Back with the continuation
"speaking"
""thinking""
On with the story
Natsu and the gang were on their way to Warrod's home while riding on Ceru's back as the giant hound runs through the land and they were nearly there to their destination
"This place is beautiful." Wendy said with a warm smile as she watches the scenery
"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
Ceru stopped its running as the hound let out three barks to Natsu
"we're here" Natsu said as he pointed up a head a wooden home
"is that Warrod Sequeen's home?" Lucy said confused to the type of home the rank fourth wizard saint lived in
"yeah" Natsu replied as he got down from Ceru's back with the others following
"for a wizard saint, he sure lives far away from any town" Gray said as he and the rest approached the home
The group entered the home, whose door was strangely unlocked. Despite the rather unimpressive exterior, the wizards were instantly overwhelmed by the overabundance of plant life that decorated the floor as well as many shelves inside the humble home. Seeing no immediate sign of their client, they decided to call out into the home.
"Excuse us…" Wendy began.
"We are wizards from the Fairy Tail guild." Erza continued.
"Shh." A voice echoed through the home. "Be quiet."
Erza and the others followed the voice further inside. The sound of flowing water could be heard in front of the wizards when they stopped walking.
There was a man, a coat flowing his somewhat lean frame. He was also wearing a cape with the wizard saint's insignia on the back. It looked as if they were standing behind a literal tree-man. He spoke again, his back still to the group of wizards.
"Plants prefer peace and quiet. If your minds cannot comprehend that, then keep your noisy mouths shut!" his booming voice startled the wizards, especially Lucy, Aura, Wendy, and Alana; who all covered their mouths in order to better silence themselves. Everyone stood silent, a trace of fear running up each of their spines. They wouldn't dare further upset the man in front of them. Slowly the man grinned, a small snicker escaping from his lips. "Just kidding!"
Suddenly the plants in the home rapidly grew in full bloom, the ones on the floor nearly overtaking Carla and Happy.
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, Lucy and Wendy exclaimed in awe to the tree man
"now I remember him" Natsu said while sighing in annoyance.
"what?" Gray asked the man
"this old man loves to joke around even at the council. He is by far the annoying one ever" Natsu said as The old tree-man stopped laughing and donned a more serious attitude.
"I must welcome you all to my home." Warrod told them "but I must say that it is nice to see my fellow wizard saint here" Warrod smiled to Natsu who sighs to him
"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.
Warrod straightened his cloak. "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 Charla 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. He then looked up and visually scanned the assembled wizards. He cleared his throat before talking.
"Now onto my request. 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?"
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."
"I don't want to be rude, but can we get back to the job?" Lucy asked the man
Warrod refocused. "Of course. Of course. Forgive me. 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 I happened upon a very peculiar village."
"Peculiar?" Natsu asked him while raising an eyebrow
"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.
"but now the village has been frozen over." Warrod told them
Gray's ears perked up. Warrod continued his explanation.
"I 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."
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. Warrod's face grew even more serious, his eyes narrowed firmly.
"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."
There was a silence that fell over the Fairy Tail wizards. This would be no simple job, and the fact that it was requested by someone as powerful as a wizard saint made it even more dangerous. Nonetheless, they all smiled, their resolve written across their faces.
"We'll do it." Gray said as he and Natsu bumped their 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, If the job is melting ice, then I don't see why I need to be here."
"Quite the contrary…" Warrod argued. "This is no ordinary ice. I'm certain your abilities will be needed as well."
Gray raised an eyebrow in response. He had no idea why his magic would be needed to do the opposite of its intended use, but he nonetheless relented.
"Forgive my impertinence, Master Warrod…" 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.
"All have their strengths and weaknesses. This is why we have comrades to supplement and make up for those weaknesses, correct? Is that not what a guild is for?" He gave the wizards a small smile as his words began to sink in. Erza and the others looked at each other, smiling warmly as they confirmed Warrod's words with affirmative nods and more smiles.
"You're right." Erza nodded with a pleased grin. "Wise words indeed."
"We'll take the job!" Lucy declared. "We won't let you down."
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?" Gray asked
"About 1200 miles to the south." Warrod answered.
"That is quite the distance." Erza said.
"should we ride Ceru again?" Lucy asked
"no, he's still tired after taking us here" Natsu told the blonde
"do not worry, I can at least provide you 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."
"Right face!" Warrod shouted. He sounded like a drill instructor.
Erza and the others (except Natsu) followed his instruction, but Natsu didn't as the man looks bored to Warrod
Warrod looked at the group for a few more seconds before saying: "Just a joke."
"Could you take this seriously?!" Gray, Lucy, and Wendy shouted. 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's like were on a ride!"
"Careful or you'll fall off." Charla warned.
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 closed his eyes, his mind wandering back to a simpler time. His time as a young man to be more specific. He thought back to when he was with his friends, of 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."
That's a wrap!
Bye bye