Alexander felt free. Something about the words Director Li was saying had resonated with his very soul. It was like all his worries had burned away until the only thought he had was how beautiful fire was, especially the one floating in front of him. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, black and white- 9 orbs of flame banded together by a ring of light to form a flaming flower. Individually, each fireball represented an area of magic, but cumulatively, the flower showed what magic could be. Entranced by the multicolored spectacle, Alexander slowly closed his eyes as he felt heat rising out of him.

Thump. Every breath he took, his body changed; he felt stronger. Heat was trickling out of every pore in his body. Thump. He instinctively knew he could smell, touch, taste, see and hear much better. A new spectrum of sensory information was being opened to him. Thump. It was his heart. Alexander felt as his heart was slowly changing his blood from the mortal solution to a river of lava flowing within him, strengthening him slowly. THUMP. Finally, the rate at which his body was releasing heat could no longer be controlled, and Alexander lit on fire.

Normally, Alexander would’ve dove into water immediately. In his 23 years of life, fire had never been a friend to him, but today, he knew this fire would never hurt him. His body celebrated as he felt an entirely new energy filling him with vitality- Alexander could finally feel mana. He had officially become an Apprentice level Elementalist. The joy at finally overcoming the wall that had blocked him for years was too much for Alexander. His eyes shot open as he quickly turned to thank Director Li.

The words caught in his mouth as he realized Director Li was sitting on the floor slack jawed. “Director Li! What happened? Are you okay? Did I do something wrong? Should I call a medic? Any condition that would cause someone of your strength to fall over may be over my head as a medical aid, but I will do my best to get you the help you need.”

The sudden onslaught of worry shook Director Li out of his stupor, “Relax, silly child. I only- umm, I just decided to sit down while I waited for you to finish with your enlightenment. These weary old bones need rest, especially at this time of day, but how do you feel, son?”

Alexander was confused about the director’s need for rest, since he looked to be at most 70 years old, and he had heard Marquis were Overlord level mages at minimum. Director Li had at least 2 more decades to go before he was in need of afternoon naps, but seeing no benefit to calling out the lie, Alexander instead replied to his question. “I feel fantastic. Stronger than ever before, and I can feel mana! I can’t believe it. I’m actually an Elementalist now.” Alexander noticed the director was addressing him in a much more friendly manner but chalked it up to his joy at seeing a new inheritor in Agni.

“By the way, son. Have you taken a look at the flames surrounding you yet?”

Only now did Alexander look around to appreciate the flames he was engulfed in. They felt nurturing, and he could sense the flames had an aura of healing. As he attempted to focus more on the flames, Alexander realized they were difficult to see. The fire was mostly semi-translucent, glowing a faint white at the edges. “Sir, is this normal?”

“No, Alexander. It is most certainly not normal. In fact, I do believe this might be the first time in history an inheritor of the 9 flames has comprehended one of the colors out of order.” A pensive look slowly settled unto the Director’s face.

“You said his name was Alexander Dalo?”

“Yes, duke. That is correct.” Responded Director Li.

“Very well. I will send out a message to the members of the council with regards to this incident in the morning. For now, teach the boy the basics about magic and be gentle. This is my son’s best friend.”

“With all due respect, sir. I believe we should send out an expedited message tonight. The invasion of Mesto has been going well and with the surprise attack on Radhi in the coming days, the council may want to provide the new weapon with some battlefield experience. Perhaps-”

“ENOUGH.” The aura of the Duke caused cracks to appear in the surrounding furniture. “You mean to send an inexperienced kid straight into the battlefield? The invasion has only progressed so seamlessly because the Tlaloc clan has remained on the defensive. When their capital is attacked, the battle will really begin, and the casualties will reach the millions. I will not forcibly send a child into that hell, and Li, I don’t ever want to hear you refer to any person, especially a clan member, as a weapon again.”

Although seated level to him across the desk, the Duke’s rising aura made Director Li feel like he was staring up at the man: color was beginning to drain from the surroundings. The pressure exerted by the duke was tantamount to several tons on Director Li’s shoulders, but still, he persevered. “While I can’t say that I understand, I am fully aware about your stance on the war. However, the clan laws dictate a discovery of this degree calls for an expedited council meeting. So if you would please, send the message tonight. I am sure the king would be greatly displeased if he found out he received delayed news due to a duke’s misconduct.”

The final words were but a whisper out of the director’s mouth. The duke’s growing irritation increased the pressure in the room. “Fine. Now, LEAVE!” A blast of fire carried the director out of the room as several floor tiles finally gave way under the pressure and broke.

Outside the Duke’s office on the top floor of the Eastern Tower, Director Li wiped away the sweat from his forehead. Although he knew the king was on his side, facing an angry Duke of the East was a terrifying experience. After having an attendant lead Alexander away to the guest residences, Director Li had rushed over to call for a council meeting. Had it been up to him, he would have immediately messaged each of the council members, but interplanetary communication required a minimum of Duke level clearance, of whom there was currently only one present.

I cannot believe the Holy Flame blessed a fool like him with such power. Director Li disproved of the Duke of the East’s political position. Since the initial planning phase of the war, the Duke had vehemently opposed any invasion plans. Taking it one step further, he was adamant in his decision to remain at headquarters, refusing to directly partake in the war efforts. Due to his love for the clan, he eventually reached a middle ground with the king and accepted planetary defense duties in case another noble clan decided to attack the Agni base. But this did not stop him from objecting to the more callous decisions. Regardless, it is fortuitous I was the one to discover Alexander. Both the Duke and I know the council will support this decision, so his attempt at intimidation was futile. Maybe we can end this war sooner than we thought. As Director Li walked into the fire powered elevator, he stretched out his shoulders- Intimidation may have been useless, but it certainly fractured my bones.

Alexander lay awake in bed as the first rays of sunlight entered the room through a window. He was brought to a guest residential area near the port by one of Director Li’s assistants last night after the director mentioned he had a very important meeting to attend. He was currently staying in a one-bedroom beach cottage, itself surrounded by many other identical buildings. The home was simply decorated but luxurious. The bed so soft he just knew it would’ve been the best sleep of his life on any other night, but tonight, it hadn’t been. After a few failed attempts at sleep, Alexander ended up trying to consolidate all that had happened the day before.

Soon, Alexander could hear as the members of Agni begin their busy day of work at the port. As the sounds from the ships ramped up, he sat up in bed and focused on summoning the white flame again. Alexander had tried unsuccessfully to cover himself in flames like in the flower field many times throughout the night. Initially, he could do nothing, but this morning, he was finally able to make his hands glow with a hint of white outlining his fingers. It wasn’t a dream. I’m really an Elementalist now. A small laugh escaped him, as he began getting ready for the day.

Director Li had told him to meet him by the statue of the Dragon Ancestor Ra at dawn for training and that his assistant would leave him directions by the door. In the living room table of the cottage, he found a box with a note on top: “Clothes for training, ID bracelet, and map.”

The bracelet seals the deal. I’m a full-fledged Agni member now. With this, Alexander would be able to travel through the island on his own, although he suspected his clearance was not too high so most areas would still be off-limits. Inspecting it, he marveled at the intricate design; it was composed of a black leather bracelet with 9 stone beads representing the colors of fire. The magic of the bracelet was within the stones, as every single bead seemed to hold within it an actual flame. Sliding on the bracelet on his left wrist and changing into the training clothes, Alexander clasped his hands. “Let’s head to training then!”

“C’mon, kid. If you dare stop now, I’m throwing you back in the lava pool!”

Looking down, Alexander could barely recognize Director Li. From a kind elderly man, the director had transformed into the most heinous drill instructor- completing the look with black sunglasses, a beige shirt and cargo pants. He had even conjured a fire whip to dissuade complaining, and it worked. It totally worked. Alexander would never forget the pain of the lashings he received when he first laughed at the director for trying to appear tough with his little ensemble.

“17, 18, 19, and 20. Okay you can climb down now. Great job on the pull-ups. You’ve really come a long way. Go freshen up and meet me back at my office in an hour for your first combat theory lesson.” Drill Sergeant Li dissolved the fire whip and slowly walked back towards the office of Clan Affairs.

Alexander was gasping for air, collapsed in a puddle of his own sweat. Today marked the end of his second week of training with Director Li. Alexander thought, after receiving enlightenment by the flame, training would be smooth as he comprehended one flame after the other. Reality quickly doused his expectations as he realized he was still trash at fire. Despite two weeks of intensive training, Alexander had only managed to reach the peak of the Apprentice Elementalist tier with zero headway in understanding any other color, although he had gotten much better at healing with his flame.

Due to his shortcomings, training was focused mostly on two areas: his body and his control over the white flame. It was when devising new exercises that the demon Li seemed most overjoyed. Alexander had run miles through thorny bushes, fractured several bones while doing pull-ups 20 feet off the ground, and suffered, truly suffered, in the Hangman to name a few. All the exercises were made from what Director Li called the most valuable attribute of any training regime: efficiency. The running trained his body while the bushes caused superficial cuts that Alexander would heal with the white flame. If he allowed the cuts to bleed for too long, it was off to the Hangman. The pull-ups increased his strength, and when he trained to failure, falling from the bar would provide a greater test to his healing power. If he fell too fast, though, it was off to the Hangman After several days of training, he realized his white flame could also help him deal with exhaustion; unfortunately, this meant he was awarded with afternoon training sessions. Finally, the Hangman. Ahh, the Hangman, it was truly the most atrocious exercise to ever exist.

After increasing Alexander’s resistance throughout the first week, Director Li had brought Alexander to the edge of a pool of lava with iron pipes creating a shape similar to the tower cranes he had seen Sabians used. Here, the director would channel his fire into the pipes to create a rope with which he would slowly lower Alexander into the pool. The goal was for Alexander to heal himself until he ran out of mana and to sharply increase his pain tolerance. It was a fucking nightmare, but Alexander persevered. Slowly, Alexander picked himself up and headed back to his cottage. As he walked home, his expectations grew for the afternoon class; he hoped it would be one of the nicer lessons.

The director had noticed early that Alexander had an above average constitution when it came to mana reserves. He could maintain 30 minutes of continuous, low output healing, much less if the healing was more strenuous like from a fracture or heavy burns, but to increase the duration of training, the director had tacked on cooking lessons. Culinary magic was a special application of the elements. Not widely popular in Fausto as the people celebrated battle but a skill Alexander had been happy to learn. Apart from taste, the most direct benefit was food made through a magic ritual restored mana. While they could be purchased, Director Li valued independence. As much as Alexander would like to say learning to cook with the director was peachy, if in the training fields the director was a drill sergeant, then in the kitchen he was a tyrant. The punishment for a bad batch of cookies was still the Hangman and his palate had high expectations.

Alexander soon reached his cottage and began to get ready for a shower. He carefully removed the black training shirt and pants and placed them into a tub of soapy water to soak. The gear was a godsent. It was made of a fire-resistant silk which was a boon for Alexander as it seemed fire hated him: be it during training or even in the kitchen, he had never ended a day without lighting some part of himself on fire.

After a short shower, Alexander looked at himself in the mirror. The 2 weeks of training with Director Li had seriously changed his physique. He had always been scrawny, and at 5’8” people often mistaked him for a teenager, but the muscles he was starting to develop along with the stubble he had grown out made him look his age. Apart from the muscles, he had also gained some burn scars on his legs from the first time he was in the lava pool, unable to keep up an adequate rate of healing; he kept them as a remainder to not be complacent. Finally, he looked towards his left chest. Ever since he had been chosen by the 9 colored flame, a tattoo of them had appeared over his heart. Director Li had never mentioned anything like it in any of the lessons, and Alexander ended up ignoring it since he figured it was a common Agni mark.

Hearing a knock at the door, he threw on another pair of training gear and walked over. “Yo, Brando! It’s barely half past noon. I wasn’t expecting you until tonight. I learned a killer brownie recipe yesterday that’s gonna melt your taste buds.” Throughout the past two weeks of training, Brandon and Dr. Hernandez had visited him constantly, although Dr. Hernandez had not been by in the past 4 days. Brandon had already finished his treatments at the Royal Hospital and could finally walk again, albeit with a limp.

Brandon quietly entered the house and shut the door behind him. “Alexander, I came as fast as possible. I was just in my father’s tower when I overheard him speaking with Director Li. It seems the council has come to a decision. They will be deploying you to Propizio, the battlefield where the Duke of the West is currently located, to train under him and gain experience. I ran by to tell you as soon as I heard. Let’s go over there right now! Maybe I can convince my father. There might still be a chance we can appeal the decision.” Brandon sputtered out.

Reaching over to put his arm around his friend, Alexander took him to the dining table and sat down. “Sit down, Brandon. I don’t think this is that alarming. Sure, two weeks away I would have been absolutely panic-stricken but now not so much. Maybe it’s a good thing to go out there. Think of all the good I can do for my people in the battlefield. Isn’t it my duty as a member of Agni to fight for Fausto? I used to be totally against the war. I mean it all seemed so pointless. 6 planets caught in a decades long conflict over wanting more land? But I see now that I was just misinformed. Agni is just defending Fausto. They invaded us!!” Alexander never thought he would be one of those people filled with patriotism. Sure, he loved Fausto, but helping his planet by hurting others either directly or indirectly seemed unfair. The history lessons with Director Li changed that. In the universities, there was little information about the war. It was common knowledge Agni wanted its citizens to learn about science, magic, and the arts, not something dirty like war, but previously classified information became known to Alexander during his time with Director Li. He learned about how the noble clan of Tlaloc had arrogantly attacked Tibia, the southwestern island in Fausto with a gate to the planet of Mesto, and stolen merchant goods. He learned about how when Agni sent out a diplomatic party to ask for an explanation, the noble clans of Frigg and Kukulkan had ambushed the Agni members leaving only one soul alive as a warning. “I know you are still against the war, but I do not think it goes against my principles to help those who are being bullied, Brandon.”

A long sigh escaped Brandon as he calmly responded. “I figured the director would throw you some lies, but I didn’t expect him to spit out so much bullshit! Do you think I would be so much of a pacifist, that I would vocally oppose the war, if my people were being ambushed and slaughtered without provocation? I’m gonna say something now, and I want you to listen to me very closely. As your best friend, I swear to you that everything I am saying is the truth.”

“What are you talking about, Brandon?” Alexander felt as if something was wrong.

“There was never any ambush of an Agni diplomatic party. Yes, Tibia was attacked by the Tlaloc clan, but only after we repeatedly ignored the warnings from Tlaloc, Frigg and Kukulkan. We invaded Pacifico, the planet of the plant monks, and burned part of their life tree at the Demeter clan headquarters. We are the reason Pacifico closed its borders. Tlaloc retaliated after we proceeded to attack and kill the forces they sent to help Demeter. Alexander, Agni caused the war.”