The Forgotten Zodiac

"No, get off her!" Cern screamed, quite clearly panicking. He suddenly collapsed, jerking and spasming without control; the next second, the entire area around them was literally covered in ice, all over the ground. It sealed most everyone's feet down, excluding Cynyr's one foot that was on Gurushi's neck. Cern coughed and spluttered weakly; his dark-magic spider legs pushed him upright slowly, scrabbling on the now-icy ground.

He staggered over to Cynyr and Gurushi, blood leaking from the corner of his usually-grinning mouth. The magic was regecting him; and of course it was, in the worst way possible. It was tearing him up from the inside out. It was all he could do to not vomit out the filthy magic that wasn't his. "Ge-get...aw-away from...her..." He grabbed weakly onto Cynyr's shirt, shaking terribly.

Cynyr turned sharply, his black cloak billowing out darkly around him, then he pushed Cern backwards and said "Shut up, creaky. So long as she's hurting my friends, I have no reason to get away from her." He glared at the Tartaran, no pity at all in his eye. "Stop your attack and I won't hurt her. She's only human, after all, dark magic or no. I can kill her easy." He pointed a hand at her, holding it steady as a blade of wind magic formed, ready to be released like a bullet.

"P-please...do-don't sent me back there..." Cern whimpered, his one hand of fingers wrapping around Cynyr's leg. "Th-the dungeons, th-they're designed to drive you insane...an-and look at me!" He looked around, watching the ice attacks grind to a halt. Even the ice cage shattered, releasing Werr, Ina and Ophile. When everything stopped completely, he turned away from Cynyr. He coughed and reched emptily, until a glowing blue orb of light slid from his mouth, floating a few feet off the ground.

Luen's powers. Cern snatched them up and shoved them into a small leather bag, tying it shut using his one hand and his teeth, He then forced the bag under Cynyr's nose. "Here, here! Take them, they hurt me, I don-don't want them!" He was clearly in hysterics at this point, dragging at Cynyr's shirt. "Pl-please, don't kill her..."

Gurushi, on the other hand, looked like she very much wanted to slay Cern on the spot, along with everyone else here.

Cynyr's eyes narrowed, his empty one looming with an un-dead air, then he pulled back slightly, though he didn't allow Gurushi up. He kept his attack formed at her, taking the bag from Cern with his other hand and tucking it down into his cloak. He looked like a living shadow that had decided to stand up from the ground, what with his cloak pulled tight around him. "Why did you attack us?" he asked, pointing the sharp edge of the wind blade at her. "Explain." When she was silent, he shoved the blade forward and touched it to her neck, shouting "Now!"

"She's already explained. She believed that I had been captured by you all," Obelisk sighed, stepping forward. "She fought to have me back as her master. I gave her life, kept her alive twice now, in spite all odds. Gurushi thought she was returning the favor by 'saving' me. While really, she was only causing more suffering."

Gurushi suddenly reached up, grabbing the hilt of Cynyr's blade and pulling it down. Blood spilled forth, mixed with the black-colored magic that Obelisk had pushed into her to keep her alive. "It would be unfair of me to force her to remain alive again. She's had enough. There is no more that this life has to offer her." Obelisk sighed, wishing he could do the same thing and just be done.

"No..." Cern whispered, staring in shock at his fading summoner. "Af-after all that...y-you go and...do this? Wh-what do you mean, nothing to live for? Am I worth...nothing?" He struggled forward, his hand landing in her blood. He pulled back, looking at his red hand as he, too, began to fade. Dissolving into a black dust that was caught up into the air, taken back to Tartarus where he would reform. Back in the dungeons. It was always like that when a summoner died.

Cern laid down in the sand, giving up at that point. "Fine...I'll go home..."

((Cern's sad theme, if I hadn't picked one out yet. o3o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph6UWKPd3sM ))

Cynyr retracted his blade, sighing quickly. He looked over at Cern, his yellow eye not quite as cold and unfeeling as he might've liked. "Some people just can't see worth in anything," he murmured, looking away. "Don't take it to heart, Tartaran. When you've fallen as far as you possibly can go, then you can only go up." He shrugged, then carefully offered Cern his hand. "Shall we at least shake hands, then?" he said softly.

Cern raised his shaking hand, watching in dismay as part of his arm dissolved with the movement. He took Cynyr's hand and shook once or twice, smiling ever so slightly. "I...I don't think I'll be able to go up all that much. But thanks for the advice." He sighed as his lower half had been completely dissolved by this point. "We'll see each other again someday, I'm pretty sure...and then I'll kill you," He snarled suddenly, gripping Cynyr's hand tightly. Then it dropped down to wipe a bit of blood away from his grinning mouth. "He-hey, you could even request to fight me in the arena sometime. An-anyone can, really...see you then," He chuckled as Gurushi's gurgles subsided.

Then he was gone, whisked away by the wind, carried off to Tartarus.

Down in the dungeons, Forin looked up as he started to hear sobbing from further down. It sounded like...Cern. Well, at least there was less of a threat to Diana and Luen now, he thought aimlessly, going back to biting his thumb restlessly.

"W-well...that was...eventful," Werr stood up and brushed himself off once he was sure it was safe.

Cynyr flicked his tail, sighing through his nose-holes, then turned and said "We should keep moving. We still have a lot of ground to cover, after all." He walked over and patted Werr's shoulder, then brushed a hand down Ophile's back, pausing to spend a moment fondling the wolf's ears. Really messing with them and rubbing them all over, putting his hands on either side of the black wolf's face and scratching him good. Then he ran a hand from the wolf's shoulders to the base of his tail, rubbing and scratching the whole way.

"Lot of ground to cover?" Obelisk snorted, watching as Ophile looked pleased at the scratching. "Does that make you happy, wolf? I thought Tartarans were incapable of such feelings. Aside from Forin Dulce, who stole such things from his dear king so long ago..."

"Maybe I am happy. I haven't a clue what it feels like to be happy, so I don't actually know. I just know that I'm...content." Ophile shook himself once Cynyr was done. "At any rate, you questioned why Cynyr said what he did. Do explain."

"We've hardly any 'ground to cover' left." Obelisk gestured to behind Cynyr. "Look at where we are."

"This is it?" Werr blinked. It was indeed rather nice looking; there was a crystal clear pond that glimmered in the moonlight, a few palm trees and plenty of bushes. For one wandering the desert, on the brink of death, it would be like a safe haven among hell. But for Werr, "Looks like just an oasis..."

"Silly boy. Have you ever heard of an oasis in your desert?" Obelisk questioned.

"Uh, no, actually. I don't have much of a map in regards to this place. I know that the tiny country of Grittle used to lay beyond it, but it was burned down a long time ago. I also know that what's left of it was absorbed by the empire of Gossain, who also happen to be pressing on the borders of this desert. They know I don't dare bring soldiers out here to defend it, so they've been trying to negotiate; they clean it up, take it off my hands, so on and so forth. But I've already spoken with representatives of the towns out here, they hardly want to be 'cleaned up'. I know they're considered bandits by most, but they're still people, and--"

"We don't need a politics lesson, Werr. What I'm saying is, this place is unknown by pretty much the majority of mortals to walk this land. As such, it's the perfect hiding place, no? A place that can only be found by those who are looking for it." Obelisk smiled.

"But...it's tiny. You said the place was a temple, didn't you?" Werr blinked.

"Did I really? Well," Obelisk shrugged, walking forward. He brushed aside a bush, revealing what looked like a thick metal trapdoor. "I guess that temples aren't allowed to be underground anymore."

Cynyr glared at Obelisk, suddenly reminded of the fact that he really didn't like the dark creature. "Oh, and I suppose we'll just drop down that hole and be right on top of the precious artifacts, no?" he said, crossing his arms. He reached one hand around and pulled the hood of his cloak up, covering his ears and face nearly from view. 'Nearly' meaning that you couldn't see his face from either side. Only from the front, and even then, it was partial. He moved over to Firestorm and helped Seria off, keeping her close to his side as he headed towards the trapdoor. He took hold of the door and pulled on it, managing to open it. "We goin'?" he asked, glancing behind him at the others. "Werr, please stay where I can see you, okay?"

"Something like that," Obelisk tutted, dropping into the hole. There was a ladder, but he didn't bother to use it. There was a few seconds' wait before he called up, "Well, besides it being pitch-black down here, we're alone for now. Hurry up."

"Right," Werr swallowed hard, moving to follow after Cynyr. Ophile took one look at the ladder and sat down on the sand, resigning to keeping watch up here. It wasn't like he could just jump down like Obelisk, not without hurting himself.

Cynyr moved to go down first, but Dark suddenly pushed past him and jumped down, calling "Whee!" Firestorm was hanging onto the black-clad being's shoulder, his mouth open in a grin. There was an "OW!" as Dark landed, then he called "Come on, come on! What're you all waiting for, Christmas? Get your tails down here so we can get serious. ~♥ "

Cynyr growled and said "I'm going to forget I ever heard that." He carefully took Seria's hand, holding on tight as she started down the ladder. He soon had to let go, watching as she made her way down, then he turned to Werr and offered the same hand, saying "Your turn...your Majesty." One side of his mouth kinked up slightly into a faint smile.

Werr smiled slightly and followed along. "I...think I'll stay up here," Ina mumbled, shaking her head.

"I won't object to company," Ophile wagged his tail slightly.

"On...second thought, I think I'll go," Ina made a face, moving to climb down the ladder after Werr. "Sorry, wolf-face, but uh...you're scary."

"Only to some people. No big deal," The Tartaran moved over to one of the palm tree, concealing himself half-way in a bush so that he could keep watch.

Once they were all in the underground tunnel, Cynyr glanced around. He had excellant night-vision; he could see perfectly in the pitch blackness. Seria also could see perfectly, but she took his hand anyways, then took Ina's in order to help the rabbitzen along. Cynyr slid his scarred, rough hand into Werr's, guiding the boy along in the darkness. "Let's move," the panther said, his voice echoing eerily in the black.

"Can't we light a torch or something first?" Seria said. "Werr can't see here and I don't want him to fall down."

Werr followed Cynyr's touch, keeping a hand on the wall to steady himself. "I'll be okay," He said after a moment of thinking.

"We're not far. Look, this way." Obelisk was able to direct them down one tunnel among several; it wasn't too long, however, before they were able to see light. The entire tunnel opened up to a massive area that looked like the inside of a cathedral. The high ceiling and painted walls certainly gave it that appearance, anyways. Hanging from the ceiling were glowing orbs, obviously covered with a magic that made them glow constantly. There were rows of benches, what appeared to be an altar, and off to the sides were a number of doors.

"So," Werr looked around carefully, frowning as he realized how detailed this entire place was. It was like someone took an actual temple, cast it in stone, and buried it here. "Where are the artifacts? In these rooms?"

"I don't suggest opening the doors," Obelisk said, already moving forward. He sat down on the altar, looking around at the paintings. "Not unless you like releasing eons of evil into the world. Those lead to the resting places of a number of legendary creatures. The Cyprus, Beoth, so on. I'm sure you're aware of such things." His words were met with silence. "Tch, do they not teach these things in school anymore? Cyprus was a man-eating giant with no eyes and a mouth the size of a mountain. Beoth was a behemoth, able to suck the life out of any mortal in a matter of seconds, just by them being around. Beoth was a bit more of a problem, because he cursed the human race in that they would turn into something just like him. The fairies fought him, took him down, and broke the curse. Mostly. Regardless," Obelisk sighed, moving over to one of the doors and inspecting it. "The only one that's empty right now is this one. Mine. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one still alive, too. But that's beyond the point."

"Great, we already got a politics lesson from Werr, now we have a history lesson from...thing." Ina sighed. "Can we get out of here, please? It's spooky..."

"Obelisk. Call me Obelisk." He growled, not happy about being called 'thing'. "The place we seek is under the altar. Break it, move it, whatever you have to. Don't hurt yourselves."

"You aren't going to?" Werr frowned a bit.

"I can't even touch the floor without feeling the pain of this blasted magic. There's no way in the world I would dare lay hands on anything else."

Cynyr moved forward, his cloak fluttering lightly around him. He looked like a wraith and had the personailty to match, but that was beside the point. He walked over to the altar and touched a torn-up hand to it, then murmured something in a language they hadn't heard before. He then formed wind powers into one hand and placed it to the altar, using the storm-sized gust of wind to shove the altar back and reveal their next spot. He looked up and realized that everyone was more or less staring at him, then said "What? Whaaat? Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Dark trotted over and pulled his hood down, saying "You're scary."

Cynyr flailed, then pushed Dark away and pulled his hood back to a normal level, snapping "Quit it!"

The altar had been hiding little more than another hole, and another ladder. This one, however, was much more well-lit, and a lot shorter. It led down into a domed-shaped circular cave (also lavishly painted), where five glowing pedestals stood in a half-circle on the far side of the small cave.

But nothing was there. Where the weapons were meant to sit, all five of them were gone. Instead, someone was lying in the middle of the room, in a pool of blood. He was sprawled out on his side, multiple stab wounds and cuts on his...well, everywhere. He didn't seem to be very responsive, but the second Cynyr's feet hit the floor, he struggled to his feet and yanked out a small knife that had been lodged in his arm. "You...are not me-meant to...be here..." He wheezed, taking a step forward and promptly collapsing on the floor.

Cynyr took a step forward, staring in horror at the empty pedestals, then he turned his sharp gaze onto the man. In an instant, he had him pinned to the wall, his golden blade drawn and pressed against his neck. "Who are you?" he said, growling. "What are you doing here?" He pressed the blade closer, twisting the dagger out of his hand with his free arm.

"Defender...of the Artifacts...keeper of...graves..." The man strained to speak, barely able to hold his eyes open. Obviously, he had failed at his job, for the most part.

"Cynyr, stop it! He's already hurt!" Werr yelped, making it down the ladder in time to see Cynyr with the knife at the other man's throat. He caught himself staring at the blade; he shook it off, looking towards Cynyr and the man again. "The blood is dried already, he was hurt by someone else...but please, Cynyr, we can't ask what happened if you kill him!"

Cynyr turned his gaze to Werr, practically pouting at the boy. "But he's pretty much begging for it," he said, but pulled back nonetheless. He glared at the man, not moving his gaze away.

Seria trotted forward and helped the man to the ground, setting about healing his wounds.

Cynyr looked angry, but he said nothing, simply leaned against the opposite wall and looked possitively intimidating, what with his hooded black cloak and all. He almost looked like the Grim Reaper, his hood covering his face with shadows.