Fairy Tail Origins Episode 1: The Eternal Journey

"I ask myself that same thing every day," a familiar voice says suddenly.

A light shimmers in the open doorway, revealing the previously hidden form of Orion. With a sad smile on his face, he walks over to the window, his staff tapping softly on the wooden floor. He pulls up the blinds, flooding the room with moonlight. A dark, grassy landscape and rolling hills flew by outside, with the occasional glow of a car's headlights, or a village in the distance.

"Our pasts make us who we are, both for better and for worse," he continues softly, staring out the window. "Getting rid of that part of yourself will only leave you more empty than before."

Leaving the blinds open, he turned back to look at Grigori. "I've been searching for my answers for many years. I think I've finally found a few, thanks mostly to everyone at Silver Chimera, but I still have a long way to go. But I was one of the lucky ones, in a way. I had someone to tell me what I needed to hear. So now I'm going to repeat to you the same words of wisdom that have kept me walking for all these years: Every riddle has an answer. The answer to every question can be found. You just have to look."

He took a slight breath, and for a moment, he appeared many years older. "You have been given a new lease on life, Grigori. That's a very precious thing, and It's up to you what to do with it. But if I were you... I'd start searching for my answers. Follow the road and see where it takes you. Broaden your horizons, and your mind. Learn about everything you can. And eventually, you will find what you seek. You are a Wizard, Grigori. The entire world is spread out before you, just waiting to be discovered. Just remember you don't have to do it alone."

"Then you pick yourself up and continue walking," Orion answers. "And if you ever find you can't walk any further, then your friends will carry you until you can walk on your own again. Never forget the past Grigori, but always move forward. Never stop walking. That is the duty, the responsibility, of those who are still alive."

He closed the blinds and walked back towards the door, stopping near Eden. "Eden and I are going to get some sleep. You should try to do the same. It will get easier. I promise."

Placing a gentle hand on Eden's arm, Orion motioned for her to join him, and they walked back out into the hallway, closing the door behind them. Orion walked Eden to her room, and they sat down on the edge of the bed next to each other. "How are you holding up?" He asks softly.

"I'm worried too," he said, placing a comforting arm around her shoulders. "But Jurian is very resourceful, and he isn't a Wizard to be taken lightly. All we can do now is have faith."

Orion stifled a yawn and smiled. "Would you like me to stay with you for a bit, Eden?"

Jerid and Nalia wake up at the sun's first light.  Jerid springs out of bed immediately, slipping out the door.  "I'm heading out on my morning run!  Think you can handle the kids on your own?"

"I'm sure I can handle it," Nalia says, stretching.  "Atti's a pain, but Hecate seems like the type that sleeps with one eye open.  I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't sleep at all last night..."

"I hope she got some rest.  We've got a big day of research ahead of us.  And we don't need her falling asleep on us," Jerid says.

"I'm sure it's fine.  We'll meet you at the library in an hour.  Now, get out there and do your run, dear," Nalia scolds him.

"Deer?  Hm.  That'll work."  Jerid bounds down the stairs and out the door, giving the innkeeper a wave as he prepares to step out.  A deer leaps out through the door in his place.  Jerid hops along the sidewalk, avoiding the handful of people already out for the day, as he makes for the park.

As Jerid prances merrily about the city, Nalia slides into her dress and heads downstairs.  She grabs two bowls of oatmeal and heads back up, pounding on the door to Atticus and Hecate's room.  "Let's go, guys, no more time to sleep!"

---

Vallory groans as she rolls out of bed, letting herself drop to the floor with a thud.  "Blegh," she tells the bedpost.  "Rmph grgl.  Nevr 'gain."  She fumbles for the glass of water she keeps by her bed in case of just such an emergency.  More of it ends up on her face than in her mouth.  She lies on the floor for a moment, waiting for the room to stop spinning, before she forces herself up and starts to dress herself.  By the time she finishes with her hair, she's feeling a bit better.  She heads down to the main hall to find Sounders sitting in his usual seat.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," Sounders teases her.

"Not... today, Harland.  What time is it?"

"Still a few minutes before dawn.  Water," he says, pointing to a pitcher sitting on a table by the couch.

"Thanks," Vallory says, flopping down gracelessly.  She forgoes the cup and starts draining the pitcher.

"Rough day?" Sounders asks.  "Rosa and Aldous said you didn't learn too much."

"Yeah," Vallory answers.  "Any luck on your end?"

"I spoke to a few other guild masters and other friends, and they said they'd keep their eyes open.  Never did manage to reach G.  I've also asked the port authority to keep an eye out for any suspicious cargo, for what it's worth."

"So we're counting on Atticus and Hecate, then?" Vallory muses, staring at the ceiling.

"Well, the stamp's the best lead we have," Sounders points out.  "In the meantime, there's plenty we can do.  Gotta make sure we have all the pieces in place, yeah?"

"I'll have Rosa take a look at everyone's equipment, and I'll take Aldous to prepare travel gear.  Go ahead and get the basics together."

"Sounds like a plan," Sounders tells her.  "I'm going to send out a few more feelers, see what I can stir up."

Hecate stepped out of the room, nodding at Nalia. "Ready," she sighed. It seemed that she was more tired than she let on. She had gotten rest last night; plenty of rest to make someone stay up afterwards.

"Where do we start?" She asked, strangely. Atticus opened his door, looking as he always did, which was messy. "Morning." He grumbled.

Early the next morning, just after breakfast, Orion called everyone into his cabin for a strategy briefing. All five of them sat around an open map on the floor, a detailed geographical map of the mountain range, complete with the names and locations of all the villages, settlements, and major cave systems in the region. Several places on the map had already been crossed out with a red marker, and from the dark circles under Orion's eyes, it was clear he had stayed up the night before to plan and strategize on his own.

"For now," he begins, "Let us assume Jurian is not only alive and well, but still currently engaged with the Wyvern King. There have been no recent sightings of the beast since Ryner returned, which leads me to believe it is still focused on a battle with him. We will use this to our advantage. If we can reach here-" he points to a blue marked village on the map- "The village of Ida, undetected, we will be in range to launch a surprise attack. The Wyvern King isn't a normal monster even by Abnormality standards. It can sense magic from a little over a mile away, give or take a few yards, so Ida should be just outside its range, assuming the beast is in its lair."

Orion hesitates for a split second, though the action is barely perceptible. "I also know someone in Ida who might be able to help us. Now, moving on, this area of the mountains is prone to sudden changes in the weather, including last second blizzards that pop up with little to no warning, freak landslides, and cave ins. We all need to go over proper procedure. Cenric?"

"Right," he says with a nod. "I have a way to amplify my telepathy, but only temporarily. It should last around two to three days after activation. During that timeframe, I'll be able to maintain contact between all of us within a five mile radius, without requiring physical contact. If we get separated, for any reason, this will allow us to find each other."

"And if any of us get separated in a storm," Orion adds, "You will first need to find shelter. If none is available, or if you are trapped or injured, the first thing you need to do is alert Cenric, and send up a Signal Flare. Each of you should have three color coded magic flares in your packs; light them with your Magic Power, and send them flying. Use as much power as you can afford, as the flare will be brighter depending on how much you use, but do not overexert yourself in a panic. Remember to stay calm. Help will come. The Yellow Flare is for if you're in trouble or lost, or injured. The Green Flare is to signal everything is okay, or you've found Jurian, a missing comrade, someone else who needs help, and to signal the location of shelter in a storm. The Red Flare is only used to signal an enemy has been sighted. This is an Emergency only flare. Only use it when you feel it is absolutely necessary to. We will come running, ready for battle."

Orion points to another area on the map, which was marked "Midway Station".

"The train will drop us off here. This area of the mountains is fairly well travelled, so we'll look for a caravan, and if necessary, we'll hire a couple pack mules at the station and march on foot. If we can find a caravan, while it will definitely make our mission much easier, it will only take us so far. Right about here-" he points to a narrow section on the map about halfway between Midway Station and Ida- "The terrain starts to become treacherous. We'll have to go on foot from that point on regardless, and we'll have to send our mules back, if we hire any. This will be the most dangerous part of the mission. The area is known to have a large population of monsters even in the best of times, especially those damn apes, and if I'm wrong, and the Wyvern King is out flying around, and we stumble upon it there...."

A pained look crossed Orion's face. "We'll have to abort the mission. A single attack from the Wyvern King, in that part of the mountain, would be the end of us all."

"What about our battle plan?" Velia asked suddenly. "You've fought it before, right?"

Orion nodded grimly. "Yes. And I've been giving that a lot of thought. It's possible... I think the beast might remember me. If that's the case... Then with my Boreas spell, I'm the perfect decoy. I'll keep the Wyvern King's attention on me at first, to allow you to prepare a powerful spell. Eden, Cenric, you two can work in tandem to predict the beast's moves and relay them to me via telepathy, which should prevent me from getting hit. Grigori, I'll need you to slow it down and hinder its ability to fly, in any way possible. Knowing what's coming is pointless unless I'm physically fast enough to dodge. Velia, once you unleash your spell, it should give me an opportunity to hit it with one of my own. That will turn its attention right back to me, and give you time to charge another spell. Of course, this all assumes we're fighting the Wyvern King on its own, and not an army of minions as well. There's just too much we don't know to be able to plan for every scenario."

He pauses to take a breath, and meet the gaze of everyone in the room. "Any questions? Thoughts? Ideas?"

Nalia looks at Hecate in bemusement. "I'm not... sure what you mean, Hecate.  We can't worry about what else could happen right now!  We've got to focus all out energy on this emergency before we worry about the next one, y'know.  Not to say we shouldn't make plans to deal with future problems, but... ah, what am I saying?  What brought this up?  Is something bothering you?  ...Aside from the obvious?"

Nalia cocks her head to the side, a confused smile on her face.  "That's good, Hecate?  If...  If you need to talk about anything, anyone in the guild'll always be open to listen.  Though we'll need to walk and talk today."

Nalia pushes the two out the door, dropping off their bowls on a table by the door and giving the innkeeper a wave.  She continues to push them down the street, steering them towards the library.  When they get close, a rabbit comes bounding down the street, leaping into Nalia's arms.

"I thought you were doing a deer today?" she asked, snuggling the bunny.

"So many bushes in the park, I just had to do some practice weaving in and out of those," Jerid answers.

"How'd it go?" Nalia asks.

"Pretty awesome," Jerid tells her.  He flips out of her arms, then resumes his human form.  "Any trouble getting them up?"

"Not a bit," Nalia assures him.  "Let's get a move on, Sweetie."

"Right, right.  Library time.  Work out the ol' brain muscle," Jerid says.  "So...  What...?  Just start going through books until we happen upon it?"

"Find a library... attendant... person.  Maybe try showing them Atti's drawing?" Nalia suggests.  "Or ask for a... field guide of dark guilds and their stamps?  I would imagine they get plenty of people trying to identify guilds based off their stamps, right?"

"Ask for a list of dark guild stamps." Atticus and Hecate said simultaneously. The two shared a look of astonishment at having said the same thing at the same time. From Hecate's expression, it was clear she wanted to go with this idea, and Atticus looked as he usually did after saying something: Casual.