The Forgotten Zodiac

"Send for them, then." Obelisk said, wrapping his hands into fists. "I'm ready to leave the moment they are. I may be old, but I'm far from slow," He snorted, shaking his head. "They'd better be ready to keep up with me."

((Smallpost, sorry. ono))

((It's okay.

Also, I should warn you, I might be a bit quiet today. For...reasons.))

Galai nodded, then turned to Touri, her guard, and said "Send for Firestorm, please. Make sure he knows that it is important."

The guard nodded, then transformed into a unicorn and trotted out of the room.

Galai watched her go, then turned to her other side and said "Alima, go and get...him."

The younger guard blinked a bit, but nodded and ran off nonetheless. When she returned, she led a familiar figure along with her, one that made Galai smile and Obelisk blink.

Dark trotted up to the throne and gave a stiff bow, then rose up and smiled at her. "Greetings, your Majesty," he said, his white eyes shinning.

"Hello, Dark," she said, then turned a hand in Obelisk's direction. "I assume that you remember your creator."

Dark turned and stared at the dark lord, slowly opening his mouth in shock.

((That's alright. If you need to talk about anything, you know that I'm here, right?))

Obelisk turnbed his face down at Dark, curious. "Greetings, small one." He said quietly, remembering the creature well. "It's been quite a while, has it not? I thought you to be ." He was somewhat puzzled; he had designed the creature to be linked with Light, his twin. But Light was , how was Dark still standing? Still...the creature seemed...happy. Obelisk couldn't help but smile a little bit, feeling perhaps a little like he owed his creation something.

((I know.))

Dark immediately had his hands up in defensive positions, staring at Obelisk with a mixture of fear and resentment. "Y...you!" he said, backing up a step. "What are you doing here? How did you get in here?!"

"Peace, Dark," Galai said, rising from her throne and walking down to brush a strand of his white hair behind his ear. "Obelisk is not here to hurt you."

Slowly, Dark lowered his arms, fidgiting at the queen's side. "Are you sure?" he asked suspiciously, taking cover behind the queen. She nodded once, saying "Positive." He didn't come out from behind her, but he seemed to relax a bit. "Well congratulations, Lord Obelisk," he said, sounding upset. "I'm not dead."

Galai stroked his head gently, calming him down a bit more, then said "He's been here for almost two years, now. He tried to save them both, but...Light..."

"He was too far gone for his own good," Dark snapped quietly. "We both died, yeah, but Galai saw fit to give us a second chance. But Light didn't want it. He said...said he'd rather remain dead than live at my side anymore. So Galai used the energy she would've given him and used it to sever our connection instead."

"Well. That's...nice." Obelisk tilted his head to the side a bit. "I have no more intentions of harm. If you've been living here, you must have heard already that Malice has returned. It was he who had controlled me for all that time, and even though it was technically he who used my powers to create you, I am still happy to see you alive." He looked up at Galai. "Your mercy astounds me sometimes, your majesty. He is not even a real being, yet you still cared enough to bring him back..." He said thoughtfully, looking back down at Dark.

"Who are we, Obelisk, to say someone is real or not?" she asked gently, smiling softly at him. "I see life. I see the rush of air in and out of lungs, eyes that look, hands that touch, blood that flows. Life is still life, no matter how it is made."

Dark finally stepped out from around Galai and stopped in front of his creator, unable to stop the small fear-shiver from running down his spine. He stared at Obelisk, practically glaring, several thoughts going through his head but none coming out. What was funny was that Dark really was actually very small. He was a bit shorter than Werr, who was a bit shorter than Cynyr. Size clearly hadn't been a major thought in his making, but he had never complained.

Obelisk frowned a bit thoughtfully. "No...I don't think I should say things like that, in that case." He turned his bandaged face back at Dark, tilting it to the other side. His creation was puny compared to his long, deformed frame. "So, small one, are you to be joining me on my journey? It will not be easy; the Fair Ones would not have entrusted their magics to a place that was inept at keeping things safe."

"Like I care," Dark said. "If this is true, then I'm only going on this stupid trip because Lady Galai wants me to help you. She told me I could refuse if I wanted to, but...well, she gave me life again. And even though it hurts to be here without Light, I am grateful to her. So for her sake, I'll go with you. But I'll hate every second." He crossed his arms, though he was obviously intimidated by Obelisk. Greatly.

A booming thud echoed in the courtyard, followed by a roar, then silence.

"Firestorm is here," Galai said, watching as Dark seemed to perk up a bit. "Why don't you go out and meet him, Dark?" the queen asked.

The little black-dressed being darted off, actually smiling a bit.

"Thank you, again," Obelisk dipped his head, turning away. He hesitated, however. "I fear this may be the first and last time we'll ever speak, Queen Galai. I just ask that you do whatever you can...to keep Werr from searching from his father. He has too much to be concerned about for the time being as it is." He sighed, then left. He found himself stopped short, Airlia scrambling back away from him. He decided not to pursue calming him down, letting her scurry past into the throne room while he headed past her and out of the castle.

Out in the courtyard, Dark was running towards the center of the open space, heading towards the large creature sitting in the center. "Firestorm!" he shouted, putting on some speed.

The creature that lifted his head and turned at Dark's voice was a huge red dragon that was nearly Zephyr's size.

The large male dragon seemed to smile slightly, then lunged up and faced Dark, sucking in a deep breath. He let it out in a massive roar that nearly blasted Dark backwards, then closed his mouth and brought his head down near to the ground. Dark charged over and slammed into the magical creature's nose, pushing with all of his might. He struggled as hard as he could, but no matter what he did, he couldn't push the dragon even an inch. Firestorm watched, amused, until Dark had exhausted himself. The black-dressed being sat down on the ground, panting, then both dragon and human stared at each other. Then they laughed and Firestorm bent his head forward, nuzzling Dark gently. "Good to see you, lahnir," the dragon said, his voice lighter than Zephyr's, with a faint raspy tone to it.

Dark hugged the dragon's snout tightly, closing his eyes.

Obelisk followed Dark out, standing at a distance. He watched them both from a distance, walking forward after a little while. He cleared his grainy throat, leaning back on his bandages as his feet were quickly growing sore from walking on the light ground. "Greetings, dragon," He said simply, dipping his head. "I suggest you prepare yourself for a long flight. We will have to fly to a small island far out from any mainland. We leave tomorrow morning."

((I wanna do something with Obelisk before we do that thing with Nelu. :T))

((Okay.))

Firestorm lifted his head, peering down at the (to him) little figure below. "And who are you?" he asked, flicking his ears up in order to hear a bit better.

"Don't fight, Firestorm," Dark said, running forward to tug at one of the dragon's thick black claws. "Galai said we have to go with him."

The large red dragon snorted, shaking his thick skull and flicking his ears back. "That doesn't mean I have to like it or be nice over it," he said, glaring down at Dark.

"Maybe so, but you shouldn't fight. It's not that bad," the little artificially-made being said. He cut his eyes towards Obelisk, then said "...Okay, it's bad. But we have to bear it, okay?"

The dragon said nothing.

"OKAAAAY?" Dark called, scooping up a rock from the ground and throwing it with perfect persicion up into the dragon's dark blue eye.

Firestorm hissed and rubbed his slitted eye, then said "Fine, FINE."

"I am Obelisk. The Dark Lord." He said with little hesitation, not intimidated in the slightest. It was hard to be scared of anything when nothing could kill you. He did still feel pain, but he had felt pain that would have killed a mortal man. Other pain could only ever last a few moments in his eternity of life. "And to some, a disliked ally. Pleasure to meet you, Firestorm."

"Firestorm Flame-Throat...not quite at your service," the dragon said, by way of introduction. He turned his head around and preened his glittering red scales, then bent his head down and blew a thick breath at Obelisk. "Whatever," he said. "Personally, I wouldn't care if you were the king of the world. I still wouldn't like you." He shook his head, then glanced up when a shadow passed over him.

Zephyr landed nearby, letting out a deeply pleased hum. "Firestorm!" he shouted, his voice rich and deep.

"Zephyr?!" the red dragon said, immediatley perking his head up. The two male dragons raced towards each other, and within seconds, they were licking each others' muzzles and twinning their necks together, chattering away.

"Not many people like me..." Obelisk said quietly, turning away without another word while the two dragons greeted each other. He had said what he had needed to, there was no reason for him to stay. If he had stayed, he probably would have just watched on jealously for awhile before leaving anyways, so in Obelisk's mind, he was sparing himself the trouble.

He walked back into the castle, noticing something on the floor. It was tiny though. One of his bandages swooped down and swept it up so he could examine it better. It was a liquid, crimson in color. It was all too obvious what it was. But why was there blood in the castle halls? Obelisk headed down the hall he had found it in, finding another tiny speck not too far away from the first. And then another, and another, until he finally found a small pool of it in front of a door. He swept up the blood, bringing the droplets up to his mouth without thinking. The monster inside him that was his powers did indeed drive him to do strange things; it was no lie (nor secret) that he had eaten several of his slaves two years back. He hadn't liked it at all, but it wasn't really Malice's doing that had done that. But after so long, one starts to develop strange tastes.

The door opened suddenly, and Obelisk next found what felt like a needle in his arm. And then his consciousness was slipping fast. He wasn't immune to anything besides death; he wondered, in a foggy state before unconsciousness, who on earth had put that together. Unless...Werr? He felt out towards his attacker, managing to make contact for a split second before they recoiled. No, it wasn't Werr...oh well, Obelisk thought before he passed out.

Airlia shuffled into sight. She had been hiding since she had passed Obelisk heading in, but she finally mustered up the courage to speak. "Um...Queen Galai," She shuffled her foot. "Uh...I overheard something...bad. I mean, I think it's bad...probably..."

Galai looked up at Airlia, nodded to the girl. She had been speaking with Touri about some matter or another, but she now shooed the guard off and turned to the dove Amnairian. "Yes, Airlia?" she asked, flaring her white wings. "What is it?" She curled her fingers around the silver staff in her hand, tilting her head at the girl.

"Um..." Airlia rubbed her arm, looking down. Galai already had enough to worry about, did this really matter? "I heard that...well, I heard two others talking about, um...pulling a 'prank' on someone who arrived with Werr. Some of the things they were saying were kind of wrong, and an Amnarian was trying to talk him out of it, but...I didn't see who it was, either." She shook her head. "I think it was a guy, though, so it can't be an Amnarian..."

Galai instantly looked concerned. "Are you certain?" she asked, her voice growing serious. When Airlia nodded, then queen sighed and said "Alright. Go and look for all of the members of Werr's group. Make certain that they each have a trusted Amnairian guard with them at all times. I am the queen here, and as long as I have guests, I insist they be treated courtiously." She turned to Touri and said "Go help Airlia carry this out. I want it done as fast as possible."

"I'm pretty sure," Airlia nodded. "I know that Werr and Cynyr are in the Library, and Welk is...still..." She trailed off, but shook it off and looked up again. "I think Forin and Diana are in the infirmary, and so it Luen. And Spy and Jag are in the guest home! I...I kind of went to check on everyone already, but yeah, having guards would be a good idea." She nodded, already flying off.

No sooner than she left did a little white rabbit hop into the room, sniffing at the ground curiously. Without warning, the rabbit was a tall, scrawny boy, looking young. Older than Werr, perhaps, but still young. He was pale, and he had grey hair and tall white ears. His bright blue eyes landed on Galai, and a smile played across his lips. He was wearing a tall black top hat and a neat suit, looking much like a circus ringmaster. He had white gloves on his hands, as well as a simple black cane and a strange leather satchel attached to his side. Lastly, he had a thick pink scar running from just under his eye to about the middle of his cheek. "Hello there!" He greeted cheerily, his smile wrinkling the scar in an odd fashion. "I thought you 'ought to know that the entertainment of this fine day will be starting soon. You can find me in the courtyard in an hour's time, okay? Do attend, if you can manage to slide your plump rear through the front door." He laughed, skipping back as one of the guards charged him. "Tally ho!" He grinned, landing nimbly on bare feet. He turned on heel and almost skipped away, smiling happily. Then he was gone with a wave of his cane.

Of course, the guards took off after him. But of course, they came back empty handed. Most troubling, indeed...

((Yep, it's a Rabbitzen now. >8D The new Resu made a mistake~))

((Should've known.))

Galai thought hard over the situation, then said "I want guards around every inch of the courtyard, in waiting." She stood up, raising her slender figure from the throne. "I myself will also be going. And if the need arises, I will be using my powers."

The guards in the room gasped, and a few said "No, your Majesty!"

"If worst comes to worst, I will," Galai said. "To save innocent lives." She swept forward, followed closely by her guards. "Whatever he has planned, I want to make sure that it is counteracted without injury to those around," she said. "Make certain that the courtyard is cleared, am I understood?"

"Yes, your Majesty," the guards said, and two split away and ran off.