Chapter 0:

Prologue: Graduation

Guardians of Dawn: Volume 1


In the sun streamed into the halls of the Central Academy for Gifted Natures. Everyone was excited for graduation day, but two students in particular were discussing the future.

“The Ballon Union.”

“Pass.”

“The Goethan Commune!”

“Do I look like a farmer to you?”

“Okay, fine! The Dragon Corps.”

Definitely not.”

“Hey, come on now Matti!” Jermaine laughed, slapping Matt on the shoulder. “You’ve got connections! You really telling me that you have a shot at a guild like that, and you’d turn it down?”

Matt laughed and shook his head, brushing his brown locks back. “I don’t want to work with my brother. That’s a nightmare I could live without.”

“And I say if my big bro was a guild master, shit, I’d be going over hat in hand!” Jermaine flashed Matt a toothy grin.

At eighteen years of age, the two boys made quite a pair. Jermaine was tall and lanky, and the deep umber of his skin made him look like a tree trunk, with a grin that could light up a room. Matt on the other hand was more stoutly built, with a more reserved smile, and a shaggy mop of brown hair to contrast Jermaine’s shaved head.

But their differences aside they were close as could be.

“Matti!”

The two boys turned to see a big bundle of energy running down the hall. The short redhead threw her arms around Matt, hugging him tightly.

Jermaine whistled. “Wooo boy, someone’s happy to see you! Save it for after graduation, Cynthia!”

Cynthia flashed a smirk at Jermaine, “jealous?” She teased, sticking her tongue out.

“Feeling lucky’s more like it,” Jermaine laughed. “Matti’s the one stuck with trouble.”

“Hey now, that’s my girl you’re talking about,” Matt warned him.

“…Well, he’s not entirely wrong,” Cynthia laughed, elbowing Jermaine in the stomach.

The trio shared a laugh.

“So, what were you guys talking about?”

“Matti here, he’s planning his future!” Jermaine said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Apparently, all the big places are too good for our boy! Meanwhile I’m writing letters to every guild from here to the Shadow Tower!”

“That’s my guy, always looking for something better,” Cynthia said, beaming up at Matt.

“It’s not like that you two, it’s not like I’m… looking down on anything, it’s just…” Matt sighed and scratched his head. “None of those other places feel right, you know?”

“Well, you better hope you get accepted somewhere,” Jermaine warned. “Don’t want to end up getting stuck with Central Services.”

The smile slid off Cynthia’s face and she crossed her arms. “Excuse me, stuck with?” She asked, raising her eyebrow.

“Hey, come on, I didn’t mean it like that!” Jermaine said, raising his hands in surrender. “Look, I was just saying…”

“Just because Gifteds who aren’t accepted at a guild have to join Central Services, that doesn’t mean it’s any less of a commission!” Cynthia scowled. “Getting to serve the community, helping out in the name of his majesty, monitoring Emergents and maintaining defenses, it’s so much better than some cruddy guild!”

“Oh, so they’re ‘cruddy guilds’ now, huh?” Jermaine grinned.

Cynthia’s grin returned and she rolled her eyes. “Okay, you know what I mean.”

“Central Services doesn’t sound so bad,” Matt admitted, wrapping his arm around Cynthia’s shoulder. “Getting to work side by side with my best girl? Maybe guild life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

“No, come on, Central Services is great, but you’d hate it,” Cynthia laughed. "No hunting Emergents, after all."

Matt nodded. Any guild he joined, he would want to hunt down the creatures. Ever since the monsters had appeared in the wake of the Cataclysm, the guilds had been organizing hunting parties to thin their numbers and help keep civilians safe. Setting out into the Wildlands was a heroic job that allowed people to go about their lives as normal behind the walls of their cities.

Cynthia continued to heap praise. "Jermaine’s right, you need the excitement of a guild. With your talent? You could get in anywhere, heck, even the Guardians!”

Matt stifled a laugh. “Come on now Cynthia, the Guardians? They only have, like, ten members. They accept, what? One commission a year?”

“Less,” Jermaine said, shaking his head. “Gotta say, your girl definitely believes in you.”

“Well, I say he can,” Cynthia pouted. “On a lighter note, you boys on for the party tonight, after the ceremony?”

“Aaah, I can’t,” Jermaine said, shaking his head. “Gotta go over my applications again.”

“I’m in,” Matt said. “ Meet at 7?”

Cynthia beamed up at him. Before she could agree, her phone beeped. She checked it and her face brightened. “Oh, it’s my parents!”

She looked up at Matt. “Sorry Matti, my dad wants to see me before the ceremony, is it okay if I…?”

Matt winced for a second, but his smile returned and he nodded his head. “Yeah, say hi to your folks for me!”

Cynthia nodded her head and skipped backwards, waving bye to Jermaine seconds before taking down the hall in flash of red.

“…She knows we’re not allowed to use our Naturia in school, right?” Jermaine asked.

“She’s not one for keeping still,” Matt dryly replied.

“Yeah, but she’s got a good head on her shoulders, you gotta admit. She was onto something when she said you could be a Guardian.”

Matt laughed. Cynthia was sweet, but he just couldn’t see it.

Jermaine checked his watch as they reached the quad. “Hey Matti, gotta head out to hook up with my sis. See you at the ceremony.” His smile was sheepish, like he felt guilty, and the moment passed unspoken as Matt nodded back to him.

“Yeah, see you,” he said. Jermaine clapped him on the shoulder, and left Matt alone with his thoughts.

Matt couldn’t bring himself to watch Jermaine’s departing figure. He hopped down the steps and headed the other direction.

Cynthia was going to see her folks, and Jermaine had plans with his family, too. But Matt didn’t have any parents to come see his ceremony. Even his brother was more concerned with his guild duties than with Matt’s graduation.

“Look out!”

Matt’s head shot up just in time to see a wave of black tumble down on top of him. Something heavy knocked him to the ground.

“Oww… get off…” Matt groaned. Whoever had landed on him obliged, and he picked himself up out of the grass.

When he saw who it was he’d crashed into, his jaw dropped.

She was the most beautiful woman he’d met. Her skin seemed to glow against her dark outfit, tight leather wrapped around a voluptuous figure. Her top was sleeveless but long gloves rolled up her arms, the same dusk of the hair that framed the fine features of her gorgeous face. Her eyes were like a swirling nebula of stars, shining brightly at him as she extended her hand.

“Sarah Dawn!” She greeted him like it was possible he didn’t know who she was. “Sorry for landing on you like that! I was trying to find my way to the field for the graduation ceremony!”

Sarah Dawn. Sarah Dawn was standing in front of him.

There wasn’t a person in Autoria who didn’t know the name Sarah Dawn. She was an orphan like him, a child of the Cataclysm, but Matt couldn’t even begin to compare himself to her. She was only a teenager when she founded the Guardians, and in a flash she had risen to become one of the most prominent guild masters of the nation.

And she was standing right in front of him.

“You-You’re… h-how…?” Matt didn’t know what to say.

“You okay? I didn’t land on you that hard, did I?!” Sarah frantically asked. Matt shakily shook his head.

“No, I just… I’m… I’m honored, meeting you!” Matt gushed, taking her hand and shaking it. “I’m Mathew Hearthome, Ms. Dawn, it’s… it’s an honor!”

Matt knew he was babbling, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Hearthome… Hearthome?” Sarah touched her chin in contemplation. “You wouldn’t happen to know Kanone Hearthome, would you?”

Matt gaped. “Y-You… know my brother?”

Sarah’s face lit up like a starburst. “I knew it! It is you! Little Matti! I haven’t seen you since you were a baby! Look at how big you’ve gotten!” She hugged him tightly, and Matt just stared into the distance in shock. The hug lasted only a few seconds, but it had him completely flummoxed.

Sarah stepped back, reaching into her pocket and passing him a card. “Here! This is my contact info, if you’re still looking for a commission! Just let me know, I’m expecting great things from you!”

“Uh…” Matt’s mouth wasn’t working right. Before he could form a proper response, he lost the opportunity.

“Well! I need to get going! Ceremony’s gonna start any minute!” Sarah grinned. “Look for me up onstage! Catch ya later!” She snapped her fingers, and the air behind her twisted and bent, breaking apart into a swirling vortex of space.

With a wink and a wave, she stepped through the portal and disappeared.

Matt stood alone in the quad in shock, Sarah’s card was hot in his fingers. The Guild Master of the Guardians had just given him her card personally? She’d told him to call her for a commission? The Guardians were one of the most exclusive guilds in the kingdom, and she was letting him in just like that?

He should have been overjoyed. But he only tasted ash in his mouth. The only reason she would give him her card was because he was Kanone Hearthome’s little brother.

He shoved it into his pocket and headed for the field, trying to forget about it and focus on the upcoming ceremony. 

But it burned a hole in his pants. When he took his seat, he could still feel it. It called out to him as the headmaster began his speech, and even when Sarah Dawn stepped onstage to address his graduating class.

He couldn’t get it out of his mind.

Supersession
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