The Forgotten Zodiac

"I'll move as fast as I can. But I really don't plan on returning until my young ones have hatched. It'll be a week or so." Bershee smiled down at the water, then suddenly moved forward and kissed Eltanin on the lips. Then she slipped away, dropping into the water and swimming away. Mostly to hide the red flush that had taken over her cheeks.

A whole day passed. It was fairly uneventful; the Phantom worked with the humans, teaching them various ways of getting food, which was starting to run low for them. The main one was farming; they had brought seeds and the like, and the Phantom was quick to put them to work in making some farms. That's not to say he didn't help, though; in fact, after most everyone was done for the day, he was continuing along as though nothing were wrong. Digging holes, planting seeds, watering, tilling more land, so on.

But work came to a halt when the Witches came by. "Our favorite human town," One of them smiled as she slipped off her broom. Halda was her name, and she was one of the witches that had given them the lake for their water source.

"Good evening, Halda. Who's this?" Tobias greeted her happily.

"My name is Bershee. I seek the Forestum Champions." She said, sliding off the broom with a smile. She held what appeared to be a large tub with her...tentacles. That was a little offputting for Tobias, judging from the look on his face. He'd never seen an Octi before, after all. Not many had.

"You're here!"

L'arc had headed over at the first sign of commotion in the hopes that it would, indeed, be Bershee arriving. He'd already gotten his hopes up twice or so only to be let down, so it was with all the more entusiasm that he greeted the Octi now.

"Thank goodness, we've been waiting... Bermuda's in rough shape," he said, his smile fading. "And if your magic can do anything for Sylas..."

"Yes, I'll do everything I can." Bershee nodded. She turned back to look at the witches. "A separate water source from the lake will do. Freshwater, preferrably, and deep."

"Sure. You want fish in that?" The witch she was talking to shrugged.

"If you can. Nothing carnivorous, though."

"Consider it done." They flew off, starting to circle an area nearby.

"What was that about?" Verolen questioned.

Bershee smiled. "I have some business to take care of before leaving here. I'll be here for a week or so as a result."

"What'd you pay them?"

"Nothing. I merely explained my situation, and they agreed to do anything they could to help. They truly are understanding of a crisis, after all. I don't have time to explain it to you, though. Take me to the tent." Bershee nodded, taking the tub into her hands and carrying it that way so she could move faster.

"Of course," L'arc said after a slight pause as he, too, wondered what Bershee could be talking about. He shrugged it off, though, and led the way back to the tent that Bermuda and Sylas were resting in. "I'm glad you got here so quickly," he said. "Sometimes I forget how close Oceania really is... it's just felt so removed, you know, because of not being involved in the war."

"It has its own issues going on, after all." Bershee shrugged. She followed them to the tent where Bermuda and Sylas were lying. She was quick to scoop up Bermuda and lower him into the water tub, getting him entirely in before turning to Sylas. "Hm...this is spell induced. He should wake up soon, though, it's started to erode. I'm not sure if there's anything I can do for the sleep, but the fever..."

"Anything you can do would be wonderful," L'arc said, moving over to Bermuda's side and hoping he was out of the way enough for Bershee to take a look at Sylas.

Bershee sat down on the edge of Sylas' bed, cradling his head in her lap. She stroked his hair back and started singing softly. Her hands began to glow, and she pressed them to Sylas' chest. Even when she stopped singing, the glow continued. So, she was able to talk. "This is an old witch doctor remedy. Most magical illnesses can be cured with a spell of cleansing. But if that doesn't work, then a simple Gladyr will do. The Song of Righting." She smiled at L'arc. "He'll be fine. Don't worry." While she worked, a single tentacle stirred the water in Bermuda's tub. It generated a small, gentle current to sooth the prince as he slept. Two others were busy searching through her bag for a small vial with shimmering blue dust in it. When it was found, it was handed to L'arc.

"Pour that into the waters, will you?" She requested. "It's an activating agent, it'll stir up the magics within that liquid. Every potion I've ever poured into that tub will pick itself out of the water, the sides, and in the cracks of the bottom. It'll be active. I usually use it as a cleaning agent, but it should work well to help him. He's suffered a serious magical blow. From what I can sense, part of his magic itself has been torn away..."

"Yes, well... something to that very order has happened," L'arc said. He took the vial from Bershee and went about explaining all that had happened. How... Bermuda, literally single-handedly, had ended the war. He poured the activating agent into the water and watched as Bermuda stirred slightly and let out a content sigh, then went still once again.

"Interesting...and the Library consoumed Adhare?" Bershee mulled it over. "This should definitely be helpful, then. Bermuda will--" She paused as Sylas started squirming and yelling.

"No, L'arc, no, no, no, NO!" He thrashed as Bershee pulled him up into her arms, starting to sing again to try and calm him down. But it didn't seem to help, and finally, Sylas opened his eyes. Panting lightly and tearing up, he shivered and rolled off the cot and out of Bershee's grasp. Then he crawled to L'arc and hugged him, still shivering.

"I remember," He muttered, shaking his head. "I remember everything, how...how could I forget..."

L'arc held Sylas close, trying to comfort him gently. "It's all right, Sy, it's all right," he murmured. He rested his hand on the back of Sylas's head, pressing the human's head to his shoulder. "I've got you, it's okay, you're all right," he assured.

"Jemina...I forgot about Jemina...and Rachel, and...Verolen must've thought I was stupid or something..." Sylas shivered. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I shouldn't have flinched away from you, you were trying to help, I didn't remember you..."

"It isn't your fault, Sy," L'arc was quick to reassure. "Don't worry about it, okay? You'll be all right now, you remember now."

Sylas cried for a moment more, but then calmed down and quickly stood. "I'm better now. I am. I won't forget anymore, and...I'll be better." He blinked, then frowned. "Hey...do you remember that temple I fell into? Did you...see anyone there? Besides the Phantom..."

"No, not at all," L'arc said. "I mean, it was me, you, Verolen, the Phantom, and Talos, but no one other than that. Why?" he asked. "...from what I got a look at architecture-wise, it looked like it was elven-built, but Nornan is the last elf I know of that was alive... and he died some time ago. You didn't see an elf, did you? Or a fairy, those two races usually stuck together..."

Sylas blinked, then shook his head. "This was a long time ago...remember, I told you about it. I fell off a cliff and crawled towards an ancient tree...and I had forgotten how I survived the wolves. I fell down into a hole. The wolves jumped after me, but I was in that temple, and someone was there...I don't think he was an elf. I dunno...he wore a mask..." He smiled a bit. "This was before the war, it would be silly if he were still there." He sighed. "I dunno. I don't remember thanking him, so I was wondering if...maybe we could go back and investigate. I mean, elves don't normally make temples underground..."

"Well, I don't think there would be any harm in taking a look around," L'arc conceeded. "As king, I will have to know whatever I can learn about my kingdom. A trip to these ruins might prove beneficial in more ways than one," he said.

"Yeah, you could find some scrolls about some ancient history..." Sylas grinned. He looked over at Berhsee. "Hey, thanks for waking me up. Will...Bermuda wake up any time soon?"

"Most likely...no. You can go explore." Bershee smiled a bit. "I have a feeling that you're not too eager to end the adventures, Sylas."

"Yes, well..." Sylas rubbed the back of his neck. "I've never really been able to sit still. That's okay; this shouldn't be dangerous. It...usually winds up that way, though. Who else would be willing to go...how about Kendra? She's a good fighter." He nodded, then blushed a bit.

"There's no shame in liking someone." Bershee commented with a smile.

L'arc smiled as Sylas brought up Kendra's name. "If she's not too busy wandering after King Krow and Verolen, I'm sure she'll come. ...and even if she is busy, I'm sure that if you asked..." he said, joking lightly. HIs expression turned more serious as he asked his next question. "You sure you're okay to be up, then? I don't want you pushing yourself."

"I'm perfectly fine." Sylas smiled, stretching a bit. "I'll be okay. I've got my bow," He grabbed the object that had been propped up next to his bed, as well as the quiver. "I've got my arrows, and I'm ready for adventure." He grinned, nodding. "Let's go see if Kendra wants to come."

L'arc smiled. "As long as you're certain. It's you that's protecting me, remember?" he added lightly, heading out of the tent.

"She's usually around the center of camp at this time, helping Verolen tell stories... ah, there," he said, pointing.

As indicated, Kendra was on the fringes of a small group of people, who were currently listening to Verolen talk about the adventures he'd had with L'arc, painting the new king in all the best colors. She turned slightly as she saw them coming, and smiled. More to Sylas than L'arc, but she didn't really notice that she had done so.