Elemental War

arrival.

   After an hour train ride full of lush hills, beautiful sea water, and friendly conversation, we came to a screeching halt! Both of our eyes lit up!

'We're hereeees' echoed throughout the train.

Through the window, we could see an empty train station; besides an unusually tall old man in a suit it look like he owned his entire life! His black-grey hair pulled back in a short ponytail, and a short furry goatee. He stood with his hands behind his back, he looked pretty serious and eccentric.

"Are you ready?" Karmen called out excitedly.

"I think so..." I smiled. She hooked me by the arm and we walked onto the aisle behind the line of students getting off of the train.

Inside the station we stood in horizontal rows. The old man stood in front of us all. I hadn't realized at first, but the train station ended here. There was no where else for the train to go but backwards...

"Welcome, the newest students of Omashu! I am Professor Gidby. Vice President of the student board at Omashu Academy! Follow me everyone. There's an assembly underway for first year students beginning immediately in the academy's cafeteria. President Ruth doesn't like to wait! Hurry now! Let's go!" His old voice shook as he spoke. He walked fairly slow but we all followed him up the stairs and outside the station .

As he opened the doors to the main doors of the station students gasped, screamed, and some even cried.

My mouth gaped. Karmen screamed, threw her arms in the air, and swirled around.

A few feet in front us were tall black metal gates that ran both way for miles with a huge sign above it which read Omashu Academy.

Far back into the distance behind the gate were miles of water but just in the distance we could see a visibly large castle. I mean it looked huge! It was sitting on an island in the middle of the sea surrounded by mountainous forests.

Two guards behind the metal gates got into a bending stance, and pulled their arms away from the gates and the large metal fence began to open.

Professor Gidby began through the gates and the students followed. We kept straight towards the waterfront until we arrived to a large boat that everyone crammed into.

This wasn't your usual boat. There was no motor. Professor Gidby turned away from us at the bow of the boat. He now faced the water; all of us sat in squished rows behind him. He moved his arms as if he was in the water swimming and the boat began to sail foward!

Students screamed out in awe and amazement. Some students even applauded his bending. Some of these students have never seen actual water bending in their life!

We began to pick up speed, we were going at-least 50 miles per hour!

The beautiful stone castle grew larger and larger. With its many coned and sloped tops. The castle had many levels and stretched far beyond we could see from our perspective.

We made it to shore. The humongous castle scaling far above us. We walked up the main stairs to two large brown wooden doors, and the two guards who were posted beside the doors greeted us upon arrival. One of the benders took his right arm and lifted it upwards and the huge door began to open. The other guard bowed to the Professor as we passed.

Everyone's eyes lit up. The ceiling seemed as high as the sky. The large stone walls were flooded with photos and scriptures preserving many of Omashu Academy's relics. Candles spaced apart evenly on the walls lit up the castle, besides the natural light that peered through the large arched windows. There was an arch a few feet in front us with another large staircase behind it, and to our left were smaller wooden doors.

Professor Gidby opened the doors. Inside was another large room with skyscraper ceilings. These ceilings were made of glass and the beautiful sun lit sky brightened the entire room. There were rows ,and rows ,and rows, and rows of large brown wooden tables. At the far side of the room there were several large luxurious looking chairs.

A slightly tall woman stood sternly in front the middle chair. She wore an all grey curled bob. Her face was tight, eyebrows arched downward, an ugly scowl on her face. She was dressed in military armor.

"EVERYONE SIT DOWN!" The old lady's voice rang throughout the room! Students fumbled trying to jump into the closest seat to them.

She scoffed , and tightened up her posture before continuing to scream.

"I am President Ruth! HEAD WOMAN IN CHARGE OF OMASHU ACADEMY! THE FINEST TRAINING ACADEMY IN THE LANDS!"

I swore I could see steam coming from her ear holes.

"We do not breed weaklings at this institution! If you can not meet my academy's expectations you will be meeting the dungeon instead. I'm not telling you this to frighten you, but instead to inspire you. As you all know there is a war going on in the lands, and that war needs troops! Of course everyone is not meant to be a soldier in a war. Maybe some of you have plans to be a nurse, or a farmer, but as I've said already, Omashu Academy does not breed weaklings! The Queen and King of the nation have recognized Omashu Academy as the number one institution contributing to devolving top tier, battle ready, benders! We will continue to uphold that title!" The old woman laughed hysterically at herself before continuing

"We have a large campus full of different classes and organizations for you to immerse into. Our campus features a state of the art common area for students to gather, multiple courtyards, indoor and outdoor pool, a greenhouse, state of the art gymnasium, dueling stadium, movie theatre, and more! So I never want to hear that there's nothing for you to do! I have an entire academy to run so I'm usually too busy for questions; so if you have any feel free to go to your Vice President Gidby, or feel free to speak to with the student counselors. I know that you guys have probably had a long day, but you're about to have an even longer semester, so let's get some food into your bellies and then you may check the bulletin board outside the cafeteria for your dorm room assignments. Class starts bright and early tomorrow, and you better not be late! Welcome to Omashu Academy!" President Ruth finished with a dry smile.

Students hesitated to applaud her speech.