Well hi. First of all, I'd like to say thanks for clicking on my fanfic. This is the first time I've tried writing one of these, so I hope you enjoy it.

I'm going to try and stick to canon events as well as add my own twists and maybe even a few of my own mini-arcs too. I'd like to try and flesh out some of the characters a bit more and give them some new abilities and stuff, so there should be some interesting stuff.

I should also note that the beginning of this in particular is somewhat influenced by another fanfic I read by JTZ29 called "Natsu Dragneel the Dual Dragon Slayer". If you haven't read it already, go check it out, it's good stuff.

Basically, Natsu will have Fire and Lightning Dragon Slayer Magic from early on and I'll be introducing a few characters earlier than normal too.

I also have plans to add a harem later on, though I'm no quite sure of who to include yet. I might just end up putting a poll up or something, so stay tuned.

Edit (25/04/2019): I currently have a poll to vote on Natsu's harem and another for side pairings. I'll be leaving both of them up for a long while yet, to keep an eye on people's interest in each character and see how people like my portrayal of said characters too. I also have a link on my profile to a forum that I made that contains all of my active polls.

This chapter is a little short, as it was my first chapter and was more of a taster for what the story will be like. The chapters do get a lot lengthier later on though.

Anyway, enjoy!

Heart of Fire
Wings of Light
I have withstood the harshest of winters
In this barren heart of mine
So cold and empty without you here
And yet my flame burns on

-July 12th, X777-

"...Where are you?"

His quiet whisper was barely distinguishable over the storm that ravaged this stretch of woodland. There was not a single soul to be seen; neither man nor beast was daring enough to brave this weather. Gusts of wind strong enough to fell trees swept through the woods, as the heavy raindrops pounded out a drum-like rhythm. In the distance, the deep rumbling of thunder could be faintly heard.

Anyone with a shred of common sense would have taken shelter long ago. However, for the young boy, safety was of the least concern. He wandered aimlessly, barely conscious nor aware of his surroundings. He continued on, shuffling his feet and barely able to stand, but determined to carry on until his search was concluded.

The object of his search still eluded him, while hopelessness and fatigue steadily crept in. Under any other circumstances, he would have gone home long ago. 'Home', he thought... a word that normally would have brought him a great feeling of contentment and warmth, but now filled him with nothing but emptiness. There was no home for him now, he felt. Not since he left.

"Igneel..." He whispered hoarsely. "Where did you go?"

The child woke up just as the sun crested the horizon. He wasn't normally one to rise early, but he had had a restless night and he couldn't have slept any longer even if he had wanted to. The seemingly unending storm had continued on until the early hours of the morning and the boy had been forced to call off his search yet again, before crawling under a fallen tree to rest for the night. Sleep did not come easily- the rain had soaked him to the bone and the howling wind sought to steal what little warmth he had. He knew, however, that he would not freeze that night, nor any other night for that matter. As long as the fire within his soul kept burning, the coldest nights could not take his life away from him.

Still groggy from lack of sleep, he rubbed his eyes clumsily before jumping to his feet. Already, he was eager to set off and resume his search, yet for some reason, he hesitated. It was unusual for him to not charge headlong into a situation. But in an extremely unusual manner, he decided to instead sit and think. Now, it's not as if he was averse to thinking, but his manner of thinking was rather rash. He would use what he knew about a situation and then make a quick decision, before following through with it. If the situation changed, he'd adapt his plan on the fly.

So far, this method of thinking had worked pretty well for him. However, it clearly wasn't what was needed in these circumstances. So this time, he would have to rely on calm, rational deliberation- something that was highly uncharacteristic for him.

He pondered for a moment on the best course of action. He had spent several days searching the forest for Igneel and it had proven to be a fruitless endeavour. These woods were simply too vast and too wild for any one person to search alone. You could search for a lifetime and not find what you were looking for. He also had no idea if Igneel was even in this forest. He could be literally anywhere by now.

What about asking for help? That wasn't much of an option. Who would help an orphan boy search through the woods? Besides, the boy hadn't so much as seen another human for as long as he could remember.

Then the boy had an idea. It was drastic and far-fetched, but try as he might, he couldn't think of a better option. Time to analyse the plan then.

What's the probability of success?

-Slim to none, but it's more likely to work than any other plan he could think of.

What supplies are required?

-Everything... there is no reason to return here and they will all be needed.

More importantly... does this young boy have what it takes?

-He had better hope so.

Having come to a resolution, he paused just long enough to rummage through his meagre supplies and withdraw some unidentifiable meat, which he heartily scoffed down. With his hunger temporarily sated, he stood up and set forth on the next part of his adventure.

And that's it for chapter 1. I was planning on writing much more to be honest, because I had a plan of what I wanted to write for the first chapter and was determined to get it out in one go. But then I ended up with about 1500 words and I wasn't even half done, so I knew I'd have to write 2 or 3 chapters instead.

Edit: (Oh boy... did I really think that 1500 words was a lot? If only I'd known how long some of the later chapters would end up.)

Anyway, chapter 2 should be ready soon, as I'm probably most of the way through writing it already. Hope to see you guys soon, ciao.