From the desk of Dr. Izzy Stradlin Hotaronicus,

I've gotten a surprise visit from my old friend, the chancellor of the Lorb Military Academy. The reason I was surprised is that I thought he would be dealing with the Academy's graduation ceremonies which would be around this time and shouldn't be worrying about an old fogey like me but it appeared that it was urgent matter that he wished to discuss with me so we sat down to tea.

It seems that during the latter half of the graduation exams a blatant attack against the school and the royal family was made by a group of well-constructed robots. Thankfully the students managed to beat back the surprise attack and suffered minimal casualties and many of the graduates that had managed to complete the exam handled themselves extremely well for just receiving their Guardian's power. The chancellor is currently stretched too thin with trying to sort out the damage, recalling some of the Elite class knights, and rescheduling the exams to carry out a thorough investigation into the matter. He asked me if there was any way that I could lend my assistance and I said that I would do what I could but don't expect too much from one old man and his two apprentices…

He thanked me and told me that there were already three volunteers that were ready to lend their aid to the cause and by what the chancellor has told me were the ones responsible for destroying the leader robot and ending the attack. Initially I was reluctant to allow this as two of the volunteers are recent graduates and thus still very inexperienced and there is no telling how potentially dangerous this investigation will get. When I voiced my concern, however, the chancellor simply smiled and told me he had up most faith in the two greenhorns. Joshua Graves and Amerie Nefters both did well going through school definitely not the best of the best but they certainly weren't slouches. During the ill-fated exam it seems that Odin the Fearless Knight answered the Grave boy's call, quite an unusual Guardian since Odin hasn't been summoned in close to this professor's lifetime, 75 years. Moor Gault the Fire Dragon answered the girl's call and while he is not the most powerful of the Guardians certainly the most loyal. My worries were finally put to rest when the chancellor told me that the Upper-class knight Marcus Hughes will be the last of the three to help and I have to admit I spit out my tea when I heard.

Hughes enjoyed some small fame when the legendary Guardian Leviathan answered his call during his exam, the supposed King of Summons. The boy has done well for himself since joining the Lorb Knighthood which is quite the change since back when I was still teaching he was quite the trouble maker. The chancellor explained that the three volunteers shared some history with one another and got along quite well until Marcus the eldest of the three graduated two years back.

After we went over the living arrangements I brought up my own concerns that I had been mulling over and I asked my old friend if he was willing to hear me out to which he responded "It's only fair." Back when I was still teaching at the academy I was known for my research in the Vision World the official name of the Guardian's world. Lately I've noted that there has been a disturbing drop in the population of spirits and this has told me that something is bearing ill will towards them. Naturally the chancellor inquired about my suspicions and I related my tale of when I and my two assistants Ashley Q. Squirrel and Kale J. Fox visited the Aquatic Ruins to see if we could do some extra research on the elusive Undine spirit said to frequent there. When we arrived, unfortunately, the shrine dedicated to the Guardian was badly damaged and the spirits power was no longer present there. Asking around we learned that a group going by the name of the "Bridge Brigade" had come to the ruins about roughly a month earlier but didn't make any waves during their stay and since the shrine is in such a deep part of the ruins nobody noticed.

We rushed back to my estate and making several phone calls to some of my old college friends I found that several other shrines had been raided as well, Aska the Dove of Light, Fengalon Raging Tiger of Wind and Lighting and even the King of Dragons himself Bahamut all seem to be missing from their respective shrines and the group Bridge Brigade all seem to be sighted right before the disappearances. Most of the populace seems to ignore this and I find it dangerously ironic that some people still refuse to believe in magic though the exploits of MIA Sonic the Hedgehog should have opened some of their eyes on it. I will admit that belief and practice in pure magic is a fading art and there seems to be a new Chaos Adept (chaos energy user) popping up every other day. It is a little sad seeing the craft I love dying but I'm getting a little off topic.

By this time the chancellor assured me that he would have as many people possible look into this scenario as he too had a sinking feeling that the attack on the school as well as the disappearing spirits may not be some dreadful coincidence...

The chancellor had one last thing to discuss with me before he had to depart and it was more a warning then an actual statement. It wasn't official yet but some of the gear heads back at Kagusuchti had broken down and analyzed some of the robots and in a startling revelation the design and build were very similar to the late Dr. Robotnik who had passed on three years after one of his battles with Sonic. I was actually ready this time but I nearly choked on my tea for a second time anyway. If there was some copy cat trying to imitate the actions of the dead genius things could get very bad very quickly since most of Sonic's old allies seemed to have chosen to move on with their lives and it may be impossible to pin down who exactly is behind this attack.

By the time we were done discussing our mutual problems it was starting to get late and the chancellor needed to return to his school and I had to start making preparations for my new house guests as well as bringing my two assistants up to speed. I just hope and pray that this isn't the start of some other near disastrous worldwide struggle to save the planet but then again deep down there is something about this seems to get my blood pumping and my old heart racing again. Also my first two charges have been complaining that it's been getting boring lately.

This should be a very interesting experience for all parties involved.

Journal of Dr. Izzy Stradlin Hotaronicus

Volume 704

Entry: 90