Zerø arc

The Tenrou Jade arc is the story arc that covers the entirety of the Fairy Tail Zero series, chronologically taking place before the Fairy Tail series.

The untold story behind the creation of Mage Guild Fairy Tail. In the year X679, Mavis Vermilion is left to fend for herself after a war takes the lives of those who reside on Tenrou Island. Seven years later, she encounters those who will title themselves as the founding members of Fairy Tail and those who will wrap the world in despair in the foreseeable future.

War of Epic Proportions
In the year X679, a young Mavis is reading a book in her guild, Red Lizard. Her master, Zeeself comes over and reprimands her for slacking off while she's supposed to be on cleaning duty. He hits her and bats the book from her hands, with the other guild members mocking her for hobby. The master then notices the shoes he bought for her, demanding she returns them as she is not worthy to have them. Even when Mavis pleas that these are her only pair of shoes, the master didactically orders her to return them at once. Later, as the young girl cleans, Zera returns from school and gleefully greets her father. As he tries to offer her the shoes he retrieved from Mavis, Zera rejects the distasteful footwear, stating they are dirty and unfit for her.

Mavis recalls of her past and how she was brought to the guild: through working to repay the guild from monetary issues regarding her parent's debt, reminding herself of her parent's words of someday meeting actual fairies. Suddenly, huge explosions are heard outside the kitchen which Mavis comes outside to witness Blue Skull invading the guild. Mavis scurries through the chaos, locating Zera, who is trapped under the rubble caused by the war. Mavis pulls her out and guides along with her to safety, which the brown-haired girl refuses her request as she was cruel to her. Mavis states she doesn't care about that as everything worthy to her resides in her heart. Relieved and in a change of heart, Zera requests to become friends with Mavis before collapsing, deeply worrying the latter. Mavis later returns to the village, only to see the aftermath of the war left genocide, as everyone from the townspeople to the guild members were killed.

Year X686
Seven years have passed, a group of treasure hunters arrive to the island in the year X686. Warrod mentions the serene mood coming from the land, with Precht reprimanding him as they aren't here to play around. Yuri arises from his slumber, who has no doubt that they arrived at the correct destination of where the Tenrou Jade is located.

Mavis is later seen gleefully on a tree branch when Zera chastises her, reminding her that they have to clean out the library. As Mavis heads out, Zera mentions she forgot her shoes which the former responds that she feels more comfortable without them, which saddens Zera as remembers of her cruel treatment to Mavis regarding her footwear. Mavis, however, doesn't mind as she says they're friends, garnering a smile from Zera. Over the past 7 years, Mavis and Zera were the only remaining ones alive from the war when Blue Skull invaded Red Lizard. Thus the two remained inhabited on the island, living together in peace.

As they are cleaning the library, Zera notices someone is here, which she scurries to hide as she hasn't spoken to anyone in seven years. Mavis encounters the stranger, who turns out to be Yuri, as he's stunned that there are people living on the island. Mavis questions why he came here; the treasure hunter responding as he came to explore the island's ecosystem, which Mavis calls out his lie. Now exposed, Yuri tells her the truth as he is searching for Tenrou Jade, a highly regarded treasure which is said to be on the island. Mavis states that he can't have it as it is a holy relic that's sacred to the island. Refusing to take it by force, Yuri then proposes a game of wits: the first to guess wrong about their opponent loses and the winner will get to fulfill their wish. Mavis accepts the terms of the game whilst Yuri pulls out a Judgment Field, which negates lying inside its perimeter. Mavis then states she would of already won had they been playing seriously, stunning the treasure hunter, but nevertheless points out the bountiful amount of information in the library that he could use to his advantage. As they begin, Mavis lets Yuri choose who will go first as she declares regardless of the order she has already won.

Still shocked at her proclamation, Yuri asks if Mavis is aware of the entirety of the rules, which the latter confirms. They finally begin the game, with Yuri opting to go first. The treasure hunter states his truth, but is cut off mid-sentence by Mavis who says his statement is incorrect, which flusters Yuri as he concocts a new rule which states the person must be able to finish their sentence. Mavis agrees as long as he keeps his promise, while declaring she'll defeat him in the next round. Mavis then states that Yuri has blinked 57 times since the game has begun, surprising Yuri, which he states that she cannot rehash something that they both have done in common, which Mavis points out that she hasn't blinked the entire duration of the game. As he exasperates his options, he concludes that regardless of being true or false he would still be lying, leading to Mavis arising victorious.

Precht and Warrod later come to find Yuri in the library, letting him know that they have found the location of the Tenrou Jade. The group goes to the Jade's pedestal, only to find it missing as Precht states it has been stolen. Mavis, however, is aware of who might of stolen it; declaring the Mage guild Blue Skull as the culprits. Mavis proclaims to the treasure hunters to let her travel with them as the crystal is symbolic to the island and she wants to retrieve it. Yuri mentions that even if they do encounter it they might keep it for themselves, which Mavis doesn't care about as she states their goal is the same for now. Later at her girls' house, as Mavis packs her belongings, Yuri questions her true purpose of wanting to retrieve the Tenrou Jade, which Mavis states it is important to her as well as wanting to see the outside world with Zera. She then introduces the brown-haired girl to Yuri, who the latter awkwardly stares at the two. After introductions, the crew sets sail towards the continent, with Yuri ominously thinking of something he could of prevented.

A New Journey! Arrival in Port Hargeon
The group arrives in Hargeon Town's port harbor, with Precht annoyed that they have came back to the continent empty-handed. As he departs to gather information on the culprit guild, Mavis offers to venture alongside with him as the others are tasked to get an inn room. The two locate and enter a bar, asking the bartender for any information on Blue Skull, which he replies he hasn't any a clue about the guild. He later tells them to leave if they have no further business with him, not before Mavis inquires on how the bartender knew Blue Skull was specifically a Mage guild. As the bartender stumbles upon her question, two men close in behind Precht and Mavis to attack them, with the former evading and retaliating their attacks. The bartender signals all the men in the bar to attack the two but it is to no avail as Precht takes out the opposition. The bartender then traps the two in a Magic Circle, revealing to be a Blue Skull member whose job is to gather intel and fend off those who come in the way of their guild. Mavis then looks at the hieroglyphics of the spell, concluding that they are incorrect, as she steps outside the magic circle unharmed. She then summons a humongous beast with her Magic, stunning Precht while also scaring the bartender into submission as he tells the two of Blue Skull's guild location. Later, Precht is surprised that her Magic was just an illusion, as Mavis concurs that they will definitely retrieve the Tenrou Jade. They then head towards the city of Magnolia, home of Blue Skull; the rambunctious female Mage and treasure hunter passing by a young man on their way to their destination.

With the rest of the crew accompanying them to Magnolia, they all decide to rest and camp together along their 3-day travel to the city. After each of them pick out an task, they depart; returning at the end of night after completing their objective. Around the campfire, the treasure hunters tell of past tales to Mavis, while also reminding the young girl of their lust to obtain the Tenrou Jade. Even so, Mavis concludes that they are allies until they retrieve it, adding she knows that she can trust the men. She then realizes that Zera is missing and goes to look for her, while the others discuss the goal of retrieving the crystal. Mavis later find Zera sulking by the water, which the latter states that she still is getting acclimated to being around new people. Ever since Mavis saved her life, the young girl dedicated her life to protect the blond-haired girl, but admits she is scared of the outside world's entities. Mavis comforts her by saying she will always be by her side, although Zera adamantly asks the former to teach her Magic to be able to protect her well-being. The young Mage agrees, not long after Zera slips and falls in the pond, later telling Mavis to join her as well. As the two play around, Zera embraces Mavis from behind after she points out of the fairies that reside in their heart. A few days later, the crew finally makes their arrival at Magnolia, only to shockingly see it being rampaged throughout by a skeletal Dragon.

Seeing the town in ruins and shambles, Mavis concludes the Dragon belongs to Blue Skull. An old woman then approaches their crew, chastising them to leave as there isn't anything here of interest to them. They ask what has happened to the town, which the woman states that the town has been dying ever since Blue Skull invaded their homeland. She suddenly gets shot through her chest, killing her, which stuns their crew as they rush toward her body. The perpetrators reveal themselves to be Blue Skull Mages, who consequently attack their group for trespassing in their town. Yuri and others proceed to take out the Dark Guild members, not long after more of the same rush toward their location to encounter the treasure hunters. Mavis then summons a vast amount soldiers which ends up halting the Dark Mages in fear, as Mavis then goes on to request an appearance from their master. Their master later appears in front of them as Mavis asks for them to return the stolen Tenrou Jade or there will be consequences. The master shrugs off her threat as he orders their soldiers to attack the intruders as her summoned soldiers are merely illusions. Everyone being in shock from the revelation, the Dark Mages proceed to surround the Mages but not without Yuri and the others attempting to repel their forces. Zera grabs Mavis as they hurry for cover, while Yuri goes on to attack the master with a Crystal Bomb but it is repelled as he takes the brunt of the damage. Precht yells for Yuri, not long after the former's eye is damaged from one of the Mages' attacks. Warrod grabs the two wounded men and escapes with Mavis to the forest, with Mavis in tears as she is in disbelief, realizing they were not strong enough against the Dark Mages.

Enter Zeref: The Fated Encounter
After marooning in the forest, the crew watches over an injured Yuri as they plan on resting in the area for the night. Although Mavis wants to find a doctor for the two injured treasure hunters, Warrod denies it, with Mavis later fetching water for her teammates. Later at a pond, as the young Mage reprimands herself for being too incompetent from the Dark Guild's onslaught, a young man appears in the pond, causing Mavis to look away in embarrassment. The man tells Mavis he should leave the forest, not long after correcting himself, stating he will take upon himself to leave. Mavis suddenly notices the trees around him slowly dying, which peaks her interest as she identifies this phenomenon as the fabled Curse of Anhkseram, known to kill all around the cursed one if they happen to hold something dear to oneself. The young man compliments her knowledge, with the Mage telling her that he's been wandering from place to place, avoiding all of humanity due to his curse. As he departs, animals are nearing him as he hurriedly tells them to not come close to him as he doesn't want them to die. Mavis reveals that they are her illusions, which are harmless for him to touch, garnering appreciation from the young man. Mavis then goes on to plead to the mysterious Mage to teach her and her friends Magic to be able to combat their enemies of Blue Skull, with the latter compiling. Mavis introduces the Mage to the rest of the members, whom he ends up teaching each of them a specific Magic to use ---sans Precht who he notices his affinity with many different kinds of Magic--- while enjoying his stay with Mavis. He later departs, ominously thinking to himself that he might of been the one who actually ended up killing the young girl, as ten days remain until the creation of Fairy Tail.

Throughout their reign over Magnolia, The Blue Skull Guild happened to rule over the town and its people, monitoring food distribution while even taxing the citizens for inhabiting rights. Three days ago, Mavis proposed a plan to the rest of the members of liberating the townspeople from the clutches of the Dark Guild. Yuri, being the only one against the idea, initially denies the plan but eventually goes through on it. Mavis plan is to declare war on the Dark Guild, initially stunning Warrod as he thought of just ambushing their master. In a forest, their master Geoffrey is seen alongside with some of his underlings when suddenly a tree moves by them, with Geoffrey pointing out that somebody is behind it, turning out out to be Warrod. Warrod snidely remarks that they already taken control of their base at the Kardia Cathedral and have recovered all of their spoils. One of his underlings suddenly points the town as it is on fire, stunning the master as Warrod escapes the scene. Geoffrey hurriedly goes to the burning town, arriving to see its destruction, not long after Mavis appears behind him who states the scene he is seeing is the same his Guild delivered to Tenrou Island seven years ago. Geoffrey then realizes that the entire town is merely an illusion, dispelling it, but soon realizing of himself getting captured in a jail cell due to Mavis' illusory trick. The master stunned at his predicament and her power, Mavis goes on to tell him that at the real location of the town Yuri and Precht are defeating his members, while the two treasure hunters finally make eye contact with the fabled Tenrou Jade. However Geoffrey tells the two girls that no one must touch the Jade, giving the ominous proclamation that Magnolia will truly come to its end that predicament arises.

The two young girls hurry to Magnolia, arriving to see Precht and Yuri having completed their mission while retrieving the Tenrou Jade. As Mavis asks for where it is, Yuri reveals that their immediate combined mission is over, declaring he is keeping the crystal. Mavis sways away from that notion, revealing that the Jade isn't what they thought it was, as it is an evil crystal that contains a vast amount of built-up Magic power, able to control and possess whomever comes in contact with it. Precht ushers Yuri to heed Mavis' warning, but the treasure hunter stubbornly continues to not believe her words. Suddenly, a bright light emanates from the Jade, forcibly pushing back Precht while consuming Yuri, who evidently turns into a skeletal Dragon, reeking havoc among the town. Mavis reveals that the Tenrou Jade has possessed the treasure hunter's body as a vessel, stunning Precht. The young girl then climbs up top of the building, in concert effort to reach through the possessed Mage. Unable to hear her voice, the skeletal Dragon releasing a breath of fire towards Mavis, whom gets saved by Precht before it made contact, as he reprimands her for her reckless behavior. Mavis then promises to the one-eyed Mage that she will save both Yuri and the town, coming to grip that they'll have to get closer to the the possessed Yuri in order to protect all of her friends.

Warrod arrives at the scene of pseudo-Magnolia, only to wonder where the master has gone as his prison is unlocked. Zera is then seen calling for Precht on the whereabouts of Mavis but the latter still being in shock doesn't budge, leaving Zera to find her friend herself. Mavis marches towards the skeletal Dragon, recalling when she pleaded to the young man she ran into to teach her more powerful Magic, as her Illusion Magic cannot be used in battle. The mysterious Mage offers to teach her Black Arts, which the young girl has no qualms over learning it. Mavis then creates a mass amount of illusory gold coins, in effort to lure the possessed Yuri towards her. She then takes advantage of the moment, lunging upon the Dragon's back, grasping its body. As concludes she can use Law, a spell which cancels all evil, from this distance, a concerned Zera appears behind her, reminding her that that specific Magic takes 10 years to master and saying she promised not to use it. Mavis thinks otherwise, as she admits there are no other options in order to save a rampaging Yuri. Zera wonders why she goes to great lengths for them, which Mavis explains she helped the two girls open up to the vast world beyond the island. Mavis then tells Zera to leave, which the dark-haired girl refuses as she is her friend and believes in her. Mavis then purposefully leaps in the air in front of the Dragon, casts the incomplete spell, dispelling the control of the Jade on Yuri's body, which in turn destroys the crystal. However she remains on the ground unconscious, deeply worrying Zera.

Truth, Regret, and Sadness
In Magnolia, Yuri wakes up to see Warrod by him, not long after he aggressively asks of the whereabouts of Mavis. Running towards her location, Yuri recalls of Warrod and Precht's words revealing what happened while he was possessed: Mavis used an incomplete spell that saved the treasure hunter but in turn halted her body's growth, making her unable to age or mature.

Later in the forest, Yuri finally find Mavis; the young girl happy to see her friend up and well. Yuri wonders why she used that spell to save him as he was just using her to get to the Tenrou Jade, with Mavis highlighting that she and the others are her first true friends, causing her to want to protect them. Calmed down, the two later sit on a log and discuss the previous events. Yuri admits to Mavis that he heard her voice when he was possessed, relaying that he thinks of her as his friend as well. Yuri mentions he wants to go search for fairies along with her, which surprises the young girl; Yuri continuing to tell her that she trusts the young girl from the bottom of his heart, going on to say that he wants to live out her dreams and protect her from whatever comes their way. The young Mage agrees with him, not long after noticing something is wrong with him. Yuri then says it is about Zera, whom he wonders if she is nearby. Mavis calls her out to them, only for Yuri to making the shocking revelation that he—nor Precht and Warrod—cannot see or hear Zera, as she is an illusion created from the figment of Mavis's mind; this proclamation stunning the young girl.

Still shocked from his proclamation, Mavis tries to show Yuri that Zera is right in front of him, which the treasure hunter says he cannot see her. Zera than confirms his statement, saying she died seven years ago on Tenrou Island; the very moment causing her unconscious mind to manifest the illusion that she was still alive, thus creating Zera. Mavis undeniably cannot believe her words, with Zera bringing to light that now that she is aware of her being an illusion she is beginning to fade away. Zera hugs Mavis, saying she must forget about her and move on, as continually manifesting her is taking a toll on her body, with Mavis sobbingly rejecting her request. Mavis continuously being stubborn, Zera mentions that the young Mage has real friends now, to where she won't be alone. Zera apologizes for being mean to her throughout their lives, requesting to return to Mavis's heart as that is where she was created from. They both promise that they will always be friends; just as she begins to vanish Yuri finally is able to see the young girl, who thanks the treasure hunter for all she has done for Mavis.

Later, Precht and Warrod are in the inn as they can hear Zera's voice, revealing that they played along with her at the request of Yuri, coming to realization that Mavis must of acknowledged that Zera is an illusion. Back in forest, Yuri and Mavis appreciate the fact of everything that Zera has done for them.

Towards the Future: A New Era
After Zera departure, the other Mages are curious of Mavis's idea of opening a Mage guild within the city of Magnolia. Yuri weary of her idea, but Mavis points out that everyone must have a home to return too, which is her reasoning behind creating a guild in the city, wanting to be able to liberate all of the citizens from the despair caused by Blue Skull while creating a more comfortable ecosystem. The treasure hunters all come to agreement with her plan, leading her to name the guild "Fairy Tail" due to the mystery if fairies have tails, leading to a never-ending adventure.

Some time later, the Mages approached the Magic Council to approve of the creation, while reaching out to the townspeople of Magnolia to create a healthy relationship between the two of them. The treasure hunters later leave their Guild Sylph Labyrinth in order to follow Mavis.

A few months later, Warrod is called over by Yuri as their guild's creation is completed, with Mavis in turn taking a group photo of all of the founders. Yuri elects Mavis as its' master, due to her founding the Guild, which she declares she wants to create a guild that values family and peace within one another. In the background, Geoffrey is seen lamenting the fact of their guild's creation, stating he'll create a guild to oppose theirs: Phantom Lord. As Mavis ponders upon the future a guild that harmonizes being able to call it home, Zera watches from afar as the Mages start a new journey to look for the fairies.

Anime-Manga Differences

 * In Episode 266, before Mavis Vermilion begins narrating the story of her past beginnings, Natsu and Happy are seen traveling through Crocus, as well as journeying to Tenrou Island to pay their respects to the First Master.

Trivia

 * The anime adaptation of the arc premiers after the conclusion of the Tartaros arc.