Second Child Of Agni: Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Fair weather carried my ship across the sea. A short journey later—at least by nautical standards—my ship was docked before evening on the second day. I found port in the same city which I had just recently visited, though the procession welcoming me was much more tame.

"Welcome back, Princess Tanya." The newly promoted garrison commander bowed but did not simper. I already liked him more than the previous one. "I trust your journey was well?"

"As well as it could be. I'm back to be on dry land, regardless," I replied, striding past him into the base. He followed dutifully, alongside the two soldiers that had come with us. My own men began unloading supplies from the ship. "How have things been since I last visited? I trust you're putting our coin to better use than your predecessor.”

“Of course. We purchased supplies from some traveling caravans recently using the money he embezzled. Our men are already working to distribute them to the wider colonies, though it is slow going.”

I nodded, satisfied. “I'll be taking some of those supplies with me. I'll not be staying long. I'll be traveling further inland to assist there.”

“Of course, Princess. You may take whatever you need.” He paused, thinking. “If I may ask, you wouldn't happen to have business with those rebels that have been coverting around, would you?”

“Indeed I do.”

He smiled, seeming relieved. “That is good to hear. I was worried that the capitol was deaf to our cries. I’m trying my best to undo the damage my predecessor has done, but it is not easy with those bandits running around. If you’re here to round them up and do away with them, I can sleep easy.”

“Let’s not celebrate before I’ve managed to get the full scope of the situation. No aspect of war is quick, not even dealing with a bunch of rabble rousers.” I chided.

He bowed hastily. “As you say, Princess. May I show you to the stables? Our komodo rhinos are the one thing that didn’t suffer from poor management.”

I perked up in interest. I had been planning to acquire a mount in town, but if the garrison had managed to properly care for a group of those beasts, I wasn’t going to turn them down. “Please do.”

He led me down to the main courtyard, attached to which was a rather sizable section of stables. The smell of animal shit and musk was detectable from quite a ways away, but I did not wrinkle my nose, instead gazing upon the magnificent beasts that were presented to me.

“Hayashi was proud of these animals. They were maybe the only thing besides himself that were probably taken care of.”

“I can see that,” I said, running my hand along the hide of one of the beasts. One beady black eye stared at me, before the komodo rhino snorted roughly and swung its head. I stepped back as a horn almost as long as my forearm came inches from impaling me.

The commander stepped forward, a nervous look on his face. “Ah! Be careful with that one! She is far more aggressive than the others. There was a complication with her calving a month ago, and she’s been temperamental ever since.”

I stared up at the animal, and she, in turn, stared at me. I held my ground, and anger gave way to caution. I approached again, slowly this time, ignoring the warnings of the man behind me. I raised a hand, placing it upon rough skin, and rubbed gently.

The animal did not bat me away, nor did it lean into my touch. I found that a good sign.

“I’m in need of a sturdy mount,” I said as the commander went silent behind me. “And you clearly need a change in scenery. I believe we could help each other.”

The beast continued to stare at me, before slowly lowering her head. I patted her thick neck, and this time, the komodo rhino shifted a bit closer to me. I turned back to the commander who was staring at me, jaw agape. “I’ll be taking this one.”

He nodded slowly, “I-I’ll have someone prepare a saddle.”

Even with my new mount, it took about a month to travel the length of the Earth Kingdom. Our destination was a base hundreds of miles away from the active front, in territory the Fire Nation had long since captured and colonized. It oversaw a rather large province, including several cities and villages and countless acres of farmland. When it was under our control, it was an incredible boon to the war effort. Thanks to the rebels, things were beginning to slow down.

Perhaps six weeks after we left the port, my party rode out of the mountains onto a hill overlooking a vast valley. Surrounded by mountains on one side and a forest on the other, it was thrice the size of the port garrison. A river ran along its outer wall, wide enough to need a boat to cross, and a village sat on the other side, under constant watch in the base’s shadow.

It was an incredibly defensible position. Which was why I found it strange that it was currently under attack.

I surveyed the battlefield. Men and women in Earth Kingdom colors were battering away at the massive outer walls. They were being harried by archers and firebenders, which was possibly the only reason the earthbenders among them hadn’t torn it down yet. But it wouldn’t last forever.

From my position on high, I watched as a group of rebels emerged from the forest and came around the base’s side. Preoccupied with the battle out front, it seemed that the defenders failed to notice. If they weren’t stopped, the rebels would make it inside and the base would become one giant slaughterhouse.

Seeing this, I turned to my men. “Sergeant, take a group and head them off. We’ll be joining the main battle.”

The man nodded and a section of my party split off to waylay the rebels. Meanwhile, I was left with my imperial firebenders and a few others, around ten soldiers in total. It would be more than enough.

Moving my mount to the front of the pack, I shifted in my saddle, standing up fully, trusting the beast not to move underneath me. Raising my hands in the air, I brought them to my core and inhaled deeply, feeling my chi move through me. I did it again, raising my hands and then lowering them. It was as though I was working the bellows of some giant furnace. Up and down. Breathe in, breathe out.

My personal guard of imperial firebenders took up positions around me. They understood my intentions perfectly. One by one, they reared their fists back, as if waiting for some unseen signal. When I finally settled and opened my eyes, they thrust them forward.

Five separate streams of fire cascaded around me. I lifted my hands, moving my arms and even my entire body in a whirling motion. The flames, long since relinquished by their creators, came under my control and twisted around one another. I turned with them. Leather hissed underneath my boot as I twisted my entire body around, arms outstretched as if I were guiding some unseen beast. The fire followed the motion as I let loose, sending it streaking through the air towards the attacking rebels.

My move had not gone unnoticed. Down below, the earthbenders had erected a massive domed wall of stone. The fireball crashed into it, dandelion plumes of flame erupting high into the air as the wall exploded and scattered dust in every direction.

Dropping back into my saddle, I spurred my mount, turning to shout to my men. “Run them down! Not a single one escapes, understand!?”

We descended the hill, running straight into the cloud of dust that was drifting around the battlefield like the thickest fog. I burst through it first and came face-to-face with a shirtless man wielding a sword. He raised it high, only to freeze as he met my eyes.

Taking advantage of his hesitation, I kicked his sword out of his hand with an armored boot, sending it spinning into the dust. As I passed him by, my komodo rhino’s thick tail whipped out, smacking him in the face and knocking him off of his feet.

Raising my eyes, I quickly leapt from my saddle, a burst of fire propelling me upwards and above a rock that would have smashed into my chest had I not noticed it in time. My mount continued forward, running down the earthbender who had thrown the rock in the first place.

Meanwhile, I landed behind a man draped in Earth Kingdom colors. Unlike the one before, he had no qualms with hitting a child and turned, raising a large hammer above his head to cave my head in.

“Die! Fire Nation scum!” He screamed as he swung his weapon. I ducked underneath his swing with ease, planting a foot behind his heel and pivoting until I stood behind him. A palm to his back and an explosive burst of fire scorched his shirt and sent him tumbling into a group of his comrades.

“Take them alive!” I ordered my men as they joined the battle. The ground rumbled beneath me and I stepped to the side to avoid a spike that would have taken me in the chin. I turned and dropped low, sweeping my leg to send a wave of fire across the battlefield. Two earthbenders erected a wall in its path, and my flames splashed harmlessly against it. With a few motions, the defense turned into a weapon as the benders broke the wall into pieces and sent them in my direction.

But I was no longer there.

Flight via firebender was theoretically possible, but mostly impractical due to the sheer amount of energy it takes to actively move the human body in such a way. Most would never be capable of achieving the thrust necessary to propel something so heavy for more than a few moments. Luckily, my much lighter body let me straddle the line of impractical and effective, allowing me to achieve it in short bursts if I should choose.

It made for an unconventional fighting style. One that my teachers would likely not appreciate, or would praise me as if I were the second coming of Agni himself.

The earthbenders raised their heads in disbelief just a moment before a lash of flame swept across their chests and knocked them off of their feet. Turning with the momentum of my kick, I pushed myself higher into the air with a brief burst of fire, then raised both hands above my head, focusing my chi.

Flames exploded from my fingertips, propelling me down to earth. I landed hard, knees bent, and swept my arms as if I were parting some unseen ocean. My fire struck the ground and blossomed like a flower, becoming a roiling wave of heat that scorched the earth.

A hastily made shelter of mud and rock dried and then crumbled from the heat of my flames. Behind it, a group of three earthbenders stared, mouths agape and skin steaming. My soldiers moved in quickly, pushing them back and pinning them down for capture.

I pushed my hair out of my face as I rose and surveyed the battlefield. The base’s own forces had joined us on the field and were mopping up this group of rabble rousers. They overwhelmed the disorganized rebels in short order, rounding them up and clamping them in chains.

Overall, the total count was a little over twenty rebels defeated. My men had sustained some minor wounds, but the worst was a few scrapes and a possible concussion so I considered it a resounding victory.

A man approached me as the battle ended. He was older than most on the battlefield and his armor looked well worn. He also seemed to command respect from the men around him. This must have been the leader of the base, Colonel Yan.

He greeted me with a low bow. “Princess Tanya, it is a pleasure. I’m glad you arrived when you did, or else I was going to have to resort to drastic measures.”

“Colonel Yan, I presume?” The man nodded as he rose. “It is nice to meet you. Though the circumstances leave much to be desired. I wasn’t aware things had gotten quite this bad.”

The man’s face became grave and he shook his head. “Neither had I. This is the largest incident we’ve had to face in months. Though, that’s not to say that things have been easy.”

A soldier marched past us, leading a rebel with a spear. Said rebel spat on my boots, eliciting a raised eyebrow from me and a quick jab from the spear leading him along. He flinched but continued to glare at me as he was walked away. “You ain’t seen the last of us. This is only the beginning, corpse-burners!”

“Put him in a separate cell from the others. He’ll be getting nothing but water until he learns to keep his mouth shut.” Yan ordered. “The rest of them go to the dungeons with the others we’ve captured.”

I watched the men lead their prisoners away when something heavy nudged me in the side. I turned to find my komodo rhino standing there, staring at me with beady eyes. I rubbed the animal’s nose, making a mental note to mark her in some way. I rather liked the beast.

Yan turned to me, barely pausing as he saw me petting an animal nearly thrice my size. “If you’d like, Princess, I’ll show you to your accommodations. It may not be quite as lavish as the royal palace, but I’lll personally make sure you don’t want for comfort while you stay with us.”

I shook my head. “That can wait until later. For now, lead me to the stables and tell me about this rebel threat.”

Yan seemed surprised. “Are you sure? I’d have thought you would like to relax after such a long journey.”

“The journey was plenty relaxing,” I replied as he led me into the base. “Now that I am here, it is time to get to work. We’ve wasted enough resources on this little rebellion; it’s best to put an end to it sooner rather than later.”

Yan looked almost impressed. A small smile crossed his face. “As you say, Princess.”

Colonel Yan briefed me on the situation as things calmed down. The rebel attack had come out of nowhere, and only an especially watchful sentry noticing the holes popping up on the border of their walls had kept things from becoming a massacre. They’d been under siege for only a few minutes before my timely arrival, and that had been enough for the earthbenders to do quite a bit of damage to their fortresses.

“This is the culmination of a series of smaller attacks that we’ve been dealing with over the past several months,” Yan explained as we sat in his office. “The rebels are growing more bold with the turn of spring. The earth is soft and moldable now that the cold has been chased away.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re having so much trouble fending them off,” I said, nursing a cup of tea. “That group was large, but not exactly organized. A few well-trained men should have been able to put a stop to them rather quickly.”

“As you yourself demonstrated, yes,” Yan agreed. “My men are exceptional, but the state of things is less than ideal. We’re down to the last of our supplies and began rationing a week ago.”

My brow furrowed in confusion. “How is that possible? I was told by the port garrison commander that supplies were flowing again.” That commander didn’t seem the type to lie to my face.

“They very well might be. Unfortunately, the rebels have completely cut us off from the supply line.” Yan stroked his pencil beard, seeming harried. “Any shipment that is sent in never makes it, and every letter sent out finds itself in the wrong hands before we can alert them to what’s happening. I’d send my men along with a message, but the risk is far too great. It’s as if the rebels know our every move before we make it.”

I straightened, eyes narrowing. “You believe that there’s a mole?”

Yan’s face was equally serious. “I wouldn’t say it in front of the men, but the timing of these attacks is too convenient. Just today, I had planned to send a large group for supplies because we can’t sustain things as they are. I called the operation off at the last minute, just this morning. If I hadn’t…”

“The base would have been almost defenseless against the attack that occurred only hours later,” I finished. “Do you have a list of names? Suspects?”

“A few,” Yan admitted. “But nothing concrete. I can have them rounded up on your command.”

I swirled my tea, thinking. The possibility that our ranks may have been undermined was worrying, but it could also work in our favor.

“No…” I said slowly, a plan forming in my mind. Yan stared at me in surprise.

“Princess?”

“Allow me to share a piece of wisdom from a great leader, Colonel Yan.” I slowly placed down my teacup, smirking softly. “It is unwise to interrupt your enemies while they are making a mistake. If there is a mole, we’ll give them the info they seek. Along with just enough rope to hang their friends with.”