The Dragon King Festival is one event that single-handedly defined the entire premise of Fairy Tail, changing not only the course of the entire world but also giving birth to one of the strongest forms of magic known to mankind. The Dragon King Festival has always been treated with a hint of secrecy, and its actual events and reasons have been kept hidden from the audience.
The event took place almost 400 years before the set time of the show, and while there are several mentions of the Dragon King Festival, the series only explains these events in its latter half. The intricacies of the event and its aftermath explain several pressing questions and ties the entire plot together, acquainting fans with the true narrative of this event.
The Reason Behind the War
More than 400 years ago, in the country of Alakitasia, Dragons were considered a supreme class of beings, with power comparable to a god's. Human beings were merely insects for these behemoths and they were treated as such. However, a new class of Dragon's emerged, one that desired to coexist with humans and usher in an era of peace. Opposition was bound to arise for such a controversial philosophy, and the differing beliefs led to an all-out war between the two factions.
The dragons that sided with humans mostly belonged to the nation of Dragnof, a country in Ishgar where humans and dragons had coexisted in harmony under the rule of Queen Irene. The Dragons of Alakitasia utterly detested the country of Dragnof for this very coexistence. Eventually, the anti-human Dragons concocted a war plan and invaded Dragnof for its ideals of peace and collaboration.
On the anti-human side, the Dragon Zirconis took the helm and persuaded the rest of Dragonkind to invade Ishgar. On the other side, the mighty Dragon Belserion vehemently supported the coexistence movement, even befriending Irene and following her orders. Irene’s rule over Dragons earned her the title of ‘Queen of Dragons.’
The Beginning of the Dragon King Festival
Irene rallied together the dragons to fight off the anti-human movement, with the Dragon Belserion leading the war efforts for the humans. However, the sheer number of anti-human Dragons, coupled with betrayals from within the kingdom, led to Irene's forces being completely overrun and near to defeat. With no other choice, Irene came up with the plan of enchanting human beings with Dragon magic, empowering humans to fight alongside their Dragon brethren.
This gave birth to the concept of Dragon Slayer Magic, one of the strongest types of magic that any human could wield. Soon enough, the pro-human forces overpowered the anti-human Dragons, turning the tide of battle in the Kingdom's favor. However, Irene failed to account for the side-effects of enchanting humans with such a potent form of magic, resulting in a series of traffic affairs.
Side-effects of Dragon Slayer Magic
The enchantment of humans gave way to three different types of side-effects, making Dragon Slayers destined for tragedy. Some Dragon Slayers suffered motion sickness due to their bodies being incongruent with their new-found dragonian senses. Others experienced a more severe drawback and became corrupted by the overwhelming power they had received.
However, the third side-effect was destined to be every Dragon Slayer's fate: the Dragon Seed within them would eventually start the irreversible process of transforming into a Dragon. The Dragon Slayers that rampaged slayed all those that came across them, without discriminating between friend or foe. Acnologia was among those rampaging, and he quickly slayed every single Dragon in existence.
The Aftermath of the Dragon King Festival
The corruption from the Dragonian powers, coupled with his own hatred for Dragons, led to Acnologia slaughtering every Dragon in existence. His utter abhorrence for Dragonkind resulted in indiscriminate killing of all, regardless of their allegiances with the pro- or anti-human movements. Acnologia bathed in the blood of all those he slaughtered, and his actions in the war earned him the title of ‘Dragon King.’ Centuries passed and Dragons soon became a myth on Earthland, and humans adapted to living without the threat of these colossal beings.
The Dragnization process eventually turned Acnologia into a pitch black Dragon, and he became the sole victor of the Dragon King Festival and the last remaining Dragon on Earthland. While the event was called the Dragon King Festival in the continent of Ishgar, Alakatasia refers to the war as Ragnarök. The term means ‘Doom of the Gods,’ and it has been inspired directly from the cataclysmic event in Norse mythology which witnessed the demise of several gods. Since Dragons were akin to gods in Alakatasia, the term Ragnarök accurately symbolizes the doom of these god-like entities and their mortifying fall from grace.