The port town of Hargeon. A normally busy place and a trade hub for people all over the continent of Ishgar and even beyond.

However, amongst the hustle and bustle of the port town was a young man who had lost everything. He wore grey robes that he had bought in another town some time ago. His crimson and black hair reached down to his lower back and the only item of his that he adamantly refused to part with was the silver ring he wore on his right middle finger.

As he walked down the busy streets, he could smell something pleasant as the brilliant, blue of the sky at day began to transfer to the warm, red-gold of dusk.

Food.

He tried to ignore it, however his stomach wouldn't allow him to rebel. He sighed in defeat before bringing out a small leather wallet and quickly combing through the money he had on hand.

???: "... Three thousand jewel. Not a hell of a lot, but it will be enough for a meal."

The young man walked into the nearby restaurant, named 8 Island, and was promptly escorted to his seat by a stunningly gorgeous waitress with long scarlet hair.

When he sat down, he had a scan over the menu before ordering a medium sized steak.

When the waitress had taken his order, he leaned back in the seat he was in. He saw the scarlet haired waitress going to a man who seemed to be the owner or the manager and saying something to him.

???: "Probably gossiping about my appearance... No matter, it should be no concern of mine what others say about me."

The waitress in question was in fact not gossiping about his look, instead she was voicing her concern about him.

The owner of 8 Island, former magic council member Yajima, was there to hear her concern.

Yajima: "I see what you mean. Even from here the lad looks like he's seen hell. Doesn't look like the typical dark guild member either."

The waitress, Erza Scarlet, nodded in response to Yajima's observation.

Erza: "It's clear he's also malnourished. But there's something about him..."

Yajima: "Yes, I see what you mean. His body language suggests some form of nobility, but the rest of him screams nomad."

As the young man waited for his food, he saw someone trying to sneak out without paying.

Erza was about to apprehend the man, however in the literal blink of an eye, the young man was behind the person trying to sneak away and had a vice grip on his shoulder.

???: "... I don't suppose you were going to try and run without paying? Based on your attire and the fact that you don't smell like some kind of sewer rat, I can assume you have enough to at least pay for what you ordered."

The man tried to break away from the young nomad, however he was swiftly forced to the ground by an unearthly pressure. Even Erza was stunned by what she was sensing.

???: "I will tell you once, politely. Go sit down and pay for your meal like everyone else. If I must say it again, I will not hesitate in the slightest to use more... forceful methods."

The man was in a state of terror as he looked up at the dim sapphire glint in the young man's eyes.

The young man let go of the suspect's shoulder as Erza moved in to deal with the dine-&-dasher. As he sat down, he could tell that the two waiters and the other waitress had their eyes on him. However he didn't have to wait long before a large steak was placed in front of him by a blonde waitress.

???: "If this is the medium steak then I'd say I got more than my money's worth."

Waitress: "No, this is the large steak. It's on the house."

The young man looked at the waitress in disbelief as she walked away with a wink.

???: "On the house? For what reason?"

He received no answer, however he warily ate the food presented to him. He found it to be more than what he bargained for. He had eaten some mediocre steaks in his travels, thankfully this one was much better. The meat was thick and juicy, but it was soft enough that his teeth tore through it with ease. There was a distinctly smoky flavour bursting from the tender meat, but it was accompanied by a warmth from what he assumed was chilli powder. It reminded him of something... Home perhaps?

As he was about to finish, he noticed Erza walking over to him.

Erza: "Enjoy the meal?"

???: "I did. How much is this going to cost?"

Erza: "It's on the house."

???: "That can't be right, I just dealt with someone trying not to pay earlier, so why should I be exempted from paying?"

Erza: "The owner insisted it be on the house. Besides, you look practically malnourished."

???: "Gh!... D- Do I really look that bad?"

Erza: "I've certainly seen better."

The young man looked down at his plate as he finished the last of his meal.

Erza: "What's your name?"

???: "Mine? Hm... Good question."

Erza saw the young man look at the ring on his finger before he removed it and looked on the inside.

???: "Ah, there it is. My name is Y/n."

Erza: "Y/n, huh? You wouldn't happen to be a wizard by chance, would you?"

Y/n: "A... wizard? Ah, a magic-user. I suppose I am, yes. Though I belong to no organisations or guilds."

Erza took a seat across from the young wizard, there was something about him she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was something she couldn't quite describe.

Erza: "Well, Y/n. If you don't belong to any guilds, why don't you join Fairy Tail? I can tell by the pressure you exerted earlier that you're strong, so perhaps joining will help you in ways you don't yet know you need."

Y/n was intrigued, he had never been offered a place in a guild before. From what he knew, Fairy Tail was considered one of the strongest guilds on the continent.

Y/n: "I- I will take some time to think on the matter."

Erza: "It would certainly boost your income by quite a significant amount."

There it was, the mention of income was enough to pique Y/n's interest.

Y/n: "Hm. I suppose that is tempting..."

Erza smiled before getting up.

Erza: "You don't have to make your choice immediately, I'll let you think on it."

Y/n watched as Erza walked away, though now he was confused. However he did as he intended to do and left the amount of jewel equal to how much he'd have to pay for the steak before leaving.

As dusk fully set in, Y/n wandered around the port town again. As he walked, he saw Erza with her friends getting into a carriage. He tried to avoid being spotted, however it seemed as though he had been cursed with bad luck as Erza spotted him.

Erza: "Y/n. Have you thought on my offer from earlier?"

Y/n: "... I suppose having an increase in income WOULD be nice-"

Erza: "Excellent. Come, there's plenty of room in the carriage."

Y/n was given no choice to refuse as Erza dragged him to the carriage. Once he was seated, Erza introduced him to the others.

Erza: "Allow me to introduce the rest of my team. The blonde woman is Lucy."

Lucy: "Heya!"

Erza: "The one currently on the floor heaving and groaning is Natsu.

Natsu: "Uuuuuuuuugghhhhhh..."

Erza: "The other young man here is Gray."

Gray: "Yo."

Erza: "And our blue companion here is Happy."

Happy: "Aye!"

Y/n: "I see. I'm Y/n."

The trip to Magnolia was spent with Y/n learning more about what the people at the guild were like. Apparently belligerent destruction was the phrase of the century wherever Fairy Tail got involved.

Y/n: "So, how powerful do the wizards in the guild get?"

Erza: "As a matter of fact, ours is considered the strongest team in Fairy Tail."

Y/n: "Really? So you have celestial spirit magic, ice-type maker magic, requip magic and fire dragon slayer magic. That about right?"

Gray: "That's it, yeah. Doesn't sound like much, but trust me, we're a hell of a team."

Y/n: "Hm. I see."

Y/n was silent for a moment before he held his hand out and a blanket of freezing air began to emerge from his palm. Gray's eyes widened as an ice sculpture started forming in Y/n's hand. When it was done, the group saw that it was a large, serpentine dragon made of ice.

Gray: "You use ice-maker magic as well?"

The next words out of Y/n's mouth sent shockwaves through the team's very souls.

Y/n: "That... was my first attempt actually."

Lucy: "Y- Your first attempt!?"

Erza: "To create something so detailed on your first go..."

Gray: "How the hell!?"

Y/n: "It may be because I remember being able to learn magic better than most others. I seem to vaguely remember four others that I learned with. Classmates perhaps? No, I was homeschooled... They must have been my siblings then."

Gray: "You don't remember?"

Y/n: "I scarcely remember many things from my past, Gray."

Erza: "Well hopefully you'll be able to make new memories at Fairy Tail."

Y/n hummed in optimistic affirmation as the journey to Magnolia continued.

Gray then broke the awkward silence as they continued.

Gray: "So what kind of magic do you use normally?"

Y/n: "I change my magic depending on the situation. However my strongest is my fire magic."

Lucy: "Oh great. Another arsonist."

Happy raised his paw before speaking.

Happy: "If fire's your strongest magic then you'll fit right in at Fairy Tail!"

Y/n: "I hope you're right about that, Happy."

Happy: "Aye!"

Y/n smiled as the carriage finally arrived in Magnolia. Upon disembarking, Natsu seemed to be much more energetic than before. When they stood outside the guild hall, he turned to Y/n.

Natsu: "Erza, Lucy. Mind getting everyone out here? I wanna fight Y/n. If he can learn Gray's magic quickly like that then I wanna see if he can learn mine!"

Erza: "Not a bad suggestion. It would certainly provide a good basis as to how we can help Y/n with joining teams. I hope that's alright with you, Y/n."

Y/n: "Go ahead. I'm personally interested in how strong a dragon slayer truly is. I've heard of their strength, so to fight one personally should prove to be a good learning experience."

After a few minutes, the other members of Fairy Tail had gathered around as well as the townspeople of Magnolia.

Natsu stood across from Y/n with a smirk as he lit his hands ablaze.

Natsu: "Let's go! I haven't fought someone in at least a few hours!"

Y/n: "... Very well. If you insist."

Y/n's aura shot to life, bringing with it the pressure that Erza had felt in the restaurant. However something had changed...

The pressure was still mounting.

Erza realised that Y/n's aura was climbing in it's scale. Even the other members of Fairy Tail felt fear as they sensed the crushing pressure that Y/n exerted.

Natsu kept his smirk on his face, however Erza and Lucy could see him sweating.

Y/n: "Are you still ready to fight me, Natsu?"

Natsu: "Y- You even need to ask!? Bring it!"

Natsu launched himself at Y/n, only for the wizard to side-step the attack. What happened next was both terrifying and beautiful simultaneously.

Y/n raised one hand to the sky and lowered the other to the ground as pure golden flames surrounded his arms.

Erza: "Those flames..."

Happy: "Pretty..."

Y/n: "Come forth from the scorching plain... Ashes of Yggdrasil!"

Natsu was ready to devour the torrent of flames that came his way, however he was instead struck by them as they formed the shape of a tree around him.

Natsu: "I- I can't eat them!?"

Y/n held his hand in front of him before crushing it into a fist.

Y/n: "Now collapse!"

The tree of fire shone even more brilliantly before imploding on itself. The townspeople got ready to watch the whole plaza go up in flames, however when they looked, they saw a dome of water surrounding the implosion site.

Y/n: "I took the liberty of trying to reduce the amount of damage done to the town. While it may not have completely worked, the damage should be minimal."

Y/n dismissed the dome of water and Natsu was left relatively unharmed on the ground.

Y/n: "Either way, I believe that this is my victory."

Erza looked on in shock as Natsu struggled to get up from the attack, despite having minimal injuries, he took a major attack and would need time to recover.

Gray: "Fire and water magic?"

Y/n looked at the faces of the other guild members. There was a mix of shock, excitement and fear in some of their eyes.

Y/n: "I should go find some lodgings for now."

Before anyone could say anything, a white haired woman spoke up. Mirajane Strauss, one of Fairy Tail's best known wizards and a gravure model in sorcerer weekly.

Mirajane: "If you need a place to stay for the night then the Fairy Tail dorms have rooms available."

Y/n: "Dorms?"

Gray: "Yeah, the guy's dorms have some rooms to spare."

Y/n: "I see. Very well, I'll try and get a room there."

Gray smirked and lead Y/n to the dorms while a blue haired woman angrily gnawed at her fingernails. This was Juvia, a borderline stalker for Gray but a water wizard with immense talent and power.

Juvia: "A new rival has appeared..."

Erza: "I wouldn't be worried about that Juvia. I think the thing you'll need to watch out for is if your affections shift."

Juvia: "Wh- What!? N- No, that could never happen, surely you're just joking... Right?"

Erza: "It's natural for people to think one way about a person for a time. However you haven't actually spoken much with Gray, rather you've just observed him. But I feel as though Y/n will try and get to know everyone on a semi-personal level."

Mira: "You and I have the same thought process then, Erza."

Erza: "He's going to be one to watch out for, that's for sure. After all, he was able to perfect Gray's ice-make magic on his first attempt."

Juvia: "REPEAT THAT, WHAAAAAT!?!?!?"

Mirajane: "What!? He was able to perfect Gray's magic on his first go!?"

Lucy: "I think his power also speaks for itself here. I mean look at what he did to take Natsu down. One attack."

Erza: "More than that. It was one attack that he was holding back with. That spell can be made more powerful, of that I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever."

The wizards of Fairy Tail made a mental note to keep an eye on Y/n. If that spell could be made stronger, then they did NOT want to get on his bad side.

However Y/n's flames would ignite the world soon enough. But nobody yet knew that. Not even Y/n himself.

End of Chapter.

Next Time: United Guild Alliance.