Hello everyone I'm back! Sorry, I disappeared for a bit. I hope you all had a good Holiday and you'll have a wonderful New Year!
This came to inspiration while my Grandpa was unfortunately in the hospital. But he's okay now and back home! Something wonderful did happen though, we bonded through watching Fairy Tail and this story took root in my head and wouldn't go away.
The SYOC form will be at the bottom of my profile page! I hope you guys will like it and submit!
Forms are Due on February 1, 2024
Enjoy! R&R
Episode 1- Wayward Daughter
August X786
Fiore, Poppy Valley
"Shut it will you?" A girl with thick wavy oak-brown colored hair, tanned skin, and round rich golden-amber eyes laughed as she nudged her younger sister. "That guy was not flirting!" She was wearing a deep olive-green V-neck shirt under a black denim jacket, close-fitting dark-washed jeans, and knee-high dark brown boots.
"He was flirting with you, Calla!" The younger girl, her sister, insisted. "And you repaid him by destroying half his bar!" She looked extremely similar to her sister, but both her hair and skin were a few shades lighter than Calla's and instead of amber, her eyes were a striking leaf green.
She was wearing a rose-colored cable knit side zip jacket with dark jeans and dark brown ankle-high boots.
"Well, I'm happily seeing someone, Cassia," Calla shot back.
"Just wait till I tell Nat; he'd probably volunteer to personally fix the bar." Cassia joked, causing her older sister to shove her again as she rolled her eyes.
"He would," Calla said, thinking of the dark-haired-blue-eyed man she knew would be waiting for her at the guild, a warm, welcoming smile on his face like always. Just thinking about him brought a smile to her lips. He was the kindest man she had ever met. Her best friend.
Cassia saw the smile on her sister's face and laughed, proceeding to tease her again, "What's that smile for? Are you imagining your wedding day or something?"
Calla blushed, "Of course not!" But in truth, that's where her mind had taken her. To a beautiful clear summer day, with all their guildmates gathered around as they watched her marry Nat with a flowing white dress, and a beautiful sea of poppies surrounding them. "He hasn't even proposed yet."
"Yet?" Her sister shook her head, "I think you-" She suddenly cut off when they reached the entrance of the town. It was a ghost town. There was no one in sight for the girls to see. It looked like the residents had hurried to find shelter, quickly shutting themselves in their homes by the look of it; personal items and groceries were scattered across the ground. Worst of all, the sound of booming laughter that would float from the Guild through the town was absent, leaving an eerily calm feeling that sent a chill down both their backs.
"Calla, what..." Cassia looked around worried, taking a few steps into the town, looking to see if there was anyone trying to hide out in the open "... what do you think happened?"
Just after she spoke, they both felt a deep rumble and what sounded like an explosion off in the distance. Cassia barely had time to react before Calla zipped past her, her long brown hair trailing behind her. She quickly took off after her, catching up quickly, and together they ran through the town, catching glimpses of people peeking through their windows and doors, fear in their eyes.
They stopped outside the double doors of their guild, which was on the very edge of town, the back of the building facing the vast forest behind it. The guild seemed as deserted as the town, with chairs clumsily pushed back against the floor and pitchers of alcohol knocked over as if everyone had hurried to rise to their feet and rush out of the hall.
Both of them took a breath of relief that the guild was still standing, but their relief was short-lived when they saw the smoke rising from deeper in the forest.
"The valley!" Calla suddenly shouted, taking off past the guild with Cassia at her side. They navigated through the forest easily, without stumbling or falling over sudden dips in the trail. They had grown up in this forest, cried and laughed surrounded by the magical and native plants; the forest was like their second home. A haven, until now.
Finally, after what felt like a lifetime the two girls broke through the trees and found themselves on a cliff, overlooking the mystical valley that gave their town its namesake: Poppy Valley. The town was situated in a mountain region with thick forests that surrounded it on all sides, the forests were full of native and beautiful plants that could only be found in the region, but the most well-known fact about the area was that against all odds, a vast and wide field of poppies grew in the heart of the forest, creating a river of vibrant red in a sea of green.
But right now... there was nothing beautiful about the poppies. The smell of blood and sweat filled the air, as their guildmates battled demons and dark mages alike, the color of their blood indistinguishable from the vibrant petals of the poppy flowers that coated the floor.
It was a horrible sight to see. It was even worse to see their guildmates start to fight each other; suddenly turning on the people they were fighting side by side with and catching them by surprise when they attacked them instead of the enemy; from their vantage point, they couldn't tell if the yells of surprise were coming from the ambushed guild member of their sudden attacker.
"We-we have to help!" Cassia cried, sliding down the cliff, closely followed by Calla. The two just reached the field when an extremely familiar man came into their vision, but any relief they felt immediately disappeared when they watched him send one of their guildmates flying through the air, his fist enveloped by a glowing light.
Calla's heart stopped. She knew that light. Had fought side by side with that light countless times, had trusted that power to have her back no matter what, she knew the power behind it... and had never dreamed that it would be used against her guildmates. It felt like she was living a nightmare as she watched the dark-haired man create a sword out of his light before easily slashing it across the chest of one of their guildmates.
"Nat! Stop! What are you doing?!" She demanded, reaching them. "Diamond make: sword," She summoned her own magic, creating a sword out of hard, gleaming diamond and parrying his strike as he tried to stab through another of their fallen guildmates.
Nat's face was sickly pale and covered in sweat, his clear blue eyes full of distress, widening when he saw her. "I-I can't stop," He ground out, teeth clenched tightly. He suddenly shifted and swung down at her.
She ducked out of the way just in time, feeling his sword of light swing over her head. "Nat! Stop! Fight it!" She tried again. She saw how his body trembled, and it was clear he was being controlled by something.
"I can't stop." He said again, dispersing his sword and gathering light into his fist instead before he swung out, his fist connecting to the ground where she had been moments before and sending shards of earth and poppies flying everywhere.
"Plant Magic: Wild Vines," thorn-covered vines burst out of the ground under Nat's feet, wrapping around his limbs tightly, keeping him in place, even as he struggled to break free, the thorns creating small cuts across his skin.
Calla looked up to see Cassia standing behind her, eyes wide and arms crossed over her chest as she tried to hold Nat in place. "What's wrong with him?"
Calla shook her head and that's when she heard it, a faint, cold laugh. Her eyes scanned the valley, eventually landing on a woman who was watching the mayhem. From what she could see the woman had large breasts and a revealing blue-colored leopard-print kimono, but what stood out most of all were the two golden horns that seemed to protrude from her head. That and the senseless, cruel amusement that the woman was feeling.
Calla immediately knew that she was the cause for all of this, but before she could move another woman appeared at her side. This woman was pale and dressed in a simple black kimono, an oversized scythe resting in her hands.
"Lady Seilah, it seems that what we're looking for isn't here." The second woman informed the horned woman, Seilah.
"Shame," Seilah said, her voice smooth and calm, near emotionless. "Kyôka-sama will be most displeased. Let us go, Panserone." Seilah turned to go but Calla called out after her, enraged.
"Wait! Do you really think I'll let you leave?!" Calla raced to the cliff, "Diamond-make: Weapon's barrage," She created spears, axes, arrows, swords, anything she could think of really, and launched them at the two women.
Panserone simply swung her oversized scythe, destroying most of the projectiles, but both demons' eyes widened when some weren't destroyed; flying true and narrowly hitting them both, sticking from the ground next to them. "Interesting..." Panserone murmured.
"Tsk," Seilah looked extremely displeased for a moment before a cruel smirk formed on her face.
"Calla!" Cassia's cry of warning came a second too late and Calla felt something heavy crash into her, sending her flying into the poppies and scattering the petals into the air.
Calla struggled to her feet and saw Nat doing the same, his eyes distraught, light glowing in his fists before he lunged at her again... and despite herself, Calla acted on instinct. She constructed a sword out of diamond and swung out, aiming to throw him off balance... but at the last moment something shifted, and instead of her sword simply grazing him, it stabbed right through his chest.
Nat's eyes widened as he slumped forward, coughing.
"Nat!" Calla immediately let go of the sword, horrified, and scrambled to his fallen body, vainly trying to staunch the flow of blood as it pulled at his chest.
Nat stirred at her touch and when his bright blue eyes met her's she knew he was himself again. "S-sorry." He stammered, blood coating his lips.
She frantically shook her head, "It's not your fault. That woman forced you to," She looked for the woman who had caused Nat to attack her, but both the demon women had disappeared, "It's not your-" she cut off when she felt Nat's body go limp in her arms, his blue eyes closed. "Nat! Open your eyes! Nat!" She shook him roughly, again and again, but he didn't stir. "NAT!"
As tears flowed down her face, a burning hatred started to kindle in Calla's heart; hatred towards the people who had caused this and towards herself for what she had done. And right there, with Nat's blood on her hands, she made a vow that she would hunt down those people no matter what and make them pay, even if it led to her own death.
January 15, X791
Fiore, Poppy Valley
Calla hesitated before taking a step past the entrance of Poppy Valley. It had been four whole years since she had been back after all, and she couldn't help but wonder... did anyone really want her back?
A lot had changed since that day four years ago... after the funerals for Nat and other guildmates who had fallen in battle, Calla had left her guild, and her family at Nymph's Trove behind and had begun a quest to find the people responsible for the attack despite the protests of Cassia and their mother. She had ignored their pleas and left without a backward glance, her hatred fueling her.
She had left them behind despite their pleas to go with her. Honestly, back then, she felt like they would have been a burden and would have held her back. She couldn't have that. Not when she was also trying to get stronger.
She needed to get stronger and stronger. She knew it had been her own weakness that had killed Nat. Maybe if she had been stronger back then, she could have disarmed him as she had originally planned instead of killing the man she loved. She still had nightmares about stabbing him.
She couldn't have her family with her after that. Not when she wouldn't be able to defend them. They were better off without her. So, she ignored all their attempts to reach out to her and avoided all their attempts to find her until recently. On her end, at the very least, she did send them a letter every six months to let them know she was alive, if not well.
Now, she had returned home at the request of her mother who was finally, finally able to track her down. She had a lot of reservations about returning but her search for the demon woman, Seilah was proving mostly fruitless, though she did learn that she was a member of Tartaros; but even Calla wasn't stupid enough to pick a fight with the strongest dark guild. At least not at the moment.
Maybe she shouldn't have come back after all, she had left so many things unfinished. The day before, she had even stopped at the town before Poppy Valley, pondering her options on whether or not she should return, getting a bit too drunk at the local tavern and spending a short and pleasant night with a mysterious man she had met at said tavern. He was the first and only man in a sea of men after Nat's death who had piqued her interest. It was a shame he had slipped out of the room after they'd slept together.
Calla pulled out of her thoughts as she walked through the town, she glanced around, eyes impassive, noting that not much had changed about the town itself, people were milling about as if nothing had happened and though she knew it was stupid, it angered her, how could they just mill about as if nothing had happened? People died four years ago and here the people of Poppy Valley were... happy. It shouldn't but it made her feel sick. What was wrong with her?
She also noted that many of the townsfolk did a double take when they saw her, their eyes widening in shock, they probably hadn't expected her to change so much. They probably never thought she'd come back.
Long gone was the girl with flowing, wavy rich oak-brown hair and casual, comfy clothes; her natural brown locks were dyed a dark viridian color and her hair was now a short pixie-cut that went to her chin, the sides of her head shaved, she had three studs in each of her ears and a bar across the top of the left one. She also wore a dark gray crop top, an open black leather jacket, close-fitting black pants, and thick-soled combat boots.
She was no longer the girl they remembered and honestly, she didn't care. They'd regret it if they tried to treat her the same as before.
She stomped the rest of the way towards the guild, ignoring the stares and the muttering of the town. When she reached the large imposing guildhall she easily threw the doors open, something she had done multiple times as a child, a smirk appeared on her face at the memory, and it deepened when there was nothing but stunned silence at her entrance. Both new and old members alike were staring at her, the new members in confusion, the old members in surprise or bitterness.
"What?" She scoffed, her eyes defiantly scanning the faces of her guildmates, the ones she knew before she had left seemed extremely unwelcoming, "You look like you've seen a ghost." She took in the guild, noting, like the town that it was mostly the same, though she did see that the floor looked newer and there was new furniture mixed in with the old.
"You might as well be one," A stern voice said.
Calla looked up towards the second story of the guild and saw a near-mirror image of herself. The woman had short, dark viridian green-colored hair that brushed her shoulders, fair skin, and cedar-colored eyes. She was dressed in a simple white turtle-neck and dark green high-waisted skirt that went to her ankles and black boots.
"Mother." She greeted calmly, eyes blank.
"Master." The woman corrected. "Into my office. Now."
Calla bristled at her mother's commanding tone, but after a moment, went up the stairs, feeling like she'd rather deal with an angry parent than the burning stares on her back. Once she entered the master's office, she closed the door softly. "Why'd you call me back?"
"Is that any way to talk to your mother?" Willow Rosalyn demanded, hands on her hips. "I haven't seen you in four years... I barely recognize you." She added softly.
"Four years can change a person," Calla muttered. "Is that the only reason? You wanted to see my face?"
"I want you back home," Willow said. "From what I've heard, you've caused trouble for the Magic Council since you've been away and they've just about had it."
Calla scoffed, but she couldn't help the smirk that formed on her lips. More than once, she had stormed the headquarters of the Magic Council in Fiore and demanded assistance or access to their resources on her quest for answers, each time she had been refused, so she, in turn, trashed the building. "They should have given me what I wanted then."
"This is no laughing matter," Willow said sternly more Master than mother at this point, "They are a breath away from throwing you into a cell! Mr. Yajima reached out to me, he negotiated on your behalf, god knows why... and he said that if you don't want to end up in prison you have to rejoin Nymph's Trove."
"And you agreed? I didn't ask him to step in," She said back, but it made sense, Mr. Yajima was an old friend of her mother's, and of course, he wanted to help her...
"Just for a few months, until things cool down for you." Willow insisted. "You've gallivanted around Fiore long enough with no leash. Besides, your sister misses you." And just like that, Willow went from frosty Guild Master to a worried mother as her eyes softened. Calla looked away, it always unsettled her that she switched back and forth with her.
"Cassia's not even here." She sniffed.
"She's on a mission but is due back any day now," Her mother explained. "At least consider it. It'll be nice to have you home for a few days. I've missed you too and would like to spend time with my daughter." She pleaded and just like that Calla saw how hired her mother actually looked, as if worrying for her had taken decades out of her life instead of just four.
"I-" She began but cut off, sighing. "I'll stay for a few days, but I'm not promising to rejoin. If looks could kill, I'm sure I'd be dead." She remembered the harsh glares she received from her former guildmates, it was deserved, but she was sure no one would want to work with her.
"Give it a few days, they've missed you too." Willow finally smiled at her daughter, knowing she'd won this round.
"... yeah, yeah, everybody loves me." She scoffed, but she accepted her mother's hug and returned it after a minute of hesitation. It felt nice to be home, but despite her mother's words, she doubted she was welcome to stay.
Hello everyone so I'm back with a new story! Hoped you enjoy it, let me know what you guys think in the reviews!
And, yeah, Tartaros I kinda want to try and expand on the Demons we got from Tartaros and see them do horrible things before their fight with Fairy Tail
It's a bit of a mess so sorry about that and no... Calla is very much not alright at all...
P.S- I should have Gilded Roses updates by the end of January/February
SYOC SUBMISSION RULES AND NOTES:
**FORMS ARE DUE ON FEBRUARY 1, 2024**
***If you guys have any questions please ask!***
1. I am only accepting 13 OCs.
2. I will only accept submissions through PMs and none through the reviews. Please title the Subject line (Nymph's Trove, OC Name)
3. I will NOT accept any OP characters. I also don't want Mary Sue. Make your characters as complex and complicated, as you can, and let them have some flaws since no one is perfect.
4. Be as detailed with the Character History and Personality sections as possible. The more details the better.
5. 2 God Slayers. No Dragon Slayers, those spots are filled. No Devil Slayers at the moment.
6. DO NOT automatically make your OC an S-Class mage. If you think they could fit as an S-Class mage add it as a note and I'll put that into consideration. I plan to have 3-4 S-class mages.
7. Please delete anything in parenthesis
8. People born in Poppy Valley tend to have names related to nature (Ex: Calla, Cassia, Willow), just an interesting note.
9. Something to note, the main story will start off in X790, but the flashback was set in X786.
General Info:
Name:
Nickname:
Titles:
Age:
Gender:
Sexuality:
Birthday:
Where are they from?:
Appearance:
Physical Appearance(Hair, eyes, skin, height, etc):
Notable Features:
Main Outfit (Be as detailed as possible):
Other Outfits (Optional):
Accessories (Optional):
Background:
Guild Mark Color and Location:
Why did they join Nymph's Trove?:
What year did they join the Guild?:
If they joined before X786, how do they feel about the changes in Calla? (Were they close friends? Do they feel bitter she left and came back without word?):
Personality (The more details the better):
Likes:
Dislikes:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Character History (The more details the better):
Character Introduction (Optional):
Character Arc (Optional):
Relationships:
Family:
Are they part of a Team?: Friends:
Rivals: How do they treat their Guildmates?:
Romance:
Enemies:
Magic/Weapons:
Weapons/Equipment:
Magic (up to 3):
Magic Moves (at least 5):
Strengths (Related to battle):
Weaknesses (Related to battle):
Anything else you want to add: