Part 3

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-Feet wide, hold the shaft tight! It's an extension of your body! You don't stroke your enemy, you strike him! You must have a will of steel so that your blade will not fail you!

His father's admonition came from every direction. The sweat covering his eyes made it hard to see what was going on around him. My head felt heavy and my heart was pounding in my ears. His stiffened hands refused to let go of the weapon's shaft, and his legs lived their own life, repeating the movements learnt by their master.

Falling to his knees, Yu leaned back, relaxing his back completely. As he froze in this position, he felt a pleasant noise rushing through his head, clearing his mind of silly thoughts. As if hearing what the kid was thinking, Lee crouched down next to him.

-Come to your senses?

Chewing on a small blade of grass, the captain looked into the distance, to where the harvest would soon come. Everyone in the village was waiting for this moment with impatience, because this year berries and fruits bore particularly well. Strawberries and shekolovitsa sprouted everywhere one looked.

Guan Li patted the stubborn offspring on the head. Ruffling his hair, which was dishevelled from his training, he pulled the boy closer to him. As he hugged his son, the man sadly pondered the reasons for his behaviour. It was probably his own fault. His expectations and hopes for Yuu's display of fire magic had proved too contagious. And disappointment was a strong and painful blow to a young child. The moment Yu failed to show talent in fire magic, the man let his emotions take over.

His firstborn's tears and drooping eyes haunted Li everywhere in both his dreams and in reality. After receiving a well-deserved beating from his wife, he decided that he had to remedy the situation on his own.

Lessons in guan dao gave the boy confidence and hope. Without magic, he was perfectly capable of waving a sharpened stick, replacing a real weapon. For two years now, father and son had been mastering this difficult art. Yes, you heard right, in order to improve his skills and to keep his face clean, Lee started sparring with his friend Ping again.

Rubbing his left arm, sore from remembering the sergeant, the captain stood up from the ground, lifting his son behind him. The spring sun was warming, and the cool breeze soothed the tired and heated bodies.

-So what?

The officer of the Fire Nation didn't let the matter rest. Turning around to face Yui, he waited demandingly for the boy to speak.

-Yes, Father. I, just-

-I know.

Placing his hand on the child's lap, Li smiled affectionately. Meeting his son's gaze, the man could see that his offspring was beginning to regain his former confidence.

-You've made great strides. Mum said you've been spending all your time in the yard fencing.

Confused eyes and red cheeks were the answer. Laughing good-naturedly, Li clapped the child on the shoulder, making the boy stagger back.

-Come on, warrior. It's time for lunch.

Caught up in the incessant training, Guan Yu had completely forgotten about his friends. Liu Bei went to his great-uncle after a year, and Zhang Fei completely immersed in work. Growing like a yeast, the butcher's son was constantly missing from his father's shop. A small discord destroyed the budding friendship between the boys.

At his mother's request, Guan Yu tried many times to communicate with his old friend, but in response received only refusals or excuses. Offended, Fei wanted at first to let Yu feel everything that he and Liu Bei had experienced when the officer's son abandoned them, but in time he didn't care. Simple neighbourly greetings and polite nods, that's what the two children's interactions had been reduced to.

Guan Yu's mother wanted to rectify this situation and cheer up the boy, but her husband's activity had put her back in a position. In general, this was a normal situation in the village. Unlike Yu and Bei's families, all the other neighbours had five to seven children each. The local butcher, Fei's father, had eight back-to-back children. Most of them worked in the shop or went to neighbouring villages and towns.

Caring for Sipa and helping his grandparents, Guan Yu was welcoming his eighth year from birth. Hard work in the fields and training with a staff developed the boy beyond his years. His father's rare visits were getting shorter and shorter each time, and his mood was getting worse. The war with the Earth Kingdom was breaking out with renewed vigour, a new generation was growing up and was eager to fight. This was not the first time, every ten to fifteen years the conflict would erupt with renewed vigour, killing the entire young male generation of the two countries. The bloody battles were followed by a lull, during which the two rival countries would build up fat and then claw at each other even more fiercely and viciously. Like two bat-eared mouserowolves, they gnawed at each other, drawing more and more people into the conflict.

-That's it, good boy. Harder! Harder! You're a warrior, not a dancer! Now show me Earth Crash!

After receiving his father's command, Guan Yu performed a flip jump and struck the ground with his staff. The small stream of wind and dust barely frightened the insects crawling on the ground. The small dent from the impact on the soft soil of the backyard caused a sceptical expression in his father's gaze. Pressing his lips together and holding back a laugh, he gave his son a thumbs-up.

Satisfied with the praise, Yu jumped on the spot. Joyfully throwing up his arms and squeezing his eyes shut, he fell with his back on the ground. Spreading his limbs in different directions, the boy smiled happily. After so much practice, he had finally succeeded.

Hiding his amusement behind a joyful laugh of encouragement, Guan Li sat down next to his offspring. This had already turned into a bit of a tradition. Sitting in the backyard after training, they basked under the warm rays and looked at the blooming fields.

-I won't be back for a while yet, so don't skimp on training-.

Yu took a seated position. Looking into his father's frowning face, the boy made a disgruntled face.

-You won't even stay the night?

-Huh... Unfortunately not. The tension at the front is becoming all too apparent. The war will break out again soon, so I don't know when I'll be able to visit you.

Rising to his feet, Guan Yu stood in front of his father. Clenching his fists in anger and furrowing his brows, the child glared at his father, not knowing how to express his anger and resentment.

-Mum's going to give birth soon. Grandmother says it's only a month or two!

Tiredly throwing back his head, Li irritably tsked his tongue. The tension of the past few years, the difficult situation in the garrison, and his wife's situation of giving birth alone again made him angry. Brushing off Yui's words, he replied before he could comprehend.

-I know without a sniffle when my wife is going to give birth. Any other important advice?

Hearing the quick stomping of children's feet, Li turned his gaze to the empty space where his firstborn had stood a second ago.

-Well done.

Standing in the doorway, Toma was wiping her hands with a small cloth. Raising a questioning eyebrow, the woman nodded her head toward the forest where her grandson had fled. Groaning into the air, Lee wiped his face with the palms of his hands forcefully. Rising to his feet, he walked towards the forest under the woman's continued gaze.

Pushing through the dense thicket, Yu grudgingly tore forward, unable to see the road. His cheap but good clothes were covered in holes and dirt, his face was reddened with scratches, and his hair was picking up leaves and small debris.

Replaying the conversation with his father in his head, the boy grew more and more enraged. The angry mind couldn't understand why his father didn't want to spend time with his family. Why he comes so rarely when the other neighbours' fathers are always home.

Stumbling, Guan Yu ran out into a small clearing. Covered in fresh tall grass, it was surrounded by fruit trees. A small pond in the centre of the clearing was filled with crystal clear liquid. Kneeling before the water, the captain's son gazed in wonder at his reflection. The unfamiliar face of a crying and angry child stared back at him.

Striking the water surface with his fist, Yuu pressed his fists against his face, sobbing quietly. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, the boy wiped his face with cold water, happy to have found such a wonderful place. Distracted by extraneous thoughts, Guan Yu was able to clean himself up and calm down. After walking round the edge of the forest and tasting a couple of local fruits, he stretched out contentedly on the ground.

Looking up into the darkening sky, the son felt guilty for his father. Always reserved in anger and sadness, Yuu rarely gave others cause for concern. Respecting his parents and relatives, the boy tried to conform to their demands and not upset them over trifles.

-But it's not nothing, is it?

The child's quiet whisper was met with a soft growl. Turning his head to the side, the holidaymaker caught an interesting and frightening picture. A lone mousewolf, limping on one leg, was baring its teeth at the man. Bloody foam at its mouth and a swollen eye on its muzzle, together with other wounds, said that it had recently experienced a heavy fight.

Standing still, the animal watched the movements of his potential opponent closely. Without taking its eyes off of Yuya's face, the musk ox slowly moved forward with its paws.

While stepping back and not making any sudden movements, the child felt an obstacle with his right foot. Pushing the unknown object with his heel, Yu realised that it was quite strong and heavy.

Not daring to turn his back to the predator, he slowly squatted down. Fumbling behind his back with his hand, the boy was lucky enough to fumble for a hard bark of an unknown rock. With a sharp tug, Yuu managed to successfully swat away the mousewolf that had leapt at him.

The whimpering animal's side hit one of the rocks around the pond. It struggled to get to its feet, blood dripping from its mouth, but it stubbornly moved to attack.

The fight that followed was more like a beating. It was like a backyard bully taunting the weak, poking a wounded and helpless opponent with a stick. Catching himself in this ugly comparison, Yu stopped watching his surroundings.

Walking away from the mousewolf chasing him, the boy walked in a circle to keep his footing in the forest. When his left foot failed to meet its footing, the child fell into the pond with a surprised cry. Splashing and soaking wet, the captain's son only had time to make a ridiculous fist, dodging the carcass falling on him. Wolf's new spurt ended in a childish cry of pain. Clawing at his arm, the mousewolf slowly worked its jaws, grabbing more and more fresh meat.

Panicking and screaming, Yuu picked up the nearest rock and hit the animal's nose with it. The boy's quiet whimpers and cries mingled together. Crawling away from each other, they saw off their opponent with a glare, promising their enemy unthinkable punishments.

Barely getting to his feet, Yu stood in the fighting stance his father had taught him. Clasping the stone with his healthy hand, he prepared to finish this stupid fight.

His parent's words echoed in his head, and through the shroud of pain and fear, he could hear his dad's voice instructing him in training. His head spinning from the loss of blood and his eyelids closing, the mousewolf was forced to strike the first blow. Foreseeing an imminent victory, the joyous animal opened its mouth wide. Its prey was weak and helpless, so the predator was in for a good dinner.

Seeing the blurry blur approaching, Yu gathered his strength into a fist. 'You must have a will of steel so that your blade won't fail you!' - His father's words flashed through his mind. Taking a wide, ludicrous swing, the child struck the mousewolf with a wild cry.

The hand that flew a metre in front of its muzzle only dispersed the air. There was a strange noise nearby, like the rattling of rocks. His vision cleared for a second, and his headache let go so that he could see his failure when a stone spike flew from behind him into his opponent's open maw.

Falling into the water, Guan Yu stared with delight and horror at the huge stone structure sticking out of the ground. Staked from snout to tail, the mousewolf was bleeding, shuddering in convulsions.

Looking down at his hands, the boy lit up with genuine delight.

-I am an earth mage!