A/N: Hello there once again! So the prologue was rather short, and I wanted to end with some foreshadowing. Plus, I didn't want to use the intro from the game itself, as that would've been-excuse my French here- "Half-assed." Plus, if you would like to add me as a friend on your FFRK game, my id is aAAj. I use a Lv. 44 Cloud with Braver as his Soul Break. My Keeper Character's name is "Aaron," and that's the name I'll be using for this Fic. Anyways I've rambled enough, let's get chapter 1 started! As always, I don't own FFRK. FFRK is owned by Square Enix and DeNA.

**Chapter 1-Graduation turned Disaster **

BZZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! The alarm rang, its harshness ringing through the small room.

"Ugh, ok, ok I'm up!" a muffled voice came. The bed covers revealed a small youth, no older than ten years old. He had a pair of wide light blue eyes, white skin and light brown hair that was in ruffles, due to sleep. The bangs of his hair were usually untidy. The boy turned his alarm off, and sat on his bed, letting his body adjust to being awake. As he stretched, he suddenly remembered what day it was today.

"I'm gonna be a…Record Keeper…" Aaron said out loud, to nobody in particular. After the realization sank in once more, as it had last night for him (He actually needed his best friend Sara- who was a White mage- to cast sleep on him for he was far too excited to sleep,) He repeated it once more, a little louder this time, not caring who might be outside his door. "I'm gonna be a Record Keeper!" He couldn't believe it, four years of studying under Dr. Mog and Professor Highwind, the day he had been dreaming of was finally here. He racked his brains, grinning widely from ear to ear remembering the night before, when Dr. Mog and Cid had announced to the staff of Record Keepers and Mages in the Royal Archives of his graduation to Record Keeper…

It was empty in the halls of the Royal Archives. It seemed that there was an urgent situation that required all Record Keepers and Archival staff to attend to in the Great Hall. Aaron was given a letter by Dr. Mog and was told to not open it until the second chime of the evening bell. The first chime came. Aaron sat on his bed, heart pounding. He wondered what the letter contained, what it will tell him.

Maybe it was a work order requesting he inspect the paintings? No, that just didn't make sense. Dr. Mog would never give him an instruction this precise. Besides, he did that on his own anyway.

Maybe it was from Professor Highwind, reminding him about his homework? Still didn't make any sense to the youth. Prof. Highwind never gave out notices about homework-either you do it or you're punished and unable to participate in any material-hunting expeditions, of which Aaron always was a part of. He always followed the rules to a T.

Or maybe…he was to meet with a potential historian and show them around the archives? Dr. Mog had been allowing him to do that lately, of course. He had been paying special attention to Aaron as of late, giving him special privileges and allowing him to give tours to visitors when a record keeper wasn't present. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the second chime of the Evening Bell. He slowly opened the letter, expecting either one of these things to meet his eyes. However, all that the youth saw on the single piece of parchment were these words:

Come to the Great Hall. Come alone.

Now this really made the youth on edge. Come to the Great Hall alone? Whatever did that mean? Was he in trouble? Was he somehow responsible for something he overlooked? Did it have something to do with how Fritz- his other friend who was a Black Mage- acted the other day, casting Blindga on Professor Highwind and making him stumble around blindly, trying to locate his tools? He apologized to Dr. Mog profusely, taking all the heat for it and swearing on his life that he'll make sure Fritz would NEVER do it again. Did he do something else that he wasn't aware of?

All of these thoughts swirled around in his mind as he slowly approached the Great Hall. Aaron wore the traditional non-record keeper uniform, a white shirt that ruffled out at the bottom and some tan pantaloons. He grew jealous of seeing that uniform everywhere we went in the Royal Archives. He wanted to be a Record Keeper in the worst way. Being around so many of them wasn't helping.

The youth reached the colossal double doors of the Great Hall. The doors themselves towered above Aaron, reaching the ceiling, ornately decorated and as large as life itself. A mural of four crystals were carved out inside the doors, each one with a symbol representing an element etched inside them; there was one with blue waves meaning water, one that had a red blaze meaning fire, one that had a brown rock meaning earth and last but not least one that had a white tornado inside of it, meaning air or wind.

The youth slowly raised his fist, and knocked on the doors that completely dwarfed him. The doors slowly opened, revealing ten very long tables full of seated Record Keepers, White, Black and Red Mages. They all looked at him, faces not showing any emotion. This made Aaron very nervous. At the center of the Great Hall on a floating platform was Dr. Mog, in the traditional Record Keeper uniform; blue robes with huge cuffed sleeves with a mortarboard hat, similar to what a collegiate graduate would wear, save for the curled front of the hat and the two smaller curled corners The big red plume that was the Moogles head ball floated above the hat . Standing next to him was Professor Highwind, in his usual garb, a long dark gray coat with the Royal Archives insignia-a shield with a crystal inside of it- on his right sleeve, a dark shirt hidden behind a maroon necktie and blue pantaloons with pointy black boots. He had his usual cane with him-a small metallic tricolored walking stick.

"Welcome, Young Aaron." Dr. Mog spoke.

"Um…H-hello, Dr. Mog..." Aaron said nervously. He looked around at the many eyes gazing at him. "Um…am I in trouble? I swear that I didn't know what Fritz was going to do—"

"No, No!" Dr. Mog cut the youth off. "It has nothing to do with that at all, kupo."

Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. "Then…what am I here f-for? And why are all these people here?"

"Let's just say that somebody special is about to attain something that they had dreamed about, ever since they had been taken in under my care," Dr. Mog replied.

Aarons eyes widened. Could this be…?

Before he could finish that thought, The Great Hall erupted in a singular cheer of "CONGRATULATIONS AARON! YOU'RE NOW A RECORD KEEPER!"

This had to be a dream. Aaron's expression changed to one of anxiety to one of purest bliss. A massive feast was held and the rest of the night was occupied by joyful celebration with food, drink and song…

Aaron was still grinning from ear to ear, reliving that one defining moment in his head when he heard a familiar female voice jolt him from the daydream.

"Hey, Mr. Record Keeper, get a move on! You don't wanna be late for your own induction!" Sara the White Mage said, catching the young Record Keeper-to-be off guard. Aaron snapped out of his trance and looked at his White Mage friend, who was now sitting next to him on his bed. "Um..yeah…still can't believe it I guess," Aaron said, quickly getting up and looking at his reflection in the adjacent mirror. He then combed back his light brown hair. Now he looked presentable. "Okay, ready" He said to Sara. She nodded and led Aaron out his door and into the bustling hallway filled with Mages and Record Keepers. These four classes were what held the Royal Archives together; Black and Red Mages to help keep the peace and security in check, White Mages to help with clerical duties, and finally the titular Record Keepers. This class carried the brunt of the Royal Archives by fusing Magic and Art together into paintings that told people of stories and legends of old.

Aaron and Sara made their way through the hustle and bustle of Mages and Keepers, finally reaching their destination of Dr. Mog's study. The Moogle head Record Keeper greeted them. Also Cid was there.

"Welcome Aaron. No doubt you are excited for what is going to happen today, kupo?" Dr. Mog asked the young and anxious youth. Aaron only nodded.

"Well then, I believe that we can start, kupo. Cid, the uniform if you will."

Cid nodded, only uttering a short "hmph." Cid Highwind was a man of few words, only saying something if it concerned a student of lesson or on materials, weapons or forging. He then brought out a pristine blue uniform; robes (although unlike Dr. Mog's, these robes had two long tails trailing the back,) and the same Tri-corner hat, curls and all.

"Kneel before Cid, Kupo."

Aaron's heart was pounding as he knelt before Professor Highwind. Dr. Mog looked down on him from his perch. "Do you, Aaron, willingly take up the responsibilities of the Record Keeper and do all in your power to restore the stories of the past for the enjoyment and understanding of future observers, kupo?"

"I-I do, sir" came the breathless reply. Sara was watching outside the study, smiling. Suddenly, A Black Mage was rushing towards Sara. "What'd I miss?" he said in a hushed tone to Sara. Sara just rolled her eyes and pointed to the kneeling Aaron.

Cid then placed the robes over Aaron, the youth putting his arms through the sleeves. Cid then held the Tri-corner curled hat above Aaron, ready to place it on his head.

"Do you, Aaron, willingly wear this hat as a symbol of the three qualities that a Record Keeper exhibits here in the Royal Archives at all times; Observation, Research and Understanding, Kupo?"

"I will sir, at all times."

Cid gently placed the hat on Aaron's head.

"By the power vested in me, and on behalf of the Royal Archives I now pronounce you, Aaron, a Keeper of Records of the Royal Archives. Now go, and preserve the legends of old for future generations, kupo!"

Aaron proudly rose up, the tails of his new robes touching the ground. Both Sara and Fritz-The Black Mage who missed only a bit of the induction ceremony-were clapping. Sara had tears of joy in her eyes. Fritz, other than his bright yellow eyes (the rest of his face, like all Black Mages was hidden by a black hood, hidden by their large pointed hats) had no expression.

"Congrats, Aaron" Cid said gruffly. Aaron nodded. "Thank you, Professor."

He turned to see his two Mage friends. He smiled and nodded happily to them. Sara ran over and hugged him tightly. "Congrats Aaron!"

Fritz was just standing there. "Um…Yeah, congrats Aaron."

The three exited the study. "So, what are you going to do now, Record Keeper? Going to ditch your friends to preserve the legends of old for future generations, kupo?" Sara asked Aaron, with a mock Dr. Mog accent.

Aaron only giggled. "No. I have the day off today, you know that! Besides, I won't be that busy."

"Ah, you say that now but just you wait, you're going to have so many things to do that they practically own you," Fritz said teasingly. Sara just lightly punched him. "What? It's what I heard from Tyro!"

Sara rolled her eyes. "I'm just really happy that you're a Record Keeper now, Aaron. You deserved it after all the hard work and studies you put in for the last four years." Aaron smiled from ear to ear. These two mages had been his best friends ever since he had begun studying at the Royal Archives. He wouldn't give them up for anything. Well, Fritz already put that commitment in jeopardy a couple of times, but was still his friend nonetheless.

Fritz was looking at the tails of Aaron's new Record Keeper robes. "I just hope that nobody tries to step on these. Looks like these robes can rip apart if someone so much as put a toe on them."

"Unless they want to be expelled, they don't. At all." Sara said, while reading from a huge tome she pulled out of her bag. "According to the rules of the classes, if anybody defiles another's uniform whether it'd be for fun, profit, or for any other reasons, they are to face immediate expulsion."

Fritz whistled. "Well then, I'll be sure to not do that…tempting as it may be…" He added in a mock sinister tone.

The three friends went their separate ways, as Sara and Fritz still had classes. Aaron went back to his room. He took off his new uniform and placed it on the new mannequin that was right by his sink and mirror. He was overjoyed. He finally accomplished what he dreamed of being. Tomorrow was a new beginning for him.

The youth dozed off lying on his bed, dreaming of all the stories and legends he was eventually going to preserve. However a huge rumbling jolted him from his slumber. He woke up, placed the uniform back on his person and headed out to the hallway. Everything was rumbling, Mages and Keepers were all panicking. Looking up at the glass skylights making up the ceiling, the once-blue sky was an ominous shade of red and black. Lightning ripped through the skies. The youth had a look of fear on his face.

Outside, a gathering storm of darkness was gathering. It slowly made its way to the Royal Archives. A huge swirling red and black mass of darkness was forming above the grand building. It then slowly descended on the building, causing the skylights to break. Aaron began running for his life, as did every single Keeper and Mage. Some couldn't outrun the huge cyclones of darkness, and were swallowed whole.

Aaron found Sara and Fritz, who were huddling in a broom closet. He joined them and closed the door shut, fearful of what may happen to them. However, as quickly as it began, it subsided.

Sara slowly opened the door. There was ruin everywhere, Glass from the skylights were strewn everywhere, doors off their hinges, furniture tossed about. The Royal Archives no longer looked…Royal. It now looked like complete ruins.

However, the destruction of the Archives wasn't the only thing on the trio's mind. Upon seeing the realm galleries, Aaron was horrified.

The once-beautiful paintings…they no longer had beauty. They were…shadowed. Blank. Erased.

To Be Continued….

A/N: So how was that for a first chapter? Definitely makes up for the short prologue. Shout-out to Kitt Chaos for the one idea of the tri-corner curled hat of the Record Keepers. (I asked this person in a review if I could use that BTW) Anyway, we're now getting into the meat and potatoes of the fic itself next chapter! Look forward to it and don't forget to read and review! 'Til next time, Kupo!