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2 Years Later...

Everybody had changed as they grew. Lyle, who's normally sun blonde hair, turned white as snow as he reached adulthood and he was stronger than he could have imagined. Wielding his steel longsword, he was the best swordsman in the guild. The same could be said about Alex and her Archery. Maze was still the best Alchemist, but Van was extremely good as well. Lyle now stood at 6 foot tall and was considered very attractive by the women of the guild.

Alex had grown to 5'10" at the age of 17 and by her 18 birthday, she stopped wearing her hair in a ponytail. Letting it flow down her back it now reached the back of her legs, where she had it tied off so it wouldn't drag. Now sporting a tiara, similar to Elizabeth's, she was quickly catching up to her superior in beauty.

Van's hair hadn't grown much since he was younger, but now at age 19, his face was more defined with a small gotee and his body was far more muscular than before. He carried on his back a staff for hand to hand combat, which he became very skilled with.

Whisper, now taller than her friends stuck with her spear and had also become very skilled with explosives thanks to her brother. She now wore a tight blue battle uniform and a matching headband around her head.

Lyle and Van had become friends after their fight in the will circle, which confused everyone. Nobody had seen the two act as if they respected each other before let alone act like friends overnight. But they had become good friends and even sparring partners, which is how Van got so skilled with his staff.

They had all taken their tests except for Lyle. He stepped into the guild woods with his bow out and an arrow drawn back. Cautiously, he stepped forward, looking back and forth for any sign of movement. Suddenly, he heard something behind him and spun around. Aiming at the intruder, he smiled and lowered his bow. The bird looked at him and flew away.

Lyle smiled again and turned around. He barely ducked in time as Maze's staff nearly clothslined him. Rolling backwards, he shot at Maze. Maze caught the arrow and threw it aside. "Cummon boy, you can do better than that!" he shouted aiming his hand at Lyle. Lightning shot and hit Lyle in the chest, making him fall backwards and yell.

Raising his hand, he began his own lightning attack and the lightning that Maze was releasing started to hit Lyle's hand and made the glow brighter. Lyle stood and smiled. Throwing his hand forward, the lightning reversed and flew back at Maze. Maze was hit by the lightning and thrown backwards, but he got up quickly shook it off. Smiling at Lyle, he ran forward and attacked with his staff.

Lyle quickly drew his sword and blocked and parried Maze's attacks. Rolling under one of Maze's swings, he spun around and kicked Maze in the back, sending the mage onto his stomach. Lyle jumped into the air and swung his sword at Maze, but was surprised to find that he had blocked the attack behind his back. Pulling his sword back, Lyle thrust at Maze, who rolled over and jumped to his feet.

Maze grabbed the sword and sent electricity through it, making Lyle let go of the blade. "Not looking too good Lyle. You gotta do better." said the mage, and he walked towards the stunned apprentice. Lyle thought quickly and thrust his fist into Maze's gut, making him double over. Lyle quickly rolled over onto Maze's back and grabbed both ends of his staff. Using great leverage, he hurled Maze across the forest and ran after him, staff in hand.

Maze landed in a puddle and coughed loudly as he spit the water out. Standing again, he suddenly started to glow. Lyle swung the weapon expertly, but it just bounced off Maze. Maze grabbed his staff and sent another wave of electricity through the weapon. Lyle shook violently before letting go. Maze spun the staff and swept Lyle's feet out from under him with one swing, then ended the match by thrusting the weapon downwards. It slammed into the ground with tremendous power a hairs breath away from Lyle's neck.

Lyle smiled nervously and gulped. "Well, did I pass?" he asked.

Maze smiled and helped the apprentice to his feet. "With flying colors boy. All you had to do was hit me three times."

"Why didn't you tell me? I would have stopped sooner."

"Because, I wanted to see what you are really made of." said Maze with a smile. Putting his hand on Lyle's shoulder, he nodded. "You are very skilled Lyle. You make me proud to be alive."

Lyle scratched his white hair and blushed. "Wow, when did the great Maze get so sappy?" he asked. Maze laughed and slugged Lyle in his arm, knocking him over. "Ouch, you should have studied Melee, not Alchemy." he said rubbing his arm.

Laughing again, Maze replied, "Cummon boy, we have to get to your ceremony. Today is the day you become a Hero of Albion."

All four of them stood in front of the guildmaster, Maze, and Thunder and had an audience behind them. "Congratulations all of you. You have progressed incredibly in your stay here at the guild and I am proud of you all for your achievments that have brought honor to this guild. Now that you have graduated from apprentices, may you bring honor and valour to all of Albion with your heroics and bravery." said the guildmaster, who's speech was followed by applause. "Step forward as I call your names to recieve your Guild Seal." he said. "Lyle, also known for his amazing sword skill as Sabre."

Lyle stepped forward and the guildmaster placed around his neck a pendant with the Guild Seal on it. "Alexandria, well reknowned for her amazing skill with a bow and loyalty to those around her." he said and Alex stepped forward. Putting the seal around her neck, the guildmaster continued. "Whisper, sister of a great warrior and with courage and exellent skill, shall also become one." he said, and Whisper stepped forward and recieved her seal. "And last, but certainly not least, Vangard. Who has become a great warrior in all forms of magic, and has shown us that anyone can find a friend among enemies." Van stepped forward and the guildmaster gave him his guild seal.

As they all stood back in a line, the guildmaster smiled. "All of these great students have mastered their arts skillfully and resiliantly. Through trouble and trial they have struggled to raise their skills and abilities and they have all shown us that there is no limit to a human's determination. I am proud to call you Hero's of the Phoenix Guild." he said and bowed. Maze bowed as well, leaving Thunder standing in the back.

The four bowed back respectively then stood strait up again. "You may now begin your journey into Albion." he said and the four turned and walked away from the clapping and cheering into the map room.

Whisper smiled at Lyle. "Well, we finally made it farmboy. What are you going to do now?" she asked.

Lyle shook his head. "Not sure, I was a little shaken up in there. I guess I'll grab my first mission. I'll pick an easy one so that I can get the hang of it." he said.

"Yeah, we should all grab a mission." said Alex, and Van nodded his agreement.

Looking at the table, Van grabbed a card and scanned it. "Here is one to destroy a Snow Troll at Hook Coast." he said.

"Don't sound too easy to me..."said Lyle.

"Well, you take your easy mission. I'll take this one to put my skills to the real test. No more straw dummies for me." he said with anticipation.

Alex smiled. "Me too, can I come?" asked Alex.

Van, surprised by this smiled slightly. "Uh..." he said looking at Lyle, who nodded. "Sure. You would be a great help." he said now beaming.

"Yeah! Alright snow troll, you're going down! You're facing an unbeatable team." she said almost jumping into the air. This comment made Van smile more, if that were a possibility.

"Here's one. Hornets have infested the Picnic Area and are constantly attacking the villagers." said Lyle reading another. Sliding the card into his pouch, he looked at Whisper. "What about you?" he asked her.

She smiled. "Sorry, but not yet. The first thing I am going to do is to see Bowerstone and go shopping. You have no idea how long I've been saving money to spend there." she said.

"Ah, taking vacation already. Haven't been a hero for ten minutes and already you sound like a veteran." said Lyle. They looked at each other and laughed, confusing the other two. "Inside joke." they both said simultaniously.

"Anyway, I'll be on my way." said Van. "Coming?" he asked Alex and she nodded excitedly. Grasping his guild seal, Van vanished in a blue light, quickly followed by Alex.

Lyle turned to Whisper. "Well, I'll see you around. I'm going to take care of these real quick." he said, then did the same as Van. He vanished leaving Whisper laughing at him.

"Its only a hundred feet there, he could have walked." she said.

OoOoO

Lyle appeared outside the area, but was already set upon by an annoying buzzing. Running through the gates to the picnic area, he pulled out his sword. The picnic area was littered with bodies and wasps flew around uncontrolled by anything.

"Help! The wasps are attacking!" yelled a villager who was running from three giant wasps. Lyle stepped forward and cut through them like they were paper. The villager thanked him, then ran to safety. Stepping forward, Lyle held up his hand and shot chain lightning across the entire area. The only villagers left in the area were already dead, so he thought it okay to use the spell. It flew back and forth from one wasp to another, instantly vaporizing the insects.

Lyle put his sword away as he thought he was finished. But he quickly turned around as a dark cloud appeared above the sundial in the center of the park. A giant wasp appeared and a dozen more drones attacked Lyle. Lyle was quick, but wasn't fast enough to dodge the stings from several wasps. They surrounded him and began stinging him relentlessly until he slammed a fist to the ground. A wall of fire exploded from the ground and roasted the insects in a matter of seconds.

Lyle stood up smiling. His armor had not been pierced by the stingers. Pulling out his bow, he took aim at the queen and fired. The arrow flew and hit the armored chest of the queen, causing her to faulter in her flying. Firing another arrow, this one hit the left wing, making the queen drop from the sky. Drawing his sword, Lyle dashed forward and used the sundial to boost him into the air. Throwing a fireball at her, making her body unusable, he landed and beheaded the queen with one stroke of his sword.

Suddenly, the villagers that had been watching clapped joyously and cheered for him. "Go Sabre!" they shouted and he smiled. Taking the queens head by the antenna, he dragged it along as his first completed mission trophy. He walked over to the new crowd and basked in his glory. After a while, he got bored and teleported back to the guild. He was welcomed by the guildmaster.

"Ah Lyle! I heard about your mission from Maze. You did very well for your first time." he said.

"It wasn't that hard with all the training I did here." he said smiling.

"Oh, by the way, Maze wanted to speak with you." said the guildmaster. "He's waiting for you at the Bowerstone South Tavern. Don't keep him waiting too long."

Lyle nodded. "I'll go ahead and get that out of the way now. Afterwards, I'm taking a quick nap." he said and walked towards the guild door.