The Forgotten Zodiac

Minna whimpered, tensing at first, but she slowly relaxed as her wounds were washed and eased. The younglings gathered under her, most of them trembling. Boko was explaining to Vuker what all had happened, and they were arguing on whether or not they should go hunting for the younger ones. Boko thought it would be too dangerous, but Vuker was arguing that they needed the food more than ever. Most of the hunters were distracted with the constant war preparations.

Minna silenced them both with one of her own licks, not in the mood to hear children bicker at the moment. She relaxed under Mithor's gentle care, starting to doze off thanks to bloodloss and exhaustion from fighting, paired with the loss of her unhatched daughter...it was just all too much.

"Papa?" Boko slid quietly up to his parents. "Are we...going to help the Drakelings that like us? I think we should...we should save them. Get them away from Du'uru before he can hurt more families..."

Zephyr slowly lifted his head to face his son, and even then, Vaira had to snake her head under his and give him some support. "We are going to," he said. "After this tragedy, we cannot allow others to murder innocent creatures, no matter the species. Du'uru messed up entering into a war with us, but I can never forgive actions such as these. His reign is going to end; one way or another. I will see to it personally." He looked over to Minna and said "Could you tell us the names of any other drakelings you know that would come to our side? That would bring their young here and let us fight for them?"

"Nay...none of them want you to fight for them, Zephyr." Minna said quietly. "The names I know are of those who want to fight with you." She started listing people off, and Boko recognized quite a few of them. "When I escaped, they were being rounded up...they'll kill them soon, Zephyr. P-please, save my friends..." She moaned a low, sad note, that was echoed by the youngings huddled underneath her. Boko echoed after them, looking up at his father. "Papa, I don't want you to be hurt again..."

The king sighed heavily, then stood up, saying "We will go after them. Me and my brother, Firestorm. We will not let a single other drakeling be slain, I promise you. As soon as my strength returns, we will take wing. First, we will roll in the soot of the volcano. This will mask our scent, as the air is usually tinted with that smell, and it will color us as the dark, so we can sneak in better. Then we will help the other drakelings out." He bent his head and nuzzled Boko, saying "I'll be fine, Silver-Fire. I promise. I'll come home to my little prince in no-time, you'll see." He licked under Boko's chin, then looked to Minna and said "Is there anything we can say to the drakelings to convince them we mean no harm? Perhaps that we know you."

Minna thought for a moment, then nodded. "Tell them that I sent you...they will understand."

"I'll come, too," Vuker stood, holding his head high. "My wounds have recovered, since, and--"

"It's too dangerous, Vuker!" Boko wailed at once.

"Firestorm and Zephyr don't know their way around the caves. There are some that you haven't seen, Boko. Like the place they were probably taken...Minna, were they...?" He questioned quietly. The larger drakeling looked sullen, but she slowly nodded. Vuker sighed heavily. "Death's Gate. That's what Du'uru calls it. We...dug too close to the Temple of the Stars. We broke through one of the walls by accident. It turned the walls of that tunnel as solid as diamond, no one can dig out of it. There's something in the air, it does something to a person's head...drives them crazy. Makes them think there are enemies around every corner; and then it makes them think that their friends are their enemies. I don't know how long they'll last before they start attacking each other..." He shivered unhappily. Du'uru said that if there was ever only one in that tunnel, something would come out of the temple and eat them!" 

Zephyr's eyes widened slightly, then he shook his head. "Then we must leave as soon as possible," he said. "Before they have a chance to listen too closely to the shadows." He flicked his tail, calling "Firestorm, I know you were listening to this. Ready yourself at once."

His younger brother appeared at once, saying "Yes, Zephyr." He turned and trotted off, looking happy to be moving at last.

"I'm still coming with you," Vuker said quietly, ignoring Boko. The younger Drakeling muttered unhappily, pressing up against his father.

"Dad, please make sure Vuker doesn't do anything dumb," He said, very much upset. "I like Vuker. He's my friend. I don't want him hurt..." He then crawled towards Vaira, climbing into her pouch so he wouldn't have to watch them leave.

Zephyr nodded, saying "I will protect him with my entire being, Boko. I promise." He bent his head and brushed his muzzle against Boko's tail, then lifted his head and nuzzled Vaira, saying "I'll be back. I swear." He kissed her gently, then turned and limped off to find Firestorm. Vaira watched him go, a low croon working into her throat. She tried to hide it, however, and instead laid down and started gently stroking Boko's tail with her claws.

Boko wailed freely, afraid for the fate of his father and his dear friend.

Vuker followed Zephyr easily, a little nervous. He had never done anything like this before...the Drakeling cleared his throat and looked up at Zephyr quietly. "Um...you know, I think it might be safer to go through the temple directly," He said, his ears hung low. "Du'uru might not even realized that we've evacuated the drakelings until we're already gone...but we'll have to go straight through the room. I dunno what'll happen..."

((In case you don't recall, the Temple of the Stars was originally designed to hold the remains of titans and demigods. Cyprus' old body is there, and so is Yemara's; Obelisk made them new forms, because those were beyond his reach. There are a few titans there, too, as mentioned before. None of them alive...yet. The temple itself will fall with the rebirth of the first titan, the one you're controlling. Oh, and the Artifacts are there right now. Don't let Obelisk touch those, Remor will lose it and destroy all of Bulliete and Herrace in one fell swoop. xD

Obelisk was a special case because his soul was supposed to be dragged down, not his entire body. So when he escaped his underground prison, the room was left without a prisoner to protect; so it's awfully confused. Zephyr can turn it off, though.))

((Sounds like a plan to me.))

Zephyr nodded, then said "We must go to the volcano first, to hide our scents and scales." He looked up as Firestorm neared, carrying a small bag in his mouth. "Make sure that doesn't get out," Zephyr said warily. "I would hate for it to backfire on us."

Firestorm nodded, saying "The bag is still tied from when Naybrin first found it."

Zephyr nodded, then bent his head and nudged Vuker up onto his back, saying "We'll need to move fast, so you must ride for now." The king then moved up to the large rock overhang that jutted over the Sacred Plains, where he could speak to his people. "We have discovered that drakelings are being tortured and killed by Du'uru," Zephyr said. "The drakeling king has lost his mind. Not only are the warriors and mothers suffering, but their younglings as well. I will not stand for this. Therefore, me, my brother and our friend Vuker are going to save them. Mithor is in charge while I am gone. Carry on as usual, but I want some warriors to hunt for the new arrivals. We'll need twice as much as we've ever found to support them all, but I will not let them suffer any worse than they already have. Make certain they are welcomed and cared for." He turned away and said "Let's go," to Firestorm, then they leapt high and headed off for the volcano.

The dragons below roared and cheered for their king, then immediately set to work. They held a lot of faith in Zephyr, and he had not let them down yet. They saw no problem with helping the drakelings.

Vuker held on for dear life. He had only ever seen an active volcano once in his life; the one near his home had magical properties that told of the present - and sometimes, if it was in the mood, the future. He had dared to venture in once, and he had learned that the guardians of knowledge had been taken and killed. Boko's parents, to be precise. That hadn't exactly been a fun time.

But Vuker didn't object. He knew better. Zephyr's plan, combined with his, should work reasonably well...

Once they landed on the slopes of the volcano, they proceeded to roll around in the ashes and soot, covering themselves in the usual smelly ashes that permeated the air most of the time. Any drakeling would smell them and think it was merely a gust of wind, carrying the scent of the volcano. By the time they were all finished rolling about in the soot, they were as black as night. Vukar could hardly tell Zephyr from Firestorm, except for their different eye colors and horn shapes.

"Let's go," Zephyr said, letting Vuker hop back up onto his back, then they took wing, just as night started to fall, adding further to their plans. The darkness would cloak them, just as the soot on their bodies would.

Zephyr and Firestorm lurked at the edge of the drakelings senses for a while, thinking aloud with Vuker, then Firestorm said "We can shrink down and a sneak right under that big, ugly thing."

"Hmm. Maybe," Zephyr said. "How would we get back out, though? No, we need a way to knock him out...perhaps we can sneak behind him and attack from behind."

Zephyr nodded, then said "Thank you. I have our plan, then. Vuker, stay here where you can see. Me and Firestorm will sneak around behind him and knock him out, then we'll all head inside. Sound good?" When they nodded, Zephyr shrunk down to a tiny size and motioned for Firestorm to follow him. "Let's go," he said, and he and his brother slipped off, unnoticed.

"Got it." Vuker nodded, practically hugging the ground in order to avoid being seen. He watched, not even being able to see the dragons himself, at this point.

The great beast of a Drakeling looked around, and for a moment, Vuker was afraid that he had been spotted; but the larger one simply continued his sweeping glance without a second thought. Vuker flinched when thunder roared overhead.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Several minutes passed, during which thunder merely boomed louder overhead. Finally, there was movement. The large drakeling flinched, then slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Zephyr and Firestorm took a normal size, motioning for Vuker to come over. "He's out like a distant flame," Firestorm snorted as Zephyr said "Let's move quickly."

Vuker bolted over, sniffing the Drakeling. "We have about half an hour. Let's get in and get out, quickly." He pushed his way down into the tunnel, and was quick to sneak into the temple. It was mostly empty; none of the Drakelings had dare stand around inside. Most of the room was encased in hard silver crystal of some kind. One of the massive doors was wide open, the source of the crystal. Vuker peered into the room, able to see through to the other side, where the tunnel was. There were several Drakelings huddled on that side, slightly wounded. Another one was clawing at the crystal-encased tunnel wall, trying desperately to break free. Too desperately. He had ground his claws to their breaking point, and he was leaving blood on the walls.

Zephyr quickly moved forward, gently pushing the one drakeling away from the wall. "Shh, shh, we're here to help you," he said kindly, passing his tongue gently over scales and flanks. "Minna asked for our help. She and a bunch of the younglings are safe and in the Sacred Plains. If you hurry, we can get out of here. You can see your children. Come, hurry. We must move quickly."