The Forgotten Zodiac

((Noooooo! We must figure out something for him.))

Naybrin barely tilted his head in order to look down at Werr, smiling gently. "It is going well," he said. "Our magic is strong. We have already fully repaired your castle and many of the surrounding houses. My appearance here, however, is helped greatly by your knight here." He bent his head around and bumped Cynyr, who flicked his ears back and made a cat-like sound of complant, not wanting to be touched. "He felt my presence would be needed, so he and I schemed to create a plan," the dragon king said. "I gifted him that flute, which produces a sound we dragons can hear from many miles away, and we decided that I would join you all half-way. It is just luck that you required my presence here today." He moved his head from Cynyr, who was now ruffled at being nuzzled, and put his nose to Werr instead, purring softly. "Hello there," he said quietly, though saying words like 'softly' and 'quietly' with a dragon of Naybrin's size was almost impossible. His longest tooth was longer than Werr. Air rumbled like a constant, distant storm in and out of his lungs. He was a powerful dragon, and rightly so, but he was as gentle as a cat touching a kitten as he rubbed his snout against Werr, showing such a deep expression of love and caring.

((Maybe he got caught up by the Silver Tornado while they were there, but instead of interrogating him, they use his dragon-instincts against him and drive him towards attacking the others 'cuz he was led to believe (via illusions) that a particular member of their group had killed Tasia and the baby.

You haven't seen angry Nate yet. I may have to find uber angry music. o3o))

"Thank you still, Naybrin," Werr chortled, wrapping his arms around Naybrin's muzzle as far as he could. "Your presence here is both a reality check for these advisors, and a great comfort to me. I knew it was you from the moment you roared, too. Imagine that, a human like me telling dragons apart from the sound of their roar." He laughed a bit, then climbed up to sit on top of Naybrin's head. The advisors just watched, completely dumbfounded as Werr settled next to one of the great dragons' horns, smiling down at them as though sitting atop a dragon of this size was the simplest thing in the world.

((Awwww. p3p We can do that, of course. We have Naybrin now. He's magic. xD))

The light blue dragon hummed a light note, blinking his eyes softly, then turned his head the little bit it took to look at the advisors. "Translate for me, would you, knight?" he asked, and Cynyr grunted to show he was listening. Naybrin spoke to the advisors, and they heard the gutteral, ancient tongue of the dragons.

Cynyr translated the words in his way. "Hey, you there. The short guy at the back."

The aformentioned man flinched, looking concerned.

"Yeah, you. Get up here. The First King wants to talk to you."

The man slowly came forward, shivering and quaking.

"I know you," Naybrin said, heard through Cynyr. "Nicoli Hanul, yes? A bright young lad, one of the youngest at the Storaphian council. You have good potential, lad, and you should take your place in the council seriously. Don't be swayed by the honey-covered words of the others. Yes, it is okay to speak with them and talk, but your advice to your king must be true advice. Not the petty talk of common nuscences. For the man that gives his king true, honest, good advice will prosper, along with the entire land. Never forget that."

Looked elated, the young man raced back to the others, stammering thanks to Naybrin, though if it was for the words or for not eating him they couldn't understand.

The First King chuckled, then said "Well. I believe we are needing a new king here, correct? It's sad for the loss of Asmodius, it truly is. He was a good king. We'll have to find a good one to lead this kingdom justly. And I shall help you. I can sense the hearts of men; I will know who should be king."

((Well, it's the most exciting thing I can think of. Naybrin can look into his memory and see what happened, too. He'll come in a little later.))

"I know that much," Werr nodded once, smiling. He knew full well what Naybrin was capable of. Werr sat up and looked towards the castle roof, frowning slightly; he had been sure he had seen something. Oh well. Werr shook his head and turned back to the advisors as the elder spoke again.

"We already have three canidates," He said with a 'hmph'. "And I'm still not convinced that you aren't trying to push Storaph in a way that benefits your own kingdom more than this one here."

"Name?" Werr requested.

"Mart Iscar."

"Well, Mart, if I were pushing towards my own gain, I do believe I would simply leave now and allow you to choose whom you'd like. Then I would merely demand repayment for the economic and building assistance I've given Storaph over the past two years. But, on the name of Asmodius, I will do no such thing. If you do not believe that, Mart...if you still wish to push me away, you are a fool who will crown a king of fools."

Mart just made another 'hmph' sound and turned away.

Naybrin flicked his long ears, then said "Show me these candidates, then. I will see what you wish to have on the throne, and I will judge their hearts and their desires. Bring them to me and we'll see what the true reasons behind their being 'candidates' are." He lifted his head high on his long neck, curling his tail around as he laid down on his side, his scales glittering and glinting in the sunlight. Cynyr watched them closely, folding his arms as he thought about climbing up Naybrin's long neck to reach Werr.

The advisors murmured with each other for a moment, just a quiet debate on whether or not Naybrin would eat the canidates if they were unworthy. Then one of them moved off to fetch the canidates. Werr watched him go, wondering who he would return with. What kind of people did the advisors have in mind?

When the advisor returned, he brought three with him; two males, and one female. One was a brawny looking older fellow, perhaps in his thirties or so. The other one was a young looking boy, with blond hair that stuck out like a sore thumb. The female had bright red hair, and sharp green eyes that didn't look twice at the dragon.

Naybrin shifted a bit, looking down with interest at the new arrivals in front of him. He blinked and brought his head in close, watching as the older man merely crossed his arms and the girl glared. The blonde-haired boy, however, shivered and trembled as if scared, then suddenly fell down onto his knees in front of Naybrin, clasping his hands in front of him and saying "Please...don't eat me. They said I would go first because I was the weakest." He looked almost ready to cry, so scared of the huge dragon in front of him he was.

Naybrin's scaled brows rose up at this. With Cynyr doing all of the translating, he moved his muzzle in front of the older man and bumped him backwards, saying "I'll not even debate with you. Your heart is firmly tied to the advisors behind you. Your very thoughts are constantly flickering to them."

He turned to the girl, thinking long and hard as he stared at her. "You have too many thoughts of queenship going through your head," he said. "Even now, you wonder about the dresses and parties, never once thinking of the people you'll be ruleing." He bumped her backwards as well, then turned to the last one.

"What is your name?" the dragon asked, peering down at him.

The young man swallowed hard, then stiffened and said "S-Samuel F-Finnigan...your Majesty."

Naybrin blinked at him, then said "You...your thoughts are harder to read. What are you thinking of, Sam?"

Sam swallowed, then quietly said "...My family."

Naybrin tilted his head slightly to the side. "Your family, you say?" he asked, goading the boy into talking further.

"Yes, sir," he answered, tucking a lock of his bright blonde hair behind his ear. "They live on the edge of town, where it's hard to get work. The people that live on the outskirts don't always have a lot of money. My parents gave everything they had to me, so I could go to school. I've always wanted to be able to repay them for what they did to help me, and I've always wanted to make live there better for everyone living there. I just don't know how."

Naybrin stared down at the boy for a long time, thinking and thinking. "Sam," he said gently. "What would you do, if you were to rule a kingdom?"

Sam thought for a moment, then said "Well, I was always told that the people were what was most important. Without people, you have nothing to rule over, you know? And I always liked that king Asmodius had a good relationship with the other kings. He was smart like that. Being friends with the other countries helped protect them."

"And if you were king..." Naybrin said. "Would that be your own goal? To lead all of the people in this land, to rise up and defend them, and to act justly with your power?"

Sam was quiet, then he looked up at Naybrin and said "It would be my only desire, your Majesty."

Naybrin smiled, then said "I can sense that you have the most honest of hearts." At this, he saw some of the advisors cringe. They clearly didn't have a puppet-hold over this one, and Naybrin was pleased with this. "A small test, then," he said. "All I want you to do is withstand this for as long as you can."

And he sucked in a deep breath, then released a deafening roar right at the boy. It was long and loud, and many of the advisors behind Sam fell over or fled, unable to stand against the sheer force of the wind. Sam was barely able to keep to his feet, but he was very determined. He fumbled frantically for the sword hanging at his waist and pulled it out, plunging it into the ground and hanging on tight. He had thought quickly enough to save himself, and he had remained at least on his knees the entire time.

When Naybrin stopped, he smiled and said "Well done, king Samuel."

Werr laughed breathlessly. He had been taken off guard by the roar, and had nearly slipped off of Naybrin's head. It was all good fun, though. Werr felt happier hearing that roar, happier than he had been since Welk had been found again. It was a bit odd; like he had felt Naybrin's satisfaction when he had roared. But for a small being such as Werr, the satisfaction of a huge beast was giddy elation.

Werr slid down Naybrin's muzzle, still grinning a bit. He pulled Sam to his feet, patting the blond boy on the back. "Congratulations. Mart!" He called, moving to help the elderly adviser back on his feet. "When was the coronation planned?"

"Th-three days from now..." Mart stammered, his eyes locked fearfully on Naybrin.

"Good. It won't be too hard to speed it up a bit. I want to give my blessings at the crowning, and I don't have time to hang around for three whole days. So get to work; dawn tomorrow is when I'd like for it to be done."

"Yes, yo-your majesty." Mart slowly turned, stumbling away.

Werr grinned again, looking back at Sam, then over at Cynyr. "I have no idea what happened, but I feel great." He said, returning to his knight's side.

Naybrin smiled, tempted to snort at Mart and ruffle his robes, but he held back perfectly. He smiled at the shocked Sam, who looked both utterly thrilled and deathly afraid. Both good signs.

Cynyr snorted, leaning against Naybrin's shoulder and crossing his arms over the teddy bear he was holding. "Glad you do," he said, closing his eyes and smiling very slightly. There was a peep from the bear, then Cynyr said "Welk thinks so too." He held the bear out to Werr, letting him resume holding the lost little half-cat.

Naybrin bent his head around and touched the tip of his hard muzzle to the top of Werr's head, giving him a small bump before moving his snout down to push gently against the middle of Werr's back, giving a slight nip before retreating. It was a dragon move, most definately. They had seen him do it to Mithor before, and vice versa. Where one dragon nipped the other's back to show affection. Granted, if Naybrin had actually nipped Werr's back, the boy probably would never have been able to walk again. But the move was still there.

And then Naybrin suddenly rolled over onto his back, his legs tucked up against his belly. He obviously felt the same odd giddy elation that Werr did.

Werr beamed, taking Welk and holding him tightly. He laughed when Naybrin rolled over. Actually laughed, actually smiled. He had no idea what was going on, but he felt as though the world was actually right for a change. He was still aware of the danger to the world as it was, but for a moment, it was good to laugh and smile and...just be happy in general.

And of course, as usual, when things seem great; that's when everything changes. Everything. Werr turned his grin on Sam, about to congratulate the boy again, but darted forward and tackled the boy to the ground, instead. A dark shape crashed into the ground where Sam stood only a moment before; he stood and loomed over Werr and Sam, breathing hard as he folded green wings back behind his back.

"N-Nate? What...what are you doing?!" Werr exclaimed, dragging Sam back and away from the Dragonian. There was something off about him. Something wrong, completely wrong. If Werr were to look back on it in the near future, he would describe Nate as...well, dead. Pale, emotionless; like something had just snapped inside. He was bleeding, too; it looked like he had clawed his own mouth, holes torn through the skin and muscle. Not recently, although it was definitely still bleeding. He had other small wounds, as well as a small hole torn in his wing.

"Move!" Nate snarled, grabbing Werr by the collar and throwing him aside. He raised extended claws over Sam, already swinging down towards the boy's face.

Sam screamed and flinched back from the dragonian, closing his eyes as a dark shape jumped forward. Cynyr yelped as Nate's claws tore through his side, moving to land on his hands and flip off, but the injury was bad. He collapsed, rolling violently to a halt a short distance away, where he went limp, his back to them as blood started to seep around him.

Welk wailed his brother's name, already sobbing hard.

Naybrin jerked upright, his tail thudding into the ground with a huge tremble as he stood up. He slammed his paws down over Nate, pinning him easily with only two claws. Nate didn't have a chance of getting free. "Furhblast," Naybrin said, tilting his head at the dragonian below him. "What are you doing?"

"I'll kill him! I'll kill you all!" Nate screeched, blowing fire in Sam's direction. Werr had pulled the new king out of range in time, though, which left Nate to roar in fury. He twisted and writhed, changing the direction of his flames towards Werr, who rolled out of the way, then to Cynyr, who was also in the way. Then he blasted flames at Naybrin, as though it would do anything. His anguished screaming didn't stop once. Not for a second. He screamed and screamed, even after he had no more flames to breathe out. Screamed as though it would do anything at all, which it wasn't doing anything. Nothing at all. He could only scream and roar at them.

Naybrin's eyes narrowed, then he bent close to Nate, a snarl playing along his lips. "I'm afraid I cannot let you do that anymore," he said, then opened his mouth and gave a short lunge, teeth bared.

He breathed a breath over Nate, soft and low. It blew through Nate's black hair, ruffling his clothes and reminding him of the sky. Flying through clouds in the day or stars at night. Naybrin's breath alone contained magic, then the dragon gently touched the tip of his tongue to Nate's forehead and murmured "Slynis murta."

Then he pulled back, saying "I ask again what you are doing, Noble-Wing."

Nate went limp, breathing raggedly. He looked up at Naybrin with a dead look in his eyes. As though he didn't care about anything anymore. "I'm putting an end to a murderer." He said quietly, but tensed up and started struggling again within a matter of moments. "Let go of me...l-let me kill him, it'll be quick, I can kill him...!" He roared again before relaxing, for the most part. He then snorted and closed his eyes, grabbing Naybrin's claw. He wasn't pushing; he was pulling, instead. Trying to drive the claw through his chest. "If-if you...won't let me kill him...then kill me!" He roared, straining to do the deed.

Sam looked absolutely horrified by now, pausing from where he had been carefully shaking Cynyr's shoulder, trying to wake the panther. "I-I didn't do anything!" he said, shocked.

"I know it," Naybrin said, his claw not budging an inch. "Nate, who has been 'murdered'? I sense nothing off in the world." He tilted his great head back, closing his eyes as he used his magic to feel everything around him and far from him, using his sacred powers to watch whomever he chose to. "Zephyr has safely dropped off Boko and has returned to comfort his mate Vaira, the joined worlds of Tartarus and Amnairus are both still safe, my dragons are still working, Lily and Jag are caring for a newborn baby gryphon, Tasia is longing for your return and talking with Seria about the delivery of her own baby, Luna and Forin and little Diana trek ever further after Luen...have I missed anyone? I know of no deaths that have happened amongst people close to you."

"No...T-Tasia is dead! I saw it with my own eyes, I-I held her as she breathed her last!" Nate snarled and started clawing uselessly at Naybrin's claw. "He killed her! Cut her open, tore the baby to shreds...he did it. He did all of it! LET ME KILL HIM!" Nate roared, his anger renewed at having to recall the atrocity.

"What...what happened to him?" Werr stammered, confused. He inched around and stopped next to Cynyr, checking his injured friend for a pulse. Still alive, then. That was a relief...Werr yelped when a flush of heat and a blast of fire came towards him, from the angered Nate. Then something hit him; it was a cloth of some sort. He could definitely still feel heat, but no flames penetrated the cloth for some reason. When the flames subsided, Werr pulled off what appeared to be his father's cloak, looking up.

"There you are. Leo and I were doing some business regarding the Silver Tornado." Sylas said as he scooped Cynyr up. "We didn't realize what Nate would do once we released him. He just shoved past us and flew off before we could do anything, and by the time I found out what they had done to him, he was already gone...back up, Werr. That cloak will keep you safe from fire, but I'd really rather you not sit there..."

"R-right," Werr said, scooting back.

"You might as well search his memory, Naybrin," Sylas called up to the great beast. "It'll be faster than me explaining."

Naybrin sighed, then bent his head forward and touched the tip of his nose to Nate's forehead. Neither moved for a long moment, other than their breathing. Finally, Naybrin pulled back, saying "Ahh...I see." He turned his gaze up at the others, then said "He was placed under a serious illusion where he witnessed the death of Tasia and their unborn baby at the hands of our poor Sam here."

Sam looked mortified, wondering if this was all part of being a new king or just some freak incident.

Naybrin nodded, then said "I can assure you, Noble-Wing, that Bright-Skies is most certainly alive, with your baby resting safely inside her womb. And if you don't believe me, then why don't you go and see for yourself? And if, when you get there, she is in fact truly dead, I'll gladly hand over Sam and let you tear him to pieces."

"What?!" Sam shrieked, looking more and more horrified by the minute.

Naybrin ignored him. "Nate, hear me, I beg of you," the icy blue dragon said. "I even have the memory of the men placing the illusion over you here. They thought to hide it from you and make you forget, but here it is." He touched his nose to Nate's forehead once more, then pulled back again. "What you experianced was terrible, yes, but I do believe that you should go to Kaislun and see Tasia for yourself." Kaislun was a dragon word for two things that had been mixed into one. "Believe me, Nate," the dragon king said gently, licking Nate's forehead in a soothing move. "Go to Kaislun and see."

Nate stared up at Naybrin for the longest time before breaking free of the dragon's loosened grip, glaring at Sam again for a long moment before turning away, taking off with more speed than Werr had ever seen him put out before.

"...Well," Werr sighed heavily, turning back to look at his father, but found that he was gone. Probably taking Cynyr to the infirmary. Werr climbed to his feet, offering a hand to Sam again. "Are you hurt at all?" He asked, sounding worried.

Sam shook his head, carefully taking Werr's hand and allowing him to help him up. "Th-that was...scary," he said, frowning and watching Nate fly away. "A-anyways, do you think your friend will be okay?" He knitted his fingers together worredly, and Naybrin knew they had made a good choice in a king if the lad was worried about someone he had only just met. His caring for people was a good sign. "Yes, it'll take much more than a simple wound like that to kill that one," Naybrin said, lowering his head down near them. Samuel shied a bit, but seemed fine enough. Just rattled. Naybrin pushed his snout at Werr, feeling that odd giddyness coming up again. And for some reason, he just couldn't wait to feel Werr's small human hand against his huge dragon scales. He pushed at Werr, thrumming happily, then made the motion of nipping at the boy's back again, like he had earlier.

Werr smiled again. "Yes, Nate will be okay," He said, pressing against Naybrin's muzzle again. He smiled once more, feeling his odd happiness flare up again, but turned away from it and looked at Sam again. "I should probably help you get aquainted with the kingly lifestyle. It took me a long time to get used to it myself, and there are still some things that bug me about it. We'll be fine; it's a long story, but the main group going after the throne recently had some...adjustments done to their base. Seeing how they turned Nate against us and sent him, they're short-handed and making mistakes. As such, I think it's safe for us to take a walk through the castle."