The Forgotten Zodiac

((Whoops. Looks like you already fixed it, though. Unless you wanted me to fix my post?))

Remor snorted, enduring the desperate thrashings of Samuel for a moment. Then he whipped around and grabbed Sam by the throat, dragging the king's face close to his. "You are naught but a pathetic worm to me, boy." He threw the king, hard, his throw helped by his shadow powers. Samuel slammed into the wall above the door, hitting one of the carefully carved statues there. He slid and fell, and as luck would have it, the broken body of the statue fell and landed on top of him. He didn't move after that, solidly unconscious. Maybe dead, after a throw like that...

Remor laughed. And laughed, and laughed, and laughed. When he was finally done laughing, he turned his mad gaze on Luen. "The militia will be here soon, no doubt. I let a runner slip by on...accident. They'll come marching in here, the Things will be easily killed, and you lot will be blamed for this. That's...35 guards dead, and a dead king, who happened to have no heirs...and it's well known that you all are tied in with Alastor. It will be all too obvious that this was a direct attack on Storaph from Alastor. War will doubtlessly ensue..." He grinned. "The bloodbath will be glorious."

((You can give it a whack. Or a slap. Or a chop! ;D ))

"No!" Luen screamed, shifting forms and plunging back onto his hind legs, his ice powers rocketing forth, nearly not of his own choice. All he saw was red as he charged forward, pounding across the ground as his magic poured forth, forming a massive avalance that threatened to overcome anything that stood in its path. It arched neatly over Forin, Luna, Diana and Sam, however, never touching them. But the entire destructive force of an angry, powerful ice mage slammed down over Remor, over and over, filling the castle with snow.

Remor's powers, which weren't even truly his, made it far too easy to avoid the attacks. He blocked them easily, and when it became evident that he would be buried under the snow, he rose up above it easily. "Pathetic fool! For you to even think you can beat me...I was going to let the militia take care of you, but I suppose it would be much more fun to kill you where you stand!" He roared, moving his hand. A huge shadow blade, more than twice his size, appeared. With a single swing down, the honed edge plummeted towards Luen, much too fast to be avoided.

Luen's emerald-green eyes widened and he fell backwards, flinging his arms up in a feeble attempted to protect himself, an attempt he knew would probably be his last.

It was at that moment when a lean shadow leapt through a broken window, arching towards Remor. A blast of wind, more powerful than Luen's ice, blasted forward, slamming into Remor with all the force of a huge tornado.

Cynyr landed neatly on a broken piece of rafter, crouching on his long legs and glaring down at them, his long tail flicking in a way that they knew was very, very bad.

"C-Cynyr!" Forin looked up, staring at the dark shape.

Remor struggled to stand again. The blast had been unexpected, and Remor hadn't been prepared to block. He was lucky; the snow had broken his fall. "Cynyr! How good of you to come..." Vorpal's position shifted, hanging over Seria threateningly. "I had wanted you to see the death of your beloveds!" He laughed, dropping the blade. At the same time, shadows clamped around Luna and Forin, making it impossible for them to move.

Cynyr didn't move. He looked as though he hadn't even heard Remor's choice of words. He merely closed his eyes, flicking his ears back against his head.

Instantly, Remor found himself unable to move, Vorpal frozen in midair, all as if anchored by the heaviest of weights.

The dark panther jumped down from the broken rafter now, straightening with a crack of his neck. Even Forin had to shiver at the wave of cold, colder even than Luen's ice, that swept down his spine as the panther walked past him. Something was wrong, but they couldn't tell what.

Cynyr lifted a hand and merely flicked his fingers, and Remor was thrown backwards, crashing through a wall. Vorpal was turned into a silver hedgehog, which rolled up with a squeak the second it plopped onto Forin's chest.

Forin felt himself released from shadows as Remor focused his energy towards the new threat that had arrived. He pushed his powers forward, blasting it at Cynyr, but it was obvious that his wounds were wearing on him. The attack that had sent him through the wall had stunned him and cracked several ribs. He was in pain, something he wasn't used to. Obelisk had taken all the pain for him, before...now, he was weak to it.

Still, Cynyr walked on, never running or even looking hurried. He just...walked. But it was somehow ten times more scary than if he had been running full-speed. With an intricate weave of his hands, he formed a runic symbol in the air, which conjured two large creatures that looked like Ghouls made of air. They bellowed in whispy tones and charged forward, pounding at Remor.

And Cynyr just stood there, completely silent, watching them.

It didn't take long. Remor screamed as he was thrown back and forth by the ghouls. By the time he managed to dispel them and force himself back to his feet, he looked more hurt than even Samuel. He bled and bruised and staggered out of the rubble of the wall. He advanced on Cynyr, but only made it three paces before something odd happened.

He was literally destroyed from the inside out by shadows. Blood gushed from his eyes and mouth before several spikes of shadows burst from his chest and back. He sank to his knees, his fading eyesight locking on the broken window. He opened his mouth to hiss his final words. "Jem...ina..." He gurgled before falling limp.

"Hi...his powers...backfired," Forin stared, terrified at what had just happened. As he watched, a dark ball of shadow formed on Remor's limp, bleeding chest. Obelisk's powers. He'd be wanting those back...after all that, though, Remor...Remor died so easily? It was so. He had been only human, after all...Welk had given his life to tear the Eternal Crystal out of him. The half that Obelisk held was whole now because of Welk's sacrifice. It was still a little hard to believe, but...it was over. Remor was dead.

Cynyr quietly walked forward, stooping low and pulling a rag from his pocket. He covered the orb with it so his skin wouldn't touch it, then picked it up and gently settled it in the bag at his hip. Then he turned and moved over to Seria, bending down to stroke her fur from her eyes, taking her face in his hands and making her look up at him.

She burst into tears and pressed her feline face into his chest, curling close around him.

Luen stood up, trembling all over, and stumbled over to help Forin and Luna up.

"I-it's fine, Luen, it's fine...we need to get out of here, but...Diana..." He looked over to the mass of Things, frowning deeply. He stood up to the best of his ability, staggering closer; there were a lot less of the Striders. Most of them were on the floor, very much dead. There was only one Soulless, and about ten Skinless. He wasn't sure if this would work, but...

"Diana Hartlet, there are more men coming. Men who will do nothing but hurt you. Throw you in jail and...torture you. You need to leave...would you consider coming with us, even for only a short while?"

Diana's voice, seeming ever so small among the Things, didn't come until several moments later. "Yes," She finally said. "I'll go with you. B-but if I feel in danger, or threatened in any way...my pack will not hesitate to kill you." It was a strong threat, but it sounded so feeble in her hurting voice.

"I understand." Forin nodded. He turned to the others. "We'd better leave..."

Luen gave a convulsed movement, as if he wanted to run over and scoop the little girl up, but a hiss from one of the Things stopped him. Tears welled in his eyes, but he blinked them away, instead turning to put his gaze on Cynyr. It was now that he noticed the change in attire.

The panther was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with a high neck that nearly touched his chin. His black pants were ripped in a few places, and his boots looked worn, but other than that, nothing stood out to Luen save for one thing.

The embroidery on the back of the shirt, in red thread, was the mark of a possessor.

A possessor was like a necromancer, but instead of taking control of bodies and making them fight, the possessor actually stole powers from corpses and took the abilites for themselves.

It was a dark art. One that was, to Luen's knowledge,  forbidden. Illegal.

((He can't use Obelisk's powers, it would kill him. D: I'm not even joking. It killed Remor because it got tired of his messing around. It's a living thing, a vital part of Obelisk, and it will downright murder anyone who uses it against its will. Like a subconscious, Obelisk can't control it when it's outside of him. I REPEAT: CYNYR IS NOT ALLOWED TO USE OBELISK'S POWERS OR HE WILL DIIIIIEEEEEEE.

Oh, this is a cool idea, though. xD I like this posessor thing. :3))

Forin paid it no mind. He was too busy looking for an exit. He trusted the militia to take care of Sam; the boy wasn't dead. Hurt, very hurt, but not dead. After a moment of thought, Forin stalked over and used Vorpal to leave a message on the wall. 'Meet us in Alastor if you want an explanation'. It was enough. Forin returned to Luna and Luen's side, then took his girlfriend's hand and led the way to a back hallway, limping a bit.

He paused, looking back at Cynyr and Seria. "You can come with us, or you can go settle down somewhere alone. I won't force you to do anything, but...I imagine Werr wants his brother back. And Seria...I forgive you. You did what you had to, and I don't blame you for that. Luen, run ahead and see if you can't locate a carriage. Find some horses, too, you're in no shape to be sprinting long distances."

((No no, he won't do that with Obelisk's powers. He's already taken a lot from other bodies. Hence the runes and Ghoul summoning, powers he didn't have before.))

Cynyr slowly lifted his gaze, his single yellow eye burning into Forin's, then he gave a nod and gently helped Seria up. She remained in cat form, still pressing as close to him as she possibly could. After only a moment of watching her limp heavily after him, Cynyr bent and scooped her up into his arms. She was the size of a small female mountain lion, but the weight wasn't bad at all. He draped her over his shoulder, cradling her body against his as she tucked her face into his neck, still crying softly.

Turning wordlessly, Cynyr followed after the others as Luen darted off to do as Forin had said. Luna, still standing woozily by Forin, frowned at him and backed up as the panther passed.

((Yepyep.))

Forin led the way out of a side entrance. The Soulless Strider carrying Diana followed, which was followed by about five of the Skinless Striders; the other ones had stayed behind to eat what they had killed. They would soon die at the hands of the militia, but that was the risk they had chosen for food. The Striders still lingered a good distance away from the others, still cautious and wary.

When Luen brought the carriage along, the Skinless Striders chose to ride in a cart along the back; the Soulless Strider took up the spot on the roof. "Well," Forin watched them for a moment, then sighed. "Let's go. I'll drive." He climbed up in the front seat, waiting until everyone was inside before setting the horses into motion. The trip back to Alastor would be a long one.

((I was gonna have them stop in an abandoned farm on the outskirts of Storaph, where they can start to help poor Diana. It would be late evening by that time. I broke it up in case you wanted to switch to someone else. Dragons, mayhaps?))

((Sure.))

Zephyr gave a light twitch of one long green ear, blinking open his crimson eyes and lifting his head from Vaira's back in order to look up at the sun.

It was a bright, beautiful day in the Sacred Plains. The king and queen had been laying together, napping, under a large, elegant weeping willow tree. Nearby, they could hear the laughter of several young dragons as Tygan Dread, the hawk avon, entertained them with a riveting tale. The hawk and bat avons had been invited to stay in the Sacred Plains, and though Flanis had squealed and protested, Tygan had chose to stay.

Which was why Flanis was currently sleeping, upside-down, in a branch above Zephyr's head.

((Is it odd that I actually imagine Flanis as a giant bat of some kind? xD Like...a Swoobat. From pokemon. Just less pink.

Oh yeah, and Boko is more or less healed by now. :3))

Not for much longer. Boko the drakeling, his silver scales gleaming, crawled along a thicker branch a little higher. He positioned himself carefully, not wanting to miss. He only had one shot at this...his coils wrapped tightly around his branch, and he slowly lowered himself down into position. Ready...steady...drop! Boko slammed his full weight down onto the branch Flanis was hanging on, resulting in a vicious wobble of the branch in question.

((He has a bat form, so. xD))

Flanis woke instantly, screeching so high-pitched that nearly all of the dragons around them jerked their heads up, glancing around frantically. The bat fell out of the tree, hitting Zephyr's back before bouncing off and slamming into the ground.

"DARNED DRAKELING!" he shouted, flailing a fist at Boko and holding his small nose with the other. "LOTHESOME LIZARD! PESKY PARASITE!" His rant continued until a large hand closed gently over his shoulder, while the partner to that hand closed over his mouth.

"Flanis, he's a child," Tygan said, frowning at the struggling bat.

Boko fell out of the tree, giggling and hopping, quite pleased that his plan had worked. "I gotcha, uncle Flanis!" He laughed away, his cheery giggling putting many hearts at ease. He had taken a great liking to the two lerloch, naturally, and had recently started calling them 'uncle'. It was a term of endearment; he didn't really call Firestorm his uncle, even though that was his legitimate relation to the little Drakeling. Boko was a bit strange, yes, but he certainly had methods to his madness.

Flanis yanked Tygan's hand down long enough to shout "IHATEYOUSOMUCHYOULITTLE-" before the hawnk slapped him with a wing. "Enough," he said coolly, turning and walking over to begin scratching Boko around his ears and chin, working his clawed nails in circles. "How are you, Boko?" he asked kindly as Flanis picked himself up, brushing off his suit with a disdainful air.