Fairy Heart [Guild-Scale]

Tenrou Island, an unusually isolated location of unknown coordinates, floating around the vast and endless sea without a clear path. It was a peaceful land, untouched by foreign conquerors for what had been since the beginning of time itself.

It was the home of a small race of magical sprites who went by the name of Fairies. Long ago, they were wary of any outside intrusions and were ready to defend their homes with their lives on the line, even if they met mere, harmless strangers. At some point, they crossed paths with the early members of a rowdy guild now known as Fairy Tail, and they formed a pact with them. Ever since then, Fairy Tail has had the solitary privilege of visiting the magical island.

And then, the impossible took place. A foreign, white ship crashed into the island’s side. Someone had found Tenrou Island without Fairy Tail’s aid, and the Fairies were immediately on guard. Some of the island’s Warrior Fairies decided to use their secret spells to drive away the unwelcome guests, and they formed a group who would then fly towards the beach to confront these intruders.

Not a single one of those brave warriors survived the onslaught.

Not all Fairies were erased from existence on that day. Whoever had opened fire on them had moved directly towards the center of the island, forcing through any destructive or illusory spells thrown at them. These intruders varied greatly in appearances, but they all had a very volatile aura around them, much unlike the patrons of this island. The Fairies here had rarely seen their patrons lately, but one thing was for certain – these guys rivaled some of the most powerful mages that Fairy Tail themselves had ever produced.

They had reached the Core Tree’s roots in no time and bore their way through. All magic on Tenrou Island began to flicker out of control, and fissures began to open up on the ground and release golden mana into the air. The rest of the Fairies who were left on the island sought shelter from the chaos that began to envelop their poor island, desiring to avoid the golden gases that had emerged. Some of these heinous intruders wandered the island in search of someone who would dare oppose them:

“PUTAIN!!!” echoed through the leafy forests, followed by gunshots travelling in all directions, “That shithead of a Guildmaster took all of the funny wasps for himself! These remaining sa mère can’t even grant a humble Tempest a fair brawl!” The smoke from his flintlock pistols covered most of his face, making the pirate appear far more demonic than he actually was… in one way or another…

None of the other members had much patience with him, so he was left to wander the island on his own. A group of three were further trying to figure out where and when these Fairy Tail wizards would appear; causing all of this havoc on the island would alert them sooner or later, and a good ambush could guarantee that their heist runs smoothly. One of these three, a figure clad in Midijin robes and a white mask, was carrying a blonde, taller lady by her arm due to an injury on her leg caused by one of the previous Warrior Fairies’ Secret Spell. Safe to say, the blonde madame was fuming and didn’t say a word, while the other blonde in the group – that being an eccentric, pink-clothed male – appeared to walk behind a tree and appear behind another very frequently. “Could you stop trying to mock me, LouLou?! Con, I have half a mind to coat the trees with your-“

“Madame, madame, by all means, do not worsen your injuri- WAOAHAHAHAH, HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!” LouLou was about to retort, only to be met by a huge spike in Sangreal’s magic power. She was about to send him flying, so he hid behind a tree and appeared to just… phase out of existence for her. Yet, one arm stuck itself out from behind the tree and held up its index finger. “If… I may suggest that we regroup with Master Acennan and, peut être, take part in that huge source of mana that he was sooooooooooooooooooo enthusiastic about-“

“N-Not if those Fairy Tail guys are on their way right now! Stay on guard, we’ll take them by surprise and that’s that!”

As you could imagine by now, not all of them were outside…


In the meantime, deep within the crown root of the Core Tree where a brightened cave was located, a white-clad swordsman stood at the edge to look over the glittery pool below. He was accompanied by a humanoid figure made of shining metal and a strangely calm priest who also had signs of Midijin origin. The swordsman, however, was about to leap off from the root that they were standing on, deserving of a warning from the iron-bodied entity: “If that mana begins to eat away at you, consider our deal over.” What looked to be a snicker was quickly suppressed, and a faint smile escaped the swordsman’s face.


“I'm willing to bet on the contrary. Just make sure to guard the entrance, should those sacks of shit get any ideas.”

That was the swordsman’s plan; to transfer all of this mana into a source of power for the mages of Raven Plume, subsequently taking away a lot of Fairy Tail’s power in the meantime. It wasn’t fair that one guild held this much potential all for themselves, after all. And if Fairy Tail were to arrive and retaliate, then their own magic power would only disappear much faster due to the swordsman’s violation of the Core Tree. It would be suicide to fight against them now.

He bet that not many people, even among Fairy Tail’s ranks themselves, knew about this source of power. It was like a culmination of magic power saved over many years, linking with the Guild Mark of each and every Fairy Tail mage that had ever walked into the hall. Acennan’s plan was simple; to make that huge source of power a property of Raven Plume instead, and handicapping all of Fairy Tail in the meantime.

With that said, Acennan jumped down and submerged his legs into the pool. The pool’s glittery fluids rose up his body as veins, coating his skin and surrounding his Guild Mark located on the back of his left hand. It changed form…


“… What a dumb appearance. It looks more like Fairy Tail’s now…” he scoffed under his angered breath. Yet, the surge of power inside of him made him smile again, and he acclimated with a declaration: “I guess if that’s how things will turn out, then… how about we go by the name of Raven Tail from now on?!” In his eyes, names meant very little, but it was nonetheless a very petty jab that he took pleasure in.

With the mana beginning to assimilate with his Guild Mark, the similar Marks on all of the other Raven Plume members began to light up and change into the new look. They were now Raven Tail… and more powerful than before. With a whole new source of mana to tap into at their behest.

…

…

…


Very conveniently, the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail had prepared a little come-together for all of his guild’s members via a wide variety of grilled meat and vegetables available for the members to partake in, and various beverages to flush down the munchies as well. This was located right outside of the guild’s back end, on the grassy plain leading up towards Fairy Hills – a small, white tent house was raised to accommodate most of the members, and benches and stools were also provided along with a joyous bonfire. You could walk straight out of the guild’s lounge through the back entrance on the large, glass view and into the grill place, accompanied by an orange, setting sun…

It was times like these that made Mura fall in love with the guild back when he was younger. He sincerely hoped that some of the other members would warm up to the company and enjoy it just as much… but he knew that not everyone desired close company of this kind. Yet, he wouldn’t treat them coldly or leave them out of anything, and they were just as welcome as the rest to try out his grilled teriyaki, grilled mushrooms, grilled oysters, grilled tomatoes, grilled chicken skewers and grilled scallops. Mura didn’t hold back when it came to Midijin cuisines…

“A’right, my teriyaki is ready if any of you want to taste…!” he proclaimed proudly, “It’s not every day you get to try my country’s priced recipes, so make sure to savor it all!” It was about the time when he wiped his forehead with his prosthetic arm that something began bristling… that being his Guild Mark. As well as the Guild Mark on every other Fairy Tail mage. Mura quickly noticed the changing glows in their marks and rose an eyebrow, before the sudden and sharp drain in mana took him by surprise.

“The hell-“

It came to a halt, but a significant amount of mana had been drained out. It began naturally regenerating, but it was at such a slow rate and felt like someone had bit a chump off of him. He glanced around at sonic speed, but to no avail – no signs of ambushers casting some draining spells on them from a distance. Was it to do with their Guild Marks? What was going on with them?!

WC: 1609
Personal WC: 1609
Total WC: 1609

Raven Tail Hex Codes:

Tranquility. Ever since Aven had retired from his post as Ace of Fairy, he'd sought out the peaceful, ash filled winds of the Forgotten Realm to attempt mastery over the power his ancestor had passed down to him; though, perhaps more aptly, the responsibility that had been hoisted onto his shoulders. As much as he'd wished to improve the standards of the guild, the rising conflict between Magic Power and Dark Energy in his body was more than enough challenge to force a relegation of his efforts to one task... and he could hardly manage a guild while dead.

Lately, the balance had begun to settle, though only after months of harsh meditation. In fact, he'd begun to wonder just how long his seclusion had lasted, thus far: his perception of time had warped considerably since his transcendence into the Scion of the Forgotten Realm, and neither the dimensional divide nor the perpetual dusk of the realm itself aided in any accurate measurement of a day. Opening his eyes, Aven gazed out the window of the tower, scanning the lifeless landscape that stretched into the horizon. He chuckled in spite of himself, the ruler of an empty castle, of an abandoned kingdom, of a desolate demi-plane. It both amused and frustrated the man that he should be tasked with the stewardship of the equivalent of an empty treasure trove. And yet, here I am, a steward, all the same. As little as he believed in fate, it's strings seemed to puppet him just as well as anyone else, despite his various efforts.

Rising from his meditative position, Aven stretched, and strode toward the window, reaching his left hand out to catch the breeze. The faint turquoise Guild Mark, so faded from his absence, still sometimes ferried his thoughts to the past, and everything he'd experienced as a member of the Fairy Tail guild. He'd made both friends and rivals there, both of which spurred him to become a better wizard that he could've possibly been on his own. Ever since Nessa had left, though, it'd felt as though his bonds with the other members were... superficial, at best. Even when he'd served as Ace, members rarely came to him with concerns or troubles, making his job largely irrelevant. In his meditation, he'd come to realize that one aspect of his decision to leave to guild was undoubtedly a sense of self-imposed inadequacy, that he'd been too incompetent to warrant their trust. He'd come to terms with this, over time, though the taste was no less bitter than before.

It was times like these that Aven couldn't help but wonder what had become of the Fairy Tail Guild. In his time there, he'd learned that the roster was largely transient, and it was anyone's guess who frequented the halls at any given time. Still, he was decently positive that Mura's time as the Guildmaster would be far from over, bar some incredible tragedy. That wizard was more than capable of handling himself, if not only in the respect of the formers lackadaisical nature. Maybe it's time I pay the guild a visit? He'd had the same thought countless times during his tenure in the Forgotten Realm, but this time, there was weight behind it. With his learned mastery over Transcendency, he no longer feared to unleash it around fellow wizards, a fear that had not been unfounded before.

Aven's pondering was interrupted by an alarming weakness, as a massive quantity of Magic energy was ripped from his body, causing him to slump forward, tipping over the edge of the tower window and hurtling toward the ground below. What... happened...?! He could feel the Dark Energy start to flood his body in response to the sudden threat, and his Transcendent form burst outward almost instantaneously, to his shock. His body struck the ground hard, cracking cobble below him, but Aven was not winded by the impact. Rather, he was stunned by the circumstance. The balance was broken, and he could feel his connection to Magic waning by the second, Dark Energy now almost the sole makeup of his power.

Struggling to his feet, Aven's peripheral vision caught sight of the Guild Mark, which had lost what luster it had left, now a dull grey. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. Reaching his hand out and extending it in a clawed gesture, Aven ripped open a gateway to the Prime Plane, the shimmering visage of setting Magnolia sun stinging his eyes, after having spent so long in perpetual dusk. And here, I thought it'd be a choice. He stepped through the portal, emerging onto the back lawn of the Fairy Tail Guild hall, to the sight of what looked to be a Guild-wide barbeque. Stepping out of the rip in space, and onto the grass, the tear quickly mended itself, and the abundance of ethernano began to conflict with his dark energy, as his body attempted to recoup it's previous losses. Luckily, he'd entered far enough away from the other wizards to avoid his Aura draining their magic, but with his Transcendence active, his Dark Energy naturally flooded into the area around him, a spiral of particles already swirling around his left leg.



He glanced around the gathering, taking stock of the wizards in the area, before his eyes settled on the one he was looking for, his voice echoing with a soft but eerie dissonance. "Mura, we need to talk."

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Word Count: 900.

It was a wonderful day, one of the reasons why Akemi accepted the invitation Mura had sent out for everyone who wanted to join him for a guild barbecue. In the past, she'd been a big fan of clouded days and actually disliked such summer-like weather, but over the years she'd grown to appreciate the bright blue skies and the warm bright sun. Of course, most people didn't know what had changed that made her change her opinion, but the end result was that she was willing to attend festivities and celebrations outdoors rather than staying in the library reading scroll after scroll.

Not that this meant that Akemi was planning to get all buddy-buddy with the other members of the guild. Even as an Ace her position was meant to give her clearance to take care of tasks which might not be suitable for standard guild members. One of the reasons she liked to spend so much time in the library was that it was an easy way to not have to constantly deal with people bothering her. Except for Nymara, who had no understanding of the concept of privacy, but Akemi figured that was her own fault for taking the redhead as her apprentice.

But that was why Akemi was sitting on one of the chairs in the shade of the white canvas that was meant to provide some respite from that bright sun for the members of Fairy Tail. In her hands was a scroll and she gave little indication of acknowledging the presence of anyone else in the tent as her golden eyes moved from left to right at a respectable pace. If she was going to be surrounded by her fellow Fairy Tail members today she wasn't going to get any serious studying done, so instead the scroll detailed some of the more exotic flora and fauna that could be found in the countryside of Minstrel. Not the most exciting of topics, but Akemi firmly believed that one who wished to acquire knowledge needed to keep an open mind.

And unlike most scholars, she had a lot more time so she could afford to cast her net wide and accumulate a library's worth of wisdom inside of her head.

"Out of curiosity, does your country produce any food which isn't grilled? Because if not our resident firebrand might be a natural master of Midian cuisine." She was aware that Midian cuisine was much more than just grilling, but today it was all about grilling and Akemi wasn't hesitating on pointing it out.

Her dry commentary would quickly be replaced by alarm, however, when she felt her guild mark absorb a big portion of her energy without any warning. Dropping the scroll she'd been reading she slammed her hands together, producing a loud, sharp sound as her eyes went sharp. When she'd accepted the guild mark she'd known it would come with a couple of strings attached, but she hadn't ever agreed to let it consume her magic.

The drain had already ended before she could do anything to stem the flow, but she wasn't about to let this happen again. When she separated her hands the silver mark on her palm had turned a pure white, and the bindings on her other hand hid a black mirror image. As long as she didn't press her palms together the mark would effectively be non-functional, which should prevent any further attempts to drain her.

That didn't address the loss of energy she'd already endured, so even as she picked up the scroll and rolled it up so she could store it somewhere safe Akemi inhaled slowly. Throughout the tent and its surroundings shadows lost their saturation, turning into ephemeral remnants as all the dark was drawn towards Akemi to replenish her reserves. It would take some time for the shadows to return to how they used to be, but for now Akemi at least no longer felt exhausted.

"Now then..." Her gaze turned towards where a rift was opened in thin air, her left arm quickly enveloped by a malevolent dark claw in case the intruder was hostile and responsible for the drain. The timing was certainly suspicious, and even when she recognised the new arrival Akemi didn't dismiss the claw. The fact that he wasn't exuding any overt hostility didn't mean that he was in the clear, and Akemi didn't know Aven well enough to be confident he was innocent either.

But the man wanted to talk to Mura specifically, so she'd let the guild master do the talking for now. A quick glance around the tent showed her that every other member had experienced something similar, which reaffirmed that it was somehow related to the guild mark.

Tossing the rolled-up scroll into her claw the parchment disappeared as if it had never existed, the raven-haired assassin moved around the tent to check up on each member individually. A quick touch to the shoulder or head was all she needed to know whether they were in need of assistance or not.

She wasn't a people person or a medic, but if something was making a move on the entire guild it was better if as many people were capable of answering the call as possible.

Current Appearance:

WC: 879
PWC: 879
TWC: 2,388

“Am I that hungry?” The currently blonde haired kitsune asked sleepily to herself, one hand absent mindedly rubbing her guild mark that was placed on her stomach. It felt rather strange, like her energy was being drained or something and the curious mage couldn’t help but wonder about what was happening. Was this a test or something? Maybe a game that Kyuken was playing with her in order to try and rouse her from her slumber? Well, it had certainly worked, as up until her mana had been drained, she’d been sleeping close by, finding the heat of the island to be rather nice. She’d found a nice spot close to the grill, completely uncaring as to how she’d look to anyone else. To be fair, she didn’t really know a lot of the other members of Fairy Tail, a fact that like most things didn’t bother her too much.

Fully awake now and the smell coming from the grill now having her complete and undivided attention, she’d saunter over with surprising speed and help herself to some of the Guildmaster’s lovely food. Mura looked rather pleased with himself with his efforts and as the beautiful textures of the Midian cuisine tickled her taste buds, she soon understood why. He had quite the gift and the nine tails of the vixen were soon moving all over the place, a rather vibrant display of her approval. It had certainly been worth the wait and the crimson eyes of the fox were soon moving over to the Guildmaster. “Nice job, Mura, if you ever get tired of running Fairy Tail then I’d bet you could make a fortune as a chef.” She was just teasing him of course, as the centuries old being was prone to doing. They’d become rather close or at least she thought so and her developing relationship with Kyuken only seemed to be amplifying things. It was certainly an unusual situation, that was for sure.

Her mind briefly drifted to their last encounter at that kitsune temple and the results of that brought a knowing smile to the kitsune’s face. Poor Mura had found his consciousness tossed aside again at the behest of a spirit and what was the first thing that the apparition wanted to do? Well, the same as what most of the spirits that the shota Guildmaster knew wanted to do whenever they saw her. Kyuken was such a dirty minded fellow and Inari hadn’t been any different. Still, Menka had enjoyed herself immensely and with any luck, perhaps there would be a chance for some fun today too. The doom and gloom atmosphere that was appearing to descend on the place did little to dent her good mood and even the pain that she felt in her stomach only caused her eyebrows to rise a bit. Perhaps a good feast would get rid of it?

For the moment at least, her interest was more on the spread than anything else and unless things changed pretty drastically, that was probably how things would be for a while.

(512 Words)

Fairy Tail has been known for the strength of the bond between the members of this little family of theirs. And as the old man sat on a strandkorb, which was next to a small stool that took up the role of a table that had his wine and a small plate of barbequed meat, he felt peace and enjoyment to see this value was still being kept as one of the highest regards. Mura, a man Leo had known for years even when he was still a wee lad, had invited everyone to a small get together. Leo had decided to come to this as he is still part of the guild. It was also one way he and Lina could bond. Lina had taken quite a liking to the other members of the guild, befriending most of the them.

A small chuckle would escape the man as he saw his little girl mingle and be inspired to become one of, if not better, than her technical siblings. It was, a lunch and a show so to speak. What's even better is that since Lina is so happy and energetic getting to spend all of this time with the guild, he could get her to do anything he wanted. Including, asking for a refill on his meat plate. "Lina, could get us some more please?" he waved and exclaimed loud enough for her to hear. The little girl looked at her father right away at the sound of her own name, and gladly followed the old man's instruction, dashing towards him to grab their plate and dashing some more for the grill while the old man chuckled and took a sip of his wine. Everything was perfect.

While the little girl was out getting what was asked of her, Leo sat in silent contemplation of the many events that had happened with the guild, his personal life, and what the future held. As he gazed upon the fluffy white clouds in the air at how serene the scene was, his mind drifted upon another who shared the color white, that of a woman whose hair bore the same hue.

But as he stared, his vision slowly got blurry, and his head felt it was spinning as if recovering from a bad hangover. Immediately he sat up, elbows to his knees and tried to massage his temples to alleviate the sensation, but to know avail. He owns hands felt weak, and he looked upon them with curiosity. What could it be, he thought. Was he tired? He definitely hasn't done much today yet, but still the feeling of fatigue crept over him. And it was at this moment that something similar was happening to every other Fairy Tail mage. Others had that had already recovered took stock of themselves and then of others and eyes shifted from side to side as a crushing realization was just hitting him.

In an attempt to see if Leo's worst fears are being realized, the old man attempted to bring forth one of his weapons in to the physical realm as he looked upon his palm concentrating diligently but to no avail. The faint traces of black magic that accompanied every summon was all that appeared, only this time with more opacity. A gasp would escape every breath Leo took, his magic was inexplicably drained and a quick glance on his back where he could feel his guild mark writhing. Something was definitely wrong.

Hurriedly, the man left his chair and made for his daughter who was still in line at the barbeque grill trying to get Nymara to give her some before she took out the flames. He quickly grabbed her by the shoulder as he knelt down so as to speak to her in her eye level. "Lina. Listen to me. Very. Carefully. Find Mura and tell him to go to Tenrou island. Now." he said with great urgency. Lina was understandably confused, not knowing what word to utter. She tried to make a complete sentence but would be interrupted by her father. "Do as I say now, girl. It ha something to do with everyone feeling weak! Go! And get home right after." he exclaimed before turning her around and pushing her on her way at which point the girl made a run for it.

Leo then turned and headed for the shore in a hurry, his right hand made a claw and made a rising motion with his wrist. Black aura rose from the ground and the earth where it was coming out from shook slowly pushing upward a few Leo's weapons being held by skeletal hands. He grabbed the weapons with such disgust because with most of the Fairy Tail mages' magic being drained, he had to resort to using his family's darker methods for conjuring magic. What's worse is that in order for him to get to Tenrou island quickly himself, he would have to drain magic, or even life source from another living being.

Fortunately, a group of deer were herding nearby the path Leo was walking and quickly the old man held out his hand and seemingly a one-way connection with the animals. They immediately had their essence drained out of them, reduced to a sickly white color that Leo had absorbed. Most of the other deer tried to make a run for it, but only managed a few steps before falling to the ground. Sadness was evident in Leo's eyes as he had to resort to their lives in order to solve the sudden weakness the group was feeling. And so, with a sigh, Leo held out his hand and with a bit of a strain, and a faint glow from his mark and a small trinket around his waist, summoned a personal portal that had outlines og orange and a swirling green energy in the middle. However bits of his family's black hued magic could be seen swirling with the green as he had to resort to that source of power. Leo, who had already been panting, stepped through the portal to be on his way to Tenrou Island after which the portal immediately closed behind him.

Meanwhile, Lina was panting as she ran looking for Mura. She kept shouting out "Mura! Mura! Uncle Muuuuraaaa!" as she ran until eventually she found him. With a gasp, she ran faster than before as soon as she saw the guild master. "Uncle Mura, dad was telling me that we need to get to Ten-" her explanation was cut short as she got closer and closer to Mura as she finally saw in full view that they had a guest which was looking for him too.

The man had a demonic visage in Lina's eyes and was filled with worry, he looked super powerful and with the weakened state everyone was in, she could not even begin to imagine the harm he could cause. But being burdened with an important task form her father, she thought it wise to stay close to her uncle Mura. As such, the little girl made a run for it and hide behind the guild master whimpering as she went then stuck her head out slightly to watch the 'visitor' clutching the clothing on his legs tightly while tugging on it. Trying to make her presence known and whispered to him with a voice loud enough so only he could hear "Uncle Mura! Dad says we need to go to Tenrou island."

WC: 1,250
Leo: 1,250
@Mura Kensho

Unsurprisingly, the rift in space nearby alerted the Guildmaster, but he immediately recognized that sort of dark energy. It came from an old friend… Aven. Did the effect taking place here envelop him too? Whoever had done this was dangerous; ripping mana directly and instantly from this many wizards all at once was a feat unheard of. Mura had only dealt with such effects when dealing with Oblivium bullets from that battle at the borders a while ago…

As a matter of fact, looking around the barbeque, Mura quickly concluded that every member with the Guild Mark present had lost a very notable percentage of their mana. Even Akemi, Vandrad, Nymara, Takumi, Saffron and Julius had shown their reactions to this sudden, unexplained phenomenon… although, Menka looked just fine. The alarming event only managed to gently wake her up from her nap, that vixen. Still, even with that many tails working as batteries, there was a clear hint that not all her reserves were available at the moment.

“N-Nymara- hey, guys, wait! It’s Aven, a guild member” Mura quickly warned the reckless Dragon Slayer and the others who grew quickly and expectedly wary of the not-so-friendly-looking entity who walked through a rift in existence without warning, before the shaman locked eyes with Aven once more, “You lost mana too? Listen, I’m not sure how, but-“

... L-Lina?! Even she looked too shocked by the incident, even though she didn’t possess a Guild Mark yet. She looked scared to hell of Aven’s arrival too and even hid behind him in fright, prompting the shaman to stroke her hair with his prosthetic arm. “Roger that, Lina. Go over to bar and stay there – we’ll go to Tenrou Island, then,” he gently whispered to her, letting her know that the bartender Adam would keep her safe.

“Everyone, your… p-please don’t panic, but your Guild Marks look blurry! Even yours, Mura, it’s become transparent!” Kyuken panicked with an auric, pointing finger at Mura’s very exposed Guild Mark on the left side of his forehead. It was no longer as strongly visible as before; its turquoise color had faded just a bit, but enough to blur the symbol… and it was a similar case for the others, depending on how their bodies reacted with these Guild Marks. Some had turned greyer, others looked like thin erasers had scraped over a few areas…

Mura cupped his chin for a moment. As of right now, no second attempt had been made at draining their mana, but he could never be sure that it wouldn’t happen again, so he’d have to be quick and figure out something. He didn’t know what Aven knew, but perhaps Aven also wanted intel from him about this mess, to which Mura could only disappoint him with obliviousness... Tenrou Island, huh. If Lina was to know of that being connected to all of this, then it must've been something that Leo knew as well. Their Guild Marks meshing with the sensation on his forehead, along with the reactions of everyone... it brought some pieces of the puzzle together.

This would call for the guild to venture to an island far away. Quickly, Mura relayed his knowledge to Zirconis for confirmation: “Zirconis, remember back when you lived in Tenrou Island?”

“Lived… is the wrong term, but yes. Is this about the Tree?”

“… Mhm. I believe Leo has found out that the Tree has been played with,” Mura hummed with a nod. Not much information was ever documented about the Core Tree’s connection with their Guild Marks – all that he knew was that the gigantic tree in the heart of Tenrou Island had a magical thread that connected all of their Guild Marks. This Tree might’ve even been the reason why the Aces and himself were able to draw power from their Great Fairy Spells, and the more Mura thought about it, the more ridiculous it appeared that his predecessors and even he hadn’t tried a little harder to understand the Tree’s purpose and mechanics.

Still… Tenrou Island was sacred for Fairy Tail. Mura simply followed customs when it came to that hallowed land, influenced by his Midijin upbringing. Sacred grounds shouldn’t be meddled too much with, but they should be respected and treated with modesty… but that was a rule broken today. He believed that someone had messed with the Tree and caused their mana issue here.

“Aven, I apologize… but I’m glad to see you here,” he spoke back to Aven before looking around the grass area, making sure to glance at everyone present. Now that a potential cause was imaged in his head, Mura’s eyes grew sharper. A silvery glow fluxed over his usually honey-brown irises before he spoke up: “Listen! I’ll need everyone to gather at the lounge near the elevator now – and prepare yourselves for battle! I’ll bring some equipment to aid us too, then I’ll explain what I know!”

With that said, the barbeque was over. Mura levitated from his position, let go of his apron and approached the glass entrance to the lounge before making his way to the elevator. He didn’t wait for anyone, but he simply expected them to heed his words and get themselves ready with whatever they had. Weapons nearby, generating lost mana, some focus-gathering, whatever – as long as they were prepared for when he came back up the elevator.

…

…

… With a table. A table stacked with rather old but maintained items. Credit Vandrad for that.


The table that Mura brought back up again held metal boxes of the right size for carrying on one’s belt, aided by a sturdy hook on the side. There were various of these boxes, and they were grouped up in 5 piles. Mura clapped his hands just once, and words made with floating sand began writing out the names of each pile in front of them; Smoke Balls, Flashers, Shockwave Bombs, Explosive Charge Lacrima and Mana Crystals. And right behind the table and Mura was another, huge item of interest – it was door-sized, oval, and looked like a mirror frame with no mirror attached. It was also, strangely, built from only vines… old, old vines…

After everyone had gathered again per his command, Mura explained: “I’ll try and explain well. From what I’ve known, and given by what Lina has just told me from Leonard, our Guild Marks are magically connected with the giant Tree in the middle of Tenrou Island – some of you noticed your Guild Marks acting strange, after all, so… I believe that something or someone has manipulated the Tree to make us all lose power.” Mura would’ve felt more comfortable letting Vandrad do the talking, but he didn’t think that Vandrad would want to lead a topic about an area and a Tree that Mura himself knew more about. Again, not much literature was dedicated to researching and figuring out the Tree – only observing it.

“I don’t know as much about the Tree as I’d like to, but…” Mura paused for a second, looking down at his hands leaning on the table in front of him, “Some of you may know already, but the island’s one of our homes. Just like the town here. And it’s the home of Fairies too – actual Fairies, that is. They enchanted the entire island with many spells to make it impossible for seafarers to locate it, but… maybe that wasn’t enough. Or maybe I’m being paranoid.” Safe to say, if it was just some natural short circuiting of the Tree’s magic, then these items in front of him were unneeded, but…

He did sense something earlier. Something very brief, but also so… malicious.

“Here’s the deal – we’re going to check up on the Core Tree in Tenrou Island and figure out what the issue is. If we meet combat, I’d like for all of us to be ready despite losing quite a bit of mana, so-” Mura began holding a hand over each pile of equipment, “For those of you who don’t regenerate mana quickly, here are Mana Crystal Lacrimas. Nymara, you should take a few with you as well.” These small Mana Crystal Lacrimas were round in shape and violet-blue, and by eating them, any mage would have their mana reserves filled up by a notable amount of external mana coming from the crystals.

The reason Mura adviced Nymara as well, despite her being a Dragon Slayer who could eat fire and achieve the same results, was due to it being able to help her as a shortcu- argh, she’d figure it out herself, one way or another. As long as she took his advice.

“Smoke Balls are right here, and next to them are Flashbangs, and here are Shockwave Bombs. They’re all small in size but large in effect, so use them.” He would then hold a hand over the last pile in the middle. “These are Explosives. They release a burst of harmful magic upon being thrown, akin to grenades. Each box has two of varying elements – light, shadows, lightning, fire, ice, water, and air. You can use them for surprise attacks, and for you three Slayers-“ He made eye contact with Akemi, Menka and Nymara, “You can eat these as well, if need be.” At last, he’d point a thumb back at the mirror frame.


“This is the portal to Tenrou Island. Take what you need, then get ready to go through the portal here to arrive at the Marble Shrine area where the other portal is,” he explained before the mirror frame made of vines began to manifest a huge condensation of mana at its middle, expanding to all corners of the vines and ripping a hole through space akin to Aven’s entrance from earlier. No signs of dangers at the other side now… all there was were orange woods, marble floors and old, broken pillars.

“Akemi, if you would be so kind, could you go first and scout the area around the portal? Report back as soon as things are clear, then we’ll all regather on the other side,” he’d then ask of her. Akemi’s magic was just so ideal for these types of tasks, since she was the best at discretion in the entire damn guild and also just their greatest silent knife. She had the lowest chances of being spotted by potential ambushers on the other side, and she could definitely hold her own and secure the portal’s area for the others to enter safely.

Mura would then make his way towards Menka of all people – he had a feeling that she wasn’t the biggest fan of this ordeal, but he had something specially made for her in his hands. A sort of metallic plate of armor, protecting one’s belly – it looked like a modernized take on a Midijin sash, emblemed with a golden pendant holding Fairy Tail’s symbol.


“Menka… I know you’re not a fan of open conflict, and I hope I’m just being too paranoid. But I sensed danger earlier, so I’d like for us to be safe… here, simple and minimal armoring for a flexible fighter such as you. Well-enchanted, tough and sturdy, and should increase your strength by quite a lot as well,” he explained before handing her the Metal Sash as he called it… it hadn’t gotten an official name yet.

Mura would oversee the others and their next actions – the items laid forward were numerous, but with this many members present, each couldn’t carry more than two or three of each category of items. In the meantime, he called back to Aven:

“Hey, Aven… if you have any more questions, you can ask me now.”

WC: 1958
Personal WC: 3567
Total WC: 10,967

OOC: Here's a quick rundown of the events, a TL;DR if you will:

• After some brainstorming with the message Lina (smol blonde daughter of Leonard) brought to him, Mura called for everyone to gather inside the lounge near the elevator for briefing.
  
• Mura explained that their Guild Marks are connected to a huge tree in Tenrou Island called the Core Tree. It might be natural causes, but Mura sensed extreme hostility at the time that his magic was siphoned, so he's being a little extra.
  
• There's a table in front of the elevator with Equipment - check them out under "Guild Supplies" in this link. Two or three of each is allowed for you to bring with you. The portal to Tenrou Island's Marble Shrine is also brought up via the elevator.
  
• Akemi, Mura's tasked you with scouting the area around the Marble Shrine - the shrine-looking area in Tenrou Island where the other portal is located - with your Magic before the others enter. At the moment, there are no signs of ambushers nearby, so you can just tell that to the rest.
  
• Menka, Mura got a new piece of Armor for you. You're not going to war in only a night dress, okay? Forgive me.
  
• For the rest of you, gear up and enter the portal after Akemi's approval. Aven, talk with Mura for a bit, but the others can also come and ask for further questions IC if you want.
  

Well... shit. Aven's attention was torn away from Mura, as half the guild sprang into action, up in arms and ready to pound him into the dirt. He visibly inspected himself: pitch black armor, a matching cape, and a roiling cloud of dark matter particles around his left leg, to boot. If his Takeover had been fully set off by the previous imbalance, the look was probably complete with a twisted set of horns. He sighed. Hindsight is twenty twenty, I suppose.

Nymara was the same as ever, of course, so it was no surprise she'd jump the gun. Even under normal circumstances, he wouldn't consider it out of the ordinary for her to challenge any random person to a fight. It'd certainly been a while since he last stretched his legs in a real battle, but that duel would have to wait until another time.

Looking around, there were a few faces he didn't recognize, as expected. Unexpected, however, was Vandrad's approach, the latter's hand crackling with a power Aven knew could normally tear through his armor like paper, demanding an explanation. More concerning, however, was the lack of pressure emanating from the Ace's magic. Has Vandrad been affected, too? If the source was the Guild Mark, it must've been the entire guild who suffered from the drain! That would mean... they thought he might be the perpetrator? Several others joined Vandrad in the pursuit of answers, including a young man dressed oddly similar to a pirate. At the very least, Mura and Akemi recognized him: other than Nessa and Lili, they were two of the few who'd seen this form. Well, them and the soldiers of Pelgrande, but he didn't think any of them would cherish the memory. His Transcendant form wasn't the most welcoming sight, after all; though, that didn't lessen the pang of guilt he felt when a small child hid behind Mura, nearly quaking at the sight of him. Power has it's price... it was only a matter of time before the piper demanded payment. This was only one of the burdens of his family's legacy.

Still, he reckoned his next few words were going to decide whether or not he grew a smoldering hole in his chest. Forcing himself to relax into the gentle smile many would recognize him by, he chose his words carefully, his voice still accompanied by a distant, empty echo. "My apologies, everyone. I would've arrived in a more suitable attire, given the choice, but I'm afraid this is all I can do to remain conscious." He held up his left hand, showing the now faded Fairy Tail Guild mark, his smile slowly dipping with concern. "My Mana's been all but depleted, drained away by some unknown force. The source seemed to my Guild Mark, and so I returned from the Forgotten Realm for answers. I'm as much in the dark as all of you."

Luckily, it seemed that Mura had exactly what Aven was looking for. Tenrou Island? That's the sacred ground of the Fairy Tail Guild... Aven had never been to Tenrou Island before, that he could recall. It wasn't a topic they discussed often, but as Mura explained further, the pieces began to fit together. If the Guild Mark was tied to one Locus of Magical Power, any disruption could cause an imbalance in the wizards tied to it. Aven was lucky enough to only partially rely on Magic Power as reserves for conversion into Dark Energy.

Aven watched as Mura summoned a portal to Tenrou, ordering all wizards to mobilize immediately. It seemed that whatever Mura assumed had 'played with' the Tree, it wouldn't be friendly. The order reminded him of Elysium's attack on Fairy Tail, and the destruction of their Guild Hall... and also the state Mura had been left in the last time. At the thought, another torrent of dark particles began to encircle Aven's right leg, his Dark Energy steadily rising in intensity. Mura was certainly stronger than before, but after having battled and watched Mura for so long, Aven knew one thing for certain: Mura was no duelist. Aven clenched his fist to relieve his stress, and then relaxed, letting his Takeover build unimpeded. He'd left to master Dark Matter, and now that he had, he was no longer a danger to his allies in close proximity. This time...

A black tendril formed from the particles surrounding Aven, extending toward the table and retrieving one of the Mana Crystal Lacrimas, delivering it to his hand before dissolving and rejoining the cloud. Aven approached Mura, his steps leaving a trail of black particles lingering on the grass. "I'll ask my questions along the way, because this time, I'm going with you."

A sigh escaped the kitsune’s lips as the atmosphere seemed to darken around the area due to Mura’s warnings. She despised conflict so greatly and the thought of just going back to sleep after she’d eaten was a far more tantalising idea. It didn’t seem like one that she’d be able to get away with though and instead she, albeit reluctantly, walked away from the grill and over towards the equipment that Mura had laid out for them. Most of the items were unknown to her and she wasn’t all that interested if she was honest. Weapons of war were of no interest to her and the blonde didn’t even give the explosives a glance until Mura spoke about them being edible for slayers, causing her to change her mind and take a couple of the lightning one in hand. They’d make for a nice snack later and would be handy if she was forced to fight.

She was rather surprised though when Mura approached and handed her a sash of some sort. It was made of some tough material and there was a touch of magic about the equipment too. Clearly it was made to amplify her powers and without any real thought, she’d place it around her mid section. It felt quite comfortable but it also had the side effect of causing her rather sizable bust to stick out a touch further, much to the kitsune’s amusement. She looked up at him just as he was moving on to someone else and joked. “Was this gift your idea or Kyuken’s?” He’d know exactly what she meant and despite the seriousness of the situation, she did what she always did and tried to make light of it all. Her kind lived a long time and Menka had faced battle more times than she could count. It was rather old to her by now and she’d never been fond of it anyway.

While everyone else was preparing for battle in their own ways, Menka would tap into her magic and create a cookie, a chocolate chip flavoured one which she then devoured. As soon as she did so, her magic power began to rise, a preparation tactic for what was to come. She had a cookie for any occasion and could boost whatever she needed to but since she didn’t really know who her opponent would be, she’d just play things by ear although thinking about it…wasn’t that what she always did? She never had a plan as such and just went with her gut.

She’d then take a few moments to test out just how well her new sash worked with her combat style, summoning her lightning claws and slashing the air a few times, moving with the natural grace of her species. The sash didn’t hold her back at all and even when she performed a more acrobatic manoeuvre, she still didn’t feel any restriction of movement. A fine piece of gear indeed and the kitsune was most definitely grateful for it. She’d have to show her appreciation, once the fight was over.

(515 Words)
(1027 TWC)

It looked like everyone else was also aware of what had happened, even if there were questions about the how and the why. The guild mark was an obvious target of suspicion, given that it had begun to act up before the sudden energy drain. The timing was too neat for it to have been a mere coincidence. And as Akemi had been expecting, Aven's sudden arrival meant that many of the guild members were suspicious of his timing as well, including her apprentice. Vandrad was taking care of that, which meant that Akemi could leave Aven alone while she did her rounds amongst the other members of the guild.

Thankfully, it looked like nobody had been affected too badly. Everyone had been afflicted with a sudden draining of their energy, but that was the extent of the damage. Problematic in its own right, but at least there weren't any critical conditions, even if most of the people present didn't share Akemi's convenient methods for replenishing her stamina.

"It's better to not speculate with what little information we have, but it looks like something has managed to connect to our guild marks." Saffron's question was a fair one, but unfortunately, Akemi wasn't in a position to say more, since she didn't know more. She shook her head when the blonde offered to help. "Wait for the guild master to tell you what to do. And try to recover as much energy as you can: I doubt the situation will end with just this interruption."

As for the others... well, they were more focused on Aven and Mura than anything else, so Akemi would leave it to the guild master to answer their questions and figure out what to do next. Although not everyone waited for more information: the raven-haired assassin watched as Leonard left on his own, leaving the girl that accompanied him during the barbeque to tell Mura that they needed to head for Tenrou Island.

Given that Tenrou Island was the guild's secret, and the fact that the attack had come through their guild mark (as proven by the fact that Aven had also been affected by it despite being in a completely different location), it wasn't surprising that the veterans of the guild would cast their suspicions in that direction. Akemi couldn't argue with the logic either, although she did keep her mintopen for other possibilities. Tenrou Island might be the guild's secret in that it was inaccessible to everyone who wasn't part of the guild, but that didn't mean nobody else knew about it... or the fact that guild marks could be more than just a little bit of paint.

She'd voluntarily broker own guild mark after the drain to prevent it from being used against her again, so even as other people discovered that their marks were now fainter or blurred hers remained pure white and useless. It made little difference, although it did tell her that whatever it was that had happened, it had bigger consequences than a momentary energy drain.

While the others left for the elevator she'd first finish absorbing all the shadows and dark in the area, resisting the temptation to eat the light as well to speed up the process. She'd gone through a lot of effort to hide her light abilities, and she wasn't going to ruin it just because she was hungry at the moment. Once she'd gotten as much energy out of her surroundings as she could she headed for the elevator as well, in time to hear Mura explain the situation and the tools available to help them out. Given that she had no intention of utilising any of the tools she had little interest in that part of the speech, aside from the shadow lachrima that were put on display together with the rest.

To scout ahead... Akemi nodded, but rather than immediately heading for the portal she walked over to the table displaying all the lachrima and picked up one of the shadow orbs. "I'll go ahead, but before that, I need everyone to make some space in front of the portal." There were ways to scout without charging in blindly. She glanced at Nymara. "Save that kind of request for when we know what's going on." There might only be a single entity messing with the tree, or Mura's speculation was completely off and Tenrou Island had nothing to do with the current situation.

Once everyone had given her some space Akemi would move to stand before the portal, holding the shadow lachrima in one outstretched hand as she focused her attention on what lay beyond the portal. It was a bit trickier doing this through a portal, but at the end of the day a portal connected two locations, so the principle should remain the same.

The lachrima in Akemi's hand began to emit dark smoke as she tapped into the energy contained within. Slowly at first, but then steadily increasing until the entire lachrima was converted into malleable dark magic, which spread out in front of Akemi, swirling, dancing, condensing. Curls straightened and wisps solidified until a three-dimensional map was spread out in front of Akemi, displaying what lay beyond the portal in shades of black and grey.

"It doesn't look like there's anything out there, but I'll go check in person. Keep an eye on the map for the signal that the rest of you can follow." The shadow screen only showed physical objects, so while it was a good precaution it wouldn't substitute for actual scouting.

Leaving the shadow screen to hover in front of the portal Akemi stepped towards the mirror... and disappeared even before she'd touched it, her form turning dark for an instant before fading away. Having rendered herself invisible she stepped through the portal, immediately shifting into a random shadow in the vicinity in case some kind of trap was set to trigger for the first person to step through the portal. Nothing happened, and as the assassin surveyed the area with all her senses she didn't find anything suspicious either. No magic sources beyond those that could be expected from the Marble Shrine, no unusual sounds, no unexpected scents. She'd been here once before, and she could tell that this shrine at least was the same as before.

Even if she couldn't say the same about the rest of the island.

Still, better to be thorough. There were plenty of shadows for her to utilise, and the assassin made sure to shift to every shadow within earshot of the shrine to inspect the area from as many angles as possible. From the looks of it, this place hadn't been touched in some time, as only Fairy Tail members could come here normally and there wasn't much reason for them to visit the island on a regular basis. The tree towered above everything else on the island, of course, but the shrine was far enough away that it fell outside of Akemi's inspection.

Once she was as confident as she could be that the shrine, at least, was safe, Akemi would return to the portal and stand next to it while reaching out with her mind to reconnect with the shadow screen on the other side of the mirror.

---

On the other side of the mirror, where the rest of the guild was waiting, the shadow screen would ripple before reshaping itself into an arrow pointing towards the portal. After several seconds the arrow would then shoot forward and into the portal, a clear signal that it was time for the rest of the guild to step forward.

---

Akemi remained hidden for the moment even as the arrow made of dark magic shot out of the portal, making some simple gestures to have the arrow disperse and the dark magic spread out across the area, merging with the shadows so she could keep an eye on things here.

She'd only reveal herself once everyone had made their way through the portal, dropping her invisibility before stepping out of the shadow she'd been hiding in. "The shrine is clear, but you're correct that something is happening on this island." She very pointedly did not look at Nymara as she said the following words.

"I'd suggest caution."

Current Appearance:

WC: 1,380
PWC: 2,259
TWC: 14,598

@Mura Kensho @Nymara @Saffron Remington

There was little more that he could inform them from now on. He’d done his best to mobilize them and prepare them for the sacred island ‘expedition’ as it might have turned out to become. Deep inside, he prayed that he had done a good job at preparing them… his guild was so diverse. It was taxing to tend to each one’s ways, so the best thing was to let the rest of the events be dealt with them on their own.

Menka, especially, was a special case due to her relatively docile nature. Despite her strength, she had made it clear multiple times throughout her stay in the guild that such things as combat were undesirable. A lover, not a fighter… that catchphrase of hers echoed in his head. It felt as if he was forcing her into labor, but… she was of great help to the guild. He hoped that she would forgive him when all of this was over… and given by her ever playful tone, that seemed to have been precedented.

“It was definitely mi-“

“My idea. I take it that you’d like to take a few measures to prevent from getting scars. Like me.”

His tone was dead serious, but… turning his clearly blushing face away, Mura kept an eye on the map that Akemi manifested with her Shadows, just like she did down in the crypts of Desierto. Man, her Magic was too developed compared to certain other Slayers in the guild – clearly due to her cautious, almost OCD-level of preparation drive… well, could he really call it OCD? He was a hypocrite – many times, he could’ve escaped grave consequences had he been slightly more prepared, so he’d refrain from badmouthing someone like her.

Nah, it wasn’t really badmouthing… if anything, it sounded like something he could tease her with-

She wouldn’t like that.

… O-Okay, nevermind then.

… Oh, communication devices. Vandrad had reported to him about the completion of those earlier, and they looked far more suitable for duty than holding up your iLac all the time. Mura quickly adjusted one of them to his collar before hearing of Takumi’s alternative way of communication. If they found themselves in the event that their devices broke, then that could be very helpful…

Mura couldn’t help but faintly smile at the sight of how capable his guild was. It was strange – he never saw them this organized back in the time when his predecessors led the guild. Neither Kanix nor Heero could brag about this, that much he knew.

…

“… D-Don’t worry, Takumi. Your kids won’t lose their parent,” Mura reassured the worrisome God Slayer with a pat on the shoulder, “Ah, Akemi’s giving us green light to enter. Alright, everyone, be on guard! Many of you aren’t familiar with the area, so…”

With that said, Mura stepped in and arrived on the other side of the portal, his feet resting on the Marble Shrine. He had brought a white scroll with him, strapped to his back for later use…


The place, however, and the woods around the shrine looked as fantastical as always – with a cupper tint of autumn blowing across the mild wind and branches stretching as far as the eye could… see…

There was some gold dust glowing in the air above them. Magic… and Fairy Magic, at that. It was extremely foreboding, but nothing more worried him. The bright, blue sky could still be seen above the tree crowns, and the forest’s creatures quickly scurried away at the sight of them. An unusual greeting, clearly indicating that Mura’s paranoic sensation from earlier landed on the right note – someone had actually found their way to the island…

And whoever that was, they had quite some issue with Fairy Tail to make it this far.

Mura decided to ignore the more curious entities – moles sticking their noses out of the ground, hummingbirds seeking refuge inside tree stamps, snakes turning invisible and sliding away from harm’s way and deer galloping to the farthest edges of the island. The strange detail about these animals was that all of them donned the same color and pattern on their fur and scales – mainly black, but with deep-blue lines and dots coated over them.

And in the far distance of the horizon was the Core Tree, sticking up above the ground and towering every other tree in Tenrou Island… but there was some strange gust surrounding it. Circulating it. Orbiting it like a calm tornado.

That was when Vandrad’s word of advice caught him – if this was planned, then it was a smart move to lure the slightly weakened members of the guild to the island via this strange incident. He suggested that they split up into pairs, covering each other’s backs and making sure that the enemy couldn’t carpet bomb all of them at once. The shaman nodded, deciding to think of possible two-man teams for the time being…

Vandrad had tutored Saffron for quite a while now. It was the same case for Akemi with Nymara. Leo was nowhere to be seen, but he would most likely show up on the island when the rest had arrived… and Aven was adamant to stick with Mura this time. That left Takumi – who revealed to possess God Slayer Magic, which the guild hadn’t seen in a while – and Menka, along with the seafarer Julius. Should he have Menka go search for Leonard?

No, what if she got ganged up? No, no, no, Leo knew the island better than anyone else – he’d be able to take care of himself, and he’d be able to find the rest with ease. Just don’t be reckless, old man…

“I take it you’ll keep an eye out for Saffron,” Mura replied to Vandrad, agreeing to his plan with a quick nod, “And you’ve hung out with Nymara the most, Akemi. You know her better than anyone else. And that leaves… Julius, you go with Menka. Takumi, you follow me and Aven.” Yeah, that should be fine – this was one of those moments where Mura couldn’t do anything but put his trust in his members and their chemistry with each other. They’d have each other’s backs, after all.

A single look up in the sky confirmed Mura’s fears once more – they were faint, but multiple magic signatures were present on the island. However, the island itself was oozing with mana from white, glowing wounds on the earth that were beginning to spread ever so slowly – a result of the intrusion, likely. It was difficult to depend on magic sensory alone, but there were a few areas spared from these ‘mana wounds’.

“Here’s the plan. I need to go to the Tree and shut its magic down,” he explained to everyone, gently stroking a hand over the white scroll on his back, “And… undoubtedly, some shithead is expecting me over there, but there are other-“





̷͎̈̒̾̃̆͊̽̍̋́Ỹ̶̷̛̠̤̯̻̲̠̘̗̫̭͕̲̰̙͖̌̿̍̾͌̆̎̓̿̚͘͝͠ͅo̶̵͓̪̯̰͛́̽͒̈̏̽͊̄̈̄̽́̓̀̿̋̅̌̔́̀̓̚͘̚͘͠͝͝ư̵̶̖͓͚̭̺̳͗̀̍͊̒̾̀̈́͠͝r̵̺͚͉̼̺̘͈̻̄͑́͛̀͌̄͊͒ ̷̫̺̮̘̥̰͍̞̆g̴̵̨̟̠̫͎̙̲̪̬͕͚͖̩̯̰͊̎͐̌͒̔̽͗̽́̓̀̿̋̅̌̔́̀̓̚̚͘̚͘͝͝u̵̶̖͓͚̳̟͕̗̘̳͕͍͚͗̀̔̈́͌̉̅̀͗͌̐̈́̆̄̈́́͋i̴̶̡̨̢̢̢̡̢̛̪̪̺͚̪̟͔̳̙̖̜͇̦̬͔̒̀̅͋̿́̿̄̉̏̎͊͗̋̿̿͑̚͜͝ͅl̷̵̨̧̩͈͕̩͚̩̜͕̗̠̜̩͙̣͋̔̐͜͝ͅḑ̴͔̳̜͚̳̈́͛̐̓́̉̎̀̌͂͑͗͌͋͜ ̵̯̰̽́̓̀̿̋̅̌̔́̀̓͘̚͘͝͝u̵̵̡̖͓͚̞͈̼̣̘̜̖̥̝͗̀̿̑͌̅̔̉̐̈́̄͘s̴̷̛̮̱͖̦̱̱̟̺͇̱̖̯̻̎̿̆̍̐̏̿͐̇͊͗̃̈́͑̓̀̏̌͌̅̀̔͋̈́͘͠e̵̵̬̫͖̯̙̾̇͗̒̌̔̾͐͂̒̄̑̔̐͝ͅḑ̴͔̳̜͚̳̈́͛̐̓́̉̎̀̌͂͑͗͌͋͜ ̵̼̻͚͕̲̱̩͓͍̍t̶̷̰̯̻̲̠̘̗̫̭͕̲̰̙͖͗͌̆̎̓̿͘͝͝͠o̶͓̪͛́̽͒̈̏̽͊̄̈̄̚͠ ̷̨̡̛̖̫̻̰̯̩̪̲̬̗͆͝b̸̷̞̱̟̺͇̱̖̯̻͂͆̄̽̈́̈͗̆͌̅͊͑̓̀̏̌͌̅̀̔͋̈́̕̕̚͘e̵̬̫͖̯̙̾̇͗̒̌̔̾͐͂̒̄̑ ̷̨̡̛̖̫̻̰̯̩̪̲̬̗͆͝b̸̶̛̞̭̺̳͂͆̄̽̈́̈͗̆͌̅͊͑̍͊̒̾̀̈́̕̕̚͠͝r̵̶̺͚͉̼̺̘͈̻̳̟͕̗̘̳͕͍͚̄͑́͛̀͌̄͊͒̔̈́͌̉̅̀͗͌̐̈́̆̄̈́́͋i̴̷̡̨̢̛̪̪̺͚̪̟̫̺̮̘̥̰͍̞̒̀̅͋̿́̿̄̉̏̆̚͜͝ͅg̴̷̨̟̠̫͎̙̲̪̬͕͚͖̩̥̻̩̼͊̎͐̌͒̔̽͗͐͊̽̚̚̚͝h̷̵̰̞͔̝̤̺͕̜̗̻̼̻͚͕̲̱̩͓͍͌̐̅̉̒̄̊͊̄͑̅̀̀̐̏̍̚͝ͅt̶̷̰̱̟̺͇̱̖̯̻͗̓̀̏̌͌̅̀̔͋̈́͘͝e̵̶̛̬̫͖̯̙̭̺̳̾̇͗̒̌̔̾͐͂̒̄̑̍͊̒̾̀̈́͠͝r̵̺͚͉̼̺̘͈̻̄͑́͛̀͌̄͊͒



…

…

A solid moment of silence showed a rather whitened face on Mura. He shook it off quickly, realizing that he was in the middle of a sentence, “-There are other enemies. I can sense them… a-all over the island…” It was blatantly clear that the island’s atmosphere was affecting Mura in one way or another, and while it was root for worry, his magical signature stayed the same… nothing had tried to take over his mind. However, that only made things more mysterious.

“I shut down the Tree’s power for a time. That’ll be our opportunity to counter-attack,” he continued to explain his plan, showing absence of whatever had shocked him to his very core earlier, “If my hunch is right, then they’re trying to draw power from the Tree too… yes, that might explain those wounds.” He pointed towards the white marks of mana that were cracking up from the ground in various places; tree stamps, dusty floors, leaves, animals, pretty much splashed all over the one half of the island like snot.

“I… everyone, I’ll contact you through these devices once I’ve shut down the Tree’s magic. If these enemies draw from it, they’ll just get stronger and stronger, so you should try and stall them out until then. Wait for my signal… and watch each other’s backs. Please…”

He got nothing more to say – the plan was made clear. He simply made his way through the woods, going straight for the giant Tree in the background of the island’s big woods. Aven would watch over him too, that much he knew… and Takumi would have an opportunity to show how much he had developed. Overall, his guild had the odds in their favor – they were mighty, powerful and extremely skilled. They wouldn’t let their guards down, and they wouldn’t lose…

S-So why was he so chilled? Why were his bones shaking? He did his best to hide it from them, but it was too cold in the air around him. Whoever had messed with them loathed the guild on a scale Mura hadn’t witnessed since… since…

WC: 1503
PWC: 5070
TWC: 18,374

OOC: Okay, from this post and onwards, I'll be aiming to split the guild up! This'll likely make things more interesting for each one of you.

• Tenrou Island is a strange landscape with green and orange woods - however, you should all be able to see disturbances in the air caused by mana flowing out and around the place. There's also what looks like a 'tornado' of mana circling the Core Tree, if your characters aim to look at the distance.
  
  
• Mura is splitting you up in teams per Vandrad's advice! These are:
  Vandrad + Saffron
  Akemi + Nymara
  Menka + Julius
  and a single 3-man team of Mura + Aven + Takumi
  
  
• Each team is tasked with spreading out and 'luring' the intruders away from the Tree, so to speak. Either stall them or find a way to defeat them, even when they got the Core Tree's magic to strengthen them. I plan to have them greet you guys by the next round.
  
  
• Aven, Takumi and Mura are going to the Core Tree directly. Got a Chekhov's gun on Mura's back for later. What happens next will depend on your replies.
  
  
• Tah.
  

The birds, the trees, the animals, the sounds. It was indeed Tenrou. Leo hasn't been back in the sacred land in the long time. And though much of it stayed the same as it has in his memory, something dark and terrible stirs. The old man observed that the vibrant colors had become just hues of black and blue, and there were less fairies that he could sense. Still. Leo wasn't particularly worried with these sudden changes, he knew what was causing it and he tried his best to immediately work towards a solution. Which was easier said than done.

By his path, he eyed a tree stump and his fatigue slowly left him. The old man had a mind to take a breather on the stump and regain more of his strength. He gently moved down to rest his weary body on the makeshift chair.

Leo's fatigue was due to his refusal to drain any organism of Tenrou of its life. He and his family had kept this land free from taint since coming upon it and what little remaining life his targets had were only enough to deal with the next. It should be coming back on its own right now he mused, referring to his natural mana regeneration that had just kicked in, expressing his turn of luck with a deep and long sigh of relief. And as he waited for his condition to get better, he took a trip within his memories and tried to find serenity in it which the current state of the island is providing less of. He remembered the caves, the exams he held here, the carvings he made. Even mused about having to give Sorano and Mura a carving of their own. Such thought brought a smile to his face out of pride. They were competent guild masters. And he wanted to see more of Mura's leadership. Hm. Something to look forward to. he thought.

Right after, Leo stood up from his short break and looked up the sky again. He spent this time observing the mana flow towards and swirl around the holy tree. "Someone's dipping their fingers on something they shouldn't." he mused. "Right then, time to get moving and weaken their forces." he added with a sigh whilst taking his first step. And as the old man stood up, a faint glow of golden light peeked out from the stump and proceeded to circle the old man from toe all the way up to his head, stopping just in front of him at eye level. "Ah. Some of you are still alive." he said, slightly cheerfully. Indeed seeing a fairy in Tenrou was a sign that all is not lost and that there was still hope.

Leo then held out his hand and positioned it "Don't worry my friend, we'll take care of it." he said with a smile before heading out towards the tree. Not long after, Leo sensed the opening of the Fairy Tail portal from the other side of the island. He surmised that battle will be happening soon which prompted to pick up his pace.

After a while, he found himself near the foot of the tree by using paths he had once explored during his youth. Most of the enemy's positions were in a manner anticipating arrivals from the portal's direction, anticipating their arrival. Might as well draw up their positions while I'm here. he thought while he waited for the perfect time to move out.

WC: 583
Leo: 1,833

Teleporters were so weird and when Menka came out the other side, the kitsune felt the same way as she usually did after spending time with Kyuken, overheating and seeing stars. It was only a brief sensation though and soon enough, she could see properly again although she had no real idea about just where this place was. She listened to Mura’s explanation as best she could but her mind was soon enough starting to drift, her sense of danger practically non-existent. It wasn’t arrogance as such, she just didn’t feel any fear about the situation. Honestly, the blonde had felt more of it when she and Mura had visited the temple of her ancestors. She’d been fearful then due to facing her past but now? Not so much. After meeting Inari and learning from him, nothing felt intimidating anymore. He’d helped her in a way that her mother never had, who’d been her only teacher up until then. She had a slightly new outlook on life now and had come to terms with her lot. Was she finally reaching the matron stage? …No, she wasn’t quite ready for that. Her lust for adventure was still too strong for that.

She had a bit of difficulty when it came to attaching the communication device to her ear as it didn’t seem to have been made for her kind. Her tails swished in annoyance for a few seconds before she finally managed to get the gist of the thing, even if she didn’t think it was all that stylish. Still, if it was for her benefit then she’d deal with it. The plan seemed sound enough and Menka had no issues with wandering off in order to attract the attention of some of their enemies. That wasn’t something that she usually had issues with in life and she added a certain strut to her movements, to try and hook herself a fish, so to speak. She had no idea about who the hell was trying to attack the guild but honestly, it didn’t truly matter to her. If she couldn’t talk her way out then she’d find another way.

Her hair would change to a bright red colour, while her outfit would change to one that was a tad more revealing. The sash remained, of course but the effect it had on her new outfit was the same as her old, it just accentuated her assets. If she was going to have to fight then it would be on her terms and it would be she who held all the aces. Her lightning claws would vanish, in order to maintain her appearance of being unthreatening, knowing that they would give the wrong impression. Her eyes would turn a brilliant blue and rather than try and hide her footsteps and position, she started to hum rather loudly, a deliberate attempt to make her seem weak.

All she could do now was wait and see just what or who would try to make a move upon her.

(504 Words)
(1531 TWC)

Akemi was used to remaining hidden even from her allies when she did her work, but Vandrad and Takumi both had a valid point that, given the situation, it might be vital for them to remain in contact. This was an attack on the guild as a whole, and even if the assassin wasn't quite as invested in the guild as others she was still a part of it.

Taking one of the communication devices, she'd study it for a moment before flicking it into her shadow, where it disappeared from sight. Unless the enemy possessed the means to infiltrate her shadows they wouldn't be able to get hold of the device, which was important in the unlikely event that she got felled by the enemy. She'd gotten as far as she did because she didn't assume she was undefeatable: the moment she stopped being careful would begin the countdown to her inevitable end.

As for @Takumi Yoshino...

"Unfortunately I don't think we have the time to form a link. I'll keep my communicator safe, so that should be sufficient."

On the outside, she was nothing more than a human with shadow dragon slayer magic. This pretence, which she'd poured a lot of effort into designing and maintaining to ensure even the most perceptive of individuals would have a hard time piercing it, hid her true nature as a dragon containing the elements of light and dark in tandem. Ever since she'd begun to develop this duality it had given birth to some unusual side effects, and one of them was that Akemi's mind wasn't easily accessed. Creating the opening required for Takumi to mentally link with her would also create a weakness which their opponents could potentially exploit.

As the others finished recovering from stepping through the portal Akemi studied the situation on the island. The amount of mana present in the environment was significantly higher than in most areas, and even less experienced magic users would be able to tell that something was distorting the natural magic that flowed through the island. The giant tree in the middle of the island was in the worst shape, serving as the nucleus of whatever twisted methods were being used to not only drain the members of Fairy Tail but also blight Tenrou Island.

While she was thinking about all of this Mura began to instruct them to split up into groups, or to be more precise pairs, and head out to find the malignant entities that had invaded the island while Mura himself headed for the tree to try and fix whatever had been broken. Hearing that she'd be paired up as well had Akemi folding her arms and narrowing her eyes, but she didn't speak up. Her skill set was better suited for solo operations, while Nymara was as unsubtle as any person could be. Their abilities really didn't work together very well...

"Focus, please." Was all she said as her ever-enthusiastic apprentice was treating this as an opportunity to cut loose rather than a genuine threat which had to be handled with utmost caution. At least Lucky was as thoughtful as ever: it really was fortunate that he'd paired up with Nymara so he could put the brakes on her burning passion if Akemi wasn't available.

Of course, even though the situation was already serious that didn't mean it couldn't get even more problematic. Mura had been in the middle of explaining his plan when something unseen caused his mental state to shake as if struck. Where before he'd been concerned but focused he now appeared to be experiencing... fear?

There was no time to investigate. They had to get moving, to find their enemies and take care of them so Mura could do his job. The sooner they got this situation resolved the less likely that things would escalate even further, after all. After a last glance towards the giant tree that stood in the middle of the island Akemi followed Nymara, for now letting the firebrand dictate their direction. Even if she didn't appear to be putting any serious thought behind the direction she'd chosen.

"Keep your distance from the mana wounds." She warned her apprentice as they left the shrine behind and headed into the depths of the woods that covered most of the island. As they walked Akemi kept her senses sharp, golden eyes flickering about while her ears tingled and her nose was filled with a wide array of scents. Something was tainting everything in this place... which most likely meant that they weren't just draining the tree, but also manipulating it in some manner. Poison? Most likely the goal wasn't to destroy the tree, given that it was a valuable resource, but corruption... corruption was possible.

The mana wounds were making it difficult for her to use her magic sensory. They were like beacons, blindingly bright and drawing attention away from whatever might exist beyond their glare. She had to rely more on her other senses, but since sensing magic was like breathing air for her it was difficult to not be distracted. If they didn't resolve this situation quickly she might end up developing a migraine from overstimulation.

"Remember, this island is sacred to the guild. Personally I've got no attachment to it, but Mura will be upset if you burn down the forest." Nymara had made great strides in becoming better at controlling her fire, but she still was the number one fire hazard in all of Fiore. "The enemy most likely knows we'd come here to fix the tree, so it'll be difficult for us to ambush them. Still, let's keep our magic usage to a minimum until it's time for combat: we don't want to make it easy for them."

The forest around them was... quiet, for the most part. Small critters, small enough to be beneath notice most of the time, were curious enough to come out and watch, but most lifeforms were either suffering from the taint that was spreading through the island or were doing their best to hide as they waited for the danger to go away. But Akemi could tell that Nymara's directionless wandering was bringing them closer to their adversaries. She stopped looking around for a moment to give Nymara her full attention.

"They'll be eager to use the power they stole from the tree, so once they realise we've split up they'll come for us. Mura wants us to try and drag the fights out, but there's merit to eliminating them quickly as well. I'll be hiding in your shadow from now on, so when they come out to fight you I'll be in a position to ambush them."

Approaching the redhead Akemi would step into the fire slayer's shadow, where she seemingly disappeared as if she'd sunk into the ground within a split second. A couple of seconds later Nymara would hear Akemi's voice in her ears, as if the assassin was standing right behind her.

"I'm still here, of course, so if you've got anything to say now would be a good time."

Current Appearance:

WC: 1,185
PWC: 3,444
TWC: 22,990

@Nymara