The Forgotten Zodiac

((Continue on how? Like a time skip or faster travel with not so much detail?))

Leo nodded, then said "I can get someone to take us half-way. And even then, it'll be quiet a trek. We should...get ready." He slowly stood up on shaking legs and then said "I...actually don't have anything to bring with me. I have nothing left..." He sighed, then said "I'll go...get the cart, I guess..." He turned to walk out and paused. He didn't look at Sylas again, but his tail moved out and stroked down Sylas' arm before he stalked out.

((Faster travel with not so much detail, I should think. Although, we would have to go into detail when we reach the trials.))

"Yeah, this place is mostly rented. I just have two of my notebooks left..." Sylas stood and gathered his few belongings, then waited for Leo to return with their ride.

It was slow and a bit harsh; indeed, halfway into the journey, they were left behind by the cart that went in the other direction. They had to continue on foot. Leo hunted for them both and made it easy to locate water. Sylas directed their path from memory and his notes, and encouraged Leo to keep going. Two days passed before they arrived at the base of the mountains. Sylas wasn't certain, but he had a nagging feeling that they were close. So close...Sylas had to ride on Leo's back for the climbing. The rocky slopes were too much for his human legs and balance to handle, after all.

But lo and behold, not a day passed before they reached the rocky outcrop that led into a dark looking cave. "Well...what do you think?" He looked at Leo with a small smile. Outside the cave stood a sign; a simple wooden sign with two odd symbols on it. One was obviously a sun, and the other a circle with a straight line through it. Aside from that, it bore a message.

"Beware ye who enter here,

Beware of coming fate.

Be warned, be wary, be with fear,

For the souls of fools we ate."

"Well," Sylas blinked. "We're not fools..."

Leo stared at the sign for a moment, then sighed and said "We have nothing to lose. Literally." He gave a humorless bark of laughter and kept going, padding into the cave. His eyes worked perfectly in the very dim lighting. He walked easily through the tunnel, neatly avoiding all of the rocks and hanging things and making sure Sylas was out of harm from them as well.

With Sylas still perched on his back, the pair arrived at the entrance to the Eternal Garden.

Leo stared in awe at the green trees and grass and beautiful flowers. Birds chirped, deer grazed, and rabbits hopped everywhere. Lizards darted over rocks and fish swam in the ponds and rivers, and turtles crawled through the tall grass. It was a living paradise.

"Welcome. This is quite a surprise. This place has not seen a human for thirty years...and he was laid to rest here shortly after." A sweet sounding voice came from behind them. A beautiful woman, with long flowing blonde hair and a dress made of bright orange and red feathers, appeared next to them.

"Greetings," Sylas blinked at her, tilting his head to the side a bit. "And you aren't human?"

"Do not allow your eyes to fool you. My name is Resu. Guardian of the Eternal Forest. Be warned, travelers. You cannot be graced with the honor of seeing Amnairus and Tartarus without first passing a difficult test. I will try your physical, mental, and emotional limits." She continued to explain the rules of the test. Failure meant death, no leaving in the middle, so on. "You may turn back now, if you wish. But once your test has been given to you, quitting will be impossible."

"Oh..." Sylas absorbed the information given to him. Sounded simple enough. But...would they be able to do it? Of course...of course. Together, they could do anything.

((Error: Leo was issued a test later on in his life. So unless something weird happens, only Sylas can proceed at this point. .3.

-thinkthinkthink- Perhaps one of the great titans turn up and Leo is given emergency permissions to enter into Amnairus in order to save Sylas?))

((Oo! Because Death is a future-seer, he'll show up and be like "You and Sylas have a different path that you derps both need to be alive for," or something derpy like that. That's why he's always so cool and laid back, but sad. Because he knows everything that'll happen. He has to. It's how he gets from one dying person to the next in time.))

Leo up in concern at him. To put it very simply, he was afraid for Sylas' life. If he lost Sylas, then he already knew what he would do. He would sit down, take human form, and fire two blasts of air into himself, one through his neck and the other up through his chin, ensuring death. He shook himself, then turned his head on his neck and put his muzzle against Sylas' leg in quiet assurance. For the both of them.

((Perfect. -nodnod- Derpy Death is Derpy. : D

But Sylas has to complete his. .3.))

"I'm sure you both have your concerns for each other." Resu sighed slightly. "I will force nothing. Perhaps it's best if you leave."

"No," Sylas shook his head. "And give up a chance to see the streets of gold, the white queen, the heaven before heaven? There's nothing else this world has for us...if we die here, then so be it."

((He will, obviously.))

Leo nodded, saying "I don't care for the world behind us anymore. There's nothing there. We want to move forward, into Amnairus. Give us our tests, I don't care. We'll ace them." He flicked his tail, then let Sylas off and took human form next to him, both of them standing together. Leo's tail brushed Sylas' leg, then curled around his wrist and into his hand, holding on tight. He knew they couldn't do the tests together unless told otherwise, but he felt confidant enough.

"Very well then." Resu nodded shortly. In the span of an instant, they were teleported into the forest. The gate stood before them, but between them and the gate stood Resu. "Your test is not simple. Sylas, there are five puzzles hidden amongst the forest. You must find and solve each of them, then return here. Leo...you are to be without magic. The forest is never a safe place during a test. Your dear friend must walk through the thick of the dangers in order to complete his own test; it is yours to see him make it through alive. Without touching him. Any wounds he suffers will only serve to slow you both, and if he is rendered unable to walk or crawl, you both fail."

"Is that it?" Sylas blinked.

"No. But do you accept?"

"Certainly. It's not like we can leave now..."

"Correct. There is a catch, however. Leo...you must find Sylas before the enemy does." Resu snapped her fingers. Sylas vanished in that instant, as did she. "Begin!"

Leo balked, running in circles for a moment before taking panther form and slinking off through the forest, moving quietly. All he really needed were his teeth and claws, anyways. He slunk through the forest, moving silently and stealthily. He was quick to move into a fast canter, searching for Sylas' scent. He scaled a tree and looked around from there, then climbed back down and kept going. He had a feeling he was going in the right direction, perhaps because he had let his preditory instincts take over and pictured Sylas as his prey. Now he was honing in on him.

Sylas was finding it hard to breathe. He was near the entrance, but trapped. Pinned under a huge rock, only alive thanks to a crevice in the ground that he had been dropped into. But with the boulder a mere inch from crushing him, he didn't really feel like moving all that much. Or calling out. Doing so would waste any oxygen he had, which was actually running out very quickly.

A little bit later, the rock suddenly shifted a bit. Then again. He heard someone curse, then the rock shifted enough to allow a bit of air inside. "Stupid-" A sharp curse. "-rock," Leo's voice came. He put his shoulder to the rock again and shoved as hard as he could, digging his claws into the ground as he strained against the boulder. Finally, he managed to shift it a bit more, just enough to allow Sylas to slip out. "Make sure not to touch me," he warned, sniffing around the area.

Sylas squeezed out of the crevice, coughing a bit as fresh air hit his lungs. "Right. Enemies...she said there would be enemies. Have you seen anything yet?" He blinked, looking around. Nothing. "We should go find the puzzles regardless, I suppose...that's the hard part, maybe? Finding them?" He chortled a bit, then spotted the waterfall and the pool. "Here, let's follow the stream to begin with, perhaps?"

Leo nodded, then padded after Sylas, keeping track of their surroundings with his senses. His fur ruffled as a breeze swept past, and he lifted his head and glanced around, on high alert. He ducked into the forest, moving quietly through the bushes, and half the time, Sylas thought the panther had left him. But he was always there, well hidden in the shadows of the bushes and trees and grass.

Sylas paused, watching as what appeared to be tiny pixies lifted themselves from the water, glowing softly as one or two of them flew around his head. They spoke, in what seemed to be a different language entirely; Sylas spoke back, his speech sounding oddly twisted and warbled. Perhaps Leo wasn't meant to know what they were saying. Finally, the pixies returned to the water, and Sylas smiled. "One puzzle down. This way," He waded through the stream, crossing to the other side. "They said the next one is just a little ways away."

Leo shook his head, rustling some bushes, then said "You and your exstensive knowledge banks. Bah." He slid back into the shadows, leaving them in relative silence for a while, until a sharp bout of growling and snarling and yelping broke out. It went silent after a moment, and Leo dragged out the body of a large black wolf. It had long fangs and spikes sticking out of its shoulders, clearly not natural. "There might be more of these things," the panther warned. "Better watch out."

"That's probably just the start of it..." Sylas shook his head, then paused. Something was carved into a tree up ahead. Yet again, another language. "I'll have to teach you this language sometime," Sylas said with a smile, reading the carvings. "It's most interesting. Rather fun to speak, too. Reading is more challenging, though. Let me see..."

An arrow thudded into his arm a moment later. A shadowy looking archer vanished before Leo could reach it. Sylas focused on the tree again, trying not to cry over spilled blood. It hurt, but the faster he solved these riddles, the faster they could get out of here.

Leo growled and stalked around in circles, then said "Come on, let's hurry." He paced back and forth, then suddenly dodged to the side as two wolves leapt out at him, shadows trailing from their mouths. Leo reacted quickly, but one wolf sank its teeth into his shoulder, tearing a hunk of fur and flesh loose. Leo killed them quickly, but he was wounded now.

((Hihi~ Also, I've decided that Sylas knows ancient Amnarian/Tartaran speech. Without realizing what he's learned. :3

Also also, Sylas will lose the use of his legs after the fourth puzzle, leaving getting there the challenge. In which Leo will have to carry him, which is where he fails his test, then BOOM. Death steps in and does his business, and then on to Amnairus, where Sylas is faced with the choice to leave his friend or stay with him.))

"I'm trying," Sylas said, the noise behind him not helping with his concentration in the slightest. At last, he finished. "Right, right, kiuul resif!" He yelped as another arrow landed inches from his feet. "Two down, two to go. Let's move!" He darted away, running as quickly as his human legs could carry him, away from the site. He was pretty slow, though; even injured, Leo could overtake him easily. Sylas muttered two phrases under his breath, locking them into his mind. Third puzzle, third puzzle...Sylas tripped and stumbled once or twice, the large roots of the thickening forest starting to get in his path.

((Works for me.

And leave Leo? Leave him how?))

Leo followed him quickly, limping along rapidly. His front right leg hurt and blood seeped through his fur, but he caught up with Sylas and guarded him until the attacks stopped. For the meantime. Leo knew as well as Sylas did that the attacks would start up again, and soon. Even now, Leo knew that more of the wolves were hunting them.

((I figured Leo wouldn't like Amnairus too much. xD Too bright and whatnot. I guess they're both faced with the choices; Sylas could stay in Amnairus with Galai and let Leo leave, or go with him. Leo could stay with Sylas, or go alone. Complicated choices are complicated. o3o

It has to tie into the current timeline somehow. Sylas is worried about Leo leaving him at the moment, and needs reassurance, doesn't he?))

Sylas slowed a bit when he saw Leo's wounds, but shook it off and pressed forward. Leo would be fine, but his friend would die if he didn't get this done soon. Third puzzle, third puzzle...where on earth was that thing? He pressed on. It was all he could do. Sylas wiped the sweat from his brow, looking around again. Finally, he spotted something. A fallen deer, lying in front of a large metal box. Sylas ran forward at once, trying to open said box. It wouldn't budge; it was locked shut. Sylas looked for a keyhole, but there was none; instead, there were symbols on the box that could be pressed down. Sylas sighed, then started, not surprised at all when a howl sounded close by. Their 'enemies' were hot on their trail, and there were only getting to be more with every puzzle he solved.