Author's Note: Thank you all for 1K (1046 at the moment) reads! I hope you all are enjoying the story and that it isn't too repetitive and boring (and if you're a Leo, Virgo or Capricorn, or looking forward to their appearances... I'm so sorry for the wait! But we're getting one of them quite soon! I hope to make their introductions worthy of the wait!)
(Also, just a note; I post Zodiac stuff on my Spam Book sometimes, including but not limited to Incorrect Quotes for the Daybreak's Crest Zodiacs, Zodiac Chart Alignment Memes for the Zodiacs of my three books, sometimes holiday special(s)... and never-before seen drafts of chapters for my Zodiac books!) Anyway, advertisement aside... enjoy the celebration chapter for 1K (actually, no – I had this chapter written ages ago and I was too impatient to wait for Saturday, so... it's an excuse to post another chapter)!
EDIT: I just wanted to thank Ledgisimo for this absolutely amazing artwork of Taurus from Chapter 9. It's everything I could've dreamed of and it just looks so good – I love it so much and it's everything I've visualised for that chapter. The way they drew Taurus and his expression and the pose... aaa I just love it so much! Make sure to check out more of their artwork on their Tumblr at artillery_tortoise – and aaa I just wanted to thank them for the fanart!! It's amazing and I love it – please go check out their story on Wattpad and their art!!
-x-x-x-
The group of nine trekked over ash-covered ground, past scorched buildings and – even though they tried to ignore it – corpses that were either covered in burns or gashes from jagged claws. Now that the fire had died out, the black ink scrawled across every visible surface seemed even more striking against the streaks of soot.
"'Bring down the Chancellor'... 'The government is corrupt'... 'Free Gaebia' – I guess the people must really dislike this government, huh?" Libra mumbled nervously as he read off the sentences that looked like they had been written by an untrained hand – or several. "I can't imagine Auraidor being like this..."
"Auraidor has a stable royal family. At least, it looks like it." Aquarius muttered. "So no wonder."
"The man from before said that it was a 'punishment from the Tellus Republic of Gaebia'... I'm guess that's the government here." Gemini murmured. "Do you think that has to do with the monsters here?" Noticing Aquarius's slightly skeptical look, Gemini shrugged. "You know, just a thought."
"We're here." Scorpio suddenly stated.
Taurus was already working on overturning a large piece of concrete, his face smeared with dust. Libra and Gemini quickly rushed to help.
"T-thank you...!" Someone sobbed as Gemini helped to haul them out of the rubble.
"Injuries." Cancer blandly stated as she headed over. She gave the soot-smeared woman a glance through narrowed amber eyes. "You're fine. Go back to the main square or whatever that's called."
"Is there anyone left?" Pisces quickly asked the woman before she left.
"W-well, there were some others... Maybe... five? I-I'm sorry I'm not much help..."
"It's alright, just go." Pisces soothed. "Don't worry, we'll try help everyone out!"
"Hey, Pisces!" Sagittarius called from where she was tugging at a chunk of rubble. "Could you help me out with this?"
"Alright, I'm coming!"
-x-x-x-
"I think that's all of them..." Aquarius huffed as she kicked aside a smaller chunk of concrete.
"Here's the last one," Sagittarius called back. "Er, hey, kid...! You can come out now!"
Aquarius headed over to where Sagittarius was standing. The auburn-haired girl, accompanied with Gemini, Cancer and Pisces, were surrounding a boy simply sitting underneath where a window must've been. Shattered pieces of glass scattered the ground around him, but he didn't pay it any attention. His hair was matted dark grey and his face was smeared with soot and dirt.
Gemini smiled as soothingly as possible. "It's safe to come out now. We're here to help you treat your injuries. Does that sound okay?"
The male did not respond. Instead, he simply watched them through emotionless eyes as if they hadn't spoken a word.
"Um, can you hear me? Hello?" Gemini waved.
"Well, we can't just leave him there." Cancer said exasperatedly. "I'm tired and I want to sleep. Can someone just drag him out here so I can finish my forced labour as a nurse so he can become someone else's problem?"
"That's not a very nice thing to say, Cance – he's probably just traumatised too." Sagittarius sighed. "But yeah, I guess we all need a good night's of sleep. Assuming we can sleep here in this place anyway..."
"Hey, are you okay? You can come out now – we're here to help you all out!" Pisces smiled. "Everything will be fine!"
"Where's Lupus?" The sudden, quiet response surprised Pisces.
"Er..." Pisces tried to smile comfortingly. "Who are they? Perhaps if you come out, we can help you find them?"
"Lupus... is my uncle. My mentor. He... he went to fight those creatures." The boy slowly pulled himself to his feet, wincing as he brushed down the soot from his clothes. "Is he... here?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't know," Pisces admitted, her face falling, "But we can look for him in a moment! If you have any injuries, we'll help you treat them."
The boy was silent for a long moment.
"Who are you?" He finally asked quietly, the icy chip in his voice from before suddenly dissipating. "Why are you... helping me?"
"We're just a group... of travellers. We happened to pass through and we couldn't turn away from people in need." Pisces said kindly. "So... if you don't mind, would you be kind enough to allow us to help you, too?"
"A...alright then." The boy sighed. "I... thank you, then."
Pisces led him back over to the rest of the group, where Libra and Taurus had joined the other girls. "Finally," Cancer grumbled, "Let's get this over with." She unwrapped her supply of gauze, towels and bandages as she knelt next to the boy.
"What's your name?" Aquarius interrogated. "And what information do you have?"
"Not so bluntly, Aqua!" Gemini hissed not-so-quietly. "You need to be gentle –"
"No, don't." The boy shook his head. "It's... fine." He let loose a long breath. "My name is Capricorn Enceladus. I'm... I'm just a regular person training to be... a knight. At least, I was training to be a knight of Gaebia until the Tellus Republic took over. And for information... on what?"
"Those monsters. We also saw some mysterious figures, which are most likely mages, but they disappeared after we entered the village."
"I don't know much, I'm afraid. I only know Lupus went out to fight those monsters." Capricorn's grey-blue eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, where is Lupus?"
"Lupus...? I've heard that name a few times when we were walking around here." Libra remarked. "Um, who is he?"
"He's my uncle. He was also one of the greatest knights in Gaebia," there was a hint of pride in the male's voice, "until the Tellus Republic took over and replaced the Gambian military with their own corrupt officials, so he joined the rebels." He winced as Cancer tugged bandages just a little too roughly over his arm with an annoyed grumble.
"Is that everyone?" Aries suddenly called as he jogged over, wiping his hands on the edge of his cloak. Scorpio followed him closely, glowering as usual.
"Yeah, I think we have everyone." Sagittarius replied, straightening up. "What do we do next?"
Aries sighed and ran a hand through his sooty hair. "Well, we do have a mission to accomplish... but we also can't just leave. At the very least, we should make sure someone's here to... make a decision about what to do." His eyes drifted down to Capricorn, who was still sitting on the floor. "And who's this?"
"And does your village have a mayor?" Scorpio interrogated immediately.
"I'm Capricorn," the boy introduced. "No, there isn't a mayor. Lupus, my uncle, and the rebels ran this town, mostly... but I don't know where they are."
"Oh, Lupus–" Aries' face twisted slightly. "I see."
"You know where he is?" Capricorn asked eagerly, quickly rising to his feet. "Hey, I wasn't finished–" Cancer began, as the bandages began to unravel, then rolled her eyes and muttered "Actually, whatever; not my problem."
"I'm sorry, Capricorn..." Aries said, his trademark smirk falling to a grim frown. "He was killed by one of those beasts. One of the villagers found his body."
The eager light in Capricorn's eyes died as his eyes widened. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, eyes darting about frantically as his hands fell to his sides.
"I... see." His voice was hollow as he averted his eyes, his fingers tugging subconsciously at the unravelling bandages. "Well... thanks for the healing, I guess. But... I should've known... I... should've been there. At least then I-I would've gone with him... I'll... just go now."
"I'm sorry for your loss..." Libra said quietly.
"No. You shouldn't wish you died." Taurus suddenly said roughly – the first words he had said in a long while – fixating the smaller boy with a searing gaze. "This village has lost enough people already. You were lucky — no, Lupus gave his life for you to survive... you shouldn't waste it now. Because I know what it's like. To lose people close to you." Taurus swallowed thickly. "It's... hard. But... I got through it. You will, too."
Capricorn studied the taller male. Taurus stared back fixedly. "Don't lose hope..." The brunette said softly. "Like I did once. I..." He suddenly turned to Aries and Scorpio, almost looking bashful.
"I already know what you want to say." Aries sighed. "Fine, fine, he can join."
"What?" Capricorn started, eyes widening. "Join what? What do you..."
Taurus gave him another look. "It'll be better. I promise. I'll show you the ropes."
"This is the perfect time for the recruitment leaflet!" Sagittarius exclaimed, fumbling about in her satchel. Her face fell almost immediately, though. "Oh, right, I lost it in Galene..."
"Someone else can give him the usual talk. I'm already sick of introductions." Aries said, waving a hand dismissively at the others as her turned around. "I'm going to go find the other villagers and figure out something for the town. Scorpio, Sag – with me."
"Well!" Pisces exclaimed cheerfully. "Introductions, then!"
"Huh? I... never agreed to anything...?"
-x-x-x-
"I found someone who'll help with the reorganisation of this town." Sagittarius exclaimed as she hurried over. "She's already helping out with organising people to find the missing people who ran off. And..." The girl frowned and ran a hand through her ginger hair, glancing away. "...figuring out who isn't here now."
"Good. I found someone who claims to be the bank's manager. They say they'll aid in organising reparations." Scorpio stated, frowning. "I suppose with this unrest going on between the people and the government, there's no point in asking the government for aid."
"The people believe that this attack was an attack by the Tellus Republic, the current government of Gaebia." Aries added. "Since most of the people here are part of the rebel group, they're willing to help this village recover." His face darkened. "I highly doubt this was by the government, though. They're the same beasts we were tracking from before and the mysterious figures don't look like officials or soldiers from the Tellus military."
"The Eirean Church attacking a place like this... what could their purpose be?" Scorpio scowled. "They wouldn't have known we have passed this village – unless they were watching or tracking us. We had only just passed by this place when we noticed the fire..."
"The fire, huh...?" Sagittarius's usual smile was replaced with a thoughtful frown. "Maybe you're getting on to something, Scorpio. Why would they start the fire...?"
"They wanted to draw our attention." Aries breathed. "But why?"
"Travellers!" The three were distracted by a call. A young lady hurried up to them, her dress covered in dirt and ash and her eyes bright with determination. "I must thank you for your help last night. It has just come to my attention that you travellers must surely be exhausted, and we would be glad to provide shelter and bedding if you need it. And I'm sure there must be something we can do to repay you!"
"Repay us?" Sagittarius's eyes lit up. "Well–"
"Thank you for the offer of shelter; we will gladly take it." Aries interrupted. "But your village is in shambles, and I'm sure you would need money or resources more than we do. Besides, we can continue helping with reparations –"
"Nonsense!" The woman's face fell. "...well, actually, you're right about the money and resources. But we do have enough manpower, so I insist you rest! The inn might be free, or if that isn't, I'm sure I can find a place for you to stay...!"
"That's very kind of you – well, if you insist..."
-x-x-x-
"I'm surprised this place hadn't caught on fire." Gemini remarked. "I mean, it's stuffed to the brim with books and paper and all sorts of... flammable stuff, you know?"
"My back hurts." Cancer mumbled into her blanket.
"Be grateful that we have somewhere to sleep, even if it is... a dusty library." Aquarius said, her back still turned towards everyone.
"I've slept through worse." Cancer retorted.
"Hey, gals! Calm down for a second and just sleep, alright?" Sagittarius urged. "I know it's dusty and the floor's hard but at least we have a roof over our heads."
Cancer let out a noncommittal grunt in reply and turned over. There was a long silence.
"Goodnight, everyone," Pisces whispered, "and sweet dreams."
"It's the morning, Pisces..." Gemini pointed out.
"Shh!" Sagittarius said loudly.
"Is there actually anyone sleeping?" Aquarius said dryly.
"I wonder how the boys are doing." Pisces hummed.
"Ooh, boys, Pi? Someone's caught your eye?" Gemini was already bubbling with laughter.
"N-no! That's not what I mean!"
"Everybody, shut up." Cancer grumbled.
-x-x-x-
"Taurus's out like a rock. Again." Aries said softly as he poked the sleeping brunette, who had thankfully washed off all the dried blood from the previous battle. "I'm not surprised –"
Taurus opened one eye.
Aries jolted back with a yelp.
"Aries, what in Cethia are you doing?" Scorpio hissed from where he was curled underneath a table.
Taurus let out a low mumble and turned over so he was lying face down on the floor, then tugged his blanket over his head.
"A–achoo!" Libra sniffed. "It's quite dusty..."
"Is it, now?" Scorpio said sarcastically.
"Don't be mean to Libra!" Aries called from where he had buried under his cloth blanket near a set of bookshelves.
"When was I–?! Ugh, whatever." Scorpio turned over.
"Where's Capricorn?" Libra said softly, after a series of sniffles into a handkerchief.
"...I'm not tired." Capricorn said from where he was perched by a bookshelf with a book in his hands. The male had washed off the ash from the fire too; his white hair was still damp, though the sullied clothes from before were nowhere in sight. (Most likely thrown away since they wouldn't have been much use afterwards.)
"We're walking across Gaebia tomorrow to search for the Gaebian branch of the Eirean Church." Scorpio snapped. "Do you happen to fancy passing out from exhaustion halfway?"
Capricorn was silent for a long moment. Finally, he put down the book, threw the covers over his head and curled into a ball.
"Stop making such a ruckus and go to sleep." Taurus grumbled. "I'd bet the girls can hear us from the first floor."
"I'm sleeping!" Aries said loudly.
The room fell silent for a long moment.
"What are you even talking about?" Scorpio said incredulously from where his back was turned.
-x-x-x-
The whisper of a page turning was what roused Libra from sleep.
"Hm...?" Libra groaned softly and shifted. His back creaked in protest and he pulled the covers over his head, trying to bury deeper into his pillow –
"Ow... my neck's cramping." He said aloud.
"Oh. It's you." Someone muttered.
Libra carefully tugged the covers off his head to be met with the unfamiliar ceiling of the library. He blinked slowly in the dim light and slowly sat up, squinting as he peered out the tiny window.
"It's evening." Capricorn said as he turned another page. "Everyone's asleep."
"Oh. Um... thanks." Libra took a glance around himself. Scorpio was a dark lump under the table, Taurus had turned over in his sleep and half of his blanket was underneath him, and Aries was tangled up in his sheets and the only thing visible was a red tuft of hair poking out from between the sheets.
It was surprisingly silent aside from the sounds of their even breaths. Libra was reminded of the dust and immediately had to attempt to swallow back a sneeze again with mild success.
"Are you... reading?" Libra finally decided to ask softly, breaking the silence.
"...yes." Capricorn raised an eyebrow at him.
"What are you reading?"
"The Founding of the Cethian Church. I need to make sure I understand everything that's happening to provide as much help as I can to your cause. And... I wanted a distraction."
"Er... I see. That's very kind of you..." Something about the white-haired male's expression made Libra swallow back his offer to 'listen to anything if he wanted to talk'.
Capricorn said nothing and turned another page.
Libra swallowed noisily, breaking the silence again. "So... is there anything useful in it?"
"Nothing we haven't heard of." Capricorn replied. The rustle of pages stopped for a moment as he squinted down at the book. "The story of the goddesses' 'birth' — Cethia had been a land cursed by plague and death. The sisters Eireas and Nyriu appeared mysteriously, washed ashore and found by the few people living there. As thanks to the people who cared for them, Nyriu sacrifices her soul to the ancient deities of Cethia to remove the curse from the land so the people and her sister can live freely and happily. Instead, Eireas is distraught and sacrifices her soul to bring her sister back."
"Oh, that's what I was taught back in Auraidor." Libra murmured. "The ancient deities, touched by their bond and their kindness, put them in the sky as goddesses of the day and night, tasked with watching over the land of Cethia in their stead. So now Cethia is a flourishing, fertile land guided by the Cethian Church, who are selected individuals that carry out the goddesses' wishes and maintain peace over the land."
"It sounds a little farfetched to me," Capricorn raised an eyebrow, "But whatever they say. Besides, the goddesses aren't doing a very good job with helping keep peace over the land, are they?"
"I... guess that's one way to look at it," Libra said uncertainly. "Though I don't think the Crests were ever meant to be... stolen?"
"Those four pieces of the Crests, blessed with divine power..." Capricorn said quietly. "I don't understand why the goddesses would create such items. The book states that they were to maintain peace over the lands, so that if one day, if the four countries were to be in a terrible disaster, a single individual would be able to be blessed with the power of the goddesses and become the rightful ruler, thus bringing peace to Cethia."
His brow wrinkled slightly. "I... don't understand how that would work. I suppose they broke it apart into four pieces so each country could have one for it to be fair, but... now they're all stolen and they're doing the complete opposite of what they're supposed to."
"I don't know, either," Libra admitted, "but... I guess that's why we're all here, right?"
Capricorn quirked an eyebrow at him.
"Well, we wouldn't all be here on this... adventure if we weren't trying to find how to stop the war, right?" Libra continued. "And personally... I'm quite glad I met everyone here. And even though you're a new recruit, I... I'm looking forward to get to know you, too. I think... I never would've done so much if I was stuck back in Auraidor."
"I... I suppose you have a point." Capricorn said quietly, then he put down the book and stood up. "But Lupus wouldn't have..." His expression was unreadable. "I'm... going outside."
"You two are being quite loud." Taurus muttered as he sat up, rubbing at his eyes.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Taurus...!"
"It's alright, Libra." The brunette straightened up, running a hand through his messy hair. "...we should all prepare for our next hike out to cover some ground, though. I'll wake Aries and he can deal with Scorpio. Can you check if the girls are awake downstairs?"
As if in response to Taurus, there was a sudden crash from downstairs and a yelp.
"Ow, who just tripped over me?!" Gemini shrieked.
"I'll let Capricorn do that," Libra said nervously, "I wouldn't want to bother the girls now, would I?"
A faint smile crossed the usually stoic brunette's face. "Quite so. Well, in that case, how about you start by finding us dinner? I'm quite hungry."