The Forgotten Zodiac

"They'll come after us, you know." Sylas sighed heavily. "The Artifacts won't work because they don't have all five; they'll want to know why, and they know I know why. That, and the Rabbitzen...they'll want him dead. He has information pertaining to them, and in high detail. Even though he looks rather harmless, they'll want him back...or dead."

"No," Galai said. "I won't let them take him. He's far too sweet and kindly for a life like that, or to end in such a tragic way." She helped Sylas up, letting him lean on her as she walked him over to the throne. She made him sit down, sitting on the arm of the great chair instead. She stared at him for a long moment, then reached out and rubbed her fingers along the stubble on his chin and cheeks. She moved her fingers up and ran them through his black hair, seeing the fine gray scattered there. "You're a lot older then when I last saw you, dear Sylas," she said. She smiled, crinkling the twisted skin on her face. "I'm sure the Divine would love to see you again."

"I'll make a note to visit him," Sylas smiled weakly, looking at those left behind from the guards, only the uninjured. Namely, just Toro. He had hidden in a panic when the fighting had started, sticking close to Seria. He only had a small scrape on his arm from when they had teleported. He watched them both nervously, and looked a little intimidated when Sylas looked at him curiously.

"You were the entertainer," Sylas said with a small smile. "I remember you. The one who cries pearls."

"Yes, sir." Toro said nervously. He had hidden in the cage room one day after being scolded by his aunt for something or other. He had cried there without even realizing Sylas was there, and wound up showing the human a few tricks. "Um...I'm glad to see you aren't dead, mister Sylas."

"Yes, I'm happy to be alive. Do me a favor, will you? Go to the kitchens and see if you can't find me a nice bowl of soup. I wasn't exactly fed in that cage, I need foods that are easy to digest. Would you?"

"Yes, sir!" Toro nodded quickly then scurried off. It took the chefs a few long minutes to prepare a soup specially for Sylas. When Toro returned to the throne room, he paused outside the door, hearing soft moans of pain.

The Divine healer had come in and was working the nails out of Sylas' arms and chest. The pain-numbing spell had been administered, but they had been in for so long that taking them out was pure agony. "I'm o-okay, k-keep going..." Toro heard Sylas almost whimper out. When all was said and done, the nails were gone and the holes healed, as well as a serious tear in Sylas' leg muscles, a sprained foot, and a cracked collarbone, along with several other fractures all over his body. It was surprising he had managed to make the few steps that he had made.

All in all, Sylas now looked much, much better, albiet very tired. Toro stepped in after the Divine healer left, carrying the soup towards Sylas. "Thank you very much," The older human said happily, eating the soup slowly as he leaned against Galai. "You should return to your friends, child. And don't wander anywhere on your own."

"I understand," Toro nodded quickly and ran out again.

Sylas sighed gently and looked up at Galai. "I never really met Titus, but...I have the feeling that he's watching. What does he think about me?" He questioned, smiling a little.

She chuckled and said "He easily grows jealous, I know that much. But he should know that I love him. We were once a simple Amnairian and Tartaran ourselves, after all. But our love grew and we came together as mates when the old king and queen died. I became pregnant and gave birth to the Divine, our beloved child. Titus should know where he stands in my life. My one and only." And she blew a kiss towards the sky, closing her eyes and smiling. "A certain human named Sylas just so happens to be a good friend," she said, ruffling Sylas' hair gently.

"Still, I'm considering going to meet him. Perhaps meeting me will ease his jealousy." Sylas said thoughtfully, finishing off the soup. He expected nothing less of a soup from Amnarius; it filled him up in not just hunger, but it eased his weary body and enveloped him in warmth. It was difficult not to smile as he finished it off. "Perhaps...I'll take a nap first," Sylas said quietly, sighing out the last of his discomfort.

Galai smiled and patted his cheek, then said "Rest as long as you like. I'll make sure that nobody bothers you." She spoke quietly to a guard nearby, who nodded and dimmed the lights in the room. Galai gave off the only light, and she dimmed hers down to a gentle golden glow. She stroked the top of his head, then had a guard set him up with a pillow and thick blanket so he would be comfortable.

Sylas smiled at her hospitality and kindness. He dozed off within a few minutes, his small hand still in Galai's large one.

Ophile jerked awake. He had been dressed in black, which he definitely noticed as he pushed himself up onto all fours on the bed. He shook himself off, blinking at the others. He definitely still looked feral as a human, with dark eyes and incredibly sharp-looking teeth that easily matched the ones he had before as a wolf. "Ugh...what the...what happened?" He looked around at the others, then down at himself. "Ahh!" He yelped when he looked down at what used to be his paws. He wound up falling off the bed in his attempt to get the hand off. Which didn't work and never would, really. "Skies above, what the heck happened?!"

Zephyr was laying nearby, dozing contentedly. He was laying on his belly on the bed, still having not noticed that he was a human. He was laying in a way that he would've if he was still a dragon, with his legs folded and tucked under him and his arms curled against his chest. His shaggy emerald hair fell in front of his eyes, his chin firmly sunk into the pillow. He sighed through his nose, releasing a burst of sparks and smoke. He still had his natural powers, after all, though he was as human as they came. He wearily opened his eyes, blinking them slightly at Ophile's voice, then muttered "What's going on...?" If Ophile looked feral, Zephyr did as well. With deep crimson eyes and long vampire-resembling teeth, a slightly elongated neck and clawed fingers, he was a human to make you stop and look again.

"Zephyr, uh...don't look at yourself now, but...I think...we may or may not have been turned into humans." Ophile stammered, struggling to stand on his new two feet. He wasn't used to walking like this, of course. When he finally managed to just stand up, he balanced for two seconds before falling backwards, landing back on his bed. "Oof..."

The once-dragon lifted his head slightly, glancing over at the dark-haired human, then glanced down at himself sleepily.

It would not be an understatement to say that pandemonium struck.

He released a gutteral dragon scream, falling off of the bed and scrambling on all-fours as he fell and rammed his chin into the ground. He squealed like a injured dolphin, his long gray shirt and pants becoming ruffled as he pitched to the side, in complete histeria. For a dragon, being turned into a human was a disgrace and something to be feared. Being friends with humans were fine, but dragons took deep and long-standing pride in their heritage and strength. Zephyr had basically been stripped of all of it.

He dug his sharp claws into the floor, digging deep, long trenches, then threw his head back and wailed.

"O-okay, it's not that severe..." Ophile stammered before the back of his mind reminded him of the Dragons' heritage and pride. "Oh...Zephyr, calm yourself. I do believe that there is a way to break these curses; we just have to ask Galai, look in the library or something...who knows, maybe we can fix it before anyone sees...namely your mate,"

Zephyr tried to stand up, his legs not obeying him. "No...no, no, no, this can't be happening to me," he stammered, managing to get to his feet for a moment before staggering. He curled up into a ball, pressing his hands over his face. "N-no...skies above, no..." He didn't cry, but it looked like he might at any moment. His ears were oddly pointed and longer than normal, a hint at his previous dragon stature. He pushed himself up on his hands and knees, then got to his feet and lurched towards the door, staggering after mere steps. He threw open the doors to their infirmary room, collapsing in a stumble just outside the doors.

"Hey, Zephyr, calm yourself!" Ophile said, following. He crawled on all fours after the previously-dragon male. "Oh, forget it, you're not going to listen to me, are you?" He muttered, plucking at his new clothes. "My goodness, I don't think I'll get used to this," He tried to shake himself off, then realized something else. He wiggled his thumb in curiosity, frowning slightly. "Perhaps I should go ahead and speak with Galai about all this?"

Zephyr squirmed and tried to get up again, but failed and settled for curling up in a ball near the door, whimpering and pressing his legs against his chest with his arms wrapped around them. He moaned, shaking his head, then just pressed closer to the wall. He somehow managed to push himself into the corner, sitting upright and hugging his legs. He finally started crying, hot tears dripping down his cheeks as he pressed his eyes closed.

"I'll take that as a yes." Ophile snorted, then crawled off. He scrambled to his feet and leaned against the wall for support, slowly making his way towards the castle. He found Galai in her throne room, as usual, but was quite surprised to see Sylas sleeping in her throne. "Ah...have I come at a bad time...?" He said quietly, dropping onto his rear to make sure he wouldn't fall over.

"No," the queen said. "You haven't. Ophile, yes? It's hard to recognize you like that." She smiled softly at him, then slipped away from Sylas and walked over, offering her hands to help him up so he could try and stand with her help. With her light so low, merely a small glow, it was safe for him to touch her. "What brings you to me?" she asked.

"That's exactly why I'm here," Ophile shuffled his feet against the floor for a moment before taking her hand, standing with her help. "Zephyr is in hysterics and I crawled all the way here. I don't mind it so much, but Zephyr's entire life will be blown to bits - so to speak - if he's not returned to a dragon body. I came to ask if there was any way for us to be returned to our former selves..."

Galai sighed, then said "There's only one way that I know of. This was done by the Artifacts, correct?" When Ophile nodded, she continued. "Then it must be reversed by the Artifacts. They are absolute. If they gave the spell, then only they can take it off." She shrugged her shoulders lightly, saying "I'm sorry. If there were another way, I would give it over as soon as possible."

"Great...I remember the words used for the spell, we would be able to get Werr to use the reversal on us if we had even one piece of the artifacts...curses," Ophile huffed. "Now we have to find Cynyr, somehow. And I can't even walk straight! Well...no matter. We'll figure something out. I should go check on Werr..."

"Here," Galai said, offering him her scepter. "Use this to balance yourself." She stepped behind him and took his hands, showing him where to put them so he could balance properly against the scepter. "There, try that," she said, patting his shoulder. If you need any further assistance, my guards at ready to help you."

Alima, one of her throne room guards, moved forward shyly, smiling at Ophile.