The Forgotten Zodiac

The panther nodded, rubbing a finger against his own, feeling it warm up gently. He sighed, then tilted his head as air words formed. I suppose that means it's time to go. I'll see you again soon, Werr. Count on it. He caught the boy in a one-sided hug around his shoulders, then turned and loped off, his gait smooth and rolling.

"I will! Hurry back!" Werr called as his older brother left.

"Why would you not tell him about your current ailment, Werr?" Titus tutted. Werr winced at the mention of the nagging pain in his joints. It made him feel old. Welk would feel none of his pain, as it was due to the poison he was feeling this. But it made sudden movement difficult already.

"I didn't want him to argue any more than I knew he would already..." Werr shook his head.

Galai frowned, saying "I wish I could help you, Dark-Eyes." It seemed that a lot of people had taken to called Werr his dragon name after Naybrin's death. "But sadly, my powers have no effect on this poison. It's well-made, I give it that..." She shook her head, saying "From the feel of it, it would either take a skilled alchemist or the Goddess herself to remove it. You'll have better luck going after the alchemist."

"Yeah. We know one...Allie Waest, remember? But she needs the poison base that they used. They spoke about having spare bottles...we just have to find them." Werr nodded slowly.

"A tricky task. And you'll just crash in mindlessly with Zephyr? I would think that you would have chosen a more stealthy route..." Titus tutted. "Going in headfirst isn't always the best of plans, Krow. Think about it."

"Yes...if it takes a skilled Alchemist or the Goddess herself..." Werr sighed.

Titus finished for him. "Then it must be someone equally powerful who created it. So, are you against an Alchemist? Or...the Goddess?"

"Neither. Before we left, I did some research. One of the men who attacked us, I think he was named Zex. Just a kid, younger than me..." Werr frowned. "He mentioned a name. It sounded familiar, so I had Nate get me some books to read overnight."

"And what name was that?"

"Veros. Titan of Ages."

The silence that followed was deafening, until Titus broke it with a heavy sigh. "It is so. I sensed the release of the Titans...first you faced Neathor, and now you must face Veros. There are others wandering, you know...Leviathan, Cepherus...few intelligent enough to attach to a human host, but I have no doubt that is what Veros has done. He gains energy for spells and the like through the death of humans. It was once so that he could crush an entire village under his thumb."

"Or an entire city..." Werr muttered, remembering the spell circle in his own basement that would kill everyone in his own captial city.

"Yes. He was one of the first to be subsided. And now he is one of the first to return. So, Werr Krow, you are faced with a difficult task; not only must you overcome the threat of Veros, but you must also gather and find a way to seal the remaining Titans before more misfortune befalls this world."

((...What happened to Sam? King of Storaph?))

((Had to recover enough to travel, and he's on his way here, looking like he got the crap beat out of him still. He doesn't have a castle healer yet, only a few doctors.))

That's when Werr felt the gentle touch of arms slipping around his torso and heard the familiar voice of Lexi say "You won't do it alone." She put her chin on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Don't forget about me, you know," she said, turning his face to look at her. "I just got you back and I don't intend on losing you again, ever."

((He'd be on his way to Alastor. Not Kaislun. He doesn't know about Kaislun, remember? He'd meet up with the wall. xD))

Werr's breath caught in his throat and he turned, pulling Lexi into a hug all of the sudden. It was all just too much, at that moment he felt so weak and useless...and all he could do was hug Lexi close and try his best not to cry on her shoulder.

"Here," Kiraki tapped Lexi's shoulder, holding out a thick book. "It's the first copy of the Goddess' Writ. It doesn't hold the magical properties, but...perhaps you can find comfort in the words."

((Right.))

Lexi took the book carefully, staring at the cover before nodding and putting it into her bag. She then put her arms right back around Werr when she was done, rubbing his back lightly with one hand. She looked concerned, and rightly so.

((Sooooo...what are we gonna do with him? You know what, Forin will remember. xD))

"Problem, Werr," Forin entered the throne room solemnly.

"What? Huh?" Werr looked up again, fixing his eyes on the Tartaran. "What's wrong? Is Diana okay?"

"Yes, she's fine. The medicine worked quickly, and the fever is gone." Forin shook his head. "That's not the issue. It's about Samual Finnigan."

"...Oh. Storaph. What happened there?"

"Er...let's just say it ended badly for him. When we left, he was a bit...beaten up. Remor thought it would be a bright idea to attempt to have Sam assassinated. Using Diana."

"So you had to stop him from hurting her and keep her from hurting him..." Werr frowned. "And he wound up being hurt?"

"Yes. There were Things involved...needless to say, I directed him towards Alastor Castle..."

"Which we're not at." Werr sighed. "Okay..."

Forin cleared his throat. "I was going to take Luen and Allie and Diana to meet him. With Cynyr off collecting Isslia Royal, it provides us with enough time to collect him and bring him here, if he so wishes..."

"And what about the trial?"

"I'll gladly scapegoat for him should it lead to that." Forin sighed. "As...punishment."

Werr grimaced. "Let's hope he doesn't need an audience with me. Go on, then..."

Luen had walked in behind Forin, standing at attention near his friend's side. He listened as Forin spoke, resting his head on the Tartaran's shoulder. His eyes watched Galai and Titus as they sat in their thones, and Werr as the boy stood nearby. The sharp emerald eyes reminded Werr of Naybrin's deep green ones, and he remembered that it was planned to hold vigil over the First King's lost soul once everyone was back together. Many creatures all across the land were still mourning his departure, after all.

"Might as well go," Werr sighed. "There's not much else to see here."

"Witnessed. But first..." Forin strode forward.

"I never said thank you," Diana skipped out from behind him, climbing up into Galai's lap. She hugged the queen, smiling. "Not just for my memories. For making those memories in the first place. I wanted to thank you, so...I made this!" She pulled something from her small bag. It was a little charm, a wooden star shape colored blue and flecked with white. "It's not very good...Toro helped me paint it, though."

Galai smiled and hugged her tightly, saying "Oh Diana, it's beautiful! Here, let me see." She took the charm and closed her eyes, and when she opened them, the charm was settled on a necklace. She put it on at once, then hugged Diana again. "I love it," she said, grinning.

Diana giggled, hugging Galai tightly. But then she pulled away and ran back to Forin and Luen, smiling. She climbed up onto Luen's back, with a little help from Forin. "Let's go. There's something we need to fetch from Airlia's room first, though." The healing staff. As none of them really had healing magic, it would be important. Sam didn't have any magical healers, despite Werr's insistence that he find one and pay it well.

He had tried, of course, but it was difficult finding a proper healer that wasn't already alligned or taken by a rival to the throne, or worked elsewhere. The last healer had tried to put poison into him rather than remove it.

Luen turned and trotted out of the room, with Forin at his shoulder. Allie was waiting outside, bouncing happily on her new legs. The kirin didn't hesitate to nuzzle her all over, smiling.

"As much as I'd like to come, Airlia spoke with me before she left. She said I should soak my legs in the healing springs and focus on getting them ready for the tougher stuff before I do anything too extreme. They're brand-new, after all." Allie hugged Luen tightly. "So you go on ahead to Alastor, okay? I'll wait here."

"Good plan." Forin nodded. "Diana, do you...?"

"Not a chance. I'm coming with you." Diana crossed her arms. "There's not even any danger in going, so I'm going."

"Of course. How silly of me to ask." Forin smirked.

Luen looked sad for a moment, then sighed and shook it off, saying "Ah, alright, I suppose. I would rather you come with us, but you can stay if you like. I'll be back for you faster than you know." He lipped at her hair, smiling, then looked over at Forin and said "Well, let's go get that staff from Airlia and get on our way."

"Airlia probably already left, but I know where her house is." Forin shook his head. "We just, uh...she has wings. So her treehouse doesn't have a ladder or anything leading to the door. So you'll probably have to give me a lift, Luen."

"I've seen her house! Never been inside, but...it's tall up. I don't think Luen would be able to reach it." Diana blinked.

"Luen could make a ladder out of ice," Allie suggested, smiling.

"Ah. Good plan." Forin nodded thoughtfully. "Let's go, Luen."

The deer nodded and gave a prancing, high-stepping twist on his long legs, trotting after his friends as they walked off. He moved slowly, so as not to outpace them, and bounced on his long limbs like a show-horse. Before they disappeared completely out of sight, however, he turned his head and gave Allie a wide smile, his expression utterly elated; the two hadn't been dating long, as opposed to other couples, like Forin and Luna or Werr and Lexi, but they had something special. They had just clicked, becoming girlfriend and boyfriend quickly, with a mutual love.

((Forin and Diana were on Luen's back. xDD))

Allie watched them go, a small smile on her face, before she turned back to trying to figure out which house was the healing springs entrance.

Ink was ecstatic. Veros had said that things were going well, and naturally, Ink believed him. They were chatting now, but to outsiders, it merely appeared that Ink was curled up in the corner, all on his lonesome, talking to himself with no response. He would ask questions, laugh as though something funny had been said, and generally enjoy the conversation. Zex had returned by this time, his outfit cleaned and pressed, but he merely sat in the opposite corner with an unhappy slouch. Occasionally he would perk up as a noise was heard, but it turned out to just be a mouse, or the crawling drip of water from a leaking pipe somewhere above.

What was even more odd was the fact that after awhile, Ink started following something with his eyes. Back and forth, as though he could see something that wasn't there before. Someone. Someone pacing, perhaps, or just moving to and fro. It was...odd. But Zex didn't seem to be in the mood for questioning things, especially not Ink. His lantern glowed dully next to him, still low on power. He didn't care. Instead, he looked up again as he heard sounds; footsteps this time. Coming down the stairs.

((Ah, okay. I'll fix that in text.

Also, I'm assuming that's Riordy.))

Riordan decended the stairs, his long robes whipping about him, looking grumpy and unsettled as usual. One hand was under the scarf around his neck, pressing to the mark on the back of his neck. That stupid mark...

He looked up as he entered the room, scowling as he caught sight of Zex. He shook his head, looking over at his brother instead.