Disclaimer: I do own Fairy Tail. That privileged goes to Hiro Mashima.

The Path of a Hero

Prologue – The Legend

The kingdom of Fiore was a neutral country inhabited by 17 million people where magic is part of everyday life. People who practice the use of magic are known as mages and they are further classified by the guilds in which they are associated with.

Mages use their Magic Power or MP for short, to perform remarkable feats like conjuring fire out of thin air, manipulating the very air itself and even casting illusions with only the most basic of movements, the simplest of gestures. For mages, the possibilities of magic is simply too immense to fathom. But you might ask: If magic is so widespread, wouldn't that make Fiore one of the most powerful kingdoms in Earthland?

The answer is simple; not all of its population are able to use magic. Out of all of Fiore's inhabitants, only ten per cent of them are able to wield the power of magic. The reason? Magic requires concentration and talent to utilize it and only a handful of its population meets that criteria, although there have been reports of people who have no talents in magic being able to fully utilize it through training and sheer determination.

Magic is omnipotent. It can be used for good as well as for evil. It all comes down to the nature of the person wielding it. One mage would use his magic to help others and bring happiness while another might use his magic for his own selfish greed and desires. These two ways of thinking usually end up clashing which results in small conflicts within Fiore. Mages against mages, ideals against ideals, good against evil…

But only one mage had the infamy to be remembered even until today. A mage that is the symbol of evil and darkness. A mage that had the power to plunge Fiore into chaos for many years – power that could have brought prosperity and peace.

The mage's name, Zeref the Black Mage, a name that struck fear even today. A master of the fearsome Black Arts, he plunged Fiore into war and chaos for many years with his hordes of demons. The kingdom of Fiore was engulfed in a bloody war against Zeref and his followers, causing the loss of thousands of lives in the process on both sides. This war that continued to plague Fiore for six long years was later called The War of the Magi by historians.

This bloody war had begun in the year X330 and cost the lives of almost a millions mages and civilians. The flames of war were eventually smothered…by the emergence of a Reinhardt the Exalted in X336,who held powers that could rival even Zeref himself.

This heroic mage's history is shrouded in mystery. Scholars today are still searching for anything that is related to him, be it a relic or some ancient text. All that is known of this forgotten mage is that he was a Sword mage and possessed a divine lost magic known as Heavenly Sword Magic. Relics that had been linked to him are regarded as treasures that are priceless, not because it held no value but because it's worth is simply…unimaginable. The hero appeared when Fiore needed him most and battled Zeref in a final decisive battle to end the turmoil once and for all.

For five days and five nights, the whole of Fiore witnessed the clash of two great mages. Flashes of light could be seen miles away from the centre of battle, storms brewed all over Fiore and the earth shook at the intensity of their battle. Two sides: one symbolizing darkness, destruction and chaos and the other symbolizing light, peace and hope.

On the sixth day, the chaos subsided and the results of the titanic battle could be seen. Zeref had been successfully sealed and all his demons banished from whence they came. What was most surprising was that the hero, which had brought about the peace that would last for hundreds of year, was nowhere to be found. No traces of him, save for his sword which stood proudly from the ground at the end-battle, could be found. Even today, his sword is locked up in Fiore's Royal Reclusiam, protected by hundreds of high ranking seals and barriers. It is considered a holy artefact that is the only link to Reinhardt.

But I digress. Had the hero not appeared, I dare say Fiore would not be as it is now. But even today, there are still many questions that still require answers. Who was the man that saved Fiore? Why did he do what he did? Did he have any descendants? Why is there nothing known about him? Why did he disappear after the battle? Could he have been a being sent by the great Goddess to end the bloody conflict?

So many questions, so little answers. The mystery of Reinhardt the Exalted would continue to baffle scholars and researchers for years to come. But I have heard rumours of an ancient scroll that contained the texts that detailed the hero's life and teachings that was written by someone who seemed to be a close friend of the man. If these rumours are indeed true, what we will be looking at is a breakthrough in unravelling the life of the mage that saved Fiore from utter destruction!

-Excerpts from a report of Daniel Morgun, Head Researcher of the Fiore Royal Reclusiam