disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, or any of the characters in this Fanfiction, except for my OCs

Chapter one: Rafael, the Moonlit Crater

The sun shone through the stain glass windows of the royal palace, specks of dust drifted in the beams of light on this summer day. Alvarez rarley had such a fine day, being a winter country and all. It was the main reason Rafael chose to join the empire, specifically to avoid the sunny weather of Bosco, the country of his birth. Rafael was a tall man, with pale skin, jelled back hair darker than the blackest night and he wore a black turtleneck with equally shadowed trousers that reached all the way down to his fine shoes. His gloves and hooded Cape helped further protect him from the sunlight but every now and then the occasional beam would graze his face and he would grimace at the discomfort that arose from the accursed sunlight.

Ever since the fateful day that the old hag with one hand had cursed him, he had to stay out of sunlight, the curse caused it to irritate his skin. It left no physical scars or burns but caused his flesh to itch uncontrollably, as if a thousand ants were crawling beneath it. On a cloudy day it was bearable but on the rare days in which there was a sunny day in Alvarez, he would rarley leave his mansion he owned by the shore. I was simply bad luck that he had to attend a meeting at the castle yesterday of all days and slept in a local inn for the night, only to awake when light came in through the window and almost made him tear his own face off. After that he quickly made his way to the castle in order to take lodging there for the rest of this spell of sunny weather.

As he turned another corner on his way to his private quarters, a room with no windows, he ran into the desert king, Ajeel Ramal, a man he hated but tolerated as they were equal in terms of both skill and rank.

"Sand brain" he mumbled through gritted teeth

"vampire" Ajeel retorted, a smirk cast on his face as he sidestepped in front of his fellow shield.

"get out of my way" he ordered, but Ajeel remained in front of him.

"where are you in a rush to get to? Why not stay and enjoy this beautiful day"

"because I hate you, and I hate 'beautiful days', as you damm well know you dustball so move aside so I may get to my private quarters"

Ajeel's grin grew wider, he stretched his palm out to the side and a huge torrent of sand not only blew back Rafael's hood but also blasted a giant hole in the palace wall which let the brightness of the sun into the corridor. Rafael's face contorted with discomfort as his left arm raised to cover his face, and his right hand connected with Ajeel's face.

Ajeel went flying and hit a wall, his sand acting reflexively to soften the impact.

"as much as i'd love to keep pummeling you" Rafael said in a threatening tone, "I want to get to my private quaters in order to rest, and neither of us want snowflake to berate us for unnecessary damage"

"fine then, lets finish another day vampire" Ajeel said as he locked eyes with his rival.

When Rafael had finally reached his quaters he rang the servants bell and had a maid bring him his favourite dish, a medium rare steak, served with a bold red Meritage wine. He was halfway through eating his meal when Invel burst into the room, his cold red eyes meeting the Moonlit Crater's golden ones.

"You know why I'm here I expect"

"To annoy me to no end I presume"

"You and Ajeel managed to destroy a corridor in your little skirmish, i've had it with your constant pissing contests and I demand you cease it"

"fuck off icy", Invel's face tightened, "you know damn well i'd rather Ajeel and me stay out of each others way, if you want to blame somebody for the destruction of a measley corridor go blame him".

The two wizards continued to stare each other down until Invel turned on his heel and walked out muttering "Ajeel and I".

Rafael was having a terrible day, and his hunger for battle grew every second. It had been a year since the empire had last invaded another country, and it had been a swift job with no fun battles. Unlike the other members of the Spriggan 12 he couldn't travel the world, his condition practically barred him from long distance travel. Although his curse was what set him on this path in the first place. From a warrior of Bosco to a proud member of the 12 Shields of Spriggan. The emperor and he had a certain affinity, a pair of cursed individuals. Rafael still remembered the day he was sent to Alvarez as an emmisary from Bosco, and was given a royal treatment, his quaters were in a cellar, with no windows. His every need was catered for. When his appointed meeting with the mysterious emperor Spriggan finally came he found out why he was being treated like royalty, and why he was the first emmisary to be allowed to meet him in a century. The emperor wanted Rafael as a member of the twelve. He held no attachment to Bosco, the land where he was cursed, the land where he grew up an orphan. And so he never returned.

But of course he would someday return, to conquer it in the name of his emperor Spriggan.