I stand in front of a group of soldiers, no more than one fifty strong, and not trained in the least. I smile, “Sitting here, you might be expecting that I will train you just like any other general. Maybe you think you will be running around the track ten times before the hour is done?” I shake my head, “Those if you who are thinking of that, stop. For you are no ordinary group of soldiers.” I turn to face them, “You are my Sturm! Listen, pay attention, and do your job! If you fall behind, you will be made into an ordinary soldier! But if you succeed, then your name will be noted as one of the greatest warriors in history.” I look at the wall, where a line of weapons are lined up, “For you will not be like the others! You will not use swords, you will not use spears, you will not use bows!”
One soldier speaks, “What will we use, sir?”
I smile, and grab something from the table, “A repeating crossbow!” I hold it out, “Point, fire, and another bolt is in place by the time you’ve aimed at something else.” I put it down, and pick something else up, “But you won’t be carrying that. No, we are going to make the enemy be frightened and surrender before we have to do anything.” I hold up a flail, and show it off, “Very hard to use, and we won’t. But you will carry it.” I smile, putting it down, “When we do anything, you must be swift, and sneaky. If we are to ever invade anywhere, then you must be prepared to secure the people with as little harm as possible. You must strike like lightning.” I nod, “Gentlemen, allow me to teach you the art of the Blitzkrieg.”
———
I hear a knock on my door, awakening me from my sleep. I sigh, and push my sunglasses further up, “Enter.”
The door opens ever so slightly, and I create a little ball of fire in my hands to see.
Tempest enters, and sighs, “Can I talk to you? Alone?”
I look and see Erwin waking up. I create a bubble of air beneath him, and launch him out the door. I hide a laugh as I hear his confused screaming, and slam the door as he exits. I recover from my laughter, and turn to face Tempest, “What is it, Tempest?”
She looks down at the ground, “Well, the magic that you are using... you can do it without a horn!”
I nod, “Good observation, love, I ain’t exactly got a horn poking out my forehead.”
She sighs, “I was wondering if...”
I smile, “If?”
She looks up, “Would you teach me?”
I think it over, “It would be really hard. I don’t even know if you can do it.”
She steps forward, “Test me, then!”
I nod, “Follow me down to the courtyard.”
———
I widen my stance, and face Tempest as the moon starts to set, “There are four elements. Fire, Air, Earth, and Water. Each tap into our emotions, and each is most powerful at certain times.” I look up, “Seeing as the moon is still up, let us try Water.”
She follows my movements as I turn to a nearby pond.
I look at the water, “Watch the water as the moon pulls it. Reach out, and feel the water. Then, make yourself like the moon, and push and pull.” I move my arms slowly back and forth, making the water come up to me, then go back.
She reaches out her hooves, and tries. Yet the water refuses to move. She growls, and turns to me, “Water is stupid anyway. What’s next?”
I put the water back, and shrug, “You will only be proficient in one element, so don’t be mad.” I stomp on the ground, and cause the earth to make a pillar that holds me up, “Earth requires your brute force. You must not move, you must not flee. You must pack all your strength into one blow, and overwhelm your opponent with your strength! Punch this pillar!”
Tempest charges the pillar, and punches it. The pillar doesn’t even move. She growls, “Who puts all their strength into one blow?! You need to overwhelm with the amount of attacks, not the strength of them!”
I stomp the pillar back into the ground, and smile, “A good philosophy, yet not the one of Earth. Let us try Air.” I take a deep breath, “Breathe in and out, feel the air on you. Let go of the physical world, find peace in yourself.”
She looks at me, “Peace? This requires peace?” She shakes her head, “Next!”
I sigh, and look as the sun raises, “Fire is the element of power. The power to have a unflinching will to accomplish your tasks and desires. It is also the element of rage, and vengeance. So summon your anger, summon your will! Breathe in, breathe out, and feel the fire growing within you! Then-“ I punch, and let a blast of fire fly, “Attack!”
She follows my example, and punches forward with obvious rage in her eyes.
An inferno comes from her hoof, smacking against the castle walls, and turning the metal red. She then realizes what she’s done, and looks at her hoof, “I-I did it!”
I smile, and pat her on the shoulder, “Congratulations, love, you’re a Fire Bender.”