Chapter 21.2- And so the Dragons Danced

And beyond fixing my army’s armament problems, I’d also been working to integrate the new arrivals. Sung had taken about half the army with him on his reassignment so I was receiving reinforcements from all across the Fire nation’s outposts in the earth kingdom. It had quickly become a race among the other Commanders to send the worst of their worst to me as often happened in situations like this. The most undisciplined, unruly, and least skilled across the fire Naton’s military machine were converging on Omashu, and in a few months, I’d be forced to march with these man at my back. Needless to say, Toji only had a few hours a day to spend on his duties as Lord Confessor.

The rest of his time was spent with me training these miserable fellows. A fireball splashed uselessly against a boulder to the left. I noticed an even smaller one fly through the air from the corner of my eyes. I spun around. “Who sent that?” I barked. It did not matter that I was younger than most of them. They all still shrunk in the face of my fury. Entirely feigned, of course. But there was utility to be found in some harmless theatre.

“Me, Major General Sir.” A Warrant Officer stepped forward. I noted his appearance. Nothing more than a boy. At least two years younger than me at the very least.

“What is your name?”

“Warrant Officer Sato, Sir.” He said with a salute. At least his manners were up to snuff. If only I could say the same for his bending.

“What was that?”

“A fireball sir”

“No it wasn’t. Are you a fire bender?”

“Sir, yes, Sir”

“Show me” I said, facing him in my stance.

“Sir?”

“I said show me” I said again, allowing my impatience leak into my tone.

He looked behind him. Everyone else had basically abandoned their training to watch. They’d stay behind an extra hour for the insolence.

“I don’t have all day Warr-“

His fireball interrupted me as I spoke. I smiled. Smart. I weaved around the attack with ease. It moved slowly, and lacked conviction.

“Are you a fire bender, Sato?” I asked again.

“Yes Sir.” The next fireball was equally pathetic. I stood still and allowed it hit my chest plate and wash out across the metal. My point was clear. A few of those behind had begun snickering. If this was any other bending art, then I might have asked them to stop. But with fire bending, they were helping more than hindering.

“Show me your fire, Sato”

Another useless fireball. This time, I stomped the ground and punched forward with a massive blast of flames that shut everyone up and forced him to dive out of the way.

“Show me fire, Sato. Or die” I commanded.

His position on the floor did not change for a few seconds. Someone loudly claimed that he’d fainted and everyone else burst into laughter.

He stood up at that. And this time when he faced me, I knew he meant business.

Without even taking a stance, he punched towards me with a scream. I called upon my own inner fire to match and redirect his fireball as I forced the fire to part around me. Silence. I broke it by beginning to applaud him. An action that the rest of the soldiers were smart enough to copy.

I walked up to the boy. He was stunned and looking at his fist in shock. “You are a Son of Agni, Sato. So am I. So is everyone here. The fire is yours. You control it. You wield it. It will respond to your rage better than anything else. When you want to bend, remember the feeling you felt just now and use that” I instructed. He looked to still be in a daze. I just smiled as I walked off. There was more training to be done.

A/N; Piece by piece