The Forgotten Zodiac

Ina, who had followed Luen into the throne room, froze on the spot while Luen fell. She backed away a couple paces, feeling rather...unsafe. She squeaked as her back hit the front of a guard, who grabbed her by the arms at once. "And what should we do with this one? An accomplice, I'd bet!" Luso, for it was he, growled threateningly.

Ina sucked in a single breath, then said, "Nonononononononononononononononono!" She somehow squirmed out of his grip, slipping away from him. She bolted for the door, but found her path blocked; the next several minutes involved her ducking and dodging away from the guards, her superior agility obviously showing as none of them caught her for a long time. Finally, she made the mistake of passing Luen; she slipped on the blood spread out on the floor, and tumbled to the ground. She was tackled and pinned by no less than three of the guards, all of them angry at having to chase her around for so long. She would have screamed, but all the breath had been pummeled out of her.

Meanwhile, Seria had returned from the gardens, only to find Nate, who was still pinned by the frost bonds. She gasped and ran forward, bending down next to him and pulling a small dagger from her boot, where she proceeded to start chipping at bonds holding Nate. "Where's Luen?" she asked, glancing around for him. He wasn't in the room, that was for sure.

A guard ran into the room, glancing around for them. "You two!" he said, stalking forward. He was a half-cat, with a fluffy black tail. He paused when he saw Nate's icy bonds, putting the frost here and the frost attack in the throne room together. "He attacked you too, huh?" he said, moving forward and breaking the bonds in one move. "Too bad for him. We took him down in the throne room. I though you all were a group, but...looks can be deceiving." He shrugged, helping Seria gruffily to her feet.

"You...what?!" Nate screeched, struggling against his bonds. His struggles were quickly growing weaker as the cold gnawed on his insides. Finally, he mustered up the energy (and courage) to blow a short blast of fire at the ice. His shirt caught fire, but the ice quickly melted. He rolled, extinguishing the flames, then charged out the door.

He, however, slid to a stop at the throne room doors. What was he supposed to say? First he unintentionally murders Holly, and then the one he claimed as his friend attacks the king...

Seria and the guard followed him, where the guard opened the doors. "Sheesh, these people..." he muttered, stepping into the room.

Luen's twisted little body was still laying on the ground, the blood already drying on the ground. He was dead, his eyes lifelessly open and glazed over. The blood had stopped flowing from his wounds, since there was no longer a heart beat moving the blood through his body.

Seria's eyes flooded with tears and she ran forward, coming to a halt close to him. She couldn't bring herself to touch him. She knew. There was no hope.

Luen Faolin was dead.

Asmodius looked up from where a castle doctor was tending to his wound, spotting the female half-cat and the dragonian that had entered his throne room. He said nothing, but he felt a strange sense of...equalness.

They had taken Holly from him and now he had taken one of their friends.

So why didn't this pathetic revenge feel good?

He buried his head in his hands and waved at the guards to let Ina go, knowing, deep in his heart, that he had messed up.

Ina bolted out the door the second she was released, not stopping until she was clear of the castle. Even then, she only paused for a second. She ran on, fleeing for dear life.

Nate looked down at the fallen body of Luen, standing in the puddle of blood that was no longer spreading outwards. He was still for a very long while, just...staring. Finally, he moved and spoke again. He turned away from Asmoidus and said, "Is this what you wanted? Is this my punishment for the accident that claimed Holly's life?" Ever so quietly. "Haven't you had enough yet? You've taken so much from me already...the job that I was literally raised to do, you fired me from. My dearest Tasia, you chased off. And now my wounded friend...you had him killed. The only thing more you could take from me is Seria,"

Nate whipped around, pointing at the female half-cat. "So go on then! Run her through as well! Tear her away from me like you've torn apart the rest of my life, my dear king! And don't stop there; hunt down the dragon called Zephyr and his mate, assassinate the king of Alastor, kill everyone I once knew and cared for! Leave a trail of pure destruction and chaos behind you while you mourn over the loss of a single life! Is that what you want, oh mighty king of Storaph?! Oh 'kind and gentle' king Asmodius?

"IS IT?!"

Asmodius said nothing, tears washing down his face. He felt ashamed now, especially as Nate spoke. His guards glanced confusedly between their king and who used to be their head guard. Slowly, Asmodius spoke.

"I...will not say I am sorry. I will not as I know words such as those will have no effect. I was a fool and I regret this. This...isn't what I wanted. I gave my orders rashly, thinking only of the pain the sword thrown into my shoulder was giving me. That pain made me blind, along with my own stupidity. If I could die to bring back the wolfling, I would. But I can't. In the heat of attack, I spoke as I would if an assassin had walked in. I have had many, many attempts on my life, many of which you are aware of, Nate. Advisors advised me and told me that if I were only to give the order, my soldiers would protect me. And I gave that order without thinking." He shook his head slowly, saying "Empty, worthless words, I know. If this is what I've become, then I would rather retire my position and go directly to my grave than let harm befall anyone else." He went silent, sobbing quietly into his hands.

Seria moved forward and closed the wounds on Luen's body, also removing the spells that had been keeping him alive. She couldn't bring herself to pick him up, instead starting to cry softly. A thought hit her; Forin. What would Forin do, when he returned and found out what had happened?

A bad feeling settled in Seria's chest. She already knew that when Forin found out about Luen's death, it would be a dark, dark day.

Nate shook his head. Oddly enough, he chuckled once or twice. "I'm not one you should worry about, Asmodius. Far from it. I won't hurt you; I can't bring myself to, even after everything you've done. I just...can't. But then again, I don't need to. I don't have to, because he will." Nate shook his head, turning away and walking slowly to the doors. "I would double your guards, if I were you. Because Forin Dulce knows what you've just done."

With that, he was gone. Probably off to make an attempt to track down Tasia. At any rate, he wasn't going to stay in the castle anymore.

Jag swivled his head around, glancing down at the ground below them.

He, Forin and Spy were high up in the air, soaring over the mountains. Guided by Spy, they were approaching the space between two peaks that housed the Sacred Plains, the hidden home of the dragons.

Jag sailed between the peaks and blinked at the sight before him. So many dragons, of all sizes and colors, lived here, many more than Jag had thought even lived in the land. He shook off his trepidation and flew forward, slowly hovering to a landing on the soft green grass.

Several dragons noticed him and came forward, lips parted into snarls. "Who are you?" a large brown dragon said, stalking forward. He was called Mithor, and he was second-in-command and best friend to Naybrin, who was the leader of the dragons. He had several scars on his body, the most obvious being the few across his left eye.

Forin slid off of Jag at once. "Forin Dulce, friend to Werr Grehi and Nate Furhblast. My friend here is Jag. We mean no harm...to your kind. We merely wish to speak with Zephyr Shining-Scales."

"Mryooo!" Came a cry from above. Boko hit the ground hard, obviously a crash-landing. He got right back up and shook himself off again, though. "Mithor! Mithy-or! Who's here, will play? I want play!" He jumped around the larger dragon's tail, barely larger than Mithor's foot. Drakelings aged and grew slowly, that much was obvious. But he would quickly grow dangerous over the years; Drakelings were the only creatures capable of ripping through dragon scales with ease. Luckily for him, though, he saw the dragons as friends rather than enemies - which was surprising due to the fact that his parents were killed at the hands of Zephyr and Vaira- although he was a little mischievous at times. Well...a lot mischievous.

At least he didn't have his teeth in yet.

Mithor blinked calmly, obviously very patient. "Just some apparent friends of Zephyr, little one," he said, his deep voice slow and smooth. He eyed Forin and Jag, not paying much attention to Spy, then turned and walked off into the plains. He let out a bellow that echoed across the grasslands, then moved off to lay under a tall tree.

A few moments later, Zephyr and Vaira plunged down out of the sky, coming to booming landings closeby. Zephyr shook his head, then spotted them and smiled. "Hello!" he said, moving forward and bending his head down near them. "It's good to see you again."

Vaira moved forward towards Boko, who she and Zephyr obviously had adopted as their own. They had done this soon after their first mating, which counted them as life-partners. Soon after they had mated, their parental feelings had arisen and they had adopted Boko together.

Vaira purred and ran her warm tongue over Boko's head and back, thrumming a soothing note.

Boko purred and licked Vaira's chin, hopping up onto the dragoness' head, where he curled up happily. "Luv yooouuu!" He squealed, curling himself around one of her horns. "You are mommy and I luuv mommy!" He started gnawing on the tip of her horn, something he had done many times. It showed his affection, albeit in a strange way.

"It's nice to see you too, Zephyr, but we don't come for idle chit-chat, I'm afraid." Forin sighed. "Diana was taken from me. The Tartaran who took her, Cern, hides in the Hadaarak Desert. We have no hope of finding her without help...both in getting there and getting out. You...don't have to agree, but I ask that you please help us along our way. And there's something else...Storaph Palace. We need to...stop there first. I want to check on something before we head to the desert. But to even get that far, I'm afraid we need your help." He looked up at the dragon, no plea or begging in his eyes. Just a strange sort of detatchment. Like he had pushed away his emotions for the time being.

Zephyr flicked his ears, thinking it over, then said "Of course I'll help you. You're friends to my friends, along with being my friends yourselves. I'll carry you anywhere." He shook his head, then turned when thudding footfalls sounded.

Naybrin moved forward, his wise green eyes seeming to dance with a young spirit despit his utterly enormous size. "Hello there," he said, tilting his head down to them. "It is good to see you all alive and somewhat well."

Jag took human form and carefully touched the dragon's nose, stroking his hand along his thick scales.

Naybrin purred softly (though it was loud to them), then turned to Forin and simply stared at him. His immense mind pressed in on Forin's, bestowing on him a single message; sometimes the best punishment, little Tartaran, is being forced to live the rest of a life with the knowledge of one's wrong-doings.

He pulled back then, turning to speak with Zephyr.

Forin just snorted, turning away. You clearly don't know me very well, he thought in response to Naybrin, knowing the dragon would hear him. "Zephyr, if it's all the same, I'd like to leave immediately."

"Daddy leaving?" Boko whined. "I want go too! Diana is crying girl, I like crying, crying tastes good! I find crying girl!"

Forin frowned; he was aware that Boko would actually be better at locating Diana than Spy would be. But he wasn't sure if Vaira and Zephyr would allow it, so he kept his mouth shut.

Zephyr bent his head and licked down Boko's head and back, which was obviously a comman move for dragons to their young. "No, I want you to stay with your mother," the green dragon said, curling a paw around Boko's body. "Don't worry, I'll bring you some salt rocks when I get back. Okay?" There was a mineral deposit in a cave not too far from the Sacred Plains, where salt formed on the rocks in the pool of water inside.

Zephyr then turned to Forin and Jag and said "Alright. Let's be off."

"Salty rockies! Okaaaay~!" Boko squeaked, nodding before going back to gnawing on Vaira's horn.

Forin nodded once, climbing onto Zephyr's back. He held Spy tightly, and the little chimera could feel a slight tremor in the Tartaran's body. Like the emotions he was holding back were near bursting. Spy sighed. "It's okay, Forin. Luen will be alright," The little Chimera patted Forin on the hand gently.

"Right," Forin murmured, shaking his hair out of his eyes before they took off.

Zephyr leaned over and licked Vaira gently on her snout, then leapt upwards, into the bright sky. Jag chose to sit on him this time, since he was tired from the fly here. Zephyr flew strongly, heading up and out of the valley. He soared downwards once he cleared the peaks, flying smoothly through the air. His long body flowed through the wind, he himself thrumming with a soft purr. Though he was a good flier, it took several hours for them to reach Storaph Palace. By then, it was dark.

Zephyr landed in the courtyard, folding his wings in so the ones on his back could get off.

Forin slid off at once. He didn't wait around; the guards recognized him from earlier that same day. But what few guards there were didn't know his name. He stalked to the infirmary, where Luen's body lay under a white sheet, ready to be prepared for burial.

He walked over to the corpse, sinking to his knees next to the table. He tore the sheet off wordlessly, inspecting the body. He didn't seem all too surprised. Sad, indeed; Sword wounds. Luen hadn't died of his previous wounds, nor had Seria allowed him to die of them, then. The only ones with swords and the gall to do such a thing were the guards. And the guards were commanded by the king; he knew the protocol. All assassins were to be detained, if possible. Only killed if the order is given.

Orders were given by kings.

Forin turned and stood once more. He returned to the hall. And at last, his prescence was challenged. It was Luso. "Halt! State your purpose," The new head guard ordered, drawing his sword.

"I wish to...speak with the king." Forin said quietly.

Luso's eyes narrowed. "State your name," He said warily.

"Forin Dulce."

Luso barely had a second to react before Forin slammed him into the wall. "Y-you!" Luso struggled weakly. "Help! Hey, I need backup over here!" He screeched at the top of his lungs.

"Yes, me..." Forin chortled. For obvious reasons, he didn't seem like a Forin any of them knew. It wasn't his true form, but it wasn't him, either. His eyes flicked from one thing to another, his stance wobbly, right eye twitching. A grin to match Cern's was planted on his face. The mixture of rage and misery had driven him beyond any point of logic; his emotions were driving him, and right now, he was on the highway of murder.

"Let's get you out of that armor, shall we?" Forin laughed, planting his hand on Luso's chest. He simply reached in and grabbed Luso, removing him from the hefty suit of plate metal. Luso hit the floor and slashed at Forin, but found that with a simple swipe from the Tartaran, his sword was in his enemy's hands. "Such a crude tool...useless against me, I would say. Now then..." He lashed out with a foot, landing the kick in Luso's gut. The human doubled over. Forin placed a hand on Luso's chest.

"Let's get you out of that skin, shall we?"

A single scream, a laugh from Forin. Shouts from oncoming guards as they charged Dulce.

More laughing.

Asmodius was still sitting in his throne room, holding his head in his hands. He was filled with regret, ashamed of what he had done. He used to be so level-headed, so kind. How had this happened? He sighed deeply, then jerked his head up at the screams of the guards. He wondered fearfully what now could be coming to ruin him, to challenge, to batter at his wits until he scaresely knew what he was doing. He sighed, thinking "If another being wishes to harm me, then so be it. I would rather die than continued living the life I have now. My successor has been named already; he's a smart, intelligent young man. He'll lead better than I will. Come, person. I wish to die." He simply waited, knowing the attack would come.

It took several more minutes and several more screams before Forin finally emerged. Blood covered his pants and hands, as well as some of his shirt. He approached slowly, his short chuckles echoing around the room. He stopped in front of the throne, bowing in mock respect. "Oh mighty king Asmodius! Welcome to your personal hell." He grinned, straightening up again. "I'm Forin Dulce, your host for this evening. You'll be delighted to know that your entire guard force has been relieved of a rather burdening organ; skin! They do say that beauty is on the inside, after all!" He laughed, then suddenly took on a serious face.

He walked forward and leaned his arm against the back of the throne, wagging his bloody finger in the king's face. "You've done something bad. We Tartarans? We hear death. It's an annoying little buzzing in the back of our necks, a constant irritation, really. But every so often, one dying breath stands out among the rest. The last word or gasp of someone we care about. We can identify those easily. So even though I was miles away, I knew it the second Luen died. So I came back. And here I am!"

He touched his finger to the king's nose, leaning close to his ear. "I wanted to make someone suffer. Whether it was Seria, Nate, the guards, you...I didn't care. But I find it hard to believe that the guards would have murdered without orders. Even an assassin has a right to life, unless the king himself relieves him of that. So I must conclude that you gave the order to have Luen killed.

"Do you know how that makes me feel? Do you know what I want to do to you? Go ahead...guess. I'm open for suggestions," He snorted, starting to giggle again.

Asmodius sat still, a blank look on his face. "Do whatever you want to me," he said, his voice weak and resigned. "I want to die. Turn me inside-out, remove all of my organs, stab me over and over. I don't care. I want to die. I want to die!" His voice quickly rose into a shout. "Kill me!" he wailed, closing his eyes. "Feed me to beasts in the wild, do whatever you wish! I do not deserve life, not in the slightest. I wasn't thinking right when I gave that order for your friend. All of my thoughts were scattered here and there. Killing that wolfling...was one of the worst things I believe that I've done in my life. And I wish to suffer for it!" He slumped in the throne, tears dripping silently down his cheeks.