A/N: Neither of us own or are affiliated with Warhammer 40K or Fairy Tail. They belong to Games Workshop and Hiro Mashima respectively.
Chapter 1- Magnolia Rises
As the ashes fell to the ground, a pitch black curtain drifted down, concealing him from view. He too would have cried but too many tears had been shed already. He began walking through. Amidst the sea of night, he saw a isle of light. A single magnolia tree grew.
"I've never heard it that way."
"Wow Lucy. I thought you were smarter than that," Natsu Dragneel added. Natsu adjusted his white scaled scarf as he turned to stare at his friend. Standing at about six feet tall, he was very muscular and one of the more physically imposing members of Fairy Tail. Lucy was certain that he wore his vest without a shirt to drive in that point. Or it could just be that fire magic made it too warm to wear a shirt.
Lucy herself was wearing a pink top instead of her usual white and blue attire. It was one of her more modest outfits, without buttons, and it showed surprisingly little skin. One of her guildmates complained about it once. Once. A red ribbon tied her golden hair up on one side. Natsu had mentioned that he liked the color during his most recent home invasion. Apparently, he didn't notice, and it was irritating her. She had spent most of the morning subtly trying to point it out like an idiot.
"Shut it, Fire Eater. When was the last time you read anything?" Lucy turned back to the storyteller. "Keep going Levy. It was just getting good." The shorter girl grinned but before she could continue, the persistent pink haired pyromancer managed a retort.
"That's not true. Who picked out the last request for us and-ow ow Sorry!" Natsu was cut short by an abrupt grip on his ear.
"Quiet you two. The three of you are forbidden from speaking until the Master returns." Erza Scarlet's tone brought silence to the room. She had a menacing air about her, and the reflection of her scarlet hair upon her gleaming armor only helped to emphasize her attitude. Although she was a little bit less than an inch taller than Natsu, the difference seemed much more and gave her a broad, almost masculine appearance.
"What did I do?" Questioned Gray Fullbuster, who was seated at a nearby long table. Gray was shorter than Natsu, but only by an inch. His hair was just as spiky, but it was a less outlandish shade of black, which was better for him because he had other habits which made him noticeable.
"I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that. Would you like to repeat yourself?" As Erza's stare fell upon the young man, he felt the blood in his veins run cold.
"No Ma'am." Gray's face had taken on the same color as the walls. Erza's demeanor never ceased to unnerve him.
Natsu snickered at his friend's discomfort. "When did you become such a suck up, eh?"
"You're one to talk," remarked Cana Alberona from a nearby table before taking a long swig of her ever-present drink. Although she had been at it since the morning, her face did not show the slightest flush through her tan complexion.
"Where is the Master anyway?" remarked Macao Conbolt from his usual spot at the bar. His blue hair was slicked back, and he was dressed in nicer clothes than his usual long coat. Mirajane Strauss, the ivory-haired bartender smiled and replied.
"Oh, he just went by the Bazaar to pick up some requests. He should be back soon." Lucy turned to the older women curious.
"I thought most people just brought their requests here."
"That's normally true but it can be difficult for people who aren't locals to get a hold of us." Erza explained. "So every month or so, people in need go to the Bazaar and various guilds can pick up and occasionally bid on the chance to help them with their problems. More interesting quests are often at a premium because the folks who submit them probably know that a lot of us are gunning for them. " At this explanation, Lucy just looked even more confused.
"So we pay for a chance to help them, and then they give us the reward?" Mirajane laughed.
"No, it's actually quite rare for guilds to put money down on jobs. Most of the time, we rely on reputation." At this Natsu grinned ear to ear.
"And Fairy Tail is the best guild around so we get all the best missions!" Just then the doors of the guild creaked open and a diminutive old man walked through, a sheaf of papers clutched in his hand.
"Well, well. It looks like everybody's waiting for me. So what sort of trouble did I miss?"
"Master! It's good to have you back. What kind of requests were available?" Asked the bartender. Makarov Dreyar, guildmaster of Fairy Tail beamed proudly.
"Oh you know, all sorts of good stuff. Found a few things for the young'uns to cut their teeth on, a few monster hunts here and there. Oh, and I almost forgot, investigating a fallen star out near Oak Town. Even better, it was the only copy so we're the only guild that can do it." Gray grinned.
"Nice work then. Wait, isn't Oak Town Phantom Lord's headquarters?" The back corner erupted in whispers.
"Phantom Lord? I heard that their Master is one of the Wizard Saints!" A winged blue cat flew down from the rafters smiling. Makarov nodded sagely.
"Jose Porla, he's one of the strongest darkness wizards in the world, an expert in his field really." Lucy felt a chill run down her spine.
"Wow, someone like that must be really strong."
"Yeah! But I bet I could take him!" shouted Natsu as he jumped up onto a table, flexing his arm. The pose and its audacity were cut short by the familiar clang of the flat of a blade hitting the dragon-slayer's head. Erza gripped the recently summoned blade and glared at the cat. Happy, the aforementioned cat, spun around in mid air.
"Oh yeah, kinda forgot why I was up in the rafter. Well, see you later!" As he gained altitude, Erza chased after him shouting.
"You get back here, you aren't off the hook either!" Erza hurled one of her swords at Happy, who barely managed to avoid it. The sword bounced off of the walls and on to the head of a large man entering the guild hall.
"Who threw this at me? Man up and face me!" A burly man with hair a shade darker than Mirajane stormed into the center of the bar, flipping two tables in the process. Elfman turned toward Gray. "It was you, wasn't it!? Man up and admit it!"
"Of course you blame the Ice mage for throwing a sword. How dumb can you be?" Gray retorted.
"Just because he is naked doesn't mean he threw things at you," chimed a voice from above.
"There you are cat! Elfman, give me back my sword. I won't miss this time."
"Yes Ma'am."
Makarov took in the chaos and began to rub his temple with his free hand.
"Mavis give me strength," he intoned quietly before raising his voice. "Alright, what exactly is going on here?" Erza stepped forward and inclined her head before speaking.
"Master, these three," she gestured towards Lucy, Gray and the indignant Natsu to emphasize her point, "were apprehended on Galuna Island in the middle of completing an S-class mission without proper oversight." Makarov listened intently and nodded when she was complete.
"You're forgetting something though," remarked Makarov. "You went ahead and completed the quest and, if I heard right, blew up the moon?" His voice took an incredulous edge. Natsu smiled proudly from behind Erza, and gave the guild master a look that spoke of the satisfaction in a job well done. In the meantime, Erza's eyes had glossed over and Natsu started laughing.
"Wait, Erza is in trouble too? This is great! I can't remember the last time this happened," eventually it became too much and Natsu was doubled over laughing at his friend's misfortune. Makarov meanwhile strolled over to the bar and climbed up onto a barstool.
"Indeed, and all three on you will have to work some kind of penance but that can wait for now. In the meantime, for those of you who aren't in trouble, who wants to get a look at the new requests?" The occupants of the guild hall surged towards their guild master, eager for the chance to work. Lucy smiled warmly at the antics of her comrades before glancing over at her friend, Levy McGarden who was busy collecting her stuff, mostly books, papers, inks and quills.
"Hey, you aren't going to get a job?" Levy smiled back.
"Oh, I will, that falling star sounds exciting enough, but first I need to run some errands." Levy replied as she closed the book she'd been reading from. It was an impressive tome, with a once glossy black cover and what looked like intricate gold leaf in ornate designs dancing across both covers and the spine. However, the book also looked like it had faced some wear and tear over the years. The covered had apparently lost its sheen a while back and pieces of the gold leaf were missing, especially on the back cover and spine. This book had a history.
"You know Levy," commented Makarov, who had strolled over after leaving the pile of requests at the bar with Mirajane, "that book looks familiar. What's its name?" Levy gave a small grin.
"It's called the Codex Vitae, I was able to buy it from a small second hand shop in a village not far from here." As she spoke, Lucy thought she saw a dark look pass across the guild master's face, but it was so brief and so sudden that she was certain that she'd imagined it. That or it had been a trick of the light, which she was given to believe since almost immediately, Makarov burst out laughing.
"Oh, now that's a classic. Some of my favorite stories are collected in that book. Do you mind if I borrow it sometime?" Levy chuckled.
"Sure just let my finish it first." Makarov laughed again.
"Alrighty, I'll keep you to that missy." The two laughed and Lucy smiled at their routine. Meanwhile, Mirajane was helping to top off Cana's most recent drink when the brunette spoke up.
"Hey, you know anything about that book?" Mirajane cocked her head to the side.
"What makes you ask?" Cana shrugged.
"I don't know why but Makarov got real serious just now when he was talking to the girls." Mirajane glanced over at her three guild mates and frowned. She resolved to talk about it with the guildmaster later. In the meantime, the others were laughing at Natsu's antics as he struggled to get past Erza to get a look at the new jobs.
"Come on," he pleaded. "If we don't find something quickly, all the good stuff will be gone." Erza glanced back at Natsu. There was no malice in this stare but Natsu's face paled all the same. "That assumes that you want a good quest. Good Quests are so overrated. Am I right, best buddy?"
"Yessiree my old chum," the ice mage replied enthusiastically.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your... intriguing camaraderie but I need to close the hall a bit early. Mirajane and I need to take inventory." The master turned toward Erza. "You can begin your punishment by escorting everyone from the guildhall for me."
"Certainly Master. I would-" Erza turned around. "Where did everyone go?" The entire guild hall had emptied more or less in the time it had taken for her to reply. "Wait, I need to give Lucy the key we got at Galuna island. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then master." Erza walked outside. Only Cana and Elfman were left near the hall. Cana was leaning on the iron railing. "I know a great bar to keep the party going. I despise inventory nights. Aren't they usually Wednesday though?"
Elfman crossed his arms. "I can't go drinking with you. I don't even want to think about what happened last time."
"I'm sorry. I wouldn't want to be too hard on you poor little kitten."
"Are you insulting my manliness?"
Erza chuckled as she passed them. No one would hear from Elfman again until at least tomorrow afternoon.
Spring had come early and the extra month of warmth had been very kind to Magnolia Town. Her eponymous blossoms were in full bloom, lining the streets in shades of red and white. Not that the extra color was necessary. The sound of people laughing carried across the canal from where Erza was standing. She could see Macao and his teammate Wakaba Mine walking with Wakaba's wife. Wakaba's daughter was skipping closely behind. Oddly enough, Macao's son, Romeo was not with them.
Erza approached Central Path. Magnolia's roads were wider than most cities in Fiore, and could accommodate at least two magic cars, but no other street outside of the capital, Crocus, could hold a candle to it. The instant that she turned, Kardia Cathedral came crashing into view. Its distinctive two towers topped the road like a crown. Sometimes, on a clear day, you would be able to see Hargeon Town and the ocean from the top of those towers.
Poking out slightly from a crowd of tourists was a familiar pink hairdo, which was briefly visible before disappearing into the church. Erza frowned. The cathedral was not one of Natsu's usual hangouts. He generally stayed clear of it after he was caught inside during a Gildarts Shift. He could never quite get over thinking of the cathedral like a car. She followed closely behind, making sure to stay out of sight. Requipping into a dull brown cloak resulted in Erza getting several odd looks, but Natsu did not notice her. Moreover, the new garbs made her inconspicuous, just another pilgrim just coming to pay her respects. They finally came to a stop at a vista atop of the western tower. He was busy talking to a young boy with black hair.
Romeo Conbolt was grinning from ear to ear. "So the moon really shattered? That is so awesome. Can I see your magic again?" Romeo's eyes widened as Natsu's hand burst into flames. "What's awesome is how your hand totally doesn't burn. Even if most people could make fire like you, they couldn't use it like you do."
Natsu let out a gentle laugh and showed Romeo his hand. "Not much gets past you does it? Feel my hand. Careful, it's hot."
Romeo slid his fingers across Natsu's palm and his jaw dropped. "Scales?" he asked incredulously. Natsu grinned in response. The late afternoon sun illuminated his almost feral fangs. "When I officially join, will you take me on an official quest? I'll learn fire magic and then you can eat it and you won't need to go hungry and"
"Sure. I'll be waiting. But for now, aren't you supposed to be meeting your Dad somewhere? I'll see you at the guild tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah." Romeo left.
"Natsu, are you ready?" Erza turned and noticed Happy flying in from the direction of the guildhall. The guild stood at the top of a hill, directly in front of Lake Sciliora.
"Where have you been?"
"Hiding in the rafters. But I think that the Demon Titania is-" Happy's fur seemed to lose color.
"Is everything ok Happy?" Natsu turned around and noticed Erza in the corner. Realizing that she had been noticed, she began to requip into her normal Heart Kreuz Armor. Erza closed her eyes and her body and outfit emitted a soft golden light. Her usual outfit was a seemingly normal plate chestpiece with the Fairy tail insignia inscribed with a cross over her left breast. When she opened her eyes, Natsu and Happy were nowhere to be seen.
Erza looked around the the church, but there was no sign of Natsu or Happy. Leaving the church, she noticed that the sun was beginning to set. The sky was turning a serene shade of yellow. I can't delay any longer. Erza took off towards Lucy's house.
Meanwhile, back at the guildhall, the two remaining members of the guild had abjured to the cavernous stockroom. Mirajane balanced a ledger on one arm and held a quill in the opposite hand. She followed a few steps behind Makarov as they made their way between the racks of food, drink and other guild necessity. Every so often, Makarov would comment on the current stock of an item and Mirajane would take note of it.
"Twelve bushels of barley," he stated as they passed a few boxes marked with the symbol of Dandelion Town. "Five cases of good old Clover Town whiskey," he continued before muttering "must remember to send a thank you note to Bob for those. Oh, did that shipment of lacrima come in from Joya yet?" Mirajane shook her head despite being behind the elder guildmaster.
"No master, I don't think its due for another week or so. Those scimitars that Erza requested from Bellum did arrive though." Makarov sighed heavily.
"Why do I have to keep reminding her to address such orders to her room in Fairy Hills?" Mirjane shrugged.
"I couldn't say sir. I have to ask though, why are we doing this a day early?" Makarov stopped and began kneading his temple with his hand. He turned back to the young woman.
"I needed to talk about some things. First tell me, did you notice Levy's new book?" Mirajane smiled down at Makarov.
"I did. She was telling us how she's been saving her money from requests for a few months." Makarov shook his head.
"No I mean do you know anything in particular about the book itself? What it's about or the like?" Mirajane paused and thought about it for a few moments before shaking her head.
"No sir, I don't" Makarov's brow furrowed slightly before he continued.
"The Codex Vitae is a controversial collection of short stories. Scholars debate on its actual age but it could have been penned as early 250 years ago, while others think it could have been written about X350." Mirajane tilted her head.
"Wow, that's 430 years old. So why would a collection of stories be so controversial?" As they spoke, Makarov pulled up a barrel of tar for the roof and sat on the well-sealed lid.
"Well, on the surface the stories as just fables, many of which are inscribed in other books. The problem is that the older editions of the text are also incredibly powerful magic tomes." Mirajane was shocked. The book had seemed to be ordinary to her, a bit extravagantly bound perhaps, but nothing too noticeable.
"What do you mean older editions?" Makarov grimaced.
"Well about a century ago, if I remember correctly, the Magical Council got a bit tired of the book causing so much trouble, so they banned it and began a continent wide hunt for any existing copies." Mirajane's eyes widen.
"Now that's something. So what happened?" Makarov scratched the back of his head as he recalled what he remembered of the history.
"Well if memory serves it was only the second time that the Magic Council had been that deliberate in the use of their power and a lot of wizards didn't appreciate their heavy-handed approach." Makarov gazed up at the dark ceiling, lost in thought. "People rebelled against the council and certain groups began to wage a subtle campaign against them."
"All over a book Master?" Makarov shook his head.
"The Vitae Debacle wasn't really over a book you understand. It was over the power that the Council wields. A hundred years ago, the Council was much more expansive and it was the only unified body to govern the use of magic. Magic users didn't agree with a single group declaring itself to be the ruling body of magic and fought back." Mirajane looked downcast.
"That's so sad. I didn't realize that people fought and like that, all over a book." Makarov shrugged.
"Well it wasn't all bad. The Magic Council eventually agreed to loosen its grip on magic-users by centralizing it's authority and consolidating their considerable military power into the modern Rune Knights. This in turn caused wizards began working in closer cohesion and the modern guild system was created as a result." Mirajane smiled.
"Wow, I never knew where guilds came from. I guess that's interesting, but what happened to the Codex Vitae?" Makarov slid down from the barrel and began walking through the aisle again before resuming.
"One of the conditions that ended the Debacle was that the original text be republished under Council oversight. The second edition of the Codex Vitae is just a mundane collection of tales." Mirajane thought for a moment before continuing.
"Wait a moment, so why are you worried about Levy's copy?" Makarov, whose face was unseen by Mirajane frowned.
"Not every copy of the original Codex was found. A few copies of the 'real' book continue to circulate to this day and they always bring trouble when they surface. The second editions are just rare books, intriguing but perfectly harmless." Mirajane nodded.
"And you're worried that Levy may have found one of the older editions aren't you." Makarov let out a breath. The young woman knew him too well by now, perhaps better than any of the other guild regulars.
"I am," he confirmed. "I didn't sense anything off about Levy's copy but from what I've heard, those who hid them, placed a number of advanced obfuscation enchantments on first editions of the book. So I can't be sure." Mirajane smiled warmly.
"Don't worry Master, I'm sure it will be alright." Makarov laughed.
"I'm sure it will. Now come along we have to finish inventory."
"Of course sir. Now where were we?" With that, the two continued their trek through the guild's stockroom. Makarov for his part was lost in thought. It wasn't that he had lied to Mirajane but he had not been entirely honest with her either. Levy's new book had seemed normal enough; he was fairly certain that if any abjurations were on it then he would've been able to detect them. But he had felt a sense of dread deep in his heart. Makarov had learned over his many years are as a wizard and a guild master to trust his intuition on matters like these. He only wished that he knew the origins of this new shadow that now seemed poised over his guild.
Lucy's house was far away from the hustle and bustle of the Fairy Tail guild hall, but that was how she liked it. The neighborhood had a calm that you could only find in a larger city; a paradoxically pleasant loneliness that seemed like a fable up until recently. Lucy sighed, and her hands drifted down to a keyring by her waist. She liked to run her hands through her Gate Keys when she felt nervous. Several steps behind her walked a... Lucy wasn't really sure. Technically Canis Minor is a dog but Lucy had never quite figured out what Plue was. He walked upright, his fur was pure white, and his nose looked like it might be some sort of drill, however Lucy had never seen it used that way. She liked to imagine that Plue had some sort of hidden magic that could defeat even Natsu if unlocked. She needed some way to get revenge on him for always using her room. Lucy walked up the stairs to her apartment. She had wasted the last months rent on a new lock and key, so she could finally have her privacy back. Smiling she opened her door.
"Here's a copy for you Natsu." Gray handed Natsu an ice sculpture that looked suspiciously like the key to her room. "And here's one for you," he continued, while handing a copy to the red-headed woman lounging in her favorite chair (to be fair it was her only chair) and sipping tea, which was impressive as Lucy didn't keep the ingredients for such a brew around. When she noticed the blonde, Erza put down her cup and smiled.
"Well, it certainly took you long enough to get here." Lucy feeling slightly embarrassed shuffled her feet and look at the floor.
"I took the scenic route," she began before the realization set in and anger flared within the young lady. "Hey! I don't have to explain anything to you, so what are you doing in my house!" Natsu, who was crouching on the desk grinned back at her.
"Master said something about shacking up together. I'm calling Lucy's be-" Before he could finish the blonde was shouting again.
"Whoah, whoah, Master said what?!" Lucy's pale complexion had taken a shade more similar to Natsu's hair. Gray held up his hand to calm the infuriated young wizard.
"It's nothing like that alright," Lucy unclenched her fists and looked at her teammate. "Makarov is worried that there might be some repercussions to taking that job near Oak Town." Lucy tilted her head in thought.
"The one about the falling star? I think Levy wanted to take a crack at that one. Why is posting that job dangerous though?" Erza continued to sip her tea before speaking.
"Because it makes Phantom Lord look weak," she said matter of factly. "And furthermore, Porla and his cronies might want to take it out on us. It's only right that we stay together until any threat of danger has passed." Lucy sat down on the edge of her bed, a sense of fear coursing through her.
"Wow, I didn't know guilds could be like that," Natsu, in response laughed and showed his teeth.
"Well let them come. I think we could take 'em." Happy, who was digging through Lucy's closet, laughed.
"I'm sure you could but what about Lucy?"
"Stupid Cat. Say that once more to my face." Gray sighed. This was going to be a long night.
The sun was just poking over the mountains east of Magnolia when Lucy left her house. She barely got more than a few hours of sleep. Premier Park was close to her house, and it was one of her favorite places to clear her mind. In the distance, she saw three new shadows on the parks ancient magnolia tree. Lucy knuckled sleep out of her eyes and looked at the tree again. There were three figures, pinned to the tree with metal stakes. The figure in the middle was Levy. Lucy Screamed.
Hello everyone and welcome to the authors' notes of Beyond the Blue Sky.
I'm Photomancy. I'm in charge of the Fairy Tail part of this endeavor.
And you can call me AdeptusAdvocate, the resident Warhammer expert.
Most of this chapter was Photo's work (I just perked it up a bit) but next chapter, you'll get to see what I'm bringing to the table. I'll give this much away: It ain't no space marines just yet. That'd be predictable...here at AdeptusPhotomancy industries we don't do predictable.
We shall be your guides through this amazing, beautiful world, spun from the amazing creative potential that Adeptus and I have ... based off of Games Workshop and Hiro Mashimathat we do not own. But enough of that. I wanted to mention a couple of things regarding Cannon.
1. Not that kind of cannon (I hope). Only one n.
2.1. Hey don't be like that.
3. You owe me ten bucks, I can get in on any list that you're making. But whatever, it's boring now. Imma go write some grimdark stuff.
Cool. You do that. Now that he's gone.
1. Fairy Tail is an evolving world (i.e. it plays fast and loose with canon). I realize that canon is growing and changing, but I have no intention of resolving differences from what Mashima decides to add. (The rules are a bit different with WH40K since I'll be trying to stick closer to the nearly 25 years of canon. My approach will necessitate the use of mostly OC's though. Sorry but High Marshal Helbrecht probably won't be making an appearance alongside his new bestie, Ibram Gaunt [as an example]) (But we did say that we will not be predictable. hehehe...)
2. I know that your favorite/least favorite character has not joined/ been introduced/ been developed/ died yet. We will get to that. I promise. (Especially the killing, this is Warhammer 40K we're talking about.)
3. Yes, I know that Levy was crucified the day after the Guild Hall was destroyed. We changed that. Because this is FANFICTION. Actually, that will have been explained if you were paying attention. Do not expect things to happen as they did in the Manga or Anime or whatever because the course of history has already begun to change. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.
4. Do not talk about Edolas. (We have some ideas but nothing is set in stone. That will be decided in the Idea Hole [the Idea Hole is where we go to decide the fate of our conflicting ideas. Only the strong survive in the Idea Hole!])
Follow these rules and we will get along just fine.
Well I'm signing off now too. I need to stare at flashy fighting scenes for a while.
Alright, I have to go read about epic conflicts in the far future, fought by Space-Vikings, Space-Knights, Space-Vampires and Space-Mongols. Among Space-Others. Seeya!
Talk to you next update.