This au was inspired by movies and films such as The Jungle Book, Tarzan, and The Fox and The Hound. In this Alvarez is designed off of India and Fiore is designed off of England.

Life is a spinning wheel it has been said. With each spoke, a tale to be told. So keep silence along the banks, and I will tell you one of these tales.

A story as enchanting as the jungle itself.

It is about pride and power and war. It is about fangs and claws and talons. But mostly, it is about love and family.

Magnolia was a glorious jungle surrounded by plenty of flora and fauna. The plants and the trees came first but it was the animals who ruled the jungle. Two animal species in particular were superior to all the others. The dragons and the tigers. A powerful and strong species who could hunt and fight better than any other animal in all Magnolia. But what made them especially different was that they could change their bodies to more anthropomorphic forms, they still looked like animalistic but they had a few body parts similar to humans. In the beginning it was just them and the other animals but then the native people started to appear on the land and a village grew in the heart of the jungle. A village called Alvarez.

The people there, called the Alvarians lived off the land by collecting and growing edible plant life and hunting animals for food and material. The dragons and tigers were an especially sought after target for them. They killed the dragons for their meat to eat and they killed the tigers for their fur to keep them warm. One male dragon called Jellal managed to escape the village but he lost his wings in the process. A wound he would never completely recover from and because of that he developed at hatred for humans.

When he passed out from his injuries in the jungle he was found by a female tiger called Erza. She tended to his wounds and nursed him back to health. They fell in love and became mates. They were happy together but as time went by Erza began to long for young to raise and care for unfortunately because she and her mate were different species they couldn't bear offspring together. Erza acted like that she was okay with not being a mother but Jellal knew that it was what she wanted more than anything in the world.

But we'll get back to them later now I must tell you about the village of Alvarez. The Alvarians were native to the land and the vote marks on their skin that was either red, orange, yellow, or pink. A peaceful race who respected the laws of the jungle. They never killed for more than what they needed. They only killed what they needed to live. However things changed when the settlers of a continent known as Fiore came to their land.

The settlers known as the Fiorians also bore marks on their skin but their marks were either green, blue, purple, or black. They had been sent in search of new land but when they arrived they were weak, starving, and ill. Many had died on the journey. The Alvarians pitied the Fiorians so they welcomed them with food, water, and natural remedies to cure their alignments. The two races became friends and they never sought for anything less. But as the years went by resources started to become scarce due to so many humans living off the land. Tensions rose, the Fiorians sought more land and the Alvarians stopped giving in hopes that it would drive them away.

Both sides contemplated war, the chief of Alvarez and the captain of the Fiore settlers didn't want any unnecessary blood shed so both leaders decided to negotiate and compromise. But all idea of that was quickly lost when an Alvarian priest and his wife were poisoned by drug native only to Fiore. The chief blamed the captain and the priest's first born son Zeref wanted revenge. He was chosen to lead the chief's warriors in battle against the Fiore settlement.

Hatred took on a life of it's own. The spark of vengeance ignited the flames of battle. A war unlike any other broke out between the two races who had once been such good allies.

One attack in particular took place about eighteen years ago, on a quiet night. The Alvarian warriors hid in the trees and their bodies had war paint on them to help them blend in with the night. In a tent Zeref was making some last minute adjustments to his weapon. He had just finished coating his arrows in a deadly poison when he heard his baby brother Etherious fussing.

"There, there Etherious. Don't be afraid, I won't let those Fiorians hurt you." He said gently to the infant. "And tonight they will pay for taking Mother and Father from us."

He then pulled out a scarf that resembled dragon scales and used it to tuck it into the infant's basket cradle.

"Do you remember when Mother made this for you?" He asked his brother. "Probably not. You weren't even out her womb yet when she started making it...It breaks my heart that you will never know how much she and Father loved you."

His brother only yawned and dozed off. Zeref kissed his head and went to lead the warriors into battle but not before making sure that one warrior stayed behind to protect his brother. Little Etherious meant the world to Zeref. Now that his parents were gone he was the only family he had left. He remembered that awful day when he came home from a hunt to find his mother already dead from the poison and his father barely alive. Before he drew his lat breath he had made Zeref promise to protect his brother no matter what. From that day on ward Zeref was determined to do whatever it took to keep his little brother safe and he believed the best way to keep him safe was to remove these Fiorians.

Meanwhile in the Fiore settlement, a young couple lived inside a small house with their baby son. The father made money by cutting and selling wood, his wife stayed at home and tended to their baby. Tonight she was just sitting in her chair reading when she heard her baby crying. She picked him up and began trying to soothe him.

"It's okay. Don't cry, don't cry. Mother's here."

She sat back in her chair and opened a music box that was on a desk. As the melody played she started to rock back and forth, cradling her baby boy in her arms.

"Is he asleep yet?" Her husband asked walking inside the house.

"Yes Silver." She told him.

He kissed his wife then kissed his son.

"My boy. I can already tell that you will do great things one day and to prove it I'm going to give you this." He took off the silver chain he wore a neck that bore a pendent that resembled a sword with a stone in it and placed it around his son's neck.

They were both about to tuck him into his crib when suddenly they heard the sound of a gun being fired followed by an arrow the came flying into their window.

"What was that?" The wife asked.

"Stay inside Mika." Her husband grabbed his gun and went outside to find Alvarians and Fiorians fighting each other. He quickly went to join in the fighting.

It wasn't until she heard her husband shouting in agony that she looked out the door to see the man she loved lying on the ground with a knife in his chest. Before he died he weakly turned to his wife and said.

"Run. Take our son and run away."

The sounds of screams and gunshots echoed all through out the night. Blood stained the ground and there were many corpses. The battle ended in a stalemate and Zeref was forced to retreat with his men but when he returned to his tent he found his brother gone and the warrior he had left to protect him lying on the ground with a fatal gunshot wound.

"What happened?! Where is my brother?!" Zeref demanded with fear in his voice.

"A Fiorian..." The dying warrior breathed. "He said you killed his brother...He wanted to make you suffer as he did so he...He threw the boy into the river...I tried to stop him but I... Forgive me...I failed you."

Zeref raced toward the river as fast he could praying that he wouldn't be too late. He dove into the icy cold water, desperately searching for him but he couldn't find Etherious. The infant had disappeared.