Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters.
-The Enchanter of Fairy Tail-
Chapter 10: Harnessing Ethernano
Year: X752. 32 years till Canon begins.
Cade POV:
After the bombshell that was yesterday in terms of learning what kind of spells may be in Mavel's spell book, I had put the tome into my room, hidden in a box under my bed. If I was ever going to be doing some translating from now on, it would be in my home.
Master probably had the right idea about keeping in here, instead of me bringing it down to Magnolia every time I was going to the guild.
I was a little scared at what might happen if a thief or a darkwizard would steal the spell book, and the translating sheet that came with it. I might wake up one day and see the sky falling or the moon crashing into earth.
After I put the spell book away in my room, I went back outside and found a nice spot under a tree to read a book in peace. I then returned to the manor for dinner and then went off to bed.
I did try to translate a little bit of page 3 in the spell book, but this page seemed far more complicated than the other pages I had translated so far. It required a more thorough examination of the translating sheet, and I was far too tired to do that at that moment. As such I fell asleep quite quickly, and was ready for what came tomorrow.
5 Days left to learn magic.
As I headed down the stairs to the dining hall for breakfast today, my mind began to wander about where exactly me and Makarov would be going today. He said it would be a good place to focus, which made me think it would be a forest or maybe a quiet beach.
Those places wouldn't have many people there and it would be a soothing place to be, only hearing the sea and animals.
As I entered the dining hall I greeted my mother and ate breakfast which was scrambled eggs and toast. Afterwards I headed upstairs and got changed out of my pyjamas before headed for the door out of the manor making my way towards the Fairy Tail Guild to meet Master and head out for this meditation session.
I was assuming we were getting the train over to our destination, as I can't imagine us walking all the way through the hills to wherever we are going.
When I reached the guildhall, I saw Master Makarov just leaving the building, closing the door behind him.
Unlike the last few days since I saw him, he now wore a white shirt with a red vest over it and black pants. He also wore a more casual, light coloured, high collared cape, with a black Fairy Tail mark on the back.
Master then noticed me and looked a bit surprised to see me here.
"Ah Cade! I was just about to go up and see if you were ready at the manor. I'm glad you've saved me the trip!" Said Master with some relief.
"Well, I thought it would be best if I was up and ready as soon as possible. Mainly because I'm not actually sure where exactly we are going…" I said hoping he would answer my question.
"No need to worry, we would have arrived there with plenty time to spare. This just means we will have a little bit extra time on our hands." He replied back to me. "Now then shall we get a move on? You don't need to worry about the guild, I just popped in to say that I would be out for the day." He said as he began to walk away from the guild.
"Sure am. Lead the way Master!" I lead him on, as I began to follow him to this "ideal mediation place".
As we walked there I decided to ask Master I question I had been wondering since learning about it yesterday.
"Say Master, I've been wondering. What would happen if Malvel's spell book did have Master Enchantments in there?" I asked with caution.
"Honestly I'm not sure Cade. If there was Master Level Enchantments in that book the first I'd do is probably faint on the spot at the idea of magic that powerful being out in the open. But I have a feeling I'll have my answer by the end of the day though."
"I see…" I muttered.
Not entirely sure about how he would have his answer by the end of the day, but I chose not to ask him about it. The man's a Wizard Saint after all. He probably has something in his office that would explain whether Enchantment Magic has ever been a threat in the past and then base his decision off of that.
"I did have another question. I er… may be out of line for asking, but why did you deny Ivan a spot on the S-Class trials this year?" I asked curiously.
Upon me saying that, Makarov turned round to look me in the face, with him having a more serious look than before. "I suppose Ivan told you about that then huh?" Before I could answer, the man continued to speak. "Truth is, I'm not having an S-Class trial this year. I feel like many of the wizards in the guild right now are not yet strong enough to handle S-Class."
"I told Ivan that yesterday when he asked for a spot on this years roster. He wasn't to happy about me cancelling it, and then me going on to say that he wasn't strong enough to handle S-Class yet. In a few years I think he could do it, but not right now." Makarov explained shaking his head, whilst also sighing at the end.
"Right… so will the S-Class trials be held again when you think some of the wizards in the guild will be ready?" I said to Makarov.
"That's right! I'm not sure when that will be, but I can guarantee you that I'll be watching you all." He told me chucking at the end of that sentence. "We may not have any S-Class Wizards for the next trial to test the participants, but I have a plan that might work out." He said scratching his chin.
I then noticed signs that said we were heading in the direction towards Magnolia Train Station. "Are we heading to the train station Master?"
"Yes we are. When we get there we'll get off at the next midway stop to Hargeon. From there we will be heading into the East Forest. In there I'll be able to show you a place that will help you mediate." Makarov said.
We continued to walk, and eventually reached the train station. When we got there, the both of us got the next train and took it to the midway stop to Hargeon.
When we got there, we disembarked the carriage we were on and made our way out of the station, as we did I saw a small village just ahead of us.
It had a few dozens small houses of different sizes. There was a well in the middle of the village, with paths that led out into the various houses. I could see a few stables around and a church a bit to the left of the well. Behind the forest I saw a pathway that led in there.
"This is Orchid village." Stated Master Makarov. "Do you see the path that leads into the forest? Through there is where you'll be mediating today." He pointed to a gap in the trees, as he began to walk down to the village.
I followed him and began to take in the calmness and tranquility of Orchid village. It wasn't a bustling village like Magnolia, Instead these people lived simple lives. Them seemingly not needing a guild to protect them from any Dark Guilds.
Makarov and I eventually made it to the pathway that led into the forest. The forest itself wasn't a dark or evil place you'd see in stories. Instead, it was a calm and mostly quiet forest, other than the occasional birds tweeting and the sound of a river nearby.
"So… where abouts are you taking me to Master?" I wondered with concern, as we had been walking through the forest for a good half hour by now.
"It's just round here… Ah ha! There it is! I swear she keeps moving it to avoid me." Makarov chuckled as we came up to a weird looking tree. As I took a closer look at it, I saw a staircase that led up to a door, with windows around the tree.
Was that… a house?
'Wait, what? Why does that tree look like a house? Does Master know someone that lives in a tree? Wait… why would someone live in a tree?' I thought with confusion.
As I was wondering this, I saw that Master had gone up to the staircase and turned to me and beckoned me to follow him. I climbed up the staircase to the front door of this treehouse, and then Master knocked on the door.
"Go away!" Came an angry female voice on the other side of the door.
"It's me." Replied Makarov plainly.
After he said that, I could hear some footsteps and some muttering from behind the door. A minute or so later the door made a clicking sound and it then opened.
Standing at the door I saw a young woman in her early 20's with long pink flowing hair, with two big bangs of hair coming over her shoulders and she also had red eyes. Her attire consisted of a dark green blouse with a tie around the collar, paired with a long matching skirt and simple shoes. Over this, she wore a crimson-coloured cape, with a wide collar decorated by massive dragon horn-like decorations protruding outwards, and edges adorned by white, arch-like motifs.
There was a scowl on her face as she looked at Makarov, before noticing me next to him.
"Who's this?" Demanded the pink haired lady, raising her eyebrow at me.
"Pleasure to see you again Porlyusica." Makarov commented with a dull sarcastic tone. This clearly wasn't his first time dealing with this women's attitude.
"How have you been? It's been a while since I've last seen you." Makarov asked completely ignoring her earlier question regarding my identity.
"If you're not going to answer my questions then you can just leave!" Porlyusica said bluntly, as she began to close the door on us.
"I'm Cadewell!" I spoke up quickly to stop her from closing the door on us. "But you can call me Cade." I added as I saw that she had opened back up the door and looked to the both of us, before turning to look at Makarov.
"What do you want? And this time I'd appreciate that you answer my question." She questioned glaring at Makarov.
"As the boy said, his name is Cade. I just brought him over here as it's a great place for practicing mediation. He's trying to harness ethernano so he can-"
"Why here? There are plenty of other places that you know – and I know that you know them, where he can practice meditation just fine." Porlyusica butted in, cutting Makarov off, while also shutting down the idea of him not knowing any other places to go to.
"Why can't you watch him?" Porlyusica questioned.
Makarov sighed loudly when she said that, causing Porlyusica's face to scrunch up in annoyance. "Because I have to go somewhere else today. I would much rather go sooner rather than later. I know that he won't get hurt here, and I don't want to risk anywhere else." He explained giving Porlyusica a sincere look.
"You're leaving me?" I said in bewilderment.
"Yes. I'm sorry Cade, but it's important that I confirm this as quick as I can. Don't worry, I'll be back before sunset to take you back to Magnolia." He told me while giving me a pat on the shoulder while also smiling at me.
"But Master…" I whispered this next part to him "She's kinda scary."
"Watch it young man!" Porlyusica snapped, as she then hit me on the head with a broom that appeared out of nowhere.
"It's alright Cade, Porlyusica's nicer than you think. She just doesn't like humans that's all." Makarov informed, trying to reassure me.
"I don't dislike humans I hate them!" Porlyusica shouted loudly at Makarov. "And who said that I'll watch over the young man anyway? I was having a nice day before you two showed up on my front doorstep." She said crossing her arms. "I'm sure this thing of yours can wait another day." She glared at Makarov.
"Listen Porlyusica. This "thing" I have to do involves going to see an old friend if you know what I mean." Makarov said as he gave Porlyusica a nod and a serious look.
Porlyusica looked a little taken aback when hearing that. "You're going to see him? I see… Well it must be important then."
She then looked back at me for a moment, before sighing. "Alright. I'll watch over him, even though there is hardly any danger in these woods." She said rolling her eyes towards the end. "Now get lost!" She yelled at Makarov, before re-equipping her broom and threatening to hit Makarov on the head.
"Well that's clearly my cue to go then! Don't worry Cade everything will be fine, Porlyusica will be watching you." Makarov assured giving me a grin.
He then looked up at the sky and towards where the sun was. "Well would you look at the time! Guess I better get a move on if I still want to get there and back here! Good luck Cade!" He yelled as he ran off back towards the village.
Porlyusica had a serious expression as he left "I swear he's going to get himself killed with that spirit of his one day." She then looked back down at me before pointing to the left of her house. "You can practice meditation over there. The grass isn't wet, and I'll be watching you from the window." She explained before closing the door again.
"Wait!" I said as I pushed myself midway into the door to stop it from closing. "I don't know how to meditate. How do I do it?" I asked with hope.
Porlyusica just gave a scolding look. "I don't know, I don't have magic. Now get lost!" She shouted as she prepared to wack me with her broom again. I responded by quickly removing myself from her door which caused it to shut, before then going to the area she pointed to and sat down on the grass.
'Now what?! I'm supposed to mediate and I don't even know how to do that!' I contemplated.
'Hmm. Maybe I need to try and focus my mimd somehow? I guess I could try it.' I then crossed my legs in a basket and closed my eyes to start focusing.
And so some time passed.
Then some more time passed.
Then some more.
…
…
A few birds started singing in the trees.
…
…
I swore I could hear a river not to far away.
…
…
I think an animal ran past me.
…
…
I then felt the sun on my face and opened my eyes.
When I did, I saw Porlyusica standing in front of me. I blinked in surprise, not expecting the scary lady to be right there, and to see her not taking this chance to attack me with her broom to drive me away.
"Well… not bad I suppose. For your first time at least." She muttered looking down at me with her unreadable expression. "Most people give up after ten minutes."
"Wait… how long was I doing that for?" I wondered with confusion.
"You've been like that for four hours." She stated plainly.
"What! I thought I was only there for 30 minutes!" I exclaimed in shock.
"It's easy to lose track of time while doing that." Porlyusica said looking around the forest, before then looking back at me. "Tell me something. Can you hear anything now, that you couldn't hear before starting this?" She said curiously.
"I think I heard a river nearby." I told her.
"Well that's good, it means that wasn't a waste of time after all. You've made a bit of progress it seems." She explained nodding her head as she said it.
"That was progress?" I said to her in shock.
"Well yes!" She snapped at me. "As you've been busy training your mind, you can now hear things that you couldn't have heard before you started this. You're a bit more in-tune with your senses now." She stated back to me.
"So… I can harness my own ethernano now?" I asked curiously at her.
"How should I know!? Didn't I tell you I don't have magic!" She yelled bluntly at me.
"Sorry! I was just busy mediating so I forgot!" I said holding up my hands in front of me to protect me in case she whipped out her broom. She thankfully didn't and just glared at me before sighing to herself. I was struck with a curious question.
"How do you know Master Makarov?" I asked tilting my head.
Porlyusica looked at me for a moment before speaking up. "I was a part of Fairy Tail once." She said rolling up her left sleeve to reveal a pink Fairy Tail mark on her forearm. "I formed a team with Makarov and four others. We all chose to go our separate ways a few years ago though." She explained as looked up at the sky, seemingly reminiscing about her days there.
"Now I hope you remember that because I'm certainly not repeating it to you." She said sternly.
"Ah! Yes of course!" I replied quickly.
There was a few minutes of silence before I asked her another question. "When do you think Master will be back?" I said curiously.
Porlyusica simply scoffed upon hearing that. "You'll be lucky if he makes it back before sunset, if he was going where I think he was going that is." She muttered crossing her arms.
"Where was that?" I responded with interest.
"Never mind that! You should get back to doing more meditation." She said sternly, as she then walked back to the staircase of her house.
With her gone, I got comfy again on the grass, closed my eyes again and began to refocus my mind.
With that some time passed.
Then some more.
…
…
I think I heard the door to Porlyusica's house open then close a minute or two later.
…
…
I felt the sun leave my face.
…
…
I wonder how Master is doing right now?
No POV, Makarov Dreyar:
Master Makarov knocked on the wooden door that led to the inside of the cottage. This was a small cottage, located on top of a hill around a good few hours away from Magnolia. It was a simple size with only one floor, two windows on the outside and a few plants on the pathway leading up.
The journey here was never so bad. Just a quick carriage hailed to the edge of the desert. Then he just had to walk for two hours, head over the hills and he was here. Hopefully he would get his lingering questions answered today.
"Come in! Come in!" Said a cheerful old voice from behind the door.
Makarov opened the door slowly and entered the small cottage to find it was dark inside.
'Not this again…' He thought to himself as he was entering.
"Be careful not to disturb the plants." Came the old voice from earlier. A minute of silence passed. Then the old man began to burst out laughing. "Ohohoho! I'm only joking of course! You know you're welcome in here anytime Makarov!"
Just then the entire interior of the cottage suddenly burst into light, with a rather old man standing in front of Makarov smiling at him. His head resembled a slightly gnarled tree trunk, whilst his hair resembles a leafy treetop. His attire consisted of a high-collared kimono tied with a belt, loose trousers, a coat that was a lime green colour and a pair of boots.
Makarov smiled when seeing him "Good to see you again Warrod."
Warrod simply gestured to a pair of seats in in cottage. "Come, let's catch up! It's been a good while since we've last seen each other." Warrod suggested as he then moved over to the table and chair near his window, the table having some tea on it. Makarov moved over to where he was and took the seat across from him.
"Oh! I'm afraid that seat was just painted around ten minutes ago." Spoke Warrod suddenly.
"Wha-?" Spluttered Makarov.
"Just kidding!" Grinned Warrod chuckling to himself. Makarov looked annoyed that he fell for it, knowing that sort of stuff had happened to him before, and yet he didn't see this incident coming.
"Now then. Tell me what's been going on over at Fairy Tail!" Warrod asked smiling, drinking some tea on the table.
"Oh boy… that's certainly an interesting question. I'm afraid this isn't really a courtesy call." Makarov muttered taking a deep breath, as he then began to explain everything that had happened recently to Warrod.
Makarov started from Cobalt's death at the beginning of the month of which Warrod looked a little sad at. He then addressed Cobalt's desire to teach his son Cade Malvel's spells in which Warrod suddenly looked rather serious all of a sudden; for good reason of course. Next Makarov brought up Cadewell trying to learn the spells which led the man finishing with how he came here for answers.
Upon hearing Makarov finish, Warrod closed his eyes and looked down at the table.
"First I'd like to say sorry for Cobalt's death. I know how much your guild members mean to you." Warrod said sympathetically.
"Thank you." Makarov replied, him looking sad at the mention of his old friend. He then asked Warrod the important question that he hoped he could answer for him. "So… you don't have any issues with the spell book being opened as well as Cade learning the spells inside of it?" Makarov questioned with apprehension.
"You trusted his father?" Warrod inquired, his eyes still remaining shut.
"I did. He was one of the bravest men I had in the guild. He was willing to sacrifice himself in an effort to stop some dark wizards from succeeding." Makarov explained with confidence. "I trusted him, and I trust his son now."
"Well then…" Said Warrod with a serious voice.
He then opened his eyes and smiled at Makarov "I have no issue with it."
Makarov looked relieved upon hearing that. "Thank you Warrod. There's another question I had for you to ensure I can sleep easy tonight." Warrod looked curiously at Makarov. "Was there any Master Level Enchantment spells in Malvel's spell book?" Makarov asked tensing up at a possible answer.
"Hmmm… Not that I can remember. I gave that book a thorough look and no Master Level Enchantments ever came up. If I had seen them I probably would have ripped them up." Warrod replied scratching his chin.
"Ah! That's excellent then. Thanks for the help Warrod." Makarov thanked knowing that he could sleep in the future without the fear of Magnolia being displaced the next day as some sort of joke.
"Has he translated the first page yet?" Asked Warrod.
"Yes he has, page 1 and page 2." Makarov replied nodding at the question.
Warrod smirked upon hearing that. "Has he enjoyed my jokes so far?" He wondered before laughing to himself.
"Ah… that was you was it then?" Makarov muttered.
"Hohoho, I made sure to throw the odd joke in there every now and again." Warrod explained smiling to himself. "Tell me though. If you've told me everything that you know about this, then why not bring the young man here? Certainly saves you an explanation down the line in a few hours." Warrod wondered, before drinking his tea.
Makarov shuffled his feat at that question. "You see… there's one more question and ultimately a favour I'd like to ask of you Warrod. This might be a much for Cade to hear at his age. It regards Cobalt's death."
At that, Warrod looked a bit more serious. He put down his cup of tea and listened carefully.
"The Commander that informed me of what happened said that he and Cobalt were in combat with something called an Etherious Demon from the books of Zeref, and that they were a part of a Dark Guild known as Tartaros."
Warrod looked curious upon hearing that - a sign that he did not recognise most of the names.
"My question is whether you know anything on them. And my request is that if you don't know anything, could you keep an eye on things and let me know if anything comes up." Makarov requested.
"I'm sorry but I've never heard anything about an Etherious Demon from the books of Zeref, or Tartaros." Warrod replied sadly. "I will however keep an eye out for anything. I'll also inform the other Emperors of Ishagar about this if you don't mind." Warrod stated firmly.
Makarov nodded his head at him. "Yes I think that would be best. I have to thank you Warrod. I don't think Cade is ready to hear about what and who killed his father yet. If he found out now I'm nervous of what he'd do." Said Makarov, with a nervous tone.
"Has the boy unlocked his magic yet?" Wondered Warrod.
"No not yet, he's busy meditating at Porlyusica's place."
"Who is she again?" Asked Warrod scratching his branch of hair.
"Ah, well she's-" Began Makarov.
"Just kidding! I know who she is." Said Warrod chuckling to himself. "But tell me something Makarov, how do you plan to make it back there before dark?" Asked Warrod with confusion. "I'm not sure if you'll make it in time before dark."
"Well I was hoping you could give me a lift." Said Makarov twiddling his thumbs as he said that.
"Ah! Well yes of course! Anything for Yuri's son!" Warrod smiled standing up. "Now I think you'd be best leaving right now if you want to make it back in time." He informed as he moved to the door.
"I think you're right." Said Makarov following him. "Thank you for the help Warrod. It means a lot." Makarov shaked Warrod's hand while smiling at him, as they then made it outside.
"Now then, I hope you come back soon. It does get a little lonely out here." Suggested Warrod as he prepared a spell to get Makarov back to where he needs to be.
"I'll certainly try! These kids are a real handful!" Makarov replied back to Warrod.
Just then a huge plant burst out of the ground and bent downwards to Makarov. Makarov got on the plant and began to sit back, as the plant then began to grow rapidly and head for the direction towards Porlyusica's house as if it were a car or vehicle.
"Good luck old friend." Said Warrod as he watched the plant speed off.
Cade POV:
…
…
I swore I felt a pair of feet just there in front of me.
… no wait…
Hang on…
I opened my eyes and was stunned to see Makarov there watching me with a smile on his face. "Well done Cade. I'm impressed you noticed me there, considering I arrived very silently. You have clearly trained up your mind a bit more since I left you." Makarov said pleased.
"Yes he made no noise whatsoever. There were times in which I even forgot he was there." Came Porlyusica coming down the stairs from her house. "Don't worry I still watched over him like you said." She explained as she moved next to Makarov.
"Thank you Porlyusica." Thanked Makarov.
Porlyusica nodded her head, before suddenly pulling out her broom from behind her. "Now get lost! And don't come back for at least another month!" She yelled, threatening to wack us on the heads.
Me and Master took that message and began to run back to the path that takes us to Orchid village. But then we were surprised to hear Porlyusica again.
"Wait." She said sternly.
She then pointed to behind her house. "You can cut through there and get straight back to Magnolia." She explained to the both of us. "Now SCRAM!"
The both of us quickly moved through the forest in the direction Porlyusica pointed to. By this point the sun was about to dip in the sky meaning we only had about an hour of daylight left, as such we moved at a relatively fast pace.
As we were running, Master spoke up to me.
"So tell me Cade, did you ever try to focus your ethernano back there?" Makarov questioned. as we kept moving through the forest.
"No… I kinda lost myself in how quiet it was back there. Is that normal?" I wondered to Master.
"Oh, it's normal alright. It means you've being doing a good job. We can test it when we get out of this forest." Makarov said, as we finally made it out of the forest. "Well well, she wasn't kidding… This certainly saves me a few train trips in the future." Makarov remarked.
We had came up on a hill just east of Magnolia. From where I was I could see my home just a few minutes away. All I had to do was run down the hill to the pathway and then follow it to the manor. Makarov then turned to me.
"Alright then. Hold out your hand and I'll show you how to focus your ethernano." He said to me. I held out my right hand in front of me and facing towards Master. "It might be easier if you closed your eyes for this." I complied and did so.
"Ok, now it may feel like you have something moving inside of you, not in your stomach but rather throughout your whole body, am I right in saying that?" I nodded. "Good, now try to focus that and move it to your right hand."
I began to focus and that strange feeling Makarov just pointed out slowly began to move up my body, through my right arm and into my right hand.
A few seconds passed and nothing happened. Then I felt like I was releasing something from my hand into the air. Then I heard Makarov letting out a cheer. "You did it! Open your eyes Cade you're doing it!"
I quickly opened my eyes and saw that there were these weird almost invisible waves coming out from my hand.
"Woah! Is that it!?" I said with excitement.
"It is! Congratulations. You can now harness ethernano." Makarov answered giving me a wide smile. I quickly hugged him for his help, which seemed to surprise the man.
"Thank you Master! I couldn't have done it without you!"
"Oh I didn't do anything Cade. That was all you back there mediating and just now focusing your ethernano." Makarov said as he hugged me back. He then broke the hug and looked at me.
"Now then. Tomorrow you will be learning how to enchant a weapon with that Fire Enchantment! You better get some good sleep tonight, because I'll be up there early to help you out!" Makarov stated to me.
"Ok Master! I'll be ready for when you arrive!" I said as I turned away from him to head back to the manor. "I'll see you tomorrow!" I waved as I run off.
I grinned to myself. I had done it!
Now all I needed to do is to harness that ethernano while also following the instructions on the back of page 2, and I would be casting a spell!
I could hardly contain my excitement as I entered the manor ready for what tomorrow would bring. I had a feeling it would be a day to remember.
Annnnnd that's another part done and dusted!
We are almost at the end of this arc now. With any concerns of Master Enchantment spells out of the way, Makarov will be feeling a lot better now. Cade also made good progress learning how to channel his ethernano. In the next chapter Cade will try to learn how to use magic!
We also got to see a young Porlyusica (who still hates humans), as well as good old Warrod. In case you are wondering, Porlyusica's hair used to not be in a bun when she was younger.
Also, do try to leave a review every now and then if you have the time. I am curious to see what your thoughts on this story are so far. Every comment helps!
Anyway I'll catch you guys in the next chapter, see ya!