HISTORY -- reposted from about
Gildarts was born on the 17th of December X739 to Steafan and Màiri Clive, as a boy he lived in Desierto with his parents, who are both Mages, and for the most part had a pretty great childhood. It wasn't until his Magic started developing, around the same time that puberty hit at twelve, that Gildarts started having troubles as everyone thought he was purposely being a menace -- when in fact he just didn't have full control over his Magic. The damages he caused to the town he lived in, Pernrith, was substantial and as a result, his parents had to work harder to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Absolutely appalled by what he was putting his parents through, accidental or not, he ran away at the age of fourteen and made his way from country to country, as a result he learnt many languages and found that he genuinely just like travelling, his Magic was helpful sometimes when it came to taking on independent Mage Jobs. Eventually he found himself at the Bosco/Fiore border, absolutely starving he made his way to the closest town, which happened to be Clover, where he ran into Makarov at a guild masters meeting -- who was in his eighteenth year as guild master -- and he offered Gildarts a place to stay and some food before he took him home to Fairy Tail.
Fifteen years old and having just joined Fairy Tail he was in his element, it was the first time since he discovered his Magic that he could actively train it and learn some control all while getting paid for it. He never contacted his parents to let them know he was okay, he still believes that they were much better off without him, but he was learning to live on his own day by day and continued this way until he was seventeen.
That year, not long after his birthday in X756, he met Cornelia, she was only a few months younger and the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on. Of course, at seventeen he was a cocky teenager and she wouldn't have a bar of his relentless flirting, though she sure could give it back as just bad. Gildarts never gave up, though, he would do all kinds of ridiculous things over the course of two years until finally she gave in and said yes to going out on a date with him.
Surprisingly, to Cornelia, the date was a huge success and despite a few rough patches they were very happy together and dated for five years when, at the age of 24, Gildarts proposed. Very happily married not long after and Gildarts thought his life was perfect, he was a well respected Mage in Fairy Tail and back then wasn't so bad when it came to going on long jobs, he adored Cornelia more than life itself but it never could stop his need for a challenge.
It was in the year X765 when he kept pushing and pushing himself to his limits on jobs, each one getting longer and longer, that the troubles started arising. His Magic wasn't passive, it had to be used or it would build up too much and he'd start breaking, even more, things than usual and so every time his reserves were too high, he'd take a long job so he'd never inadvertently hurt his wife. It strained their marriage too much though and despite the fact they both loved each other, it simply wasn't working, which was when he left.
Devastated that he no longer had the person he loved with all his heart Gildarts buried himself in his work, he'd come back to Fairy Tail for maybe a week now and then before leaving on another year long journey, sometimes even decade-long ones. All the while he had no idea that Cornelia had been pregnant, no idea that Cana was, in fact, his daughter but he always did make sure to say hello to her because she reminded him of Cornelia so much he just had too, he never once thought she might have been his daughter though, he just thought he was making connections where there were none.
Then, in the year X781, he decided that he wasn't challenged enough and after the massive remodel of Magnolia just to accommodate him he thought it was time to take on a 100-year quest -- when Cana was 15 -- and left Magnolia. Only to return three years later after having faced Acnologia, and therefore failed his job, resulting in Gildarts losing his left arm, leg and an organ.
