He was a quiet man...

Number 564

Meet Number 564. Or as his friends like to call him Numb. Numb is-erm was a Seeker for the infamous King Kotata ruler of La Ville Sans Soleil. Numb took pride in his job although he could only do half of it. You see, although Numbers is a Seeker he can only see the "positive", his twin Rosco saw the "negative", together they were able to give full readings. When Kotata came into power Rosco refused to conform to the new king's cruel ways and was banished. So Numb was left to do his job and his brother's but he was only able to receive half of the fortunes. Numb was too afraid of what the king would do to him if he told him of his limited ability so Numb kept feeding him faulty information. After many years of disappointing the king Numb came across the soon-to-be Queen, Angel: Princess of Urrk and they became fast friends much to the king's dismay. For a while Numb's life was pretty content, filled with the company of his apprentices (Mattxin, Natovie, and Jelly) and Angel...until that fateful day. The night before the royal wedding Numbers made his way to his quarters. After crawling into his lavish bed he had a vision. It foretold the demise of the kingdom. Chaos would spread, lives would be lost, and in the end the kingdom would fall into ruin. When Numb awoke the next day he was terrified he swore to himself that he wouldn't tell anyone what he saw. Numb tried to go about his normal activities but the secret that he kept was eating him up inside. Destroying his cheery demeanor and optimism. He changed, his friends noticed that Numb's once golden fur was turning dull and grey, his shoulders hunched and his tail drooped, his eyes sagged and lost their sparkle. And when that fateful day came when everything he had come to love would be destroyed Numb took his belongings, his apprentices, and his one true love far far away. Although a new and even more powerful kingdom would arise out of the ashes Numb's visions continued to take a negative turn and his whole attitude and disposition turned rather grey...

Poor Unfortunate Souls

La Ville Sans Soleil

The sound of a good book. Nums loved and knew that sound very well. It was the sound of pages turning, soft giggles, and quick gasps. He knew when someone was reading a good book in his library, the tell tale sounds were everywhere. He looked at his assistant and gave him a smile. "Desutio, would you be a dear and go get me a copy of 'The Secret of Treasure Island'?" The baby blumaroo looked up at his mentor and gave a wide smile. "Yes! Of course I will Num Nums!" Before Numbers could remind Desi not to call him Num Nums the blum was gone. No worries, Numbers shrugged it off and continued humming to himself. Most people would say that Numbers was a rather boring and depressing yurble. He was quiet, but that was mostly because he felt that if he talked too much then he would blurt out his secrets besides, the enjoyment of reading was magnified many times over when you were surrounded by a heavy blanket of silence. He could go on his own adventures and deep into the mind of the author if it was just him, his book, and a nice comfy sofa. Of course if you knew Nums a few years ago you probably wouldn't have recognized him. When Nums was in his younger days he was the talk of the town. Before the city of Aruvia was founded the land was a host to a dark and desolate place referred to as La Ville Sans Soleil no one speaks the real name of the town due to the belief that it brings about misfortune and despair…

-------Flashback------

Hey Numbers! What's the word on the street?"

Numbers, did you figure out how long until we can have public performances again?"

Who's gunna win the lottery this week?"

Should I invest in a new ax?"

These were only a few of the questions shouted out as him as Nums sauntered down the street humming a little tune to himself. As Nums stopped into a bakery to get his morning meal a soft nudge got his attention. I was Mattxin, one of his apprentices. It was awful strange to see him outside of the castle grounds.

Yes Matt? What brings you here on such a nice day?" Nums asked trying to hide his slowly growing fear.

The king wants to see you." The bori squeaked.

Numbers! Step forward please!" The sharp voice of the king rang out.

The patch of golden fur make its way through the small crowd that was gathered at the base of the throne. When the soft golden eyes connected with the harsh red ones that belonged to the king Numbers tried not to flinch.

Y-yes your Majesty." The hasty bow that was given only made the king scoff and shake his head at his Seeker's meek attitude.

I thought you said it would be a great day to launch an attack on the Le Pays des Loups." The king tried not to growl as the statement left his lips.

Well, yes. Well, no. Um, kind of. You-Your Highness you see…my powers are quite limited…as you know…my brother…well he is like my…other…half..." Nums drifted off as the expression on the kings face slowly became more and more irritated with every word. He bowed his head and shut his yap.

Useless as usual. Be gone." And at the wave of the king's hoof Nums silently scampered off with his tail between his legs glad that the ordeal was over. As Nums rounded the corner he ran into something or rather someone.

Excusez-moi, là où vous pensez que vous allez?!" An irate voice hissed. Although Nums understood none of it he thought it was one of the most beautiful things anyone had ever shouted at him.

I am quite sorry Madame. I simply wasn't paying any attention to where I was going." The frightened and nervous blob that presented himself while under the scrutiny of the king was long gone and replaced with this charismatic and engaging yurble.

The lady who stood before Nums was none other than the Princess of Urrk, Angel. She was visiting from her homeland in hopes of patching up the ongoing rift between the realm of King Kotata and the Kingdom of Urrk by a royal marriage. She spoke the language of the realm fluently but preferred to talk in her native tongue. Although the harsh desert-like climate of this kingdom would contrast to the moist and cool climate of her homeland but she was determined to stop the fighting between her kingdom and King Kotata's so she would get this marriage over with and tough out the climate here. If one was to take a look at Angel they would know she shouldn't have any worries that she would be turned away if she offered her paw to any man.

Might I ask where you are headed?" Nums gave the mysterious gelert a warm smile hoping she would see him as someone who was polite and helpful not discourteous and haughty as it might have seemed by his slip up,

I am on my way to meet the king, if you must know." She spoke with a thick accent but she was confidant in her words.

Ah well then Miss…?" Numbers trailed off as he awaited her answer.

Angel, Princess of Urrk." She offered her paw for Nums to shake.

Ah, well Angel, Princess of Urrk I am Numbers the Seeker. But please call me Nums." He took her paw and gave a courteous bow.

A Seeker? You are a Seeker?! Oh well sir please, you must give me a reading." Angel's blue eyes sparkled with excitement. How could Nums say no to the lovely lady. He gave her a nod and lead her to his cavern where he did his readings.

The cavern was almost pitch black except for one measly candle perched on a table in the middle of the small space. On one side of the table sat what appeared to be a map but instead of countries or islands or bodies of water there were emotions, dates, and numbers. Thousands of numbers littered the paper. Roman numerals, hieroglyphs, even Chinese characters were present on the "map".

How…quaint?" Angel murmured the comment struggling to find something that was pleasant about the place.

Not the coziest place I know, but it'll have to do." Numbers gave an awkward chuckle and motioned for Angel to take a seat.

No, no. It has a certain je ne sais quoi!" Angel's paws were shaking in excitement. She had heard about Aruvia and their knack for finding/producing wonderful Seekers and Magicians. Her excitement was evident in the way her tail twitched from side to side and her eyes darted about the room trying to take everything in.

Well, shall we begin?" Numbers gave a sly grin and pulled his map closer. Angel watched with wide eyes, any of the hostility she held against him before was melted away by her curiosity.

If only they knew their meeting didn't go unnoticed and wouldn't go unpunished. The events that followed led to the transformation of the one known a Numbers.

------End Flashback---------