Chapter 7 - Establishing a Foothold

The Gardevoir stood face to face with a Pokémon made of pure shadow. The only thing he could make out was a twisted, glowing smile.

"You cannot beat me, demon! For I am Helio Solstrider! The Paragon of Light! And with my trusty blade Dawnbreaker, you shall be returned to the darkness from whence you came!" Helio grinned as he drew Dawnbreaker from its scabbard, light spilling out from the blade and causing the evil Pokémon to hiss and launch at him, wicked claws ready to slash the psychic type Pokémon to ribbons.

A mighty battle ensued as claws crossed with glowing steel - as light and dark fought for dominance in this endless field. Helio, though, was never going to allow himself to fall. For as long as he stood, he would be this world's greatest champion and its most stalwart defender. As the pair fought, Helio slowly - but surely - started to gain the upper hand. The fairy type using one final blast of light to launch the dark Pokémon off its feet.

Foot on its chest and blade at its neck, Helio had won this battle - a relieved smile on his face.

"You have lost, beast of darkness. Pick your final words carefully."

"Helio…" It spoke in his sister's voice- what trickery was this?

"Helio! Helio wake up!" Wake up-

With a not so gentle nudge of his arm, the Kirlia jolted upright, using Hidden Power to manifest a blade similar to the one he'd been holding in his dream. Just far, far less radiant. Of course, he looked around to see Hylia smiling at him and… no trouble around him at all. What time was it..?

"Come on. You can't expect to run a guild if you sleep all day, can you?"

"Ugh, that's not fair, Hy. We had a busy day yesterday."

"You did. But you also stayed up past midnight watching the Volbeat and Illumise dancing. You've brought it upon yourself. Now, put that sword away and get yourself freshened up. Sebastian wants a meeting with us all."

"Right- right, yeah…" With a yawn, the Kirlia picked himself up, dispelling the fake 'Dawnbreaker'. Man, that was a cool name for a sword, wasn't it?

Despite the advanced time of the morning - it must have been around 9 or 10, far after the sunrise - the lakeside was calm and peaceful. The early morning mist that would've been present on the lake had, unfortunately, dissipated but it was still beautiful. Could he ever get tired of this sight?

A sight that he approached, kneeling by the edge of the water, and dragging it up to his face with his hands. The cool, refreshing water was enough to shake the last vestiges of fatigue from him as he rose and stretched himself off. A meeting with Sebastian, right?

Heading to the cart to get an apple for his breakfast, he found Sebastian, sat cross-legged before a campfire. It was strange to see the fighting type Pokémon so still, as if he was in another world of his own whilst waiting. Apple obtained from the cart; Helio sat himself down near Sebastian - crunching on the red fruit as he stared at the rocky blue Pokémon. Waiting for him to say something.

"...You're here. Good. Hylia, Erin, the meeting is about to begin."

His voice carried through the lakeside meadow and, in no time at all, Erin and Hylia sat themselves down by the campfire.

"It appears everyone is present. Excellent. So marks the first official meeting for the Mercian Adventuring Guild." The Sawk reached behind him and pulled out a board of wood. It looked like an order form used in one of the villages they'd passed through, actually. "Are there any grievances that anyone wishes to air before we start?"

Grievances with the guild? The name of it struck Helio. Yes, he was proud of his home, but having the name of it so emblazoned as the guild's own name.

"Yes, i-"

"I think i should be included." Before Helio could continue what he was saying, down from the skies above came Cornelius. He didn't know it was possible for a bird Pokémon to pant like a dog but, with the state that the raptor Pokémon was in, it was surely close enough.

"Hhh… hhh… I thought you were going up the stream, not down it." The Staravia sighed and perched himself on the side of the travelling cart, giving his wings a much needed rest.

"So, what are we talking about?"

"Our adventuring guild, Cornelius. I understand that you have to deliver letters back to Mercia, but please do try to keep up."

"Urk- sorry, boss."

"Now, Helio. I understand you were going to say something?" With Sebastian's prompting, Helio took a deep breath in -

"Yes, thank you, Sebastian. As I was going to say, our name needs some work. Pokémon can be proud, you know? And accepting help from a guild that so blatantly brands itself as envoys from a foreign nation… they might not be willing to do that." This made Sebastian to lower his head in thought, nodding slightly as he considered the topic. Clearly, it wasn't something the old fighting type had even considered yet.

"Guild branding, you say? You make a compelling argument. If a group of Borans approached, telling me that they could help me with a problem, I would be just as likely to do it myself. Have you any proposals for a name?"

"Well, what about the Dawnbringers?"

"Heh, no. I know you're going for the 'fresh new dawn' angle, Helio, but no. What about the Defenders guild?" Erin interjected, shaking her head. For her, something like "the defenders" was natural. Afterall, they would be defending the people.

"Doesn't that narrow us down too far, though? When people need berries, they don't think 'oh, I'll go and visit the city guard'. Why not the Miterra guild? Like might, mother and earth combined?"

"With all due respects, lady Hylia, it works when spoken but… when written, I'm afraid the wordplay may be lost. Afterall, we understand the correct mitts to wear. Although, I admit I am partial to the earthen aspect… How about the World's Heart Guild?" The World's Heart Guild. Helio had to admit it had a nice ring to it. And yet... There was something not quite right about it. He wasn't sure what, but...

"Oh! I've got one! What about the open sky guild? Because we're like an open sky. The potential to do anything-"

"No, Cornelius. That implies that we're a guild full of flying types. Okay, well... maybe not the Dawnbringer guild, but… What about the Dawnheart guild?"

"...Dawnheart…"

"I quite like it. It's still got that 'new dawn' aspect, but it's softer? Like, we're not bringing the new dawn directly, we're nurturing it. Letting it come naturally."

"It does sound quite elegant, too. Are we all in agreement?"

A chorus of agreement came from Erin and Cornelius and, with that, the guild name was decided. The Dawnheart guild… Solgaleo, it sounded so good! Helio couldn't help but grin for the rest of the meeting…

"Okay. Next on the agenda. Our modus operandi. Our method of operation. Helio, if you would bring our avian companion up to speed?"

"If I would-?

Oh. Right. Ahem. The Dawnheart guild exists to mend the land of Bora, as we have stated. To do that, we have to collect Time Crystals - created from the great legendary Dialga in the distant past.

With an entire country, and only the five of us, we are unlikely to uncover all of the time crystals by ourselves. Which is why the guild exists - to gather individuals who wish to adventure and do good, that they might find the time crystals alongside us.

Of course, we would not expect Pokémon to work for free - as compensation would be given upon discovery of time crystals."

"...okay, I get that. But how are we going to get the money to compensate them?"

"Thankyou, Erin. I was just getting to that. We are going to use the villages to pay our workers and ourselves.

For instance, the Mayor of Lycia has a bandit problem. Instead of hiring a band of unreliable mercenaries, he contacts the guild and we dispatch a team of Pokémon to handle it.

The mayor provides us with a cash reward - say 1000 coins, and some items.

The items are granted to the team that completed the mission and they are given 600 coins. The guild gets 400 coins to use as operational and reward costs.

It will be difficult initially - however, I will be working to do as many missions as possible in an effort to build the guild's treasury.

Ultimately, I want the guild to not just be a building where people work… I want to create a whole town around the guild. With a clinic and shops. A place for people to live as they work together, supported by the cushion that the guild grants them. But… that's just a pipeline dream."

The idea of distributing work like this was nothing new. The smithing guild back in Mercia, for instance. Each smith was an individual, sure, but the quality of their work was ensured by the guild that backed them. The guild itself likewise got a kickback from sales – whether through building rent or through a degree of profit being returned to the guild. This was just going to be on a much grander, societal level.

"You know… doing work to get money is good and all, Helio, but… how are we going to get the work? We're a brand new group."

"I… haven't thought about that. Maybe if we split up with some supplies and make a name for ourselves? But, then… no. It would leave us unstaffed-"

"I believe I can help with that, boss." Cornelius spoke up with a devious glint in his eyes, and a bowing smile. The flying type Pokémon looked like he had a plan-

"Do go on, Cornelius."

"Well, I have quite the knowledge of the land from all the flying I have done to deliver letters to your parents. They're awaiting another one, by the by. Still, I believe we can put into place a mail system. A grand flock of flying type Pokémon that visit various villages to collect request letters and to spread news about us. Afterall, if nobody knows that we exist, they won't request any help, right?"

"...a flock of birds. It sounds good, but… Cornelius, there's only one of you right now."

"About that… can we have a private discussion after this meeting? Please?"

"Okay. So, Hylia. We'll have some flying types to spread the news. Although, we'll need to have some form of advert to actually let people know who we are. That's for later, though. Anything else?"

"One more thing, Helio. Where, exactly, are we going to live? Us and all the other Pokémon working for us." Erin spoke up again. He'd been thinking a little about what kind of place he wanted the guild to be last night. He'd had that vision in his dream, of course, but he didn't want to just follow that blindly.

"A great guild building. Built by the lakeside.

Beneath the ground, there will be dormitories for the guildmembers - larger ones for individual guild teams - with a cafeteria, internal job boards, storage… a shop.

The guild hall will be like the greatest inn the world has ever seen. Just... as soon as it has been built. And the plans have been drawn out for it. A builder and an architect will be amongst the first staff that we look for, I assure you. Until then... We can purchase tents and make small shelters until the hall is done."

"Yeah. Yeah, I see that. You'd best give me a room on the second floor, though."

"We'll all have rooms on the second floor.

So, Sebastian… is there anything else..?"

"No. I do not believe there is. Has anyone else got any questions to raise?"

With resounding silence, the Sawk have a slight nod and placed down his board with the smallest smile on his face. And as the Sawk smiled out, Helio realised. Wait a minute-

"We need jobs for the day, don't we..? Hylia, can you and Sebastian go looking for some resources? A reliable source of lumber, some food… You know what to do.

Erin, would you care to join me for this conversation with Cornelius?"

The Pawniard raised an eyebrow and nodded at him. Good. Whilst Sebastian was one of his most trusted advisors, he trusted Erin to be a critical eye for whatever birdbrained plot Cornelius had dragged up…

With Erin at his side, Helio followed Cornelius out away from the lake and towards a lone tree that stood in the distance. Was this once a mighty forest, with this as the leftover? Or maybe it was a gift from Hazel to Nimue? Helio wasn't quite sure, but he still followed Cornelius. He had no reason to distrust the Staravia, after all. Sure, he went missing every once in a while, and that was concerning to no small degree, but if the bird was going to act, he would've just fled during one of his letter runs. It would be far easier than ambushing Helio in the middle of a meadow, anyway.

By the time Kirlia and Pawniard had reached the tree, Cornelius had already found himself a perch on one of the branches and was preening himself. As soon as he realised Helio was here, though, he stopped and bowed.

"Helio, it's good to see that you've accepted my offer." He started, his voice carrying a chipper tone, wings outstretched. Erin quickly spoke up, though.

"We've accepted nothing. Not yet. What have you got to tell us, Cornelius?"

The Staravia shook his head and sighed, eyes closed.

"Erin, you wound me! I know how great what I have to offer is for you, for the whole guild thing. What's better for a courier than a little bit of local knowledge?" As he spoke, he raised his head and looked higher up in the tree. Helio's eyes followed, and he realised. They weren't alone here. There was another Pokémon up in the trees, with a cream belly. Closing his eyes, Helio was able to home in on their emotions. Fear, worry, anticipation. He decided to speak up, Erin's eyes trained firmly on the Staravia.

"Local Knowledge… A Pokémon you've befriended, Cornelius?" The Staravia nodded and chuckled before shouting.

"Alright, Tana! You can come on down, now." Movement came from the top of the tree - Erin's eyes narrowing as she got into a fighting stance, claws raised to the sky to defend from anything that might drop down. Though, of course, what came down simply perched next to Cornelius, the branch bowing from the weight of both of the flying type Pokémon atop of it.

It was… a Fletchinder. A little taller than Cornelius was, but much leaner. As if her entire body was built for speed. Though, something about her looked familiar to Helio. Even if he couldn't quite place where he'd seen this fire bird before.

"You are Helio, right? Cornelius has told me a lot about you." Her words were slow and deliberate, as though she was new to speaking. Or... no, not new to speaking. New to speaking in a formal manner. Regardless, Helio would curtsy - an introduction that he'd seen his mother give dozens of times - and smile at the Fletchinder.

"That's right. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tana. May I ask how you and Cornelius came to be acquainted?" If the Fletchinder was nervous, Helio was going to do his best to calm the flying type's worries.

The bird looked across to Cornelius, and the Staravia nodded, as if giving her the go ahead to speak.

"I… was part of a bandit gang. We attacked a village called Nordian, and-" At the mention of the name Nordian, Erin's eyes lit up with recognition, as did Helio's. It hadn't been more than a month since they'd fought off a squad of bandits from that same village. The Pawniard's claws glistened, her legs tensing as if ready to launch into the tree and slice the robin to pieces.

"Erin. Stand down." Helio's left arm flew out infront of the Pawniard, igniting with the flame of a Fire Punch as a warning sign for the steel type Pokémon. "We'll see what Erin has to say, and then we'll judge her. Until then, we must give her a fair shot. If Cornelius trusts her, then so do I."

"..yeah, it's probably Cornelius'-"
"ERIN."

"Right, right. Carry on, Tana."

Deflated, the Pawniard backed off, Helio's flame dissipating as he gestured for Tana to start speaking again.

"Anyways. I was with my bandit group, right? And then we got driven out of Nordian by this upstart. Our guys forced back to base. That's when Cornelius tackled me to the ground. The fort wrenched from command of Batta, and… Well, here I am."

This Fletchinder and the Fletchinder that had taken Cornelius out of combat at the bandit fort were the exact same Pokémon. Strange how life often worked like that, wasn't it? But, then…

"You were a bandit… Why are you here, then?"

"Cornelius… I dunno what it was, but he saw somethin' in me. He patched me up and told me to follow along. Bringing me meals, more than I'd eat in days at a time… We'd hunt, and… well, he asked me if I wanted to help your cause. To make this land better, to help it prosper. If you'd have me, Helio, I'd love to join your cause."

Helio frowned. Everything the Fletchinder was saying was the truth. He didn't detect any falsehoods in her words, at least… none that were obvious enough to spot at any rate. Still, why did Cornelius save her?

"Cornelius? Why-?"

The Staravia fluttered down to the ground and stood up straight before Helio, wings held against his side as the bird stared up into Helio's eyes.

"Because, Helio. When I saw Tana, I didn't see a bandit. Look at her, she's tiny. She was fighting every day just to get a scrap of food to survive. Being a bird is difficult enough, generating fire? That's got to be even worse. I saw someone who was starving. Who I knew I could help. …Yes, I did steal some supplies, but I also went hunting with her. She's doing so much better than she was when we found her. Really."

Helio hummed and closed his eyes. Both the Staravia and Fletchinder were genuine. That much he could tell.

"Alright… Cornelius, you're accountable for Tana's behaviour and actions, understood? If she steps out of line…"

"Then I'll be the one to suffer for it alongside her, I understand. So, you want us on the mail circus, right? Visit villages to drop off missions, pick them up, that sort of thing?"

"That's right. We'll need to draw up some posters later on, but… When we've got them, I'd like you and Tana to distribute them out across the continent. Get as far reaching as possible, call for as many Pokémon as you can for aid… That is my mission for you both. If you wish to accept it."

Tana puffed her chest out and fluttered down to stand side by side with Cornelius, a look of steely determination in her eyes.

"You can count on us, Helio. However we can be of aid, we will be of aid. Right, Cornelius?"

"Of course. Allow me to grab my bags, and Helio? You go get those posters done. Tana and I'll be waiting and plotting our path through the towns and villages."

A/N:

And there we have it folks! The official founding of the dawnheart guild, and its first recruit! A little bandit that we'd found all the way back in chapter 4. It's a bit of a shorter chapter this month due to assignment work preventing me from getting everything done for this chapter that I would have liked, but I'm still happy with its content so far.

Next month, we'll be meeting some more new faces and even seeing some familiar Pokémon as the Dawnheart guild grows.

Until then, I've been Locke. Have a good may, and good luck with any upcoming assessments! Finals or otherwise.