Greetings and welcome to chapter 5. Now, I had intended to upload this chapter over the weekend, but I decided it would be best to put it off until I was happy with it and I managed to get to a decent stopping point.

So, after all that, I finally managed to come up with something that I felt was pretty decent. I hope you enjoy!

Heart of Fire
Wings of Light
I have withstood the harshest of winters
In this barren heart of mine
So cold and empty without you here
And yet my flame burns on

It was with a heavy heart that Pinkie trudged along. Even though he had only journeyed with Wendy and Jellal for a short while, he felt their absence keenly. It was the first time that he'd had the opportunity to socialise with anyone close to his age... or anyone for that matter.

His only consolation was that very soon, he'd meet a lot more people. Jellal had said that this village, Tretelan, was rather small and only had around sixty to eighty inhabitants. That may seem like an insignificant number to some people, but for someone like Pinkie, who had barely laid eyes on another human in his life, it was a little intimidating.

Jellal's warning was also at the forefront of his mind. Hearing words like 'watch yourself' and 'don't show them any sign of weakness' certainly didn't make him feel comfortable with this course of action. But this was an important step in achieving his eventual goal, so it had to be done, no matter the risks.

He was fortunate that he had already resolved himself by that point, as he then rounded one last bend in the stream that he still followed and caught sight of the village ahead. His already heightened nerves kicked up a notch, causing his pulse to quicken and his breathing to become shallower. What sort of reception would he receive? Would they ignore him? Confront him on sight?

He did he best to suppress his overactive imagination- there was no use worrying about it now. 'Deal with it as it comes', as was his motto.

The stream that Pinkie followed had steadily grown wider and deeper as it rushed along. No longer trickling feebly, it dashed over the ground, cascading over rocks and carving the earth with its incessant march. The village was split in two by the water, which flowed in a gentle arc from the north-western edge of the settlement to the eastern edge. It appeared that most of the homes were situated on the southern side of the river, while a few buildings were sparsely scattered around on the north side.

On the outskirts of the village stood several farm buildings, each one boasting several tilled fields, though none were particularly large.

At first sight, it appeared to be a fairly ordinary settlement... until you took a closer look.

Most of the buildings were in a state of disrepair, built with aged, rotting timber beams, or with disintegrating thatch roofing. The fields were poorly maintained, with sickly looking and underdeveloped crops. The villagers themselves had a gaunt, almost feral appearance and moved shiftily, ever vigilant, as if expecting an attack at any moment.

At this point, some of the villagers started to notice Pinkie's approach. A couple of children ran from him on sight, disappearing within some of the buildings. A few adults followed suit, though it was more likely that they were preparing weapons in case this newcomer turned out to be a threat.

Most of the people simply looked at him. However, their expressions were not one of welcome or even curiosity... it was outright hostility. Pure distrust and mischief were plastered on the faces of every man, woman and child. It was if they were simultaneously hoping he'd leave, while also wondering how they might exploit him.

One of the downsides of being a dragonslayer was that his enhanced vision let him see their expressions long before he should have done, which did nothing to help ease his tension. The sinister atmosphere made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and his instincts screamed at him to get far away from this place, but it was already too late- he was already walking down the hard-packed dirt path, making his way through the buildings.

The path that he followed ran roughly parallel to the river, entering the village from the western edge. He followed it, drawing closer to the centre of the village. His feelings of unease only grew with each step, with each glimpse of the furtive movements of those around him. On numerous occasions, he could swear that he caught sight of faces peering at him, or the shape of someone's figure flitting from one hiding spot to the next. However, every time he tried to take a better look, it seemed like nothing was there.

In the end, he decided to just ignore it and just focus on what was ahead. But then he started to hear things instead. At first, all he heard was footsteps- quiet and regular, nothing out of the ordinary. After a while, they started to cut off every so often at odd times. When this started happening, he would have a quick glance, but once again, he would see nothing.

He continued on, trying to act unfazed.

The footsteps resumed.
And gradually grew louder.
And louder.

The rhythm changed, no longer regular, but erratic. The volume kept changing, so one moment was eerily quiet, while the next was almost deafening. So deafening that he almost didn't hear it.

A slow murmur pervading the resounding noises. A low continuous noise that goes unnoticed for the longest time, only to become unmissable once you finally perceive it.
It was a whisper.
And this voice would not be ignored.

"You do not belong here."

Pinkie yelled, flinching away from the voice that spoke directly into his ear. There was nothing there, yet it was like the speaker had crawled inside his head. That was terrifying enough, but to make matters worse, the sun had set without him realising it.

...No. The sun hadn't set at all- the day had simply grown dark. The sun was still high in the sky, yet it was black as night. The shadows moved ominously, like smoke that was somehow held in place and the world around him had been drained of colour. This was not the world that he knew, but rather a realm of shadows.

"Where are you?!" Pinkie demanded.

"You do not belong here". Evidently, the speaker wasn't about to dignify him with a response to that question.

"Come out now and fight me. Stop hiding!" yelled Pinkie.

Once again, the voice didn't answer. But the whispering grew increasingly louder, becoming a cacophony of voices. The boy fell to his knees, clutching his head in agony and all but burying his face in the ground as the words washed over him.

"You do not belong here"

"Go away"

"You do not belong here"

"You are not wanted he-"

"YOU DO NOT BELONG"

Feeling an awful sense of dread, Pinkie looked up. What greeted him was a most terrifying sight indeed.

It seemed that in his confusion, Pinkie had wandered into the centre of the village. Here, the path that he had walked on intersected another path that stretched from the north to the south, with the assistance of a small makeshift bridge which spanned the stream. Together, they formed a crossroads of sorts. From this central point, the four pathways each stretched towards the cardinal directions.

These paths were no longer unoccupied. The villagers, like statues, barred his way, cutting off any means of escape.

Looking to the western side, Pinkie caught sight of one man who stood out from the rest. Standing slightly ahead of his peers, the old man clutched a short staff, as if it was the only thing holding him upright. He had a long wispy beard and he was hunched over as if the weight of the whole world was on his shoulders. This was likely the village elder... or perhaps had been.

Because there was no life left in those soulless eyes.

With a tilt of his head, he grinned, then gravely intoned:

"You do not belong here... begone."

With those words, the ground began to tremble and a rush of wind blew from behind the man, bearing a black cloud that enveloped the villagers. As the dark cloud barreled towards him, all Pinkie could do was put up a last desperate defence against the onslaught.

"Fire Dragon Flame Shield" he roared. Fire radiated from every pore, surrounding him in a thick cloak of flames. A second later, the darkness enveloped him, swirling around him like a tempest.

For a moment, it seemed that his flames might keep the darkness at bay. The fire, as radiant as the sun and blisteringly hot, purged the darkness that it came into contact with. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep it up for long; while this protection was powerful, it also required a lot of energy to maintain it. As such, his reserves of magical reserves started to run out and the flames began to dim. Unable to fight the darkness, the flames were smothered and slowly died out.

The moment the flames disappeared, the darkness swooped in and swallowed him.

He was left blind, utterly disoriented and at the complete mercy of the shadows. The voices were all around, tearing at him with their words and accusation, filling his head with poisonous thoughts and images. He struggled to fight his way out, but there was no escape for him.. all he could do was wait helplessly as the shadows pulled him into a deep abyss.

He drifted endlessly in a dark void.
There was no light, nor sound- It was an emptiness unlike any other that he had ever experienced.
As he floated by, he could feel his senses start to drift away from him. It was getting hard to think coherently.

What was this place?
What had happened to him?
Was there any escape from this hellish place? Or would he die, with no-one by his side?

That last thought scared him more than anything.
For as long as he could remember, Igneel had always been watching over him, nurturing him and helping him grow into the person he was today.
Then when Igneel left, he had found the resolve to set out on his own. On his journey, he had met two people who he could possibly consider to be friends. Now they were gone too.
There was no way that he could let this be the end.

He had stubbornly decided that he would find Igneel, no matter what it took. He couldn't fall before he'd achieved that much at least.
But more than that, he wanted to go on more adventures... to meet more people and make new friends.
There was so much that he wanted to experience, so he would fight until his last breath, for the opportunity to live the life that he wanted.
He reached deep inside of himself, searching for that last bit of strength that he needed.

The voices returned with a vengeance, determined to finish him off for good.
He used every ounce of power he had left to resist the torrent of filth that ate away at him and even as he did so, he prayed for rescue.

"Well, you're in quite the pickle, runt. You're lucky I happened to stop by."

The new voice had a resounding effect on the others, which suddenly became more distant and hushed.

"Just hang tight a sec and try not to die... this is going to hurt a bit."

With those words, a fierce light sprang into being, becoming ever brighter as it filled the void. Pinkie could finally see the form of the beings that had tormented him- phantom figures that had been completely invisible in the darkness. As the mysterious force came into contact with them, their bodies started to disintegrate, causing them to scream in agony before disappearing entirely.

The light drew closer to Pinkie and he was finally able to see it for what it truly was- golden lightning, forking through the air in a great big chain.

The lightning arced through him, igniting his skin and causing his blood to boil. His body convulsed spasmodically from the shocks that rippled through him, leaving him all but paralysed. He roared in anguish, even as he tried to protect himself from the energy that rushed through him.

Unfortunately, there was very little he could do to protect himself from the shocks- while his magic gave him control over the element of fire, it didn't allow him to directly influence any other element. However, in sheer desperation, he tried to command the lightning to stop.
There was a subtle change- suddenly, the lightning became less invasive, almost as if it was running in harmony with his body. The pain dulled, though it was still uncomfortable.

He wasn't given much of a chance to marvel over this, however. Moments later, the lightning drove away the last remnants of shadows and the world shattered into pieces.

When he finally became aware of his surroundings, he found himself lying face down in the dirt. Complete exhaustion had taken over him and he realized he barely had enough energy to stay awake, let alone move. He might well have fallen asleep right there and then if it wasn't for the interjection of a familiar voice.

"Well well, colour me impressed! You managed to survive that after all."

It was the voice of a young man. His words were filled with confidence, though it might be more accurate to describe it as 'lazy arrogance'.

With difficulty, Pinkie managed to lift his head just enough to take a look at his rescuer.

The young man in question squatted in front of him, head tilted slightly to one side. His muddled hair was a brilliant golden colour, just like his magic. His grey eyes were slightly narrowed, giving him a stern, suspicious looking gaze. He also bore a lightning bolt shaped scar over his right eye.

This guy could look quite intimidating if it wasn't for his odd fashion choices:

First of all, he wore an unusual looking metal device that covered both of his ears. Each earpiece had a metal spike protruding from the side of it, and a length of wire connected the two, with a trailing segment that ran into one of his pockets.
He also wore an ochre-coloured short sleeve shirt, with a darker long-sleeve shirt underneath. That just begged the question... why wear two shirts? Is it some sort of trend? If so, humans were weird indeed.

The young man continued along with his previous train of thought.

"Honestly, I was kinda expecting you to get a little fried and crispy after that, but you look like you're still in one piece... interesting." the young man mused.

Pinkie wasn't able to muster up anything in the way of a reply, as his vision was starting to get dark. Unable to stay awake any longer, he started slipping into unconsciousness.

"Hey, don't go passing out on me now! I don't wanna have to carry yo-"

He didn't quite catch the end of Goldie's sentence there as, by that time, he was already comatose.

The power of sleep is truly a miraculous thing. No matter how exhausted one feels, simply closing your eyes and resting for a while leaves you feeling as fresh as a daisy. It allows you to forget your earthly woes and simply meander through a world of your own creation, albeit one that you don't necessarily have much control over. Even in times of distress, when you feel as if you can't cope, sleep is your friend- because when you wake up, you can start anew with a clear head.

Yes, sleep truly is an amazing thing.

However, being rudely awakened from a pleasant sleep is a dreadful thing.
Being woken up by an intense electric shock though... that's one of the worst things imaginable.

The intense pain of being hit by a bolt of lightning figuratively and literally shocked Pinkie out of his slumber.
He screamed, leaping to his feet, while the culprit howled in amusement.

"Wow, you should have seen yourself jump up," Goldie guffawed loudly. "Like a little kitty who's tail got stomped on!"

"Hey, are you trying to fry me, moron?!"

"Watch who you're talking to punk." Goldie spat. "Don't forget who saved your bacon back there. Show a little gratitude."

"'Saved by bacon'? You zapped me with lightning... twice!" Pinkie argued. "You want gratitude? I'll show you gratitude."

He charged at the other man, igniting his fist and preparing to strike. Unconcerned, Goldie raised one hand and unleashed a volley of lightning at him. As the lightning came into contact with him, it dispersed, bending around him.

Goldie's eyes widened in surprise as the Pinkie ploughed through his spell completely unfazed. He was so surprised in fact that he almost forgot to defend himself. In the nick of time, he raised one hand and struck down the boy, slamming him into the floor hard enough to leave a small crater. The combination of sheer force and the lightning that accompanied it were just too much and once again, Pinkie slipped into unconsciousness.

"Have you calmed down yet, kid?"

"I would be a lot calmer if you'd stop calling me 'kid'."

Having been thoroughly beaten and knocked out for a second time in a very short span of time, Pinkie had lost all interest in fighting. Right now, he just wanted the world to stop spinning so he could rest peacefully.

He sat barefoot on a bed of lush grass, leaning against a large oak tree. The sun had risen a short while ago, painting the sky a golden colour- he must have been asleep for the tail end of the previous day and all through the night too.
As the tree was at the top of a small hill, it afforded Pinkie an excellent view of the surrounding countryside.

The scenery wasn't the focus of his attention however, but rather the young man who sat opposite him.

Goldie stared at him with an expression of mild consideration, as if trying to work out what to do with him. That was all well and good, but the situation wasn't exactly comfortable. So in order to break the awkward silence, he phrased a question to the young man.

"So... what brought you all the way out here? You don't look like you belong in the village," he asked.

Goldie contemplated the question for a moment, pursing his lips.

"You're right, I'm not from the village," he answered. "I only came to this backwater of a place to complete a job. Then I saw you being attacked by those Inaeri and thought I may as well take care of 'em."

"Hang on, what's IN-EAR-REE? What have ears got to do with it?" Pinkie asked.

"Nothing, that's what... and it's pronounced IN-AIR-EE." Goldie enunciated carefully. "It's the name we've given to a certain race of phantom creatures. These beings torment their victims until they go insane. If they get strong enough, they can devour your soul or even your very body... and you just happened to stumble into a village full of the damn things."

Well, talk about unlucky. Personally, Pinkie had never had anyone devour his soul, but he wasn't eager to find out what it felt like either.

Apparently, Goldie wasn't finished with this line of conversation, as he asked a question of his own.

"So..." he started. "Why were you in that village exactly?". He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb, pointing to the village in the distance.

Pinkie was almost tempted to dodge the question, or just make up some fictional tale, but in the end, decided against it. He had been hoping to find some useful information in the village, but that plan was dead in the water now. Goldie, however, might just have the information he needed.

So Pinkie explained as succinctly as possible about his plan to find Igneel. When he finally came to the end of his explanation, Goldie nodded thoughtfully.

"I see," he said simply. "I'm not sure whether to believe you when you say that this Igneel is a dragon, but I do believe that you want to find him pretty badly."

He sighed resignedly. "I guess I'd better help you then. If you're looking for a town with lot's of people in it, the closest place would be Magnolia."

"...is it a nice town?"

"It's... not bad," Goldie replied reluctantly, though his face softened slightly as he spoke of the place. "Hang on a sec. You'll need a little somethin' to help you get there."

He reached for his pack and rummaged through it, eventually withdrawing a map and a compass. They were both good quality pieces- the map was extremely accurate and included information on altitude and landmarks, while many of the components of the compass were clear, allowing you to use it in conjunction with the map for more precise bearings. He was sure that they would be useful tools for the young boy.

"Here," he said, handing them over. "I've done so much travelling that I rarely need to use these anymore, so you may as well make use of them."

Pinkie looked at the map intensely, eyes flicking back and forth rapidly. He then switched his attention to the compass, fiddling with it. The more he messed with the equipment, the more concerned Goldie became. Eventually, he couldn't resist asking the question on his mind.

"Look... you do know how to use these, right?"

Pinkie's sheepish expression said it all.

Goldie growled frustratedly.

"Alright," he said. "Listen up, cos I'm only going to tell you this once."

He then proceeded to give a rapid crash course on how to use this rather advanced compass as well as the map, explaining the difference between magnetic north and true north, declination, bearings and how to use the ruler measurements to calculate distance on the map.

"I see..." Pinkie said finally. "These things are pretty useful then."

Feeling exhausted, Goldie pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly.

"You'd better get going," he said. "You've got at least a week of walking ahead of you."

"What? I thought it wouldn't take me any more than three days!"

"Either you're a very fast walker, or you still don't understand how to calculate distance... if it's the latter, you should sort that out before you get into trouble again."

With those words, he rose to his feet.

"Right... time for me to go. I need to go finish that job."

"You mean, back at the village? I thought you'd already finished those things off?"

"Yes, I dealt with those Inaeri that were after you, but unless I get rid of the source, more will spring up and they'll all get stronger too." He gave a 'tsk' of disgust. "I haven't managed to work out what's causing it yet... might be a curse, dark magic, or maybe someone has just been up to some pretty nasty stuff. Evil acts corrupt everything, given time."

"...Well, I'm glad. Those people back there could really do with your help."

Goldie looked at him in a peculiar way and asked a very disturbing question.

"What people? No one has lived there for a long time... they all moved out when things started going down."

Once again, he turned to leave, leaving one last parting message.

"Anyway, try not to get killed on your way to Magnolia... I would hate it if all my hard work went to waste."

Still stunned by his previous remark, Pinkie was unable to answer.

'If there was nobody living in the village... what did I see?' he thought. He realized immediately that he didn't want to know the answer to that question. Pushing the thought out of his head, he prepared to set off, hoisting his pack onto his shoulder and checking both his map and compass.

"Maybe one day... you will belong here..."

He chose to believe that the voice was just a figment of his imagination, though the raised hairs on the back of his neck told him otherwise. He walked on with a brisk pace, leaving the god-forsaken village behind him... it was time to move on.

And there we have it for chapter 5... as promised, there was a little more action in this chapter and a LOT of creepy stuff.

I should be finished with this early filler-esque stuff soon and start to bring in more of the main storyline soon. If you like this stuff though, let me know and I'll try to throw a little more in throughout the story... I'm pretty sure everyone knows how the main story goes, but this stuff is a little different, so it's fun to write (and hopefully read).

Anyway, see you guys later. Ciao