Arc I: Crow's Nest Formation
Prologue: Dark Guild Beginnings

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No POV
September 10th, X791

In the year X791, the strongest Dark Guild within all of Fiore, Tartaros, was finally put at rest, destroyed by the Fairy Tail Guild, and with it, the Balam Alliance spelled out its final goodbyes, its end in sight. Remnants existed throughout that of Fiore – but with Oración Seis and Grimoire Heart having been destroyed even prior to Tartaros' defeat, all by Fairy Tail and those aligned with them, the power of the Balam Alliance dwindled to such a point where any Guild could exterminate them with a bit of vigor and heart. Dark Mages began to face what appeared to be a great recession and depression unlike any other in these trying times; Fiore had virtually won over that of the darkness which nestled in its crooks and niches. However, much like with anything, the underbelly of the beast always hid a secret or two, and one man hoped to reunite the scattered Dark Mages before it was too late.

With Fairy Tail's dissolution not even a week after the destruction of the final power of the Balam Alliance, he saw his opportunity, and decided to seize it. It had taken some time, haggling and bartering, and after an entire month and a half, enough money had been placed away as a nest egg, allowing him the ability to construct a hidden project under a falsely written name. He, the first ever Dark Guild Master of his very own Dark Guild, decided to do what no man or woman had ever achieved before him within the country known as Fiore – with its greatest fighting force, Fairy Tail, removed from the picture (though ultimately still around but he didn't bother paying attention to that tidbit of fact), he decided that his ultimate goal would be to rupture the belly of the beast from within, and control Fiore like a puppet from the shadows.

Of course, no grand goal like his own could be possible without loyal minions to do the bidding of the "Dark Lord" who sits upon his dark, gilded throne like a diabolical evil mastermind; nay, his goal would be impossible without said minions to assist him! And as such, he had to recruit the best and the brightest for his goal, which with it, took extra time and costs out of his own pocket, but it would serve him wisely in the end.

It's why he was currently here, his identity hidden, secretive, like the various literature novels he would secretly read from amateurs who posted short stories of poorly written works that he took a guilty pleasure in reading, placing more than his fair share of donations toward such authors in order to prop them up and have them continue writing, so that he may take further amusement out of their own failures – he took great joy in laughing at their, admittedly, interesting works, from the shadows, like a true evil lord.

And here, of course, meant an office building he had rented out under a false name in order to conduct the interviews of various Dark Mages. Confuzzled, they all were, as they entered, not knowing whether they'd be apprehended for responding to a Dark Guild's invitational call in broad daylight, or if they had met the dumbest man alive – nay, the smartest man! For no legal Guild, no Magic Council lackey, would ever think such an operation was going on in such an obscure building; as he'd know, he made sure to check by questioning a multitude of Rune Knights on whether or not they'd busted any Dark Guilds run in such a strange locale.

There were none.

Thus, his idea was fool proof!

However, it was to his great disappointment that the few Mages who had shown up, failed his extreme interview process at lightning speed. He didn't know what had gone wrong; he double checked, triple checked, the process! But, alas. It seemed as if the Mages who had responded lacked the drive and ambition he set forth with.

"Thirty-third question, would you, at any time, ever kick a puppy?" The man who conducted said interview questioned, his voice coming out deeper and raspier (with an echo attached to it) due to the plague mask he was wearing; furthermore, the right eye possessed an eyepatch over it, which while some may believe it blinded the man even further, it was actually made out of a thin material that was see-through on one side, rather than the other, which allowed him to see from it even still. It was quite expensive, but no expense was too great for his false identity!

"Ehhh, yes?" The Mage before him answered with a dumbstruck nod, unsure of even his own answer. He was a Dark Mage who had committed many different acts of evil and who loved doing so, as any dastardly minion of Lord Zeref would, and who should absolutely be locked up in prison for the rest of his life; was kicking a puppy really that impressive to ask in an interview about joining a Dark Guild?

However, much to his chagrin, the man wearing the plague doctor's getup shook his head angrily, the woman at his side – her face hidden from behind a black veil – exasperatedly sighed audibly, as if this was something that had occurred frequently today, and the plague doctor stood up, reaching his hand forward for a firm shake.

"Thank you for your time here today, but I must apologize; you are not the ideal Dark Mage we are looking for. Please take a candy from the bowl on the way out, but do not steal any more than one – the last guy who did that became that stain over there."

The plague doctor stated, motioning with a jab of his thumb of his other hand over toward a dark red stain that was halfway on the wall and halfway on the carpet. The Dark Mage blinked his eyes and shuddered; a body hadn't even been left behind, except the blood of its holder. It was awful; only powerful Dark Magic could've triggered such a response! As such, the Dark Mage exited the room, plucking up a small piece of candy as he left, letting the door slam shut behind him.

"Really, honey? Are you really going to die on that hill?"

"Yes, absolutely!" To the words of the woman who finally spoke after the Dark Mage had exited the room and had walked down the hallway (enough to not hear even a shout from this room), the plague doctor stood up, slamming his palms against the desk and rattling the poorly distributed items on said desk. "We're just going to destabilize the entire country, cause the economy to fall and crash, to the point that the citizens would begin to starve and riot due to lack of food as winter approaches, and rule it from the shadows as evil, tyrannical overlords – that's perfectly fine, but kicking a puppy?" He looked at his dear wife, his eyes glossed over as tears stung at them, though she did not see this due to him wearing a mask. "That's far too evil, dear. We, professionals, have standards!" He raised a finger dramatically, before slowly bringing it back down at his side, readjusting the mask which covered his face completely, making sure that the hood eclipsed his hair absolutely. Let no strand stick out from it; he had a reputation which preceded him, and if anyone were to figure out his true identity, then the Magic Council would be all over him like cats to dried sardine.

"I definitely understand that, honey, but please; try and think about this from my angle, okay? You've gone through five Dark Mages today who were all basically perfect, who simply answered one question in a dissatisfactory manner. Why not, for once, skip over that question? You may actually finish an interview that way!"

Of course, his darling wife was indeed correct; though her voice may've been changed adequately to protect her identity thanks to her Sound Magic (that and the thick veil which obscured her gorgeous face), her words held great wisdom to them. The plague doctor ended up nodding his head several times as he thought her esteemed wisdom over. "Yes, indeed… if I were to skip over question thirty-three, then perhaps, no, I would definitely be able to recruit someone at last! But, honey, what would I do if they were to kick a puppy in front of me? As an honorable man who follows the law – most of the time – it is my solemn duty to punish such a miscreant!"

"Dear," she sighed, clearly unimpressed with his convictions. "I love you, but please listen to yourself. You're a Dark Guild Master now, not a law abiding citizen."

"I'm also a member of the Wizard Saints and a member of the Council! It's a little ingrained in me to think this way, I'm sure you understand."

"Please do not talk about how you're a member of the Council; it'll blow our cover and make any member we recruit run away in fear that this was all just one giant scam to arrest them. Or it would cause the Council to arrest you and myself."

"I-I know that! It's why I went to such great pains to hide my name from everything!" He sat down, letting his shoulders slacken, the beak of his mask poking him in the chest as he let his head hang down. "I spent so much money on our base too, and the bribes – all under false names, to be sure – but I just, I just want this to be perfect okay? To do it my way, to wrestle with the beast known as Fiore… With Fairy Tail out of the way, there isn't anyone who can stop us! But now… was all this just one big regret? Was I just a disappointment?"

"Oh, no, honey, absolutely not!" The woman threw her arms around the plague doctor who likened himself to a pirate, and hugged him tight. "While you might be an idiot, you're definitely not a disappointment! I'm sure that once we recruit a few Dark Mages, we can begin our conquest over Fiore from the shadows and you'll finally complete your dream of… err, what was it again?"

"Being the greatest Dark Wizard the world has ever seen, even greater than the Black Wizard, Zeref-who-has-a-cult-but-no-last-name-which-is-very-weird-by-the-way?"

"Yes, absolutely, who even cares about some dumb cult led by some random dead guy who probably doesn't even control a village much less a country anyway? Listen; you're perfect the way you are, and I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if not for that! I love you."

"Dear," the plague doctor had tears in his eyes and, try as he might, he failed to keep them at bay. "I love you too!"

The two partook in a loving embrace full of emotion, completely forgetting that there were still Dark Mages to be brought in, who were all waiting patiently in the waiting room, having nice, engaging small talk every now and then. Who knew that Dark Mages, who commit horrific crimes on a regular basis, who possess no moral guidepost, and who may also religiously follow evil presences within the world, such as Zeref, were so patient?

Regardless, after a few minutes of getting their emotions under control, the two moved back to their spots, and the woman spoke calmly. "Let's do this smartly, okay, honey?" She turned to her husband, letting a hand drape against his shoulder in comfort. "Let's make this next one a success, alright?"

"Of course, dear! As if there would be a failure if we put our combined minds to it!" Nodding his head, he motioned to his wife to use her Magic to alert those still awaiting to be called upon. The interviews would go on, and he would gather a respectable Dark Guild to rule over with an iron fist! All to achieve his goal; to be the greatest Dark Wizard this world has ever seen! Oh, and toppling an entire country while he was at it, too.

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It had been some time later that the creator of Crow's Nest, and his lovely wife, came to look upon the lovely sight which bloomed over the ground like a flower sprouting from the asphalt; surrounded by the foul creation of humanity, a lonely spot of life in a desert of death, budded beautifully into the world above its humble beginnings. It was most magnificent, an ideal paradise even amongst the dunes of a desert which span miles upon miles, no water or trace of life to be found, but yet even still, the tiniest signs of life could still thrive…

…that is, to say, that the office building that the Dark Guild Master, or as he went by in his current false persona, Maverick, had been renting under different names since he planned out his ascension as the Dark Lord of Fiore since several years ago, was currently set ablaze and burning down due to a recent applicant's desire to prove their mettle via showing off their excellent skill and control over Fire Magic, in an office room which was very much flammable. The jars of oil that they brought in, having bought due to the swindling prowess of a snake oil salesman earlier that very same day didn't help matters either, as once the blaze of the out-of-control Fire Magic reached them, the resulting explosion could then be heard for miles; it was, to their biggest regret, that they had to evacuate the premises without informing the remaining Dark Mages who eagerly awaited their turn for their own interview, and their screams as the flames reached them, were adequately blocked out and ignored, whilst the remaining Dark Mages who had passed their interview, exited alongside the Master and his wife.

Of course, that Fire Magic interviewee had perished within the flames of his own Magic, and definitely not by some other cause, certainly not one related to Poison Magic, which was a surprising specialty of Maverick, who is definitely not the first suspect in said murder – and by murder, we mean accident.

"Huh," whispered Maverick upon witnessing the building he spent a small fortune on renting under various names merely to keep the trail off of who he actually was throughout the years. "I never saw this coming today, but I think we did good this evening, dear."

"I must agree with you," his dear wife, who went under the name of Natasha as long as she wore the veil over her face, muttered from beside him. "We erased the evidence that we were here due to the surprising fire, and because it is far enough away from the authorities, surely there'd be nothing but ash to be found by the time they are to arrive. With nothing left to incriminate us, we're surely free to go about as we please."

"Indeed, and – if I might say – what a perfect way to lead our new Dark Guild brethren away from Hargeon, then with a fire to distract the authorities?"

"I completely agree with you, honey!" Smiling from ear to ear, though one may not even notice due to the veil obscuring her precious face, Natasha pulled Maverick in for a hug, and the two shared a nice, fond moment. At least, until one of the surviving Dark Mages coughed to get their attention.

"Sorry to break up the happy moment, but shouldn't we get going before the Rune Knights mobilize a force to put out the fire and apprehend the–"

He never got to finish his inspiring speech to exit stage left, as a wad of poison fell upon his person, causing him to begin screaming as the acidic poison burnt away at his flesh, at least, until his vocal cords were completely corroded away, and he fell into a gargling mess on the ground, most of his flesh burnt away from the corrosive poison that the Master had created, one of his many specialties.

"Alright, loyal minions!" He would then shout, gaining the, unsurprisingly, full attention of every Dark Mage near him, who stared at him in either fear, awe, or some other emotion that he couldn't see because the mask actually did block much of his vision. "It's time to get out of here before the Rune Knights apprehend us for the sporadic crime of arson that we committed to cover our tracks! Now, let us go; and arrive at our Guild Hall, our mighty ship – the Crow's Murder!"

With the encouraging words and promises of free food and rest at said ship – as well as punishment via Poison Magic that resulted in the death of not more than three individuals today if they were to dilly dally with their retreat – the group of Dark Mages set out, following after the plague doctor who also calls himself a pirate, alongside his lovely wife, who appears more like a widow than anyone's wife. Truly, never a greater threat to Fiore had ever ascended from the underbelly of the country as a whole, and the threat would soon find itself engulfing the entirety of this land, rising as the dominant force which controls everything from its shadow – that is Crow's Nest. The most powerful Dark Guild Fiore will ever fight against.

Hey guys, what's up? Been a minute. So, yeah, I decided to write this instead of... literally anything else, and now we're stuck with it. So, here's the dealio: the form in on my profile, and I've also made a Discord for this story in particular so if you want to join, you can. Connect with your fellow Dark Guildmates and all that jazz.

So, take your time; I won't be updating this for a bit. Furthermore, just in case I forgot to put it in rules, I'll only accept 15 characters at this time. This may increase later, but for a "new" Dark Guild, that number seems pretty good. Good luck on writing up your characters, and remember to send them via PM!

Arrivederci!