The Forgotten Zodiac

"Indeed you do." Versha nodded solemnly. "It is unfortunate...I myself will be meeting a terrible fate before long. Would you ensure the safety of the Tree of Rebirth? If not for me, then for your mother." Without another word, she turned and left the room, leaving panicked murmurs, whispers, and the sound of an infant crying in her wake.

"She didn't have to say it in front of everone," Verolen furrowed his brow. "That's not exactly the nicest prophecy to announce..."

L'arc resumed his pacing, not exactly feeling hungry anymore. His brow furrowed as well as he grit his teeth in thought, wondering what he could do to reshape the future. "I'll take care of it. I have to. I'll take care of everything."

"L'arc...you can't take care of everything. Not everything is in your power. You know that..." Verolen murmured. "Don't stress yourself over things that cannot be changed. Focus on what you can change, okay?"

L'arc just shook his head at Verolen, then turned saying in a low voice so that the others in the room couldn't hear. "If Versha dies, then this whole city will be uprooted. I can't... let that happen, not if I can do something about it," he said.

"You think I don't know that? The 'Tree of Shelter'...dunno if you noticed, but that's a pretty big thing for refugees. This entire place...there's not much of an able-bodied militia force here." Verolen murmured back. "All of them moved up to the front lines. We have women and children and...people that need to be sheltered from this war. Why do you think this place was made at the start of the war? Why it was made so close to the plains, as far away from the humans and the fighting as possible? Which is why I'm so miffed that Versha would say something like that where everyone can hear. These people don't need to hear something like that...they don't need to have that kind of fear right now..."

L'arc brought a hand up to his forehead, shaking his head. "I know all of that, Verolen," he said, glaring out the direction Versha had gone. "First, you and Bermuda start acting all weird so I know something's up," he said, giving Verolen a pointed look, "And now this. I just wish someone would tell me more about what's going on..."

Verolen looked down at his plate, sighing. "I can't tell you, L'arc. I simply can't. I wish you could know too...but..." He sighed, clearly unhappy.

"Here," Ella held up her plate to L'arc, which had nothing but a biscuit on it. "You've gotta eat something. If you don't, you can't get stronger, right?"

L'arc smiled at Ella, then sat down beside her. "Same for you," he reminded gently, pulling his own plate back over to himself. He put his arm around the little girl in a half-hug, then resumed eating, still glancing over at Verolen occasionally.

"...how about another story?" Eve suggested, trying to be helpful. Verloen's tales had done a lot to lift the mood before; she just hoped he still had more to tell.

She sat down next to him, eating her biscuit happily. "Do you have any...not scary stories?" She questioned.

"Well..." Verolen thought. "Just a couple days ago, we were asked to help find a human girl. We found her here, in treefort. Safe and sound. She and her horse Fredrick were returned to their family, all safe and sound."

"I remember her!" Ella exclaimed, grinning. "She was cute."

L'arc smiled at Ella, saying, "So you see there? Not all humans are bad. Maybe you'll get to see her again, when this war is over," he said, grinning at her brightly.

"I hope so," Ella beamed. "What other happy stories do you have?" She smiled at Verolen.

"Well, about a year ago..." Verolen began telling the tale of when they had met Eve and Manny in the first place, avoiding the scary parts about Sirens and whatnot.

But as he was talking, a familiar shiver went down his spine. L'arc felt it, too. In fact, pretty much their entire group knew the moment he set foot through the door. Verolen stood up so fast that his chair fell back with a clatter, which he grabbed and transmuted into a sword with the help of his plate. Manny stood as well, positioning himself in front of Eve protectively. And somewhere in the clouds, Rush peered down to get a good look at the sight of the Phantom walking into the clearing, as any commoner would.

"Give me one good reason why we shouldn't kill you now," Verolen hissed furiously. Ella, in the meantime, hid behind L'arc.

"Well, for one, I won't stay dead for very long." His father commented wryly. "So hostile. I'm just here because a little bird told me something interesting. The prince of the forest plans to be coronated. Officially made a king. Honestly, boy, put the knife down. I'm just here for the party." He chortled. "Oh, and I brought something. Call it a...party gift," He drew from his cloak what could only be the Forest King's crown. Delicate gold and wood weavings, leaves binding the bottom. He set it on a nearby table, smiling. "I forgot to wrap it. Silly me."

"What... how did you..." L'arc stammered, having so many questions at once but knowing that to voice them would be a waste of breath. Even if he got an answer from the Phantom, it was not likely to be the truth. He drew out Lisben and leveled the holy blade at the demon standing before him. "You... are not welcome here," he said, his expression shifting from one of confusion to protective anger as soon as he was able to fully process the situation. He didn't move to touch the crown - for all he knew, it was a fake, and likely carried a curse on it - but kept his gaze firmly on the demon king. "Leave," he said forcefully.

"Ohh? So brave. The last time I saw you, you were trying to drag your wounded friend Sylas away from me. Where is that boy, anyway?" The Phantom plopped down in a chair nearby, smiling as he propped his legs up on the table. "Oh, there's something else I must give you," He pulled it from his pocket at tossed it at L'arc. It landed at the prince's feet; Ether shards. A great amount of them. "My armies don't need it anymore. I've gone to great lengths to break our little curse...and knowing the current condition of the forest, you don't have enough warlocks to seal us up again. Just thought you might like to know..."

He vanished and reappeared behind L'arc, pushing Ella aside. He grabbed the prince by the hair and whispered into his ear, "The whole of the Darklands will soon collide with this world, and the demons within it will be free to bring massacre upon this entire world. Forestum, Oceanica, Divinitus...oh yes, even the humans will face our wrath. And when we've ravaged this world to apocalyptic lengths, we'll settle down and make it our own. And you can do nothing to stop it."

He released L'arc and walked to the door again. "But if I'm not welcome to the party, I suppose I may as well just leave. See you soon, almost-king L'arc."

And with that, he was gone. The only thing to break the stunned silence was Ella's terrified sobs as she clung to L'arc's leg.

L'arc was mentally shaken by what he'd just heard, but he strove not to show it. He stood ramrod straight for a moment or two longer, processing what had gone on, before dropping his sword and kneeling to pick up Ella, comforting her.

"...Verolen." No one was really sure when Bermuda had entered the room, for he'd gone unnoticed in all the chaos of the dining hall, but now several gazes flitted over to him as he spoke, facing the demon prince.

"I need to speak with you. Now."

The Oceanid prince turned and left the room, a somber look on his face.

((GREAT NEWS I HAVE PLANS. SHOW YOUR FACE ON THE CBOX SO I CAN TELL YOU THEM.))

"Alright," Verolen followed Bermuda, but not before fixing the chair he had pretty much broken. Once he was out of the dining clearing and into a quieter room with Bermuda, he hissed furiously, "Something's wrong with him. He's completely mental. I should have thrown my blade at him when I had the chance..."

"You'll have plenty of chances when he comes to the coronation," Bermuda said, sitting down and crossing his arms with a resigned look. "But after I act, you may not want to attack him any more," he added cryptically, looking up at Verolen. "I need to tell you something. When your father comes again... I just need you to stay out of my way. ...and the war will be over."

Verolen frowned. "How could it be over so quickly?" He questioned, puzzled, but decided not to pry further. He mulled it over for a long moment, then nodded. "Alright. I trust you, Bermuda. Just...just know that I'll be right there beside you. All you've gotta do is call out to me..." He suddenly moved forward and hugged Bermuda. When he pulled back and stood again, he smiled a bit. "I felt like you needed that..."

Bermuda smiled and returned the hug, still grinning faintly even when Verolen pulled back. "Yes, thank you... ...for everything, Verolen," he said, with an air of finality. "I... I'll need to go to sleep now. I have to... be prepared."

"Alright..." Verolen scratched the back of his neck as he watched Bermuda go. Then he remembered the 'gifts' and hurried back into the dining hall. "Don't touch that," He snapped upon noticing the few people lingering hesitantly around the crown. He hurried over and examined it thoroughly visually before picking it up and checking it over.

"I already ran scans on it. It's clean. No poison, no needles, no spells or curses or anything. It's completely safe, and the genuine article." Rush said dully. "And these Ether shards he gave us, about a half of the whole, are all real and unharmed."

"I...I see..." Verolen set the crown down again, frowning. "What do you think he's planning?"

"Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. It's impossible to know, you know that as well as we do." Rush shrugged.

"Well... that solves one problem," L'arc said, glancing down to the shards as he reached out and took the crown. "I'm sure the council will be... happy?" he offered weakly, trying to smile but failing miserably. He stepped a bit closer to Verolen, speaking in a low tone as he continued.

"What did Bermuda want?"