The Zodiacs

The Zodiacs are a mysterious organisation with considerable power and influence over the Dread Sea. All of the members are given aliases named after the animal signs of the Zodiac.

Though all of the members are aligned under a single organisation, their individual goals and motivations vary from person to person. Some of the Zodiacs may even hold a strong dislike for one another, but internal conflicts are disallowed under the organisation's rules. Despite this, there seems to be a united goal between all of the Zodiacs, though this is currently unknown to the party.

The Zodiacs are led by a figure known as Rat, though his true identity is currently unknown.

## Members

### Former Members

Former Zodiacs
* Skilled at melee combat
* Intense charisma

## History

### Season 1 - A Drop in the Ocean

Teardrop, at the time known as Rooster, served as the main antagonist for this season; his control over the Death's Head Belt, and attempts to prevent pirates from entering the Dread Sea, caused him to come into direct contention with the Three Thumb's Pirates.

The party first encountered Teardrop on the island of Omatsuri at the Witchlight Carnival, where he posed as a bumbling stagehand, only to reveal his true identity when killing Mr Light after his attempts to flee. Teardrop then warned the group to leave the Belt, and not to attempt to enter the Dread Sea as they were not worthy.

His second encounter with the group was on the island of Yogen-Sha, where he again warned the pirates to leave the Belt, quit their foolish attempts at piracy and return home. To ensure his words would not be taken lightly, he took one of Hangwit's guns, along with a death bullet, and blinded Marlowe.

The Three Thumbs finally faced down Teardrop on the island of Gehenna in the Tower of Karma. After dealing with his theatrical games, they fought with Teardrop on Floor 100 - the rooftop - and eventually defeated him, with Benley snapping his neck.

Following the death of Teardrop, some of the Zodiacs met at a special council to appoint a new person as the position of Rooster. Though the Three Thumbs were considered, especially Benley following careful observation of his combat skills, Arminius was offered the position, which he accepted.

### Season 2 - Sign of the Zodiac

Early into their expedition into the Dread Sea, the Three Thumbs were visited by Monkey, acting under request from Rabbit. He asked the party to meet with Rabbit on her island of Gardenia as she wished to request a job of them, though also informed them that the two of them were acting without the knowledge of the rest of the Zodiacs so to keep it quiet. Furthermore, he asked the party if they had encountered a pirate known as Blackbeard, as he was under orders from Rat to find him.

The party travelled to Gardenia and met with Rabbit in her Court of the Flowers where she revealed her identity as Juniper Dune. Rabbit requested the party search out and find her sister, Magnolia, who had left the island a few weeks prior following a bitter argument. More than likely, Rabbit said, that Magnolia would be headed to the island of Karasu to seek out Mira Wyrmwood, whom she viewed as an idol of sorts. Rabbit also asked that the party act quickly, as Magnolia was also being sought out by both the Zodiacs themselves, and another group called IDEAL, both of which were hoping to use Magnolia for her abilities.

After agreeing to try and find Magnolia, the party headed to Celadon after dispatching some members of IDEAL. Here, Hangwit and Marlowe were accosted by a furious Tiger who warned them not to seek out Magnolia, as she was of more importance than either of them knew, and to forget any information about a construct called 'Pluto'. Tiger took out some of his anger on the two, but they were left mostly unharmed as Tiger left shortly after.

## Trivia

* Tiger's knowledge, and the reveal of, the celestial weapon Pluto was initially intended to be left for the end of the season, but was revealed instead at the start of the season to give the party a more concrete reason to oppose him.
* Arminius' position as a Zodiac was partially fuelled by the wound Hangwit gave him in the Tower of Karma (shooting off his hand), which drove him to accept the offer from Rat as a way to get back at the party in the future using the resources / knowledge of the Zodiacs.
* A lot of the internal relationships between the Zodiacs are based on the Chinese Zodiac compatability - those with higher compatability are usually more inclined towards being friendly, and vice versa.
	+ However, the Chinese Zodiac trines are not necessarily used in the characterisation of each individual Zodiac.
	+ Another major influence for the Zodiacs was, of course, the Zodiacs found in HunterxHunter, though their positions/goals/motivations are very different. For example, the leader Rat is very different in both mediums.