//------------------------------// // promotion to guardian // Story: The Dark Chaos War // by Kamen rider yokai //------------------------------// The days of one era ends and a new one begins with the start of a journey into the next stage of life --------- Chapter 4 promotion to guardian ------ It was the day that soul would never forget his birthday. The now 14 year old was heading to the castle where his friends, family and his friend’s families were going to gather for the celebration. He had met up with Fang on the way. "Hey there birthday boy! Listen, here's my gift early, I have a feeling we need to keep this secret. Something tells me that whatever happens, you will need it to survive." Said Fang. Soul smiled seeing it was a black cloak. He pulled Fang to an alleyway and put it on over his uniform. Then he smirked and shifted to unicorn form. He chuckled at the bug eyed look Fang had on his face. "Well you did wanted to know how I grew a full head of hair." Said Soul with his uniform and cloak on in pony form. His now amber eyes glinting in amusement. "Soul how did you do that? Not even the Nightmares and Mimics are able to get details so close to perfect!" Asked Fang snapping out of his shock. "You know how my DNA is a bit unique right? Well a third of it is pony DNA. Turns out I have a talent as well my friend. Apparently I can see spirits that no one else can see. A spirit unlocked my unicorn DNA, I don’t know how, but he did, as a reward for helping a mine full of them pass on. It was the same one where I got the sapphire for my sword." Said Soul with a smirk. "Wow… Wait… Why tell me about this?" Asked the black coated alicorn. "Dude you’re basically my brother, the only things that are different about us are blood, and species! That, and I promised not to show this to any shade. And with what has been going on lately I think it's for the best. So keep it secret for now. You may be three decades older than me, but if there is anything that I’ve learned from you, it's to keep any advantage that you have in a dangerous situation, and this is one of them" Said Soul reverting to his true form and, to their surprise, the cloak vanished. "Huh. Guess if I wear anything in pony form and revert to my real form, the items get dragged to my hammer space and get pulled out automatically. Guess it's an instant disguise for me!" Said Soul giving the best explanation he could think of on what had just happened. The two then continued their way to the castle. The two soon met up with Muse and Edge. Edge had just gotten his armor, which was a nice silver and engraved with the trio's symbol, a sword with a magic aura and dragon wing's on the sides. Soul was the front line fighter of the trio, with Edge as the aerial support and Muse was the medic and tactician, with a bonus of long range support. In order Soul was the skill, Muse was the brains, and Edge was the brawn. Fang was the, unofficial, fourth member as a balanced fighter and mage. Other shades had seen how well they worked together and had gone to see how the other ranks worked together. So far, besides the three ranks that the group had already been, the shades were teaming up with a similar build, ones that worked well together. An example of this would be how the Shifts, the Casters, and the Shinobi had teamed up with the Guardians. The shifts with their balanced skill set, like the ability to flatten themselves so that they would just look like a shadow on the ground, which allowed them to send messages unseen and their ability to change their limbs into any weapon or stretch their limbs to give them a longer reach. Soul once saw a shift stretch his arm back and punch a timberwolf from twenty feet way. The ability to imitate a shadow was the only skill that all shades had in common. The Casters could take it a step further by using their magic in order to create portals that allowed them to teleport. Shinobi used their speed and stealth to spy on other nations and report back quickly, that’s how Soul knew about the reports on Discord's movements. The Guardian’s used the shadows to store their weapons and shields when they were not using them. Soul however, was able to use all four versions of the ability. The down side was that the use of one ability would cancel out another if he was not careful. Sometimes he was able combine two of the versions, like the storage and the teleport to create a pocket dimension, hence Soul's hammer space. The Casters and Behemoths also worked quite well together, an ingenious magician, and a large monstrosity that was pure muscle. Soul snapped out of his thoughts just in time for a loud, "Surprise!" Shouted the group that was waiting for him. "Okay guys, thanks." Laughed Soul. "Happy birthday Soul, another year older, and another year wiser." Quoted Starswirl, handing Soul his and Spell Weaver's gift. It was a mage’s hat that was black with silver trim. On the band around the pointed end's base was a small metal symbol of the group. The hat reminded soul of his god father's own hat. "Happy b-day Soul here's to another year!" Said Muse, handing Soul a scroll on light and dark magic, and how to balance the two. Soul thanked her as he put on his new hat. "Well, my gift is over there Soul. I can't carry it due to my structure, so I asked Muse to help bring it over…" Said Edge, nodding to a sheath for Soul's collapsible sword. It was small, about the size of a dagger. With how the sword was made, it was best to use deception and make the opponent underestimate him. The teen nodded and put it on, then he placed the folded state of his weapon at the open end, making it look like it was sheathed. And, surprisingly, it stayed. A securing charm, or magnetism charm, he wasn't sure, was used to add to the illusion. Soul also received from the adults about ten fiction and non-fiction books to read in his spare time. One of the books was a guide on how to recognize different kinds of demons, and how to avoid aggravating them. Soul knew that not all demons were nice and was going to be prepared if he ever had to face some of the more bloodthirsty ones. The party went down and the group went to head home. Soul arrived via shadow portal and smiled at the manikin that held his recently completed armor and shield. Soul couldn't wait for his graduation from guardian boot camp. Over the past few months, and after Soul had added his hat to his pony form's guise he stood with the other recruits, and waited for them to make their armor. Soul just stood and watched as the armor of guardian shades was made. Like the captain, and the rest of the rank the armors were of more basic kinds, like plate armor from the medieval era. Soul sighed when it was his turn. He turned to his shadow, which was what the others had used to form their armor. He concentrated and particles shot out and began to converge on Soul, forming a completed set of Nexium armor. He had placed the armor into his hammer space and just summoned it onto his body. He felt his form tingle as the armor became part his true form, and was glad that he kept his face as he rose the visor from over his eyes, and stood at attention, with his sheath and shield strapped to his sides. "Congrats recruits! You have trained hard for the past seven months, and have now officially joined the guardian ranks. I’m proud of all of you, now go and see your families! Report to sector delta for advanced sword training, and learn all you can to defend our kingdom. For the pride and honor of Nexus!" Called Brave Shadow. "For the pride and honor of Nexus" Resounded the ex-recruits. Soul immediately went to his parents and showed his new form to his parents, to which they smiled in response. "My son, oh I am so proud of you. You have finally become a guardian shade." Said Crescent. Soul nodded as his mother handed him a silver scarf. "This… This was your grandfather's scarf my son, it was his lucky charm during life. No matter how many battles he was in he never suffered an injury other than a few cuts and losing a tooth. It was the one thing he treasured, as it came from my mother, and now, it is yours." Said Crescent, as Nox smiled in with 'liquid pride' running from his eyes. Unknown to Soul that, in the future, Shining Armor would later find Nox's journal, and though the thing was mostly unreadable from the passage of time, that one term about that day's entry was what started the future captain of the guard's male pride, and dream to become a guard of Canterlot. The royal shade family went home, and Soul knew that the next few years, were just the beginning.