The Last Celestial

Prince of the Oasis

There was a young man who lives in a place that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east, and the disputed territory of Western Sahara to the south.

A place called the Kingdom of Morocco., also known as the Kingdom of the West.

Morocco is also one of the places where there are a lot of people who have lighter colored skin rather than the usual Caramel-like skin of the other parts of Africa. The country of Morocco is inhibited and ruled by the lineage whose ancestors served the Celestials with all their hearts.

The Orions.

The first man who was created there was named Ragenamel Orion.

Scorpio and Taurus themselves created the man while the two of them celebrated on the stars, and the meaning of his name meant "Man of the Stars."

If Haris was Aries' favorite, then Orion was loved by the 2nd and 8th houses of the Zodiacs.

They lavished the Sahara with bountiful greenery and fruit bearing trees. It only changed when Scorpio and Taurus perished. The giant tree that gives life to the vast Forest died along with the two Celestials and soon death consumed the forest as well.

It became the barren desert and the driest part of the earth.

And the descendants of Orion called the Sahara the sleeping heart of the 8th and 2nd house. They hoped that the Celestials who loved them would live again, so that the lavish forest their father, and their father's father talked about will return and the future generations to come will be able to see the forest that once existed in the Sahara.

Seth is one of Orion's descendants. He is the son of Redenor Orion, a doctor specializing in curing people who have been poisoned by the venom of the Sahara's scorpion.

He was tall, as he got his father's height. Towering at 6'2. He was the tallest among his siblings. His skin was fair, and his eyes were grey with a hint of brown and black. His hair was long and was braided beautifully.

Orion's descendants, men and women alike, kept their hair long and braided it down to resemble the telson of the scorpion, in honor of the 8th House.

Seth was busy trying to help his father pick raw tamarinds from the tall tree. Since he was the tallest one, he did not dare to protest or complain and he always did what he was told.

"Pick a few more for me. Especially the fresh ones." His father asked. "I need to make a lot of them since it's the month of the Scorpio. A lot of people are getting stung by scorpions during the night."

Seth hummed, agreeing silently as he picked one fruit from another.

What his father is saying is the truth. A lot of people are getting sick and hurt because of the scorpions lurking around. When the Sahara desert was still paradise, there were no scorpions there, only birds, bees, even lions and gazelles.

But now the vast desert is covered with those vermin's. And Seth thinks this is because of the hatred living in Scorpio's heart.

His father, who is smart, learned how to make herbal medicine to cure the poison. And in return their family became wealthy for it.

The small critters rose when the blood of Scorpio touched the land. Every drop of blood that came out of his body turned to a scorpion, making millions of the crawlers. Even in his death, the just Celestial wanted to punish men for doing the Celestial beings wrong.

However, Seth thinks otherwise. He thinks the scorpions are created so that protection for good men and women will still be there. As cruel as it sounds, the descendant of Orion doesn't get a sting. Only strangers who settled in their land get stung and almost immediately get killed.

He picked the last two tamarinds that he could reach, and placed it in a woven basket full of the tropical fruit.

"How many more do I need to pick, father?" He said, then looked at his father. "This basket is full. Do you need more?"

"Yes." Redenor answered. "Bring that basket to the extraction room and get an empty one. Help me clean those later."

Seth walked out of their family's backyard which is full of Tamarind trees. He grabbed the edge of the basket and pulled it up, placing the heavy basket on his right shoulder.

He walked steadily towards his father's extraction room. However, as he walked there he saw there were locals running towards him and their faces displayed fear.

"Seth!" A child named Pepper called for him. "The---there's five people headed this way!" She screamed through heaving breaths. "One of those five looks like they need your father's help!"

After hearing this, Seth nodded his head and went towards the extraction room only to place the basket full of fruit there. He went back to the locals and said, "Take me there. I'll help them."

Pepper gave the tall man a grateful stare. They could always count on him. “Follow me.” The young girl said.

Seth and the others rushed to where the children saw the five men and women. And from afar, even through a few metre's distance, there's no denying the familiarity of that uniform.

Those people are the Keepers that are in charge of Keeping the Relic of Scorpio safe.

Seth gulped, as his gaze on the men and women wavered. There were rumors swirling around that the Fortress of Scorpio had been attacked by a vicious 11-foot monster. What seemed to be a rumor made by bored housewives was seemingly turning into reality as the five Keepers shouted to him, "Help!"

Seth's breath hitched and he made a fist, pursing his lips only to bite it.

Those men and women looked like they've been through something horrific and unimaginable, that by only looking at them, Seth's body began to tremble in fear. The man that the two male Keepers were struggling to carry looked like he was on the verge of death.

He looked down on Pepper and said, "Are they the ones you've been telling me about?"

"Yes!" She screamed. "My sisters and I were playing near the boundaries of the Sahara desert when we noticed them. They asked us to find someone who is named Orion and knows how to cure a scorpion's venom." She relayed honestly, her innocent eyes gleaming as she blinked.

Seth hummed as he nodded his head. He averted his gaze back to the Keepers and bravely marched towards them while shouting, "Hello, I am a descendant of Orion. Let me take you to my father. He knows how to cure a scorpion's poison!"

Zebedee who heard him immediately jogged towards Seth --- looking pale, her skin was sunburned and looking like she was almost half dead. "Thank you..." She breathed out in sheer exasperation. "...please take us there."

Soon Aiziah followed, looking as tired as her Friend. "We need to hurry, our friend's heartbeat is too low and I can't sense his pulse and he is barely breathing. Also, would you be so kind and give us water as well?"

"Yes of course." Seth replied then he rushed towards the two men who needed help. He grabbed Elly from Kane and Nathaniel, and placed the unconscious man on top of his shoulder, carrying him like a sack of rice.

He is used to carrying loads of tamarinds, so that it strengthened his body that it amazed the two men.

"Follow me." Seth said without even faltering, as he carried Elly gracefully, not even losing balance. "Quick."

===================

When Seth and the others arrived at his house, he immediately laid Elly on the bed. His sister and mother also gave a glass full of water and a plate full of food to the Keepers. Giving them the respect that their Lineage deserved.

Mona, Seth's sister, gave Zebedee and Aiziah clothes for them to change into. As well as she also gave clothing to Nathaniel and Kane. Their clothes were so ruined that even washing them will not do. Mona threw their clothes into the trash can.

After changing, the tattoos on their body showed. A symbol showing their positions on the association.

Redenor, who was busy preparing his medical tools, quickly went to the bed where Elly was lying on. He looked at the young man and felt bad at how beaten up and burned he looked.

He observed the features of the young man, and paid great attention to his face to check if there's a sign of trauma. Or a tell-tale sign which can point out where the scorpion may have stung him.

"Seth." Redenor called for his son. "Get the shears from my table and remove the clothes of this young man."

Seth complied and ran towards the table where his father's tools were placed.

As Redenor waited for the shears, he looked at Nathaniel --- the Keeper who had the tattoo of an Elder.

"Elder." He said, voice loud and it resounded in the small treatment room. "Tell me, what happened to this man." Redenor then studied the features of the other Keepers and took note of how severe and dehydrated they were.

They looked dead tired and partly traumatized.

They were dehydrated, and sunburned. But this young man's condition is far from them. "And what happened to you?"

Nathaniel took another gulp from the half empty, half full cup before he looked at the middle aged man. "It's a fairly long story." He began with much honesty as he doesn't know how to begin. "But last night, during the Moon Rising as the Scorpio's Bane reacted towards the moon --- an eight foot beast wearing a strange mask showed up in the fortress and killed almost everyone inside."

Nathaniel stopped when he looked at the Keepers sitting beside him.

Zebedee and Aiziah's reaction became grim. Almost motionless. While Kane blankly stared into space.

"Only the four of us survived. We went to the chamber and saw that the Relic was stolen. Then, we saw a drop of Bane on the floor, leading us to our friend..." He stopped midway, and remembered something important. His mind was so scrambled up that he almost forgot.

He ran towards Mona, and asked, "Where is the bottle full of bluish and black liquid?"

Mona immediately ran towards the sink and fetched the bottle and gave it to Nathaniel.

The Elder Keeper sighed in relief, staring down at the bottle that Mona handed over to him before he reverted his attention back to the doctor.

"...and this... this liquid came from a flower. A flower that bloomed on the sand." Nathaniel licked his dry lips, trying to make words on his head so that he won't seem crazy. "...the flower bloomed when a scorpion walked to the sand and turned into water."

Nathaniel handed over the bottle to Redenor who looked shocked and was in sheer disbelief, but the old man only looked at the bottle and did not accept it just yet.

"A scorpion, you say?" He uttered and his eyes were wide, showing his disbelief. "A scorpion from the sand?"

Nathaniel shook his head in disagreement. "No... we did not know where it came from but it was protecting Elly. That man lying unconscious over there..." He gestured towards Elly. "...and laid on his feet. The scorpion only settled when I showed my tattoo."

Redenor averted his gaze from Nathaniel and looked at Elly instead. "Then... you have received the Scorpio's blessing."

The Elder Keeper titled his head, not understanding what it meant. "What do you mean?"

"The Scorpio Celestial favored the Orions, and now he also looks on your lineage fondly and gives you a gift." He then walked towards Nathaniel and took the bottle. "Seth, hurry up and take off this man's clothes!"

Seth rushed towards them and began to cut on the thick armor that Elly was wearing. When he was almost done, Seth's breath hitched when he saw a small scorpion crawl from Elly's nape up to his chest.

"Father..." Seth whispered as his eyes widened when the telson of the Scorpion raised and was pointed at him. "Something's in the man’s clothing… Something is wrong…" He said as he was consumed by fear and was frozen in place.

It all happened so fast that nobody saw it coming. Screams resounded in the room when Seth fell on the floor after the scorpion jumped on him and stung him on the chest.

"Seth!" Redenor screamed. "Look out, son!"