Author's Note
First off, thanks for taking the time to look at my fic.
For readers of my previous Fairy Tail fanfic, "The Dragon Twins", I apologize for deleting it. I abandoned that story in lieu of this one. I may return to it eventually, but I doubt it.
This is not an angst-fic. Yes, there are some angsty elements to the story, but that will not be the general tone.
There will be OCs in this fic, obviously.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
Please enjoy and review.
The year was X778, almost one year after the dragons mysteriously disappeared and were labeled as "fairy tale" creatures. One year was all it took for the government of Fiore to collapse and Civil War to break out. Was it because of the disappearance of dragons? No one knows, though it is not a popular theory. Dragons were an extreme rarity even before their disappearance so even then many believed dragons to be a myth.
Now, in the year X784, six years after the collapse of Fiore, the war rages on.
The old government has undergone indefinitely many transformations since its collapse and continues to try to reunite the country. However, in this state of war, there is no clear enemy. After six years of anti-establishment, the country is left broken, scarred, and divided. Every town is a war zone, waiting to be attacked by some unknowable assailant. It could be anyone: the neighbors, an adjacent city, an impromptu militia, or, worst and most feared of all, a mage's guild.
In X784, magical guilds are military organizations. Once peaceful gatherings of mages looking for work, they have transformed into "terrorist groups", or so the government claims. In reality though, guilds are, perhaps, the only thing keeping the pieces of the broken country together. Many guilds have taken it upon themselves to "claim" their host city and the small communities that surround it in order to protect it from the ever-present threat of war, be it from civilians, the government, or other guilds. However, even the protection of a local guild can't completely shield a city from the hardships of the war. Still, many cities protected by a guild have managed to carry on with stability. In one such city, there is a certain guild that everyone has an eye on.
A guild called Fairy Tail.
Despite the blessing guilds provide and the abundance of mages in Fiore, many cities do not have a guild to protect them, or the guild is too weak to protect the city and is eventually defeated. Cities such as this are often pillaged, ravaged, and sometimes even destroyed by their assailants. What choice do the citizens have but to relocate? Those who don't have the resources to start a new life in a different city often choose to migrate to one of the refugee camps set up by the government, the one saving-grace the government has offered since its collapse. These camps are often dirty, disease-ridden, and unkempt. However, they do offer the important things: food, water, and shelter. Best friends Lucy Heartfilia and Myles Andrelli reside in one such camp. Life in the camp is harsh, but it is better than starving in some God-forsaken city.
The two have been childhood friends since before the collapse of the country, back when Lucy was still a respected member of the Heartfilia family, one of the few families wealthy enough to escape the perils of war. Myles was merely the daughter of a servant who happened to be the same age as Lucy. Myles's mother became Lucy's caretaker when Madame Layla, Lucy's mother, died while Lucy was still young. Myles's mother, Milly, saw how unhappy Lucy was at the Heartfilia mansion and encouraged her to chase her dreams out in the world. Milly promised to assist her surrogate daughter in any and every way possible if she would agree to one condition: that she take Myles with her. Milly hated that her daughter was destined for a life of servitude and wished her to see the true pleasures of life, even if it meant saying goodbye to her only daughter. So, after a tear-jerking goodbye, Lucy and Myles set out into the world, leaving the Heartfilia mansion behind forever.
Lucy and Myles did not have an easy life on the road. Many of the criminals that should be easy to apprehend roam the streets due to the lack of a functioning police force. Lucy and Myles encountered many such criminals on their journey. Thankfully, the two girls happened to be well-versed in magic and were able to defend themselves. Lucy was taught Stellar Spirit Magic by her mother. Madame Layla offered to teach Myles, one of her many displays of bottomless kindness and generosity, but Myles declined. She didn't want to rely on spirits to protect her; plus, she knew that fights would erupt over possession of the gate keys. Instead, she learned magic from one of the many books on magic Madame Layla allowed her to read.
The town that Lucy and Myles were staying in previously was quaint and homely. The people were kind, generous, and willing to help complete strangers such as themselves, which was extremely rare in the time of crisis. In exchange for their kindness, the two female mages agreed to do odd-jobs for the civilians and developed bonds of friendship with many of the townsfolk. Unfortunately, after a couple of months the town was razed by a small group of mages with guild markings that neither recognized. Lucy and Myles managed to make it out safely and followed many of the other townspeople to the refugee camp.
Despite the hardships of their lives, Lucy and Myles managed to grow into two beautiful young ladies. Lucy's hair was the color of pure, unadulterated sunshine and she had a body that made men rush to her aid. Myles wasn't one to be overlooked though. She had shoulder length brown hair that curled beautifully, bright green eyes, and tanned skin; she wasn't lacking in the body-department either. Even the tattered, dirty rags they wore as clothes and the dirt and other filth that covered them wasn't enough to tarnish their beauty. They spent many an hour warding off horny, persistent men with nothing to lose.
Lucy and Myles were preparing dinner in their humble abode, which was basically a tent. It was a plentiful dinner for a time of crisis. A couple pieces of questionable chicken with two large, semi-fresh potatoes. It was more than some pairs received, and the two girls may or may not have used their feminine charm to obtain it.
A thunderous boom sounded to the west, startling everyone in the camp. Panic immediately set in among the civilians. Masses of refugees started to push and shove their way to the nearest exit while frantically trying to gather their meager belongings (if they had any to begin with) and the rest of their respective groups. Lucy and Myles, being capable mages, headed toward the explosion, determined to help in whatever way they possibly could.
What the two mages saw when they arrived at the west gate was horrific. There were several mages (or so the duo guessed) that seemed to be sorting through the crowds of people while some other mages of their group dealt with the camp's guards, though it didn't seem as though the guards would last much longer. The unknown mages seemed to be searching for a particular person as they discarded every single person they inspected. Anyone who didn't pass the test was killed, as if they were insignificant flies. Fire raged around them while the smoke cascaded into the sky in giant plumes. The guards were soon disposed of, all dead or smart enough to act that way.
"She's not here. Let's spread out," the two heard one of the mysterious mages say. He seemed to be the leader because the others followed his command.
Lucy and Myles shared a look and both knew what the other was thinking. They would charge the unknown mages. It was doubtful that they would be able to handle so many, but they could at least buy some time for the civilians to escape. They would go out with no regrets.
When the two began to charge, magic at the ready, a man suddenly appeared before them. He was facing the unknown mages, which meant that Lucy and Myles were staring at his back. He was wearing a strange outfit, from what they could see. A navy cape hid most of his figure, but his legs were wrapped in bandages and he was wearing some sort of hood. He carried many strange staffs on his back and went about setting them in the ground except for one, which he kept in his hand.
"I will handle the mages. Help the civilians escape."
That was all he said before he commenced his attack on the unknown mages. He used a strange magic that seemed to originate from the staffs and each seemed to have its own type of magic. Neither had seen such peculiar magic. Within the first thirty seconds of the "fight", it was blatantly clear that the unknown mages were majorly out-classed by this new mage.
Myles snapped out of her awed state first. She began to pull Lucy along, which also snapped her back to reality. "Come on, you heard what he said. We have to help these other people!"
"But how do you know we can trust him?" Lucy shouted over the noise of the chaos surrounding them: a combination of the fleeing civilians and the fight with the mysterious mage.
"I don't, but at least he's not going around killing people!" Myles shouted back.
Glancing back once more, Lucy took in one last look at the strange mage and glimpsed two things. First, was the metal plate on the forehead of the mage with the strange staffs; it had a symbol that she swore she had seen before, but she couldn't recall where. It kind of looked like some sort of pixie. The second was the insignia on one of the mages that attacked the camp. Unfortunately, it was a symbol she recalled with ease: the symbol of the mages that burned down the previous town.
As Lucy and Myles rushed to aid the civilians, Lucy tried not to let the thought that those mages might be chasing her and Myles creep into her head.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to review.
