The Forgotten Zodiac

((Naybrin knows that Malice had a hand in it somehow. Dragons are insanely tied to the magic of the entire world, and Naybrin has the most reach. He can 'watch' people from far distances, like how he had said he had been watching Werr since before he was even given thought too. He can't see Malice completely, as Malice used to be a god, so he has the power to cloak himself. But Naybrin felt hints of Malice's influence everywhere. He's furious at the Silver Tornado too, don't worry.))

Cynyr didn't move at first, then he slowly slid one hand into his bag, feeling something inside it. He sighed heavily, then looked up at Forin, reminded of Welk by his words. "Yes..." he said. "Welk..." He pulled something out of his bag, holding it in his lap.

Welk.

The soul inside the bear whimpered. He didn't know about Werr yet. He had a hint that something bad had happened to him, but he didn't know the boy had 'died'. He didn't know that Malice had crushed a fake teddy that Werr and Cynyr had switched out after the wind mage had put a portion of his powers into it, giving it the feel of a soul. Cynyr felt it best that poor little Welk didn't know about Werr right now.

The panther slowly looked up at the sky, then quietly said "Let's hit the capital. We have to find the next Artifact."

((Okay. :T Don't forget, Lexi should be headed to the castle, herself. That'll be interesting, the whole group there and she arrives in carriage to find them all...she'd only recognize Cynyr, and he'd have to tell her what happened. o3o))

"Right then." Sylas nodded. "That's all it is. Hit one place after another. We have the Capital, then the artifact in the desert."

"Sounds like a plan. I hope you realize something else, Sylas..." Forin looked at the human. "With Werr dead, and no heirs, the throne will either go back a generation, or go to Toroph. And between you two, you're honestly better suited to be king than he. And what's more, you're the one most able to put those Artifacts back together into one. Only a human can fix what a human caused, after all, and I'm not about to make Diana do something like that..."

"Mm? Oh...yes. I see what you mean." Sylas looked down. "The Artifacts I can handle, but...the throne..." He leaned against Leo again, frowning. Being a king was hardly fun and games. That would mean he would have to settle down, stop his constant traveling, and actually attend to a castle and a kingdom. He wasn't sure he could do that.

((I didn't forget~))

Leo's hands landed gently on either side of Sylas' head, ruffling his hair and giving him a light shake. "Don't tell me that after all we've been through you're going to chicken out now. Think of this as a new experiance to add to your vast repertoire. Besides..." He stepped back and took panther form, then moved forward and sank his teeth lightly into Sylas' shoulder, not hard enough to hurt. "...I'll be here," he said, flicking his tail and resting it on Sylas' opposite shoulder.

"And me!" Dark pipped, pressing his face into Sylas' shirt. "I just got a real friend and I'm not losing you now."

Sylas smiled happily at them both, albeit a small smile. "Alright. Thank you, Leo. For...for everything. I couldn't ask for a better friend. And you," He looked down at Dark. "I'm glad to see you've lightened up some." He ruffled the artificial being's hair, then rested his hand on Leo's forehead.

"Naybrin...?" Nate questioned whether the dragon was still breathing or not. They needed to get the body back to Alastor, after all. Naybrin was beginning to reek of death, from the way he was clinging to the corpse so.

((Lunchtime. I have Spanish, then Choir, then I'll be home 'round 3, as usual.

BE WAITING FOR ME. Okay? Okay. Done and done.))

The gigantic dragon was completely silent. It almost seemed like he had begun to lose his mind, and he couldn't be blamed. All his years of loss were catching up to him. Too much heartache and too few joys were wearing down on him, and this was evident by the stone-crawl working its way, inch by inch, up his tail. He bent his head and touched the ground lightly with his muzzle, sighing heavily, then slowly lifted his head and opened his wings. He bent a hand down and slid the corpse into it, holding the limp little body close.

Dark practically purred as Sylas messed with his hair. "I haven't lightened up. I'm still ferocious!" he said, but he closed his eyes and pressed his face against Sylas' shirt nevertheless.

Zephyr flared his wings, saying "We should get moving."

((Alsoalso, Malice can totally point out how Sylas is growing attached to Dark. One of those, 'he never wanted you as a son, and now he's even replaced you' things. Werr may be little more than a bargaining chip right now, but turning him against the less important characters will be easy and make for more interaction later on.

Or not. You can make up your own torture. :3))

"Ferociously changed!" Sylas retorted, but looked up when Nate translated what Zephyr was saying. "Ah. Alright, then. Back to the capital, we go. Come on, Dark, help your elder stand," He pushed Dark off and let him stand, waiting with a small smile still on his face. Sylas never seemed to stop smiling, even now. Even in the light of all the death, destruction, pain and misery...someone had to be smiling. And why shouldn't it be him?

"Yes. Let's." Forin turned to the green dragon, picking Diana up effortlessly and carrying her over. He blinked in surprise as Boko suddenly darted out, weaving between him and Luen. The little Drakeling pushed his face right up against Luen's chest, then sniffed his hair. Then he turned around, repeating the same for Diana, then Forin. He then darted right back to Vaira, giving no clues as to what he was doing. He peeked over his mother's feet at Seria and Cynyr, blowing a puff of smoke from his nose.

Dark took Sylas' hand, pulling hard in effort to help him up. Being shorter than Werr's height had its disadvantages, it was true, but he got by as best as he could.

Luen backed up as Boko sniffed him, blinking sharply and putting his hand up almost to try and ward off the drakeling. He stumbled backwards into a sitting position, watching as Boko sniffed Forin and Diana and then backed off. The kirin looked confused for a moment, but he shook it off and slowly got back up, keeping his ears back.

Seria wrapped her arms around Cynyr again, helping him stagger to his feet. He was shaking softly as he put his forehead against her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her as they slowly headed towards Zephyr.

Boko hopped in front of Seria, sniffing her in the same way he did for Forin and the others, then moved to do it to Seria, but Nate stopped him. "Little one, what are you doing?"

"I am smelling, Noble-Wing." Boko said matter-of-factly.

"Why?"

"I am smelling energies, I think. Daddy said Boko should be more careful with small people, and tell if they are bad or good. So Boko will smell good people so Boko knows that small people who do not smell like good people must be bad people. But...Boko is confused. Deer smells...weird. Cold. Healy-Seria smells warm and Cynyr smells like..." He turned and shoved his face up against Cynyr, then looked back at Nate. "Wind, or flying."

"Oh. I think you're picking up their magic, not their...energy." Nate blinked down at the little Drakeling. "I'm glad you're trying, though."

Cynyr flinched and tensed as Boko sniffed him, backing away from the drakeling as if frightened of him. He pushed Boko away, sniffling and rubbing his face with the back of one hand. Seria stroked Boko's head gently, then guided her soon-to-be-mate towards Zephyr, helping him along.

Zephyr laid on his belly, letting them climb on. He bent his head and nuzzled Boko, then said "The scent of evil is dark and musty, like a deep, black cave. Remember that."

"Okay. I will remember, papa." Boko nodded eagerly. He really did want to get better at handling small people. He wanted to make his mother and father happy, after all. "Mommy, I want to ride on your head," He said, scrambling up from Vaira's leg and winding himself around her horns. "I like the trees." He peeped, sniffing at Vaira's ear. "And I like mommy." He licked it once or twice, then settled down to watch the others get up on Zephyr's back.

Vaira smiled and flicked her ears, closing her eyes and purring softly. Since she was infertile and couldn't have babies, Boko had been a blessing for her and Zephyr both. Zephyr turned his head over and touched Boko gently, purring quietly.

Once the others were settled on the dragon's back, he jumped into the air with Vaira, watching as Naybrin slowly lifted off after them.

Boko watched the world whip by. It wasn't long at all before they were descending upon the captital city of Alastor; they were able to land in plain sight, as the people here already knew of the alliance with the dragons. The few members left of the advisors were already gathered in the courtyard, discussing quietly amongst themselves. They fell silent as the dragons landed in front of them. "Our king returns," A young woman by the name of Aries perked up at the sight of them, a small smile on her face.

"Don't be so hasty," Forin snorted, looking towards Naybrin.

Naybrin landed softly on his hind legs, his expression holding great sadness and pain. He carefully held out his hand, with Werr's limp little body in it. He said nothing, simply let the advisors crowd around to see what he was holding.

The other slid off of Zephyr one-by-one, trying to be quiet. Luen tripped and tumbled to the ground, but he was alright. He looked embarresed, though, and he quietly wiped the blood from his split lip.

Aries backed up at the sight of the fallen Werr, a hand over her mouth. She had a weak constitution, really, and honestly felt like hurling right then and there. But she held it back, only to start panicking as she realized the severity of what she just saw. Naybrin had cleaned the blood from the wound, but it was still painfully obvious that Werr was dead. Werr, the king of Alastor, ripped away from the ranks of the living. Relan, the adviser that doubled as an ambassador for those within the desert, took Werr's limp hand and kissed it before placing it back. He had a very good reason to be as upset as Aries; Werr was the first king to care for the people of the Haadarak Desert as much as he cared for those within the green expanses of forest and plains. Not even Regalo had done that much.

"Sleep, child. Goddess bless your soul." Relan murmured as he backed up to calm Aries down. Three advisers out of seven remained alive. The only that survived to see the end of Werr's reign.

"This changes many things," The elder said quietly. "Not to be nonchalant about the death of a great young man, but who will take the throne in his place? Who is to be king next?" He looked over at those clustered around Zephyr still. "None of you were related to him, and he never named a heir..."

"A tad quick to jump to conclusions, hmm?" Leo said, giving Dark a shove to the side as the panther slid in next to Sylas. "We happen to have his father here." He put his hands on Sylas' shoulders and pushed him forward, saying "He is willing to take over until further notice. You can see the family resemblance very clearly. He's very smart; Werr got his intelligence from this one. And he already has a personal guard in place."

"TWO!" Dark said, punching Leo's side angrily.

Leo snarled at him, then said "Yeah, whatever. I'm sure that Sir Cynyr can vouch for us." He shot his son a smug look, but the wind mage didn't look back. He didn't even notice the look. He just stood and stared at the ground, holding Welk gently in his arms.

"Hmm..." The elder frowned, stepping forward and examining Sylas crucially. "Relan, make haste to the Apocethary in town and see if you can find a test. Oh, and a calming elixer for Aries would do her good." Relan nodded and moved off, looking towards Cynyr for a moment as the elder cast his sharp gaze on the half-cat.

"I'm afraid the knight to the late king is a bit in shock at the moment. I hope you do not need his word, as I don't wish for him to stress himself further." Ophile said, moving to sit in front of Cynyr. Sylas remained quiet, wondering what the 'test' was. It probably wouldn't be anything dangerous, but Sylas was a bit wary about the three that remained. A down-to-business elder, a girl who probably had panic attacks every time something bad happened, and an ambassador for a place that wasn't even foreign. He couldn't help but wonder what the other advisers had been like.

Cynyr slowly put a hand over his face, silently crying, then quietly went to his knees and wrapped his arms around Ophile, burying his face into the wolf's thick black fur. Seria quickly bent down and put her arms around him from behind, murmuring things to him as she stroking his scarred back gently, feeling the word 'worthless' torn into his skin.

Leo put his hand on Sylas' shoulder, reassuring him through touch. Dark clung to him, occasionally batting at Leo's tail, trying to make the panther back away but only making him angry.

Ophile held still, ruffling his fur out to keep Cynyr warm. "Well. Perhaps we need two calming elixers." The elder observed quietly. "At any rate, what is your name?" He looked towards the one who would be king next.

"Uh...Sylas." He said, then murmured, "Krow."

"Sylas Krow? How was Werr's name Grehi and yours Krow?"

"Werr was...taken in by another family, under the pretense of keeping him safe from the enemy. He believed my surname was Rowe, at that. I never got the chance to correct him..." Sylas sighed heavily.

"Well...at any rate--"

"Hold on a second," Nate looked up, frowning. "Krow? Sylas Krow?"

"Yes," Sylas nodded once, glancing at Nate, who looked a bit...shocked. The Dragonian shook it off, though, going back to leaning against Zephyr. He hadn't realized...

Zephyr bent his head down and put the tip of his muzzle against Nate, breathing out a deep, warm breath that ruffled Nate's hair and clothes. Naybrin was muttering again, this time saying something about how Werr's soul hadn't been blessed by the ghost dragons. Something about how they hadn't been able to. How there had been nothing to bless.

Cynyr trailed his fingers through Ophile's fur, using one hand to hold tightly to a clump of the wolf's fur. His ears were firmly settled back against his head, seemingly never to rise again. Welk squeaked softly, still wondering why his brother was so horribly sad.

Finally, Relan returned with two potions, one of which he forced into Aries' hands. He held up the other one, walking over to Werr and plucking a hair off the late king's head and dropping it in. The potion turned a bright purple, swirling as Relan carried it over to Sylas. He plucked a hair from Sylas' head and held it over, hesitating for a moment before dropping it in.

No change. "Well then. It's true. You are directly related to Werr, which confirms that you should be king next." The elder nodded.

"For now," Sylas added.

"Right."

((I looooove yewwww~))