And when those we love are gone, we find a new self within us that is capable of so much more. The body obtains a new persona- if you will- that has the motivation and power to take down all obstacles. Nothing else matters and the persona is composed of either vengeful hatred, or a sickly depression.

~Unknown~

Jingle… Jingle…

"So what have you been up to lately, Mr. Commandant?" The black haired man asked as he sat on a wooden crate with his back against the wall. His blonde friend dressed in armor sat next to him on the crate. "Saving princesses, helping those in need; knightly stuff I suppose?" He had a wide grin on his face.

The blonde man shook his head. "With Lady Estellise the only princess, I don't exactly do much saving of that nature." He laughed. "Helping those in need is what I do when I have time but most of my job now is paperwork and giving orders. It gets tiresome after a while; I figured I could find you here in Dahngrest."

Jingle… Jingle…

It was late in the evening as a blood red color took over the sky that not long ago would've been joined by a barrier blastia. The setting sun was beautiful over the enormous guild city as the streets grew increasingly busy with guildsmen. The two friends hadn't seen each other in a few months so the time they had now was precious to them both. "Seems like you're not having too much fun."

"Unlike you I didn't join out of boredom." He smiled kindly. "But sometimes, I do wonder if it was worth wasting my freedom on joining the knights. Then I see the people I saved and it makes everything worthwhile… Despite everything I've lost."

The black haired man laughed. "Hey, don't get all sad on me! For what it's worth I think you're doing just fine considering how much you've lost to the Empire." He yawned. "So how long to you plan sticking around? I was only paying a visit to Captain Karol so I suppose I'll stay here for a bit if you want to go for a drink."

He shook his head, "I can't stay long. I'm leaving tonight and only came for a quick visit to make sure you're not getting into any trouble." The blonde raised a hand as he stood. "I have to say, Yuri that guild is the best thing that happened to you; it keeps you on the good side of the law." He turned to his friend as he stood and the two exchanged a complicated looking handshake before the Commandant walked off towards the exit.

Jingle… Jingle…

"Alright, Repede…" The man turned towards the wall to find his dog but he was nowhere to be seen. "Repede?" He looked up to see his dog bouncing around the feet of a young girl, barking at her occasionally. "Hey, Repede!" He rushed to the dog, "I'm sorry about him, he's usually calm."

The girl smiled, "Oh it's quite alright I don't particularly mind dogs." She had fair blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, and the palest skin the man had ever seen. Around her neck was a light red scarf and her hair was pinned up high with what looked like knitting needles.

Jingle… Jingle…

He looked over the girl for the source of the jingling noise of a soft bell but found nothing. He figured the noise was in his head and sighed. "So, what's someone like you doing in a guild city? That's a bit dangerous, don't you think?"

"Actually, I'm looking for someone; Karol Capel." The girl began. "I hear he has a guild named Brave Vesperia and I was interested in joining." She smiled up at the man but it didn't seem genuine. "My name's Lunadesca Talbet, a pleasure to meet you."

The man smirked, "Well, Ms. Talbet, it looks like today's your lucky day. I just happen to be Yuri Lowell of that guild you mentioned." Yuri looked off in the direction of Brave Vesperia's headquarters. "I can take you to Captain Karol if you'd like."

Lunadesca looked down at the ground and muttered to herself before looking up again. "That would be wonderful! Thank you very much." She bowed to him graciously before following him down a street.

Jingle… Jingle…

"Hey boss, I got something for you." Yuri knocked on the door before letting himself into the main room where a fairly young boy sat at a desk. He must've been the same age as Lunadesca if not a little younger. "Lunadesca here wants to join Brave Vesperia." He smiled as leaned against the wall before prompting the girl forward with a wave of his hand.

Lunadesca bowed to Karol before straightening. "Hello, my name is Lunadesca Talbet and I-"

The young guild boss jumped up from his chair with excitement dashing through his eyes. "You really want to join Brave Vesperia?!" He exclaimed. Lunadesca nodded, "That's so cool! All we have are four members; the original. Our fourth member is off somewhere right now but you should be able to meet her soon."

Yuri sighed, "Hold it, boss. You can't just give a position in the guild to anyone who asks for it. You got to test them first… How about that job request we received earlier from Nordopolica?" He suggested kindly.

"Oh, right!" Karol smiled, "Well, first things first; I'm Karol Capel the leader of Brave Vesperia." He walked around the desk to shake Lunadesca's hand. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Lunadesca Talbet."

Shaking his head, Yuri stepped forward. "Alright, before we go any further with this… Your name is much too long for me. How about something short like Luna?" He tilted his head and Luna nodded with a gentle smile, her eyes having a nostalgic look to them.

Karol darted across the room, "We should get going! I'll be outside Dahngrest and call Judith over with Ba'ul!" And with that, the young leader ran out of the house, leaving the door wide open to the street.

"Wait, but you haven't-!" Yuri sighed and put his hand to his head, "I'm sorry about him; he may be young but Karol's a strong leader to boot." He grabbed his sword by the string and led his dog, Repede outside with Luna following closely behind.

Jingle… Jingle…

Luna crossed her arms, "So who's this Judith and Ba'ul? Are they members of the guild as well?" She asked. "Usually a guild of this size would keep all members close by for convenience purposes. I mean since we have no barrier blastia anymore, travel becomes ever harder."

Yuri nodded, "Yeah, Judy's the last of our original members; Karol, Repede, Judith, and myself; we're all the guild has. But Ba'ul is more like an ally; he's an Entelexeia." He explained shortly as they made their way towards the exit as well where they found Karol waiting patiently for them. "Sorry we took so long."

A tall Krytian approached the four with a soft smile on her lips. "Well, it's been some time now, hasn't it?" She smiled. "Oh, who is this? A new member I presume?" The woman was absolutely beautiful; porcelain skin and flawless features.

"Yes, ma'am." Luna bowed, "I'm Lunadesca Talbet- Luna for short, and I'm currently being taken to my entrance exam… I think." She glanced to Karol who nodded. "My guess is that you're Judith? Yuri told me about you on our way over here."

The woman nodded, "Yes, my name is Judith. It's great to meet your acquaintance, Ms. Luna." Judith then looked up to Yuri. "Oh, I saw Flynn on my way in here; did he come to see you?" She inquired.

Luna shifted her weight onto one foot as she remained silent while Yuri and Judith spoke with each other. Once they had finished, they left Dahngrest behind to come to an enormous whale-like creature hovering over the ground with a ship in its mouth. "This is Ba'ul; my partner." Judith introduced Luna to the Entelexeia.

"I think I've seen him before!" Luna exclaimed, "Flying in the skies about two years back not long before the blastia disappeared." She bowed to the Entelexeia as well. "A pleasure to meet you Ba'ul." She said as she followed Yuri onto the boat he was carrying.

The beast made a loud noise as it lifted them into the sky and made way for Nordopolica. "Ba'ul says it's nice to meet you as well." Judith translated for her as they flew off to the Southwestern continent of Desier."

Karol bounded over to Luna and Yuri who were making small talk with Judith at the back of the ship. "Luna! Ready to hear your mission?" The young girl nodded and gave her full attention to Karol. "We got a head's up from someone in Nordopolica saying that the new champion of the coliseum is a criminal behind recent murders and robberies. The client wanted us to eliminate the champion from his position; this is what you need to do."

Luna nodded, "I understand."

"One last thing, have you ever been in a guild before?" Judith asked.

The younger girl nodded once again, "Yes, I was in a very well-known guild called Cryptic Heart. I'm sure at least one of you has heard of them." Luna watched Karol's face light up with joy. "I take it you're familiar with the name? They recently… Fell apart so I've been searching for new employment." She explained further.

Yuri looked over to Karol, "You seem to know about them, Captain Karol. Care to elaborate with what you know about them?" He asked with his hands on his hips. He occasionally stole a glance at Lunadesca that made her fidget every time.

"Of course I know about them!" Karol shouted, "They're one of the only guilds outside of the Union! Since they're outside, they don't have to follow the laws of the Union or Empire but act as their own units. Mostly their ranks consisted of criminals and fugitives so they were constantly getting into trouble. Cryptic Heart is one of the two famous outside guilds; the other being the Dark Contract."

Judith seemed impressed that the young girl had a connection to such a famous guild let alone be a member of it. "So how did these two become so famous? Being an outside guild would be enough to stand out but nothing that would make them famous among other outside guilds."

This time, Luna answered. "Cryptic Heart and the Dark Contract have never seen eye to eye when it came to being outside guilds. They both served as guilds that could be hired for assassinations for justice or even hunting monsters like the Hunting Blades do. Both outside guilds became famous from various wars between the two that proceeded on for years; neither side ever relenting."

"Wow," Yuri whistled, "That's kind the dangerous bunch you wound up with. So you're an assassin?"

Luna laughed, "Oh no, I've never killed anyone. I mostly did the hunting work or recon missions on an assassination target. So although I helped, I never followed through with an assassination." She explained quickly.

Suddenly Ba'ul made a low noise and Judith nodded. "We've arrived at Nordopolica; we should gather our things and get ready to head into the city."

Well, it finally made its debut! Here's the first chapter of my new fanfiction! Since I finished the game and watched the movie today, I was able to start with accurate information! Thanks for reading and I hope you all stay tuned for more updates.