Hey guys and girls!
Sorry this is a day late :(
Enjoy!
My father once told me that friends were meaningless to someone like me…
Oh how I loved to prove him wrong!
Chapter Four
"Welcome back your majesty" said Invel politely.
"I'm back, Invel" said the black wizard with an amused smile adoring his face, "This might be a bit sudden but… do me a favor and gather the twelve"
"Doing so this instant will be difficult" said Invel as he rubbed his temples in thought, "If I had it in me to predict when the first winds of spring would blow you through the palace gates, I'd have had them assemble ahead of time"
"My, my, do you mean to tell me I'm a fickle breeze?" asked Zeref in an amused tone.
"Wind… a black wind. No… a dark storm that brings death, a spring breeze does not befit his majesty" said Dimaria firmly as she, Ajeel and Ryan entered the hall.
"Desert! That's it! A dust storm dancing over the lands of death is most fitting" said Ajeel with a grin.
"Why not call him what he is? The great black wizard?" suggested Ryan with a shrug of his shoulders.
"But a desert is way cooler!" argued Ajeel.
"Ajeel, Dimaria, Ryan, you all seem well" said Zeref with a curt smile.
"All of you, when addressing his majesty, try to maintain a tone of respect please" Growled Invel; all three Spriggan rolled their eyes.
"Its fine Invel" said Zeref calmly.
"Come to think of it though, you seem to be rather chipper as well, your majesty" said August softly as he slowly made his way into the room, "It appears that your skies have brightened"
"I guess so" said Zeref casually.
"So does that mean you've got an answer about Ragnarok?" asked August seriously.
"That again… Isn't it called the Dragon king festival in Ishgar?" wondered Ryan out loud.
Each of the Spriggans eyes widened in understanding.
"A battle! Sweet! Fucking sweet!" yelled Ajeel in excitement.
The soft tapping of a cane against the wooden floor broke the sudden silence and the occupants turned to see the Alvarez empire minister Yajeel walking towards him, a stranger walking slightly behind him.
"My majesty… you've returned for your trip! I am absolutely elated to see your face again" Yajeel quickly realized his mistake and took a step back, bowing lowly as he did, "My apologies"
"Do not worry… these past few years; Ancselam seems to have been in a good mood" said Zeref with another odd smile.
Ajeel and Ryan were trying not to laugh as they watch Ajeel's uncle kiss Zerefs butt.
"No, no, someone of my caliber could have their soul sucked right out of them just by approaching his majesty" said Yajeel truthfully.
Ryan saw a flash of sadness cross Zerefs eyes as he saw said truth in the words.
"I hope that his majesty is aware of the servant of Ishgar that that began staying in the palace during his majesty's absence" said Yajeel as he gestured to the short man beside him.
Ryan was stunned, no, more than that, he was shocked!
He knew this person.
"Yes. I am aware" said Zeref calmly, observing the stout guest.
"He absolutely insists that he have an audience with you immediately, so I thought I would allow him the chance to at least briefly glimpse thee" said Yajeel with a firm face.
Ryan still couldn't find his words; the world was all but deaf to him.
"Yajeel. When you invite people from other countries into the palace you must draw up the requisite official documents first…" began Invel before he was cut off by his master.
"It's fine" said Zeref softly.
The stranger seemed stunned before he swiftly fell to one knee.
"I…It is a great honor to meet you, your majesty" said the man, stuttering a little before Zeref.
Ryan finally found his voice.
"Markarov? Markarov Dreyar?" he said hesitantly.
The man looked at the teen with wide eyes.
"How do you know that name?" he asked suddenly.
"Mavis gave it to you… I was there when you were born" whispered Ryan as his memories flashed through his mind back to the day Rita died due to Mavis's curse.
Markarov was shocked, so was everyone else present.
"I don't…" he stuttered before Zeref stepped in.
"Please leave us, I will talk with Master. Dreyar personally" said the ever young looking teen as he dismissed the Spriggans.
"But Zeref…" begged Ryan.
"Just let me speak with him first, you will have your time" promised Zeref as the emperor and the ex-guild master walked out onto the large balcony.
"Hey dude, are you alright?" asked Ajeel as he put his hand on the shaking teens shoulder.
"I'm fine… I just need some air… Tome of Transportation: Magic Circle"
Ryan was promptly whipped away, leaving the other remaining Spriggan rather confused.
Roof Top
Ryan sat perched precariously on the edge of a very slim ledge, content to quietly watch the sun move through the sky.
Only a hundred meters below him, his two friends were discussing something of urgent importance.
He could have listened, a simple sense enhancing spell and it would be like he was right there with them, yet he didn't because Zeref had asked him to.
He could sense their magic however; Makarov's was old and a mere shadow of its former glory… still powerful though.
Zerefs on the other hand was still at the peak of its strength, it never seemed to change.
"I'll never surrender the first to the likes of you!"
Markarov's voice echoed across the castle and Ryan's eyes flashed open just in time to see the ex-guild master go giant and attempt to crush Zeref.
Ryan could sense Zerefs fear, this was no joke, Markarov was trying to kill his friend!
And he was winning!
"Tome of Anti-Magic: Dispel!" yelled Ryan as he landed between the two wizards.
Markarov's giant form shrank back down and he was left out of breath.
"What are you doing?!" roared the old man.
"Why are you trying to kill Zeref?" asked Ryan in a puzzled tone, on look a Zeref was all he needed to confirm that the wizard was hurt.
"Tome of Restraint: Ten point binding prism" said Ryan as he raised his hand to restrain the elderly man.
"Wait…" however Markarov didn't finish as a flash of white appeared followed by a person whom Ryan recognized before they both disappeared.
"Mest…" said Ryan softly as he tried to piece what had just happened together.
"Ajeel, August… go" whispered Zeref as he groaned.
"Zeref, are you alright?" asked Ryan as he bent down next to him, summoning a tome of healing to his hands.
"I should be fine, he got me good though" chuckled Zeref as his wounds quickly healed, Ryan breathing a sigh of relief before realizing the situation.
"I need to go after him, try and talk some sense into him" he got to his feet but a hand on his shoulder quickly halted his movements forward.
"I have sent Ajeel after them, he has been ordered to restrain them and return to us" said Zeref softly.
"But…" began Ryan.
"You know Markarov so therefore it would be most difficult for you to capture him" explained Zeref.
Ryan nodded, he knew it was true.
"Tome of Revelation: Eagle Eyes" said Ryan quickly, his eyes flashing gold, he could now observe the scene himself.
"Natsu? Lucy? Erza? Gray? Wendy? Carla?" whispered Ryan as he saw his fairy tail friends being approached by the desert king.
Without warning, Erza threw dozen of knives at the Spriggan, Ryan wasn't worried since they would be turned to sand upon contact with the young man's flesh, he was more concerned about the fact that his friends had just attacked Ajeel with no real reason.
The Tome Master watched as Ajeel pursued them as a giant sand monster, not the most effective capture method in his mind but it was Ajeel so he couldn't really say he was surprised…
"Star Dress? Demon slayer ice magic?" stated Ryan as he watched Lucy and Gray shoot Ajeel's sand summons out of the air.
"Why are they doing this?" asked Ryan to Zeref who was also observing the battle.
"They're afraid of our empire, the power that I and the twelve hold is too much for them to handle so they have been secretly trying to sabotage us, the vampires you encountered were ordered to do so by one of the ten wizard saints" explained Zeref sadly.
"Hyberion would never do something like that!" yelled Ryan in anger, his eyes sparking purple lightning.
"Look for yourself" said Zeref with sad eyes.
Ryan turned to see a familiar flying ship hovering above the members of Fairy Tail and Ajeel.
"That's the ship of Blue Pegasus" stated Ryan.
The members of Fairy Tail suddenly vanished and Ryan looked at the flying ship to see the thunder dragon slayer Laxus preparing a roar attack, aimed directly at Ajeel.
"AJEEL!" yelled Ryan as he tried to move forward to help his sand wielding friend.
"Don't worry, August is with him" said Zeref, instantly calming the frantic teen.
Zeref was right, a huge explosion of lightning occurred, almost blinding the two wizards watching.
However Ryan saw a class ten magic bubble around the area, looking closer he saw the unscathed form of both August and Ajeel.
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief before his stomach was scooped hollow.
"Fairy Tail attacked us… how could they do such a thing?" whispered Ryan, his left wrist suddenly began to burn with pain.
Tearing off his glove he noticed that his guild emblem was pulsing red hot.
"You need to remove it, you'll lose your hand otherwise" noted Zeref as he cast an anti-burn charm on the mark.
"How?" asked Ryan as it continued to burn, bone could be seen through the charred flesh.
"Replace it with the mark of Alvarez, this way you can become a true Spriggan" suggested Zeref softly.
Ryan thought is over; if he abandoned his mark he would never see Mavis again…
He would no longer be part of the guild which he had called home on more than one occasion…
"Do it…" he said suddenly
"Very well, repair the flesh" ordered Zeref as his hands began to glow.
"Tome of Healing: Rapid Regen" whispered Ryan, his hands began to glow green as the light rapidly created fresh flesh on his wrist.
"With this mark you swear loyalty to me and the Alvarez Empire, do you accept the mark?" asked Zeref, his hand hovering just over the newly repaired flesh.
"I do…" confirmed Ryan.
It didn't hurt; if he hadn't been watching himself he wouldn't even have known it was on his arm.
Yet the mark of Alvarez burned bright on his wrist, signifying his rise to power.
"Come along, since you know them, you can help us plan for our invasion" said Zeref as he walked into the castle again.
"Very well your majesty"
An Hour Later
"If you plan on taking Bosco; that would force them to send out their strongest force to counter it. I recommend sending August, Serena and possibly Jacob… you will undoubtedly be countered by your former gods of Ishgar Serena, I also suspect that the wizard saint Jura will accompany them" concluded Ryan as the seven Spriggan sat around the large round table.
"Not a problem" said the exuberant man with a wave of his hand.
"I suggest an initial approach from the sky, set off all their little traps early before launching an attack from all sides" said Ryan as he moved the various pieces around the board.
"A man called Freed will set up a magical barrier around the town of Magnolia, Wahl; I suggest you take your doll and a small squad to make a hole in it. Brandish, the celestial spirit mage Lucy Heartfilia might prove to be a hindrance, go to her house and take her out" ordered Ryan, his eyes darting over the board.
"Heartfilia huh?" said the country demolisher curiously.
"What about little old me?" asked Dimaria with a pout.
"Take the real Wahl, Neinhart and secure the south, due to your nature as a sword user, Markarov will undoubtedly send someone near your caliber, possibly Erza or the lady from Mermaid Heel" explained Ryan, "Both are equally skilled and should not be underestimated"
Dimaria simply smirked but nodded in understanding.
"Invel and Yajeel will accompany his majesty along with the main force of the army, Bradman will secure the North along with his force, tell him to expect powerful resistance though" said Ryan with a sigh.
"What about the other Spriggan not present?" asked Ajeel curiously.
Zeref answered first.
"They will be given orders at a later date, Master. Blackworth here will be plan B, should all else fail… but until then he shall offer long range fire from right here using his magic" explained Zeref.
"Can you really fire from that distance?" asked August incredulously.
"I can… even further if I really tried" muttered Ryan as he took his seat.
The other Spriggan members looked at him with a worried glance, something had changed inside the young tome master and they all knew it.
Fairy Tail
"There was another Spriggan whom I had only seen once before, he had come by the guild hall a few years back, he protected Zeref but seemed confused as to why I was attacking me, he knew who I was and said he knew my mother, yet he looks barely older than Gray" said Markarov with a worried expression.
Mavis's eyes widened.
"Dark brown hair?"
"Yes"
"Gentle purple eyes?"
"I suppose"
"Wore black gloves?"
"Yes, are you going somewhere with this first master?"
Mavis looked heartbroken as the final nail was laid into the coffin of truth.
"Ryan Blackworth is a member of the Spriggan twelve and as far as we're concerned, we just tried to kill the man he works for in his own backyard"
The entire guild fell quiet...
"Damn… this could prove challenging then" muttered Erza.
"Who cares!? He may be a Spriggan but Ryan is still our friend first, we'll talk some sense into him!" yelled Natsu as he got up onto the table.
"Very well… prepare for battle"
Alvarez Empire
"Prepare for battle..."
A/N: It's almost time!
I'm kinda in a state of flux writing this story since I'm having to stay a few chapters behind the manga in case anything happens (keeping it cannon is difficult!)
Oh well!
Loving the manga so far!
Leave a review, fav and follow...
And as always:
My name is Parradox and thanks so much for watching.
Bye!