The Forgotten Zodiac

Welk listened quietly to them, then rested his head on Werr's lap and sighed. "You'll remember everything we've done once we get to Amnairus," he said. "The Divine is scary, but I don't think it'll hurt you. If we can get your memories back, then everything will be okay." He glanced up to where he knew Obelisk was sitting, then muttered "Well...somewhat okay."

"Right..." Werr murmured, falling asleep. He woke up quickly when the cart shuddered; the sun had come out, evaporating the cushions underneath the wheels that Obelisk had been using. The road was jagged and rocky here, too, to make matters worse.

And then things came to a sudden halt. Ophile started barking noisily, but then there was a yelp of pain. There was quiet for a moment, then the door opened. Who stood there appeared to be human; he was holding Obelisk's severed head and a bloodied sword, smirking a bit. "All too easy. I've come for you, your 'majesty'. Worry not; you won't be hurt. Not too badly, at any rate."

"Wha...what do you want from me?" Werr stammered, hugging his chest in pain. He wasn't sure about the 'majesty' part, but the man was staring at him.

"It's not what I want with you. I'm merely an escort from the Silver Tornado. Queen Libira wishes to speak with you, and I'm here to take you there. Whether you'll come quietly or you'll be dragged by the hair, that's your choice."

Welk snarled and lunged forward, slamming into the man and forcing him backwards. He ran, kicking off from a tree and lunging back around, snarling. He attacked again, swiping with his thick claws.

Cynyr was awake by now, of course, and he quicky encased the carriage in a shimmering force-field of wind, which sliced around in whistleing circles, screaming like rockets. His limbs might've been broken, but his mind wasn't, and that was all he needed to cast certain spells.

The man let out a snarl, throwing Obelisk's severed head aside. Within seconds, he was no longer man. He definitely wasn't human. He looked like a werewolf, but twice as large as one would normally think. He was about the size of the big Lizardmen that Welk and his friends had to face for a challenge that Titus, the king of Tartarus, gave them. Namely, he was huge. His brown fur and black eyes portrayed that of a feral beast, hungry for flesh and blood.

"Come here, you!" He roared. His sword had changed with him; it was now three times as large as it was, and apparently melded onto his arm. "I'll cut you up. This could be easy, you know; hand me Werr and let's just go. I'll even take you with!" He frowned. "Besides, it won't just stop at me, either. The Silver Tornado knows your plans, fool; even if you take me down, there will always be more..."

"Shut UUUUUUUP!" Welk screeched, charging around in circles around the creature. "Shut up, shut up, shut the freaking heck up! I'm not handing over my best friend to the likes of you! I don't care what you do to me! I'm not letting you take my friend away form me, never again! He's MINE!" He threw a tornado of fire out at the hulking creature, engulfing it in crackling hot flames. Some of the hottest he had ever created to date.

Cynyr even helped as much as he could, swirling wind out and buoying up Welk's fire, making it bigger and hotter.

The werewolf snarled angrily, his claws ripping through the flaming ground, making a gap in the flames for a moment. He charged out, his fur aflame in patches. With that, he swiped at Welk, an attack that would have killed Welk on the spot if not for Obelisk's bandages swooping in, blocking the way. They wound themselves around the werewolf's claws, pulling them away from Welk.

"What the..." The werewolf turned to look for the source, spotting Obelisk. He was still moving, despite his new headlessness. "What in the name of...how in the..." The being spluttered and cursed, clearly unable to understand how Obelisk could still be alive without a head. The bandages pulled Obelisk's head back onto his neck, positioning it properly before wrapping tightly around the cut, keeping his head in place.

"You made a mistake, attacking like that..." Obelisk wheezed, his voice whistling ever so slightly.

Welk bounded around in circles, darting in to claw at the werewolf's legs, making sure his claws were tipped in fire every time. The werewolf's thick fur was a magnet to the flames, which licked up and down his body in bright, burning tongues. Cynyr's wind attacks cut downwards, arching through the air and slicing at the werewolf's body, trying hard to bring him down.

Welk attacked angrily, opening his mouth and breathing out an inferno of fire.

The werewolf roared, slashing at Welk viciously. He went after the carriage at one point, his sword-arm making it through the wind barrier somehow and cutting into the carriage, coming inches from Werr's face. It suddenly changed, turning into a hand that attempted to grab Werr. It managed to slam into him, but he couldn't get the fingers around the human before he had to pull back due to the attacks. Finally, he turned and fled, howling horrible pain at the sky.

"Let him run," Obelisk snapped. "Going after a wounded animal of that size is never smart. We'll be safe enough in Amnarius..."

Werr was wheezing, his air having been knocked from his lungs. His chest stung badly, and his eyes were welled up with tears, but he seemed more or less alright.

Welk snarled after the werewolf, threatening to follow after the creature, then slowly forced himself to settle down. He stalked around angrily, running his claws through the dirt, then slowly turned away and bounded up into the carriage. He licked Werr gently, brushing his rough tongue over the boy's skin, then laid down on the seat next to him, nuzzling his arm.

Cynyr coughed and called out to the ones outside. "Ophile! Hey, you still out there?"

Werr relaxed, closing his eyes. "H-he almost had me..." He murmured, pressing against Welk. "Th-that was...terrifying..."

"He's here," Obelisk called. "Alive, more or less. He's wounded fairly badly."

"I-I'm okay..." Ophile whimpered. He had been knocked off of the top of the carriage by a sword swipe. The cut was long and deep, and blood spilled freely from the wound. He staggered back to his feet, though Obelisk picked him up a moment later, his bandages wrapping around the cut.

"You're not. Allow me to hold you until we get there." Obelisk said gently, moving back to the carriage. "We're about an hour away, but I cannot make the journey smooth again. Hold on tightly, please..." He started the horses forward again, desperate to get to Amnarius.

Cynyr winced at practically ever bump and bobble in the road, with good reason. Having three out of four of your major limbs broken was fairly painful. Not including the tail.

Welk nuzzled Werr, murmuring gentle things to him. He rested a paw in the boy's lap, purring softly and rubbing his muzzle against his shoulder. "You're okay, thought," he said. "You are."

Cynyr fell back asleep, finding that to be his only pain-reliever at this point. And even then, it was still uncomfortable.

"I...yeah." Werr said quietly, closing his eyes as well. He was still wheezing a bit, but he was quickly calming down. In an hour or so, they arrived at Amnarius at last. Ophile directed Obelisk through the caves, ensuring that they didn't get lost.

"How far out are we?" Nate asked. He had quickly grown uncomfortable, having to lie down in Zephyr's grip in order for himself and Luen to fit.

"We're about half-way," the emerald dragon holding them said. "Don't fret too much, Furhblast. We'll be there soon enough."

Luen was quiet, resting with his head laying against Nate's neck. He was still in deer form, of course, as that was what he had inadvertantly passed out in. His eight curled tines glinted lightly in the sun, showing off the intricate patterns the had woven into. He pressed his long, delicate legs against his body, sighing quietly as he slept on.

Any hunter would take one look at the magnificant buck and instantly know he was worth a lot dead.

Not many people knew of the kirin lerlochs, of course. They were very rare, much like rabbitzens, though the latter was more scarce. With his snowy pelt and fine, eight-point antlers, the white kirin would now be in danger of roving hunters.

Obelisk said nothing, diving to catch Welk. He returned to the platform; where he was promptly held at swordpoint by an overprotective Forin. "Drop him," The Tartaran snarled.

"Do you really think that will do anything, child?" Obelisk snorted, dropping Welk at Werr's feet. The human king kneeled at once, pulling Welk into his arms.

"W-what happened to him?!" Werr exclaimed, eyes wide.

"The Divine was a little too harsh on him. No matter. Let's get you both to Amnarius at once." The elongated human shook his head, then looked up at the others. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then closed it again and turned away.

Welk was completely limp, still just panting and staring sightlessly ahead. Finally, he gurgled out something.

"D...dead...they're...d-dead...I'm a-alone..."

Cynyr looked on worriedly, then said "Come on, let's move. Now!"

Zephyr nodded and started gently scooping people up onto his back. Luen woke by now and carefully peeked over the dragon's hands, blinking slowly.

Cynyr stared up at him, then said "Um...hello? Who...are you?"

The deer smiled faintly, then lowered his head again.

"...Well," the panther said, confused, then threw a wave up at Nate.

"No," Werr said, holding his friend close. "I'm here, Welk, I'm right here...please, don't forget that,"

Nate didn't move, but he smiled a bit. "Waving is a bit difficult right now," He said, shaking his head. "We...have a lot to catch up on though, apparently."

Forin returned to Zephyr, where he had left Diana momentarily. She was staring at Obelisk, trembling slightly. He hugged her tightly before helping her onto Zephyr's back. The eternally suffering one turned his bandaged face away, wondering if he would ever laugh again. Probably not, while hanging around this group...Werr kept glancing up at him with fear in his eyes, Forin glared at him with hatred while Diana lingered on the verge of sobbing. Nate just wouldn't look, focusing on keeping Luen calm.

Once everyone was on, Zephyr peered down at Obelisk, his great breath moving slowly in and out of his lungs. He bent his huge head forward, bringing it a few inches away from the tall being. "You have suffered much," he murmured. "Perhaps it is time for the past to stay where it belongs. Forgotten and behind us." He carefully brushed the tip of his muzzle against the elongated creature's head, breathing out a warm, gentle blast of air. He offered his horns to him, presenting him with a place to ride. "Werr, bring your friend over and I shall carry him. It would be best for the both of you to allow me to help you," he said.

"I only wish it were that easy," Obelisk said, his bandages picking up Ophile as he climbed atop the dragon's head.

"Y-yes, of course," Werr said, straining to pick up his knight. He managed somehow, hefting his dear friend over to Zephyr. Forin and Jag helped them both up, and then they were off. Off to Amnarius, where they would hopefully be able to rest and recuperate some.

The dragon walked along, slowly and carefully, making sure that none of his passengers were jostled. He made his way to the gates of Amnairus and walked in, blinking at the bright light. He spread his wings over his back, making sure Forin was covered from the light, then carefully continued to walk.

Luen blinked awake again at the bright light, then sighed and nuzzled Nate. "Hello," he murmured, smiling at the dragonian.

Obelisk didn't do quite so well. His nails clawed at Zephyr's scales, though they didn't leave any marks. He didn't have eyes, but if he did, he would probably have been blinded. He 'saw' by use of his magic; and the brightness of Amnarius limited his sight rather drastically. His magic crackled around him, flecks of darkness colliding with the light surrounding him and literally making small cracking noises as the two magics conflicted. He really didn't have much control over his own powers, apparently, or he would have drawn it back into himself.

Nate smiled at Luen, unable to see the war between the light and dark magics. As such, his next question was, "What is that sound?"