The Vanguard is an organization in Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. It was originally founded to rally the people of Sylvarant against oppression from the people of Tethe'alla, who thought of themselves as superior due to Sylvarant's less advanced technology. However, Commander Brute Lualdi, the leader of the Vanguard, comes under the influence of a Centurion's core, and he eventually creates a new reason of fighting; he wants to revive the Sylvarant Dynasty, a civilization that fell eight hundred years ago at the hands of Cruxis through the use of an ancient weapon known as the Mana Cannon.

Blood Purge

The Church of Martel went to war with the Vanguard, and Sylvarant's city of Palmacosta was caught in the crossfire. Countless innocent lives were lost and the city was consumed in flames. This event came to be known as the "Blood Purge", and Lloyd Irving was blamed for leading the attack on behalf of the Church of Martel against the Vanguard members who were stationed at the city.

Hunting the Chosens

The Vanguard also opposes Colette Brunel and Zelos Wilder, the last Chosens of Mana from both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. Officially, they consider Colette to be a traitor to Sylvarant for supporting Tethe’alla, while Zelos represents Tethe'alla itself. However, it is revealed that they actively sought to attack the two Chosens to acquire their Cruxis Crystals.

Invasion on Altamira

The Vanguard eventually invades Altamira, justifying this action under the allegation that the Lezareno Company has kidnaped Comander Brute Lualdi's only daughter, Marta. At the city's hotel, Alice informs the party that if Marta is not returned to the Vanguard's custody, they would destroy the entire city. She says that the city has been rigged with bombs, and the perimeter of the city is being watched to prevent any citizen from escaping. However, the party manages to prevent the city's destruction while leading the evacuation of the people in the city, but Regal Bryant was captured by the Vanguard. They established their base within Lezareno Company's second building. Following this incident, they began revolts around the world to announce the revival of the Sylvarant Dynasty at Altamira, but after the party acquires and hatches Solum's core, the Vanguard was desintegrated when Brute regained his sanity.

Known Members of the Vanguard

• Brute - The leader of the whole Vanguard. He began doubting the power of the Church of Martel even before the worlds were reunited, when the Giant Kharlan Tree's rampage killed his wife. When the people of Sylvarant were discriminated because of their inferior technology, Brute founded the Vanguard to raise Sylvarant into a place just like Tethe'alla.
• Marta Lualdi - Brute's daughter, and former member of the Vanguard. She was with while they tried to help the Sylvaranti, but as she saw her father change, she became scared and ran off. Now, she is an enemy of the Vanguard, protecting Ratatosk's core from them.
• Richter Abend - A hard red-haired man who befriends Emil Castagnier and teaches him the basics of swordsmanship. He is later revealed to be a half-elf from Sybak as well as the true founder of the Vanguard after Brute is defeated by Emil and friends.
• Alice - A cute, selfish, and mean-spirited girl who is later revealed to be a half-elf from Hima. She uses machines run by Exspheres to manipulate monsters to be her slaves, though she does not care about them, nor her comrades in the Vanguard, at all.
• Decus - A supposedly good-looking man who is in love with Alice and wants to follow her to the end of the world. He himself is quite neutral about the whole situation between the whole world, but takes the Vanguard's side just to be with Alice.
• Hawk - Although he dislikes his superiors' brutality, he fears them too much to say anything.
• Magnar - He is first thought to be with the Church of Martel, but is soon revealed to work with the Vanguard.

Trivia

• Every high-ranked Vanguard member has a specially designed uniform that combines white and two secondary colors: Alice's secondary colors are two shades pink, Decus has black and navy blue, Hawk uses gray and yellow, and Marta displays red and brown. The only known exceptions are Richter, Brute, and Magnar; Richter and Brute are both commanders within the Vanguard, while Magnar uses a golden armor similar to those used by the Martel Knights to pose as part of the Church of Martel.