The Forgotten Zodiac

Cynyr whisked his hand back for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah..." he said softly, his sun-yellow eye dull. "You're right. Sorry to trouble you. And I didn't mean to share my memories, but if you don't mind...I would rather keep petting you. It...it's...calming. If you don't mind, that is. Frankly, I don't care if you see my memories or not. It's not like I have anything to hide anymore. I used to wear a mask and cover my entire body completely, but now I don't really care." He reached up and untied his self-made mask, wincing as his dead eye throbbed slightly at being touched by the fabric. He tucked it into his pocket, then ran his hand over the wolf's back and shoulders, scratching him thouroughly and running his hands through the wolf's thick coat.

"Well then. I don't mind if you don't." Ophile wagged his tail a bit, rather enjoying being given attention like this. He sat there for a long while, making sure to keep checking on Werr every few moments. Without warning, he pulled away and promptly vanished into thin air, a wisp of black smoke hovering where he had been for an instant.

Werr approached the next second, carrying a plate with all sorts of different foods.. "Cynyr, I brought you some food. You should eat, it's really good." He held the plate out to Cynyr, smiling.

Cynyr flinched slightly when the wolf pulled away, wondering what was wrong, then sighed when he heard Werr's approach, silently thinking "Oh..." He turned to face the boy, running a hand through his hair as he stared at Werr. "S-sure," he said, taking the plate and setting it nearby. "Whatever you say." He realized this his current posture and tone sounded overly gruff, so he strove for a more pleasant tone. He failed miserably, of course, but the point was that he tried. "So. Are you enjoying the party?" he asked, resting his elbow on the nearby rail and putting the side of his head in his palm.

"It's alright," Werr shrugged. "Cici said that she would take the presents that I haven't opened yet and move them to the guest house. She said we could leave whenever, too. I certainly won't make you stay." He leaned against the railing, looking out at the dark city. "It's kind of creepy...you can still see, but it's dark and...well, creepy." He ran his fingers through his hair, looking back into the ballroom, then around at the city again before saying ever so quietly, "Cynyr, I think I'm being watched. Welk doesn't understand, but...it's a little disturbing."

Cynyr chuckled, closing his eyes for a moment, then looked over at Werr and touched him lightly on the shoulder. "Yeah, you are," Cynyr said, smiling shortly at the boy. "But don't worry about it; there's good intent behind it. Just stick close to Welk, okay? He's your knight for a reason." He took cat form, shaking his thick fur out, then sat down by Werr's side, his majestic profile outlined by the moonlight.

"You're my knight too," Werr smiled at Cynyr, scratching the panther behind the ears. "But you're right. I should--"

That was when there was a clank and a crash as steel wrought bars came down between him and the ballroom. In that instant, all the exits were sealed and every light within the castle instantly went out. As Werr stumbled back and watched in horror, someone - or something - dropped onto the roof and shouted something; a huge padlock, as tall as Titus himself, materialized on the tile roof. Glowing black chains shot out from the lock, wrapping around the entire castle. In a heartbeat, all magic was locked for those inside--including Galai and Titus.

"A gift from the mighty Obelisk," Cern said, chuckling coldly. Something snaked out from behind him; legs of some kind, created with dark magic. They spread out behind him like spider legs, lifting him off the ground and slamming their sharp points into the roof, moving him down towards Cynyr and Werr.

To put it bluntly, he looked a bit mental. He was tall and older-looking than anyone in the group; perhaps in his thirties or so. His hair was stark-white and his face smudged with dried blood. He glared openly at them through red eyes, but they weren't a crimson like Welk's; they were a darker color, matching the blood on his face. He was wearing a dark black cloak that blended well with the night sky. In one hand, he held what looked like a rag that was dripping in some liquid or other. In his other hand...he didn't have another hand. His entire left side, from the neck to his waist was...well, missing. Just...gone. Like something had taken a bite out of him. The wound was far from fresh, though it still looked excruciatingly painful. It was remarkable that he was still alive, even. There were marks on the left side of his face as well, and under his black pants, there were deep grooves and scars on his left leg and what was left of his stomach.

"Hello, hello~" He purred, his eyes half-open as he looked dully at the two of them. "You're not supposed to be outside, are you? Whoops..."

Cynyr snarled and took a quick step back, curling his lips back to reveal his sharp teeth. He backed between Werr's legs, forcing the boy onto his back, then flinched when he heard a voice from the bound castle. "Cynyr! Werr!" Welk's voice was frightened, his hands closed tightly around the bars and his eyes wide and fearful. "The library! I left it there! It-" His words cut off as the magic-sealing barrier emitted a bright light, forcing him backwards with a cry.

That was all Cynyr had needed to hear, however. He turned without a word and took the single leap that brought him up onto the railing of the balcony, then jumped off. It was a long fall, but he landed strongly on his feet. He bounded forward, racing in the direction he knew the library was in.

"Wait, wait, where are you going?" Cern jumped after them, his spider-legs smashing small craters in the ground as he landed. He scurried after them, eyes twitching. He sounded bemused, as though he were chasing down trouble-making children. Werr held onto Cynyr for dear life, but suddenly let out a wail and covered his ears with his hands; Cern was somehow creating a noise that Cynyr couldn't hear. But to Werr, it was too loud and made his ears hurt. More than hurt; Werr felt something warm start to leak into his hands. It didn't take a genius to realize that it was blood. Werr clutched his ears only tighter at this, but the action caused him to slip as Cynyr turned suddenly. He fell and tumbled to the ground, rolling a few feet before curling up there, trying desperately to block out the noise that was making his ears bleed.

"Werr!" Cynyr shouted, leaping high and pushing off of a wall to keep his momentum as he raced back towards the boy. He took human form when he got close, quickly taking human form and lunging forward desperately. He crouched over Werr and slammed a hand down in front of the boy, generating a huge barrier of wind that blasted Cern backwards. Then he scooped Werr up into his arms and snapped out his air wings, giving them a strong flap that caused him and Werr to vanish with the sheer speed.

Cern peeked around, a smile playing around his torn and damaged lips. There was a small hole in his left cheek, revealing that his teeth were incredibly sharp and crafted of a metal of some kind. He caught himself easily with the use of his spider-legs, the darkness moving him without much effort from him. He had been smart to attack right at midnight; that was the time that Amnarius was at its darkest, and it would stay this dark for an hour yet.

"What was that about the library?" He chortled as the spider legs smashed into said building, bringing it down in just a couple hits. "Come out, come out, wherever you are~! Just give up, why don't you? No one is physically capable of helping you now...it's just you and me and human king. Ohh, I know! If you give me the king, I'll let you live. Deal?"

Werr held onto Cynyr, unable to hear much. He trusted Cynyr anyways; even if he could here, there wouldn't have been any difference.

Cynyr growled, slowly becoming visible again as he couldn't keep the wings up for long without using up all of his powers. He glanced downwards at the rubble of the library, wondering what Welk had wanted them to find there. He tilted his head slightly to the side, then spotted something down in the rubble. Something that glinted in the moonlight with a golden glow.

Cynyr dove for it, landing so powerfully that he nearly fell over and darting his hand forward, grabbing onto the metallic object under the rubble, yanking it free.

It was a long golden staff, decorated with purple and red tints all along the bar. The orb on the end of the staff was glowing with white, yellow and red lights that slowly shifted from color to color. Curls and vines were carved into the long bar of the staff, and it had an overall sturdy yet delicate feeling to it.

Welk's present to Werr; a staff imbued with his own fire magic properties, so it could protect Werr even when Welk wasn't around.

"Oh, there you are," Cern grinned, throwing the rag down at them. He missed Cynyr's face - the rag landed halfway on Werr's shoulder and halfway on Cynyr's chest, but the effect was all the same. The rag had been soaked in chloroform; the fumes themselves were enough to knock out a fully grown man. Werr was drooping already, groaning as he struggled to put together what had just happened.

Cynyr stumbled, falling to his knees sharply. Werr slid out of his arms; Cynyr was unable to keep holding him, as he was rapidly losing strength. He dragged the staff forward and placed it in Werr's hands, wrapping the boy's fingers tightly around it, then picked Werr up under his arms and vanished from sight again, taking the boy with him.

They reappeared on the far side of Amnairus, where Cynyr crash-landed. His air wings disappeared, leaving him defenseless and unconscious, his arms limp around Werr.

Werr laid there for what seemed to stretch into eternity before Cern came into his view again. He grinned madly and grabbed Werr by the collar, dragging him up to eye-level. "You fear so much...this is going to be fun!" He laughed before fire burst between them, causing Cern to drop Werr with a snarl of pain. Cern recoiled, and something black slammed into him in the next second. Werr hit the ground and was unconscious in the next second.

Werr awoke again to Ophile running his tongue along the human's face. "Wha..." Werr mumbled, his limbs still refusing to obey him, the aftereffects of the chloroform still lingering. He could do little more than twitch.

"Lie still. You're safe now. Cern has fled, but the chains and lock remain over the castle. I'm hoping that they'll dissapate as morning rises, but that'll be a little while. I'm glad you're okay, though." He moved on to wake up Cynyr using the same method.

Cynyr was limp for a few minutes, then coughed weakly and opened his eyes. His dead eye had turned a sickly faded yellow color since it had been cut, turning nearly white. The skin of the eyeball was torn and ripped beyond repair, and as the scars healed, it grew harder and harder for the panther to open that eye. Soon, it would be closed forever, not that he needed it now, what with it being dead and all. He couldn't talk, as he had gotten a bit more chloroform than Werr, but he was rousing slowly.

"You're okay," Ophile sighed with relief. "You all moved quicker than I expected. But you're okay now. Worry not." He licked Cynyr another time, just in case, then sat back to watch them. Werr managed to moved his arm to rub his collar, trembling.

"You do fear quite a bit," Ophile said, moving a little closer to Werr. He reached out and rubbed the black wolf's side, and Ophile noticed that he was shivering. Ophile laid down next to Werr, moving close to keep the human warm.

Cynyr laid still for a few more minutes, then slowly managed to climb to his feet, looking dizzy. He took a step and his legs gave out, unable to hold him from his air wings and the draining effect they had on him. He fell to his knees and promptly threw up, his body threatening to give out on him. The chloroform combined with the magic drain had hurt him. When he had used the wings before, it had taken him a full day to recover. He was lucky to still be conscious, not that it helped much. He shivered and pressed his eyes closed, curling his tail around himself.

Ophile sighed and grabbed Cynyr by the scruff of his neck, pulling the half-cat away from the bile. He pulled Werr over so that the human king would be between himself and Cynyr. Then he laid down to wait. And wait.

Things quickly grew brighter in Amnarius, and Ophile fluffed out his fur in discomfort, but he didn't move. He twitched his ears as there was a clanging sound in the distance. It was as he suspected; the Amnarians were freed as their city returned to its usual brightness.

Cynyr took panther form and pressed his face into his paws, feeling sick but not wanting to throw up anymore. He passed out moments later, unable to stay awake. His tail looped tightly around Werr's arm, however, and he pressed close to the boy.

It wasn't long before Welk ran up in lion form, panting. "Werr! Cynyr!" he said, screeching to a halt nearby. He narrowed his eyes at the wolf, saying "Who are you?" He bristled his fur at the wolf, but decided to trust him since he was laying so closely to Werr and Cynyr and not hurting them. He bounded forward and nuzzled Werr and Cynyr in turn, then pressed his muzzle against Werr's cheek. He spotted the staff in Werr's hands and smiled, murmuring "You found my present."

Ophile moved away to give Welk and his dear friends some space. "Yeah...I like it," Werr smiled weakly, still groggy and finding it hard to move.

"That staff saved his life. Cern would likely have teleported away with the boy if not for the fire that came between them seconds before I arrived." Ophile said quietly. "I'm assuming that was the staff's doing, and not Werr himself, seeing how he's not a mage. As for me, my name is Ophile."

Werr looked over, frowning a bit. "You saved me?" He questioned, spotting the mark of Tartarus on the wolf's shoulder, white on his black fur.

"I was ordered to watch over you. Nothing personal, though you are a very intriguing human. I was lucky to be outside of the castle at the time of this mishap, or I too would have been unable to help. In that case, Cern would have likely taken you to some cave on your world; he would proceed to torture your mind with all manner of unseemly things, which would either drive you to the same level of madness as he, or force you to kill yourself. Simply put." Ophile's nose twitched, and he swept the area with his eyes for perhaps the twentieth time. "Now if you'll excuse me, I fear that my coworker has...expired. I must find him." He stood and moved off at a quick trot, though his tail dragged behind him. It looked broken, and Werr could see that he was tracking blood from a wound or two.

"W-well..." Werr mumbled, looking back at Welk. To be honest, he only heard bits and pieces of anything that was being said; and as he had strained to hear, his ears had started bleeding again. He looked over at Cynyr, ignoring this fact. "You saved me too," He smiled a little wider. "I would have been dead right off the bat if it wasn't for you. Thank you," He rubbed Cynyr's side with his hand, trying to work out the stiffness in his fingers.