Walker Among Wizards

Prologue

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Ryu, it's time for you to leave."

"But Igneel, I still have a lot to learn. For one, I don't know how to control my outbursts. What if I...hurt someone else? I can't live like this! You have to teach me!"

"ENOUGH! You've been here for 19 years. You've gone off on your own many times before. You've defeated assassins, toppled Dark Guilds. It's time you leave for good. Find your own path."

"But you all told me it's my duty to protect everyone. To make sure nothing bad happens. How can I make my own path if it's already been laid out in front of me?"

"You can't protect everyone. Nobody can. Protect those you can. Fight for those who can't fight for themselves. But your life is your own. Nobody can decide it for you, and nobody can live it but you. Find others like you. Make friends. Allies. "

"But...I don't even know where to start. My whole life I've lived with the dragons and spirits. The only towns I've been to...I don't want that to happen again. I don't want to make friends. I don't want to hurt anyone else I care about. I don't want to lose control again."

"Then find someone who can teach you. Find another Master. Find people who can help."

"But where can I find something like that?"

"...Do you remember Natsu?"

Four Months Later

Ryu sat at his fire, stoking the flames with hands. The cold of the night didn't affect his body, but the light of the flames kept him comfortable. Being able to see across the clearing made it hard for anyone - or anything - to stay concealed long enough to sneak up on him. As his eyes slowly started closing, he shook himself awake long enough to throw dirt on the flames and douse the fire. After the smoke cleared, he rolled out his sleeping mat and lay it on a flat piece of ground. Just like most nights, he made sure nothing was around him, then used his Earth Mover magic to raise a dome of rock over himself, with a small opening at one end to let air in and out. Sleep soon overtook him and he fell into a familiar dream. One that followed him wherever he went.

There he was, standing in a small town. The streets were lined with small houses and shops. The stone roads had been newly washed and swept. The houses themselves were clearly taken care of, as there were hardly any spots or chips in the paint and the walls themselves were virtually untouched. The shops were colorful and vibrant, easy to spot yet easy on the eyes. They sold various items, ranging from food and souvenirs to magic items and household necessities.

The only thing out-of-place was the people, or rather, the lack thereof. Not a single person in sight. The houses had their doors hanging freely open. The shops were completely deserted. Ryu knew what was about to happen, but he could do nothing except watch. His body forced him to walk down the street towards the house at the end. The house with the red shutters and gold-trimmed rug laying in the doorway. He tried to stop himself from entering, but knew it was pointless, seeing as he had no power in this nightmare. As he stepped inside, he turned from side to side and took in his surroundings. To the left of the entryway sat the dining room and kitchen. In the dining room sat a small table and three chairs. As he closed the front door, he noticed two bowls of soup on the table, ready to be eaten. Ryu could smell the steamy broth, the vegetables simmered to perfection, the meat cooked just right. It all made him sick to his stomach.

Just then, two figures appeared from the hallway. Two adults, a man and woman. If Ryu didn't know already, it was easy to figure these two out as husband and wife, with the way they smiled at each other and laughed with pure joy. It made Ryu start to tear up, remembering what he was about to do. He turned around just in time to see the front door swing open, and there he was, sweating and out of breath. The Ryu from the dream was younger than the real Ryu, only about a month from his 12th birthday. The real Ryu attempted to yell out to Dream Ryu to get his attention, to warn him to stop and run away. But nothing came out of his mouth. He tried to block the entryway to the dining room, but his dream self ran through him as if he was made of vapor.

"MOM! DAD!" shouted Dream Ryu.

The adults jumped back with surprise as this beggar-looking boy rushed into their home, but once they saw the marks on the left side of his face and his left arm, their looks of shock were replaced with expressions of excitement and relief. "RYU!" they both shouted in unison. They rushed forward to meet the dream version of Ryu, but at that moment the entire house went dark and the ground started shaking vigorously. Suddenly, the sound of tearing metal and splintering wood filled the air, and the ceiling was sheared from the walls of the house. A dark figure hovered above where the kitchen ceiling used to be. The deep boom of a laughing voice shook the ground.

"Well, Walker. It's good to finally meet you," said the man in the air. "How about you introduce me to your parents?"

The figure stretched out his hand and coils of darkness sprang up from the ground and wrapped around Ryu's parents. Younger Ryu launched a fireball at the figure, but he stuck out his hand and absorbed the fire into a ball of darkness. "Maybe this will keep you from interfering with my business," he said while tightening the coils of darkness around Ryu's parents, causing them to cry out in pain.

Dream Ryu screamed in desperation for the figure to stop, but the real Ryu knew what was coming. He tried to look away, but something kept his focus on the scene unfolding before him. Dream Ryu yelled in pain and hopelessness, when suddenly his eyes glowed bright red and his body began to shift. His clothes morphed with his body, his arms growing armor-like scales and turning a dark shade of crimson. His legs thickened into scales and his torso grew sleek and muscular. His fingers turned to claws and his toes turned to talons. A tail with a razor-sharp spine on either side formed from his back. His head turned slender and elongated, fangs glistening in the light of the fire in his mouth. Wings sprouted from his shoulder blades and stretched until they broke the walls of the house. Soon, a 40-foot long dragon stood where the front wall of the house used to be.

"Come, little dragon," said the dark wizard. "Your downfall starts here."

The dragon launched itself at the figure, but the man vanished in a cloud of shadows. With him gone, Dragon Ryu turned to the only ones left: his parents.

"Ryu?" said his mom in a small voice. They had been released from the shadows and were now struggling to stand up. The dragon looked at them with his glowing red eyes, then, just as he lunged at his parents, Ryu screamed, "NO!"

Ryu sat up so fast he hit his head on the ceiling of his stone tent. He started rubbing his forehead when he looked out of the opening. It was still dark out, but he could see some light poking out from behind the mountains. Daybreak. He figured he wouldn't be able to sleep after his nightmare, so he began packing his belongings. After everything was tucked away in his pack, he brought out his canteen and drank the rest of his water. He then used his magic to bring the rock tent back into the ground like nothing ever happened. After a quick trip to the stream to refill his water, he placed his canteen in his pack and shouldered it. A quick adjustment later and he was on his way down the mountain.

As he walked, Ryu thought about the route he needed to take. The woman in the last town told him to take the main road until he got to the Magnolia turnoff, then take that all the way to the town. After he stated that he didn't want to take any main roads, she told him to follow the mountain trail until he found the triple split in the path, then take the right path until he reached the west part of Magnolia. He hadn't found any splits in the trail yet, but it was just a matter of time. He hadn't had a meal in the past two days due to lack of money and rabbits. All he wanted was some meat. The forest wasn't showing any signs of any animals nearby. I should've kept some of that fish instead of eating it all at once, he thought to himself. He would even settle for some berries, but there were no berry bushes in sight. He decided it would be best to get to his destination as fast as he could and hope he could get some food once he made it. His stomach growled in protest, but he just patted it and started the final sprint of his journey. After walking for about five minutes, he finally came upon the split in the road. Sure enough, the path to the right had a sign with "Magnolia -" written on it.

Taking a look down the path, he could see the roofs of houses beyond the treeline. Further in the distance, the towers of a large building loomed over the rest of the town, its banners hung proudly over the front. The guild which Ryu was seeking was now in sight.

"Fairy Tail, here I come."

Part 1

Chapter 1

Magnolia At Last

Ryu was growing weaker by the minute. He needed a meal. Anything to keep walking without stumbling over pebbles and hearing his stomach complain every few seconds. After walking another 50 feet, he couldn't take it anymore. He looked up at the sun, took note of the direction and position of it in the sky, and ran off the trail towards the river. Crashing through bushes and running into trees, he sprinted towards the sound of running water. He pushed his way through a bush and almost fell into the stream. He quickly scanned the water for any fish that might be swimming by, but almost screamed when he didn't find anything. Frustrated, he used his Elemental Magic and froze a small section of the river and extended the ice into a tree. Not wanting to leave ice sticking out of the stream and attached to a tree, he turned the ice back to water and threw it into the river.

He was about to return to the trail when he almost stepped on something small and round. He bent down to pick it up and almost yelled in excitement. He looked up at the tree he had just finished punishing, and to his relief, found dozens of apples hanging from the branches. Not wasting a single second, he quickly ate the apple in his hand and summoned a small whirlwind to knock down some more fruit. He ate four of them and stuffed the rest into his pack. Feeling reinvigorated, he looked up at the sun once more to note his position, then trudged off through the brush towards the trail.

Ryu reached the trail and turned in the direction of the town in the distance. After walking for another uneventful half hour, he was finally clear of the forest. The town of Magnolia spread out before him. 30 feet in front of him was the city border. In front of him, buildings flanked either side as far as he could see. The roads were bustling with people going about their daily routines. Some were running packages from building to building while others were browsing through shops. The people all looked proud and joyful, which was an unfamiliar sight to Ryu, considering the towns he usually visited were either being actively destroyed or taken over. Seeing a thriving city with happy people was refreshing, but a little unsettling.

Ryu wandered over to a vendor on the sidewalk who was selling various hors d'oeuvres. Looking at the meat on the kabobs made Ryu's mouth water, but he quickly shook off his hunger and walked up to the man. "Excuse me," he said with a friendly smile on his face. "What's the fastest way to get to Fairy Tail?"

"Ah! You want to become a powerful wizard?" asked the man, a kabob in each hand.

"Not exactly. I'm looking for someone who's part of the guild."

"Ah. Well, just take this main street down until you get to the Magnolia Town Inn. Turn left and follow that street until you reach the market. Turn right and take that down all the way to the guild."

"Thank you. And I'll be back for some of those kabobs."

"Here, have one on the house. You're going to become a part of Fairy Tail!" exclaimed the man, holding out his right hand.

Ryu looked at the food with a longing for meat, but remembered that he was only there to find one person. "No, thank you. I won't be joining."

The vendor looked at him curiously, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with him. "Well then, maybe this will change your mind," the man said with his arm stretched outwards.

Sighing, Ryu took the snack and thanked the man. After taking a bite, he said to the vendor, "This is very good," then turned around and headed off down the street. The Walking down the street reminded Ryu of his hometown, which instantly made him sad and angry. Thinking about his town made him lose his appetite, so he looked around and spotted and dumpster. He walked up to it and threw the kabob into the trash. He continued walking down the street towards the inn that stood 3 blocks away.

As he walked, he wondered how he was going to explain to Natsu what he was doing there. Most people didn't believe Ryu when he told them exactly what he was. Of course, he usually followed up by beating the pulp out of the other guy, who happened to be the leader of a dark guild or anything like that. At the end of the day, they usually believed him. Sadly, Ryu would have to find a way to show that he was a Spirit Walker that didn't involve an altercation. It would be hard enough to explain his connection to the human world and spirit world, but he also had to explain that he knew about Natsu and the other dragon slayers but they knew nothing about him. He decided to cross that bridge when he came upon it, and instead to focus on getting to the guild.

He came up to the inn and turned left down the road. As he walked, he looked from side to side, taking note of the people roaming around him. He quickly glanced over the families and noticed a few people take quick peeks at him then turning away. Looking down, he saw that his clothes were covered in mud and dirt. He lifted his hand to the top of his head and found his hair clumped up and wild. No doubt he looked like a crazy drifter. He knew he wasn't crazy, but the drifter part suited him quite well. He quickly darted into an alley and hid behind a building. He took off his backpack and set it down. He then took off his top and held it in front of him with his left hand. He held out his right hand and a jet of water shot out and sprayed the shirt down. He continued until it was thoroughly soaked and the dirt was gone. He lit his hand on fire and orange flames licked across his shirt. After a few seconds, the flames dissipated the shirt was clean and dry. Next, he shot some water on his head and rubbed his hair with his hands until it was flat and mostly dry.

He put his shirt back on and shouldered his pack. He was about to emerge from the alley when a hand grabbed him by the arm and turned him around. A person with a mask covering everything but his eyes stood with a dagger pointed at Ryu. Behind him, two other men stood with blades drawn. The one in front said, "Empty your pockets and throw your pack on the ground." His voice sounded like someone around Ryu's age, although Ryu didn't know exactly how old he was himself. Ryu remained still, glancing at each of the thugs over and over.

"Hey! Are you deaf? Empty your pockets and put your backpack down!" yelled the one in front. Ryu looked straight in his eyes and took a step forward. The guy backed up and pointed his knife out farther. "Don't come any closer! Just do what I said!"

Ryu looked at the other guys behind him and back at the one in front. He slowly removed the left strap of his pack from his shoulder, then his right one. He set the pack down, but instead of giving to the thieves, he put it down behind him.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Hand it over!"

Ryu held his hands up and placed his right fist in his left hand, cracking his knuckles. "You know, I don't take kindly to people telling me what to do. Especially when those people are low-life thugs." He tilted his head to the side and cracked his neck.

"Hey! Don't try anything! We're the ones with the knives!"

"Which is why I'd start running if I were you." A look of confusion passed over the thieves. Ryu lifted his right leg slightly and slammed it into the ground a few inches behind him. His foot broke through the ground and sank three inches down. The thieves gasped and backed up a few steps. Ryu thrust out his right fist and a gust of icy wind burst out and knocked the thieves backwards into the air and out of the alley, blasting the masks off their faces. He heard a few people gasp and two women scream. The three guys picked themselves up and ran off. Ryu lifted his foot and fixed the ground back the way it was. He turned around and picked up his pack, shouldering it once again. "In town for ten minutes and already an attempted mugging," he said to himself. He walked out of the alley, people staring at him like he was a weird creature they've never seen before. Not that far off, he thought to himself. He waved to a family on his left and started down the street towards Fairy Tail.

"I wonder where those kids ran off to," he said quietly to himself. "Bet they got themselves arrested." Ryu continued down the street toward the guild, which he could now see in the distance. As he walked, he wondered what was in store for him once he got to his destination. He wondered what the building would look like up close and what he would do when he got there. It'd be weird walking in and seeing a bunch of friendly faces. Most of the guilds he'd been to before were subsequently destroyed. He started to remember his time in Velder, but he shook his head and hit himself on the temple. He didn't want those memories. He wished he could just forget everything that happened that day. He was so deep in thought he didn't notice the group of people running at him until they were 20 feet away.

"Master! The new jobs are here!" Mirajane walked up the stairs to the second floor. She carried with her a small stack of posters, each detailing a job that needed to be done.

"Ah, great! What have we got for us this time?" Makarov was sitting on the railing overlooking the first floor of the guild hall. He liked sitting there. He got to see all his students and keep an eye on what they were doing. They were always making trouble when they had the time. Right now they were all drinking, eating, laughing, and generally having a great time. With the real troublemakers gone, everything was relatively calm.

"Well, we have...six-no, seven jobs. One for bodyguards, two for protection of valuables, oh."

"Oh what?"

"We have what looks like two S-Class jobs this time. This one calls for protection of a town from a guild. Looks like the guild has been harassing the townspeople for money. They're offering two million upon completion."

"That doesn't sound like an S-Class job to me," Makarov said curiously.

"The guild has over 150 members. They're all well-practiced and deadly."

"Well, that makes more sense. What's the other one?"

"A town has been hearing strange noises coming from a nearby mountain. Snow has covered the mountain but not the surrounding hills or the town. They think there's a monster out there of some sort. It doesn't sound like much, but they're willing to pay…" Mira's voice trailed off as she stared at the job poster, her eyes wide.

Makarov looked over his shoulder at Mira. Seeing the panicked expression on her face, he jumped down off the railing to the floor. "What's wrong? What's the matter?"

Mira looked up at him, her mouth wide open. "The reward is 15 million jewels."

Makarov stared at her, his eyes glazed over, mouth agape. He tried to say something, but his voice kept catching in his throat. Mira tilted her head slightly to her right. "Master, are you ok?"

Finally Makarov regained his composure and coughed once. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. 15 million for one job?! There has to be something else going on there that they're not telling us."

"So should I post it on the board? Or should we rule this one out?"

"I'll leave that up to you. If you think it's legitimate and someone here would be willing to do it, then go ahead." With that, Makarov jumped back on the railing, resuming his watch over the other guild members.

Down below on the first floor, everyone was laughing and telling stories. Cana was sitting at one of the middle tables, drinking a keg of booze while Macao sat next to her with a pint in his hand. Team Shadow Gear was over at one of the far tables, with Jet and Droy sitting on either side of Levy, cheering her on while she tried to decipher an entry from yet another book from the library. She had gotten used to the cheering over the years. Even though the tasks she was trying to do required only patience, she had come to find the praise from the boys relaxing. Gajeel was sitting across from them at the other end of the table, feet propped up and a plate of food in his hands. He chowed down on a roll of bread and was about to start on the meat when he froze suddenly. He swung his legs down off the table and quickly stood up, knocking over his food.

Levy gasped as a piece of meat landed on her book. She looked at Gajeel and started to complain when she noticed him staring straight ahead. Jet shouted, "Gajeel! What're you doing? Are you trying to mess up Levy-san's hard work?!"

Levy kept her gaze on Gajeel. "What's wrong?" He had only been a member of the guild for a week, but she knew him well enough to know he didn't spook easily. She had a hard time imagining something that can worry the guy that beat her, Jet and Droy and tied them to a tree.

By now, some of the others were staring at Gajeel. "Everything all right over there, Levy?" Macao asked in a raised voice.

Gajeel twisted around and looked at the front door. Three men wearing black ran into the guild hall, sweating and out of breath. Two of them doubled over, hands on their knees and trying to get some air into their lungs. The one in the middle pointed outside while gasping for air. After a few seconds of deep breaths, he finally blurted out, "There's this scary guy in town that attacked us!"

Makarov jumped down from his perch and walked towards the three men. He recognized them. They were a group of close friends who had known each other since they were kids. They were about 17 years old and didn't cause any trouble. "What do you mean scary guy? Where?"

"We were minding our business by the market when he came at us! He just punched the air and we flew backwards like ragdolls! I saw him start walking this way!"

Makarov closed his eyes for a few brief seconds then turned to everyone else. He eyed the Thunder God Tribe, Freed, Bickslow, and Evergreen. "Alright, you three come with me. Elfman, you come too. We'll go find out what's going on. Everyone else, stay here and watch the guild. Let's go." He looked at the three young men. "You're coming with us too. Show us where he is." Together they all ran out of the front door and down the main street. They crossed the waterway that separated the guild from the town and were three houses down when one of the men that was with them stopped abruptly. They all came to a halt and looked at him.

"There he is," he said, pointing at a young man about fifty feet in front of them. He had a rucksack and was wearing short sleeve top that folded over in the middle. The shirt itself was black with a purple lining. He had thick black pants made of cloth. His hair was black and his eyes were dark as midnight. He had a tattoo on the left side of his neck that continued down under his shirt. He hadn't noticed them standing there yet.

Makarov turned to his students. "Alright, let's find out who he is and what he's doing." They jogged towards him and were about 20 feet away when he looked at them and stopped. They all slowed down and stood there, watching him. He looked at each of them in turn and stopped when he got to the boys in black.

He pointed directly at them, making them step back. "So you brought backup, huh? Need some company while I beat you down again?"

Makarov stuck his arm out to the side in a protective gesture. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, right now I'm gonna teach these kids a lesson. What are you doing here, grandpa?" The young man dropped his pack and crossed his arms.

Elfman stepped forward. "Hey! You take that back! Nobody makes fun of us that way!" Makarov shot him a look of warning.

"Just hand over the thieves so I can teach them a thing or two." He turned and glared at the trio, making them step back even more.

Makarov looked over at them. "What does he mean by thieves?"

The boy in the middle turned to him, sweat pouring down his face. "I don't know! We didn't steal anything from him! I swear!"

The man stepped forward. "Yah, but you tried. Don't you still have the knives? Why don't you take them out so we can finish what you started earlier?"

Makarov looked at them each in turn. "Is that true? Did you try to steal something from him?"

The three boys looked at each other several times before the one in the middle fell to his knees. "OK! We tried to get him to give us some money! My mom's sick and I need money to help her so we thought we could get some easily! We had knives, but I didn't think we'd have to use them! He looked like a regular traveler! But he's actually a mage! And he's powerful! He might be here to destroy us or something!"

All the guild members glared at them disapprovingly. After a few moments, Makarov looked back up. "Well, they're right about one thing. We don't know what he's here for." He turned around and faced the mystery man, who was still standing in the same spot, arms crossed and looking annoyed. "So what is it you're here for?"

The man uncrossed his arms and let them fall to his sides, but his fists were still balled, ready for a fight. "I'm looking for a certain someone."

"And who might that be?"

"His name's Natsu. Natsu Dragneel. Heard of him?"

Elfman and the Thunder God Tribe opened their mouths in surprise. Makarov simply stared ahead. "Yes I have. He's one of my students and part of our guild."

The man's eyes widened a bit. His fists relaxed and his shoulders drooped. "Wait. You're Fairy Tail?"

"Yes. I'm Makarov, the guild leader. These are all my students. Except for those three," he said, pointing at the three boys with them. "Speaking of which, it's time for you to go home. I'll let you off this time, but don't let me catch you doing something like this again." With that the three of them ran off down the street, keeping their distance from the man standing on the other side. He turned and watched them run off. Makarov turned back to him. "So why are you looking for Natsu?"

The man turned around again. "I'm not really sure. I'm just supposed to find him."

Makarov raised an eyebrow, wondering what that could mean. "Who are you? What's your name?"

The man picked up his pack and shouldered it once more. "My name's Ryu Dragneel. I'm Natsu's cousin."