The Forgotten Zodiac

Nate had his free hand at the back of Tasia's head, holding her close against him. "We can't wait for too long. We need to get out of here..."

Werr didn't move much, though he was still conscious. He focused on breathing; in, out. In, out. He breathed shallowly, aware that his broken ribs had been jostled. The last thing he needed was for one of them to puncture a lung. "Zephyr..." He said quietly. "Thank you...for saving us," He breathed.

The emerald dragon bent his head around and rested the tip of his huge muzzle against Werr's side, breathing out a deep breath that smelled like smoke and distant fire. "Always, your majesty," he said, closing his eyes. "Your life has no less meaning than anyone else's. Though I admit you were quite the...jerk? I do believe that's a human term for your actions. Regardless, we dragons have a high sense of honor and duty. Yes, we can be swayed by emotions, but we pride ourselves on upholding the debts we encounter...and the friendships we make." He peered down at the boy through his great red eyes, then said "Good to have you back, Dark-Eyes."

Werr didn't smile. "I...I'm sorry for what I said before. To everyone. It was wrong of me, a-and...I don't have an excuse. I...drove away Cynyr be-because of my words, and I'm...not the only one who was affected by that. Could...you apologize...to Seria for me? Or...bring her closer so I can...?"

Zephyr nodded, then stretched his head around and bent his mouth close to Seria, whispering into her ear. She stilled, listening intently, then nodded and finished up with Tasia. There was nothing she could do for her missing fire gland; it was gone for good. Nor could she do anything more for Tasia's inability to speak. That needed some time. Her throat was extremely sore.

Seria walked over to Werr and hesitated. She knew what he had done to her future-husband. Part of her wanted to turn away, but she pushed past it and made herself go forward to him. "...Werr," she said softly by greeting, carefully sitting down nearby. "You...wanted to speak to me?"

Werr swallowed hard, looking up at Seria. "I'm sorry...f-for what I said to Cynyr...I shouldn't ha-have driven him away, a-and I know how useless apologizing is now...but I still...I'm sorry," He said quietly, looking away in shame. "I would...accept death as punishment, if i-it weren't for Ina..." He closed his eyes, desperately needing rest. "Sorry..."

Seria closed her eyes, not saying anything for a long moment, then she slowly moved her hand out and folded her fingers around Werr's. "I...I won't say it's okay," she said. "But...I forgive you." She pulled away and stood, deciding to check over their supplies instead. She heaved a deep sigh, then went to fiddling with the bags on Zephyr's back.

Werr passed out again. A howl went up from inside the house, but it was cut short by something. Silence followed. "I think that means we need to leave." Obelisk said quietly. "Someone is using the artifacts. I can feel it...we need to go."

"What about Ophile?" Nate questioned.

"He's probably dead. Let us go, and quickly! We can track down the Artifacts at another time, it's very important that we leave. Otherwise, I fear we may wind up--" He cut himself off as a throwing knife landed in his neck. Obelisk was quick to throw it back, a growl rising in his chest.

Seria yelped and darted to the side as Zephyr shifted himself up, snarling. He took Werr into his hand, spreading a wing low so that the others could climb on. Once they were as settled as they could be (what with getting on so fast), he lunged upwards, spiraling overhead. Through his delicate dragon nose, he could smell that Ophile was still alive. "Hold on tight," he growled, then plummetted downwards and crashed down into the building, crushing the roof with the sheer force of his weight. He drove his other hand down and grabbed the biggest part of the falling roof, heaving it out of the way as he brought his nose down, searching for the wolf and soon locating him.

Ophile's scent led Zephyr - oddly enough - to a human, lying eagle-spread on the ground, fully unconscious. Further investigation revealed that it was Ophile; something (or someone) had given him a human shape. It was definitely strange, and--

"Gusheir naeo uchio weh!" A voice called. Snider's voice, the same person Nate had fought before. He was still injured, but apparently had the strength to cast spells. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but...

Zephyr blinked sharply, then suddenly reared up and flung his head back, screaming to the sky in terrible pain. Everyone on his back was pitched off, falling to the ground as the dragon twisted and screeched and bellowed. His shape started to shrink, going smaller and smaller, then he screamed out a sentence.

"Zaila ni morla ka!!"

Save me from fate.

In a blinding flash of light, they were all gone.

Werr found himself staring up at the ceiling of the throne room. Amnarius palace's throne room, to be precise. "What...where...?" He stammered, struggling to sit up.

"I say," Sylas said quietly as Obelisk set him down, turning away and leaving at once, not wanting to be in the same room as Galai for too long. Sylas, however, looked overjoyed, as exhausted and pained as he seemed. "Galai, is that you?" He struggled to his feet, wobbling and limping towards the throne a few steps before letting out a pained gasp and sinking to his knees.

The queen had covered her eyes when the teleportation, her guards moving protectively in front of her. When she heard Sylas' voice, however, she froze for a moment, then jerked her hands away and looked down. "Sylas?" she said, shocked completely. She immediately stood and pushed past her guards before they could protest, saying "Sylas! Oh, Sylas!" She dropped her scepter right to the ground with a clatter, going down onto her knees in front of the man and flinging her arms as gently around him as she could. "Sylas, Sylas! I thought I'd never see you again!" she said, pulled back and putting her soft hands on either side of his face.

Sylas laughed, though tears welled up in his eyes with the pain. "Galai, you have no idea how good it is to see you..." He said softly, almost moving to reach up and touch her face, but his arms were still nailed down to his chest. "I thought I would die before seeing you again..."

She smiled, the scarred skin on the right side of her face crinkling with the movement, then she whispered "It really is you... Oh, Sylas, what's happened to you?" She rubbed her thumbs over his cheeks, tilting her head to the side, then moved a hand up and pulled her crown off of her head, letting it fall to the ground nearby. She leaned forward and hugged him tightly, her eyes filling and overflowing with tears.

"Well...since I left here the last time, I settled down with Kiri." Sylas spoke steadily, able to with ease now that he was in Galai's arms. "I think you know a good deal of it from Werr...I continued adventuring and left Werr with Kiri, a mistake I regret to this day. I sent things home, toys and gifts and money, of course. But it wasn't enough for Kiri, apparently. She took her anger out on Werr, and then there was the fire...after that, I left again. B-but...for some reason, I was hunted down and captured by these Silver Tornado people. My old friend Leo escorted me to their base. I was there for a few years, in fact; they took good care of me. Made me think they were friendly. I wanted to go see Werr, but they promised I would in due time."

"And then they started asking questions...I wouldn't tell them anything at first, b-but then they started the torture..." Sylas shivered, leaning into Galai's hug. "I had to, Galai. I'm sorry...I told them where this place is, where the Artifacts were, everything...empty apologies are all I can give now, though..."

Werr watched in silence, knowing the feeling. Only being able to offer words...he definitely felt that now.

Galai closed her eyes tightly, rubbing a delicate hand up and down her dear friend's back. Sylas was the human that had captivated her and won her friendship with his intelligence and kindness. She was loyal to Titus, of course, and she loved him with all of her heart. She knew her mate could easily grow jealous of her and Sylas' relationship, but she hoped he wouldn't. There was a clear-cut difference in the two; Sylas was her friend and Titus was her mate. The titles alone told the difference.

"Shush, Sylas," she soothed, leaning back and moving her hands up to run her fingers over his eyebrows, then down his cheeks. "I understand. It's okay. It's okay..." She kissed his forehead, a special sign of her friendship with her. It showed her guards that he was in her favor. "How is Leo?" she asked. "Still a grumpy old tom-cat?"

"Still drinking, too." Sylas sighed heavily. "I'll never get him to stop that. I don't mean to interrupt our reunion, but there are a few here in need of medical attention. I-Including myself. I think there was a hurt wolf, and the dragon sounded like he was in pain, too..."

((So I was thinking about how Sylas and Leo first met, and I want to say they met as teens or something. Sylas had gotten himself in trouble with gangs or whatever, and Leo saved his life. Or...the other way around. xD))

((Probably the other way around. xDDD Leo was like Cynyr when he was young, except he was always looking for trouble. Cynyr mostly avoids it, but he doesn't back down, either.))

"Dragon?" Galai said, glancing around. "What dragon? I don't see any dragon here." She blinked when she saw what used to be a large emerald dragon.

Zephyr was laying on the ground, just starting to rouse from his unconsciousness. The catch?

He was a human.

He had dark, emerald green hair, no wings and no tail. His skin was pale and his eyes were still red, but no longer slitted. Seria, who was still awake, dug into her bag and pulled out two blankets, draping one over him and one over Ophile. They had been animals, after all, and animals didn't wear clothes.

She wondered how Zephyr would react to be a human.

((Right. xD Well then, Sylas saved Leo's life from some thugs and they were friends ever since.))

"Er...that's unusual. There was a wolf and a dragon, right there..." Sylas frowned in confusion, watchng Seria before he understood. "That spell that Snider cast! It turned them human. I say, that's something to behold; a spell that can turn an entire dragon into a human? Remarkable...I think I need a new journal."

Galai chuckled and said "I'm certain I can get you a journal to write in, Sylas. Now then." She clapped her hands, summoning her guards close, then said "Take them to the infirmary and make sure all of Amnairus is guarded. Sylas can stay here; have a Divine healer come to the throne room. And bring a new journal, please." The guards nodded, then did as so was told and helped those who were unconscious to the infirmary. Seria was able to carry Werr and Nate obviously carried Tasia, who started to cry when the guards got close to her.