The Forgotten Zodiac

((But it's helpful, no? o3o))

"Welk, you need rest. And we can't leave until...until Obelisk is ready." Werr looked down. He had intended to be present for the burial, but Welk's return had distracted him. "He's burying his wife. We've gotta wait on him, because we're sure as heck not leaving without him. He's strong and wise, and...without Naybrin, he's...important." Werr frowned, realizing that with Naybrin missing, they lacked the knowledge of a lot of things. Obelisk helped made up for that, but even Obelisk hadn't been present during the time of Titans, or the beginning of ages, or anything of that sort. Had he?

"You can go now. All of you. Pay your respects to his sorrow." Nate nodded thoughtfully. "I need to go check on my wife. Make sure she's settled in."

He was interrupted, however, by Forin. The Tartaran was holding an odd plant, and a jar of liquid. "Nate! I need you to burn this. Quickly, it has to be added before the solution sets," Forin held up the plant, which looked like a rose stem with a dandelion on top. Nate blinked and took the plant, and quickly burned it into little more than ash. Under Forin's direction, he simply dropped it in the jar, and Forin began stirring. "Thanks, Nate. Tell me if your wife or anyone else starts showing Scarlet Fever symptoms, I don't want to take any chances!" He ran off again.

Nate cleared his throat, nodding thoughtfully. "Right. I'm off, then." He turned and swept away, lifting into the air so he could reach Taisa faster. But that left Werr and Cynyr to get on either side of Welk to help support him.

"So...are we going to the burial?" Werr frowned.

((Yesh.))

Cynyr shrugged, showing that he didn't care what they did, while Seria moved around to slowly feel his skin, staring in shock. He turned to her, closing his good eye as she ran her fingers over the remaining scars and smooth, pale white skin. "Cynyr..." she breathed, closing her eyes as he bent his head to kiss her once before pulling back to help Welk stay up.

"But...but...Isslia..." Welk whimpered, leaning heavily against Werr. "You...poison..." He let out a small moan, clutching his head with one hand.

"Welk, it's okay. It's okay...I have a couple weeks. We'll get an antidote before long, I promise. We'll find Isslia and then head straight to Gossain. You need sleep for now, I'm serious about that. Come on," He pulled Welk (and Cynyr in turn) towards a spare bedroom. "I guess Obelisk will have to go without us being there. I'll stay with you while you sleep, Welk. It's fine."

Obelisk was not using his powers to dig the grave. He was doing everything by hand; he had gotten a shovel and was busy digging away, unaided by his magic. It seemed a bit silly, but Obelisk didn't look like he cared very much. There was a certain value in hard work, and...well...some part of Obelisk wanted to delay the burying for as long as possible. Cern was sitting near the edge of the grave, Malice in his lap.

"Do you understand what has happened, Malice?" Cern asked quietly. "Do you understand?"

Malice was sitting there with tears dripping down his cheeks, watching his father sadly. He tilted his head back to look up at Cern, then looked back down at Obelisk. "...Mommy left," he said slowly, and it was obvious that he was hesitant to speak. "She won't come back. I can't see her again." More tears fell, and he pressed his face into Cern's chest.

"Not by choice, Malice. If your mother had the choice, she would have stayed." Cern shook his head. "Remember your mother, child. Keep the sound of her voice in your head. She'll be with you."

"I would have made it on time. The medicine works quickly. Fawn would have been able to survive if not for that whelp..." Obelisk muttered. "Malice, Cern, I would like it very much if the two of you stayed here."

"I will protect your son with my own life, Obelisk." Cern dipped his head.

"Good. Malice," Obelisk climbed out of the grave and knelt so he was at eye level with the boy. "I need you to stay here and be good, okay? You can trust Galai and Titus. Most importantly, Lily and Tasia need your help taking care of the babies. You should meet Airiana and Cinnoa...they're young and helpless, and you have to be a good helper and take care of them while their dads are away. Can you do that?"

Malice hesitated, but didn't speak. He gave a small nod, slowly putting his arms around his father's neck. His tears stopped after a moment, and he rubbed his cheeks free of water. "I...I will," he said softly. "As well as I can..." He sniffled, saying "Will I get to see Mommy again some day? Ever?"

"Yes, Malice...someday soon." Obelisk murmured. He got back to work, but he was done digging the grave; Cern stood and helped him lower the casket into the hole, and Obelisk worked on shoveling the dirt back onto the pile.

Airlia watched from the roof, feeling sorrow for the eternal one below. He had suffered so many losses before, but clearly that hadn't been enough...Airlia felt even worse when she realized that Obelisk would live past even Malice. Herself, too. After all of them had come and gone, Obelisk would still be here. Obelisk would see the end of the world, and probably live through that, too.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" She questioned. Ophile was behind her, watching as well.

"I certainly hope so." The large wolf sighed. "I'd keep an eye on him, but even now, he knows we're watching him. I think he just needs some time to be alone."

"Right...I suppose we just have to sit here and wait, huh?" Airlia sighed, stretching her wings a bit.

"I suppose so."

The carriage ride was shorter than Luna had expected. Before long, Zex opened the door of the carriage and stepped out, holding the door open for her. "Welcome to Gossain Manor," He held out his hand to help Luna out, but when he remembered that she was uncomfortable around him, he dropped his hand. "Um...please don't try to run or anything. The last thing I want is to have to tie you up." His voice, which had gotten accustomed to speaking since his return to life, sounded a lot younger than Luna and...gentle. Surprisingly so. He really was just a young boy, but he still stared at Luna openly. He couldn't help it.

Luna huffed at him and stepped out of the carriage, turning her head away from him for a moment. "I'll have you know that I won't be here much longer," she said, crossing her arms angrily. "My boyfriend won't let you keep me. None of my friends will. They'll probably do something reckless and come after me."

"Oh. That's good." Zex nodded.

Lance, however, laughed. "That's what we want, stupid. They'll all come running; that Allie Waest girl can make an antidote out of the poison we used, but she needs a pure sample. Forin will be desperate to get his little friend back. Why didn't you grab the little one, again?"

"She smelled sick." Zex made his excuse, shrugging. "I think this is fine..."

"Hmph. Wouldn't have made a difference."

"I told them I came not to kill. Taking her away from her summons, especially when she's ill, would be effectively killing her. Didn't you listen to Veros? Summoner and Summons are closely interwoven..." Zex trailed off. He didn't really understand much of it, himself; another world where humans can summon people from?

"I don't listen to Veros. Veros is boring." Lance sneered.

"I'll tell him you said that." Zex shook his head. "Come on, Luna, let's go inside." He started towards the castle, but only got a few feet away before turning and looking at her again, though this time he was waiting for her to follow.

She glared at him, then suddenly attempted to teleport. She spun neatly on one leg, her long silver hair flashing, but before she could complete the turn, Kage landed behind her and pushed her sharply. She fell over with a gasp, feeling blood seep from a few cuts she had just received from hitting the ground, then felt him grab her leg and snap something shut around her ankle. "Honestly," he snorted, making no move to help her up once he had closed the strange anklet over her leg. "You're so trusting, Zexy. You have to drain her power first."

"I...I hoped I wouldn't have to," Zex murmured, but he was quick to move between Kage and Luna.

"Tch...why'd Veros put a stupid kid like you in charge, anyway?" Lance snorted. "Come on, Kage, let's go scare that king dude. Maybe we could poison his wife..."

"You'll do no such thing!" Zex snarled. "Stick to the plan."

"What? Stick your little friend?" Lance cupped a hand around her ear, feigning deafness. "Maybe I will!" She drew a knife from her boot, stepping towards Luna. Zex got in the way again, but Lance was clearly not in the mood to be messed with.

By the time Veros' voice shot through their minds, Zex was curled up on the ground with multiple stab wounds in his stomach. 'Enough,' The Titan's voice, heard only by them, rang out. 'Kage, Lance, to your rooms. Zex, bring Luna to me. I want to meet her.'

Lance pulled a face, but had little choice in the matter. She left Zex struggling to sit up.

Luna frowned, but even she couldn't stand seeing Zex treated so badly. She slowly bent and helped him up, guiding him inside. It was quite obvious that she trusted him more than the other two. Her long silver hair slid from behind her shoulder as she pulled up him, helping him to stumble for the door. She didn't know who this 'Veros' was, but she didn't want to keep him waiting.

Zex hugged his stomach, but had no choice but to guide Luna towards the cellar. The hidden staircase, the two barred doors in the hallway there, and finally, the main room.

Ink had piled the pillows up around one of the chairs, making it much more comfortable than before. It looked almost like some sort of throne made from pillows. Veros was obviously in control now, judging from the way he looked at the arrivals. It wasn't a surprise. He was definitely expecting them. "Hello there. Oh, Zex...come here, child." The boy did, though he struggled to stay on his feet. He only made it to in front of the chair before he collapsed. Veros stood and knelt beside him, running his hands over the wounds.

Oddly, they hadn't bled. And as Veros worked, the cuts sealed themselves up, leaving behind not a scar in sight. Zex let out a massive sigh of relief, but curled up where he lay, weary from the trip and pain. "You've met my faithful servants, I see. Welcome to Gossain, miss Luna. You may call me Veros. If you have respect for names, you can call me the Titan of Ages. But whatever works for you. One way or another...you have found yourself in my clutches. The information I just obtained from Zex is...interesting. You are almost exactly like her in appearance, yes...could you be...a manifestation? Or perhaps a servant? A toy, maybe? No, not a toy, she's far to kind for that..." Veros walked around Luna in circles, frowning slightly. "Who are you, exactly? I wonder...you're from Amnairus. But did Galai and Titus make you as they made the others? Or did you come about...differently?"

"What are you talking about?" she snapped, not liking the way he was circling her. "I was born through my king and queen, just like all of my sisters and brothers. I am no ill-begotten child, no toy, no...manifestation! I don't even know what you're talking about. What sort of manifestation could I possibly be?"

"He told you already. The Goddess, my dear. You resemble the Goddess. Dear Zex here is the only one of my servants who actually carried on with his life after I sealed his soul. Most of the others slowly wasted away into monsters before they died or were killed. But Zex here cried out to the Goddess for forgiveness, and she forgave. But, remarkably, she did not remove my seal. So here we are, and here he is. I dragged him from heaven myself and placed his soul in his body again. He is...what I imagine you would call a Zombie." Veros explained, sitting in his seat again.

"He's quite the kind fellow, as I'm sure you're aware. I rather like him. Sadly, he falls under my rule, and had no choice to obey. While grabbing you was not in the original plans, I daresay I've long since forgiven him of this. You're a much better catch than that sad young girl...no, no...you, miss Luna, even sound like her. Very peculiar, I'd say. But...I have better things to do. Miss Luna, that anklet placed around your leg will keep your power drained, but it also ensures that you will not stray past the castle walls. I can see your location at any given time. You are free to wander the castle, in the meantime. If you'd like to go see the city, that's perfectly fine, too, but you must take either Zex, Lance, or Kage with you. Judging from your previous run-in, I'd say you would want to take Zex. As you can see though, he's currently asleep...so stick to the castle for now, yes? And I wouldn't be too concerned about your safety...I don't intend to torture you, I don't intend to allow Kage to have his way with you, and I don't intend to have you dead. Your friends will be here to collect you soon, as you've said yourself. So please, relax. The kitchens are open to you, the gardens are open to you, and the grand bedrooms are open to you. Goodness knows you don't have to stay down here with loopy little Ink." Veros chortled.

Luna glared ferociously at him, but knew when she was trapped. She turned abruptly and stalked off, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her. She was angry and upset, and it seethed off of her in waves as she stalked the halls. She didn't know what to do, but she definitely didn't want Forin or the others to be hurt over her. What could these creeps possibly want?

The answer never really came. But the castle was quite grand; if Luna hadn't been so distressed, she would have been fascinated by the domed roofs and crystal chandeliers. The whole castle spoke years of hard work, and a brilliant mind behind it. It was beautiful, stunningly so. But Luna had no time to admire it, because as she approached the front doors, she saw someone she hadn't in months. Someone who had decided to go her own way and explore the world for herself.

Isslia Royal.

It wasn't a happy entrance; she was being dragged in by a city guard. Why? Had she been caught up in something? Or perhaps she had been caught stealing? No, petty crimes wouldn't be brought before a king...just what was going on here?

Luna blinked, staring out the window at the girl. She turned and followed, unnoticed by guard or Isslia alike.

The younger girl was dragged before Riordan, who was sitting in his throne with Valley on his lap, his arms wrapped around her with his head on her shoulder while she ran one hand through his hair, the other resting over the mark on the back of his neck.

"Who on earth is this?" Valley raised a brow. "I was aware of a girl being in the castle soon, but this isn't she, is it?"

Isslia was silent, just as stubborn as always. The guard cleared his throat. "My lord, this girl stands convicted of crimes involving attempting to escape arrest, and assaulting a city guard. The guard in question is in the city hospital now for serious injuries to his arm and leg. She broke four bones and nearly tore off his ear, sire."

Riordan frowned, giving the girl a skeptical stare. "She...did?" he asked, the doubt clear in his tone. "Why would she do that? She hardly looks able to take on a child of her own size." He leaned back from Valley slightly, studying the girl the guard was holding. She was tiny, really. Nothing more than a child, to him.