-powerful beast that could kill him in an instant. "We have business on Amnairus. The longer we linger, well...Obelisk could have found out that we opened the gate already, to put it bluntly..."

((The gate works like a portal, like what the Divine opened when it wanted them to leave him the first time. The bridge was always there, but since the gate was broken, the bridge had faded away. Now it has new energy from the gate and it's 'alive' again.

The dark abyss is the place between worlds that they didn't want.))

"Say nothing more." the Divine said. "I knew of your intentions from the moment you set foot in my world. This," It flung its arms wide. "is my domain. Here, I am king and queen, subject only to my own decree and will." It nodded its head once, wiggling its snake-like body. "You are free to pass, but I suggest you stay on the bridge." And it looked down at Spy. Then it tilted its head back and, with a flap of its wings, twisted its body around and fell down into the darkness below them.

((Okay, I get that much, but how did it come about description-wise? What was the transaction between their world and the other world/place between?))

Werr watched it go, then turned back to the bridge. "We shouldn't linger. Just be more careful, Spy," He said, offering a small smile to the little Chimera before moving along again.

Forin seemed a little shaken, but he closed his eyes and gathered his wits about him before moving to follow Werr. He had to remind himself that the Divine wasn't the enemy, however much he wanted to hate it for invading his mind like that. But he held back his feelings of anger.

If the Divine was his enemy, he wouldn't last two seconds. Forin questioned how even Obelisk would fare against such a thing.

((Ugh, I don't know. I'm tired.))

Jag ducked his head and picked Spy up by his scruff, carrying him instead of letting him walk. He flared his wings, his claws clicking lightly against the surface of the bridge.

Soon, they reached a place where the bridge split into two different paths. One went to the left and was much brighter, while the other went to the right and was dark and foreboding. "Come." Luna said, turning down the light path. "Amnairus is this way."

As they turned and started in the new direction, Luen paused and looked over at Forin in concern. "Are you going to be okay?" he asked, his voice full of worry. "You should cover yourself with something. I don't want the light to hurt you." He flicked his tail, his free hand tugging at the edge of his shirt, which was still the one he had taken from Nate. That had become a source of comfort to the wolfling.

Forin paused at the fork in the bridge, staring down the path that was obviously to Tartarus. He looked up as Luen talked to him. "Yes...I suppose I should." He sighed a bit, pulling his cloak from his bag and pulling it tightly around himself. It would make it painfully obvious who and what he was, but hopefully none of the Amnarians would care much. He could care less about being tourmented by them; Diana was his primary concern, as always.

Any summon knew that harming a summoner was, by extention, harming the summons. It showed that they were weak, too weak to defend who they were meant to defend. An injured summoner was equivalent to being spat at in the face, for their summons. It also marred their reputation, if others found out.

In short, Forin was far more concerned for Diana's safety than he was for his own. He was well aware that he would be horribly weakened in Amnairus. Weakened to the point where a playful child would be capable of accidentally killing him, if he stayed for more than a day.

((And this should be warning signs to you that something's going to happen. xD I never mention something like this if I'm not going to try and make it happen. :T))

((...? What's going to happen? Anything besides the mind-thing that I should know about? Dunt kill my Forinny.))

Luen watched him silently, then moved forward and nuzzled him with his eyes closed. "Don't worry." he murmured. "Everything will be okay." Then he pulled back and headed after the others, one hand still holding Diana's.

As they walked, they became aware of changes along their path. Clouds started forming on either side of the bridge, along with everything growing much, much brighter. Eventually, they walked through a large white archway and came upon the grand city of the Amnairians. Everything was made by shining white rocks that had been shaped into buildings. Fountains were dotted around and they could see a few different hot spring formations scattered through the city. The bridge they were walking on faded away into pure clouds, which were what the roads and pathways were made out of. Many Amnairians were around when the group entered the lush city. Several were in human form, several in their true forms, and many in the guise of animals. Many true forms, they saw, were of unicorns. These Amnairians were the first to spot the group and come forward, murmuring between themselves in shock.

Luna spoke in another language to them and they answered back, seemingly happy to see her. She spoke to one unicorn and the beautiful mare twisted on one hoof, turning and galloping off towards a gorgeous castle in the distance.

The other unicorn Amnairians moved around the group, examining everyone there. When they got to Forin, they snorted and backed away, staring at him in shock...though not angrily. They seemed curious, if nothing else.

To everyone's shock, they shied away even worse when they came to Werr and Cynyr.

When the Amnairians caught their scents, they balked and fled completely.

((xD 'An injured summoner'? The mind thing will still happen, just a bit later. Chzy might get upset, but by the time he finds out (provided you don't tattle on me), she'll be normal again. Bwahaha. :T))

Werr stared after the unicorns, but figured it had something to do with faint traces of Obelisk's scent on them. Cynyr had spent a good deal of time being close to that thing, and Werr had spent almost a week in his dungeons. And neither of them had bathed in awhile, either.

Werr decided to look around a bit instead. The clouds they walked on shined a golden color, while the clouds the houses stood upon were a silvery white. In front of many of the houses was something like steam hovering just above the cloud layer. Upon closer inspection, it looked more like blades of grass, made from tiny wisps of cloudstuff. Spy squirmed in Jag's grip, wanting to get down and roll around some more. At least there didn't seem to be any danger of falling off.

Forin continued along the path, inadvertently feeling as though he was being watched. He wouldn't put anything past anyone, here. He was well aware of what would happen should an Amnarian find their way into Tartarus. They would be tortured and, if no one came to save them in time, fed to the Eye of Ka'ael. Which was basically throwing the victim into the core of their planet, where they died a rather painful death. Such things had happened several times before, though no one had questioned how the victims had fallen into Tartarus.

((Thus, the motive. If you wanna play thems bad guys 'getting revenge' by hurting Diana somehowz. If you don't, no matter. :T))

((Okay.))

Jag frowned and held Spy tightly, saying "No you don't, snack. You're staying with me until we do...something." To be honest, he really didn't know why they were here. He was just following Luna, who seemed to have the current plan of action.

As they group moved further into the city, they passed two Amnairians that were chattering loudly to each other. "Did you hear?" one asked. "She nearly broke out. Again."

"Really?" the second said. "Humph. Curse that drago-" She cut off when she saw the group walking towards the castle, then both her and her friend turned and fled when they seemingly sensed something off about Werr and Cynyr.

A few minutes later, a group of about five pegasus' flew through the air from the castle, landing delicately in front of them. "Luna!" the lead mare said, shaking her mare. "You're back! And you brought...humans with you?"

Luna nodded, then said "I will explain everything, Bala, when I see the queen."

Bala tilted her regal head back, staring at Luna for a long moment, then said "Very well." She stepped forward, moving around the group and eyeing them all, then paused near Forin. Something in her gaze sharpened when she realized what he was, something that grew hard and cruel. Then she turned away and moved about to the rest of the group, giving them all about the same about of time she had given the Tartaran. She paused at Nate for the longest, however, staring at Welk in his arms. Her gaze softened slightly and she asked "What's wrong with him? His soul is weakened and cries out for healing."

((If that didn't show you, Bala will be the one that hates Forin.))

((Otay. -hugs moar- Just so you know, a small light attack will severely weaken Forin, here. A bigger attack would paralyze and/or knock him unconscious. Get near anything like Luna's light attacks, and he's dead. o3o))

Forin payed the winged horses little attention, taking care to keep his cloak wrapped tightly around him. As though that would do anything, should anyone decide to attack or something.

Nate sighed. "The trials we went through to reach this place nearly killed him. He fought to protect his dear friend during their tests, and this was the result." Werr looked down, feeling guilty.

((Okay. Bala's not very good at light attacks, so he shouldn't die. She works with weapons more, being a guard.))

Bala stared at Welk for a moment longer, then turned and shouted a command to the other pegasus' in another language. Immediately, the other winged horses started guiding the group towards the castle, where they had originally been heading towards. When they neared the gates, two unicorn Amnairians stood guard there, and they looked up when the group approached. Bala moved forward and spoke to them in hushed tones, then the unicorns moved aside and let them all in. They were led to a beautiful waiting room with plenty of plush chairs and flowers that smelled wonderful. "Wait here." Bala said. "Her Majesty will decide if she is to see you now or not. Luna, come with me." Then she turned and trotted from the room with the snow leopard in tow, leaving the others behind.

((Paralyzation would be your best bet, then, if you wanted to drag Forin along. Or unconsciousness, if you don't want him to see who it was/which way they went.))

Nate set Welk down on one of the couches, letting Werr sit next to the sleeping half-cat. He watched in concern as Forin curled up in a corner, acting as though he were ill. He kept his face turned away from the windows and crystal chandelier that hung above the group, both of which provided a good deal of light to every nook and cranny in the room. Eventually, Forin was reduced to crawling under the couch just so he could feel comfortable. Diana sat with Luen, watching all this with obvious worry.

((Mmk. Unconsciousness sounds good for the first attack, because then Bala can hide in plain sight.))

Luen hugged Diana close, watching Forin sadly and knowing he couldn't do anything to help him. He was in his opposite world, after all. It was bound to hurt him. Luen carefully slid off of the couch and sat right next to it, keeping one hand on Diana's leg and reaching the other one under to touch Forin's shoulder comfortingly. He went one step further for the Tartaran and covered the sides of the couch in a thick sheet of ice that was so thick that it immensely darkened the space under the couch, blocking almost all of the light from entering the protected space.

A while passed before anything happened. Finally, Bala returned, her silver armor clinking slightly as she walked. "Come." she said. "Her Majesty wishes to see you all. Now."

Forin waited for Leun to melt the covering before crawling out. He felt a little embarrassed to be hiding under a couch in front of an Amnarian, but he shook it off as he took Diana's hand again and followed the others. Nate was quick to scoop Welk up again and go, Werr following close behind. Airlia hovered near the back of the group, with Spy, Lily and Jag.

Airlia inspected the castle as they moved on. The tiles shone brightly, the carpets had been cleaned to the point where they looked as though no one had ever walked on them, and the crystal-and-gold chandeliers that hung in almost every room glimmered and shone brightly.

Finally, they approached a huge pair of white doors that shone in the sunlight. Royal symbols and decorations dotted the entire surface, but they were easily outmatched by the huge signet in the middle of the doors, which was shaped like a glowing sun. The mark was called 'The Sun of Kinikaina', which was an ancient word to the Amnairians. It was to the Amnairians like the Eye of Ka'ael was to Tartarans. Important, to say the least.

The doors opened as the group neared, revealing the throne room of the queen herself. Galai was seating on a decadent white throne and was wearing a long white gown that seemed to flow over every curve of her body. A large white crown shaped like the branches of a wizened old tree sat on her head, the branches forking and curving this way and that. A cloak of white feathers rested around her shoulders, and the group was shocked to see, not two, but six white-gold wings spread out from her shoulders and back. She held a silver scepter in one hand, her dress sparkling like the diamonds that hung from her ears and decorated her crown.

She was watching them with pupil-less eyes as they neared her, her long blonde hair flowing down behind her head. When she spoke, it was like listening to the tinkle of distant bells or the faint melody of a flute.

"Welcome to Amnairus, weary travelers." she said, a gentle smile turning up the edge of her perfect mouth. "Please, do not hesitate to speak. I enjoy new company." She was the most loving of her entire race, and it showed in the way she spoke and looked at them.

Forin found himself behind Luen, shielding himself from the light that came off of Galai herself. Werr was the first to recover from the initial shock of seeing the majestic queen. At Cici's direction, he slowly walked a little further inside, and took a knee in front of the throne. "Y-your majesty," He greeted, barely able to keep his voice from trembling as he spoke. 'Though really,' He told himself, trying to recollect his wits. 'I'm royalty too...' As much as he hated to think like that, it helped him even out his voice somewhat.

"As I'm sure you're likely aware of, the one who refers to himself as the 'Dark Lord Obelisk' has broken loose. He's wreaking havoc upon our world, and I fear that we can't last much longer without...outside assistance. We were very fortunate to find this," He set the staff down on the floor in front of him. "But the magics on our world are far too insufficient to restore her to her natural form. So...I beg of you, please help us."

Galai watched Werr as he spoke, a thoughtful look on her face. She nodded once at his mention of Obelisk, then was still as he continued to speak. Finally, she slowly stood up from her throne, waving off the guards that tried to come forward at the movement. She stepped down the stairs with regal, elegant steps that held no hint of wavering. When she stopped in front of Cici, she held a hand out and the group watched in awe as Cici delicately floated up to the queen's hand. "I remember you." the queen said, smiling at the staff. "Cici, the little light fairly." The queen gently hugged the staff as if greeting a long lost friend, then moved her gaze back up to Werr and stared at him for a long moment. "Yes." she finally said. "I would be honored to help Cici...and you." She moved a bright white hand out and gently touched only her fingers to his chin, smiling. "I think it was time you had the source of your nightmares removed." she said, her smile warm and inviting, then delicately swept past him and approached the rest of the group, moving slowly to see their reactions.

Werr watched her walk past him. He blinked in confusion. The source of his nightmares? His stomach churned. But...more than that, it sort of...ached, now. After Galai had touched him. He felt a little sick, but he didn't say anything.

Spy stared up at her with his little jaw open. Diana trembled and clung tightly to Luen, a little afraid, yet still awed like Spy clearly was. Nate was a little more steady, dipping his head slightly as she approached. Lily was giving a full bow; it was how Obelisk insisted upon being bowed to. She didn't know any different.

Forin seemed worse and worse as she approached, clearly agitated and apparently in some amount of pain. "Kurasha, neosif nala naosif patmos, rushkai al a oroseph!" He screeched after she got close enough. He couldn't help himself, really. Literally translated, his screeching meant something along the lines of, 'Queen, kill me if you wish to kill me, but prolongeth not my suffering'.