Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters.
-The Enchanter of Fairy Tail-
Chapter 32: Lavender Village
Year: X756. 28 years till Canon begins.
Cade POV:
The carriage we were in made its way along the pathway that led to the bottom of the mountain range and presumably Lavender Village. We had been travelling for about an hour now and only the moon was now illuminating the way for us. I'm guessing that Reed and Mato have been this way hundreds of times before as there was hardly any light for them to see where they were going.
There was no noise at all, other than the sound of the carriage wheels and the horses hoofs running off the ground. No wildlife could be heard which made the journey a bit uneasy for me.
I spied a little doorway that was located on the wall across from me. I guessed that it opened up to allow passengers to ask questions to the driver of the carriage.
There was actually a question that I had been wondering for a while now since I learned that Reed was in on all this. I then reached up and slid the little doorway open.
When I opened it, I saw Reed and Mato driving the carriage, them having a conversation along the way.
"Uh, excuse me?" I said to the both of them putting my head to the doorway. Both of them stopped talking and turned to look at me with curiosity.
"Yes? Is there a problem?" Mato asked.
"Oh, it was just a question I had for Reed." I said looking to Reed.
"Ask away." He said as he turned back to keep control of the carriage.
"Well back at the inn, you said that it was impossible for a village to exist right below a huge mountain range like that as it might be destroyed in a rockfall." I reminded him.
"Yes? I was right about that you know." He spoke up to me.
"Yeah I know! My question is that I'm wondering whether Lavender Village is located below a mountain range or not. The map I saw labelled that it was, and we are currently heading in that direction." I asked.
"That is a good question." Mother spoke up. "I was wondering that myself."
"Oh yeah. Well yes and no." Reed answered chuckling to himself. "It'll be easier for you to find out when we get there. Also it's cooler to experience it without knowing."
"What is it, built against the mountain?"
"Think Cade. If that were the case then surely we would have seen it from Aster Village. In fact everyone would have seen it!" Mother remarked to me.
"Ah that's a good point."
'Just what is this village? At this point I'm half expecting it to be in the sky when we get there!' I thought as I struggled to think of where the village could be.
"No one's ever been able to guess the secret behind the village before they come across it." Mato said to me. "I've heard some crazy theories, that aren't actually as crazy as what actually happens."
"Wait… other people have gained access into the village before?" Mother questioned, picking up on what Mato said there.
"A few." Reed replied. "Some earned their way in due to us trusting them. There were times in which some people accidentally stumbled into the village. And of course we can't forget THAT time."
"Ah yes… You just can't forget about THAT." Mato added with a wince.
"What are you-?"
"Questions for later!" Redd snapped. He and Mato got deadly silent as they looked forward intently.
"Hmm? What is it?" I asked with concern at the men's sudden silence.
"We're here." Mato responded firmly.
Upon hearing that I sat back down in my seat and eagerly looked out the window to see where we were. I couldn't get a clear view, so I opened the window to see where we were in more detail.
I was confused to see that we were currently facing one of the many mountains that I assumed were a part of the huge mountain range that we were going towards. We were a good few metres away from the mountains huge smooth stone wall. The moon was shining on the stone on the mountain which helped me see it.
"Well? What does it look like?" I heard mother ask with anticipation from inside the carriage.
I stuck my head back in the carriage and turned to look at her. "Well it's a bit more rocky than I would have liked to imagine. I think it'd make a nice spot if they cleared out some of the space." I said sarcastically.
"What?" My mother uttered in befuddlement, as she opened the window on her side, and stuck her head out. "This is just a normal mountain…" She said in confusion.
I went back up to the small doorway inside the carriage and opened it up to talk to Mato and Reed again. When I opened it I saw them both talking with each other.
"Are you sure this is the right wall? Could have sworn that rock wasn't there before." Mato questioned to Reed with concern.
"I'm sure it is. I've always came this way dozens of times before." Reed assured Mato.
It was at this point I decided to speak up to them. "Is there a problem?" I asked the two in the front.
"No there's no problem. Just confirming something." Mato assured me.
"I didn't want to sound like a pain, but how much longer will it be until we get to Lavender Village?" I asked with a bit of impatience.
"Not to worry." Reed spoke. "If we are in the right place then we are mere footsteps away from the village." He explained to me.
"How is that the case?" I heard mother say, her head still outside the window. "We are right underneath one of the mountains here?"
"You'll see soon Ma'am. I'd recommend you put your head back in the carriage." Reed replied back. "We're about to set off now." He said as he turned back around to face the large stone wall.
"You are sure this is the right wall Reed?" Mato said with appreciation.
"Of course I'm sure!" Reed replied, him sounding a bit offended by that. He then raised his voice for me and my mother to hear.
"Attention all passengers, please keep your heads, arms, legs and body inside the carriage before we begin to set off." He smoothly said. "We will be going at rather fast speeds here, so please make sure your doors and windows are shut properly." He finished saying. "Any questions?"
"Well I mean no bu-"
"Then we're off!" He yelled as he whipped the horses, causing them to go at tremendous speeds. This caused me to fall back onto my seat as I was not expecting the carriage to start at a speed that fast. Mother was sent flying back into her seat, her also not expecting the fast start off just there.
'The hell?! What's going on?!'
"Hey why are we gong so fast?!" I yelled through the small doorway above me. I then looked out the doorway and saw that we heading straight for the stone wall.
"H-Hey! We're heading straight for the stone wall there!" I yelled through the doorway. Mother let out a cry in shock when I yelled that just there.
I could feel the carriage getting faster and faster.
"Hey! Listen to me! We need to stop!" I shouted.
Mato then immediately turned around to face me. "Get back in your seat and close that door! You should be sitting down when this happens! And make sure to close all the windows and this little door!" He ordered at me with a shout.
"But we-" I began.
"LISTEN TO ME AND DO IT!" He shouted back at me, his face in anger and worry.
'Dammit…' I began to think. 'If I die here…'
I then followed what Mato said, closing the small door behind me and making sure my window was shut properly. I then looked and saw that my mother had already shut her window and was sitting on her seat, while tightly holding onto a hand rail above her. She was looking calm, but I could tell that she was afraid.
"Hey, you trust these guys?" I asked quickly.
"If they wanted us dead, they would have tried to kill us back in the village!" She replied. "Plus they are in just as much danger as we are right?"
The carriage was only getting faster.
'How the hell is this thing moving so fast!?' I was now majorly panicking with confusion.
I did not reply to my mother there, but I instead took her other hand and gripped it tightly. We gave each other one last hopeful smile, before I then looked out the window to see how fast we were from colliding with the stone wall.
"Five seconds until we travel through!" I heard Reed yell at the top of his voice from outside.
"Travel?! Through where!?" I demanded.
"Three!" He called out.
I gripped mother's hand tighter.
"Two!" He shouted.
I tensed up.
"One!" He boomed.
I braced for impact.
"Zero!" He cried out.
'HERE IT COM – wait what?!'
Instead of the carriage crashing like I expected, we seemed to pass right through the stone wall as if it was just an illusion. The carriage then began to slow down quite quickly after that.
Just then I felt a really, really horrible feeling in my stomach.
I clutched my stomach in pain, and immediately thrusted open the door to hurl on the ground, not caring what the two drivers would say.
I spewed up what was probably all the food I had eaten today. While this was happening to me. I heard similar sort of noises coming from my mother on the other side of the carriage.
'What the hell was that back there…? We just phased right through the wall as if it was never really there.' I wondered, as I continued spewing. 'Was that why the carriage had to go so fast there?'
My stomach then seemed to calm down, and I took a few deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. It was then I heard the sound of boots hitting the ground, with footsteps coming in my direction not long after.
"Yikes… Forgot it was like that for some people." Came the voice of Reed above me.
"Are you alright? Don't worry you'll feel better in a bit." Mato reassured me.
I then pointed a finger in the direction of my mother, as I could still hear her spewing. Mato seems to notice this and told Reed to go and check on her. He did so leaving the two of us alone.
"So… What exactly was that back there?" I asked Mato slowly, nervous I would hurl again.
"That's how our village has remained undiscovered from the general public for the last few 100 years or so." He said first. "That wall we just passed through uses a special magic that has been lost to time. Gate Magic." Mato explained to me.
I looked up at him with a confused look, me trying to tell him that I wanted a bit more information on that part.
Mato cleared his voice. "Gate Magic is a certain type of magic that allows the user to create a gate that allows him to travel through a certain surface, as long as the space opposite has nothing in the way. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the magic, is that the surface that the spell was cast on will not be affected after the gate has dissipated." He described the magic to me in great detail.
He then picked up a small stone and threw it at the wall we passed through. The stone simply hit the wall and fell to the ground after. I was shocked to see that happen. I assumed the stone would have just went right through.
"The stone wall is actually several metres thick." Mato followed on. "For the spell to work and us to pass through successfully, we need to be going at a high enough speed that will activate the gate and allow us to phase through."
"I wanted all the windows closed, as someone who came through here a few years back almost lost their life, due to leaving the window open and sticking their arm out the carriage." He shuddered at that last part.
'That's what kind of magic it was? Gate Magic? I've only been a wizard for a few years now, but that's the first time I've ever heard of a magic like that. And what did he mean earlier about it being lost to time?'
"Well that's certainly an inconvenient way to get in and out of this place. I assume the village is around here somewhere?" I wondered.
"Yes the village is located on the inside of the mountains here. Oh, and we do have another way of exiting the village other than this." Mato informed me.
I then gathered the strength to stand back up on my own two feet. I saw that mother was also standing up, her still looking a bit shaken by all this, I'm guessing Reed told her about how we got through here.
Now that I was standing back up, I got to have a better look at where exactly we where. We seemed to be inside the mountain like Mato told me earlier. We were in a huge stone tunnel that had lots of torches hanging on them to illuminate the way forward. Below me I could see a pathway that led further into the mountain. I'm guessing that way is where Lavender Village is.
"Ok, we all ready to get going again then?" Redd spoke up to us all.
Me and mother both said that we were ok to keep going forward into the tunnel. "Good." Reed replied. "Now then, I'd get back into the carriage unless you'd like to walk the rest of the way." He suggested as he got back onto the drivers seat, Mato following him.
I chose not to answer him, and instead showed my answer by darting back into the back of the carriage, my mother seemingly having the same idea.
Upon us getting back into the carriage, I opened back up the window to get some fresh air while we were moving – well about as fresh as you can get in a cave really.
The carriage then started moving forward, and me and mother turned to look at each other.
"You ok over there? I know you were sick, was just wondering if you're feeling any better." I asked with concern.
"I'm fine now." Mother replied with a thin smile. "Stomach feels a bit empty, but that's to be expected after that just there. I'll need to get a bite to eat when we get into the village."
"I feel about the same." I added to that. "Did you hear what kind of magic is used to keep this place a secret? Gate magic it's called apparently."
"Yes I did. I must say I've never heard about such a strange magic before." Mother mussed.
"Yes, I believe Mato said something about the form of magic being lost to time?" I wondered. "I'll certainly be asking him about that later on if I can remember."
There was a minute or so of silence, before mother then spoke up to me.
"Tell me. What do think Lavender Village will look like? It's been hyped up so much I'm curious to see what it will be like." My mother asked me.
I paused to think about that for a moment. "Hmm… I'm going with small underground society, villagers only having access to the basic sort of food, not that big; maybe 50 people all together?" I suggested me not entirely sure if that would be right or not.
My mother raised an eyebrow at me curiosity. "Oh… that's certainly different than what I was thinking." She admitted with honesty. "Would you not think that since this village has an access to a form of unknown magic, that they would be a bit more grander than how you described them?"
I was a bit abashed to hear that. "Ah, well I mean-"
"Hey you two!" Came the voice of Reed from the drivers seat, cutting me off from what I was saying. "Take a good look outside your window. We're here." He said with a pleased tone.
Me and my mother quickly went and stuck our heads out of the carriage to see what the village would be like.
I saw in front of me a huge white light that caused me to cover my eyes, with me having to slowly remove them to get used to it. The bright light took up the end of the tunnel we were in and we were approaching it.
'Is the village through there?' I wondered with interest.
The carriage then went right into the bright light causing me to cover my eyes again and let out a small and quiet grunt in doing so.
When I removed my eyes I got to see what was in front of me again clearly. We had came out on what looked like a large stone overpass. There was a small wooden guard to stop unlucky people from falling off the overpass. The carriage chose to go left with the stone wall to our right, and we went down a smooth and easy pathway that led downwards.
"Take a look left and see what you came here for." Mato called out to us.
I looked left curiously, mother climbing over to join me.
What I saw…. Oh it was magnificent…
It was a gigantic underground village that spanned a few kilometres. I could count around dozens and dozens of basic yet simple homes down there. Their roofs were coloured red and were in a lovely pedagogical shape. I saw that there were small rivers and a small lake with what looked like a water wheel beside it. My eyes caught small farms and animals being tended to by villagers. I also spotted a very smooth pathway that most likely led villagers throughout the whole town – a quick shift of my eyes, showed that the pathway we were on would lead to this pathway in the village. I also spotted the heads of people moving through the village, them getting on with their daily lives. Beautiful cherry blossom trees were darted around the whole village, creating a lovely pink colour in contrast with the rich red houses.
Perhaps the most eye catching thing I saw in the village from this angle was a rather large monastery located at the far end of the village. It was the most detailed and impressive structure that I could see in the village. It was the largest building in this whole underground civilisation. Like the houses, it was also coloured red with lovely streaks of gold running throughout it. This helped the building look not only big, but powerful as well.
Despite this entire village being underground, the whole place was lit up with lots of lanterns hanging down from houses and streetlights on the road. I shifted my gaze upwards and saw a huge (and I mean huge) hole in the roof of this whole gigantic mountain we were in. Is this perhaps how the village gets daylight? No light was coming through of course as it was still night outside. I could see grass around the edges of the village and near the many different forms of water. Magic or years of cultivation?
"Welcome to Lavender Village!" Mato declared proudly from his seat. "What do you think?"
Me and my mother were still both slack jawed from seeing the village just there. "It's… incredible! To think a society like this was hiding from us this entire time!" I cried out with joy.
"Oh how beautiful!" My mother exclaimed with happiness. "I never did regret coming on this journey, but this is easily the highlight of the entire thing!" She declared. (Not like the rest of the journey was all THAT exciting…)
I could hear Mato let out a chuckle from above. "Yes, that's about what most of the reactions are like."
"Ok now listen up you two!" Reed cried out. "I'm going to have to pull down at that stable over there." Reed pointed a finger to small stable with a few wagons and carriages with many horses in different pens. "I have to unload this gear. Mato will be taking you to the elder of our village. We can't just let you both come in here without him knowing." He explained to the both of us.
"When you get to him, he'll decided whether you should be aloud to stay here or not. Don't worry he won't mess with your memory if he thinks you're unworthy. You'll just be asked to leave." He explained to us.
"I see. Any advice you can give us?" Mother asked, as we had now finished travelling down the walkway that led into the village. The stable only being a few metres away now.
Reed seemed to struggle to find an answer. "Er… just be yourself? Maybe be nice and respectful? I don't know I can hardly know what the guy thinks all the time. I'm just a carrier for goods here!" He exclaimed.
The carriage had now came to a stop. It felt strange knowing that the village was right outside this door after three whole days of travelling – well midnight has probably passed by now so I guess that makes it four days.
Me and mother disembarked the carriage and our feet hit the smooth stone ground of the village. I then saw Mato and Reed climb off the front of the carriage. Both men then came over to us.
"Thank you for being bearable to travel with." Reed thanked. "Oh so many of my customers tend to make such a ruckus when they hire my services." He sighed and put a hand on his face after saying that.
"Oh it's no problem!" I thanked him with a smile.
"Like Reed back there, I'll have to take you both to the village Elder. We'll be passing through the village on the way, and the inhabitants here don't often see outsiders… so be prepared for a bit of staring." Mato informed us.
"Again good luck with whatever it is that you wish to do here." Reed nodded, as he went to empty some cargo out of the carriage. "Oh yes. I might be for the best if your luggage is kept here with me. I'm just saying that in case you bring it all the way there and you get kicked out the village. I'd be free to give you a lift back to civilisation." Reed suggested.
Me and mother looked at each other, and then back to Reed.
"Ok…" I said to Reed. "I'm fine with that as long as you don't peek or take anything in there. I'll know if you do." I warned the man.
"The same goes with me." Mother stated firmly. "If I find that you have been peaking through a women's suitcase then you'll be making sure to watch your back for the next few days." She said as she stared Reed down.
"Ok ok!" Reed put his hand up in defense. "Wasn't going to do that anyway!" He assured us, as he went back to unpacking the carriage.
"Alright let's go now." Mato said as me and mother began to follow him to whoever the village elder may be.
We first crossed over a small bridge that had a river running just below it.
"Say Mato." I asked the man. He turned around to face me curiously. "What's with the huge hole in the roof up there?" I asked as I pointed upwards. "Won't that mean hikers will find this place?"
"Quite interesting that." Mato said to me. "It's a powerful illusion that shows us what the time of day and what the weather is outside. When it's sunny, the illusion will project sunlight into the village."
"But not actual sunlight right?" I replied back. While in Fairy Tail, I learned from Gildarts that Illusion magic can make a pretty good replica of the casters imagination. However, it will always not be 100% accurate to what the caster is thinking. It may lose its ability to collide with other objects for example. Quikora seemed to have gotten the gist of this, and focused on mostly fooling his opponents instead.
"Correct." Mato nodded. "It doesn't provide any actual warmth on the surface it's on, so it is technically fake."
"Ah ok." I said in understanding. "Things must get pretty bad in winter then huh?" I realised.
"Well all the houses have stoves, and the suppliers make sure to go out before winter and gather a lot of wood for stoves. We can manage quite easily as long as we are careful." He answered.
By this point we had now entered the main village, with many houses to our left and right. We were walking down a nice small street with a few hanging lanterns to my left.
'Right. Keep forgetting it's technically night outside. I get the feeling that this place would drive me crazy if the ceiling didn't tell me what the time is.'
I also spotted some of the villagers looking out of their windows at us. Some showed looks of curiosity while others seems hesitant. I then heard voices to my right, and turned and saw a few of the villagers of different age ranges, looking at me and my mother with interest.
The men wore some simple and rather neat tunics that were coloured either brown, blue or black. They also wore trousers, some being ripped. They also did not wear shoes or socks, leaving their feet bare for all to see. Must be a pain if they always keep kicking their feet off stuff.
The women wore much smaller tunics that were cut at the sleeves. The colours for their tunics were the same as the male tunics. Their lower half consisted of skirts that had clearly been cut down to fit some of the women as they got older, as I could see that some skirts were cut just up a little. They like the men, wore nothing to cover their feet.
What I found interesting about the men and women, was that they all had some brown face paint on them. It was simple lines that came up and down across the left and right of their face.
'Must be village tradition I guess. Still those clothing choices… They must be limited in what they can wear due to how isolated their village is. I must look like a complete alien to them.'
As I kept looked at them, I saw that more men and women from the village were coming up to see us. Them obviously now thinking that we meant them no harm as Mato had not been hurt by us. They still did keep their distance from us though.
"They're just curious about you both. We hardly ever get visitors here." Mato informed me and my mother as we kept moving throughout the village. Most of the villagers were now following us, quite curious to see where we were going.
We had now passed through a small square in the village that had many different pathways shoot off from it in many directions. We kept following Mato, who simply kept walking straight on.
'Just where are we going?' I wondered with interest.
We then came to a split in the path that could take us either left or right. Mato chose to go right and we both followed him. I glanced behind me and saw the villagers still following us.
The three of us then came to a large open area, where there was a much bigger house than usual situated on the hop of a hill. It had a balcony and a set of double doors that led out to it. There were two men each with rather powerful robes on that stood at the front door of this house.
Mato then stopped and turned to us. "Wait here." He said before he made his way over to one of the guards at the door. He then whispered something to him, the guard listening carefully. The guard then went indoors and Mato came and stood back beside us.
"I've just asked for the Elder. He should be coming here shortly." Mato explained as he crossed his arms.
"What kind of man is he?" I questioned, hoping to get as much information as possible.
"He is man that is quite cautious of newcomers in our village." Mato explained. "But he often tries to see the good in people."
"Does he have magic?" I asked curiously.
"He does not. Master Han is the one who specialises in the magical arts here. He teaches anyone in the village how to learn magic, as long as they have the dedication and Ethernano. He even taught me when I was a young boy like you."
"Wow really?"
'He must be quite old then.' I reckoned internally.
"Hey, why is he so cautious of newcomers in the village?" I put my finger in my chin and began to think back on what Mato told me earlier.
"While we have let newcomers into our village before, he is aware that there are a lot of bad people, mainly dark wizards that would wish to cause harm to our village here." Mato grimaced at the idea. "I hope you can understand."
"Yeah, I understand perfectly." I said, thinking back on the fate that befell my father.
"Another thing Mato." I then reached up to the man's ear. "Why are these villagers still here?" I said quietly, turning around to look at the now rather large group of villagers behind us.
I counted a couple dozen of them hanging back behind us, them whispering to each other intently. There were boys and girls all of different ages curious as to why we were here.
"Perhaps they are simply curious as to why we are here." My mother spoke up.
"I believe your mother is correct." Mato answered to me. "The crowd will remain silent during the time in which the Elder is here. They will want to hear what he and you have to say."
I was about to ask Mato a question but I was interrupted by the door to the elders house opening.
"Speaking of the Elder…" Mato quickly said, making sure to stand up straight. I heard all the villagers behind me muttering to themselves quite quickly. They then quickly shut up, when I could see the silhouette of a man exiting the house with the guard that when inside to get him.
He then stepped out into the light of the lanterns illuminating him for me to see.
He was a tall, tanned, middle aged man with long white hair that came down to his shoulders, whether it was due to his age or whether it was dyed, I could not tell. I saw that he had purple eyes, and he also had a thin beard that completely covered his chin. White face paint was on the man's upper face, which helped him stand out compared to the other villagers. He wore nothing to cover his chest, leaving it bare for everyone to see. I could see some tattoos on his body and arms, that seem to resemble many different hostile creatures. Thick dark trousers coloured brown covered his legs from the waist down. He wore some rather big sandals which made him look even taller. He carried a walking stick which had engravings on it. He seemed well built, as his arms were practically tree trunks in size, so I assume the stick was an accessory for the Elder.
As he exited I also saw a tanned girl around my age walking next to him. She had long wavy golden hair that came over her shoulders and down her back, with her eyes coloured orange. I saw that she wore very little to cover her chest, her only wearing a white sarashi round her upper chest which was supported by a large ring that came round her neck. I saw she had golden bangles on her arms that matched the colour of her hair. Like the other girls in the village she wore a skirt, that was coloured dark green and came down to her hips. She also did not wear shoes her leaving her feet bare, and she had some face paint like the others.
'The Elders daughter perhaps?'
The Elder and his daughter stopped not to far away from the three of us. He then lifted up his stick and brought it down on the ground, which caused a thud to echo through the entire village.
"Mato. Who are these strangers?" The Elder questioned him sternly.
"These are good people who wish for access into our village Elder Lotho. They h-"
"You say they wish for access, yet you have brought them in here by yourself." The Elder Lotho interrupted him. "You know the rules around here don't you? I must be informed beforehand if you plan on bringing any outsider into the village." He reminded Mato.
'What!? Why on Earth didn't Mato tell me this before hand?' I screamed in my mind.
"Because I truly believe we can trust these two." Mato rebutted back. "They have good reason to be here." He assured the Elder.
The Elder Lotho's eyebrows furrowed a little.
"Go on then." He waved his hand.
"You see he-" Mato began
"Not you Mato." The Elder immediately said cutting him off. "I want to hear the boy explain why he has come here." He then shifted his gaze to me.
'God… I feel like confessing everything bad I've ever done while this guy's starting at me.' I remarked internally.
I cleared my voice before speaking to him. "Greetings Elder. I have come to this village to learn from a man who claims to have the ability to be able to combine his magic together before it leaves his body. I wish to learn how to perform this technique." I told the intimidating Elder.
The Elder did not move a single muscle. "And the lady next to you?" He asked, slightly turning his head to look at my mother.
"Oh, er this is my mother. She decided to come with me to keep me company. I've been away from home on jobs before, but never away for this long." I explained, mother bowing her head to the Elder. I was about to continue talking, but the Elder surprised me by holding up his hand.
"Stop." I was a bit taken aback by this. "Jobs? You are a wizard at a guild?" He asked, now he was asking in a curious tone. I could also hear many of the villagers behind us muttering with each other about that detail.
*THUD*
"Silence!" Came the Elder as he thudded his staff… stick, staff? I couldn't tell what it was honestly. He beckoned me to answer.
"Y-Yes I am Elder." I said before rolling up my right sleeve to show the man my guild mark. "My guild is called-"
"Fairy Tail?!" He exclaimed suddenly. He now looked quite shocked and surprised to see my guild mark. I didn't even need to tell him what the guild was called!
'What in the world is going on here? When I showed Mato my Fairy Tail guild mark earlier he didn't recognise it. But when I told him the name, he looked like he had heard of it before. Now this Elder guy seems to know who Fairy Tail are AND what the guild emblem looks like!' I struggled to understand just HOW informed these people are.
Many of the villagers now began to mutter among themselves a lot louder than they were before. I could hear many varying words from the villagers. All it took to shut the villagers up however, was another loud thud of the stick.
*THUD*
"Silence!" Demanded the Elder to the crowd.
The Elder then took a deep breath. "I see... That was certainly not what I was expecting to hear." He scratched his beard. "How did you come to learn of our village?" He asked me with interest. He didn't seem as suspicious and skeptical of me now as he was when he first saw me. Progress!
"I saw the location of the village in a two hundred year old map in a library located in Crocus. It was my Master that told me of the Villages existence, he learned of it from a friend." I stated to the Elder carefully.
He seemed to think on what I said there. "Hmm, yes. Crocus is a likely place for a map of our village to be. I'm surprised we missed one all those years ago." He muttered to himself.
He seemed to think for himself for what felt like an eternity.
Now he turned back to Mato. "So you vouch for the boy Mato?" The Elder asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes I do." Mato quickly responded firmly, him surprised that he got spoken to there.
The Elder then looked back to me and my mother. "So you simply wish to learn to enhance your magic a bit? That is the only reason why you are here?"
"Yes Elder! If you allow me to stay for the two months that I should need to train, then I can leave immediately after!" I promised the man.
Elder Lotho moved his head a bit before he opened his mouth.
"Well… I think I've made my decision regarding you." He spoke up, for everyone to hear.
Silence broke out across the whole village. Not a single person was speaking, and not a single sound could be heard.
"I have decided…" The Elder began to say.
'Please let us in, please let us in, please let us in!' I prayed in my mind. I could see that my mother and Mato were also nervous.
"To accept you." The Elder answered with a small smile.
"What!? He was accepted?" "I can't believe this!" "Not how I expected my day to go." "Course he was let in! He had that mark after all." "It's been years since a stranger was aloud access to our village." "I hope he doesn't blab this to anyone." "Have some faith for the kid."
*THUD THUD*
"Silence, all of you!" Elder Lotho shouted. "Don't you all have to be getting asleep by now?" He said with an annoyed tone.
When he said that, all the villagers that came to watch immediately ran off to their homes to avoid a scolding from the Elder. Some of the villagers gave me and mother curious looks as they left. After a few minutes only me, mother, Mato, Elder Lotho and the girl next to him were still here.
"My apologies, the residents here tend to get a bit… excited when I allow strangers to enter our village." The Elder explained. "Now then. You are free to come and go in this village for as long as you like." He told me and mother. "Unless you do something stupid to revoke that privilege of course." He raised his eyebrows when he said that.
"N-No! O-Of course not Elder!" I cried out in defence.
"We'd never do something like that!" My mother assured him.
Elder Lotho simply waved his hand at us. "Alright, you've made your point. Now listen to me young man. You said you want to study magic here right?"
"Yes that's right." I answered.
"Well the person you're looking for is Han Verrs. He is located at the huge monastery you probably saw when coming here. Head up there and see to him about all that. Mato can take you there."
Mato nodded with acceptance when he said that.
"I'd love to see you more and hear more about the outside world, but I have some important matters coming up that need attending to. Winter is one of them." He stated to me. "As such, my daughter Fea will help you whenever you wish. She knows a lot about the village and the people living there."
Fea then made her way over to me and mother. "Hello there! It's so nice to meet you." She said with a kind bow of her head.
"My name is Cadewell, but you can call me Cade!" I greeted her back with a smile. "And my mother is called June!" Mother gave Fea a kind nod and a lovely smile.
"It seems you will all get along well from what I can see." Elder Lotho remarked. "Welcome to Lavender Village Cade and June." He said with his smile, as he turned around and went back into his home.
'We did it! We got access to the village!' I cried with joy internally. 'Now we just need to head to that Master Han's place and I can help boost my magic there!' I grinned at the idea.
"Well then. Shall we all be heading to Master Han's monastery then?" Mato asked me.
"Yes that sounds great!" I replied with a smile, as Mato then nodded and began to move back along the path we came from in order to get to the monastery. Me, mother and Fea then followed him.
While we were walking there, Fea spoke up and asked me a question. "Excuse me Cade? What town do you come from?" She asked politely.
"Oh? The town me and my mother come from us called Magnolia. It's around a three day travel from here." I answered her. "We both live in a nice big manor – ow!" I cried as mother hit me on the head with her fan that she had in her pocket.
"I thought I told you not to tell everyone that we live in a manor!" She snapped at me. "It might make you seem pompous and big headed to others."
"Oh I don't think any less of you two. In fact I think it's pretty nice to live in a huge house like that!" Fea spoke up, catching mother off guard with her reply. She then whispered to me. "Is it bigger than my father's house?"
"Yeah it's much bigger! Our manor has four floors and a backyard!" I said bragging just a little.
I could hear my mother practically grit her teeth at me from behind. Mato on the other hand let out a chuckle.
"I'd advise you try not to say stuff like that when you meet Master Han." He advised me, as the four of turned a corner, and began to move up a set of stairs. "He is quite more strict that Elder Lotho. I doubt he'll let you train under him just because the Elder allows you to live here."
"I just realised!" My mother cried out, as the stairs smoothed out onto a small stone platform, before continuing up. "Where are we going to stay?!" She put her hands on her head in panic.
"AHH! How could we miss such an important detail!" I cried out with her, us now stopping on the stone platform to take that realisation in.
'What do we do?! I don't want to beg people to let us both stay at their homes!'
"Hmm…" Mato put a had on his chin and began to think. "You know… If you impress Master Han enough, he might just let you stay at his monastery. There are plenty of rooms available there, and he has taken in students before." He told the both of us.
"Wha-?! Really!?" We both said in unison.
"He's right." Fea spoke up. "But I hear he often asks the people who come to train with him a way to see if your worthy or not."
"Worthy? How so? Like a fight?" I wondered.
"It's like a te – mph!" Fea tried to finish that sentence, but she was cut off by Mato putting a hand on her mouth.
"Don't tell him Fea! It's meant to be a surprise!" He quickly said.
"Hey!" I said in anger. "I wanted to hear!"
"Come now. It's a surprise." Mato said a bit annoyed by my impatience.
We all then agreed to keep climbing the stairs to the monastery where I would get my answers.
'I hope it's a test of strength or something similar to that. I think I'd do a pretty good job at fighting here. I wonder if these people know about Enchantment Magic?' I pondered, as we were now getting closer to the top of the stairs.
Not long after, we all made it to the top of the stairs and came up on the monastery. It was a much larger building than what I saw back when we were coming down on the village. There was a giant gate that was open that led into the front yard of the place.
The monastery itself was a building that looked like it had been built a good hundred years ago. The stone walls had a few small cracks in them, and they were painted a light red colour. There were also two much smaller buildings connected on the left and right of the monastery. The pedagogical shaped roofs were tiled red and were quite well made.
Beyond the giant gate I saw a man sitting with his legs crossed in the center of the front yard. He had his hand and body in a meditative posture.
'Could this man be…?'
"Master Han." Mato said as he walked forward bowed his head at the sitting man.
"I see our guests have arrived here." The crossed legged man said as he leapt up to his feet in an instant.
The man had dark black hair just like mine. He had green eyes, and he had a very thin moustache that was made up of two small lines on his left and right that went in a downward diagonal direction. As for his attire, he wore a simple cyan coloured shirt along with a thin short jacket with no hood that was coloured light grey. His lower attire consisted of skin coloured leggings, and he wore some smooth black shoes. He was quite tall, about medium height.
"You knew we were coming?" I said in shock.
"Yes I saw you coming through the town while I was looking out the window." He pointed a finger upwards to a window in the monastery. The man probably has a good look over the whole village. "I then decided to wait here in case you decided to venture up here." He said as he moved towards me, before stopping.
"Hello Master Han." I greeted him with a bow of my head. "I'm Cadewell from Fairy Tail, but you can call me Cade. I have heard from a friend that you can combine your magics together before you actually cast your spells. I would like to learn how to do this please." I requested humbly.
"Is that so? Many of the people in this village ask the same, and yet they all back out finding it too tough for them. How do I know you will be any different from them?" Master Han questioned.
I thought carefully of an answer, before I took a deep breath and spoke.
"Forgive me for asking Master Han, but am I correct in saying that all the people you have taught in this village have been born and lived here their whole lives?" I started.
Master Han paused for a moment. "Yes you are right in saying that."
'Here goes nothing.'
"You see, that means that almost all of the people you have taught will not have seen proper conflict before. As such, I find it likely that they will have struggled with your training routine and style." Master Han now gave me a curious look. "I on the other hand, have been a part of a guild for three years now. I have had to deal with all sorts of tough opponents in battle, so I believe I have what it takes to keep up with your training unlike them." I finished explaining.
I saw that my mother and Fea were quite impressed by my statement there. Master Han seemed to think about what I said just there.
"Hmm… That is not a bad point young Cade." He nodded. "Please follow me. I wish to see if you have the strength to back it up." He gave a smile that seemed like he was planning something interesting for me. He then walked around the left side of the monastery, the four of us quickly following him.
We followed him behind the monastery, and we came out on a huge smooth flat area. There wasn't any structures nearby (other than the monastery) There were white chalk lines that marked out a gigantic rectangular area. It was a good 50-70 meters big.
"Is this an area of some sorts?" I asked Master Han curiously.
"Of a sort. I am somewhat limited in what I can use to train others. This backyard is about as big as I can manage." He explained. "Here you will be facing the test I have planned for you." He said sternly. "You will prove here that you will have the strength and skill to make it through my training." He gave a hardened expression.
'Yes! I'm sure I'll ace this! I was able to survive a fight against a giant Werewolf, Celestial Spirits and Gildarts! I've got this in the bag!' I grinned at that thought.
"Alright then! I accept your test!" I declared confidently.
"You can do this Cade! I believe in you!" Mother said encouraging me on.
I thanked mother with a nod and a smirk. "Ok then. Let's get this test started! Let's go Master Han!" I cried with gusto.
"I'm not fighting you." Han responded plainly, him stroking his moustache.
"Huh?"
"I never said that I would be fighting you." He said in a bit more detail.
"Wha-? Then who?! Who is it that I have to fight?!" I spluttered in confusion at this twist.
Master Han then his head in the direction of Mato, who was giving me a stern glare, with his arms crossed.
"Hm? Mato are you ok there?" I said nervously at the gaze he was giving me.
Mato furrowed his brow at me.
"I find it bold for you to claim that you have much better fighting experience than the ones raised in this village. Are you suggesting that we are unable to defend ourselves if it came to it? And you even said that we would struggle to complete and keep up with Master Han's training?" Mato demanded.
"E-Eh? M-Mato what are you-"
"Mato takes his role in this village here quite seriously. To suggest that he has been unable to protect this village from danger is quite the bold claim indeed. You'd be saying that his years of training were for nothing if a 13 year old wizard can outdo him." Han explained. "I am curious to see how you two will fare against each other."
"H-HUH?! This is my test? I have to fight Mato!?" I shouted in this reveal.
"Yes indeed. Make your way to the other end of the square to begin. I will end the test when I think I have seen enough." Han told me with his hands begin his back.
"Wha-!?"
"Let's get a move on then. Did you not say that you wished to come back to this topic sometime? Remember? Back before we set off to the village?" Mato replied scornfully, him moving to one end of the square.
"Wha – No I didn't… But I meant… Argh!" I grunted in frustration as I made my way to the opposite end of the square.
'Ok I guess I dug myself into this one. I thought I was being smart by saying that I could do better than any of the other students. I really should have watched what I was saying and who was near me. Funny how I use words to avoid a fight with Mato a few hours ago, and now it's my words that cause him to get aggressive towards me!' I remarked internally with a nervous chuckle as I made it to one end of the square.
"Ok then…" I sighed. "Let's start then!"
Mato gave a challenging smirk, as he put his hand on the black hooded robes that he was wearing, and suddenly whipped the robes off him revealing his true attire to me.
He wore a red tunic with a rather grand robe over it that was coloured red as well. Lines of gold braiding were along the edges of his robe. Now that I could see his actual body, I saw that he was very muscular with his arms built just like the Elders! His lower half consisted of thick black trousers that were strapped with a belt. He wore some sandals like the Elder, but they were not as big as his.
Mato cried out and summoned a burst of golden flame from his hands that spun up and around him, before he dissipated the spell.
"Now let's see how you handle this kind of magic! My Golden Flames!" He shouted with vigour.
Hoo boy. That was one long chapter. That said, I hope you all liked it! Be sure to leave a review of your thoughts.
We have finally made it Lavender Village! It only took a few chapters but we got there eventually. I'm sorry if the pacing felt a bit quick with how fast Cade and his mother got to the village, but I wanted to end this chapter with the fight beginning between Mato and Cade.
We also got to meet several new characters here. Elder Lotho is the Elder that just wants his village to live a quiet happy existence. Fea is the Elders daughter and has been tasked to help out Cade with anything he is struggling with. Finally Master Han is the man that Cade has been looking all over for. With his help will he finally be able to learn to combine his magic successfully?
We shall have to see soon. In the next chapter Cade will be going up against the now angered Mato with his powerful and beautiful golden flames. Will he be able to pull off a win here? Find out next time on the Enchanter of Fairy Tail…