Author’s note-I'm attempting to turn the fantasy genre upside down, I guess. With a different step to the story of so called 'Heroes'.

This story will be divided into parts. Each part, all each a different story, will have three chapters. Each 'part' will be centering around the academy of 'Heroes for Hire', and teams' (Each team consists of two people.) quests and difficulties and such. As to how many parts, I'm not certain. But, I'm at four at the moment.

--Story info--

This time, the heroes are a bit different.

After all, a hero is supposed to be generous and chivalrous, right? Not this time.

In this world, heroes are hired to do deeds, and demand payment for their courageous acts. They do not accept every quest that comes their way, and don’t really care that your next door neighbor is currently being attacked by a dragon.

But, then again, the looming threat of not receiving the ‘Heroes of the Year’ award hangs over the two heroes’ heads, and they’d do anything to obtain that title.

Heroes for Hire’s motto? ‘Strength and Mind Combined, Make a Team Divine’.

And so, without further adieu, the Prelude.

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Such a proud smile it was, as he walked down the aisle in between the rows of the Heroes-To-Be. The brightest in the land, separated into two rows, depending on whether or not they wanted to be the 'Mind' or the 'Strength' of their future team. It was up to him to decide who would be paired with who.

The Elder's eyes flickered to a twittering blonde man, who seemed preoccupied with dangling strings off of his neighbor, a Raelik girl. Namely, adorning her antlers with a sparkling twine. He noticed the man was in the row for 'Strength', and he looked the part. A rough look about him, mixed an eccentric grin. A rather old looking sheild hung from his back, and there was no arm to be found on his person. Simply a shield, no more. 'A defender' he thought, smiling at the man as he passed.

Stopping at the blonde's neighbor, he examined her more closely. People didn't see Raeliks that often, and she was a sight to behold. Not that she looked any different from the humans in the queue lines. But, two magnificant, and rather large, antlers protruded out of her forehead, right above her brow. Splitting to divide into forks, there were three pairs until the antlers ended and air began. It was said, that the larger a Raelik's antlers, the more fortune he would aquire. It was apparent that this girl was destined for something great, with horns that could ram through a man's skull. He ought to put her with a capable mage, and what a duo they would be!

After passing a Welet, who was a rather fishy looking boy, the Elder came upon an Uptoe. Uptoes were said to be particularly nasty creatures, almost always foul tempered and bitter. The one he stood before was a red head, with hair that reached pass his eyes. An unpleasant scowl played on his hooked and sharp features. Crossing his arms and looking up at him, he glowered and spat, "What?" The Elder frowned disapprovingly, and moved on.

A trio of three Welets huddled together, all female. He cleared his throat, and smiled as the three turned around and reguarded him with nervousness. They all looked so different from one another, each with different skin tones, hair types, and body shapes. One had skin the color of a sandbar, with black hair tied back in a barrette. Her smile concealed what appeared to be insanity, but one could never be so sure. Another had a skin tone that looked slightly purple, most likely because of the butterfiles that were currently flying around in her stomache. Her light blonde hair was bone straight, and fell to her shoulders, as she smiled smugly up at him. The last bowed her head as he looked at her, her mass of brown curly hair soon following her, making the wind shriek as it did so. He noted that they looked built for thievery, with their swift and brisk body movements. He nodded, and turned to look at the Heroes-to-be in the 'Mind' row.

He first saw nothing, until he thought to look down. Why, it was a Memor! The Memor was only about three feet tall, and reached to where his hands would be if he laid them straight at his sides. Dressed in a perfectly cut and trimmed dress of the darkest shade of green, with a travellers' cap, and little shoes that made a soft 'patting' noise when she moved, she looked like a minute statue made of glass. Her whitish blonde hair, like all Memors, turned up at the edges, and, as was the custom, reached her shoulders. And, a notible trait for all Memors, her eyelashes were of abnormal size, making her eyes look bigger than they really were. Her voice squeaked up at him, as she politely called, "Good Day, Sir! Lovely weather, is it not?" He fondly smiled back at her, but did not speak. He moved on to the next Hero-to-be.

The next, a tall, lanky man, dressed in noble looking robes, bowed and said enthusiastically, but not without sounding a bit pompous. "Why, hello Sir, I'm sure you're thinking ever so hard about the subject. You know, you must have the best combinations of Mind and Strength, a perfect balance, of course, you must." The man was annoying, to say the least, as he rattled on, but the Elder said nothing. He looked like a Quilla, a race that lived high in the mountains and were renown for their height and less than savory attitudes, but he could be human. It was hard to tell. He noted that the young man had a tendency to shake his head, then swiftly brush a stray brunette colored bang out of his eyes and back behind his ear. This process repeated for a time, until he stopped talking and smiled--or was it a smirk?--up at the Elder. With a satisfied 'Hm' the Elder moved on.

The next 'Mind', was another boy. Only, this time, he was a bit shorter than normal size and was wearing old and battered clothes, mended with patchwork by a steady hand. Baggy, battered overalls, a mix matched shirt, and a pitch-patch hat was what he wore, complete with clunky and too-big boots. Adjusting his wire rimmed glasses, he gave a small smile up at the Elder, before saying "Hello." quietly. His hands shook slightly, before he stuffed them into his deep pockets and sent a harsh look towards someone on the 'Strength' side. The Elder moved on to the last person in line.

A crazed fire danced in the next girl's eyes, as she schreeched, "Oh, my turn? Finally! I've been waiting, for like, EVER! Wow, this is so..." she continued to ramble on about how her name spelled backwards was her last name, or that her last name spelled backwards was her first name. Something like that. The Elder looked at her intricantly braided hair, and saw that the blonde strands were parted and pulled into messes of tangles, braids, and assorted hairbands, clips, and loose strands. Her purple shirt and shorts certainly looked very different from her messy mop of hair, for every part of her outfit was in the right place, and nothing was wrinkled or frayed. "...and that's what I did last summer. Hey, were you listening?" Indeed, he was not. Because he honestly didn't care, but he didn't say that. He didn't say anything. He just walked to the front of the two rows, leaving the dazed girl with her mouth gaping.

Breaking his patient smile, and in its place, a huge grin appeared on the Elder's face. He spoke for the first time, his voice deep and melodious. "I've made my desicions. Prepare to be paired up, for the career of the rest of your lives, young ones. A career...as a Hero."

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Author's note: I'm aware, it may seem cliche now, but -hopefully- it won't be in chapters to come. Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this. Even though my eyelids are drooping and I really need to go to sleep.

Anyways, a few questions for you readers.

-Who was your favorite character so far?

-Who would you enjoy seeing paired up?

-As a couple for later in the story?

-Who did you dislike the most?

-Are you confused somewhere?

So, please review. I return the favor, in doubles. For every review you give me, I give you two. That's my policy, and I'm sticking to it.

-hoping for a wonderful critique-, Ruby.

P.S. If you could, please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes. Thanks!