#dragon slaying

[from-a-spiders-web]

"A knight, 'More of More Hall', kicking a dragon in its fundament."

Scene from the ballad The Dragon of Wantley, ca. 1744 Etching by John June

[sterlinggeedoodles]

10. Sweep

[davidgahan]

Dragon Slaying!

A symbol of bravery and strenght and control of monsters! Poor dragons tho they were probably just chilling

[etherialrosie]

I was Wrong about Wendy Marvell

I used to say for years and years that when Wendy and Carla joined Fairy Tail is when the series as a whole began to go downhill. In retrospective, it is when the show had begun to change its course in a way that I did not understand at the time. A more mature series was going to emerge and that was something I was not ready for.

While I dislike Carla still and find her character a little less than irritating, I have to say for many years I was wrong about Wendy Marvell. Wendy to me was the connection between the series going downhill in my eyes and I couldn't look past that. Now I know that she is probably one of the best developed characters in the show.

This will definitely be long fair warning and I will without a doubt bring up 100 Year Quest. I just cannot speak about her character without bringing it up. I mean I could, but I would feel like this is incomplete. Please keep reading though if you care to. If you dislike Wendy or believe she is weak then I beg you to read this.

Wendy was a character I felt no attachment to despite watching Fairy Tail for the first time when I was around her age. I cannot tell you how I felt about the Oracion seis arc when I first watched it, but I can tell you it was mixed feelings. At some points I was excited that the series was going somewhere and we actually had a reason for the mention of dark guilds. Another part of me, however, was upset that the series I loved so much for its silliness was taking a turn for the darker side of things.

Carla's characte rI never could like. She was too bossy for me and her selfishness and outlook for only Wendy never sat right with me. However, Wendy... well I felt indifferent about her. I believe it only turned to dislike due to connecting her with when Fairy Tail changed so much. Even now, after putting aside my feelings for the change, I feel indifferent to Wendy first appearing.

Wendy begins as the weakest member of the alliance in the Oracion Seis arc, well besides Carla and Happy. She did bring the interesting concept of a female dragon slayer that was also a child. She helped greatly but due to her small size and strength she could only go so far.

On the other hand, Wendy's personality I always found to be sweet and I know now it makes so much sense for her. She was a girl that lost her parents, who she now doesn't remember, and then her dragon mother. She was a scared child left to fend for herself until Mystogan had found her. Then after he brought her to Cait Shelter, he left too. Honestly, it is no wonder why Wendy had so many emotional issues at the start and was hyper sensitive. By the age of 12 she had lost her parents, her adoptive mother, Mystogan, and Cait Shelter. We also learn that she had gotten separated from Anna Heartfilia and the boys so you can count that as a loss as well.

My thoughts are is that Wendy may have developed an idea of abandonment, which is why she is scared to mess up when she joined Fairy Tail and was apologetic. She was most likely nervous she would be kicked out if she wasn't strong enough and didn't prove herself, which set her off on a path to get stronger. Not to mention the idea of wanting to protect her friends.

By the Grand Magic Games you can see just how much Wendy develops. Sure she may have been struggling prior to that and wasn't too reliable on Tenrou Island, but by GMG she had grown so much. I'm sure by then the concept of Fairy Tail abandoning her had left her mind and after Edolas Carla was guaranteed to stay at her side.

Speaking of Edolas, side tangent here, poor Wendy had to watch her guild be taken away once again and then later learned that her own cat was supposed to be turning her into Edolas which would've led to her death. This poor girl has endured so much.

With Grand Magic Games, we see a new side of Wendy. That fragile girl is a bit more toughened up thanks to her "older siblings" aka Team Natsu. As soon as she is able to participate in the games once again, she does. She doesn't care who she has to fight if she can bring back smiles to her guildmate's faces after 7 years. It is during the GMG that we see her first interaction with Shelia, who becomes her best friend (and if you ship it then love interest). These two have such a dynamic that I love. Although they have to fight for a win for their team, the two compliment each other and act like...well... young girls. They don't need bickering about how their guild is naturally better. They don't need the blind insults thrown at each other despite not knowing one another. They just act like girls that just met and they just so happen to have to fight. This is also the first time we see Wendy fight someone that is meant to be on her level. Its not some strong mage from some dark guild or giant dragon, just another girl like her with rare magic.

Considering Wendy's main spells center around healing or status buffs, watching her go head to head with a god slayer is entertaining. Of course she does have the one weakness that she can only heal others while Shelia is able to heal herself, but she continues to push forward. This earns her a tie with the girl, which in Wendy's case is a big win.

This doesn't even delve into the fact that in the same arc we have seen Wendy summon a dragon from a weak life force left behind and help take on the dragons.

Wendy's arc really reaches its peak at Tartaros when her and Carla are up against Face. They have grown so much over the course of Oracion Seis that they are willing to give up their lives for the Fairy Tail guild to succeed in their job. Not to mention Wendy coming in full circle with her Dragon Force coming in at such a young age. You could argue she knew about Dragon Force and therefore knew something to work towards, but she transformed into Dragon Force and fought a Demon of Tartaros at just roughly 12-13!

She is continuing to grow in 100 Year Quest, which is something that I am enjoying the watch of. While there isn't much to the characters I enjoy anymore in that plot, seeing little Wendy mature with the help of Irene is nice to watch. Unfortunately with the departure of Irene we haven't gotten much out of Wendy afterwards.

This doesn't even mention the fact that Wendy has some of the best interactions with characters due to her age. They are protective of her and know just how dangerous being in a guild could be, as some of them were even in it at her age. However, she tells them she isn't afraid and you can just see the proud look on their faces. This is especially true when it comes to Erza, who invited both her and Carla into their guild with open arms.

Just please watch Phoenix Priestess and pay attention to all the Wendy scenes. When she obviously could be scared as they are going up against an entire army in a kingdom, she tells them that she can't be scared because of having to rescue a friend (Eclair) who they just met.

If Fairy Tail isn't worth watching for those characters that are already extremely powered up such as Natsu or Erza, Wendy is the person to watch it for. It makes the experience much more enjoyable when you take into account where she started and where she ended up.

That was pretty long, but I still could go on forever just about Wendy alone. But what do you all think about her? Maybe you guys thought or still think the same thing that I did. I'm curious to know.

Anyways, I'll see you later in the Deep End!!

[dynoguard]

History's Lance - A Side Story

My name is Ronax Tallplume. I am an archivist, class 4, Civilian Logistics, Agriculture and Welfare.

I don't know where I am.

That's not entirely true. I am in my house, or what's left of it, but my house is not all here. Nor is what's here where it should be.

I remember emergency sirens, and an alert broadcast. Someone from one of the Science Towers talking about an emergency procedure. I just remember looking up and seeing a ball of fire in the sky.

Then screaming and then-

The fireball looked at me. No, that's not right.

Then it was very cold, and very quiet.

Then I was here.

The rear half of my home is still entirely intact, as is a section of the yard outside and some of the sidewalk. My kitchen is where the home ends abruptly, cut cleanly through as though by a laser. There's no sign of burns or scorches, but along this line on the ground is a thin ring of irregular cyan-colored crystal growths.

This line forms a circle about 20 meters across centered on the house's capacitor box. Everything within the circle is just as it was before the siren went off.

Everything outside the circle is utterly wrong.

I do not recognize the plant life. There are trees and shrubs, but their leaves are strangely shaped. In place of the carpet ferns are simple leaves that poke up through dry, patchy soil. The air is also dry, and chilly, and it smells wrong.

It's night. I must have been knocked out for half a day at least. And there's no lights anywhere, much less the entire city of Tailspire.

Where the spike am I?

-

I spent most of the night taking stock of my situation. The recorder is charged for the foreseeable. I have some food from the half of the kitchen that's here, but water will be a problem.

I took the hangar pole from my bedroom closet. I don't have any weapons, so a tail's length hollow steel rod will have to do.

I've set out to find water. I've started hiking downhill. West by the sun's position.

-

I found a stream after six hexands or so. I've marked the trail with some rocks, and am following the stream. I've spotted more signs of life. Some of the insects seem familiar, but they are a fraction of the size. I've spotted a variety of unfamiliar birds, none of whom seem to have teeth.

No flappers though.

I also saw something else. Some kind of giant vole, I think. It had four legs, was covered in short, flat fuzz, and had curling horns coming from the sides of its head. Instead of scuttling on the ground it stood with its legs directly under it, legs that each ended in a pair of black claws. It barely had a tail to speak of. It'd say it was five, six claws long, muzzle to haunches.

It gave a low, staccato honk and ran into the foliage when I tried to get close.

Is this Primore at all? Did I get thrown to some other planet, or skipped into another universe like on Worldshifters? Something about the crystal ring seems familiar.

There we go... the stream led right to a small lake and...

A village! Little stone and wood houses in the distance. Dromeons by the size of the houses! Thank Zarr!

-

They weren't dromeons.

They were tailless, flat-faced things that smelled like cittervoles, about half my size. They wore clothing, they had tools, but they're completely alien. I tried to approach slowly to not spook them, but they ran as soon as I spoke.

I'd hoped that my F.I.S.H. would be able to pick up on their language, but the charge is drained and it doesn't use the same cells as the recorder.

I waited a bit to see if any would come out to try and communicate, but after three came out holding what appeared to be large knives or small swords, I decided to attempt again later.

-

I returned to the pond to try and speak with the creatures again. When I arrived, one of their number came forward with two animals like the four-legged vole-thing I saw on the path. It led them with plant-fiber ropes looped around their necks.

Livestock, I assume.

The creature left the two livestock animals tied to a post next to the pond, a new addition since the last time I arrived, and ran back to one of the houses when I tried to approach.

I'm twice their size, and I can see now that they don't have claws or fangs, or any natural armaments at all that I could see. I must be terrifying to them. The animals are a gift to appease me, it seems. Maybe the pole scared them. I'll leave it behind next time.

I have food enough for now. But that won't last long. If I'm not rescued, I may have to take them up on that.

-

It has been a thirdmoon. I have taken the creatures' livestock offerings twice, on days were I was not able to trap wild game. The four-limbed voles are gamey but filling when you cook them right. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes. I've been leery to try the plant life since I have no idea what is poisonous.

I've been thinking about Meg a lot. Partially because I miss her, but mostly because she was always talking about StarNest. She loved everything about space travel, especially the science. She'd go on and on about all of it. Especially the stasis thing. Time slip.

"Did you know they use time slip fields to make more chronite?"

I remember her saying those exact words.

"When the field collapses, everything in the space gets shoved out. Anything that doesn't undergoes the Bronzehorne process and forms chronite crystals."

I remember it so clearly. Maybe because she said it. Maybe because of the ring. The dirt just beyond the ring bulges. It's harder than the surrounding earth. Like it was packed together.

I've been in the time slip. I have no idea how long. If Meg was here she'd know. She was good with science and stars and things.

I didn't notice before, but the stars are different. Even I know that takes a long time. Long enough for voles to learn to make swords. How long is that?

They told us in school we weren't the first people on Primore. They told us we probably wouldn't be the last. That was a comforting thought then.

I watched a vidplay once about a big-brain flapper that got frozen in ice and woke up in the modern world. Awful effects, dumb script, lot of plop-jokes.

He must have been so lonely.

-

The spiking voles attacked me.

They had one of their own tied to the pole when I went down to get water. It was wrapped up in white clothing and was screaming and wailing. I cut the ropes with my claws and tried to tell it calmly I wouldn't hurt it.

I heard weird, hard running steps behind me and before I turned around one of the little monsters had a spear in me. It was on one of their labor animals, both of them armored up like for war. I knocked them both down with my tail and ran.

I'm back at the house. I'm trying to bind the wound but it won't stop. I want to go home. I want the warm air. I want Meg.

Meg. Meg, where are you?

It's getting dark.

-

I don't want to hurt you! Listen, please!

I'm just lost. I'm like you, I talk, I can feel. Please!

Stop! I'm not a monster!

My arm, you broke my arm! Why are you doing this? You horrible naked little voles! Overgrown garden pests! ANIMALS!

I never did anything to you and you stabbed me and burned my home!

Get back! I have teeth! I'll bite! That's what you understand isn't it? Hurting and biting and killing!?

Come at me then! You're so brave with your rocks and knives when I'm bleeding and tied up! You wanted to feed me one of you, so c'mon!

Do it. Do it you cowards!

Meg. Meg. I'll see you soon Me-

--

The last testimony of Ronax Tallplume, previously known as the Singing Stone of Silene, recently translated by and repatriated to representatives of the Granite Mountain Dinosovian enclave.

[famousartistduh]

[pmfccomic]

Definitely should've said something earlier.

[riderart]

Not had much time for drawing lately. But had an idea for a story I wanted to do some sketches for.

This one involves dragon slaying.