Back with the next chapter!
"Speaking"
""thinking""
On with the story
In a wooded grassland
After leaving Fairy Tail, and asked Ikaruga to take care of Rose and Mary, Erza and the others were on their way to Warrod Sequen's home as they pass through beautiful sceneries along the way.
"This place is beautiful." Wendy said with a warm smile as the sun's golden rays shined on her face.
Charla and Milo looks around the place as butterflies fly all over the place
"The air here is so fresh." Lucy commented happily as she stretched her arms out into the air.
"Yes, the breeze is quite nice as well." Erza nodded as she looks around the green forest and grass.
"They say the Wizard Saints are the ten strongest wizards on the continent, right?" Lucy asked Erza.
"That's correct. Natsu, Master Makarov and Jura are just two of them." Erza replied to her
"Jellal was a saint too, right?" Wendy inquired.
"He was." Erza nodded.
"And Phantom Lord's old master was one." Gray informed.
Erza resumed her explanation. "The top four strongest among them have earned the title of the 'Four Emperors of Ishgal'."
"Ishgal?" Wendy asked in confusion
"an ancient name for the continent" Erza answered her
"I wonder why did a big guy on top sent a request to us?" Gray said while crossing his arms
"if it's Natsu I understand, but why Gray too?" Lucy commented in a bit confused and curious
They continued to walk around before they hear something coming from above
"took him long enough" Erza said with a smile as she looks up and sees her husband flying in the air before landing down
"sorry, I'm late" Natsu said as he reequips off Enryuo no Yoroi
"no, you're just in time" Erza said as she looks in front and sees a home
"is that Warrod Sequeen's home?" Lucy said confused to the type of home the rank fourth wizard saint lived in
"yeah, that's his place" Natsu said as he tagged along the others to go to the home
They walk towards the home before Natsu raise his hand and motions everyone to stop moving
The ground bellow them started to move as tree roots started to appear and attack them
"what!?" Gray exclaimed in shock as some of the root wraps around his legs
"tree roots!? Lucy exclaimed in shock as the roots wraps around them
"I knew it" Natsu said with a smirk as he equips his Gauntlet Sluggers on before throwing them at the roots as they were all cut off
He then did multiple backflips as the roots near him exploded
"they exploded!?" Gray exclaimed as a giant gust of wind blows at Natsu
Natsu catches his sluggers before he jumps and spins around in a hurricane as the gust of wind was cancelled out
A figure appeared out of the ground as Natsu and the figure punches each other fists
"good to see you again, Salamander" a voice spoke as Natsu grins
"could say the same thing to you" Natsu said as he and the figure jumps down
"Azuma"
It was Azuma, former member of Grimoire Heart
Azuma smiles as he and Natsu shakes hands
"it has been long" Azuma said as Natsu nodded
"yeah, nice to see you doing well" Natsu said to the man
"you know this guy?" Gray said while Wendy and Charla look in surprise to see Azuma
"this guy used to be a member of Grimoire Heart like Ultear and Meredy, but don't worry, he's cool" Natsu said as he leans his hand on Azuma's shoulder
"nice to meet you, Fairy Tail" Azuma greeted them with a bow
"why is he here!?" Charla exclaimed
"do not worry, cat. I have laid rest to my fighting days and have been living peacefully for the past year" Azuma told her
"then why did you attack us?" Erza said while a bit cautious
"I was merely greeting Salamander in the way. a warrior would find convenient" Azuma said as Natsu grins
"you all must be here because of Warrod-san's request, correct?" Azuma said as Natsu nodded
"then he is in his home" Azuma said as everyone walked into the house
The group entered the home, as the home was filled with plants all over the place
"Warrod-san! We have guests!" Azuma called out as everyone sees a figure watering some plants
"Excuse us…" Wendy began.
"We are wizards from the Fairy Tail guild." Erza continued.
"Shh." A voice echoed through the home. "Be quiet."
"Plants prefer peace and quiet. If your minds cannot comprehend that, then keep your noisy mouths shut!" the figure said before he chuckles. "Just kidding!"
Suddenly the plants in the home rapidly grew in full bloom, the ones on the floor nearly overtaking Charla and Milo.
The man continued laugh uproariously, twirling around with a wide open mouthed smile on his face as the water from his can poured onto the still growing plants.
"It was a joke! Plants love to hear the sound of human voices!" He stopped spinning round and faced the Fairy Tail group, still laughing guests were more confused and surprised than amused at the display.
"It's a talking tree!" Gray and Lucy exclaimed in surprise to see the wizard saint looking like a tree
"still with the jokes" Natsu said with a sigh
The old tree-man stopped laughing and donned a more serious attitude.
"I must welcome you all to my home. Now, which two of you are Natsu and Gray?" Just before the group could answer, the old man picked up Charla and Milo.
"I must say, you two are much more cat-like than I imagined! And Natsu-kun got more heavier!" He began to laugh again as he placed the cats back on the ground. "I'm just joking! What a joke!"
"He sure is energetic for an old guy." Lucy commented as the tree-man continued to flail around in his hysterics.
Erza nodded in agreement. "That he is."
"It seems all that laughing has made me parched." The old man cleared his throat and lifted the watering can he was holding overhead. He began pouring the water into his mouth, laughing all the while. Once again he succeeded in shocking Wendy.
Attempting to take control of the more than odd situation, Erza stepped forward. The redhead cleared her throat, successfully gaining the old man's attention. "Forgive my presumption, but you are the wizard saint Warrod Sequen, correct?"
Once again becoming serious, the old man looked at her with a confident grin. "Indeed. I am Warrod Sequen." His grin slowly turned into a smile. "I'm joking."
"What?!" The Fairy Tail group exclaimed in disbelief.
"…Actually, that was a joke."
The girls nearly fell over. "This guy is wearing me out." Gray sighed.
"how you lived with this guy?" Natsu asked Azuma
"learned to live with it" Azuma replied
"Come with me outside. We have much to discuss about the job I requested of you all." He grabbed a book from the shelf next to him and walked past the group, they following his lead outside.
Warrod led them to a wooden table near the edge of the hill his house sat atop. Tree stumps were used as the table seating. The humans sat on the stumps, while Happy and Carla sat on the table itself. The breeze continued to blow lightly as the Fairy Tail group watched Warrod place the book on the table, opening it to a dog-eared page in the middle.
"Now onto my request." Warrod cleared his throat once more. "Ever since my retirement from guild life I have dedicated my life to returning deserts to the green lands they once were."
Erza's eyes widened in intrigue. "You were a guild member, Master Warrod?"
"never heard of that before" Natsu said with a bit of surprise
Warrod chuckled at the question. "I was, and a fine one too!" He then returned to his more leveled demeanor. "I'm determined to stop the spread of deserts with my Green Magic." Warrod held out an open hand to the curious group. A red and pink flower slowly sprouted in his palm. Clearly a demonstration of his form of magic. "I could boast and say that it's philanthropic work, but it is really more of a hobby than anything else."
"now I see how you are here" Natsu said as he looks at Azuma
"yes, I met Azuma a few years back as the man has a nearly identical magic to mine, we both worked together and helped out the dried lands and restored the greenery back to normal" Warrod said with a smile
"and here is my request," Warrod said as he opened the book
"As I said earlier, my wanting to restore deserts to their natural green states is a hobby. As such I've been travelling many deserts over the years, but during of these travels, Azuma and myself stumbled upon a very peculiar village."
"Peculiar?" Alana repeated, titling her head to the right.
"Yes." Warrod placed his hand on the book sitting in front of him. The others looked at the page, seeing a picture of what looked to be a sun shining down on a village of people. There was also a drawing of a giant fire next to the sun. "According to records, it is known as the 'Village of the Sun' or 'Sun Village' for those not living there. Its residents worship an eternally burning flame as their guardian deity." Warrod pointed at the flame in the picture.
"An 'eternally burning flame'?" Erza repeated.
"sounds delish" Natsu said with a bit of drool near his lips as Lucy sweat drops to him
"I knew you would say that"
"but everything in that village is frozen." Azuma added in
"frozen?" Gray said
"we do not know whether the ice is a natural disaster or if it's man-made, but everything in the village: the people, the animals, plants, even the eternal flame itself; they have all been frozen solid." Warrod told them
Lucy's disbelief was evident on her face. "A frozen flame?!"
"How is that possible?" Wendy asked, sharing the blonde's surprise
"I do not know what happened to the village, but the frozen people are still alive." Warrod said.
"Their frozen but, still alive?" Gray said
"Is such a thing even possible?" Charla pondered to herself while Milo meowed.
"Living beings are frozen in that village. My conscience cannot allow me to simply let them be. I ask you all to save that village. That is my request." Warrod told them
Everyone looked at each other before smiling while nodding
"we'll do it" Natsu said with a grin as he and Gray bump fists
Wendy nodded with a determined look in her eye. "We have to save those people."
Lucy voiced her agreement. "You're right. Although it'll be pretty hard without Natsu's fire."
"but I still don't see why I need to be here." Gray said to Warrod
"Quite the contrary…" Warrod argued. "This is no ordinary ice. I'm certain your abilities will be needed as well."
"Forgive my impertinence, Warrod-san…" Erza began. "But are you not a powerful wizard in your own right? Why would you need our aid in solving this problem instead of doing it on your own…?"
"I believe you all may have overestimated me some." Warrod smirked. "Though we are given the title of 'Wizard Saint' that doesn't exactly mean that we are all-powerful. We are mostly assigned the position by the Council without much say in the matter. Truth be told there are numerous wizards in Ishgal who surpass my ability, and I am even smaller in terms of power outside of Ishgal. I have very little in the way of offensive magic so I doubt I would be victorious if I were to do battle with a young wizard."
"Perhaps but…" Erza began to protest but she was quickly cut off by Warrod.
"everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, Erza" Natsu told his wife.
"why do you think a guild is made for?"
"You're right." Erza nodded with a smile to her husband
"We'll take the job!" Natsu declared to Warrod
"Yeah." Gray smirked.
"We won't let you down." Lucy declared.
Warrod smiled at the wizard's collective resolve. He could feel the determination and confidence in their words. He knew he had made the right decision by enlisting in their help.
"So where is the village?" Charla asked.
"About 1200 miles to the south." Warrod answered.
"That is quite the distance." Erza said.
"how are we supposed to get there?" Gray asked
"want to ride the Natsu express again?" Natsu suggested with a smirk
"HELL NO!" Lucy and Gray shouted at him as they didn't want to die while Wendy and Charla got confused
"be at ease, I can provide you all transport there." Warrod stood up from the table, creating a wooden cane with his Green Magic in order to better steady himself. He pointed his cane to an area a small distance left of the table. "Now, just stand over there. Don't forget your luggage."
"let's leave Milo here," Gray suggested "he's a bit old and he might slow us down"
Claws appeared on Milo's paws before
SWIPE! SWIPE!
"oooowwww!" Gray exclaimed in pain as his face got scratched by Milo's claw
"Meow meow!" Milo meowed in anger at Gray while his face looks angry
"he says "I maybe old but i can still kick your butt, stripper"" Charla translated for Milo
Gray uses his magic to ease the stinging pain on his face
"Right face!" Warrod shouted out as everyone except Natsu turns to the right as the man looks bored to Warrod
"just a joke" Warrod said as Lucy and Gray drops to the ground
"Could you take this seriously?!" Gray, Lucy, and Wendy shouted while Natsu and Erza gave an exasperated sigh.
"Sorry. I will transport you now." Warrod closed his eyes, holding his staff into the ground. He began to mumble an incantation that no one could make out clearly, causing the leaves around him to float. A seed pod on the ground began to sprout, growing bigger and bigger until it began to lift Erza and the others off the ground with its leaves.
"What is this?" Lucy asked. She and the others were now lying on giant tree leaves, floating higher and higher into the air.
"I will be depending on you, young wizards of Fairy Tail!" Warrod said as he looked up at them from the ground. The tree then darted to the south, its trunk twisting and turning as it literally grew its way to Sun Village, cherry blossoms floating and flying around the wizards. The Fairy Tail wizards looked down around them, the ground becoming nearly unrecognizable from their current height. All of them were amazed by what was happening.
"This is amazing!" Gray exclaimed, looking over the side of the treetop.
"This tree moves like a living creature!"
"We're so high up!"
"it would've been better If we ride the express" Natsu said with a bored look as he laid down on the flower bed
Erza looked back in the direction of Warrod, a warm smile on her lips as he quickly faded from view. "He may be modest, but he is an excellent wizard. To be able to control nature in this way…it is simply awe inspiring."
Warrod looked at the growing tree with a smile.
"It does flow ever onward, doesn't it?" he then started to reminisce a small girl with long flowing blonde hair, and more importantly he thought back to the formation of a guild named Fairy Tail. His smile grew wider.
"It's been 105 years since then, hasn't it?" He looked up to the sky. "Mavis…your desires live on in these young people."
"your guild is very respect worthy" Azuma said with a smile as Warrod nodded
"come, let's have some tea," Warrod said as he started walking to his home with Azuma following
That's a wrap!
Bye bye