Hey Guys!
I was thinking a bit about the dragons and what might have happened to them (I am a manga reader, but I like to think of alternatives to canon for some reason), and then I had a strange thought.
How much do we actually know about the dragons past, and the Dragon Civil War?
And from that thought, I got more.
What if Igneel being the Fire Dragon King was much more significant then we first thought?
What if dragons were much more civilized then we first thought?
Did dragons have different kingdoms, much like the Earthland now?
Were dragons really the type to get along?
Since they had prejudices about humans, what if dragons had prejudices about other things as well?
Soon I had so many questions in my head I had to write a FanFiction... BTW, this will be a one-shot.
Enjoy!
I do not own Fairy Tail.
X312, 5th May
It was the year X312, and dragons ruled the land. Igneel was only 150 years old, which means he had just reached adulthood in dragon terms. And yet,the entire Fire Kingdom had thrown a party for him. But he had barely even attended. Igneel hated the mandatory 7-day parties for his "pleasure". Just because he was a pure Fire Dragon doesn't mean he was anymore important than someone who was Obsidian, Light, Lava and Fire, and yet they got 15 minutes of a territory-wide party, and he got 7 days of a Kingdom-wide party. Just because he was the heir to the Fire Throne, it didn't mean he was more important than the heir to the Lava throne, or the Light throne, or the Heat throne. He didn't want to rule over thousands and thousands of dragons and Dragon Kings just because he was a Fire Dragon.
The other kingdoms were a mystery to most. But, the education he was getting gave him knowledge of them. The last Kingdom war was 300 years ago, and between Air and Water. Earth, the huge threat it is to all three other kingdoms, barely ever lifts a finger to do anything, unless they are under attack, which happens about every thousand years. But, their military was the strongest, their land the biggest, so they didn't need to invade any more land. Water was actually our biggest threat, their military small, but they had an elemental advantage over us. As did Air, but they were no threat, as to attack us they would have to attack our Northern side, and that side had the best military. Our armies were the second-best in the four kingdoms, but we had a disadvantage to most armies, as Water, Air, and some of Earth were elementally stronger. The only army we had an advantage over was the Earthen Plant army, which no-one in their right mind would send to attack us. This all had been hammered into him.
Very rarely did he learn anything but military and war tactics against the other kingdoms, and when he wasn't, it was mostly just the bare basics of their culture. He despised this ignorance, and wanted to know more about who he was fighting, who he was mindlessly battering against until they die or forfeit. But, something angered him even more than the ignorance and prejudice that resided in the kingdom, and even the praise of a ruler who didn't deserve it. It was the way they treated the humans.
To most dragons, humans were just prey. But, Igneel thought differently. They weren't just pigs or cows or chickens. They were intelligent. They built houses, and hunted, and kept livestock, and grew farms. In fact, he was sure that they were more intelligent than dragons themselves. The way of thinking for the dragons had to change. Not just for the human's sake, but for their sake as well.
X313, 25th September
Fire King Igneel, who had only earned his title 2 months ago, had called a Kingdom-wide gathering. No-one knew why, but the word of the Fire King was the word of the Fire King, so they had to attend. The King was standing at the top of a large rock, so everyone could see him. Even though the dragon population was huge, the wars and the different Kingdoms had made it that only about 10 thousand dragons were gathered. The Water Kingdom had 7 thousand, the Air Kingdom 8 thousand, and the Earth Kingdom 15 thousand.
The King roared, raising his wings, and everyone grew silent. Now they would finally know what the king wanted to say to call a gathering of this magnitude. Igneel rumbled in his deep, bellowing voice and spoke.
"Dragons of the Fire Kingdom, be silent, for my speech has begun."
He stopped, to make sure everyone was listening, then continued.
"It has come to my attention that this Kingdom, though strong and mighty, has a few flaws and prejudices that I would like to fix."
The dragons understood. Usually once a new Fire King is appointed, they make changes in the Kingdoms' laws. They usually didn't call a Kingdom-wide gathering, but, maybe the changes were important to gather this magnitude of dragons.
"This Kingdom, in fact, is flawed enough, for me to gather all dragons of the Fire Kingdom. Listen here, dragons, whether Fire or Blaze or Light or Obsidian or any other species, which would take years to list. There is a big change approaching not only this Kingdom, but this Land. We, the entire dragon species, have remained ignorant and prejudiced since the beginning or our reign, how far away that was. We have always thought of ourselves as the superior species, those who rule this land without question, who are the smartest and the wisest. But, this Era will soon come to an end, for I know there are those who feel the same as me, but are too afraid to say so.
We are not the only intelligent life. Far from it. Though there are certain species who stand out in intelligence, but there is one that is much smarter, who might even be smarter than us. And they are what we consider a delicacy, only good to eat. Humans. These creatures have a huge wealth of intelligence, and even if they may not show it, it is true. They build shelters out of trees by stripping them of leaves and branches and assembling them, instead of just living in caves. They make materials to wear on themselves, and breed animals instead of just eating on impulse. My theory is, if we work together, we can change this world.
I propose a truce to end our conflict and work together. The Truce of Co-Existence. Of course, not everyone will listen to me, but I will be ready to wage an all-out war to between those who wish to co-exist, and those who don't wish to co-exist. This doesn't concern just this Kingdom, either. I have sent a messenger to each Kingdom proposing this, and have already spoken to the humans. This is my wish, consider which side you will take very carefully."
X314, 14th January
The war had been raging on for months. The entire Kingdom had been split after Igneel's speech, and the other kingdoms had taken sides as well. Igneel's side had about 18 thousand dragons, and the other side had about 22 thousand dragons. Things were looking bleak for the co-existence side, but Igneel had an idea. The dragons had been fighting for the humans day and night, and he had an idea to involve the humans properly in this war. His good friend, Atlas Flame, stood beside him. He was a Blaze Dragon, and therefore, instead of having scales like an ordinary dragon, was composed mostly of a blazing fire. On many occasions, when he had dueled with him, he had consumed his fire, which actually tasted nice.
"Atlas Flame, now you may bring in the Human Representative, Acnologia."
Atlas Flame did as Igneel told, and a human with long hair and tanned skin walked into the room. It seemed to be of the male gender, but had no outstanding features.
"Human Representative, Acnologia. I have a proposal."
"Go on," the human grinned.
"We, the dragons, have fought and died in order for you to co-exist, but you have been standing on the sidelines doing nothing."
"That is true."
"Good. Now, I have plans to involve you in the war."
"And how would we do that? Not to be rude, but we would never stand a chance against dragons."
"Are you aware of the fact that we use a prospect called 'magic' to fight?"
"Yes, but I have never seen in it person."
"Well, my proposal is that we teach you said magic. I have done some research, and you seem to have the same abilities as us, but they haven't been awakened. If we awaken your abilities, you could use the same magic as us."
The human had a glint in his eye, "I agree."
X314, 20th June
The operation to teach the humans magic had been successful so far, but something wasn't right. Recently, a gate had appeared and 7 dragons had gone through to investigate, as guided by a human. But, the gate had disappeared, and the dragons and the human along with it. Recently, the dragons had returned, but the human hadn't been seen, and the dragons memory of the event had been wiped. Atlas Flame was the one who remembered anything, but he refused to say anything about it, because "it would create a time paradox". Since the dragons were been unharmed, he was content, but something else was wrong. Igneel had heard increasing stories of the "Dragon Slayers" attacking dragons on their own side.
The male human was outside, and he was about to question him.
"Acnologia, you may come in."
He had little time for pleasantries. The human entered, a wicked grin on his face.
"Acnologia, I have heard reports of your humans killing dragons on our side. Is this true?"
The human's grin widened, "Yes."
"What is the meaning of this?"
"Oh, I would ask the same question."
He tore off a sleeve, and to, Igneel's shock, the arm had black and blue dragon scales encrusted in it.
"As I've been using your magic, I have been growing into one of your own. Of course, I had been killing your dragons long before this had started happening?"
"Why are you doing this?"
"Oh, maybe I should show you."
The human launched himself at Igneel, and magic flared up in his hand. He hit the King by surprise, and Igneel was launched back at the wall. As he hit it, he felt bones crunching under his massive weight. The human walked up and laughed manically, then took out a black sword.
"I'm not going to kill you now, Fire Dragon King. But, with this strike, your days are numbered. I will be the true Dragon King."
The Dragon King Acnologia stabbed the sword into Igneel's backside.
So, what did you guys think?
That was a lot harder to write then I expected. I also added in a reference to the Eclipse Gate, you may notice.
Anyway, that was interesting. What do you think about Igneel being the one who started the war? I know he cared a lot about humans, so it's an interesting concept. By the way, if you've read another FanFiction similar to this one, I'll just let you know this was all my original idea.
I hope you enjoyed!