The Forgotten Zodiac

"E-eh? Oh, no, no, no, I don't want to be here when that happens!" Cyprus yelped. "The lady dragon is right, I can't deal with that. I was practically starved down there, I haven't had a bath in half a year, these clothes are so old that they're stiff, and I've been a chew toy for drakeling babies since I regained the ability to walk. AND my magic is extremely low...see, the ceremony sucked it right out of me. I would have gotten most of it back, but the process was interrupted. Dunno by what, though. Probably the same thing that's messing around with the balance of things. One second it was working, the next, nothing. Whoever we're dealing with, they're definitely a force to be reckoned with, if they knew what we were doing and how to stop it at the same time..." He sighed. "A war between Dragons and Drakelings...you realize that once the dragons are out of the way, the Drakelings will turn towards the humans, right? They'll strike. They'll be hyped up on bloodlust and attack with everything they had, and that...will all but wipe out the humans from here to the Southern Seas! And if they got to me, they'd wipe me out, too, and we don't want that! I...I don't want that. I like being alive. But if I can't get to my gardens, then I can't have my magic back."

He looked down at his hands. "I have a week. Tops. Four days, after I teleport myself. Which, I will be doing that. There's no way I'm letting myself get killed by Drakelings, but...I will check in to see how you're doing, once my magic is refilled." He smiled weakly. "Any questions you had for me before I left? And yes, I was going to investigate who's fiddling with the balance of things, don't worry about that. You all should focus on keeping the threat of the Drakelings away from the humans."

Firestorm growled and stomped his foot on the ground, saying "You think we'll let those filthy creatures win? Fool! I'll fight until my last breath, until my body lays broken and scattered into pieces! I will never give up; it is not in a dragon's nature to fail."

"Not to mention..." Vaira said slowly. "That we have...those." She didn't tell either of them what 'those' meant, but it was clearly something important. Instead, she gave Cyprus a small nudge and went over to be at Zephyr's side. He was currently selecting two guards to go with all of the innocents, to make sure they were safe and to hunt for them.

Dragons were still just now hearing of the impending war in the first place, too. The Sacred Plains were massive and filled with hundreds of dragons. Drawn in by the commotion, some were still hearing of the war.

"Don't take them lightly, great dragon," Cyprus frowned up at Firestorm, then turned away with a sigh. "I have to go. You all...be very careful, okay? Humans are very weak and feeble compared to the Drakelings' might. You can't let them run loose...you can't." Cyprus hugged himself, biting his lip as he tried not to cry. "A-anyway, were there...no questions?"

"I know I have none for you," Firestorm said, turning his head away pointedly.

Zephyr suddenly reached out and bit his neck lightly, saying "Be nice." He turned his head down to Cyprus and murmured "Vaira has told me of you and what you want. We will not fail humanity again. I promise you. We'll fight until there are none of us left, if we must." He exhaled, giving Cyprus a slight nuzzle, then pulled back and said "If you wish so, Firestorm will carry you where you need to go."

"Wha...no!" Firestorm said, but a single look from Zephyr made him go silent.

"That's not needed. I can teleport myself." Cyprus said with a smile. "It will drain more of my magic, but it's doable..." He brushed himself off, then looked up at Firestorm. "You can ask your king if he has questions for me. That's what you can do." He nodded willingly, smiling a bit.

Firestorm snorted, then translated Cyprus' question. Zephyr tilted his head, then said "I have none other than a wish; I wish for you to get to your destination quickly and safely, and to warn any villages and buildings you come across to take cover. I would hate for innocents to be killed in this petty fight..." He turned his head and spoke to Mithor, saying "Gather a few dragons and send word to as many human homes as you can. Help them move to the castle. The fighting won't go that far."

Mithor nodded, then turned away to do as he was told.

Cyprus shifted his weight around, tilting his head to the side a bit. "Okay." He said, smiling. To let Zephyr know, he nodded vigorously. "I'll be on my way, then." He said, giving a small wave; then he literally dissolved into a shimmering golden powder that vanished before touching the ground. Gone.

He reappeared in a very unfamiliar location. VERY unfamiliar. He was supposed to wind up in his gardens, but he didn't. He had no idea where he was, but there were...people. Humans. They wouldn't understand him; he was lucky he had dropped into an alley, where no one had seen him yet. He was terrified, now...but there was nothing he could do. Literally nothing but curl up where he was and cry himself to sleep.

Four days.

*

Welk hadn't come back yet.

He hadn't been to breakfast, which was worrying in itself. Welk had a good appitite, and they all knew it. That, coupled with his loyalty to Werr, usually meant he never stayed out long. Thus Werr was worried. He had spent the first night in a long time without the warm lion curled up right next to him, and it had been a strange, disturbing feeling.

Werr looked glum and very, very unhappy. But after awhile, he got everyone together. "Our friends are disappearing one by one. We have more of a chance to find Welk, so...we're going to find him. And then we'll search for Nate. " He nodded, then sighed heavily. "But some of you will also have to wear these," He held up a set of collars, one for each animal or Lerloch in their group. Ophile was already wearing one, though he didn't seem to enjoy it.

"This is so no one else gets caught up. It's...important that we find Welk quickly, he might have been caught or something..." Werr bit his lip, shaking his head.

Cynyr was already wearing one as well, except he had taken creative liberty on his collar. Completely black with spikes. Of course.

The others took their collars, fastening them on hesitantly. Luen stared at his for a while before putting it on, sighing heavily and rubbing his eyes. He looked very tired; he hadn't slept well at all during the night. Forin knew this for a fact.

Once everyone was set up, they headed out. Naybrin, however, nipped gently at Werr's shoulder and said "Might I suggest...that you look in the forest in that direction?" He pointed Werr in a certain direction, tilting his head slightly.

Werr blinked, then nodded. They marched along without delay, heading down the road. As they rounded a turn, a carriage went racing past, splashing a puddle of water up and getting Forin a bit wet.

"Oi, watch it!" He screeched after the carriage, but it was little use. He wrung out his shirt, frowning unhappily but ready to follow anyways.

"Carriages are something of a luxury. And rich people are always in a hurry." Isslia giggled, shaking her head at Forin. She hadn't been properly introduced to people, and Forin had absolutely no idea who she was; so she got the unpleasantries of having Forin's glare pointed at her.

"Let's just go," Forin snorted when she looked away and ducked her head. "That hyper half-cat can't hide forever."

((And this would be the point that we brought Nate in. Everyone away from the castle, the carriage...we can wait a few more posts, though. ;D))

((Boooooooo. xD ))

They walked on, with Naybrin giving his subtle hints until he could guide Werr off of the path and into the forest.

Welk was curled up in a clearing, fire gently flickering over his fur.

He was simply staring ahead of himself, blinking slowly. He just seemed to be...thinking. He looked very tired and very troubled, and he was so exhausted that he didn't even hear their approach.

Naybrin tilted his head to the side, then lowered his head and said "Allow Werr to speak with his friend alone, alright? The rest of us shall return to the road to wait."

Werr stepped forward, but had to pause for a second to get Isslia to stay with the others. When he made it to Welk alone, he brushed his hand over the flames, swiping them away. They didn't hurt or burn him; they never would. He sat down next to Welk, curling his hands around his knees before looking down at his friend. "Are you mad?" He asked quietly. It was just a guess; Welk had left after hearing about how Isslia would be killed if she was forced to give up her information, after all. "I am too, a bit. This country...is not like ours. We have the same informants, but we would never make someone one when they don't want to. It's their choice. Isslia didn't have that choice. She was taught everything and then thrown at you as a 'gift'. These people don't respect life the way we do back home...but that's not what we came here to fix. We have to get these people out, Welk. Either that, or end the war, but that's not very likely..." He sighed, leaning against his big lion friend.

Welk hadn't even startled at Werr's voice. Like he had been expecting it at any moment. He sighed heavily, then suddenly snarled and burst out "But it isn't fair!" He lifted his head, glaring at a clump of flowers in front of him. "What gives these people the...the right to think they can OWN someone else?! We don't own slaves; we hire helpers, and when they want to quit, we let them! We don't force them to obey our every command or to be 'owned' by someone else! We don't make the girls...you know...against their will! That...that...that's not right!" He sputtered over his own words, too furious to speak properly. "I...have to do something to stop this!" he said, and Werr heard the passionate, pure-hearted desire in his voice.

"Welk...we can't march into a country and change it to what we think is better. I may be a king, but not here. Here...you and I are just people. Just people...you heard what the emperor said, too. Some people make a living out of this trade. What would they do if we were to make it so that they can't do their job? If we somehow changed things, what on earth would happen? And...some people need their slaves. Some people are too old or sickly to take care of themselves, so they get these 'slaves' to do it. Especially since they can't afford to hire anyone. Sure, some are mistreated, but I know that there are others that are dealt with in respect and care. Heck...I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a hidden organization sneaking them out. I've noticed the rising number of Lerlochs in our own country, between Storaph and Alastor, and not all of them are just being born.

"Not...not everything can be changed, Welk. I understand that it looks terrible and awful, but...there really isn't much we can do." He sighed, resigning to just sit next to his friend in silence after that.

---

The others, in the meantime, vouched to take a walk through the city. See the sights, and whatnot. They avoided one street in particular, and hit the marketplace instead. There were lots of local goods; baubles and jewelry, trinkets and toys, and food. It looked, smelled, and tasted amazing. Diana was just as exciteable as ever; she went from stand to stand, dragging Luen by the hand as she looked at the jewelry, then the music boxes, then the stuffed toys. One of the standtenders, however, took one look at Diana and did something extremely odd.

He scrambled out from behind his stand, bowed low and shook Diana's hand eager, babbling something in his language. "Priestess, precious child, it's such an honor," He rambled away, but Diana didn't understand. She just stood there awkwardly, shifting her weight from foot to foot, until he took the prettiest necklace off of his stand and put it around her neck. Diana then blinked, smiling widely in gratitude. "Uh...thanks," She said, but crept back behind Luen in fear. She dragged him away to a different stand, where someone was carving wooden statues. "Luen, what was he saying?" She questioned him, pulling off the necklace and looking at it. It was encrusted with beautiful gems, and glinted brightly in the sunshine.

He gave her hand a soft squeeze, saying "I...I'm not sure." He really wasn't. He knew some of the people here worshiped Yemara, but he didn't know anything about Diana being an alleged 'priestess'. He kept a very watching eye on her, however, as if afraid someone would try and take her from him. He glanced to the side, then shook his head and took deer form, ignoring the open-mouthed stares he got from many of the people around them. He nudged Diana up onto his back, then blinked in shock as a person darted out of the crowd and grabbed onto his collar, staring closely at the mark of Alastor on it before 'tsk'ing and walking away. As if he had been hoping Luen wasn't 'claimed' yet.

Luen craned his head up, his ears flicked upwards as he scanned for Forin, but all he really had to do was listen for Vorpal to find them both.

"Master, all of these people are rediculous! There's no such thing as a 'pirestess of Yemara' and we know it! Besides, if there was, it would never be that teeny little girl you call your summoner. Now I politely ask that you take me out and cut all of their heads off."

Luen rolled his eyes at the overdramatic weapon, then trotted over to Forin and put his muzzle close to his neck. "Diana's getting scared," he said, his own tired voice carrying a few traces of fear. "Come on, let's leave. I don't want to be here anymore either." He glanced up as Naybrin walked past, in a smaller size. He was still bigger than anyone else there, however, and his head easily cleared the stalls, even when walking on all fours.

It was he that spotted Cyprus in the alley.

((A'right.))

Naybrin hadn't followed him, instead merely shrugging and turning to follow the others. He knew good and well who Cyprus was; the First King knew nearly everything about everyone with a single sweep of his magic. He simply decided that when Cyprus wanted to talk to him, Cyprus would come to him.

Naybrin glanced up as Welk and Werr approached. The First King sighed when he sensed how upset Welk was, but he also had to smile when Welk paused and brushed his cheek gently against Werr's shoulder. The dragon lowered his head down to their level, saying "Are you both all right?"

Welk didn't say anything, merely pressing closer to Werr.