Hey Fairy Tail Fans!
Welcome to my most recent story/saga/whatever. This was supposed to be a one-shot. Then it turned into a two-shot. Now it's looking as a three-shot but I'm not convinced it won't end up spreading even further out, we'll see!
The story begins a few months not long after Ultear has 'died' and also has a few references to Ice Trail. While I don't consider this as canon (or, you know, good), I quite like a couple of the ideas mostly around Guildarts. Also, there's some serious headcanons going on here. Take em or leave em. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Ur Finds Lyon
In the furthest corners of Isvan it felt as if the winter never slept. The sun barely rose for more than a few short hours in the day and the country was veering onto its worst weather, the clouds filling with heavy darkness that threatened to break into a dangerous whitewash at a moment's notice. Luckily, this was one of the few places within the land that could easily stand the impending weather changes. The constantly shifting landscapes forced the towns and villages to adapt and relocate often, but this town had remained for over three generations and that had been more than enough time to create a warming atmosphere. It was one of the few towns that actually earned its place on the map with sturdy stone walls on every building and even cobblestone streets, marking it as a clear meeting point and crossroads for passing travellers.
Wanderers and adventurers were far from rare in the far Eastern land, but few had come from as far as Fiore. This had not been Guildart's first visit to the quiet and cold town, nor had it been his first time meeting with the beautiful dark haired Ice Maker. The pair had been speaking for hours, ignoring as the sun and sank low and close to the horizon, lining the black clouds with a blood red edge before its final decent into darkness. Time passed slowly they conversed, but this time Ur struggled to pretend that she was the still the same woman since their last encounter. She shrugged her shoulders and tried to laugh at his jokes and horrific flirting, but the time since they had separated had not been kind to her and she reluctantly admitted her defeat.
"What do you mean you quit?" Guildarts asked, almost too surprised to take the next sip of his warming liquid.
"I mean I quit. I'm out, I'm done, no more magic," Ur said awkwardly, running a hand through her short black hair. "I don't care what kind of adventures you want to offer this time, Guildarts, I don't want to be a part of them or anything more to do with magic or missions or your little guild," she clarified, cutting off his next predicted words. While her town was a perfect and convenient pit stop for any wanderer, she knew that he wasn't here because of the cheap alcohol and ambiance. Any other time she would havhse gladly jumped at the chance to join him in another of his wild adventures, but this time her mind was made up. She was giving up magic.
Guildarts continued to stare at the young woman in disbelief. He took a look around himself, seeing that the entire bar had remained oblivious and murmuring as normal despite how loudly she had proclaimed her decision. Even a foreigner like Guildarts knew that Ur's power had a reputation that covered the land, but no one turned or questioned her announcement. It was a claim she had been making for some time. "You can't just quit…" he said slowly, lowering the empty glass.
"Watch me," she challenged, standing and picking up the empty glasses that he had accumulated. He had clearly been drinking since long before Ur had found him in the bar, no doubt with his eyes on some new unsuspecting woman that he could sweep of her feet. Ur could only roll her eyes as she gestured to the server to get them both the same again. "You know that alcohol is dangerous in the cold, Westerner," Ur warned him as she leaned back against the bar. "It may make you feel warmer but it lowers your body temperature. And as always, you're not dressed for the cold," she remarked.
He chuckled to himself, giving Ur an appreciating look across her curved body. "You're not exactly dressed for the cold either."
"The cold doesn't bother me," she smirked, though she was well aware he already knew that. Picking up the two refilled glasses she had to resist the urge to throw one of them in his face and to tell him to stop undressing her with his eyes. There was something that she both hated and desired about his glance, a look that no man had given her for a long time which only conjured more complicated emotions.
He slipped his own whiskey glass back into his hand, leaning closer. "How strange. Guess it couldn't be your magic keeping you warm anymore, hm?" he teased. Seeing the expression he had seen many times just before getting slapped across the face, he quickly leaned back again, confidently pulling his hands behind his head. "All I'm saying is that your magic is a part of you. You can't just give it up." He sighed. "Gramps sure is gonna be disappointed…"
She blinked, suddenly forgetting her earlier instincts to throttle him. "Your master?" she questioned.
He grinned to himself. Ur couldn't stop herself from feeling the pull of curiosity any more than he could resist the pull to a beautiful woman. "Oh yeah, he seemed really excited, is all. See, he's heard all about you. You've built up quite a reputation even out here in the middle of nowhere, and those last couple of missions where you helped our guild out… Well, he thinks that we need an Ice Maker like you in Fairy Tail."
Ur put the glass to her lips, using her beverage to remain in silence. Guilds simply weren't practical in the coldest reaches of the world. Mages were far less influential as everyone here had their own survival skills and although the same scavengers and bandits existed on these roads as they did in the west, people did not travel if they could not defend themselves, especially with the growing demon attacks that had been on everyone's mind. The towns were so sparse and few between, any guild would struggle to be strong enough to stand on its own two feet and keep enough members or missions to survive. As Guildarts said, they were truly in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't that guilds didn't exist in the East, but here they meant something very different, and Ur and Guildarts had spent most of their missions together taking them down. The Ice Maker couldn't deny that when she had last seen the S-Class wizard and heard him feverishly defending his home and comrades – nakama, as he had called them - she had felt the pull towards Fairy Tail, but there had always been one very special reason she could not leave her home. Now that reason was gone.
Eventually, she turned away, her eyes cold as she told him "I'll be sure to pass on the invitation, Guildarts, but that life simply isn't me," with a shrug, pulling on her glass and tipping remaining drink into her mouth. She swallowed hard, the amber liquid burning the back of her throat. Biting back the strong taste, she grabbed her jacket and threw it over her shoulders.
It was clear that tall wizard was a little disappointed, though it was hard to tell if this was due to her refusal of the guild or the fact that he hadn't been offered a place in her bed. "I'll be coming back this way after I've finished my mission," he responded lazily, watching her prepare to leave. "Give it a week to think it over."
"I don't need a week; I told you already that I've quit," she waved him off as she stepped back to the doorway. As the door opened, she could feel the shifting air, the wind biting against her skin even through the aura of crisp ice power. Snow hung in the clouds high above and the first droplets were beginning to fall to the ground while her home was still almost two miles away. She pushed her hands deep into her pockets, knowing that she had stayed with her old friend longer than intended and it would be far safer to stay here for the night. She shook the idea out of her head, stepping out of the door and wishing Guildarts the best of luck in his mission.
No matter how cold the snow was, at least she could feel safe within its arms. Unlike the Fairy Tail mage.
She began her long walk home, offering small smiles, nods and dismissals of concerns to the citizens of her small neighbouring town. Eventually the faces grew further apart, the doorways shut and the snow became heavier. Buildings changed into trees and eventually mountains but she walked the familiar path undeterred, bowing her head as the winds grew stronger and wilder.
As the cold struck harder, she couldn't help but wonder what a warmer country would be like. She had never found anything but comfort from the iced terrain but even the ice maker couldn't deny there was something wonderful about a warm jacket, hot chocolate or a scolding bath. There was something enticing about the feeling of contrasting temperatures and her eyes began to glitter as she imagined creating ice rose bushes next to blossoming roses. The flowers that grew in this land were few and far between, which was one of the reasons why she had always been so fascinated by their outstanding beauty and crafted so many of her moulds to their shapes.
Her husband had once bought her roses from a distant land. She kept them preserved in ice.
But the magic that preserved her beautiful flowers was also the magic that had brought her heartache and pain. It was the magic that had stolen her daughter's life.
Her tears became droplets of snow. Without even realising, her footsteps had slowed to almost a stop, struggling to find the strength to push through the whistling winds. Only her instincts knew the direction home now, unable to see anything through the blinding white blizzard that surrounded her and entrapped her senses. It was foolish for her to have left the village but she had always known that she couldn't bring herself to stay in the same place as Guildarts, even if they were supposedly friends. There had been too much history between the pair, both good and bad, painful and pleasant, but if she was throwing away her world of magic, that would include him.
The blizzard had made it almost impossible to hear the noise. The thick white snow made it hard to see the white silhouette moving before her. She took several steps forwards, trying desperately to adjust to the battling elements. "Is someone there?" she called sharply, not knowing anyone else who would be foolish enough to travel so far from civilisation during the wild weather.
Finally, the boy stepped close enough to be seen. His hair was white as the snow that consumed them, eyes wide and glazed as they stared back at Ur. His clothing, skin and hair were all so pale that he blended into the storm almost completely unnoticed and even when standing only two feet from the Ice Maker he was barely visible. The bright red streak of blood running down his forehead caught her attention. Slowly, he stepped forward, a shallow sigh of relief on his lips before falling to his knees.
Ur rushed forwards, dropping to her own knees as she instinctively wrapped her arms around him. This boy was no older than eight, no older than Ultear would have been. The Ice Maker could not stop her heart beating terrifyingly fast as all protective and motherly instincts pushed through her veins painfully, feeling the chill from his skin. "Where are your parents?" she asked him quickly, looking around and realising instantly that it was impossible. Even if they had been standing right in front of her she would be blind in the blistering storm. Regardless, she called as loudly as she could, pulling him close to her chest and trying to push onto him what little warmth her icy body held. "Has anyone lost their child?"
The wind offered no answer. She cursed, pulling off her jacket and instead wrapping it around the white-haired boy. He didn't seem to respond to her, eyes still vacant and dazed, barely moving even to shiver. Although she believed his parents couldn't have been far, she didn't dare let him stay another moment in the frozen wasteland, yanking him violently to his feet and pulling him close, forcing him to step forwards until they could see the light of her home.
It took far longer than she had expected to find her dwelling, certain that they had gone in circles more than once, but once they finally caught sight of the small cabin she could feel her heart jump. Although she didn't feel the cold like others, even Ur understood the danger of letting her body temperature drop and the white-haired child still wore her jacket. She could still feel the cold through the fingers which held him in place and had absolutely no intention of taking the clothing back, but she was suffering for her generosity. "This way," she murmured, sliding off the locks and pushing open the sturdy wooden door.
The storm was silenced as she slammed the doorway shut once more, pushing heavy beams across to prevent the hurricane winds pushing it back open. Once safely inside, she breathed a heavy sigh, already feeling the warmth filling her soul and instantly relieved by the static air. Even without the biting cold, she had felt her strength ebbing away as she fought against the gales and hated to think how exhausted the child must have been. She didn't give herself time to think about this, however, quickly rushing to the far side of the room and pushing several logs into the firepit. Holding a tiny lacrima in her hands, she hovered it above the new kindling. "Oh come on…" she hissed angrily at the fire magic, not for the first time, before the lacrima sparkled to life and began to drop tiny beads of flames into the piles of wood. It wasn't often that Ur needed a real fire, but then it wasn't often she had company. Slowly she turned back to the young boy, realising that he had not moved from the spot that she had placed him in and that he was staring wide eyed at every book, trinket, picture, and blanket across her home with the same glazed expression. Her mouth twisted awkwardly, once again feeling the pain of loss in her chest as she stared at the young boy. The faster she found his parents the better.
Now that she had the fire prepared, Ur put her hands into his and tried to feel his temperature. Even through her own freezing hands, she could feel he was dangerously cold and didn't hesitate to lead him closer to the fire, lowering them both to sit. She examined the blood on his forehead and squeezed his hands gently, deciding that his temperature was the biggest concern of the two. "What's your name?" she asked him softly, reaching into the jacket still hung over his shoulders and pulling a pair of gloves out of her pocket.
The boy looked almost surprised, as if gently waking from a trance. "Lyon… Lyon Vastia…" he said, his dry lips cracking as he spoke.
She smiled to him, unravelling the gloves and one by one placing them over his hands. "Well, Lyon Vastia, you're very lucky that I found you. The cold can be incredibly dangerous. You shouldn't have been out in that weather, you know," she scolded, though her voice was tender. "Now, do you like hot chocolate?" she asked, rising back to her feet, knowing that a hot drink would be the best cure to the potential hypothermia, while chocolate was a bonus no child could refuse.
He didn't answer her question. Lyon's eyes finally rested on hers, a flicker of conscious thought burning inside. "Are you Ur Milkovich?" he asked suddenly.
Ur paused, the silence consuming the room. She took a small step back, surprised to be recognised so easily but finding herself growing angry as she realised just how quickly she had presumed this boy was caught in her path by sheer coincidence. Her small cabin was the only sign of life for miles around and only now she realised that he must have been purposefully searching for her in the storm. A hand fell on her hip, a frown across her face. "Did Guildarts put you up to this?" she accused him.
Lyon's head tilted slightly to the side. "Guildarts?"
Ur rolled her eyes, stepping over to the kitchen and trying to keep her hands from shaking in anger. She kept herself busy by pulling out drinking chocolate, pans, mugs and any other ingredients she could find to make her creation perfect. "Of course, he would try and pull some crap like this. Convince me that I still wanted to protect people. Who knows, maybe you're yet another of his abandoned illegitimate children," she cursed under her breath, almost forgetting that the young boy could still hear her ranting as she slammed the pan back onto the floor in front of the fireplace. "As if I can't be happy here by myself. Or maybe it was Joanne? Was it Joanne? She is constantly trying to push me…" she hissed to herself, putting the ingredients all into the pan and pushing it onto the holder with a loud clunk.
The boy flinched with every clang of metal, every curse and angry movement from the Ice Maker. When she eventually stopped, his eyes were pinned to the door, clearly debating between the storm that had almost killed him or the woman that he had searched for. There was a resilience in his eyes, however, one that she saw as soon he turned back to her. "I need you to teach me. You're the strongest mage, aren't you?" he told her.
She let out an awkward laugh, shaking her head. "Kid… you've got the wrong woman," she stuttered.
Disappointment crossed his face as his eyes once more slid down. "You're not Ur Milkovich?" he whispered.
The dark-haired woman bit her lip, looking at the boy with more curiosity. White hair was incredibly rare across Earthland but in a place where most of the locals had jet black hair like Ur's own, it was incredibly striking. He clearly wasn't local, though there was some familiarity that she couldn't place. "I…" she hesitated, looking back to the hot chocolate heating quickly on the fire. "That is my name, yes. But that isn't who I am anymore," she said reluctantly, not able to meet his surprisingly sharp gaze. "I'm not a wizard, I've given it up. And I don't care what you say or do to try and convince me, I'm not going back to it. You'll have to find another teacher."
"But you're the best, aren't you?" Lyon pressed, leaning forwards slightly.
"Aren't you listening to me? I said I quit!" she snapped, glaring back at him.
The boy backed away quickly, staring at her with wide eyes and staying very still and silent.
The glare washed away from Ur's face, her own eyes widened slightly as she realised that he was terrified of her even without her magic, more terrified than a child ever should have been of an adult. She turned quickly back to the hot chocolate, mind running so quickly she couldn't think consciously but knowing only that she needed to give the child something sweet as quickly as possible. "Kid… Lyon… I'm sorry I can't teach you. You really do need to find someone else," she said as softly as she could.
Ur had expected him to flinch away again, to look afraid and to look as if ready to run straight to the door, but there was something unexpectedly strong inside of him. The determination was clear in his eyes as he even dared to come closer once again, dared to speak up even with his cracked and bleeding lips, and even while his muscles ached and were frozen solid he held himself up tall. "It has to be you. You are the strongest, I have to learn from you."
It hurt to reject him. It hurt to turn her back on her own magic, however, but the loss of her daughter was more than she could bare. Every spell she cast and every time she felt the wonderful energy she remembered the feeling emanating from her small, sweet girl. She turned back to the pan, pulling it from the stove and pouring the two mugs for herself and the young guest. "Your parents will be worried about you," she commented, watching his reactions carefully. "As soon as the storm lifts we can find them together."
Lyon looked at the mug that she was placing in front of him warily but the cold obviously prevailed over his caution as he quickly pulled it into his hands, struggling to balance the cup through Ur's oversized mittens. He looked up at her, protectively holding onto his new beverage and eventually realised that she wasn't looking directly at him but at his forehead.
"The cold has stopped your head from bleeding, I think…" Ur noticed with a frown, taking the pan back off the fire and going to the kitchen to replace the chocolate with water. "It can't be too deep, in that case. Head wounds can just bleed a lot, but I don't think it'll leave a scar," she shrugged, sucking off the last of the hot chocolate that had spilt onto her thumb. "Still, I don't want to take any chances. We'll get it dressed and let you rest, then in the morning we can go and find your parents," she pressed again, obviously displeased he hadn't responded to her the first time.
He looked back at the drink, obviously fighting the urge to pour the entire mug of boiling liquid down his throat at once. "I can't go back to them," he murmured. "Not until you've trained me."
"Kid, I've already explained-"
"You have to," he hissed, the determination that had been set in his eyes suddenly blurring into a dangerous anger. Ur was surprised, not only to see the strength but to see the raw emotion from such a young age.
She sighed again, walking back to the fire and letting the water warm this time as she pulled an old towel over her shoulders. She knew that this would continue to go around in circles but she was determined not to let herself give up on her decision so easily. "Where do you come from?" Lyon turned away. "Hm? You're clearly not from around here, so tell me where you grew up. Tell me where is your home, your family, your friends…" Ur leaned back, folding her legs as she stretched lazily. He continued to say nothing. "Alright, fine, if you want to play like that… if you tell me where you're from I'll give you an extra marshmallow."
Lyon's eyes went wider.
She grinned, pulling out a hidden packet and opening it. "Are you from a town? Or one of the cities? The West, maybe?"
The boy seemed torn but the promise of sugar was overpowering. "…Kilarcky," he said finally, reaching for the bag.
Ur pulled it back, looking at him quizzically. "Kilarcky? That isn't a town, that's an ancient ruin."
He frowned, clearly feeling cheated by the sudden change of rules. "I've told you, that's where I'm from!" he snapped, trying to make a lunge for bag.
"Hey! Didn't anyone ever teach you any manners?!" she yelled, holding him back with one hand on his shoulder as she held the bag far away with the other. "Back off and I'll give you one, brat!"
He sighed angrily, throwing his arms across his chest and sulking. He almost looked surprised when she dropped the promised marshmallow into his drink, and nodded stiffly as she added an extra one.
"OK, OK, Kilarcky…" she said, running a hand through her hair as she made her plans. "That's three days' walk from here…" she thought aloud, looking back at the boy and realising the hell that he had been through in order to turn up at her doorstep. She knew without a doubt that he was far from home, far from his family and friends, but he clearly had no intention of returning yet. With the look of determination in his eyes Ur knew he wouldn't leave until she or perhaps someone crueller promised to teach him, and she wanted nothing more than to return the child to his parents.
Every child should have the chance to return to their parents.
She swallowed hard, pulling the pan once more from the fire and slowly dipping the towel into the warm water. "Three days, once the storm passes…" she murmured to herself again, gently reaching up to him.
He flinched away from her once again, but she made no attempt to move closer or further away from him. He looked between her eyes and the towel, slowly realising that she was trying to clean the wound across his forehead and he gritted his teeth tightly together, hesitantly leaning closer. Gently, without mentioning the trusting gesture, she reached forwards and began to slowly dab away the frozen blood.
"I'm willing to make you a deal, Lyon Vastia," she said, barely able to believe she was uttering the words. "I will take you back to your parents, BUT-" she quickly halted his protests, her eyes sharp and steadily looking back to his, "If you promise to lead us straight back to your parents, on the way there I will teach you as much as I can. Do we have a deal?" she asked, throwing out the words before she could regret them and change her mind. She wanted to protect him, her heart aching just looking at the lost boy. There was nothing in the world that could stop her from her new quest to return him to his home even though she knew nothing about him. She was still oblivious to his motives or his parents but already she held an image of a terrified couple waiting for their young boy to return and feeling the same fears she had felt so recently. If anything had happened to him and she hadn't cared for him, she simply wouldn't have been able to forgive herself.
Lyon was calculating, but it was obvious he had limited options. The woman before him was seemingly being kind, washing his wounds and taking him in from the cold but while she was offering such a limited thread of what he clearly needed the struggle was real. It was better than nothing, as they both knew, and he nodded cautiously. "I promise you I will be your best student," he whispered.
She only laughed. "You will, because you'll be my only student!" She dropped the towel back into the water, pulling out a small sticky bandage from her box and placing it across his forehead. "You'll have to learn very fast, though. Ice Make magic takes a long time to learn and a lifetime to perfect. Not everyone is capable or creative enough to wield it well. It will be a challenge and you may not achieve what you think you need."
Lyon's eyes faded but as Ur pulled back he gave a short nod. "I understand," he said. "But I have to try. I have to be the very best."
"That's quite some goal," she commented lightly, pulling together the last of her things and once more standing to put them back. "Aspirations make us stronger, don't give up on that goal if it's something you believe in. Now drink your hot chocolate, you can help me set up a spare bed. We have a long day tomorrow."
The young boy nodded sharply and took his first sip of the warming drink, quickly guzzling down the rest in his excitement at the taste. Ur watched him as he became distracted, trying to decide if she could trust him. The promise to teach him was on the pretence that they would go straight to his home but the only information he had given about himself was the mention of the ruins. It had been many years since Ur had travelled so far east so it was possible that a camp or travelling group had made a more permeant dwelling within the abandoned civilisation. It wasn't so unheard of for people to create and disband entire towns within the space of a single season, as the changing weather could quickly make lands inhospitable while others became more rich in the much needed resources, alongside the growing number of demons scattered through the lands the maps of Isvan were changing faster than ever. It also could have been a lie, however, and he could be leading her to the middle of nowhere on a wild goose chase. The one thing that she knew she could believe was that they needed each other. He needed to be taught by her, though for what reason she couldn't guess and she needed to return the child to his parents. She needed it more than she could admit to herself.
They pulled together blankets and pillows, ignoring the closed door of Ultear's bedroom but also ignoring Ur's own bedroom. Ur decided that she didn't dare let Lyon out of her sight yet even after their deal had been struck and he had been far too cold for her to take him away from the warmth of the fireside. She couldn't deny that she was amazed at how quickly the colour was returning back to his cheeks, however, and once again she felt her burning curiosity as to how far his body could bend to the cold. It was a clear sign of a talented potential Ice Maker, but it also offered her the assurance that he was at least clearly from the cold continent despite his vivid white hair.
Eventually the final log was placed on the fire and they both sleep to the sound of storms rattling the wooden cabin.
The fire had long since burned out when Ur woke the next morning. She blinked awake, eyes slowly focussing on the empty pile of blankets where Lyon had slept. Her eyes flew open wide, cursing herself and panicking even before she had fully woken. Her heart didn't even have time to race however, as she saw the strange young boy in the corner of the room, wide awake and sat cross-legged on the floor. One of her largest books was rested against his knees, his sharp eyes glancing through the pages with intense attention to detail as he held onto the next page ready to soak in yet more of his potential knowledge.
Ur sighed in relief seeing he was still there, standing up as quietly as she could. Her own daughter had also been a keen reader. Ultear had spent hours upon hours pouring herself over these books, no doubt able to repeat any of them back at a moment's notice from an incredibly young age. It had been nearly a year since the girl had skimmed these pages, before the fevers began, before Ur feared for her life and took her to the only support that she could find. Even they hadn't been able to help her in the end.
Ur's hand fell on Lyon's forehead, feeling his temperature was once again back to normal. He didn't take his eyes from the pages as she did so and she found herself skimming across the same words he read. A frown appeared on her face as she saw the most dangerous of Ice Maker spells laid out before him and gently she pulled the book from his hands and closed it in front of him. "This is a little too advanced for you just yet," she warned him, slipping it back into the shelf and pulling out a far smaller book instead. She placed the new one back into his hand and he opened it, glancing between her and the pages. "Try this one instead," she urged him.
He turned back to the tome, skimming through its entirety page by page before turning back to the beginning. "I want to know them all," he told her, glancing back to the book he had only half completed.
She nodded. "I know you do," she said kindly. "But maybe not that one just yet. You have to master the basics first," she advised him, both afraid and impressed by his eagerness. Ur had been a dutiful student in her own youth, studying because it had genuinely inspired her, but she had never felt his passion to be the best. She only wanted to create something beautiful and help as many people along the way as possible. The words in some of these books were potentially fatal, especially to such a young and inexperienced mage, but those kind of spells had never particular caught her attention.
The young boy was left to read the more appropriate spellbook as Ur created breakfast, began her packing and assessed the weather. They had been blessed, or perhaps cursed, as the snow was already dropping its last white flakes and it would make for easy travelling in just a few short hours. It would give them enough time to pack and eat, but Lyon continued to stare at the books as diligently as possible. He took a few short moments to eagerly throw down the food that was given to him before once more opening the book.
"Is Ice Make the most powerful magic?" he asked suddenly.
Ur paused her packing, considering the question carefully. There were scholars that would no doubt argue over the properties of each kind of magic until they grew into bitter old men, but Ur had never considered it in such a way. Lyon clearly seemed inspired, however, and inspiration would be the only way to make any kind of moulding magic work. "I think it has the potential to be," she answered truthfully, pulling on her bag's straps tightly. "It also has the potential to be the weakest."
"Why would anyone use magic if it's the weakest?" Lyon asked curiously, clearly thrown off from the answer.
She pushed the smaller backpack in front of the curious boy, throwing her own over her shoulders. "Because not everyone wants to be strong and not everyone can be skilled at Maker magic, even if they are incredibly capable wizards. Maker magic harnesses the users' creativity but not everyone can be creative. Even if you follow every instruction in those books to the letter then you may be not be the strongest Maker," she said, once again thinking back to her daughter. Ultear had so much power that it was at breaking point, but every spell she had ever crafted with ice had been a copy of one of Ur's own creations. Ur had tried to force her to come up with her own technique and shape time and time again, but while the unfortunate girl had undeniably strong magic, her powers simply lacked the creativity needed to be an expert in that particular kind of spellcrafting. The results were incredibly powerful mouldings mirroring her mother's magic perfectly, but she was clumsy and unable to adapt to changing scenarios. Ur had always hoped that she would see her daughter excel in some skill more suited to her strengths, but they had simply not had the time. "Now come on, we're moving on from theory to the practical. Are you ready?" she broke away from her memories, pushing his closed book back onto the shelf and watching him as he threw the backpack over his shoulders.
He nodded, though he looked more nervous than excited. After all his passionate speeches and determination, now they were walking out of the door and once again into the cold wasteland his movements were slow and halting. He looked back at Ur for assurance often and she had to remind herself just how young he was. Though it was painful to think of him as a child about Ultear's age, she knew that both he and Ultear acted very mature for their youth, but that didn't mean that they didn't have the child still deep inside of them. It would be essential if he was going to excel at Ice Make magic and unlock his creativity, and she could only hope that within the layers of ice and snowy mountains he would be able to find the freedom to create.
They had been walking for the best part of two hours when they reached the summit. The unlikely pair glanced over the white wilderness, realising that the storm had been kinder than most but it still had the uncanny ability to blend the landscape into one nearly unreadable blank canvas. "Kilarcky Ruins… You're sure?" she asked him, glancing to the North.
The boy nodded, tightening his grip on the backpack straps, clearly trying to recognise anything from his journey towards the Ice Maker.
Ur sighed, "Alright then…" and dropped her backpack. "Then we should start training here. Strip."
The boy took a staggered step back, his eyes growing wider as the new master began to pull off her jacket. "Uh…" he stuttered, clearly unsure what he had gotten himself into. "The books didn't say anything about… stripping…?"
Ur gave him a playful smile. "Of course they didn't. But you didn't want the books to train you, did you?" she challenged, pulling off her shirt and stuffing it into her backpack. "Come on, I've left enough room in your bag for your clothes. I wasn't joking; take off your clothes."
Still clearly nervous, Lyon's determination drove him further than logic ever could. His backpack fell to the ground and slowly he undressed, nervously blushing as he turned away from his master's underwear. He was, thankfully, distracted by the blistering cold as he shivered violently. He was also too distracted to see the expression across Ur's face as she moved behind him, eyes pinned on the mark on his back. A guild-mark. Ur swallowed hard as she knelt down, her bare knees against the crisp white snow unflinchingly as she pushed his clothes back into his bag for him. She had spent her entire life within these frozen mountains and she knew that guilds were few and far between, but there wasn't a single soul from Isvan that couldn't recognise the cross that marked Seraphim's Blade. It was a symbol that was almost inescapable throughout the cold world and while there was no such thing as 'official' or 'dark' in a land where no guild had a legal order to follow there were some that needed to be avoided at all costs. She didn't mention it, staying silent as she held up his rucksack so he could put it back on and cover the red tattoo.
"Wh-wh-why are we doing this…?" he asked her, his words barely audible through his chattering teeth.
She gave him a brave smile, shielding the new conflict from her eyes. No matter where he was from, he still needed to be returned home, she reminded herself. "You already began your training last night without even realising," she said, standing back up. "To mould ice, you need to be accustomed to the cold. You need to respect the chill. This is an essential step. Now, are you ready to run?"
It was clear that the boy barely felt able to move from the stiffness of his nod, but the promise that exercise would warm his muscles seemed to be enough. Ur grinned wider and he did his best to offer her a smile back, and they both ran.
By the time they had reached the bottom of the mountain, both were soaked in sweat. Their breathing came short, heart racing in their chest, but Ur laughed. It had been a long time since she had taken a run in the cold, even longer since she had done it while feeling so close to the snow against her bare skin. It was refreshing, it was magical, and her eyes gleamed brightly. She looked back at her new student and found that he had a smile on his face too, one that she had yet to have seen. Despite his cold, despite how much she knew his muscles must have been aching, he was smiling and she knew he wasn't just doing it for her sake. He was smiling at her laugh.
Still chuckling to herself, she put a hand on his forehead. "You're very good at dealing with the cold already, Lyon," she commented, feeling the heat still emanating through the sweaty skin but relieved that he was still shivering and had potential to move further through the cold. She had to be particularly careful as she didn't have a safe, warm home to return him to this time if his temperature dropped too sharply, though she did carry the fire lacrima in her bag just in case and there were plenty of sticks around to make a quick camp. "Have you used a kind of ice magic before?" she asked curiously, feeling a potential power beneath her fingers she couldn't place.
He gulped the air hungrily, focussing on controlling his heavy breathing before shaking his head. "My parents use Take Over magic. That's what I was training with before," he told her, wrapping his arms around himself.
She blinked, completely thrown back by the sudden opening of information. "Take Over? That's quite a difference from Ice Make magic. I'm not sure how easily you'll be able to move from one to the other," she admitted.
He turned away, unable to look into her eyes or answer.
Ur found herself frowning, trying to decide what a life must have been like for this child now that she knew that he had been a part of Seraphim's Blade. She had only heard fleeting whispers of the guild recently but they had been disbanded and reunited so many times it was impossible to keep up with their actions or intentions, and while there was always a chance that they had turned to more respectable ways, it seemed more than unlikely. She was also unlikely the guild would willingly greet her with open arms, even if she offered Lyon as an olive branch. She had been responsible for their collapse more than once. The thought dawned on her for a moment that Lyon may have been a trap to lead her straight back to their guild so that they could exact their revenge. The child was clearly nervous and it was no secret that Ur had recently lost her daughter that was his age. It would have been the perfect ploy and she would be walking straight into their trap, days from home or anyone that could protect her. She wanted to trust Lyon and above everything else believed he desperately wanted to learn. So, she forced her frown back into a smile, and deciding that for now she needed to place her trust in his story.
"Watch carefully," she instructed as she took a step forwards, putting her hand against her palm and twisting the most basic of spells and instructing him how to repeat. She showed him a few times, obediently answering any questions and pointing out the common mistakes, before turning to him and suggesting for him to try. As she had expected, the magic twisted easily through his fingers. The blue light circled around his hands, shapes and symbols glowing in the air before a small yet perfect circle of ice appeared before him. His eyes went wide, frozen as he stared at his new creation. Ur grinned, putting a hand on his shoulder and congratulating him on his first successful Ice Make spell. "Are you sure you haven't used ice magic before?" she chuckled.
Lyon stepped forwards, taking the ice that he had just moulded into his hands and feeling the edges in disbelief. Ur watched in silence as he turned it over and over in his hands, what she thought from his previous actions to be studying his own work and trying to find his next improvements, but slowly she saw his shivering shift. Her instant fears were that the cold had been too much and that his body was finally fighting the chill, but as she took another step forwards she could see the tears streaming from his eyes. His breathing had changed as he bit back sobbing, but he was unable to fight back the tears from his eyes. "Lyon…?" she whispered gently. "What's wrong?"
He looked up at her, eyes wide but with a smile on his face through his crying. "I actually did it…" he whispered, before running over and wrapping his arms around her waist, unable to stop himself from breaking down into his tears of joy.
Ur held him for as long as she could, surprised and concerned for his sudden overflowing emotions. She couldn't deny that he was happy, and she remembered feeling so filled with joy that she wanted to cry the very first time that she had cast the ice magic, but it had never had quite this extreme reaction. She brushed his hair back, letting him cry away the tears that he had clearly been holding back for some time and knelt down to his level. Without words, she pulled off his backpack, handing him back his clothes and helping him to wrap up warm once more. He may have easily adapted to the cold, but he was still a very young boy and they had been standing still in the freezing weather for some time.
They agreed to find shelter before darkness could fall, somewhere they could continue to train with the new spells. They were lucky enough to find a cave which overlooked the rest of the mountainside, the clear path ahead of them for the twists and turns towards the ancient ruins. They gathered branches and twigs, piling them together ready for the evening. There were still many hours left in the day but Ur didn't want to move any closer to Lyon's home while the next stretch would take them through the empty wasteland with little chance of shelter, nor did she want to push him further when he had acted so emotionally fragile.
"Tomorrow I'll teach you how to hunt," she informed him as she pulled out the rations from her backpack, passing a small packet to Lyon. "I think it'll take some time for your magic to be strong enough to use it to hunt even a rabbit, but I can still teach you how I use mine."
Lyon took the packet, looking down as he understood the implication to her words. She still very much meant her promise that they would part ways as soon as he was reunited with his family. "When you give up magic… will you still hunt?" he asked her curiously.
The question had caught Ur off-guard, realising that she had almost forgotten her return would be without her faithful magic. Training with Lyon and returning to the roots of her creations did not allow her to feel the same happiness she had once felt at this prospect. She slid back, leaning against the cold stone wall of the cave and let the confliction wash over her. "I'm not sure," she said, realising that her isolated home would be difficult to keep if she did not fend for herself. She would need to find a new way to hunt, or at the very least get a normal job in the town to buy enough to not need fresh meat.
"I don't understand why anyone would give up magic," Lyon said thoughtfully as he unwrapped the food.
Ur's knees slid back to her chest, a pain deep inside suddenly biting. She told herself that she had to be strong, that she had just seen the small boy cry and now suddenly she could feel her own tears were ready to fall. She wanted to tell him that he would understand when he was older but now, sitting in the middle of nowhere surrounded in nothing but biting cold, she could feel the magical energy inside of her giving her a desperate strength and her arguments all seemed to fall short. "Magic can be wonderful…" she whispered with choking words. "It can give you power and strength and freedom and joy. But… It can be dangerous."
Lyon looked up, keeping quiet as he realised that the words that were coming out of Ur's mouth were both difficult and not intended for himself. She was speaking into the wind, into the valley, both to her own heart and to the magic that rested inside of it. "Is that a reason to give up on it?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.
She shivered. The cold did not affect her, but her entire body shook and she wrapped herself into a tight and warming ball. She didn't have an answer for him, didn't have an answer for herself, but instead looked back at him and returned one of her own. "You've never cast a spell before today, have you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
Lyon looked wide eyed, surprised that she had been able to read him so easily. He shook his head, looking ashamed. "I couldn't do a single Take Over," he admitted, his strained voice through the difficult confession.
Ur nodded, gently putting her arm around him. "Not every mage can use every type of magic. It doesn't make you stronger or weaker. It is very rare for any skilful wizard to use more than one form of magic. You also have to remember that being able to cast Ice Maker magic is very different to being skilled at it, and you may even find your calling is for a different type of magic, but I can tell already you have a lot of potential whatever magic you choose to use or whatever magic chooses you. What I don't understand is why anyone who had never cast a single spell would be so obsessed with being the best…" she questioned lightly.
The small boy found himself leaning in closer, though whether it was towards Ur's warmth or her maternal kindness was anyone's guess. "No one thinks that I can," he whispered. "No one thinks that I can do anything. I have to prove them wrong; I have to be the best. That's all that she expects of me."
"She?" Ur's eyes faded into realisation, feeling the way he leaned closer and the strain in his voice. "Your mother?"
He nodded stiffly, gripping his hands tightly. "I overheard them talking. She said if I couldn't even cast one Take Over then all I was good for was to be one of their sacrifices. But now I can show them, I can show them all," he hissed, his words suddenly heated and filled with desperate rage.
"Hey…" Ur's voice soothingly washed over him, gripping onto his shoulder tightly as she could feel him tense beneath her. "Listen, your strength has nothing to do with anyone but yourself. If you want to be the very best, and if it is what you want, I will never stop you. It would be the greatest honour for my student to overtake me one day," she promised him, wishing that she could forget for a moment that this was only for another two days. She had told herself that she wouldn't get attached, and even when she had seen the guildmark she had convinced herself that the parents still deserved their child regardless. Now she suddenly felt the urge to steal him away, to protect him from whatever cruelty he was describing. "But Lyon… tell me, what do you mean by the 'sacrifices'?"
Lyon blinked away his anger, glancing back to Ur and once more slipping away from his conflicting emotions and to his calculated nature. "The demon resurrections all need human sacrifices. That's how they create their most powerful Take Overs," he said in a very matter-of-fact way.
Ur's eyes suddenly grew wide, pushing herself back to stare straight into Lyon's eyes and ensure that no truth was escaping. "Lyon, are you telling me that Seraphim's Blade is killing people and… resurrecting demons?!" she asked, gripping onto his arms tightly.
He shuddered under her touch, obviously not understanding the magnitude of his words. The guildmark on his skin was old even if he was young and the world beyond his sheltered upbringing was far more difficult to understand in his childish innocence. "It's what they've always done. Father said that… that Mother was trying to be the strongest wizard. They said with every demon she can Take Over she becomes stronger… She's practising on smaller demons but there's only one she really wants. She carries his book around with her always. She says when she's taken over him, she'll be the strongest wizard in the world, even stronger than you."
Ur's mind began to swim. The demon attacks had been growing across the land over the last decade but she never could have guessed that someone was purposefully trying to control it. If what Lyon was saying they could have never been demons at all, but a wizard wearing a demon's power and causing the mass destruction that had already began to shape the land. All in the search for power.
And now Ur was holding the dark wizard's son in her hands.
She dropped him instinctively, breathing in sharply. She had promised herself that she would return Lyon to his parents no matter what. Whether they were good or bad people had never been a factor when she had so feverishly believed everyone deserved a second chance to be reunited with their child. What terrified her the most was that Lyon was clearly still so young and malleable, but he had a very kind heart hidden beneath his innocence and cruel teachings, but it was only a matter of time before the darkness of the guild had stripped all that away.
She swallowed hard, realising that she had kept silent for some time. She didn't know what to do, what was right or wrong anymore. This was the kind of conflict she had told herself she would never again be pulled into. Slowly she put her forehead against his, feeling the warmth from his youthful innocence. It wasn't a decision that should have ever been put onto his shoulders and it was her own burden to bare now. "We should continue training, Lyon," she told him, knowing she had two more days to make her choice.
Don't forget to review if you've enjoyed this! I'm still writing and always appreciate feedback and ideas.
Now I'm going to go crawl in a corner and nurse my bleeding fingers...
Guest: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I take a lot of my finer details from the fairy tail wiki when I'm a little confused but I'm already fairly certain its been called 'The Land of Isvan' which makes me think it's an area instead of one town? And not the same place as Iceberg. I could be wrong but that's the way I'm taking it :)