[IC] Fairy Tail - Smothered Lights [Always Accepting]

Shining Wings and Slithering Shadows

Four months have passed since the Twin Guardians fell. The new guild alliance of Sapphire Falcon has spent most of that time licking their wounds and getting organized. Guild Masters going through the process of getting re-approved as a Light Guild again, and members settling into a new home and with new company. Only recently have jobs started to flow in, getting closer to being back to normalcy.

But the world did not stop during those four months. The underworld took full advantage of the Guardian's absence, with crime in the area swelling and becoming more brazen. Hydra Tongue's numbers and confidence exploded, and they have been making movements to increase their strength even further. Recruiting in the shadows, robbing merchants and the government, and worse, searching for magical artifacts of power. Any strong magical item the guild could get their hands on they have been aiming for, in order to gain any kind of advantage. The government has caught onto the pattern and is moving to take preventative measures, but Hydra Tongue has proven ever resourceful and some operations have ended in disaster.

Fearing potential attacks on Government artifact vaults, more and more plans are being made to combat this. Sapphire Falcon guild, finally ready for action, will be called upon for their much needed assistance.

Oak Town and its Countryside

Oak Town is located in the North East of Fiore, alongside the river that acts as the border between Fiore and Seven. While close to the Northern shore, it resides a ways south from it. The climate is temperate, if a little bit on the cold side due to the vicinity of the water and the shading from the surrounding forests. Those surrounding forests are accompanied by many hills, making the area mountainous without the peaks going very high up. There are plenty of cliffs in the wilderness, and those who travel the area have learned to go with a reasonable amount of caution.

The city itself is a Gothic Marvel. Every building made of well-sculpted concrete and forming a castle town. Even the poorer folks find that their smaller homes are quite sturdy. With Military history in the town, there are multiple battlement defenses surrounding it. Including ballistas, magic turrets, and some soldier garrisons for the Fiore government. This somewhat transfers to the populace as well, with many people being on the more stern and hardy side. While that is the case with some, many other kinds of people live there too, the architecture being quite the draw for all sorts. Artists have plenty of inspiration, and musicians have found that the castle walls echo their tunes wonderfully down the streets.

Recent Events

Reunion and Day of Remembrance

After the dust had settled, the remaining members of the Hornets and Falcons did all that they could to find each other. And in many cases, recover bodies. Siegfried's messaging magic only went one way. He could speak and be heard, but no one would be able to respond. The message to regroup could only help those who were uninjured enough to go there. For near two weeks much effort was spent on finding the guild members, whatever their situation. And at the ruin, the guild's new home, those lost were laid to rest and buried.

Every lost soul brought back was a joyous reunion, and every confirmed loss another cause to mourn. Finally it the majority of members in total had been found in one way or another, and the Guild Masters held a collective Memorial service for the fallen. There were no rivalries or competitive attitudes on that day. Everyone from both guilds stood together in mourning. For some, the amount lost simply proved too much, and the guild lost some more members as they left to find their own new paths. For those that stayed, even many of the most antagonistic rivals found at least one small measure of common ground. One day of understanding.

Growing more heads

Hydra Tongue's strength was near cut in half after their attack on the guardian guilds. As successful as their attack was, they knew that there would be many losses in the process. The amount that was lost was a bit more than desired, but ultimately acceptable, and could easily be recovered from.
Even more easily than originally thought. Word of Hydra's victory slithered throughout the underworld with great swiftness, and villains left and right wanted to join. Many who'd previously refused to join now had confidence that the guild could actually get results, and no longer hesitated to join in.
Entire Dark Guilds came into the fold, giving up some autonomy in exchange for further strength and growing wealth. The lost heads from battle truly gave new bases to grow far more.

The only question then was, "What next?". Hydra Tongue formed with the main goal of removing the Hornets and Falcons, and they'd largely succeeded. All of the new recruits were expecting a grand new mission to rally behind. Something potentially crazy like resurrecting Zeref would likely chase away most of them. At the question, a man who was recognized as a clear voice in the faction, if not the unofficial leader, Facetaker, brought forth a continuation of the initial goal that had brought them together in the first place. All Light Guilds were problems. Powerful Government contracted adventurers encouraged to be a nuisance for those who scoffed at the law.
A goal that would benefit every member of Hydra, no matter their personal goals and projects. The eradication of resistance, of all Light Guilds, and potentially the Government itself.

Then and there, the underworld quietly declared war on anything in its way. Rather than just hiding and hoping not to be noticed, hoping that stolen money wouldn't be found, they would get rid of those who hunted for it. For that, they needed power, and every Tongue had their own ways to go about getting it. Acquiring and creating magic artifacts, stealing wealth, assassinating uncooperative politicians and planting in puppets. Hydra's mission was now to grow its heads everywhere and swallow the world above it.

Current Events

Gold Rush!

A local mining guild has discovered a new vein with many different materials in it and is taking all workers who would come in and help everyone get rich.

Iron Chef

Blippy Maloroy is the proud owner of the Many Hands Cafe restaurant and Culinary arts guild. On a recurring cycle Blippy runs a Chef's tournament, where Chefs go in and work their own menu and prices for one day in his establishment, and whoever makes the least money loses the round. Rounds keep cycling until only one chef remains as the champion and gets a prize.

Anyone is allowed to enter so long as they impress him with a dish and teach him how to make it. He is known for absolutely adoring all things food and therefore impressing him is not exactly difficult. The signups for the new batch of competing chefs is about to begin!

New Princess

Recently the King of Fiore has become a father of a baby girl. The Royal Palace has been full of even more activity than usual ever since, as the king and his queen become used to being parents, and all of the matters of a royal child being born come up. The happy news has been spread throughout all of Fiore.

Job board

S Rank

Highly Dangerous missions that require at least one S-Rank mage. Lower ranked guild members are allowed to be invited by the S-Ranks if desired. All S-Rank Missions are told to the S-Rank Mages by the Guild Masters rather than publicly displayed on the Job Board.

Guarding the Arc
The Fiore government is quietly removing multiple dangerous artifacts from a magical item vault. The aim is to bring them to another location to be securely disposed of. Extra assistance from Sapphire Falcon is requested in case of emergency.

Dragon Sighting
In one of the nearby mountains a citizen claims to have seen a dragon. The details in his story lean towards his words being credible. He has been monetarily encouraged to not spread rumors about it, while it is requested that Sapphire Falcon find the dragon and get a gauge on its temperament. If it is hostile, eliminate it.

A and B

Missions that are dangerous and will likely involve combat. Or require very skilled work. Recommended for more experienced mages.

Hostage Negotiations
A nobleman's young son was kidnapped by a group of ruffians. They demanded a ransom in trade for the boy. The parents swiftly paid the agreed upon price, but the bandits instead demanded more money instead of releasing their child. Fearing for his safety (and not their coffers), they have requested assistance from mages powerful enough to deal with the criminals and return their son.

Hitting the Hitman
Merchants of various levels of wealth and trades have been being assassinated or assaulted throughout Oak Town. The government is having trouble finding whoever is responsible, and is requesting assistance from Sapphire Falcon.

Witch's Energy
A local witch and healer, Karla, that lives on the outskirts of town needs mages with large reserves of Magic Power to help imbue her new cauldron. Safe work, but does require skilled mages for the job.

D and C

Missions that are unlikely to have any significant threats. Regular jobs.

Homemaking
There are still many unexplored areas in the Guild ruins. Please go clear them out and clean them to make it so every area in the structure is useable.

Witch's Brews
Karla the witch also has some less skilled work. She has a list of reagents and ingredients for potions and liquor to be gathered. Any help would be appreciated.

Not Wild Beasts
A traveling circus met with unfortunate disaster while traveling to Oak Town. A snake spooked one of the leopard elephants that flailed around and caused a panic among the rest of the animals. Many of the beasts ran off into the mountains and forests and are yet to be recovered. Assistance would be much welcomed.

RP Specific Lore

This will be where changes to canon lore will be, along with specific events that pertain to the story.

Dragons and their children

The history of Dragons and the war with them, along with the appearance of Acnologia follow the canon events with a key difference. Not all of the dragons were killed, nor have they been gone for 400 years.

Instead, a small amount of dragons across the land have survived, being reclusive entities that occasionally are discovered, only for them to go into hiding again. They do not wish to be found by the 'Dragon King' who seeks their death, nor by any 'brave adventurers' seeking glory or Lacrima created from their hearts.

Despite this reclusiveness, some dragons have adopted humans for one reason or another, and taught them their Dragon Magic. Eventually this usually ends in the Dragon one day disappearing. Usually without a word, but sometimes the day before giving hints at goodbye. No Dragon Slayer has been able to learn where their Dragons have gone.

Update List

Meaningful changes/additions to the frontpage go here.

[DoomFlavored]

Facetaker

The stone halls echoed with each step as the man in red and another in a tailored suit walked deeper into the well-maintained crypt, the walls lined with coffins decorated in polished wood, stone, and sometimes even gemstones for the particularly wealthy ones who rested. In the deepest room of the crypt they came to a large stone table that looked significant, but what it would have been built for wasn't clear. Right past the table the man in the suit strode, up to a coffin in the corner. "This is the one, Sir." He told the other in a polite, businesslike manner. "Good. Bring it here." Without even a hint of difficulty, the man in the suit pulled the coffin from its place in the wall and carried it to the table, as if it were simply an empty cardboard box. Yet when he set it down the weight was clearly there as the thud echoed through the halls.

Without needing to be told, the suited fellow opened the coffin to reveal a body that immediately started thrashing and screaming, a cloth that had previously been put around his mouth having been shifted down to his chin. "Let me go!! I am a member of the royal guard! Help!! HEEEELP!!!" His screams turned to coughing and sputtering after the masked man in red slammed his fist down into his chest. "Be quiet... It's annoying. Besides, you're under ground with the entrance to this place sealed. No one will hear you but us." The Mask dragged him out of the coffin and onto the table, and as the man caught his breath his eyes had a look of defeat for a moment, but then turned to resolved steel.
"Then... Listen well. No matter what you do to me, I won't talk! Whatever it is you want, you will get nothing."

The guard flinched as a hand went towards him, but no pain came as it was gently placed upon his shoulder. "Don't worry... You don't need to tell me anything." After a moment, the masked man suddenly seemed to lose consciousness. His body slumped and nearly crumpled to the floor, were it not for his partner in the suit gently catching him. Gently he carried him over to the other side of the table and placed him inside the coffin, putting the lid back on and then putting it back into its place in the wall. Just after, he moved over to the guard and began undoing his restrains, the ropes that had bound his wrists and ankles being removed.

"Sergio this is... Stupendous. This may be the best find yet! Fetch me a set of clothes, I must return to the guild." "Congratulations Sir. What did you discover?" The Royal Guard smiled at Sergio as he stood up from the stone table, rubbing his chest where he'd been hit earlier. "I'll tell you on the way, we must hurry."

Some time later, in the same outfit as before, the masked man in red strode into the hall of Hydra Tongue, a surprisingly comforting hall for a Dark Guild. Their wealth fully on display with a full bar and restaurant being available, and a stage with musicians entertaining the members. He walked right up onto the stage itself, and immediately the musicians found a way to 'naturally' end their song early and stayed silent. With a gleeful look in his eyes, he spoke to the guild in a voice higher than they were used to. Along with his form being shorter. It was clear he had borrowed another one. "My friends! I have made the most wonderful discovery." A moment's pause was given as he built the suspense, letting it hang before he continued."The government is afraid of us breaking into one of their precious vaults, so they are doing a sneaky operation to move some of the artifacts to their destruction facility. I've even discovered what two of the items are..." Again he paused, increasing the tension in the air. "Two... Control rods. One for the heavens, and one for the abyss. Apparently one can control Celestial Spirits, while the other binds Devils to its will! What fun we could have with those... Whoever wants to go claim them, here is where they will be..."