Awaken the Stars Song

Chapter 1

A/N: 'single apostrophes bracket thoughts.' I noticed that Wattpad does not like to allow formatting when I try to copy and paste, or upload a chapter.  Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail characters or places. I only own the original characters I toss into the mix to create havoc for the cannon characters. This story is also found at Fanfiction.net under my writing screen name of kurahieiritr JIO. Warning to everyone that uses apps on hand helds; I only write novels so those who dislike long chapters to read probably won't appreciate my chapter lengths. Also be advised that this is an alternate Universe story.

Chapter 1: Present time
   
    Staring at the glistening white wood tree rapidly growing in the center of the magma river flowing around his home needled Igneel’s pride. ‘Sertatsie’s so damned demanding and impossible! None of us are capable of creating such living testaments to the ancient, one magic. Such magic was lost close to five millennia ago. Now she’s trying to order all us around as if she has the right because of her One magic knowledge! The knowledge was lost when almost all of the magical races became extinct. Only the most ancient dragons believed this kind of power and knowledge ever existed before she contacted us.’
    Smoke curled around his snout as Igneel continued to glare at the offensive tree that mocked him. He sought to distract his reeling mind from all that he had learned over the last day and a half of constant mental communication with the whole dragon race. He was too tired to continue listening to the bickering. His mind shied from the prophesies and conclusions. Igneel wanted to retreat to think after he ate and rested a bit. His mind wandered from the main debate as his eyes hung upon the image of the magically created tree that kept offending his sense of rightness.
    ‘Trees aren’t meant to grow and thrive in rivers of lava without some type of barrier magic. Still, her blasted tree doesn’t have any barrier around it, and it’s growing at an impossible speed right in front of all our mind spheres. We all see this happening, and unless I find the way to stop this panic, the Ancient Guardian Queen is going to be collectively attacked by the anti human faction once they find her. We have no choice but accept that the ancient Creation Queen has awoken from her timeless sleep as prophesy said she would. Now that we know the truth, we have to do whatever is needed to keep the prison inviolate.’
    Sertatsie had proven herself to be the real Creation Dragon by creating impossible life forms that were verified by multiple dragons. As if the shock of her sudden mental appearance was not stressful enough, she had launched into a brutal, emergency meeting of the last one hundred dragons alive as if she still ruled them. Her power had flared through one hundred mind orbs simultaneously to unleash impossible things for each of them to touch and study within their own territories.
    Each shimmering orb glowing before Igneel was another dragon’s thoughts. All of their remaining race had gotten the summons that had fallen into a disastrous gridlock because Sertatsie was simply overwhelming them all with fast paced explanations and horrifying memories of the past that none of them could fully grasp. Igneel only had created a single orb to link into the old female before she took over and linked him to all the other dragons, without his permission. Still, he knew everyone else saw his orb which he had only actively sent to Sertatsie’s location. Of all Sertatsie’s long distance creations, the tree in his front yard most flabbergasted them all as they shared images of his demanded  confirmation of her authenticity.
    Sertatsie had made her case, and shared memories to try to get them to cooperate. All pretense of dragon unity had collapsed the moment it became knowledge that humans were the living locks and chains that fed the seal upon the unspeakable evil trying to return. Human life force had kept the vile evil trapped for almost five thousand years, before any living dragon in this meeting was born. Nothing in Sertatsie’s arguments could sway the anti human faction once that part of ancient history came to light. Human hating dragons were too stubborn for their own good the Fire Dragon King decided with a fiery snort.
    Igneel glared at the respectable collection of orbs floating before him as his tail tip lashed the innocent ground. Fear had taken control of many of their number, leading to constant bickering and insults hurled between the two dragon factions. Despite Sertatsie being the only dragon to survive multiple millennia, the anti human dragons continued to argue against having anything to do with human locks and chains that kept an unimaginably destructive sentience trapped inside a pocket dimension. They were coming up with every excuse imaginable to deny that there was a serious crisis developing under their collective noses. To Igneel, they were no better than fresh hatchlings in need of being tail thumped until they behaved in an acceptably mature fashion.
    Granted, the ancient female had not communicated with anyone since Igneel’s great, great Grand Dam, and Sire’s births, at least two thousand years before he was even an egg. Even he felt she had a lot of nerve to suddenly show up and make demands after ignoring her own species for thousands of years. The Dragon Lore had proclaimed that she would only awaken from a Fairy induced magical slumber when the world was facing complete annihilation. All dragons knew their most ancient Queen would only return in an extreme emergency from the time they were hatchlings. However, hearing the actual legend’s voice was unsettling to say the least.
    Witnessing her insane power was frightening. None of them wanted to accept that she was real and bringing bad news of this kind either.  Only one hundred dragons still existed, scattered to the farthest reaches of the world to avoid human hunters. To Igneel’s thinking, any attempt to stop the crisis she described was not only impossible, it was tantamount to hurtling headlong into suicide if her descriptions and memories of the Abyss Lord of antiquity were even remotely true. They lacked numbers needed for such a fight. Many of the remaining dragons were too old to have enough stamina to even contribute much to such a ferocious war.
    One thing was clear, their first queen’s wings, and left front leg were completely destroyed, her other fore leg damaged to the point she could not walk. Her body sported many semi fresh looking wounds that reeked of a wrongness the likes none of them had ever encountered. The evil power infecting her body was obviously dampened considerably as images flowed through her mental power orbs. Such balls of power currently linked all of the dragon race’s minds as one. She said the injuries came from the very monster she demanded that her many times removed grand children stop without fail. Unimaginable power was trying to awaken, and if Sertatsie’s still seeping wounds were any indicator, it was easy to understand how all the once plentiful magical, and immortal, races got butchered in a matter of days during their all out war to stop the Immortal Destroyer.
    Out of the millions of beings who once lived, breathed, and hurled magic like water, only the smallest numbers, the youngest magical children, had survived the prison’s creation. Harder to believe was the role that humans had in the creation and maintenance of the prison. Now, everyone was struggling to handle news that the prison was about to be broken by the evil powers that existed within their world. Tempers were frayed, and dragons were never very logical during a panic.
    According to Sertatsie, the last ancient children had done what they could to rebuild everything destroyed by a being rumored to have no solid body. The only good news was that some fighters had survived the war, and had entered enchanted, time suspended sleep before their kind became truly extinct. Those warriors vowed to prevent the return of the Abyss Lord after strengthening the Web of Life as best they could. Humans and dragons had been exempted from timeless sleep as they alone had fast enough reproductive abilities to safeguard the prison dimension’s chains and locks, the Star Singers who had vanished several hundred years ago thanks to Zeref’s meddling.
    With the last handful of Fairy children, and other races immanent return at hand, a desperate last stand might be possible, but remained iffy. An energy being with intelligence was hell bent on destruction. From hat Sertatsie showed them, it seemed hard wired to return all creation to a state of nothingness to Igneel’s thinking. Such a menace was the last thing a hundred dragons, and a few dozen ancient immortals could stop without serious cooperation with all life, including the plentiful human mages.
    Frustrated as he returned his attention to the snarling babble surrounding him, Igneel roared at the collective orbs drifting in his small clearing. “I am well aware that to prevent a second dragon war we all agreed to keep our snouts out of human affairs! None of us have interfered with humanity unless it was to break Acnologia as per our agreement. However, this is a crisis situation and not a human affair even if Star Singers are only born among humans. We must work together to prevent the Abyss Lord from getting loose a second time! We can’t . . .”
    “. . . Nothing you say proves that the Abyss Lord’s prison will open any time soon, Ancient one. And you have no right to add your tainted, human loving opinions right now, Igneel.” Motherglare’s sphere interjected.
    Sertatsie’s voice thrummed with a steady pulse of power. “The truth is what it is no matter your desire to hide, little Mother. Celestial Magic has been sealed by the Dark powers with the exception of the Star Singers as the Fairy Queen warned would happen. I know all of you were warned by your elders that this would happen once the majority of Star Singer blood lines were killed off by the puppet of the Abyss Lord. Each generation was told the World’s End prophesy that the Fairy High Queen proclaimed with her dying breath for a reason. Only the Star Singer bloodlines can still use the power you call Celestial magic because the astral chain links to the prison were not broken. Of the few remaining Star Singers, only two hold the Original Sacrificial Keys as far as we can determine. The Celestial Spirits who were once human remain instrumental in sealing the Abyss Lord’s destruction away. They selflessly destroyed their bodies and souls in their star power to give all of us the means to complete the light cage they created. Now their already taxed powers are the Star Singers last defense against dark mages since their existence has become a beacon. The mortal Singers’ deaths will throw open the prison door. What part of this do you not understand?”
    “Humans are nothing like you have described them, Ancient Queen. They are mean spirited and destructive pests that need to be put in their place! They don’t deserve anything from us, especially our protection. The Celestial Spirits are an entirely different matter. I’m certain we can all agree they deserve any aide we dragons can give them since they no longer qualify as humans.” A male dragon snarled.
    “Celestial Spirits are very altered humans who were instrumental in sealing away the Abyss Lord’s prison according to you, Ancient Queen. Is this correct?” Igneel recognized his son’s voice as Rhodonite questioned the Eldest Queen.
    From his first clutch with Grandeeney, their eleventh son had earned his reputation for his obsession with gaining knowledge. The prime aged male had no fear of seeking knowledge from any place possible. At least one of Igneel’s elder children would seek a solution considering how much knowledge Rhodonite had amassed over the last three hundred and sixty years.
    “Correct. It took the last of our combined power, mixed with their raw star force under the Phoenix’ guidance to create the  pocket dimension. We split the dimension into two sections, the actual prison, and the Celestial Spirits new home realm. We were trying to give added security to those who agreed to be enslaved for all eternity as the guardians of the prison by merging their sentience into their constellations to keep the power flowing.”
    “If the Celestial Spirits are still remotely humans, then they can rot for all I care. Humans are a plague on this world’s body that should be exterminated.” Another male snarled.
    “How dare you disrespect the humans who were willing to throw away their bodies, and existence to insure that new generations would live?! Only Star Singer blood can maintain the prison of light that prevents the Abyss Lord from gaining access to any realm and killing all life. The Star Singers cannot harness their real power because it’s almost fully trapped in maintaining the pocket dimension’s Sixteen Temple Seals. The human locks can only tap leftover magic for their defense if they are attacked. If these remaining humans become extinct, all life will cease to exist, everywhere among the stars, starting with Earthland!”
    Scissor Runner’s globe pulsed, displeasure dripping from his tone. “The humans have their precious Magic Guilds with abominations to protect their Star Singers. Let them sort out their own mess since the ones trying to open the prison are also human. I say we do no more than make the worthless pests aware of the situation they’ve all created. Or perhaps you wish us to destroy the fools among us who adore humans so much that they created abominations in the first place? Since you insist that we break our agreement to leave humans alone unless Acnologia is involved . . . should we also assume you likewise are a blind, senile fool, and human lover, Oh Ancient Queen?”
    “Threats mean nothing to me you arrogant fledgling. Crippled as I am, I’m anything but defenseless. Come, and let us settle your little Alpha attitude. Your faction will learn how dangerous it is to provoke me once you die.”
    “Scissor Runner makes a valid point, Ancient Queen. Humans have been doing all in their collective power to send the last of us into extinction like the other races. It is difficult to believe in them after having to fight for our very survival over the centuries.” A female voice entered the debate.
    A resigned snort filled the tense air. Sertatsie answered the younger female’s comment after several moments of silence. “We are well aware that the Abyss Lord has gained control of numerous humans over the millenniums. However, that said, none of you are willing to understand that they are the Abyss Lord’s puppets, not random humans, that have caused the problems you’ve endured.”
    “So humans get a free pass to attack and slaughter our hatchlings and fledglings because you’ve decided to excuse them without fail? Do you believe that excuse is any way to prove yourself one of us, Ancient Queen?”
    Igneel’s tail whipped ever faster as he tried to contain his rage. Sertatsie was by far be the oldest among them, yet Scissor Runner’s condescending tone made his fangs ache to rip his old opponent’s throat out. Igneel detested the constant disrespect shown their first queen, even if he also found her somewhat irritating. Sertatsie’s legendary wisdom had again failed to gain any concessions from the anti human faction.
    Grandeeney’s orb flared as she spoke her mind. “Of all the magical races who once ruled this world, we dragons alone retain a viable breeding number. However, our current numbers are too few to stop the Abyss Lord if we fail to protect the last Star Singers. This world will be destroyed unless everyone stops sulking! At least some of us had the fore thought to teach human children enough of our magic to help protect the remnant Singers!”
    Igneel was fed up with this endless circle of bickering. “Enough! We cannot ignore the Fairy Prophesy which seems to be coming true.” He growled deep in his chest before continuing, “We’ll tell the humans of the prophesy, and make it clear that the last remaining Celestial Mages are the Star Singers. Once they know that the Singers are the living locks, I’m certain the human guilds will protect them at all costs. From there, we will wait to see how well the humans handle things. We will only interfere if the Light guilds cannot stop their dark mages from jeopardizing the sixteen prison seals. Is that an acceptable compromise?”
    Atlas Flame’s reddish gold sphere flared. “What about Natsu, and the other dragon children? Are we to forsake all the human sons and daughters who adore us as their family just to avoid fighting among ourselves, Igneel?”
    “I can only offer such a compromise because I believe in my adopted son’s strength and determination to protect all life. Natsu’s the reason that you’re alive today as I recall. Because he changed your mind about humans, you were in hiding during Acnologia’s final rampage. I choose to believe in all my allies children also. They each have the pride and determination of us dragons. They’ll successfully protect all the Star Singers once they locate them.” Igneel answered.
    Skiadrum’s blackish blue sphere pulsed. “Rogue thinks he killed me as per my command, so I dare not contact him. Yet, through touching his mind, I’ve noticed that there are strange new dragon slayers that the humans are creating without us. They weren’t created through direct contact, and training. It seems humans can use dragon power trapped in gems implanted within their bodies. Even Rogue has accepted such a gem into his body to increase his magic strength. Perhaps we who have human children should create more such gems for our children to increase their power?”
    Another darker orb pulsed with harsh wheezing draconic laughter. “I was pulled through that time gate to face your wimpy little slayer, Skiadrum. None of your little abominations, including those who have gem implants, are capable of protecting the Star Singers. We should gather the important enough little pests up, and scatter them in isolated locations across this world to preserve the sixteen seals by ourselves.”
    Atlas snorted with heavy contempt. “Funny that you brought that up, Dark Dagastolia. Considering I was there, I know first hand what my nephew can do when angry enough. He damaged Motherglare’s hide, and even knocked her out after I got him airborne so he could fight that half trained excuse of a Dragon Master that Motherglare was fawning over. So much for her human hating if you ask me.”
    “For your information I never stopped hating humans. If anything I hate them far more than before thanks to being ensorcelled by that Dragon Master. I lost half of my children because of those bloody humans also!”
    “Well, had you not attacked the humans, Natsu would never have pounded your scales into powder. He still loves us, and it made him very unhappy to fight us. At least I know Natsu proved his strength beyond doubt to you, Motherglare. Do you really think he would fail to protect any Star Singer in his care after having faced off with him?” Atlas demanded.
    “I fear that Igneel’s brat will be transformed sooner instead of later. Placing a Star Singer in his care could well lead young Natsu down the pathway that destroys any hold he has upon his power and sanity.” Motherglare snarled.
    The long silent rock dragon spoke in a thoughtful tone. “Zirconis admitted right after our return to our correct time that the pair of half trained slayers he faced did enough damage to make them a serious problem if they ever master our magic. If the current Dragon Slayers, including the false ones, received advanced training from any of us, they could very well prevent the Abyss Lord from getting free by being a force capable of stopping the Abyss Lord’s puppets. Isn’t that the goal we can all agree upon, if nothing else?”
    “Wonderful. Now you fools want us to help create a small army of Acnologias while we’re at it!” Dark dragon Dagastolia’s orb crackled.
    “My dear nephew would never act like Acnologia. Natsu isn’t weak willed, or easily corrupted like that fool was when he was still a human. Igneel chose well when he chose to raise Natsu, and I won’t tolerate you insulting our young fire slayer.” Atlas roared as flames shot out of his orb. “If anything, Natsu would make a wonderful edition to dragon kind if the power ever does force the transformation.”
    Sertatsie’s orb flared with such blinding light that all the orbs were lost in rainbow hued brilliance. “Silence, whelps! I dare say the lot of you are scarce worth my time! If this is how you wish to act, so be it! I’ll awaken the rest of the Elysian Guard to do what must be done. The new dragon kind cannot find the courage to set aside petty bickering for the greater good so it shall fall to those of us who have real courage it seems. Besides, if this ongoing argument is only due to some crackbrained fear of the humans transforming into dragons, I have sleeping Fairy companions who can easily prevent that outcome!”
    Soft murmurs gained volume as the brilliance eased, allowing communication between the arguing factions to resume. “How can your Fairy companions stop the transformation, Ancient Queen?” A quieter female asked before Igneel had a chance.
    “So, you have even forgotten the Fairy race’s most basic powers it seems. I’ll have to explain so you can understand. I’m quite certain that it is possible to use Fairy Soul Binding on powerful Dragon Slayers. Soul Binding can be done between them and someone who has their complimentary magic frequency, perhaps even a Star Singer. Fairies have always soul bonded their mates to bear children. In fact, they have bonded every race, including select humans during their reign in this world. Half bloods like She Wolf were fairly common before the Abyss Lord. Many Bane Warrior survivors can use ancient Fairy magic and know precisely how to bind souls to insure that no such transformations can happen to your Dragon Slayers.”
    “We learned the lore claiming that high born fairies used powerful magical bonding so they could have children, Sertatsie. Still, I fail to see how your idea can prevent a Dragon Slayer from falling victim to their own power going berserk and transforming them if they ever lose control.” Igneel grumbled at the ancient’s sphere.
    “Soul Binding would prevent the dragon power from transforming the Slayer’s body because the of instinctive power balancing that happens. If a Star Singer were compatible all the better because the berserk power would be drained to maintain the Abyss Lord’s prison. In fact I insist on seeing if Star Singers are compatible first because Soul Binding can be set up to automatically bleed off such power before it can manifest as physical changes. The Soul bond automatically shifts and balances power to strengthen the one who most needs the influx. Star Singers are trapped in a constant, instinctive battle to maintain their specific astral chain even if they don’t know they have one. Furthermore, soul binding should insure a new generation of much stronger Star Singers getting born. Never forget that the Star Singers have always been human. The few left must be saved, yet kept among humans if only because their deaths, especially without offspring, guarantees the Abyss Lord’s freedom.”
     Metalicana broke his silence. “Do our children have any say in whom they will be magically soul bound to in this scheme of yours, Sertatsie?”
    “Only if the Star Singer has a compatible power frequency to their own can such a binding to take place. At this time, I don’t know the condition of any of the Star Singers so cannot get to them. I’ll have Nadhasti open a gate to send me to their location once one of you youngsters find the Singers for me. We know the two strongest have the Sacrificial keys. Find them first, and call me. From there, my allies can determine their soul song frequencies, and match up power and soul frequencies between Slayers and Singers, or other magic users who compliment them. Unless it involves an extreme emergency, I will gladly insure your Slayers have a choice of accepting or rejecting any compatible Soul Bond once they know the importance of such a measure.”
    Metalicana snorted in disgust. “Why do I have the feeling that this plan of yours is going to go very wrong, Sertatsie?”
    Igneel agreed with the taciturn, and often self absorbed iron dragon but held his tongue. “So which of us is going to the Fairy Tail Guild? Three of us have children residing there so it is the logical place to hand over information to humanity.”
    Metalicana startled him. “I’ll do it. I’m the closest to Magnolia City.”
    Grandeeney chuckled. “Have a nice reunion with your son. Please tell my darling Wendy that I think of her often.”
    “What’s in it for me, Grandeeney?”
    “Whatever do you desire that I possess, Metalicana?”
    “Good question. Let me think about it, and get back to you.”
    “Of course. I’ll be waiting.”
    “I suppose you have some sappy message for that brat of yours also, Igneel.” Metalicana grumbled.
    “No. Natsu hears me whenever I choose to mind speak with him. Since you will be visiting your son, please have them inform any other Dragon Slayers of the situation while you are there. It would be most efficient if we can collect all the Slayers and Singers in one location at this point. Having to repeat ourselves a few dozen times will only wear on all of our nerves, plus waste valuable time.”
    Another torrent of muttering and growling filed the air surrounding Igneel. It was obvious that the others found his comment about mind speaking with Natsu unsettling. Although it was a rare human that could hear their dragon parent’s thoughts long distance, Igneel’s bond with Natsu had remained strong enough in the lad’s heart for him to stay in touch. It was yet another thing that set his adopted son apart from the other children. Natsu’s pure heart and powerful instincts made him much more dragon than the other Slayers. Igneel could only hope that the female he might be bound to if Sertatsie got her way was the one he had sensed that Natsu’s heart adored.    
    “Hrumph, fine. I’m sure my brat can manage that much. I’m off to warn the humans about this mess before the Star Singers get killed.” The metallic hued ball vanished.
    “Seems we must have a temporary truce with the humans until this crisis is behind us.” Motherglare spoke into the stillness.
    “Regrettable, but it may become necessary if certain dragons’ stupid abominations screw up. We cannot lose the Star Singers to dark mage hands at this point.”  
    Igneel mentally chuckled at the depressed anti human faction leader’s voice. Scissor Runner would never change his mind without being coerced by very extreme situations. All of them knew that this was such an extreme. Orbs winked out one after the next as Igneel withdrew his own thought projection from Sertatsie’s control. They had managed a tentative consensus. It was enough for the moment.
    The Fire King stretched his wings, and body after crouching for so long focused upon projecting his thoughts. Igneel built a mental picture of his adopted son, but found he could not keep the mental image clear enough to alert his Slayer of Metalicana’s impending visit. Too much of the dragon’s magic was expended during the long conference.
    A meal and nap were in order Igneel decided. Leaping into the air with a snap of massive wings, the red dragon sheered to the left and caught several hot updrafts rising from the lava streams below. The forest at the foot of his high range plateau would supply the meat he needed to sate his hunger. Aware of numerous caverns along this particular volcanic chain, Igneel decided to begin his journey after he took a replenishing nap.
    Swooping down upon a herd of giant, long haired oxen that had wandered to the river for a drink, Igneel chose a large bull for his meal. Wheeling in the sky above the panicking herd, Igneel lengthened out his hind legs, talons extending, wings tucked tight against his hide. Whipping his body around, Igneel struck hard and fast, claws sinking into the thick hide of the bull’s neck and back as his body flashed past. With a hard clenching of his claws, and a hard series of wing beats to regain altitude, Igneel felt the animal’s spine shatter. A clean kill was always best. It prevented the meat from souring from the animal’s struggles from fear. Satisfied with his hunt, the fire dragon climbed higher and soared to a cliff that would accommodate his size, and settled in to eat.
    As he tore strips of meat from the carcass, his mind considered the future. ‘Perhaps Natsu can change more of the anti human faction’s collective opinion about humans as this crisis gets resolved. He’s nothing like Acnologia. It’s unfortunate that Acnologia has taught Scissor Runner, and the rest of the anti human faction such a deep hatred of humans. Acnologia alone should have to answer for their blind hatred.’ 
    Scissor Runner was among the few dragons with a hotter temper than himself, and Igneel knew it. The agony of losing his first mate and their clutch before it hatched had robbed Scissor Runner of his sanity for almost two hundred years. Only after their hatchlings left the nest did the mind merge of the dragon parents soften, and release the mated pair to continue with their preferred solitary lives. 
    Igneel could not fault the other male for resenting Dragon Slayers after Acnologia killed his mate and defenseless eggs. Brooding mothers would never abandon their unborn as their instincts were overwhelming during the clutching stage. Males brought food and comfort to their brooding mates, and protected their territory from unwelcome interlopers until their hatchlings were capable of flight. Once flight was achieved, the mated pair began to lose the strong mental connection. The connection weakened steadily as the young got closer to seeking their own territories.
    No Dragon Slayer had ever broken the iron clad law to leave all brooding females and clutches alone, with the exception of Acnologia. Although he had beaten the fool’s draconic form into a bloody mess several months before, Igneel had not killed the transformed dragon at the time of his victory. He had realized that the transformed Slayer was as much a victim of the Dragon Wars as Scissor Runner. He had seen too much of the crazed memories trapped in Acnologia’s mind during their fierce aerial battle.
    Out of control power created by the burning rage over feeling his own brooding human mate’s death had driven Acnologia as insane as Scissor Runner was once temporarily driven. One of their number had first broken the unbreakable law to never attack a mated, brooding female. In retaliation Acnologia began to systematically hunt down brooding females and clutches. Unlike Scissor Runner, who was able to recover once the breeding cycle ended, it seemed as if Acnologia had never gained relief from the twisting emptiness and unbearable loss. It made Igneel wonder about the price all humans infused with dragon magic possibly paid without their dragon parents knowledge.
    The biggest difference between humans who used dragon magic, and true dragons was the seeming inability of the humans to have different mates throughout their lives. True dragons sought mates roughly every two centuries. Once they raised their young, they parted ways. Some dragons even chose to mate with the same partner if they were unusually well matched in temperament. He had always gone to Grandeney’s territory when it was time to answer the mating call because she was best able to deal with his temper. They had produced two clutches and raised them together in true harmony.
    Unlike himself, Natsu probably only had enough time to accept one female before his life ended, unless he drew out too much power and transformed into a true dragon. Then again, humans also had a strange habit of going into heat every time their young got old enough to begin eating solid foods, or close to that point. Such ongoing breeding opened another possibility for why a single breeding cycle existed for the human slayers.
    Could the reason for a single life span mating cycle among human Dragon Slayers be due to the human tendency toward ongoing breeding before their young had the opportunity to become independent? Constant heat due to the lack of numbers for each hatching could explain everything about why the protective mental link did not disappear once a mate was chosen. If the Slayer was always locked into an ongoing cycle of raising various aged young, they never had the chance for their magic to erode the protection mechanism dragon magic created within them. The infused dragon power had never unlocked the human mind melding with a mate as far as any dragon had witnessed.
    However, if Acnologia was actually normal for all human Slayers, albeit transformed, Natsu would always remain locked into the single mating cycle, even if his human mate died before bearing any young. In such a case, avoiding a human mate was the only way for Natsu to protect himself from experiencing an unspeakable nightmare of a lifelong locked mating cycle without relief. 
    Worst of all, the dragon power did not seem to let go until death claimed the Slayer, no matter their physical form if Acnologia was a normal Slayer. If everything Igneel feared was true of all humans with dragon power, then Acnologia’s suffering would only end with his death. Still, Igneel felt he needed to keep the transformed Slayer alive in order to discover the real truth of the matter. If, in fact, it took the full span of the short human life to complete a single cycle of mated pairs, all their adopted humans could very well suffer the same grim fate as Acnologia. Igneel believed he owed it to all the humans who had been raised by himself and fellow dragons to unravel the mystery.
    Humans lived slightly longer than a century. Yet, Acnologia was almost four hundred years old, and had once been human. If Zeref’s corrupting power was removed from his body, would the long dormant link finally break, bringing the transformed dragon relief, and true sanity? Igneel felt that it was a worthy experiment to pursue if only for the other human Slayers’ long term welfare. However, finding the spell needed had been a problem he and Grandeeney had yet to overcome.
    Now, Igneel had to consider the potential problem of human mages creating artificial dragon slayers. With the new information, Igneel could not help but wonder how such humans were affected by dragon gem implants. Would they also be subject to the same problems of the mild mind meld to a single mate for their short lives? Or did the gems somehow lessen the mind meld that natural dragon energy created between mates? In the case of Skiadrum’s adopted son, did his implanted dragon gem break the Slayer out of a single lifelong mating cycle, or make the single cycle more pronounced? It would be worth asking the humans who Natsu valued most to look into the matter for dragon kind he decided.
    Tossing aside the last of the bones he had gnawed clean, Igneel dropped his head between his forelegs and closed his eyes. It was time to sleep and regain his full strength for the long flight ahead of him.
~~00O00~~