The Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail, and Guard Captain Devon, a well known soldier of Magnolia were talking; well, it was more accurate to say that the Guard Captain Devon was rambling away about something while Houren merely listened, not disinterested per se, but then again, it was worth noting that the Guard Captain Devon was speaking, not only somewhat softly, but incredibly fast as well to the point that it was impossible, even for a Fire Dragon Slayer like Houren, to pick up all the minute details that were being said. In any case, the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail pretty much got the gist of the message that the Guard Captain Devon had been trying to convey to him. Basically, he had heard about the attacks by Grimoire Heart in the city of Era, which is, by right, the most well protected city in Fiore due to the heavy Rune Knight presence there, and was worried that such threats would eventually find their way to Magnolia, which was by no means a simple and small village. In its own right, Magnolia was bustling city of its own, and it wouldn't be unusual if extremists such as Grimoire Heart decided to set their bloodthirsty sights on it. At least, that is how Guard Captain Devon explained things.

Houren Vanadis agreed with the Guard Captain Devon's sentiments, of course, mostly because he had been a combatant in the scuffle between the forces of Fiore and the forces of Grimoire Heart in the heart of Era. He had fought and found out for himself firsthand just how terrifying the dark mages of that illegal guild were, and he was also aware that apparently, whether it was simply for the operation in Era or in general, they were in cahoots with another unlawful guild, Phantom Lord.  A fearsome duo, to be sure, and while the light guilds in Fiore certainly outnumbered the criminals by a fairly positive ratio, it wasn't the quantity or amount of mages that made the difference, it was the quality. In particular, the lady who did not seem to be human, the wolf boy and the man who's magic involved taking the visage of a demon stood out in Houren's mind. They were strong, and had he not been assisted by those Rune Knights, there would have been little resistance when it came to Thesus breaking out of prison. Of course, in the end, he and his Rune Knight allies had failed in their mission, but the objectives of the law enforcement group known as the Rune Knights held little importance for Houren. He was just happy that the battle itself yielded no casualties on the good guys' side.

"Those little scuffles in Era were a real loss for us. The Index was stolen, that high class criminal Thesus escaped, really, it was just a disaster! Now it's Grimoire Heart and Phantom Lord that have the advantage, they have the momentum and because of that, I'm afraid that they won't just stop at Era. Look, if they really want to cause some damage, then it's Crocus they'll be after, I know, but can we, I mean, normal guys like you and me, really hope to know what goes on in the heads of those maniacs? This is my city, I want to protect it, and I know there are civilians who think the same way as I do. That's why I want you to help me recruit for my little makeshift army," the Guard Captain who's name was Devon explained quickly, much to the Fire Dragon Slayer's understanding.

Houren nodded as though he understood exactly what Guard Captain Devon was getting at, but in reality, that was not the case. Apparently, this guy was incredibly confident, not only in his skills as a combatant, but in his ability to make other people into competent fighters. But was it really a good idea to bring civilians into this war? Didn't the Rune Knights feel as though the public are maing them out to be useless when people are forming independent groups to protect their cities? After all, was it not the responsibility of the Rune Knights to protect the sovereignty of Fiore? It was being threatened now by these criminals, but the Rune Knights had been taking this loss and that loss. The Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail who's name was Houren Vanadis nodded again, and decided to accept the request wordlessly. However, he knew almost full well that this faction that Houren was helping to recruit who's leader was Guard Captain Devon would not be necessarily well received by the Rune Knights. After all, they were the law enforcement around here, so this little guard could be seen as nothing more than a group of vigilantes, and worse yet, they were putting themselves in danger fighting against forces of which they have absolutely no knowledge.

Still, Houren Vanadis would do the job that he was paid to do, and in this case, to try and recruit people for Guard Captain Devon. The Guard Captain Devon gave Houren Vanadis some parting words of advice before leaving the park, "Nobody in the world thinks they want to be a soldier, you know? You have to rouse something in them, you have to make them think that what they are right now isn't all they can be. You have to make them want to make a difference, you have to make it sound all glorious and stuff. Protecting and dying in a ditch somewhere at the hands of some merciless villains is anything but glorious, but damn it, I'll be fucked if you tell me there's anything more noble," and with that, and a semi-affectionate pat on the back, Guard Captain Devon slunk away, probably to another park where he could go and recruit people. Thereby, Houren was left alone in South Gate Park, thinking over his speech in his head as he decided to go for his first candidate. He decided to exclude women and children first, clearly, Guard Captain Devon wasn't that desperate for people. Seeing a young man of ample waist size, but otherwise healthy looking, Houren decided to approach him. A more balanced diet and some strict exercise could really do him good, and the Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail was going to use that to his advantage, and as the major selling point of his advertising.

1073/2000

The Fire Dragon Slayer from Fairy Tail walked around the park for a while, looking for someone who seemed like they would make, at the very least, a decent and competent soldier. He was even considering less likely candidates as well, since the Guard Captain Devon seemed fairly confident in his own abilities to mold even the most lethargic and unfit looking men into powerful and respectful soldiers. Of course, Houren knew full well that there weren't many people in the world who would be happy with that, as in, people who would willing give up their comfortable city lives in exchange for a few months of hardship during boot camp. Once you were a seasoned soldier, things got easier in the sense that you had probably risen up the ranks a little bit and commanded a little bit of respect, but at the same time, you had to remain constantly vigilant. After all, it was during this time that you were most likely to need to be involved in a fight to defend your country.

Eventually, the Fire Dragon Slayer found someone who actually looked liked they fit the general, incredibly vague description of a soldier. The man that Houren was looking at was tall, with a stocky build although he was definitely older than the average recruit. At the same time, he gave off the aura of a man who often did physical activities, maybe a rock climber or something. Believing that he would make a fairly good addition to the service, the Fairy Tail mage approached the man and asked him if he was, at all, interested in becoming a soldier but the man merely shook his head. Apparently, he had a family to provide for, and he was actually making good money at the moment. If he gave all that up to become a soldier, he would essentially be losing money and nobody would be taking care of his family, and as such, he turned Houren down before the Fire Dragon Slayer could even extol the benefits of the military.

The next person that the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail approached was a scrawny looking boy, definitely younger than the first guy, but probably not even half as fit. He seemed like the kind of guy who would sign up with the force just so he could toughen up a bit; a few years of service, and suddenly, he was an incredibly buff and strong guy. This man probably had fantasies like that, but nowhere in his most wild of imaginations would he have believed that this kind of opportunity would fall at his feet today. Houren approached him casually, and told him about the benefits of joining the military, and his eyes almost lit up although there was a certain wariness behind the glow. Apparently, he had considered pursuing further studies since, for as long as he could remember, he had always been a brains over brawn kind of guy. Despite that though, he added, a career in the army had been considered many times before and he even considered the fact that Houren showed up in front of him today as a sort of sign that maybe he should drop out of school to join Guard Captain Devon's makeshift forces.

"You don't need to give me your answer right now, friend," the Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail began to say, taking up a pen and paper as he did so. "But you seem at least somewhat interested, am I right? I can take down your name and contact, and refer it to my boss. If you join, I think you'll become a tough guy," he added it in at the end. Yes, this person seemed like he would be a perfect fit for a makeshift force. The man considered it for a little while longer, before deciding for himself that it wouldn't hurt to just at least put his name down for consideration, and to put his status as ''interested''. He wouldn't decide for good until he had spoken a bit more with his parents and girlfriend though, which was something that Houren could respect. After taking down his particulars, such as name, contact and address, the Fairy Tail mage allowed the man to walk away.

After wandering around for a while, and going through a lot of meaningless chatter with people who clearly had no interest in joining the force, and those who were simply entertaining the thought, but not doing so seriously, Houren finally found his last customer of the day, and someone who was actually enthusiastic about becoming a soldier. Apparently, he had heard about the fact that Houren had been recruiting since dawn this morning and decided to show up to hear what he had to say. He had always wanted to become a soldier, but due to his injury, he had been rejected from the Rune Knights, and this was a question that the Fairy Tail mage did not expect at all. ''How about I take down your particulars and refer your case to my superior? I think he'll do his best to make sure that you can sign up for the army, regardless of your injury," they reached a compromise and the man walked away, perhaps expecting something. Afterwards, once the sun had officially set, Houren went back to the meeting point where Guard Captain Devon was waiting. Detailing the people he had spoken with, and imploring Captain Devon to help out the last person who wanted to sign up but had been rejected before due to his injury, Houren passed him the sheet of paper with all the details, collected his reward and left.

2022/2000