October 1st, X801, Approximately 3PM

Solar Zenith Sleeping Quarters, Special Operations Sector

"AAHHHGH!"

The normally quiet, royal blue halls of the Special Operations' private quarters were filled by the loud screams of two young men as one of them slowly opened the door to one of the storages… Only after spending a good ten minutes picking the lock. A few of the mages who were about would stop and look, but luckily, no one seemed more than mildly interested, though the lock picker could feel a few glares burning into the back of his head for making such an awfully loud noise in such a serene environment.

"Oh, man! What the heck?!" Ephraim Monroe spoke hoarsely as he stepped into the dusty storage room and closed the door behind himself. "It's just me!"

"H-h-h-how was I supposed to know that!?" A powder-blue haired male who was currently curled up on the floor, his onyx eyes surrounded by tear stains and dark circles from sleepless nights. He only stood at 5'6'' with unhealthily pale white skin and a malnourished frame. "Y-y-you could h-have b-b-been anyone… Th-they're l-l-l-looking f-for me a-again, a-aren't they?" As he spoke, Sorin Kant's bandaged hands gripped at the stained, overly worn, dark red hoodie that he was wearing. Even in the dimly lit space, his trembling was visible.

Ephraim let out a soft sigh and rub the back of his neck, forcing a braces-filled, awkward smile to his face. "I mean… Yeah. But the ceremony's already been called off for –"

"Oh, thank g-g-goodness…"

"I mean…! You can't get keep runnin' man. You need to step down or take the crown. That's really the only options ya got, so why are ya gonna keep hidin' like this?" The taller, somewhat lanky special operations mage had intentions of comforting his ex-teammate, but he was already realizing that he had no idea how to do so. So, he crouched, deeply tanned hands gripping his thin knees as dull honey eyes shone with a bit of friendliness. "Listen… Some of us believe in ya. Yer old man wouldn't've left the castle in yer name if he didn't, too! So… Tomorrow's gotta be the day, yeah?"

A whimper was the only thing that came from the small mage at his friend's words and tears formed in the corners of his eyes. "I… I-I'm s-scared…"

"And when aren't you scared?" Ephraim's naturally droopy eyes narrowed for a moment before he was finally able to find his goofy, dimpled grin. "'Cept this time I don't even blame ya! But you gotta do it! Master Aureil wants the guild to belong to yer family, right?"

"Th-they don't e-even tr-trust me…" Obviously, the silly smile and overly cheerful tone of the other's voice was not enough to break the tears as Sorin's eyes fell to his hands, focusing on the blood stains that were beginning to appear through the white cloth. "I… I'm weak… B-but Father w-would b-be disappointed i-if I d-didn't… H-has no one found any information on Surya?"

"They'll learn to trust ya! Ya just gotta show 'em that you're not some frightened little boy anymore! And I dunno… I just got back from an outin' a few hours ago," Ephraim explained. His smile faded to a childish pout as he looked around the closet, deciding that he wasn't happy with such a confined, dark place. So he stood and offered a hand down to Sorin. "C'mon. Let's go fer a walk, okay?"

Sorin hesitated for a good few seconds before nodding slowly and taking Ephraim's hand long enough to stand. His once black pants and old, black and white sneakers were covered in dust and his hair was an even frizzier mess than usual. How long had he been hiding for? "H-how did you even kn-know where to find me?"

"Yer one o' my longest-standin' teammates and ya always hide in small places, like some kinda prey animal," Ephraim explained with a small chuckle. Leaving out the reasoning behind them being long-time teammates. The wavy-haired man had taken sympathy on Sorin when he first joined the special operations division and most who joined their team soon quit because they either became tired of failing missions due to Sorin's fearful nature or they got annoyed by Ephraim's hyperactivity and impulsiveness. "I just went around checkin' a few closets and pantries until I found one that was locked and picked it. Special Ops 101! No one keeps us outta where we need to be!"

Despite the tears that were now rolling down his rounded cheeks, Sorin managed a soft snort of a laughter at his friend's words. "Yeah… M-maybe t-this place w-wasn't the best p-place to hide… Haha…"

"There we go! Lighten up, chump!" the rusty haired male said with a wink, nudging Sorin with an elbow as they began to walk.

Unfortunately, both of the boys' smiles faded as they made their way through the stairs. Even though the sleeping area wasn't bustling in the afternoon, there were enough glares from the few mages that were coming and going to make the guildmaster-to-be's shoulders slouch. Sorin's body began to tremble and Ephraim patted his back, picking up the pace of his walking so that they could get out of the private quarters and eventually, out of the castle entirely. While Ephraim made sure to give a friendly smile to those who weren't glaring at them as they passed, Sorin kept his eyes completely down on the ground.

"Wooh! See? We made it without anyone tryin' to kill ya!" the cheerfully aloof man announced, throwing his fists into the air, his slightly-oversized, colorful sweater rising up only a little as he did so.

"You'd better take that back!"

A female voice spoke with a harsh tone, causing Sorin to screech and cling for dear life to Ephraim, who was looking over his shoulders with a quirked brow of curiosity. The only thing he really noticed was the immense amount of pink sparkles that the woman behind them seemed to be radiating. "Uhm…."

"I'm joking! I'm joking! GEEZ!" Kimberly Rosa laughed loudly at both of the boys before skipping up to them and winking, a heart practically coming from the cute notion. The woman was taller than average, standing at 5'10'' with heeled, fashionable white boots with little stars decorating the outside of them, that pushed her up to Ephraim's height of 6'0''. Besides the knee-high shoes, her olive-toned body was clothed in a thick, pastel pink sweater that hid her curves (or lack-thereof) over beige shorts that barely showed and white leggings that had cherries and strawberries printed on them in pale pink. Even through the leggings, one could tell that she was quite muscular, especially compared to the males in front of her. Her long, coral pink hair was tied into a high ponytail, with bangs currently styled to form a "V" on her forehead and curled locks framing her face. A bit of makeup added to her fashionista look and her sparkly aura gave away her position in the Public Relations division of the guild.

"Oh, okay! 'S'good!" Ephraim joined her in laughing, turning around while Sorin still held tightly onto his sweater. "You're… One of the PR members? Was it, erm, Kimi, right?" Even though he had been a member of the guild for over three years, Ephraim didn't deal much with Public Relations, even though it had been the second division suggested to him upon joining. The only reason he knew the woman's name was because he had seen a few of the Zenith shows and he still remembered the names of a few of the performers that he liked the most.

"Mmmhm~ What are you two up to? Off on a top secret, sneaky mission?" Kimi asked as he she stepped forward, a playful shine in her eyes.

"If you count a walk as a mission, then yeah, sure!"

Kimi let out a hum before her eyes fell to Sorin and her smile faltered, if only for a second. Her brows furrowed and then relaxed as one perfectly painted, cupcake-themed nail tapped at her chin. She appeared to be thinking of how to say what she wanted to say and the silence that fell between the three made Sorin shiver again. "You know, everyone's really putting a lot of effort into your inauguration for you to keep running away, Mr. Guild Master, sir. I've heard rumors that if you don't show up tomorrow, the division leaders will be deciding who the guild master is, other than you!" Kimi hadn't had many interactions with either of the mages she was in front of, but she knew the face of the new guild master because it could be seen within the database.

A soft hum of discontent came from the small mage as he heard the words, but at least he finally stopped being so clingy and step away, bowing his head. "I… I k-know. S-s-sorry…"

"Want some tips to overcome stage fright? I got plennnntty of them~" Kimi's voice was musical as she spoke, despite the seriousness of her previous words.. With a musical, 'Dah-dum~' she twirled around and lean forward so that she was closer to Sorin's height, carelessly invading the frightened man's personal space. "You just need… To breathe… Relax a little. Everything always works out for the best in the end, y'know~? Even if you're not so confident, pretend you are and eventually, you'll trick yourself!"

"A-ahh… Uhm…"

With her lips poked out in a slight pout because her advice hadn't warranted much of a reaction, she'd turn around and face the castle that was behind them. It truly was a sight to behold, towering over them with an exterior made of pale golden bricks that glowed faintly in the afternoon sunlight. The towers and banners of the four divisions could be seen clearly, Public Relations red handshaking logo over a gold cloth hanging on the front right, Combat's golden sword and shield symbol over a deep red cloth to the left of PR, Science's blue, opened book over a silver flag behind PR, and Special Operation's silver, wide opened eyes over a royal blue flag in the back behind Combat. There was a balcony high up, overlooking the bustling city of Allium and gaining view on the floral decorated stone wall that encircled the major city but from their spot on the ground, the trio couldn't tell if anyone was on it. The wooden gates of the castle were always, open, ever-inviting clients and prospective mages to visit, with shining golden lacrima floating on either side of the entrance, serving as surveillance.

"Look at this! Do you know how many people killed to be a KING of something like this? You're—" the peppy woman was going to tell Sorin that he was lucky to be in the position that he was in, but a loud whimper from him stopped her.

"Why'd ya have to say the 'k' word?" Ephraim groaned out, grimacing as the small astral mage began to cry again. "I seriously thought you pretty types were better at watchin' what ya say…"

For a few seconds, Kimi sort of gawked, confused by the entire situation until she realized what she had said. With a gasp, she threw herself forward and hug Sorin tightly despite the fight that he put up. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't… No one's gonna kill you, silly! I was just trying to make a point that you're lucky and I didn't mean to scare you! It's gonna be okay! I promise!" At her words, Sorin's sobbing only grew louder, so she patted his back and hum gently, a soft melodic tune in attempt to comfort him. "Oh! I know! Why don't we go eat? Food's always great when you're down! I know the perfect place, too! I'll pay and everything!"

"O-Okay… F-food s-sounds good… B-but you don't have to p-p—"

"Are you guys going to eat?" A fourth voice interrupted Sorin and caused him to tense up again, while Ephraim and Kimi merely turned their attention to the source of the voice.

The man wasn't someone that any of them particularly recognized… The most notable traits about him were his upper-back length, shaggy mess of light gray locks and the hooded, burgundy long-coat that covered most of his thin, average-heighted form. His eyes – which were a shade darker than his hair – held a laziness to them, contrasting a bit with his sharper facial features and cheerful smile. His nose was crooked as if it had been broken before and his skin was a soft, pale white.

Of course, as social as she was, Kimi gave the other mage a bright grin. "Mhm~ Are you a member of Solar Zenith? Wanna tag along if so~? It'll be free for you!"

At the invite, the male flashed the red, Solar Zenith guild mark on his right palm. "Yep. Combat Division! Name's Aldrich! And sure! Don't know who would turn down the offer of food."

"Right~? The more the merrier! So let's go! I'll lead the way!"

The café that Kimi led the three men to was only a couple of blocks away from the guild, on one of the corners of a four-way intersection of the streets. The outside was decorated with soft colored flowers of whites and pale sunny colors, with a cream and chocolate brown awning. A chalkboard sign propped beside the door read, "Welcome to Coffees and Cream! Try our peaches and cream white chocolate chip pancakes today!"

"This place has some of the best sweets and breakfast, but their sandwiches are also really healthy if you ever gotta watch your calorie intake!" Kimi explained as she opened the door for her guildmates and followed them in.

"Good afternoon, Kimi!" A waitress greeted with a charismatic smile. Like the awning outside, the waitress' outfit and the interior of the quaint little café was all decked out in shades of browns and creams that would remind someone of sweets. The aromas of coffees and freshly baked pastries filled the warm air, a relaxing touch after being in the cool autumnal afternoon. "I haven't seen these three before! You on a recruitment mission?"

"Goooood afternoon, Sakura~" Kimi sung with a wave. She then looked towards the three she had beside her and laughed, realized that overall, she looked out of place. "No, no! These guys just aren't in the same division as me! And the smallest one here is gonna be the new guild master! So I thought I'd treat him out! Pretty nice of me, huh~?"

The server's face dropped a bit and she'd instantly turn to Sorin and bow. "I'm sorry, sir! I should have been more respectful!"

"A-ahhh ha… Pl-please d-don't be," Sorin hummed out nervously, slowly stepping behind Ephraim and Aldrich, tugging on their arms in hopes that they would hide him.

"Wait, you're gonna be the guild master?" Aldrich looked over at Sorin with wide eyes. "I woulda never guessed!"

"Yeahhhh… Me either…" the blue-haired man responded with a nervous hum.

While Kimi and Ephraim both sweat-dropped at Sorin's ever-meek demeanor, the waitress cleared her throat and ask, "So, is a booth okay?" and when she got a cheerful nod from everyone other than Sorin, she lead them over to the seat, placing four menus and four-rolled up sets of cutlery down before pulling out a pad and asking, "What can I get you to drink?"

"Mmmm, water will be fine, today~" Kimi said as she took her seat next to Aldrich.

"Raspberry tea, please," Ephraim answered and Sorin echoed him sheepishly.

"I'll take a lemonade," Aldrich said after glancing down at the menu. The waitress left with a smile and Aldrich turned towards his guildmates, none of which he had had contact with before. "So…. What's everyone's name and division?"

Kimi was the first to introduce herself brightly, Ephraim next, and then Sorin, who had sunken into his seat a bit as they spoke.

"Are you okay, man? You seem so scared. Why?" the gray hair man question once his eyes fell to Sorin. When he only got a shrug and an incoherent mumble, he arched a brow. "You just need to relax some, like me. Just go with the flow."

"See? He gets what I was trying to tell you! You're gonna be A-okay!" Kimi chimed in.

"Yep! They're right!" Ephraim said last, patting Sorin's back.

"Th-thank you guys f-for tr-trying… But not everyone agrees you with you three that everything w-will be okay… N-no one w-wants me to be g-guild master…"

"Mm, so? Prove them wrong! Lots of people aren't gonna be on your side! It's how life goes! You just gotta show everyone that you're here to stay!" the only female of the group attempted to keep the cheery mood, a determined look on her face. "We get lots of super-nice fan letters in PR, but we get hate, too! And we've all learned to shrug it off… For the most part~"

"Yeah, ya just need to relax some like us. Yer not gonna get anything done with being so tense. It can't feel good being like that all the time," Ephraim agreed.

Sakura returned before they could speak anymore and took their orders for food before leaving them to chat once again.

"Sooo, got any plans for the guild? Have you talked with the division leaders?" Kimi asked as she sipped at her drink, her eyes on Sorin.

"Mmmm… N-no… I-I know… Ms. B-Blackwood d-doesn't like me…" As he spoke, he sunk down again, not even touching the hot, aromatic tea that was in front of him. "I h-haven't even accepted the t-title, yet."

"But you will tomorrow, right, buddy?" The rust-haired male beside Sorin asked with a grin plastered onto his face.

"Y-yeah…"

"What kinds of missions do you three like to go on?" Aldrich abruptly changed the subject. He had spaced out for the most part during the last few moments of the conversation, but he leaned forward on the table now, taking a long drink of his lemonade. His mind had drifted to the thought of a good fight, but he realized that the three he was with probably wouldn't be as up for a spar as his division mates.

"I like to run around, so anything like that. I guess I don't fall far from what us Spec Ops like to do," Ephraim responded with a shrug. "If I can be a big ol' distraction while my team works, I'm all for it, though!" Just the thought of letting out some of the excess amounts of energy caused the hyperactive man to bounce his leg enough to shake the table and get a small glance of annoyance from Sorin.

"I-I j-just like for it t-to be o-over fast… And n-not too scary…" Sorin answered the question as he scooted to the edge of his seat to get away from the consistent motion that Ephraim was now making. He'd give him another sheepish glance that practically said, 'please stop", but when he accomplished nothing, the bandaged man just fell silent.

"I love being on stage, but as long as I don't gotta do math, I love just about any of the PR missions we get! I tried to help out with some of the financial stuff last month and almost dropped down to a C-rank because of… Well, it doesn't matter! Just know that lots of people had to make up for my lack of math skills!" Kimi laughed after speaking, obviously not embarrassed by her own failure. "But~ Buuuuut~ I don't really mind a good fight, either, so when the database lets me, I try to work with combat, too!"

Aldrich was going to suggest that he and the female spar, but their food was brought back and a light sandwich was placed in front of Kimi, soup and bread in front of Sorin, and burgers in front of Ephraim and Aldrich. The mages fell into a short-lived silence as they ate until the silver-haired man spoke up after a moment. "If you're so scared, Sorin, why don'tcha get combat to train you? We don't have room to be scared and Garrod's awesome!"

"M-Mr. A-Axton is… S-scary, too… B-besides… I-I can't really d-do damage…" Sorin responded, looking down at his bandages and whimpering while remembering the small amount of training that he had been trying to do recently.

"So? We can teach you to fight! Swords aren't that hard to use, probably, if you can't use magic."

"I agree! I agree!" Ephraim chimed in, holding himself over the table as he spoke. "I can't really train ya 'cause all I do is run around! ... And maybe the combat division can toughen you up a bit!"

"I… I'll t-try…" Was all the skittish guild master managed to say in response to the training suggestion. He smiled weakly at the three mages he was with. His nerves were still running wild, as they had been from the moment the rightful future guild master vanished in January, but the carefree natures of the others made him feel like he could, at the very least, try to do what his father wanted him to do. He couldn't just give the guild away and disappoint not only him, but all of the guild masters before him that wanted the castle to stay in the family. Whether he wanted it or not, this was his job now, right? He had some plans, after all, but he was too scared to bring them up in that moment, worried that one of his guild mates that he didn't know as well would tell him that it wouldn't work. He just had to try his best and maybe, just maybe, everything would come back together again.

Or, knowing his luck, the already divided guild would crumble underneath him.

Author's Note:

ALRIGHT! I got it out on time! At leastF in my timezone, OTL. How is everyone? I'm sorry once again for vanishing and for rebooting, but this is for the best! I've already gotten some really awesome submissions and am sure I can get plenty more! If you're new to my stories or if you've just forgotten, some information about the guild, the slots that are open, and the OC form is on my profile! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! You'll see more of all of these characters later because this was pretty much just a prologue to get things kicked off and show the state of the guild! Next chapter, I'ma be getting straight into some missions and introductions! I dunno when it will be up, though, because as of right now, I don't have enough characters to form a team with some substance to it! That's why these guys barely knew each other apart from Sorin and Ephraim! And yes! Kimi and Sorin have been updated slightly for those of you who remember them from last version of this fic! Kimi's frilly, cupcake princess outfit and signature drill-tails will come back when she's on a mission! And Ephraim is a new character of mine! I'm still working him out!

BIG EDIT NOTE:

-Augh. Sorry about the weird verb usage in this. I've fixed all of the "would" and "had" issues that this chapter had! So sorry again! Please feel free to point out in the future if I use them

Credits

Sorin Kant, Ephraim Monroe, and Kimi Rosa belong to me (Rayaine)

Aldrich Faust belongs to Last Falconry (Hope I did him some justice, he'll get more screentime soon)

All side characters belong to me!

Questions for this chapter!

-Who was your favorite, if you have one for the chapter? I use these answers to judge how well I'm portraying these characters! Everyone should get a few mentions in my opinion (though I don't expect Sorin to be well received, haha)

-Is there anything you wanna see for this introduction arc? More fighting? More fluff? More character conversations? Anything?

Submission Status

-Division Leader and S-class spots are filled. The first S-class trial will be pretty early if you want your character to have a chance of promoting!

-I will only accept one more canon slayer type! We'll talk if you got some original slayer content for me!

-I am accepting….

4 more Public Relations

3 more Special Operations

5 more Combat

5 more Science

2 more Undecided Division

-You can send in a form without making a reservation, but making a reservation with the division you want ensures that your character will be in the division you had in mind! It doesn't mean I won't ask for edits if there is an issue with your character form, though!

-I am only accepting Main Characters, IE the slots above right now! Villain submissions, side character submissions, and even more main character slots will open later and periodically!

-For those of you who have made a reservation, you have TWO WEEKS from today (per character) to get their form in or tell me that you're gonna be late! I will not message you when the two weeks are nearing unless I just so happen to have the time! If I don't hear from you by then, your reservation is cancelled and there is no guarantee that that slot won't get swiped up!

-Remember to send me the character in a NEW PM with the title "Solar Zenith [Insert Character Name]" PLEASE! And make sure to check my profile before you start on your character to make sure I haven't posted anymore things I'm not accepting anymore!

AS ALWAYS, LOTS OF LOVE AND THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!