96 AG
The sky was already choked with ash when the first fireball landed. Jian flinched as the heat tore into the front line ahead of him, dirt and flame vomiting into the air, pieces of armor and bodies tossed about like broken toys.
His ears rang from the blast, and through the haze, he could hear the screaming, someone wailing, or the sound of someone else, coughing blood. He didn't know their names, he hadn't been here long enough to learn them.
A week ago, he'd been transporting supplies near Gaoling. Then came the draft orders. "We need spearmen at the front." the officer said. "Just hold the line, the benders will do the hard work."
Now he stood in a line of lancers, his palms slick on the wooden shaft of his spear. He hadn't even stabbed anything with it yet. Another fireball arced overhead and although it didn't land near him, he still flinched as if it had. Sweat and fire stung his cheek. A man beside him was curled into a ball, sobbing.
"Stand up, damn you!" the officer barked from behind. "The next one that breaks ranks will be buried!"
Jian forced himself to look in ahead. He shouldn't be here, he thought. In fact, none of them should; this wasn't a fair fight.
Another burst of flame illuminated his face, and he heard yells from the enemy soldiers. The Fire Nation army began charging them. A man ahead of him was hit square in the chest, and Jian saw him fly backward, crashing into the earth, flames still clinging to what remained of his uniform.
His stomach turned, and he dropped to one knee and vomited into the dirt. The stench of burned flesh mixed with bile in his nose.
"Get up, come on. Just get up." he muttered.
A horn sounded in the distance, signaling Earth Kingdom orders, their line had to move forward. Jian, still dizzy, pushed into the chaos. Fire Nation troops were ahead already engaged with earth benders, dressed in their blood-red armor, pushing through their defenses.
A soldier charged him with a short sword. Jian panicked, thrust his spear, and felt it strike something soft. The Fire Nation soldier's breath hitched; Jian's weapon had pierced clean through his chest.
The soldier crumpled and Jian stood over him, panting. Blood trickled down the shaft of the lance, warm on his knuckles, making his hands shake as his knees buckled.
"I… I killed him." he whispered.
The chaotic sounds of the battlefield dimmed as shock took hold of him, his hands were shaking, and for a moment he didn't have the strength to pull his spear out of the now-dead soldier. Once he managed he tried his best to focus, he needed to clear his mind if he wanted to survive.
The sounds slowly returned and screams and moans filled his head, the clashes of swords and armor as well.
A burst of light flashed to his right, he turned and dodged just in time. He searched for his attacker but instead was met with a confusing and terrifying sight.
A girl, barely older than his little sister, walked through the battlefield as if taking a stroll through a quiet courtyard. Her black armor gleamed, flecked with soot and blood. Both her arms were metal, with spikes on their sides. Her hair made her stand out, as if it had lost color somehow, a mixture between black, white and ashen color.
As she began her attack, her arms lit with fire and her metal limbs glowed red as she took down bender after bender in a terrifying display of power.
Her movements were clean, surgical, and without flair. She didn't throw wild arcs or dance like some of the other firebenders around her.
There were no unnecessary flames being thrown around. She tore through a group of earth benders, with precision and brutality.
With a low kick followed by a quick jab, she killed the closest one to her, the soldier falling to the ground with smoke rising from his body. Then, she followed it up with another burst of flame aimed at the head of the soldier beside his fallen comrade. Jian was only a witness to the carnage she was inflicting as she advanced. And she was getting closer.
Jian stared as she moved closer to him; she wasn't even breathing hard. Her face was unreadable. She wore prosthetics on her hands, smoke rising behind her as if her back was on fire.
"She´s a monster…" he whispered.
His commanding officer screamed for a charge. Jian clutched his spear, pointed it forward, and braced himself. As her gaze found him, fear struck his body like a boulder. For a moment, he thought he saw something human behind those golden eyes, but the moment passed quickly and he knew that she was coming for him as she moved.
Her metal arm swept out, catching his spear mid-thrust and shattering it like dry wood. Before Jian could even gasp, her leg shot upward in a flash of motion, striking his chest and throwing him backward. Pain took hold of him as he landed hard on his ass. As he looked up to plead for his life to the spirits he only saw her fist aimed at him.
A blinding white and yellow flash covered his view quickly followed by darkness. Then there was nothing.
---- 0000 ----
The battlefield was quiet now, smoke curled lazily over broken stone and scorched grass. The fires still crackled, stubbornly clinging to whatever wood or cloth hadn't yet crumbled to ash. The sky remained overcast, streaked with trails of soot drifting up from the wreckage. Lin moved through it like a shadow, her steps steady and her breathing even.
A wounded Earth Kingdom soldier whimpered at her feet, one leg twisted under him, the other burnt black. He looked up at her and tried to speak, but his mouth trembled instead. She stared at him for a moment, then drew her arm back and punched downward. Fire flared and the body stilled, peace in death.
They didn't have the supplies to take prisoners and her orders were clear. She turned and walked on, steam rising faintly from the plating of her limbs. Her arms had gone red again after the continuous fights, glowing faintly near the joints. The heat vents along her spine hissed as she moved, but there was still more to do.
She found one of her own lying face down near a shattered stone outcrop. His armor had been torn open, and blood pooled beneath him. Lin didn't speak; she knew he was still alive. She knelt, slid one arm beneath his back, the other beneath his knees, and lifted him.
Her prosthetics bore the weight easily, even as the blood soaked into her sleeves. She moved without rush, stepping over corpses and shattered spears as she carried him toward the nearest triage tent. A medic looked up in surprise as she approached.
"He's still breathing." she said simply.
The medic nodded and gestured for the cot. Lin laid the soldier down, turned, and walked out without another word. There was no need to rest. The limbs didn't tire, and neither did she. By midday, the battlefield had been cleared of the wounded and the dying.
Most of her company had regrouped near the ridge, counting the dead. The commanding officer had not returned. She was standing alone when the courier arrived.
"Captain Sui was confirmed dead on the southern flank." the young soldier reported, bowing quickly. "You're the highest-ranking officer remaining in Red Company, First Lieutenant."
Lin's gaze didn't shift. "I understand. I will take command." she said.
The soldier hesitated. "Should I… inform the major of your status?"
"Do it."
He nodded and ran off. She stood a moment longer, glancing over the rows of tents, the scattered remains of the camp and the quiet of the aftermath. Then, she turned and walked to her new post.
In the officer's tent, she retrieved a clean scroll and brush from the corner of the desk and sat to write.
Father, I require a trainer. My command has been confirmed over Red Company. Although they were trained to intimidate, the current formation lacks coordination. Send someone efficient, experienced, and loyal. The Fire Nation deserves better soldiers than these.
She signed it with her name and family motto, then rolled the scroll tight and sealed it with wax. A young runner waited outside the tent. She handed him the message and told him where to send it. He bowed and ran without speaking, probably off to find a hawk master.
Lin watched him go, her golden eyes narrowed against the sun still obscured by smoke. She would need to reinforce the flanks tomorrow. Reassign scouts and test discipline levels in the second and third squads. Too many had broken formation under pressure.
She needed better weapons for them, ones that wouldn't melt in the first heat wave of firebending. The fact that her own soldiers couldn't deal with deserters should it come to that, bothered her. She catalogued everything in her mind. Every weakness as well as every opportunity.
When she returned to the center of camp, the soldiers of Red Company straightened as she passed. A few stared, some saluted, yet no one spoke. One of the newer ones, barely older than a recruit, whispered to another.
"That's our new captain? What happened to her hair?"
Lin paused, her eyes flicking toward them. The soldier paled and looked away, so she said nothing and kept walking. There was still so much to do.
---- 0000 ----
Her promotion was a quiet affair. Lin, now captain of the Red Company, an expanded unit with 100 soldiers instead of the regular 80, had improved their chances in the following weeks after the attack. The reinforced company had a few recruits who needed molding.
The tutor sent by her father had shaped the company into an elite unit alright. She wanted to make it the best and deadliest company of the northern assault force, and she had requested a training period where her company wouldn't be assigned missions. It had naturally been approved. The last couple of months had been for grueling training and had given her plenty of time to familiarize herself with the men under her command.
Now they had been called to join the front lines again. She knew everyone was ready for the task. She had made sure to give them their best chances of survival. The briefing tent stank of sweat and burnt parchment.
Three companies had gathered under the command of Major Han, who stood at the center of the map table with his hands behind his back. His armor was polished, but the lacquer on the shoulders was cracked. His voice was clipped, but not calm.
Lin stood in silence at the edge of the room, her arms folded behind her. Her company stood farther back, still and silent. She didn't speak until spoken to.
"The enemy has encamped along the riverbed north of here." Han said, gesturing to a black ink circle on the map. "They've dug in with earthbenders at the front, but their supply lines remain vulnerable. We'll encircle them before noon and break through the southern barricade once the sun is highest."
Lin studied the plan and her first impression was that it looked like a textbook strategy, which would make it predictable for the enemy.
"Major." she said.
Han stopped mid-sentence and turned to her, one brow raised.
"If I may..." she continued, "A forward strike tonight would reduce their morale. A commander dead in his tent creates panic. I have soldiers trained for night operations. No bending or noise. It will give our men a complete advantage."
The other captains looked uneasy. Han's eyes narrowed.
"You would assassinate their leader before battle?" he asked.
"Yes." Lin said.
"And what glory is there in murdering a man while he sleeps?"
She said nothing, not really understanding what he meant. 'Isn't glory won by accomplishing victory?' she thought. Major Han scoffed, shaking his head as he looked back at the table.
"You have no honor, girl. Maybe that's how they train officers in the Renshi household, but here no one under my banner would take part in that. If you want to fight like a bandit, go alone."
Lin gave a single nod. "As you command, Major."
"I don't know what Renshi was thinking, not only making you look like a tool out of a forge but acting like one." Han waved her off with a mutter under his breath, and returned to the map.
She didn't care what he called her. Honor was a word men used when they had time to waste, when their own glory was praised above their own soldiers' lives. Besides, even if no one volunteered to go with her, she did not need help.
That night the moon hung thin and pale above the camp. The wind carried only the scent of smoldering trees and river mud. Lin and two others moved through the underbrush in silence, each step measured and deliberate. The armor over her limbs had been darkened with soot, the metal coated with a thin film of ash and cloth.
The two officers who followed refused to be left behind, and although the major had said to go alone, he hadn't specifically made the order for the rest of the officers to stand down. They just had to move through the camp in silence, doing their best not to grab the attention of the few sentries who would be actually paying attention.
To be honest, Lin knew it would be easy. The Earth Kingdom was used to regular tactics, they knew most Fire Nation officers loved to confront their enemies head on, and would not resort to a night attack unless there was no other choice.
She spotted two guards on the outer perimeter, their torches low. They weren't alert of course, they were just bored. She gave a command with a few hand signals, and they moved quickly.
The first fell without a sound, a strike to the throat, and a blade drawn across. Her officers were trained efficiently, and she could see why, no unnecessary movement from the lieutenant. The second turned just as she stepped behind him, but it was too late.
His mouth opened, but nothing came out before the dagger sliced his neck. Just a whisper of gurgling was heard, not enough to wake anyone. By the time they reached the commander's tent, she had counted three more guards and seven patrols, although it mattered little. They hadn't seen them, so there was no use killing them at all.
The flap was open, and the man inside was asleep. He looked younger than she expected, with his beard not fully grown and his armor beside the bed, unworn. She briefly wondered if he was just a noble posing as a Colonel, there were lots of those in the Fire Nation as well. Most of those never stayed long in field command, and moved to High command in a short time.
She approached without hesitation, her blade was quick. One strike to the neck. One to the chest. Once he was dead, she forced the blade deeper into the neck of the now corpse, with enough effort, the head rolled free. She caught it in one arm, still warm and threw it to one of her officers who smirked back at her.
"I know just what to do with this." He whispered.
By dawn, their work would be discovered, if not earlier. The head sat on a wooden stake in the center of the enemy camp, blood soaking the dirt beneath it.
They returned before morning drums sounded. While the other two officers went to clean themselves and their armor, Lin didn't bother. She wanted Major Han to think it was just her, she didn't want to risk the lieutenants receiving punishment.
As she made her way to the command tent, the soldiers guarding it were shocked to see the small girl covered in dirt and blood. She liked that look on them.
---- 0000 ----
The smell of coffee was the first thing that greeted him when Han woke up, the bitter scent mingling with damp canvas and the lingering smoke from last night's fires. But also something else lingered between those scents, something foul.
His joints ached as he pushed himself up, the cold seeping through his armor as he had fallen asleep with it on accidentally and now he was dreading giving the order to attack today. His eyes were still gritty from restless sleep.
He blinked and saw her there, standing by the tent entrance, silent, hands clasped behind her back, armor still dark with soot and stained with dried blood. Her hair caught a beam of pale dawn light, the scorched white strands stark against the black steel, and her golden eyes watching him without a hint of impatience.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say; she shouldn't have been here this early. He had given her the impossible task of going alone to the enemy camp at night. Surely, evenly if she was successful she would be gone for the morning. It seemed the day gave no such mercies.
Captain Lin stepped forward, saluted him, then set a table in front of him. There she placed a steaming cup of coffee, the liquid rippling from the slight tremor in her metal fingers as she released it. She stepped back without a word, standing straight, waiting.
Han reached for the cup, his eyes never leaving her, taking a slow sip, letting the heat wake him fully before he finally spoke.
"You're here early."
"Yes, Major." she answered, her voice as calm as always.
She didn't elaborate, so he set the cup down, the silence stretching, the sounds of the waking camp outside filling the gaps between them, the clash of weapons, the bark of orders and the shuffle of feet in mud. Finally, she spoke, breaking the silence, her words measured and clear.
"The head of the enemy commander was placed in the center of their camp, their soldiers woke to see it. Scout reports say some fled during the first few sunrays, others were in disarray, their lines will be weakened when you move against them at noon, sir."
Han's hand froze halfway to the cup, his mind catching up with her words, a cold weight settling in his stomach, as he paused to focus on her. Finally, he could identify the foul smell from before to what his eyes were looking at. A bitter metallic scent hung around her, it smelled like copper and something riper, like old sweat soaked into metal.
The blood on her chest plate had dried into a flaking crust, but the smell hadn't faded. It clung to her, a scent of rust, leather, and a faint whiff of butchered meat left too long in the sun. Han had been in a few battlefields already, he knew what that smelled like.
"You… did it."
"Yes."
"Alone." he added.
She didn't correct him, but she didn't confirm it either. He remained silent, watching for a flicker of expression, but there was nothing, only the soft hiss of her breath through the vents in her back, which always unnerved him. With a grim thought, he wondered how a family could experiment with their own child like that?
Han's jaw tightened, he looked down at the table, the black circle on the map where the enemy had camped now meant nothing, it would be red soon, their lines shattered, and it was because of her, because she did what he could never ask of any soldier, something for which he had mocked her for suggesting.
His stomach turned with the memory of his words yesterday, the way he had dismissed her, the way he had accused her of having no honor. His own close officers after she was gone had warned him about doing such a thing again, as there was a rumour that her brother was a highly skilled assassin who was used recently to kill off an entire noble family that had spoken against the firelord's new invasion policies and it all had been made to look like an accident.
If those rumours had reached the front, then they were probably half-truths, but he now had a new fear worse than dying on the battlefield. Dishonored and killed by his own allies was far worse after all.
As he looked at her standing there, the dawn light catching the steam rising from her limbs, he saw the truth of it, she didn't care about honor, and she was both merciless and ruthless towards anyone she considered an enemy. He didn't want to become one of them, even though in appearance she was no more than a weird-looking teenager.
"Good job. Dismissed." he said, voice low, almost a whisper, but she heard him clearly, nodded once, turned sharply and left the tent without a word.
Han sat down heavily, his hands gripping the edges of the table, staring at the map, the ink lines, the small figurines marking positions that no longer mattered. Outside, the camp stirred as soldiers prepared to move, the banners of the Fire Nation catching the morning breeze, red against the gray sky.
He rubbed a hand over his face, feeling the rough stubble on his chin, the exhaustion sinking deeper into his bones as he thought about the reports he would have to submit.
"She's just a girl." he muttered to himself, but even as he said it, he knew it wasn't true.
She was clearly built as a weapon for the Fire Nation, shaped with steel, fire, and discipline, something terrifying. As he stood, he paused, looking at the corner of the tent where the dawn light had already faded, remembering the way she had looked standing there, silently waiting without making a sound.
He hadn't stopped to think now how long she had been staring at him through the night. A chill ran down his spine as he imagined going through the same fate as the enemy she had killed.
"I need to add this to my report to the general. I'm sure he will inform the Fire Lord about it."
The problem was that there was a chance high command would want to reward her instead of making sure she didn't retain command at all. A terrifying notion if she were given more praise instead.
There were already too many officers in the Fire Nation army who were monsters, and the Fire Lord seemed invested in giving them more chances of promotion, like what happened with Captain Zhao after assaulting Jasmine Island. He received a promotion for attacking a neutral island that held no economic value anymore as almost all trade had already halted in the region already and praise for his ruthless methods.
He would have to tread carefully with what he reported.