As Omashu disappeared over the horizon, Princess Azula underwent a cardinal change. Her posture straightened, her chin lifted slightly, her shoulders dropped and squared. Her gaze simultaneously deepened, growing colder and more cunning, and even her voice transformed. It now sounded more authoritative. Azula stopped pretending to be a simple girl from the Earth Kingdom and became, once again, who she was by birthright: the Princess of the Fire Nation.
After Omashu vanished from sight, Azula focused on her objective. Yet, she didn't completely forget about me. This became clear when, lost in thought, she unconsciously began stroking my arm.
"It's a pity we can't buy a messenger hawk and use it immediately," the princess sighed with a touch of sadness. "Finding Zhao will take a ridiculous amount of time. Do you happen to have any ideas on how to locate a group of Fire Solder disguising themselves as locals in the Si Wong Desert?"
In this world, messenger hawks were quite intelligent creatures. All one needed to do was purchase the bird, show it to yourself and state you were its owner, and then show it to the person you intended to exchange letters with, and the letter delivery system was established. After that, the bird could find its owner or the intended recipient of a letter, even if they were at the ends of the earth. We, incidentally, had acquired one just in case, to maintain contact if circumstances separated us. It was currently flying somewhere above us. However, it would not deliver a letter to someone the bird had never seen before; it simply wouldn't know who.
"Zhao and his men must eat and drink. We should visit the sparse settlements in the desert and find out if anyone is purchasing provisions from them."
****
Mountains, forests, and fields swiftly gave way to one another. The Ostrich Horse, even loaded with our gear and us, walked quite briskly toward the Si Wong Desert. The journey of several days passed almost imperceptibly. I spent most of the road meditating, stopping only during the breaks arranged for the animal to rest and for us to eat, or during moments when the princess grew bored and wanted to converse with me.
Compared to our trip to Omashu, our daily routine changed slightly. The princess decided that some time should be dedicated to her training to keep her precious skills sharp. Therefore, she spent an hour in the morning and an hour and a half in the evening on physical development. A little later, when we were farther from settlements and thus from prying eyes, Azula also began practicing her Firebending skills. I actively helped her with both her physical development and her bending practice. The princess especially needed my assistance with stretching exercises and as a sparring partner.
The sessions with Azula were not without benefit for me. If she had little to teach me in childhood, her knowledge was now sufficient to impart a couple of valuable lessons. For instance, the princess taught me how to create that very cutting fire lasso she demonstrated in the fight at the Earth Kingdom military base after escaping prison, using it to shear off a watchtower. The technique's true name was Fire Blade. It resembles a dagger but is much longer. This means the attack's effective radius is greater. However, it also consumes a significant amount of chi. The energy expenditure for the blade is considerably higher.
I also learned a technique called Fire Wheel. By manipulating flames, the Firebender draws a vertical circular motion to create a concentrated sphere of flame in the shape of a wheel and sends it at the opponent. The resulting Fire Wheel can fly through the air or roll along the ground. If it moves on the ground, it ignites the path it travels. This, of course, depends on the material it moves across. This technique also has two versions: the first explodes upon contact with the target, and the second allows it to cut through everything like a buzzsaw.
Both techniques were Princess Azula's personal developments. By teaching them to me, Azula demonstrated how much she truly trusted me. But that was not the only thing I learned from the princess.
"Just in case," Azula began one day, "I want you to know the highest technique of fire magic. Your skills are sufficient to begin training it. Of course, you won't succeed immediately. Very few people master it at all due to its extreme complexity. But the sooner you start training, the faster you will learn. So, Long, listen carefully and memorize the movements in the minutest detail, or you could be severely injured."
Azula stepped slightly away from me and began performing circular movements with her arms, standing on slightly bent legs, while explaining the essence of the technique without actually executing it. She was simply demonstrating the correct movements and explaining the theory. After the first circuit, I began to imitate the princess. The symbol we traced in the air resembled the Yin and Yang sign.
"There is energy around us and within us," the princess continued when she was certain my movements were correct. "If a Firebender can keenly sense their chi, possesses mental serenity, and knows how to separate the energy into a positive and negative flow inside their body, they can master the highest skill of fire magic: Lightning generation!"
From the middle of Azula's speech, I began to smell the familiar scent of ozone. Small sparks danced around the princess here and there. The most noticeable ones ran from her shoulders to her palms. And as soon as Azula finished speaking, throwing one arm back and the other forward, a branched bolt of lightning shot from her extended fingertips, dispelling the nighttime darkness and frightening our riding animal. Azula blew the smoke from her fingers and straightened her legs, looking intently at me. The princess ordered me to continue practicing the movements while she proceeded with the lecture:
"After the energy is separated into Yin and Yang, the negative and positive components, it strives to return to balance. The electrical charge is produced precisely by the collision of the two flows. Firebenders cannot control lightning. Giving a direction to the released power is the best we can do. Even the most skilled benders must release the lightning from their bodies as quickly as possible. Otherwise, they will simply be fried from the inside. Lightning generation is one of the most difficult skills in Firebending. The time it takes varies for all the Masters who wield it. My uncle takes a few seconds; I can do it in one. The Fire Lord can use lightning the fastest. He only spends a mere instant. The time decreases with practice. In the beginning, I required nearly a full minute. I also know that there are several generals in our army who, after learning to generate lightning, did not train the ability, so they spend too much time on it and do not use it in combat."
Here it was, the highest fire magic that I had yearned for! Being near Princess Azula had paid off incredibly quickly. I had made the right choice to agree to Ozai's final mission after all. It was not a certainty that he would have shared the knowledge with me after its completion, but his daughter had. A smile appeared on my face. Even in the darkness, I noticed the princess's cheeks flush slightly as she looked at me.
She was probably training me and imparting knowledge for a reason. Azula likely wanted me to reach her level. To be her equal in skill. This would positively affect my reputation, allowing her to present my person as her partner, and additionally silence the inner perfectionist, which, as it turned out, she also possessed. After all, it simply wouldn't do when the opportunity to learn something exists, but the skills themselves are absent. Azula wished to unlock my full potential as a Firebender.
By the way, if not for Ozai's decision to marry his daughter to someone from the colonies, I would have had a decent chance of eventually becoming her fiancé. The Royal Family valued Firebending skills. They held them in such high esteem that their lineage frequently intermarried with those who had achieved excellent results in firebending, or even with their closest relatives if the bender himself could not, for whatever reason, join the Royal Family. A demonstration of almost blue flame was enough reason for Ozai and Azula herself to pay attention to me. If the princess deemed me worthy, she would marry me, and in a couple of generations, our descendants would intermarry with the Royal Family again.
This had been another plan for obtaining knowledge of magic. One of the backup plans, as I didn't particularly want to marry anyone.
Now, if I master lightning and Ozai reverses his decision about Azula's fate, my chances will be even higher. Although, even without outstanding Firebending skills, with the Fire Lord's grace, the possibility of becoming Princess Azula's husband is high. Simply because she loves me. And since she is willing to share such knowledge, she does not plan to let me go until death. A naive child.
Before the princess's small lecture, I hadn't even considered that chi could be separated into positive and negative.
"Princess, how does one separate their chi into Yin and Yang?" I asked, continuing to perform the movements for generating lightning.
"Chi only appears to be homogenous. If you truly feel the energy, you will notice that it actually consists of two components."
Hmm, but I had conducted numerous experiments with chi. Could my sensitivity simply be insufficient... When I learned that chi was positive and negative energy, I suddenly felt a change in my perception. Chi was still the energy flowing within me, but, as Azula had said, my intuition hinted that it consisted of two components. An interesting effect. I only perceived the composition of chi after learning a little more about it. Otherwise, I probably would never have understood the duality of the energy.
Azula also mentioned serenity. As I began repeating the set of movements for the tenth time, I slipped into a meditative state, clearing my mind of unnecessary thoughts and emotions. The Yin and Yang symbol was slowly drawn in the air by my fingertips. Turning my gaze inward, to the flow of energy within myself, I tried to act upon it. To separate it into the initial components it once was.
A drop of sweat rolled down my temple. For just a moment, the chi was separated, and then, like the strongest magnets, it collided again with the sound of shattering glass. I felt an incredible power surge within me. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the princess's agitated face. It seemed she had understood something and did not want me to practice the skill with the application of magic. But it was already too late.
I threw my right arm forward and my left arm back, assuming the final stance. My reaction allowed me to notice that the tips of my index and middle fingers momentarily became bright white, then I was simply blinded. Night became day once more. A second later, I heard a crackle that transformed into a deafening thunder. But even without seeing anything, I knew from my own feelings and Azula's expression that I had succeeded. I had unleashed my first lightning bolt.
"Beginner's luck," Azula frowned slightly and pursed her lips, crossing her arms over her chest. It was envy. The princess was envious that I had succeeded in creating lightning on the first try. And so quickly. Turning away, she walked toward the tent. "That's enough training for today. Let's go to sleep."
Hmm, she looks kind of cute... Maybe I should thank her for the knowledge received tonight?
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