The Forgotten Zodiac

"You've been gone for longer than you think, L'arc. A year might not seem much to you, but all it takes is one hushed rumor that you've been captured by humans to set it off. No one knew anything. The Forestum people were kept in the dark, and this was the result of that. No news might be good news, but if no news immediately follows bad news...well, people start guessing things. That's just now it works, boy. Like it or not, it's your fault. You could have sent messages along the treeline, visited Treefort before now, any number of things. But the thought didn't cross your mind. So here we are." Erwin shrugged.

"No one's at fault here," Verolen frowned at her. "Why don't you try to dispel some of those rumors, huh?"

"And who on earth would believe a wandering diety with a pack of dogs, hm? I'm not exactly bound to truth, you know. If I were, that'd be less of a problem, but since I'm not...people doubt me, too." She shrugged. "Doesn't rightly matter to me. What you do from here on is your choice. This isn't even the worst of what I need to tell you."

"...then let's hear that," L'arc said, with some measure of anxiety. He shuddered slightly as he thought back over his past mistakes, but knew it didn't do well to dwell on the past. He looked back to Erwin. "Anything you can tell us is appreciated, I'm sure."

"Right. I need to tell you something very, very important." Erwin cleared her throat. "The northern forest is gone. Burned and done for during the winter."

"The...entire northern forest?" Verolen frowned. "What's so important about the north--" He was cut off as Erwin punched him in the face.

"Oh you know, let's just forget about the Tree of Past, the Tree of Truth, and the kindly old bush that grows berries to cure and heal any ailment. And it's only a matter of time before they start to burn the rest of the forest. The warriors are doing what they can, but it's just not enough. They're outnumbered something fierce. And if this continues, they'll reach the Tree of Rebirth."

"Whazzat?" Verolen questioned, rubbing his nose.

"It's a tree that holds newborn Tree Spirits. All the ancient ones that were lost over the past twenty years or so? All of them have been reborn. The instant they die, they're replaced by another. The Tree of Rebirth is the forest's only chance at reviving itself after this war, so it's not exactly something we want to lose. The Ether Tree can be restored. The Tree of Life can be restored."

"The Tree of Gifts?"

"Yes, Jemina herself has already been reborn. She's still growing, though; she and the others are too small to occupy their own trees yet. That's what the Tree of Rebirth is...it's a nursery, basically."

The color drained from L'arc's face. "But... we spent all winter in the north? Why didn't the Manakete... try to do something while I was asleep..." The prince shook his head in disbelief and began to pace back and forth.

"This is all the more reason to get the coronation underway," Bermuda said, breaking his silence. "If the forest has a leader to rally under, we can end this war. Victory can be reached soon, provided the right people are in charge..."

"It's not so easy, L'arc," Erwin sighed, shaking her head. "But, you have confidence. I suppose that can be a strength of sorts." She shrugged. "I'll see you later. My pack needs food. Stein has offered to stay here for a little while, just to see how things go." She yawned, stretching as she headed for the door.

"...come to the coronation, won't you?" L'arc called after her. "I'm sure you'll hear about the when and where, since you hear everything. It'd be an honor to have you there," he said.

"Yeah, sure," She waved before dropping off the platform to the ground below, where her pack was waiting. They were gone in instants, leaving quicker than they had arrived.

"So...who wants to break the news to Sylas?" Verolen blinked at L'arc, knowing the forest prince would probably be the best at it. "Don't say everything all at once. You know he needs to be careful with that heart of his. And, uh...we have some news. Has he told you?"

"You don't have to baby me, you know," Sylas chortled as he climbed down the ladder, Israel following suit. "It might be weaker, but it's still beating so far."

"Right. You can tell L'arc, Sylas." Verolen nodded.

"Tell L'arc what?" Sylas blinked, still smiling.

"...what happened about ten minutes ago?" Verolen frowned. "You came to us with a problem?"

Sylas blinked at him, then shook his head. Verolen sighed. "Right. So even minor fear like that is erased. Only five minutes, though...jeez, this is worse than I thought."

"What's going on?" L'arc asked, looking about as confused as Sylas had earlier felt. Israel, who had followed after Sylas, looked worried as the human spoke and gave no indication of what had gone on earlier. L'arc turned to Verolen for an explaination.

"What's wrong? What happened to Sylas? He... looks fine. Sylas, are you okay?" he asked, turning back and forth between Verolen and Sylas.

"I feel fine. Fit as a fiddle." Sylas blinked, looking pretty confused himself.

"Sylas has been forgetting things. He may look fine, but just a few minutes ago he was terrified that he might be forgetting something important." Verolen growled. "L'arc...he's forgotten everything that caused him physical or emotional pain. Everything that's ever made him afraid. He's still afraid of heights and water, but he doesn't remember why or how he has that fear."

"Don't be ridiculous, I can remember...that..." Sylas trailed off as he realized that Verolen was right.

"L'arc, he doesn't even remember Rachel." Verolen sighed. "He doesn't remember the Dark Matter bomb, he doesn't even remember being set down on a cloud by Rush. And that only happened mere minutes ago."

"I've been with Israel for about an hour now. If Rush picked me up and put me on a cloud, Israel would have seen it." Sylas turned towards his Siren friend. "That didn't happen, did it? Rush knows I don't like heights."

"Of course it happened," Israel said. "I was on the cloud with you. I thought it was fun, but you were scared and sad. You.... forgot already?" he asked.

L'arc spent a moment thinking, then hissed under his breath. "Dysonious."

Sylas blinked and shook his head. "No, I don't...I don't remember."

"L'arc, you told him to forget Dysonius. Sylas...he's the kind of friend who would go the extra mile for you. You told him to forget something that caused him pain and made him scared...so he's been forgetting everything that causes pain and makes him scared." Verolen shook his head.

"That doesn't make sense, memories are more complex. I can't just...forget them, even if I wanted to," Sylas bit his lip.

"But you do, Sylas. you forget, and...it's not a good thing."

"...there's only one thing I can think of to do, but I'm not doing it," L'arc said, frowning deeply. "Never again. And if Sylas doesn't remember what I'm talking about, I'd appreciate never hearing it mentioned again," he said.

Sylas just blinked at L'arc.

"I understand, L'arc. But the thing is...he can't just forget things. He..." Verolen realized something. "Sylas, does the name Jemina ring any bells?"

Sylas stared at him. "No."

"L'arc, we've got to find a way to make him remember. This is bad." Verolen hissed. "We'll talk to Rush or something. Hypnotism has a cure, right? All of it does..."

"Well, obviously," L'arc said, almost scathingly. "Where is Rush? If we're going to fix this, then we need him," he said, already walking off.

Verolen sighed. "I dunno. The last we saw of him, he dragged Sylas up to that cloud. Israel, did you see where he went, by any chance?"

"If you have a scent sample, I can track him down." Stein, who had been listening quietly up until now, wagged his tail. "Not too sure what's going on, but if it will help the human boy, I'll do what I can."

"Er...thanks, I guess." Verolen blinked at him, then looked back up at Israel, hoping for an answer.

"I don't know where he went," Israel said. "But I... maybe there's a feather around here, somewhere... Sylas, do you have a feather?" he asked, looking back at the human. "I think he... can you track him in the air?" he asked, looking to Stein.

"I can track him anywhere. I'm a tracker dog, it's what I do. I may not be able to fly, but--" Stein cut himself short as Versha appeared behind them again.

"L'arc, the Council members would like a word with you." She smiled.

"Now? But we're..." Verolen frowned. "It's fine. You go ahead, L'arc, we'll figure out what to do with Sylas. Don't worry about it." He offered.

"I'm going with L'arc," Sylas insisted, not really wanting to leave the forest prince to the councilmen alone.

"I'd appreciate that, Sy," L'arc said, smiling at the human. "You stay close, all right? We'll get everything sorted out." With that said, he turned back to Versha. "They're in the council chambers, right? Let's go."

They reached the chambers shortly, considering how close by they had been anyhow. L'arc put on his diplomatic face and went in, looking around at the councilmembers.

"Prince L'arc, we've made our decision. Our best options are to have the coronations here. Before leaving, Erwin...kindly informed us that the northern forest was destroyed. Therefore, our best options are to ensure your kingship as soon as possible..." The eldest said quietly.

"But understand that it won't be easily accepted." The second tutted. "But, well...there's not much we can do about that in particular. We just have to hope for the best at this point, and perhaps use the Turning year to our advantage...but the coronation itself will have complications. We're ill suited to accomodate such a thing...but we'll do our best. I hope you'll excuse the absense of cake."

L'arc forced back the smile that wanted to cross his face at that last statement, but then thought better of it and forced it back up. "I don't care about cake. We'll have plenty of that after the war. Thanks," he said, giving a slight bow. "Thank you so much." He turned to Sylas with a grin on his face, then looked back to the council. "Are we to discuss this further now, or am I dismissed? ...honestly, I'd rater get everything planned as quickly as possible, so..." he trailed off here, looking around for an empty chair.