Welcome to Golden Dragon

**Users Involved:** User:EmperorSigma, User:DamonDraco, User:BQD, User:Dragon Lord Erin
**Date Started:** January 16, X943
**Setting:** Stanmore City
**Characters Involved**:
* **Golden Dragon**: Maxton Draconus, Bolton, Daidalo Spiro, Damien Blackthorn, Marth Draconus, Noelle Parrish, Joseph Sparks, Ashley Pryor, Zara Draconus, Tianna Draconus
* **Mentioned**: Donnell Davis, August Draconus, Mecus Krugocar

## Announcement

"Who the hell're you talkin' to, Bolton?" A dark-skinned teen asked leaning against the wall in what seemed to be a hall of sorts. His spiked hair laid over his forehead down the middle of his face. Wrapped in all black clothing, his zip-up jacket showed his chest. This teen was none other than Maxton Draconus.

Where he had been standing was the guild hall belonging to Golden Dragon, one of the many legal guilds in Fiore. While his eyes may have been closed, the man he'd been speaking to had a glare of his own. He gritted his teeth at the boy, showing off all thirty-two he had. "You'd better watch your mouth you damned brat. I don't care who your brother is!" Bolton was another member of Golden Dragon and as far as experience goes, Bolt could be considered Maxton's superior.

Pushing himself from the wall he opened his eyes and stepped closer to Bolton. "You better shut up before I kick you in your thirty-two. Plus, do you even know why you're startin' shit with me today? At least be civil until Marth makes the big announcement." Maxton suggested, turning to walk to the rest of the open area of the guild hall.

Bolton's expression grew even more furious. "Hey, don't walk away from me!" Bolton shouted, his large figure shadowing behind Maxton was the both entered the guild hall.

The room was large and had plenty of tables and chairs on its insides. From the ceiling, which had clearly been the foundation of the second floor, hung a silver chandelier which was the main source of light within the place. The walls had various pictures, trophies, and accolades across it. A true testament of just how much work this guild has put in. Both a bar and a food stand was built inside of the hall and its place to the far walls seemed most fitting.

Members spread across the guild hall, each seat that was there was filled and for those that had no seats, stood up against the wall and chatted amongst themselves. Some had their eyes peeled onto the stairway, while Maxton at first glanced seemed to have been looking the same direction, instead had his eyes stuck onto the flooring just before taking a step onto the upstairs area. What'd he'd been staring was the emblem of the Golden Dragon guild that had been inscribed into the flooring of the guild hall.

He looked to his left, there was a woman, about twenty years of age: Ashley Pryor, an orange-haired woman who'd join the guild around the same time Maxton had gotten back from his "trip". Then, to his right, Daidalo Spiro, a relatively newer member of the guild but for some odd reason, Maxton had a spiritual connection with him. Leading the two to end up becoming friends really early on.

Indeed, to Maxton's right was Daidalo, book in hands, elbows resting on the air rather than the table. "You have arrived pretty early, Mr. Maxton," He mouthed without even looking at Maxton, wetting a finger to turn a page. "May I ask you why?" Daidalo's beige cloak hung from his neck and to his back, no surprise that he was clad in his signature clothing.

Much to Daidalo's side of the table stood a cup, it breamed with steam, the liquid inside it seemed green. One of his hands held the book and the other shot to pick the cup, yet, with his attention on the paper, he quickly spilled its contents over the table. And his own hand, no less. When it poured over the wood, however, part of it ignited into a small flame, "Ah... did I boil the tea up too much?"

"I mean by the looks of it you definitely did." A voice emerges from the crowd of mages. He begins to move closer to the two young mages who stood in wait for Marth's big announcement, revealing his identity as Damien Blackthorn, who is also a relatively new recruit. He didn't seem to know the two boys, but he had heard a few things about them through the grapevine. "Sucks you lost your tea tho, probably better off that the table was set on fire rather than you tho right?"

Damien had no issues conversating with the young mages. Damien wasn't one to make friends in the past, but he recently decided why not kick off the start of his life as a mage in the Golden Dragon guild with a few friends. "So any idea as to what this big announcement is all about, I couldn't see it as anything being super world breaking, but you never know."

"Better off on there than on me?" Daidalo's gaze fell upon Damien, unchanging, he swiftly rose his right hand to show the steam coming off his skin. "You are mistaken," Bubbles seemed to form there, "...Maybe you have poor vision."

"Daidalo, I like you... but don't call me "Mr.". I'm younger than you. I'm not tryna' be old yet." Maxton nodded his head towards the stairway as he heard foot steps coming down it. This was his way of ignoring Daidalo's question. He didn't have a need to answer the question, when the answer had been almost ready to revealing itself. Instead, he placed his elbows on top of the table and laid his chin on the back of his hands.

Locking his eyes onto the staircase, the footsteps had grown louder, a clear indication that whoever had been coming down was getting close to revealing themselves. The entire guild hall ceased conversation and looked in the exact same direction as Maxton. Finally, the figure behind the thuds of walking down the stairs revealed himself.

He was about six foot fix inches in height. His clothing made him look a bit larger on the weight size, but to the lucky women who'd seen him undressed knew he was a only about a hundred and ninty pounds... give or take a few. His upper body was covered by a white kimono and over that was a white jacket that hung off of his shoulders with purple fur around the crimson trimming. He wore his hair in a ponytail down his back and a female-like bang that came over his chest which rested on the opposite side of the long scar.

This man was none other than the man who managed to keep all these members in line, Marth Draconus the Guild Master of Golden Dragon. His smile reflected over the rest of the guild, some even smiled back waving at their master and speaking. Holding his hand up, the members returned to their calm state.

"Well well," he gestured, his smile increasing evermore. "I didn't think this many of you would show or be able to finish your missions in time to get back here." With a short pause, he looked across the room at each and every individual. "I'll do my best to keep this short." Lifting his hand to his mouth, he coughed. "Over these past five years you all have been working your hardest and the Magic Council has noticed. You work, your ethic, your dedication of trying to make this the greatest guild has given us legal rights. Today, on January 16th, X943 Golden Dragon is now a LEGAL GUILD!"

Following his claiming, the entire guild cheered in excitement. Throwing their hands up and flailing, they all smiled while others seemingly cried. To be honest, the guild worked hard these past years, and for some reason, it took them longer than anyone else to gain legal rights as a guild.

Deepending his voice, Marth stepped forward away from the staircase and shouted. "THE ROOTS OF GOLDEN DRAGON RUN DEEP! EVEN BEFORE THIS GUILD WAS A GUILD! WE WILL NEVER WAVER, NOR WILL WE EVER BACK DOWN! WE DON'T TUCK OUR TAILS IN THE FACE OF OUR ENEMIES! WE DON'T BEAR OUR FANGS AGAINST OUR COMRADES, INSTEAD WE STAND TALL WITH THEM! THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ONE OF US! THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A GOLDEN DRAGON!"

His shouts were like words of encouragement and all it ensued was the increased rowdiness of the group. Each member had a shout of their own. Some even threw their beer bugs into the air and even on themselves. Maxton managed to remain civil during it all. While he seemed to be unphased by these words on the outside, these words meant a lot to him but he had so much more on his mind. All he could do was recall the last time he met with a special someone. *"I'll be back, Max. I'll find out what happened and I won't return until I do!"*

Eyes blinking several times, while he looked around the place, Daidalo couldn't help but comment, "Should we... shout, clap?" He glanced at Maxton, "These people will be in need of some throat medicine. I didn't even know there would be an announcement..."

"Do whatever suits you, Daidalo. My brother had already told me about this, I guess he felt it'd be better to gather everyone together and relay the news." Maxton looked to his left then to his right in a quick glance as though he'd been looking for something. He sighed in disbelief, then leaned back in his chair and dropped his arm over the table.

*"Embarrassing,"* Maxton thought to himself, leaning back to the table into the position of resting his chin on his hands. *"So August couldn't stop what he was doing to at least show for thirty seconds?"*

The majority of the guild members screamed and partied in celebration, it was, after all, a pretty big announcement. There were, much like Daidalo and Maxton, people that preferred to internalize their excitement. One of these individuals was Noelle Parrish, she stood against a wall, near the duo, her presence barely felt until she spoke.

"I don't like this noise..." she muttered more to herself than the others near her, in fact, her words could barely be understood.

The door flew open as a figure rushed in. He was partially cloaked with his head of blue hair showing and his oversized cloak wrapped around the rest of his body. If anyone could see his glimmering blue eyes in all the wild movement, they were filled with worry. "I'm so sorry I'm late." He stammered as he half tripped to his knees, bowing in apology. This was Joseph Sparks. Probably the newest member of Golden Dragon, having only joined a couple days ago. He was currently extremely scared, having just joined and already had missed an announcement from the guild master. As he faced the ground he was mentally on the verge of tears.

Turning away from his location, Marth vanished with a single step. Eyes closed, on one knee, he held his hand out at Joseph. Once Joseph looked up, the first thing he'd see would be the warm small of his guild master and a welcoming hand. Rather than waiting, Marth lifted Joseph up but kept his smile all while doing it.

"Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot." Marth repeated, referencing to the manner of walking. "But even if you do fall, you're brethren will be here to pick you up." Marth smashed his hand into his palm like a hammer, "That's what it means to be a member of the great Golden Dragon!"

While people had been busy celebrating, Maxton kept his eyes locked onto Marth. "That's, just, pitiful." He said, pausing between each word. "Was he *really* about to cry just now." Turning to looked at Noelle, he shook his hand. "Noelle, you're gonna' have to stop being weird." The teen demanded after standing to his feet. He looked at his hand and balled his fist for a moment. Lifting his head he began to approach Marth.

"Marth, where's August?" He asked, finally reaching the man's vicinity. "Don't you find it rude that he couldn't spare us even a little of his time?" Maxton's balled fish sparked in electricity, he looked at Marth with a glare, slanting his lip to show off his fang.

Gripping his fist, Marth lowered it down to his side. If one looked close, you could see the damage Maxton's lightning had done to Marth's hand. Burn scars covered the entire front side of his hand, but the man showed no signs of pain. Instead, his face was filled by his large smile. "I informed him already. You know he's on a mission. August played a big part in our legalization, instead of trying to be against him, you should be thankful for him. After all, after I bite the dust..." Marth grunted mentally, "August will be named Guild Master. He's the next brother in line. It's also why he wants you to get stronger because Golden Dragon will one day be yours."

Lightning disappearing, Maxton smacked his lips. "Fuck that. You always make excuses for August. You and Donnell are my only two brothers." Turning his back at Marth, he threw his hands into his jacket pocket and began to head back to the table where Daidalo and Noelle sat, he returned back to his sitting position.

Looking at the back of his hand, Marth lifted an eyebrow. *"It seems he's still a bit wild with his magic control."* Marth thought to himself, further surveying his wounds as they would suddenly begin to disappear. *"It's best we get to attending to that as soon as possible."*

Next thing he knew, Joseph was lifted from the ground by the guild master himself. "Uh Um Thank you sir." Joseph stammered, bowing to him as he moved to join the rest of the crowd in celebration. He glanced around before grabbing a mug and began drinking heavily, in mere moments he had downed two mugs of ale. Exhaling he bundled up his cloak and tossed it aside, revealing his normal leather adventuring gear. He pushed himself up from the table and wandered over to a group of mages that seemed to be huddled together. "Hey there, I'm Josepsh." He spoke, staring directly at Maxton as he extended a hand.

Joseph's hand was held and shaken, though, not by whom he intended or wanted. "We know you, newcomer," It was Daidalo's voice that sounded, his very hand gripping Joseph's normally, "So no need to present yourself." Lips thin and eyes glaring into Joseph, Daidalo stopped for a second, "Oh, though, you don't know us."

Letting go of the mage's hand, Daidalo gestured for his other companions, "These are Maxton, Noelle, Damien, and Ashley." His hand pointed at those whose names he mentioned. Daidalo blinked, "Why were you late?"

"Who gives a shit?" A heavy voice stated as it approached the table. "If you ask me, all you rookies should be stripped of your membership of Golden Dragon. The world's a pretty big place. I wouldn't want any of you getting any boo-boos and crying to the master." His appearance came whole and his most dominating trait was his red spikey hair wrapped by the goggles around his head.

His figure was much large than anyone at the table, so he towered over each of the Mages present. He placed his hand onto Maxton's head, "Well, maybe little Maxy can stay if we can get him out of his magic control problems." The man went on.

"You'd better keep your hands off of me, Rav." Maxton demanded as his hands became shrouded in electricity. He tried standing to his feet, but Rav's strength managed to overpower him.

"Awww, did I make the wittle Dragon Slayer upset? You'd better pipe down pipsque-" Rav's words were cut short from the sudden strike he took at his back.

"Leave 'im alone Rav!" The voice of a woman shouted as she revealed herself to be standing behind Rav. "You wouldn't want to make Marth upset... not how about Donnell?" She question, closing her golden eyes and leaning her neck to the side also revealing the location of her guild mark.

With a sudden flash, a dark-skinned brown spiky haired man came into Rav's thoughts. The way Rav envisioned the man was maniac. He had his hands held out to his sides and his with water in the palm of one and rocks in the other. From his mouth, he'd been spitting out flames. Turning back to the group, he waved his hand in a "good bye" manner and sighed.

"I'll be damned if I let that man come after me. Carry on you wimps, but the next time Tianna won't be able to save you." He claimed, leaving from their sight.

Maxton's mentally desummoned his lightning and turned his attention first to Daidalo. "Good move Daidalo, at least someone takes into account my requests." Maxton wasn't the type to shake hands, he had a *problem* with palms. "As for you, Tianna... What a weird way for you to use Donnell's name considering you were the one who asked for the divorce."

Tianna burst out into laughter, "Yeah, but even though he's a cheater... I still love that man and his big di-"

"Too much information, Tianna... Besides, if it were that bad, why not just change your last name back from Draconus?" Maxton asked, a question he'd been holding in for quite some time.

Tianna held both of her hands up. In one hand, a purple aura appeared as she balled the other. "Because I'll kill any woman who goes for him after me!" She threatened, ending off with a maniacal laugh.

"*Stop actin' weird, but I've never been in such a lively room...*" Noelle looked down at the floor for a second before nodding. She approached the table, where soon, the clumsy teen known as Joseph would appear. Luckily for Noelle, Daidalo had introduced them for him, so all she did was a simple wave.

After Rav had disappeared at the mention of a so-called Donnell, Noelle tugged at Maxton's sleeve, not realizing that just calling his name would've been enough to get his attention. "Who was that?" she asked, truthfully, she was curious.

"Oh nice to meet all of you, um I was late cause.." Joseph was cut off by Rav and stood in silence, slightly intimidated by the back and forth between all of them. Tiana, Rav, Dragon Slayers, the Draconus family. A lot of drama had just happened in front of him and he wasn't exactly ready to process it so he did the next best thing. Joseph stood firm and completely ignored the past couple minutes. "Well I was late cause I was trying to buy a book but this old guy at the counter started talking about his glory days and he was nice and I wanted the book and I didn't want to hurt his feeling so I just stood through his lecture."

Tianna laughed at Joseph then threw her arm around his shoulder, "Next time, you just place the money on the counter. Then," Releasing the young man she turned around and pointed towards the door of the guild hall. "You get the hell out of there as fast as you can. There's nothing worse than a lecture from an old head. Trust me, I know."

Ignoring Tianna and Joseph, Maxton directed his attention to his teammate, Noelle. "If I'm being honest with you, Noelle. Rav and I have been at each other's necks since we were children, but in a more playful manner than it is now. After I returned from my Dragon Slayer training..." Maxton had a flash of Rav's younger self in his mind. A frown filled the boy's face as Maxton was drug away by Marth and August. "He seemed to *actually* hate. Even I don't understand it."

"Wait.. Maxton!" Tianna exclaimed, placing her hand on her chin. "That's why I came over here. Have you seen your niece? She came down and said she'd be looking for you, but I haven't seen her since she left."

"Zara's my niece, not my daughter. Why do I know where she is better than you?" Pointing his thumb towards the door he finished, "She's outside playing with the rest of the young ones. How about you be better at mothering and stop worrying about what Donnell is do-."

"BOO!" The voice of a small girl shouted, emerging from behind Bolton. "Did I scare ya, Uncle Max?" This little girl was Zara Draconus the byproduct of Donnell and Tianna's former love.

Tianna picked Zara up and placed her on her hip. "Let's go Zara. Your "Uncle Max" is being a spoiled brat right now." Turning to Maxton, she placed her free hand onto the teen's shoulder. "Listen, Maxton, you're gonna' have to let that stuff go. You know what I'm talking about too." Walking away, she called out to Maxton again as Zara waved. "I'll catch you at the Manor tonight."

"Cute kid." Damien spoke from behind Maxton." Reminds me of my little sister. If only she hadn't." Damien stopped rather than continuing on with his words, it was way too painful for him to go on, you could see that in his eyes. He tried to brush it off continuing to speak to Maxton in his normal manner. "So, what are you gonna do now? I'm kinda lost on what to do, guess I should go do what guild people do?" The look of pain left Damiens' eyes, it was exchanged with a look of confusion.

Through most of the commotion, Daidalo had simply gone back to reading his book, crossing his legs and boring his eyes into the paper. All of this was just family matters, something which he wasn't a part of. Yeah, he wasn't. Still, much like before, it seemed as if his eyes, even if for a brief second, hovered over the many others present.

No, it wasn't his. He turned a page with a finger. It wasn't. Something wetted the book's page, a drop of sweat from his nose, a small flash of fire dried more of it off before they fell. His legs switched place with one another, people continued to talk, his body moving barely. More talking.

Then, before he even began to properly read, Damien had suddenly talked to Maxton, prompting Daidalo to breeze by and stand by Maxton's side. "We were tasked with an important mission, actually," Daidalo's words hurried out of his mouth. The book had been closed, staying by the table, "But, yes, as a newcomer you should spread your name with missions."

Noelle's head moved from side to side frantically, first at a slow pace until it gradually got faster, to the point where it seemed like she was having a panic attack. "M-mission?" she repeated Daidalo's words with an interrogative tone. Her entire body trembled, her first mission with her team and the thought of failing them, or having to fight flooded her mind. "Can't we stay here Daidalo-san?" her face comically gained a caricature-like expression for a moment.

Daidalo instantly looked around and spotted Noelle, seeking to answer her, "Yes, something about a group mission with other guilds." He gestured for them both, then at Maxton, "I think our team is one of the groups going." A nod, Daidalo crossed his arms and closed one eye, the other still looking at everyone to see if they would talk.

## First Guild Team

Maxton turned to look at Noelle. "Noelle, feel free to stay here. I ain't stoppin' ya. But I'm goin' even if I have to do it solo. If Marth personally assigned us the mission, then it's of importance." Ignoring Damien, he turned to Daidalo next. "Which reminds me, Dai. We gotta' work on that *spell*." Maxton mentioned, standing to his feet and looking down at his hands.

As he did, his brain took a ride on the railroad of thoughts. *"Yeah, I know if we pull it off, we can take down anyone in a single blow."* Pausing for a minute, he looked at Daidalo out the corner of his eye. *"He's older. His control over his magic is well beyond mine too."* Maxton, placed his hand on Noelle's head and left it there as he started his next sentence, "Daidalo and I can take care of it, so feel free to stay at the guild hall."

Maxton stopped at the clearing of a throat at the front of the hall. Quickly turning his attention towards the direction, he met eyes with Marth who'd obviously been preparing to speak with the rest of the guild. Once they'd quiet down of course.

"Contrary to my big announcement, I'd like to propose our first mission as a legal guild as offered by the Magic Council." Placing his hand on his chin, Marth shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. This mission isn't offered but required that we attend to it. I'll do my best to keep this brief so that I may report back to the Magic Council immediately. From my understanding, a platoon of Rune Knights has gone missing in the..." Marth widened his eyes and put a gloomy look on his face. "Forest of Death!"

His claim bought about chatter among the rest of the guild's members. Among these many people was Maxton who'd been in the same position as Marth; his hand rested under his chin. "A squad of Rune Knights went... missing?" He question. The very same question that rolled off the tongue of many of lots of the other guildmates.

"I know this is a rather concerning subject, but it has happened. The Magic Council has requested that a number of legal guilds send three-man teams to this forest with the intentions of finding this Platoon. They've given us Guild Masters the duty of choosing these teams and have made it a point to mention this is not run of the mill mission." Marth went on.

Stiff for a moment, Maxton lost himself in the chatter and bickering of his guildmates. He paused for a moment and reflected on Marth's words once more, while also thinking back to what he'd just thought.

"While this mission isn't considered an S-Class Job, it's just below it. If I were to classify it, it'd an A-Class." Marth looked across the guild hall at the various individuals present. "Our S-Class Mages, August and Mecus, are away on missions."

One of the guild members threw his hand into the air, "Wait, what about Tianna? She's an S-Class Mage as well! Why not send her, she should be more than capable, right?!"

"That is true, Tianna is an S-Class Mage, but... she has already declined interest in the mission." Sighing Marth continued on, "As I was saying, with those two away we'll have to settle for those currently active and not on duty. Which is why I wanted to gather as many of you as I could for the announcement. With that, the one closest to becoming the next S-Class Mage of Golden Dragon, I'd like to offer this mission to Ra-"

Maxton threw his hand into the air and cut Marth off with his next statement. "We'll take the mission, Marth! I'll take the place of August."

With a lifted eyebrow, not only Marth, but the entire guild turned to look at Maxton. The first to speak out, was Rav who'd aligned himself with a wall at the back. "Listen kid, this ain't the type of mission for someone who's never been in the field before. Master Marth was obviously gonna' give it to me."

"I agree with Rav. For a first mission, this may be a bit more than you can handle. Don't you have a job already?" Marth asked.

"Give it to Rav, Marth. He'll get it done faster anyway, right?" Maxton looked at Marth out the hood of his eye sockets. His golden eyes bore determination. "I'm taking this Forest of Death Mission."

Laughing outloud, Marth nearly fell trying to keep himself up from laughter. "Very well then, Thunder Fang! The mission is all yours!"

Noelle was left in shock, both her eyes and mouth widened. "*I'd sure like to stay here...*" she taught to herself as she saw him walk towards Daidalo. She was surprised by the boy's determination, just what drove him so much? Noelle wondered but it also motivated her. It wouldn't be fair for her team to try their hardest while she remained in her zone of comfort, if she did, then how would she grow?

Taking a deep gulp that was loud enough to call everyone's attention, most of the room became quiet. "*An A-Class mission, I don't want to let anyone down*" Noelle's visage went from down to her feet to where both of her teammates stood. They were willing to take on such a dangerous mission. "W-wait!" she said, the words coming out by themselves, as if her mouth and brain were separate entities. "I want to go to!" she proclaimed as she approached her teammates and Marth. It was the first time she had spoken so loudly.

"You all seem pretty eager to partake in it," Daidalo noted, carefully eyeing each person, he had no time to deal with Rav's subjects, though he wanted to talk to him. Did he underestimate solely Maxton or was it the lots of them? Still, this could be a mission to finally put his abilities to use, while also learning more about the other guilds and their mages.

Clapping quickly at Noelle's words, Daidalo maintained a neutral expression, "Good decision, Noelle-dono." But, praised her nonetheless. "We will aid each other, as team Thunder Fang."

"Hahaha!" Marth laughed while applauding the trio. "No need to gang up on me! I've already stated the mission is yours. You three are the strongest team we have anyway." Marth sighed, "But man, I really hope you three learn from this."

Rav detracted himself from the wall and approached Marth. "Master Marth, they're the strongest team 'cause we ain't got any other teams. I could EASILY handle this mission on my own! These runts won't last a even a minute in that forest. I'll give 'em fourteen seconds at most!"

"Rav, you have a mission. Please prepare for it." Marth ordered, turning his back to head back up the stairs. "You three had better start preparing. You are set to take off for tomorrow."