Pyrus: War

Training

When morning arrives, I gingerly reach down to touch my leg, to see how it's doing. I brace for a jolt of pain, but instead, feel solid bone. I'm healed! Gale is still asleep beside me.
  "Hey! Gale! Wake up!" I say to her, shaking her awake.
  Her eyelids flutter and she squints, adjusting to the light. "Uhhnnn, what?" she groans.
  I jump up and down. "Come on! Let's go! It's time for breakfast!"
  She looks at me funny. "Why are you jumping? Your leg is broken!"
  I laugh. "Wanna bet?" I lift it up for her to feel. After cautiously applying pressure to where my break was and feeling no break, she knocks on it like you would a door. Her face lights up and she hops out of bed.
  "Holy cow, that was fast!" she exclaims.
  I run to the door, and motion for her to follow. "Come on, we'll eat at my place!" I call.
  We zip down to the tower. The people let out whoops as we pass by, pleased to see their Mage alive and well. Two kids, age 10, are actually holding a banner that says, "Welcome Back, Heroes!".
  "Wow," I say to Gale as we walk on. "I guess we did something really great, huh?"
  Gale nods. "Yeah. We must have."
  "I mean, all we did was kill a couple hundred scouts. It's not that big of a deal," I ponder aloud.
  Gale shrugs. "Maybe to them, that makes us heroes," she suggests
  I nod. "Maybe."
  The tower now looms ahead of us. I take a peek at the notice board. Schedules are changed, and almost everyone is in combat training. Looks like Hawk knew what he was doing. I open the door and Gale and I walk in. I lead her up the stairs to my kitchen.
  "So, eggs and bread?" I ask. She nods approvingly.
  I crack a couple of eggs and pop them on a pan. They crackle and hiss. "Sunny side up or over easy?" I ask Gale.
  "Uh, over easy, I guess," she replies. Nodding, I flip the eggs over and grab a couple of slices of bread, which I butter.
  "Breakfast is served," I announce. We wolf down the food and decide to head to the training room to hone our skills.
  Upon our arrival, we are shocked to find two scouts chained to the wall. Our prisoners. River, Rocky, Flora, Sky, and Lilly stand over them.
  "Are there any other bases?" Sky demands loudly.
  One of the scouts answers. "There are many other camps situated around here, some farther than others. We have also captured several castles that serve as bases," he says in monotone.
  Rocky scribbles that down on a paper. "Oh, hey, Pyrus," he greets when he notices me. "How are you, Gale?"
  "Not bad. Hanging with this goof might have had a negative effect on my brain though," Gale replies, grinning at me.
  I sigh and shake my head. "That effect was already there, Gale," I kid back. She slugs me in the shoulder.
  Sky, Lilly, Flora, and River turn to face me. "Good morning, Pyrus," River says. "I think you'll be pleased to know we have found a way to force information out of them without causing any harm. We call it 'Magic Drugging'. It makes the target so relaxed, they spill their guts." She beams proudly.
  "It was Flora's idea," Sky puts in. Flora blushes and tries to shrink a bit.
  I nod. "Well, good job, Flora," I congratulate.
  Rocky walks over. "So far, this is what we've discovered," he says, handing me the paper.
  I quickly skim through it. "Actually called Soul Hunters". "Quite a few camps, castle bases". "Currently unaware of new Sanctuary location". That last one sends a wave of relief through me. I hand the paper back to Rocky.
Then I turn to our prisoners. "What castle hosts Decimator?" I demand.
  "Camelot," is the swift reply. My heart sinks.
  "Camelot? Where's that?" Lilly questions.
  "I'm not sure," I reply. I take a quick pause before continuing. "But I do know it is, or was, one of the best defended castles and was home to the famed king, King Arthur, who died a couple of years ago. I fear the worst if Decimator has gotten his hands on that castle. We are not, and may never be, at all ready to even step foot near it."
  The mood darkens and everyone looks down. River and Gale look disappointed. Rocky is relieved. Sky, Flora, and Lilly look troubled.
  "Where is the nearest castle to here?" Gale asks our prisoners.
  "A day's hike to the east," one answers obediently.
  "And what do you know about a guy named 'Thunder'?" I question.
  "Thunder and his friends, Stump, Boulder, Avalanche, and Mountain, have joined Decimator's army. They are training in dark magic, but are not succeeding very well," one scout says. We all get a moment of relief, thankful that they are failing to acquire the darkness, until the scout continues. "They have, however, become extraordinarily powerful in their elements." The mood sinks again.
  I clap my hands together. "Well then. It appears we need to start training," I announce. Motioning to the scouts, I say, "And take them to a dungeon, or some secure place where they can't escape." Gale happily accepts this task.
  "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get cracking!" River exclaims impatiently. I nod in agreement.
  I do a quick head count. 6, plus Gale, which makes 7. "Ok, we best work on our defensive skills. I was almost killed yesterday because I lacked them," I instruct. "Alright. I'm going to launch fire at each of you. Deflect it. Be cautious, though. I have no idea what might happen." Lilly volunteers to go first.
  She stands a couple metres away, in a ready position. I send a huge column of fire at her. It spirals as it flies, and I get ready to extinguish it if need be. But I don't. Suddenly, the entire flame is surrounded in a bubble of water, which Lilly can control. She sends the torrent right back at me, but I was prepared. I concentrate on the fire inside and expand it, causing it to evaporate the water. However, as the water disappeared, so did my fire. Soon, there was nothing but a little smoke.
  I clap. "Now THAT was impressive. Who's next?" I say loudly.
  Gale walks in. "Me," she announced.
  I wind up my attack, and Gale concentrates. I launch several fireballs, each coming at her from a different direction. She sends a massive gust of wind at them, but that just makes them flare, the oxygen spurring them on. She frowns and ducks. The fireballs change course and scream toward her. At the last second, Gale creates a protective orb of air around her. The fireballs smash into it, and the orb catches fire. She keeps feeding the burning orb, and steps out of it. Then it comes sailing at me.
  That's when I get an idea. Instead of moving or trying to deflect it, I welcome the raging fireball with open arms. Just before it smacks into me, I make sure the fire will deflect the blow from the air with my magic. Then the fire engulfs me, setting my entire body on fire. My clothes hiss and smoke, but keep the fire from burning them. I am now a fireball. I let out a laugh before compressing the fire into nothing.
  Everyone just stares slack jawed at me. I grin. "What, you never seen a guy on fire before?" I ask jokingly. Sky just shakes her head.
  We continue the deflecting lessons, laughing and attacking. It is overall quite fun and educating. We are all sweating like pigs by the end.
  "Okay, great job everyone. That was really great. But now I want to try something," I say to everyone. "If anyone here does not trust me completely, I suggest they leave now." Everyone stays. I nod. "Alright then. I need my water users over here." Lilly and River step over.
  I grab 2 buckets. "Be right back," I say, and take the buckets to my kitchen. After quickly filling them with water, I rush back.
  Setting the buckets down, I say to the girls, "Now, stick your heads in there, and whatever you do, do not take them out! Breath! If you are drowning, not only will I save you, but, well, I'll think of something." They nod nervously.
  "On three, okay? Remember not to hold your breath too long!" I say. "One, two, three!"
  They each take a deep breath, then go under. Their heads are completely submerged underwater, and I get ready just in case my theory was wrong.
  A minute passes. Then five. Then ten. Gale gets a really worried look on her face and starts toward Lilly, but I motion for her to stay put. Gently, I tug on the girls' hair, signalling them they can come out.
  "Well?" I ask anxiously when their heads pop up. The two girls shoot each other a elated look.
  "That. Was. Awesome," says Lilly. "I mean, we were breathing! Underwater!" The girls hug each other and bounce up and down with excitement. I beam, relieved and pleased.
  "Gale, Sky, your turn," I say. They step forward. I take quick look around. "Actually, follow me everyone." I lead them all up to the top of the tower.
  Vulcan looks at me curiously. I say to him, "Vulcan, could you do me a favour? If anything, uh, falls of the tower, could you catch it just before it hits the ground?" Vulcan looks questioningly at me again but complies. I smile in thanks.
  "Righty then!" I proclaim. "Gale, Sky, please. Walk to the edge of the tower." They very nervously creep toward the edge, wind blowing their hair around.
  "What now?" Gale asks nervously.
  "Jump," I say simply.
  "Are you out of your mind?!" she yells back at me.
  I sigh. "Vulcan will catch you if need be, and I will do my best as well. Now jump." After shooting me a quick glare, Gale dives off the tower. Sky nervously follows.
  "Now fly!" I yell after them. I hope they heard me. The only noise is the wind.
  Suddenly, wild laughter comes from above my head, and I look up to see Gale and Sky looping-the-loop above our heads.
  "This is amazing!" Gale yells. She spirals into the air, then free-falls back down, swooping up at the last second to avoid hitting the tower. We all let out a thunderous applause.
  The two girls land. "Well, I guess I should have trusted you, huh?" Gale says. When I nod, she punches me playfully.
  Then I turn to my rock users. "So far, I am two-for-two. I know you two are young, but the odds are in my favour. Do you trust me?" They nod.
  Turning to Gale, I say, "Okay. I need a sword."
----------------------------------------------------
  Several minutes later, I am holding a steel long sword in my hands, and Rocky and Flora stand nervously in front of me. Sky clutches Lilly's arm tightly in fear.
  "Well, here we go. Time for theory 3," I say out loud, mostly to myself though. "Are you guys ok? It's not to late to back out." They shake their heads.
  "They'll be ok, right Pyrus?" Sky asks nervously.
  "Don't worry. I'm 2 for 2, remember?" I reply, winking. "Flora, since you're older, you'll go first." She nervously stretches out a shaking arm.
  I rest the sword against her arm and push. Her skin dents in a bit, but doesn't bleed. Relieved, I then bring the sword over my head and smash it down. As I'd hoped, the sound bounces of with a clatter, dulling the sword a bit. Flora looks down in amazement.
  "Do you really and truly trust me?" I ask. When she nods, I thrust the sword at her chest. It clacks off. She laughs in awe.
  "Rocky, your up," I say to the young boy. His confidence is back, and Sky has relaxed.
  I repeat the exercise, with the same results. The two rock users jump with joy and cling to each other. We all go in for a group hug.
  "It's just as I thought," I say. "The water types can breathe underwater, the air types can fly, the rock types have nigh-impenetrable skin, and I, the fire type, am fire resistant." I pause, then add, "Would now be an OK time to tell you that only double marks achieve this state, and that there is only a 50-50 chance you can get it?" Everyone glares at me a moment, and Gale punches me again, but then they all smile to show they were kidding.
  "Well, I'm glad you're only telling me now," Rocky says. "But what exactly did you mean by 'nigh-impenetrable'?"
  "Well, I believe a weapon made of magic or infused with magic can penetrate. And yes, your skin will feel perfectly normal," I reply as he gingerly pokes his skin.
  After everyone settles, I clear my throat. "I think it's time to really hit back at the Soul Eaters," I announce.