A/N: Now, this "fic" has primarily been either Naruto or Harry Potter, though I think the former has been favored a bit more. There is ONE Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Chapter, and more than a few X-Over/Fusion Chapters. Only recently did I start getting into Bleach and adding bits of that Fandom to this mozaic of ideas.

I figured it was time for a change in pace and ideas.

I got this muse a while back while watching Naruto, I had just gotten into the Fandom, watching the Chuunin Exams, whilst playing Fable when it came to me. I mean, c'mon, if we can watch "Ninja" students, why can't we read about "Hero" students?

For those of you who are fans of the XBox game "Fable" and its' expansion, "The Lost Chapters", be prepared to see many, many familiar and unfamiliar faces through out the fic when it comes to fruition.

Do keep in mind, however, that you DO NOT need to know anything about Fable or The Lost Chapters for this fic, as it takes place between the prologue quests, and the main quest in the game.

Now... this is the unfinished, ORIGINAL version of the 1st Chapter of Legacy of a Hero: Becoming the Best. I should be posting the alternate version of this soon.

CHAPTER ONE: Life at the Guild

Hero apprentices were lined up, the academy instructors looking them over. Some held promise, others looked better suited for the life of a trader, or a shopkeeper, others looked no better than simple rogues or bandits. Still, they could tell the majority of this group would be exceptional one day.

"Good Morning, students," said a bald old man. "I am the Guildmaster for the Guild Academy of the Heroes of Renown."

He paused only to hear a few mumbled good mornings.

"Here at the guild, we, that is myself and the instructors, will teach you the ways of Renown," he told them, "First thing in the morning, you will be served breakfast in the main mess hall. You will then proceed to the class rooms where you will learn the theory about Will, the History of Albion and the Guild itself, etiquette and various other electives. For those of you who had attended other schools outside the Guild, you'll find the classroom courses not unlike the ones you had before. Midday, you will then break off back into the mess hall for lunch and then it will be time for afternoon training. Depending on your skill set and talents, you will be training with various weapons, hand to hand combat, practical Will application, and physical training. You will then have dinner in the early evening and then it will be time to retire back to the dormitory to study and complete your homework, as well as recreational activities."

"Isn't this exciting, farm boy?" asked a tall, skinny dark skinned girl to a fair skinned boy who was amongst the shortest in their class. "We're going to become Heroes!"

The boy scowled at his given nickname, "I suppose... I never though much about being a Hero..." he said lamely, though he partially lied, as he had, had several dreams where he was a valiant knight, a corrupt sorcerer, and even a daring rogue.

"Just try to keep up, all right? I'm going to have to be the best if I'm going to rise to my brother's level!" she said excitedly.

The boy scowled again.

He had really disliked the girl's older brother after he had arrived just after their impromptu sparring match, where the girl had proceeded to knock him about a few good times with her short staff.

The girl's older brother, Thunder, if he remembered correctly, had just become the Arena Champion, basically labeling him as the strongest Hero currently in existence. While this did not merit dislike from the boy in any way, shape, or form the way Thunder acted like everyone was beneath him did.

The boy's friend, Whisper, was exactly the same. While he liked her, he thought she was more than a little stuck up. The boy promised himself he'd train hard to knock people like that on their asses and teach them a thing or two about looking down on others. Until then however... Well, it was best if he kept his head down.

"Now then, as this is the first day, we are going to get a rudimentary measure of each of your skills," said the Guildmaster.

The boy groaned.

"Relax, farm boy. I'm sure there are others with skills as pitiful as yours," said Whisper non-reassuringly.

"Maybe I should show you exactly what I learned from the Guildmaster yesterday," threatened an annoyed farm boy.

"Tut, Tut..." said a voice from behind them. The man wore a dark heavy shirt with a collar that concealed the bottom half of his face and dark pants. He also wore a heavy hooded cloak and dark sunglasses. "I'd save that energy as you'll need it soon. If you two could follow me. Oh and you and you as well..." he said pointing towards two others new apprentices.

From a distance, the Guildmaster watched as each of the new apprentices were broken up into small groups. An interesting group indeed...

He mused over a few of the new apprentices.

First, was the younger sister of the already legendary Thunder, Whisper. The girl was a prodigy. She had plenty of skill and natural talent, but was often over confident. The girl didn't have many friends due to her superior attitude, however she could back up many of her claims. Many were already saying that she had the potential to match and even surpass, the current number one prodigy, Briar Rose, a young girl a few years older than the current group of apprentices, whom had nearly unparalleled Will control for her age, and a vast understanding of various languages and runic translations.

Next, was Oliver Hugo. A powerful, but lazy apprentice who had originally been in Briar Rose's class, but failed to meet up to Guild standards and was thus held back. The boy was perhaps even more skilled and talented then either Briar or Whisper, but lacked the drive to push himself to succeed. As he had already failed twice, if he did not pass this year, he would be sent home in disgrace, further dishonoring his families' name.

Ah yes... Twilight Suzuka. The only apprentice to actually already have a name made for herself before she even entered the academy. Suzuka was already proficient in many of her clan's techniques. She was a prodigy among them and was surely destined to do well. She was already an excellent swordsman, skillfully handling her bokken with practiced ease. Having been trained from a young age, her skills were already bound to be rivaling some of the veteran apprentices.

Finally, there was Maze's boy, as the older generation was calling him, or Farm Boy as Whisper and Thunder referred to him. He wasn't particularly skilled, though he had learned the Lightning Spell in record time. He also seemed to favor swordsmanship over other forms of weapons, but he wasn't a natural. His skills with a bow were fair, but were overall, above average. In fact, there wasn't really anything remarkable about him, except the boy seemed to have a drive that rivaled that of Scarlet Robe.

The boy, Orlanden, was the son of a Woodsman named Brom and now an orphan. His family having been seemingly killed in the attack. The boy only saw the corpse of his father and his sister had disappeared right after the attack, so it was possible she was still alive. His mother was due to arrive back in Oakvale not long after the raid started, but Maze had no luck in tracking the mother down, she was presumed dead as well.

The boy would be a powerful enough Hero if he lasted out the training, but at best he would be rather unremarkable. A faceless hero lost in the annuls of history. The only ones who seemed to think differently was Scythe, who always lectured others about looking 'underneath the underneath', and Maze, whom had brought the boy in. The Guildmaster was almost certain Maze knew more about the boy than he let on, but for now... It just wasn't important.

The Guildmaster looked over the group the boy had the fortune, or misfortune, to be in. It looked as if Shade would be evaluating the group which also consisted of Whisper, Suzuka and Oliver Hugo. So much talent and skill in that group... He hoped the boy would adapt, as he truly had nothing else.

Shade walked them some distance through the woods before turning around and addressing the four apprentices. "My name is Shade, and I am now going to conduct a test of your current skill levels. I want the four of you to come at me with intent to kill."

"B-But what if we injure you?" asked Whisper.

"Trust me, none of you are at a level yet where you actually could injure me," said Shade calmly "I am an elite Hero after all."

"Aren't we going to introduce ourselves first?" asked Oliver lazily.

"Would it matter? It's not going to help you pass," said Shade somewhat mockingly.

"Then take this!" shouted Suzuka drawing her bokken. She swung the tip behind her, and as soon as it touched the ground, she swung it in front of her until the sword was pointing at Shade. "Piercing Wind!"

A bolt of pure wind shot out at Shade who merely lifted his left hand. The bolt struck his hand and dispersed. "Hn. Not bad... Perfect form, but lacks... Power..." Shade then used Assassin's Rush and was instantly behind Suzuka.

'Fast...' Thought a wide-eyed Orlanden.

'Assassin's Rush from that range... Is that what it means to be an elite Hero?' Suzuka asked herself.

Shade backhanded Suzuka as Whisper used Battle Charge to get up close and personal with Shade. Try as she might, her flurry of strikes were each easily blocked by Shade.

"Not bad, I suppose... But I expected more from the sister of Thunder..." he said calmly.

Whisper growled in response, her swings becoming more powerful, but less accurate. Shade ducked under her staff and delivered a quick kick to her midsection, followed up by a weak left handed uppercut and finished with a back hand, knocking her away.

"You'll never match up to your older brother if you let you emotions overtake you like that," he critiqued her. He then turned to Oliver and Orlanden. "Aren't you two going to attack me?"

"What's the point? Four times zero power is still zero power," said Oliver, "We couldn't beat you even if we were working together. So this really is not worth my time."

"Then I'll make it worth it," said Shade as he dematerialized. Oliver's eyes widened as he jumped out of the way of Shade's incoming fist, which left a small crater on the ground. Shade looked at Oliver's normally golden eyes only to find them glowing. They were now a set of glowing white orbs.

"Fireball!" shouted Hugo as he formed a large fireball with two hands sending it at Shade, who simply turned into a shadow and allowed the fireball to pass through him.

"You're not the only one with a special ability, Mr. Hugo..." said Shade. He became insubstantial again as Suzuka's bokken was swung at his head. A small pulse of power, sent her flying back. "So... Shall we begin, Mr. Hugo?"

"Damn..." Oliver cursed. 'I don't have the stamina to last much longer using my bloodline... But without it, I am completely outmatched...'

"You are already tiring," said Shade, "You should have put more time into training, do try to keep up."

A quick Assassin's Rush placed Shade behind Oliver, however, Oliver was already on the move having jumped and spun around in the air, "FIREBALL!" he shouted, A rather large ball of flames being formed in his hands.

Shade had barely moved into place when he suddenly found a face full of fire. Using Assassin's Rush again, Shade was behind Oliver again, this time the apprentice had no time to react as Shade kicked him in the back.

A/N: Good? Bad? Ugly?