The Twelve
By Firebat25

In Altador lay the twelve interred,
Their deeds forgotten and lost to lore,
An ancient curse, they had incurred,
Wrought from treachery none foresaw.

Their statues lie in the Heroes Hall,
Facing each other, encased in stone
To commemorate their lofty fall,
A descent which no sage knows.

Altador the Hunter, the Founder twain,
His heroic actions brought the kingdom through
From a past of bloodshed, a past of pain,
To one where all work in mutual gain.

He brought to him eleven companions -
The Protector, the Gatherer, the Thief,
The Collector, The Gladiator, the Wave,
The Dancer, the Farmer and Faeries three.

They worked together and a city was built,
A wondrous dream for all to see,
Little did they know their ideal would wilt,
And the treachery that would soon come to be.

Of the twelve, eleven remained loyal
To the vision of their true liege and king,
But only one was needed to truly despoil
The walking reality of Altador's dream.

She was known as the Darkest Faerie,
The Betrayer, the Sleeper called by some,
Her beauty stunning, her moods contrary,
And she sought to usurp Altador's run.

She delved into forbidden lore to find the spell
To wipe blank the histories of this ideal land,
To replace them with her own rule's knell,
To grasp the sceptre within her hands.

But her plots were thwarted, her plans foiled
By the fruits of Lady Jerdana's toils,
The Darkest was banished for a thousand years
And thus ended both Altador's dreams and fears.

In the Hall of Heroes begins your quest
To awaken the slumbering twelve,
'Cross the skies and through the stars
Seeks the clues that will break their eternal rest

A Scientist's Start
By Silent_snow

It was a perfectly normal day -
The 9th day of November, Year 2,
A rumor roamed 'round the world, they say,
That spoke of something very new.
A Scorchio of most brilliant mind
Had vanished, lately, from the crowd,
And when they all searched, they could not find
Though his name was called out most loud.

A secret lab, hid out in the sea -
That's where the Neopet had gone,
He'd built a lab where no one could see
And there he had strictly withdrawn.
His cause? Gadgets, like no other kind
For to build them was his dream,
Beakers, test tubes, chemicals combined
To bring about his greatest scheme.

Some months had passed, but he was now done,
His concept finished, that design,
A strange ray, designed to fast distort
Any pet that got in its line.
But to test it? He was at a loss,
He needed some subjects to zap,
So he made pictures, cast them outside -
Each piece of the Secret Lab Map.

Map pieces, found all 'round the world
And then taped together at last,
Caused pets, all kinds, to flock to the lab
Before the week had even passed.
Their stats, species, colors quickly changed
Within just one blink of an eye,
So today, remember the very one
Who made all of this once come by.

A Journey Through Winter
By Ema693

Sliding through the snow
On my brightly patterned skiis,
I'm the only colour for miles around
Apart from the evergreen trees.

Then small cold flakes blow in my face
Soon turning my blue fur to white,
And winter has conquered the world,
The cold begins to bite.

I long for a warm place to rest in,
Somewhere to put up my feet,
A dry set of clothes to change into,
A steaming hot supper to eat.

But continue my journey I must,
I am just past halfway there,
So I wrap my coat tightly around me
And tuck back my ears like hair.

Springs go by all too quickly,
And summers are gone in a flash,
Autumns take slightly longer to pass,
But with all these short times winters clash.

Yes, winter is lasting for ever,
It seems like it will never end,
But there is the spring in the future,
And ahead in the path there's a bend.

The winter can be quite depressingly cold,
Not really the season of cheer,
But when the snow melts,
There's a pleasant surprise;
The spring is finally here.

At last my tail is thawing
As I sit by the fire on a stool,
And I feel quite merry, festive and glad,
And just happy to be an Usul.

Quest of Three
By Schefflera

I sing a song of three unlikely allies
A faerie and a Lupe-knight and a 'Bat
Who undertook to find a wayward Eyrie
To save him from himself and bring him back.

The battles fought for Meridell were over.
The orb was broken, but the curse was through.
Uneasy peace, but all worked hard for healing....
But Darigan had something left to rue.

The Three had offered
Magic might for vengeance;
Enraged, bereft, and cursed, he'd seized the day.
'Twas Morguss taught him;
Kass she taught thereafter--
Too late they learned
The price they all would pay.

The Three would little mercy show to "weakness,"
Nor did they willingly release their thralls.
Lord Darigan had fallen but learned better,
And sought to save the friend he'd led to fall.

Illusen only wanted peace and quiet
And Darigan had twice disturbed her rest
This third time with fair words
And gifts he charmed her
And mollified, she joined in his quest.

To Jeran Kass was only foe and traitor,
And Darigan mistrusted Skarl's knights still.
But each in peace respect learned for the other,
And for new friendship Jeran lent his skill.

The Three, defied, from Darigan had vanished;
Their claim without consent they couldn't keep.
But in their home they'd not be easily banished;
In battle sore our heroes planned to meet.

Lord Darigan a dark horned staff was bearing;
Illusen bore a staff and leafy shield;
Sir Jeran was his sword and armor wearing;
Together did they stand upon the field.

Illusen was to prove a valued ally;
Her home a haven she had built and made.
Dark magic there grew blunted,
Drained and weakened,
So they began their journey from her glade.

A spell removed them from the lush green forest
And set them in a grey dimension drear
The very air was dismal; in each other,
Our "three" could find the place's only cheer.

The Three they sought
Made their appearance quickly,
And, "Welcome, Darigan," they said with smiles,
"We knew you'd come!"
"Of course, you won't be leaving."
They circled and they set to ply their wiles.

"Now must we thank you
For these two you've brought us--"
He froze, but Jeran laughed and broke their sway.
Illusen swung her staff and struck the faerie,
And grateful, Darigan joined in the fray.

Sir Jeran raised his sword against the Gelert,
A bearded doom whose blows did cruelly pound.
But though on blade his heavy blade fell clashing,
The Champion prevailed and struck him down.

Illusen had moved far from darker faeries,
But never had she lacked the skill to fight.
Though not her own,
The dark earth heaved and trembled;
Her branch-staff put the faerie foe to flight.

Lord Darigan faced one who claimed to own him
And fought with bitter rage and claws and teeth,
Forgot the staff he'd used when he meant mercy,
And at the last he'd won against the Skeith.

From battlefield detritus they rose weary,
Together turned to seek the Eyrie Kass,
For not a one but felt the place's malice,
And not a one wished all alone to pass.

They found him swiftly,
For the Three had brought him;
They must have meant
He'd see his friend's defeat.
His pride was broken;
Dark chains cruelly bound him,
And ran from neck and wings And heart and feet.

The chains were smoke but couldn't be unraveled,
Till Darigan at Kass's feet had knelt.
"My friend," he said,
"You've seen they can be beaten.
You owe them nothing -- rise, and be yourself!"

At this, the Three appeared again around them,
As if they hadn't lost an utter rout.
Though Darigan once flinched,
They couldn't touch him,
But seized on Kass and tore till he cried out.

The other two moved in again to rescue,
But found the Three intangible as smoke.
Then Kass found strength
Again in his old friend's eyes,
And cried, "Begone from me!" --
And his chains broke.

The Three enraged surrounded them in railing,
But swiftly home again the spell took four.
Back in Illusen's glade they rested briefly,
And vowed to shun the Three forevermore.

Illusen sent the others home with houseplants,
And Jeran's sister welcomed him with joy,
And Darigan and Kass flew back to their home,
With Kass again in Darigan's employ.

And so you see that even though unlikely,
The heroes whom I sing fulfilled their quest.
And showed there still
Was hope for more than quiet;
Despite the past together they worked best.

Neovia
By Blackribbonrose

'Twas long ago that a town stood here
In these dark and gloomy walls.
'Twas long ago that the children played,
And the men worked hard,
And the women sang.

'Twas long ago that the town stood strong,
And that peace dwelled within.
And 'twas a day that it all changed,
And bliss and peace drew thin.

For everybody has a dream
That they all wish to fulfill, And sometimes desire is stronger than mind,
Stronger than their free will.

And what if there was strange promise
To satisfy our wants,
Our wishes, our needs, our desires?
The people of the town were promised all this,
And still more, and so the lust was dire.

Quickly they gave up all they had,
For what they wished could be.
Quickly the people regretted their choice,
For nightmares replaced dreams.

And so the purity left the people,
And their hearts turned black and wicked.
Monstrous creatures they became,
Beastly and gruesome and cruel.

But somewhere inside their hearts
Longed for freedom,
And an ultimate sacrifice was made.
And the people of the town disappeared,
They were gone without a trace.

The town remains in ruins now,
Broken and barely there at all.
Nobody knows for sure
Where the people have gone,
Or if they ever existed at all...