The Forgotten Zodiac

Nate watched from a distance as Diana drank deeply from the little stream, then splashed around in it a bit. "Look, Forin, these rocks are funny." She giggled, showing them to her guardian and friend.

"I see...interesting. Nate, look at these," Forin motioned for the Dragonian to get closer, to which Nate did. Reluctantly.

"Let me see," Nate stuck his hand in the water and pulled one out, frowning at it. The rocks had small chunks of amber embedded in them, some of which had tiny insects in them. "Fossils. How unusual." He frowned, taking a step away from the river to look at the rock. "It's amber. Quite pretty, too. If you find a small one, Diana, maybe Forin can make you some jewelry with it."

"Ohh! Yeah, good idea!" Diana giggled, moving a little further up the riverbank to see if she couldn't find any. She paused as a bush rustled; a large rat darted out of the brush and ran towards the river, snatching up a few droplets of water before darting back. It was enough to make Diana scream and jump back, though. With a splash that was lost over the roar of the river, her foot landed in the water, and a second later, she was being dragged rapidly towards the edge of the cliff.

"Diana!" Forin screeched, but Nate was the first to move. He took flight as Diana disappeared over the edge; he reappeared, the girl in his arms; soaking wet, in hysterics, but alive. Nate gently set her down on dry land at the edge of the cliff, but something was clearly wrong. See, Nate had been forced to dive into the falling water to get to Diana. Which may not have been a problem, but he underestimated the force a huge waterfall could have. It had knocked the air from his lungs and snapped one of his wing bones when he tried to fight against it. As such, he had ingested water and broken a wing at the same time.

The combination of that sent him crashing right back into the water; Forin spotted uselessly flapping green wings as they dropped and vanished over the edge. Diana watched in horror as Nate splashed into the water below, and didn't appear again. Her eyes flicked downstream, where he was undoubtedly being carried, but she couldn't see him. So much water...would Nate even survive all that?

((YES. -acid goo face-))

((Acid goo face?))

Luen wailed and scrambled up from where he had been sitting under a tree, scratching Spy. He raced to the edge and Forin only just grabbed him before the kirin would've went over as well. "Nate!" he shrieked, trying to make Forin let go of him. "Nate! Forin, let go of me!" Tears streamed down his face as he fought against his best friend, but Forin was obviously too strong for the frail little deer.

Cynyr had started to leap up to go after Nate, but pain suddenly shot through his legs, preventing him from moving. Wh...what?! he thought, staring at his legs in horror. What's with this pain?! He fought to get up, finding every movement hard. When he finally managed to stand up, he was still too rickety to walk properly. And by that time...Nate was gone.

((Terraria?

At any rate, apparently I am indeed leaving early today. Even though I'm recovering and I need more sleep, even though I don't actually have classes until 11, there's a retarded 'senior seminar' at the school today. So I have to go. For 'experience'. Ugh, sometimes I want to punch my mother in the face...))

"No, Luen, you won't survive the drop!" Forin yelled over the roar of the tide that had carried off their friend. Probably to his death. Diana wailed, knowing it was her fault that this happened; Nate had told them, warned them to be cautious, yet he was the one who paid the price for her clumsiness. It...wasn't fair. At all.

((Ah, acid slime. xD

Aww. .D. -huggles-))

Luen sank to his knees, his entire body shaking rigidly. "But...but..." he gasped, tears steaming down his cheeks, then he turned and pressed his face into Forin's chest, crying very softly.

*

Humming filled the air. The sound of a horse and wagon was heard, along with the continued humming of the older man sitting on the wagon, flicking his horses reins in his hand. He and his wagon were traveling towards the capital city to sell their goods. He had found a fine crop this year. Hopefully the princess would buy some more from his usual trade.

He was currently watching the river, which was how he spotted Nate.

Nate, limp and dead-looking. He was floating on his back, barely concious enough to keep it that way. He kept slipping beneath the surface of the water, but a flap of his one good wing was enough to get him back to where there was air. He couldn't move, his entire body felt like ice. In spite of the heat, the water was freezing cold, and it hurt Nate more with every second he was in it. So finally, when he felt his arm brush up against land, he let out a burst of energy and flapped his good wing desperately, making it up to where he wouldn't float off anymore. Luckily. He still couldn't move, there was a massive knot in his stomach that he knew would kill him if he didn't get rid of the water in his gut, and his legs were still in the water. Which meant if the flow picked up or changed at all, he'd be carried off again.

Not that it mattered. Nate didn't even have enough energy to vomit, which meant expelling the water was next to impossible without help.

((One post before I go to the dumb seminar. =.= I'd much rather be at home, trust me...))

((-snuggles-))

"Hmm?" The old man spotted this and pulled his wagon to a halt, blinking at the dragonian. Dragonians were nearly as rare as dragons in this land, so the man had to do a doubletake. "Good gracious me," he said, grabbing his bag and getting out of the wagon, heading over to Nate. Despite his age, he was obviously spry enough to get things done, as he managed to pull Nate up the bank to safety. He spent a moment poking and prodding, and once he was certain that Nate was alive, he analyzed the dragonian. "I suspect...you're a bit waterlogged, my fine friend," he mused, digging around in his bag. He pulled out a small bottle and put a few drips into Nate's mouth. The stuff inside the bottle was probably the most disgusting thing Nate had ever tasted, and of course, it made his body react involutarily by throwing up, which expelled all of the water.

"There now, that's better, eh, my pet?" the man said, patting Nate on the back.

"Me? Well, I should say that I'm your owner, Erilda," the man said, and before Nate could react, he had buckled thick chains around the dragonian's wrists and a collar around his neck. "There you are," Erilda said, snapping a leash to the collar. "Come on, then. You'll have a new owner before long and I'll have a pocket full of money. Yes sir, the slave trade is how most of us here make our gold." He chained Nate's wings together as well, knowing that he couldn't run away in his current state. "Up into the wagon with all of your friends, you go," he tutted, and when he opened the wagon, Nate's eyes met at least twenty bedraggled-looking lerloches. Most were half-cats and wolflings, but there were also a few avons and one gryphon.

Nate stared. He swallowed hard, but it was easy to see that he had no choice in this matter. He didn't fight it, knowing for certain that he needed to conserve as much energy as possible if he was to ever escape this mess. His one relief was that the others had Spy. Spy...although he wouldn't be able to pick up the scent for awhile, Nate had no doubt that the little Chimera would recognize his scent sooner or later. As the carriage was closed behind him, Nate eased himself onto the floor next to a fearful looking half-cat that shied away from him. He stuck out like a sore thumb; everyone here looked so...deprived. Most of them were wearing the bare minimum of clothing. All of them looked underfed and dirty. Nate, on the other hand, was fed, had good clothes, and...well, he was large compared to the others. Rather large, indeed.

"Why...did you get caught?" Asked the timid little half-cat next to him. "How...?" He seemed befuddled at the sight of Nate's wings and tail. "What..."

"I'm a dragonian, kid," Nate snorted. The boy just looked more confused. "Part Dragon. Water is dangerous for me. I...fell into the waterfall north of here..."

"Oh...why did you jump in the river?"

"I was trying to save someone. So I guess...now I just have to wait for them to come save me." He snorted, but another half-cat just laughed.

"We're all waiting to be saved, stupid. It never happens."

One of the avons, who was a tiny little female dove, started crying into the other one's arms. "Sis, aren't we going home?" she sobbed up at her sibling, who merely held her tighter and said "Shh. Of course we'll get home. Somehow..."

The gryphon eyed Nate for a moment, giving him a very ferocious stare. It was a girl, with long blonde hair tied back into a ponytail. Her skin was a nice tan color and although she was dressed scarcely, her clothing was of good quality. She had various bangles and dangling coins, all gold in color, hanging from her arms and from the edges of her clothes. A thick gold band was wrapped around her neck and she had at least three earrings in each ear. She glared at Nate like he had committed some sort of horrible crime, crossing her arms unhappily.

Nate couldn't hide the pity he felt for the crying dove. These people...were slaves. It hit him like a kick from a horse. Maybe they had been mistreated, maybe not, but the fact remained that they were all property of someone else. And the fact that they were all Lerloch had to have something to do with it. It couldn't just be a coincidence. But before Nate could utter a word, he caught the glare that the Gryphon was giving him. He shook off the last of his chills, very grateful for the warmth of the summer air, before meeting her eyes. "What do you want?" He questioned roughly, frowning deeply.

"Gryphons are always angry, sir...please don't provoke her," The timid little half-cat next to him whimpered.

"I'll deal with whomever I like. I think..." He trailed off, looking at the young boy. It appeared that he hadn't been fed properly in a very long time. From the way he was holding himself, he seemed to have been whipped recently. Nate sighed, then asked what happened to him.

"Ran away," The boy trembled with fear of the memories. "I didn't make it more than a mile. I was dragged back, whipped, and then sold...it's not uncommon, disobedient servants can't get one much of a profit...b-but I ran because they killed my older sister. I didn't want to die...s-she was only trying to get us more food, and they killed her for stealing..." His shoulders shook with sobs. Nate sighed through his nose, then reached forward and rested his hand on the boy's head. If these people were here...how many other caravans were there with people just like this?

"Stop cryin', you big baby," The other half cat grunted. "You've been nothing but annoying since you woke up."

"Shut it," Nate growled, snorting when silence fell again.

The Bulliete castle was stunning, to say the least.

High turrets dotted the tall, white-stone walls and flags flapped in the breeze. To some, however, the castle was not a happy sight.

Those on Naybrin's back found it hard to be happy over anything at the moment. It was several hours after Nate had fallen into the water, and although they had searched long and hard for him, their efforts had been in vain. The dragonian was gone, and for all they knew, he could've been swept out to sea and drowned.

Luen was particulary quiet as Naybrin slowly headed in for a landing. His eyes were red from crying and his legs were sore; he had looked very hard for Nate, but had been very disheartened when he was unable to find him. He would've kept looking if not for Forin and Diana convincing him that there was nothing else they could do. And even then, they had promised that they would return later and look again.

As they made their landing and started to dismount, Werr pulled something out of his bag and handed it to Luen. It was Nate's cloak; they had found it, soaking wet and filthy, rather far downstream. Werr had dried it off, but honestly, Luen needed it the most at this moment. And it had nothing to do with the cold; it was actually rather hot at the moment. The kirin needed it for different reasons.

"Greetings, and welcome to Bulliete," Someone stood at the door, obviously a representative or something of the sort, from the way he was dressed. "Please, come in. The emperor is most excited to see you." He smiled happily.

Luen flinched at the man's voice, holding Nate's cloak tightly in his arms. He pressed it close to himself, feeling like he couldn't risk letting go for more than a second.

Welk glanced sadly at him, then had to look forward and walk calmly. Still dressed in Werr's clothes, he had to act the part of the King of Alastor. His tail was already twitching and flicking, however. At least until Werr touched him gently on the shoulder. Then his tail stilled and Welk sank deeply into his part.

Welk, who had merely been standing there with his mouth open, blinked sharply and gave himself a light shake, saying "Er...thank you, Emperor Izan." He gave Werr a sideways glanced, silently thanking the young man for his help, then moved to take his seat and had to mentally kick himself when he went for the right-hand spot. He lowered himself into the 'king' position, looking mildly uncomfortable but hiding it fairly well. To the untrained eye, he would appear tired, but to those that knew him well could tell he was nervous.

At the mention of 'servants', Cynyr had stiffened, glaring at the Emperor like he was insane.

"You all look so upset, I am--" Izan was cut short by the sudden yell and charge of someone. Werr didn't recognize him, but he wasn't going after Welk; he was charging the emperor. Somehow he had snuck into their group and gotten in with them.

Izan didn't even flinch as blood sprayed. Lennon grunted; he had moved into the way, taking the curved blade to the chest. He spluttered, spitting out a mouthful of blood before shoving the man away and wrenching the sword out of himself, driving it through the man's skull.

Lennon fell to the side, quickly going limp. "Lennon?" The emperor blinked, nudging the fallen man with his foot. "Come now, I haven't the time to replace you. Get up," He said, almost sounding desperate with worry. He stood and knelt next to his protector, frowning. "Hold on, I'll send for the healer...don't die on me, dear Lennon..."

Seria and Lexi were up and out of their chairs in a matter of moments, quickly making their way over to the fallen man. Seria put her hands on his chest, feeling the damage, then quickly told Lexi what to do. The young healer girl nodded tearfully, quickly putting her hands over the wound in Lennon's chest. She threw her magic into it, then blinked and stared down at the man for a long moment. She tilted her head slightly, looking very confused, then looked back down at her hands as if she had done something wrong.

After the wound was healed and sealed, Lennon pushed himself upright and pulled a handkerchief from his bag, cleaning the tears from Lexi's face first, then the blood from her hands. "Thank you," He murmured, slowly climbing to his feet. "I'm alright, most high," He said, though he staggered a bit. "Those you called upon are most...efficient." He wrung a bit of blood out of his shirt, then sat down again in his chair.

"Yes...I thought they would be. Thank you, thank you so very much. Lennon here is literally the perfect guard. Nothing like that has happened before..." Izan shook off his confusion to help Lexi up, putting his hands on her shoulders and kissing her forehead in a sign of great gratitude. "You will be repaid greatly for that, I swear it."

Lexi still looked fairly confused, but she managed a small smile and said "Um...y-you're welcome, your Majesty...I-I don't need anything, though. I assure you, just saving a life was fine enough..." She pulled back, still casting odd glances at Lennon. She hesitated, as if wanting to say something, then merely curtsied and retreated to her seat, looking a bit troubled.

Welk blinked, then shrugged and lifted his cup, taking a bit swig. "Good thing Lexi and Seria were here," he said. "Or your dude would've bit the dust." He froze, then said "I mean...it would've been a shame...to lose such a fine man." His eyes had grown larger, and he was quick to take another drink, looking around rapidly.