Lithius The Elemental King - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As the day had worn on, several people came by to look and touch the M777 guns, their new protection in a sense. The guns were not loaded when people came to look and touch but they were loaded when the hustle and bustle of the onlookers died out. There were many curious elementals, including, surprisingly, Phoenix Blaze. She looked at one of them curiously, more so than she had every looked at anything other than Crobobolus. But she never touched one of the guns. Her hand always got close but never all the way there.

One day, I surprised her by asking, "Afraid?" She jumped and looked at me surprised. "No, I'm not afraid," She offered up in her defense. "Intimidated?" She shook her head. "Then why not touch, it's not loaded." I noticed her frame suddenly relax and she sighed without meaning to, she was opening up to me, slowly but she was, whether she knew it or not. "So you are afraid." She blushed heavily as she realized she sighed in relief. "Fine, yes. I am afraid. Anything that can scare Crobobolus should scare anyone." I chuckled softly and she looked at me surprised. "These are nothing compared to certain weapons the humans use." "Ugh!" She said in frustration. "Always with the humans with you, why not find one and marry them." I sighed heavily at her sudden venom. "We won't be here when the humans are and they're too cruel to like. They do, however, possess a great deal of creativity and ingenuity. If I hadn't shown anyone how to use their powers we'd all still be beating our heads against a wall trying to live comfortably. We, as a people, do not take change very well. There are some things that require change and some that don't. This whole business with "pure" and "lesser" elements needs to change damn quick though." Phoenix blaze looked at me confused. "No one told you of those when you woke." I nodded. "No one had to tell me, Lithius showed me in a dream, a small glimpse of what was to come if I did not step in to intervene. Crobobolus was right about their losing, they would not last long against his attacks. They need someone who understands tactics in order to combat against Lithius' brutal numbers."

I looked and saw Phoenix Blaze looking at me as if I had two heads and I chuckled softly. "Am I speaking in circles around you?" She snapped back to reality and shook her head. "I'm wondering just how life would be if you never showed up." I sighed heavily. "Well, can't do anything about it now. Killing me now would ensure your own demise." Phoenix Blaze suddenly punched me in the chest and was quickly shaking her hand in pain. "What are you made of?!" I looked at her confused. "Heavily toned and built muscle now that I've trained a bit." "Well since I can't punch your chest…" She suddenly punched me across the face and it hurt quite a bit. "How dare you speak of your death so lightly!" I raised an eyebrow at her sudden value of my life. "Death is simply the inevitable end we all must face one day. To deny it is irresponsible." "But to suddenly joke about dying is still wrong!" I chuckled at her words. "What's so funny?!" "You know, it used to be you didn't care whether I lived or died. It's nice to know you care." She suddenly blushed heavily and turned away. "I just don't want Crobobolus to have to do all the work." I laughed heartily. "He has a small fear of me." She reeled around and was furious at me again. "He has no reason to fear you!" I smiled softly. "Exactly, I wonder why he can't see it." She suddenly realized I had agreed with her. "What about you does he fear?" Her curiosity was getting the better of her. "My knowledge and tactical skill, if I were to up and leave, no one here would survive Lithius' iron fist." "I'm sure Crobobolus would…" I shook my head. "No he wouldn't. He has the tactical mind of a five year old child. Lithius, however has the tactical mind of a human named Stalin."

A bell began to sound throughout the city. "The warning bells!" Phoenix Blaze suddenly called. She suddenly grabbed my arm and flew to the outer defense wall, dragging me along. We landed fairly quickly to look upon another force that Lithius managed to build up. This time it was three hundred thousand strong. "Make ready!" I yelled at the gun crews, who were already loading the guns and taking aim at the enemy force. I could see Lithius at the head of his forces, smiling ignorant of the guns being aimed at him. "Pick your targets! Aim where the infantry are grouped the thickest!" The M777s began to turn and aim at different targets and angles. The training I had put them through paid off. "Remember to aim ahead of where the troops will be running for maximum damage!" A horn call suddenly called out across Lithius' forces, which quickly began to advance upon the city. "Fire at will!" The M777s began to roar out at their own pace. Pounding holes into Lithius' forces as they approached. "Lava and Ice elementals begin your defensive attacks!" I turned to face the battle field and began to create as many fire and lightning soldiers to take on any of Lithius' forces that managed to break into the "no fire" zone I had designated. I then formed into lightning and launched off of the wall and landed at the head of the defensive force I created, lightning and fire forming armor around my body as I returned to a normal state.

Explosions rocked the battlefield, smoke and dust filled the air, some forming clouds thick enough to blot out the sky for short periods of time. I formed two gloves made of fire and lightning with spikes along the impact point on my fingers. I then roared loud at the approaching force of enemy soldiers and punched the first one that came into my reach. My fire and lightning cut through their armor like a hot knife through butter. Thanks to the elementally made shells being fired, they were slaughtering the enemies by the hundreds with each shot fired. But the enemy quickly figured out that they could spread out and cause fewer casualties on their side. I, however, was forced to make even more lightning and fire soldiers to compensate for their spreading. The tax on my mind was beginning to show and five soldiers all tried to attack me at once. But two of my lightning soldiers, armed with shields and swords protected me and killed them. I was surprised when the two lightning soldiers lifted me up and brought me back to my place on the wall. 'So they do think for themselves,' I thought to myself surprised. "Why bring me back up here?" I asked them. "Because, if we lose you, we all die," They simply told me, their voices were identical to mine but with the crackle of lightning overlaid onto it. They quickly leapt off of the wall and began to fight back the tide of enemies once more. "Seems like you're well loved by your men," I heard Suloboborc yell in my ear to get over the roar from the M777 guns. I smiled softly and nodded. "They're just like me."

As the battle progressed, Lithius' forces were dwindling down faster than he had anticipated. Another horn call sounded out and something I had not foreseen came into view. Another force of five hundred thousand soldiers, all of them wielding their elements as weapons and armor, just like me. "All guns, load the special rounds!" I yelled out to the gun crews. The special rounds were very different from the usual rounds. These were high yield frag rounds that fired magnesium pellets in all directions with a thin outer coating of phosphorus to add to the damage. It wasn't exactly the nicest and kindest way to kill an enemy force but some things just had to be done. When these specialized rounds began to pound down on the enemy, we were taking thousands at a time. Some were even running around ablaze, screaming in pain as they ran. They had no knowledge of how to put themselves out. Fire elementals would put out anyone near enough and others would simply put the burning out of their misery. "He will learn that it will take more than just numbers to defeat us!" The gun crews roared with enthusiasm as they worked. Their shots began to become more and more accurate.

Fatigue suddenly came over me as my lightning and fire soldiers fought on. The mental stress caused by my having created nearly two hundred thousand soldiers of fire and lightning was taking its toll. My knees crumbled beneath me, and I dropped to all fours. The sounds around me began to blur into one another, my vision began to blur and melt together as my head swayed back and forth. 'I must no succumb to the fatigue!' I yelled at myself and I forced myself to stand again. Black spots began to eat at my vision, darkness was consuming my sight. I shook my head vigorously and closed my eyes. 'I cannot falter!' The sounds of battle began to quiet around me as my body began to shut down…I was dying where I stood from my own attempts to save everyone. I dropped once again to my knees. Someone shouted something into my ear but I was unable to discern who it was or what was said. I suddenly felt two strange sensations under my arms and I was lifted back onto my feet. I slowly opened my eyes and everything was black, I could not see. The world was dark to me as I fell into unconsciousness.

I suddenly awoke to find myself bandaged and in a soft bed once again. The bandages were soaked through with something that was sticky and matted my fur badly. I suddenly heard a door open and footsteps approach my right side. A practiced hand began to remove the bandages around my head. "The bleeding isn't going down at all," I heard Phoenix Blaze's voice say worriedly. "If he dies…" Her voice trailed off, sadness clearly colored her voice. I tried to wet my mouth but I was unable to move, just breathing was painful. I suddenly heard something being dipped in water, as if being washed by hand. "Phoenix, I told you I would do that!" I heard Sarathustra say rather put off. "I want to." "But you don't even like him!" "You don't know how I feel so don't try to understand me." I suddenly felt a hand settle on my cheek, a thumb rubbing my face. "You don't know what he's really like." I was caught off guard by her sudden affection. "You do like him!" Phoenix Blaze suddenly sighed heavily. "Only when you've lost it do you realize what you have."

I suddenly felt a pulse of warmth spread throughout my body. It was foreign but familiar, a peculiar sensation that felt pleasing. "He's still healing, slowly but he's healing," Phoenix Blaze said a little happier than before. "And you're right, I love him. Every time we spoke he tried to show me his perspective of things. He was always kind to me and all I ever showed him was spite and anger. I don't deserve his kindness. He deserves someone better than me, someone who will always watch over him and make sure he never gets hurt again." I suddenly heard her gasp and I felt a single tear roll down my face, the sticky substance rolling away as it rolled on. "I think he heard me." Sarathustra laughed at her statement. "If he was awake he'd be in a LOT of pain don't you think? Not many people can survive almost their entire body shutting down and severe bleeding from almost every hole on their body. He even bled from places where there were no holes to bleed from!" 'I bled from my pours?' I thought confused. I tried to bring my arm up but the pain quickly made me stop. "He just tensed his arm!" "You're imagining things." A hand suddenly took mine and pain shot up through to my shoulder but I was unable to even grunt. I tensed my hand, despite the pain and I heard a gasp. "He just squeezed my hand!" "Probably because you're hurting him!" My arm was placed back where it was and the pain subsided. "If I ever get to speak to him again, I'll show him I'm not a hateful elemental but one that cares."

I suddenly heard a pair of footsteps approach my side. "If he ever wakes up he'll need more than a brute to help him!" Sarathustra shouted at her. "Quiet," Phoenix Blaze said scoldingly. "He doesn't need this kind of negative emotion right now." Sarathustra sighed heavily in frustration and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. "And she calls me a brute." I began to feel more and more of the bandages being removed and being washed. After some time the washing sounds stopped and I heard Phoenix Blaze hum satisfied. I heard more footsteps, a pause and more footsteps back to my side. There were more washing sounds and then something very cold and wet hit my chest.

I must have flinched visibly because Phoenix Blaze suddenly gasped and the wet feeling suddenly warmed to a comfortable level. Phoenix then proceeded to clean my fur very thoroughly and delicately. After several minutes, she finally finished and I began to feel spots of my fur being parted for examination. "It seems his skin finally stopped bleeding, that's always good," She said to herself happily. I made another attempt to wet my dry mouth and I managed to move my tongue around in my mouth, wetting it. Phoenix Blaze must have noticed because she gasped softly. "Are you really awake?" She sounded almost as if her mind had made it up. I coughed softly as my throat began to wet as well. "By the elements you're awake!" She grabbed my hand again and pain shot through my arm and to my shoulder again. I grunted softly in pain and she let go as quick as she could. "How long were you awake?" "From the time you started unbinding my bandages," I managed to form into floating words with lightning. There was a sudden silence, but the embarrassment still filled in the air. "Did I actually hurt your arm earlier?" I formed a simple, "Yes" with the lightning. "I'm so sorry!" I chuckled softly but I quickly regretted it as I had quickly began to cough and my lungs scorched with pain. "You're very badly injured, I wouldn't try to do too much like you did two weeks ago."

Alarm quickly flooded my mind. 'Two weeks?!' I thought to myself devastated. 'I can't believe I've been out of action for two weeks!' "Thankfully Lithius has thought better of straight forward attacking us, thanks mainly to your defensive weapons," Phoenix Blaze kindly told me. There was a sudden awkward feeling coming from her. "I'm very sorry about the way I had acted towards you. I just…" She stopped as she suddenly noticed me smiling. "All is forgiven," I quickly formed with the lightning. "Just be a little gentle when I mess up." Phoenix laughed with both relief and humor. "So are you giving me a second chance?" I attempted to nod and my neck was filled with pain as I nodded very slowly. I suddenly felt a kiss on my cheek and I blushed heavily, Phoenix chuckling softly as she could see it. "Thank you." I suddenly heard her sit down next to me and begin humming softly, a tune I had never heard before. This was something she had thought of herself and it was beautiful to listen to. Before I realized it, I drifted off to sleep.

I awoke once more and I opened my eyes to an intense and vibrant white light. I quickly shut my eyes again in pain. The sun was staring right in my face. I opened my left eye a fraction and realized that it was indeed the sun staring in my face. I moved my head to the side a little and the sun persisted to stare in my face. I turned my head, still squinting and noticed I was alone. I sat up straight and was no longer being blinded so I was able to open my eyes fully. The room I was in was oddly decorated. There were metal shields and swords on the walls like the human lords of the medieval period had on their walls but were clearly of elemental origin. There were also various clay sculptures around the room, clearly made by Sarathustra. There were, however, sculptures of ice of various shapes. The ice never melted either, it was a beautiful sight to behold, especially with the sunlight glittering off of one and bouncing the light to one another, providing light throughout the room.

The door suddenly opened and I was not surprised to see Phoenix Blaze standing in the doorway. She smiled happily at me and was carrying a bucket of water, steam was rising from the water. "Good morning sleepy head," She said very cheerfully. "I was just about to give you a bath." I could not help but blush heavily, which she simply chuckled at. "You do realize you're only making yourself look adorable right?" My eyes widened and I blushed even harder, to which she laughed whole heartedly. "Well, unfortunately for you I have to wash you, you still can't move well yet." She quickly walked over to my side and tied a band of cloth around her wrist and mine. "Now you can't get away from me." I just blushed harder as she bound the cloth rather tight. She then proceeded to wash and scrub me until she was satisfied I was clean. To her absolute delight, she was also able to brush my fur.

"So, how long was I out this time?" I asked rather nervously. "Three days actually," She said rather happily. "You actually started healing faster after we talked." She paused softly, looked away and smiled at me warmly. "I also constantly sent pulses of warmth through your body to help." I raised an eyebrow at her. "How many?" She chuckled nervously. "About five times every hour." I chuckled softly. "There's nothing to be worried about, I appreciate your concern." She suddenly wrapped her arms around me and embraced me. "I'm thankful you don't mind." I suddenly felt a pulse of warmth spread throughout my body. "Did you just?" She nodded softly and another pulse of warmth hit me. "Again?" She pushed herself to arm's length from me and was smiling with an incredible happiness I hadn't seen before. "Thank you for not pushing me away." I chuckled softly. "I'd like to get to know you better."

The door suddenly burst open and Sarathustra stormed in. "What are you doing?!" She yelled angrily. "It's my turn to…" Her voice trailed off as she realized I was awake. "You're awake?!" I nodded happily. "That I am," I told her happily. "I'm sorry I yelled." She chuckled softly trying to play off her sudden brash attitude. 'I see she's changed a LOT since we first met,' I thought to myself rather confused. "I heard your argument three days ago." She froze in shock. "You were awake?!" I nodded. "Yes I was, from the moment she started taking off my bandages."  Sarathustra winced noticeably. "You've changed a lot since we first met." She suddenly sighed heavily. "I thought you'd like someone more brash like her." Phoenix was visibly bothered by her statement and was about to stand so I grabbed her hand and she paused. "But she doesn't pretend to be someone she's not. You should be proud of who you are. You don't have to change to suit my tastes, just be yourself. Whether I like you, Phoenix Blaze or some other female elemental, I'll like them because they are who they want to be and I like who they are. It's always for the best to show who you are instead of what you want to be seen. It's not fair for your significant other to find out you're actually a brash and rude person when you acted like a shy and sweet one." She sighed heavily and walked over to Phoenix Blaze. She immediately took up a different posture. "I'm sorry for the way I've acted for the past few days. He's right, I should have just acted the way I really am. Not try to imitate you." She then bowed and walked out. Phoenix Blaze was so taken aback that her mouth just hung open in surprise. I poked the bottom of her jaw and pushed it closed. "Now you know the Sarathustra I met." Phoenix Blaze looked at me surprised. "How can I compete with that?!" Phoenix Blaze looked devastated. I patted her back to comfort her. "Just be yourself. So long as you do that you have a chance." She suddenly wrapped her arms around me and pulled our faces close to gather so our noses touched. "I'm a very passionate person so I'll be doing nothing but flirting with you." She suddenly winked at me and walked out of the room. I blinked a few times in shock and looked out the window. "I seem to have a rather awkward situation on my hands. Or as the humans say, "A lucky life."

Over the course of the next few days, Sarathustra and Phoenix Blaze actively visited me, sometimes together. Sarathustra was just as she had been when we first met, slightly reserved but no less passionate than Phoenix, who was very bold, even going so far as to push me down and kiss me in front of Sarathustra. She always kept her composure but I would notice her tail twitch in agitation, which was subtle but there. They would always compete to outdo one another in one aspect or another. Sarathustra would cook and Phoenix would clean. Then Sarathustra would make a sculpture and Phoenix would paint a picture. Sarathustra would make me various things to help me get around and Phoenix would just carry me places as if she was carrying her wife.

But the peace couldn't last forever.

I was standing at the window waiting for Phoenix Blaze as it was her day to visit and I suddenly noticed a column of smoke rising in the distance. Curiosity getting the better of me, I formed into lightning and shot off into the clouds to see what created the column of smoke. I was shocked to find an encampment of soldiers. I semi-transformed back so I looked like an elemental but still had a body made of lightning and I sat on one of the clouds overhead. There was easily a standing force of two hundred thousand soldiers. Lithius had taken my example and had all his elementals make weapons from their own elements but had the earth elementals forge their armor. The metal looked to be simple steel which shouldn't be a problem for the M777 guns to eat through. What disturbed me most was the fact he had trebuchet war machines. There were even rocks covered in vines so that they would create flaming projectiles. 'This is not going to end well,' I thought to myself grimly as I looked upon Lithius' army. 'He has enough soldiers here to lay waste to any fortress. Luckily the city defenses have me to repel his attacks anytime he dares rear his ugly head.'

I quickly shot back to my room to find Phoenix Blaze sitting on the edge of the bed, she had been waiting for me. "Had a nice trip?" She asked rather humored, thankfully she wasn't mad at my having been gone. "Could you get the twins for me?" I asked rather urgently and she noticed it. "I'll be right back." She quickly ran from the room in search. After a few minutes Crobobolus arrived and he was confused. "What's wrong?" He asked when he walked in. He had been the third to know I was awake. "Lithius has amassed another force that is two hundred thousand strong." "What's the big deal?" Suloboborc finally arrived. "What's going on?" He asked, rather surprised at the urgency. "Lithius has formed another force of two hundred thousand." "We can just beat them again." Crobobolus interrupted. "They have war machines." Crobobolus and Suloboborc both looked surprised and worried. "He's even gone so far as to make flaming projectiles. He's testing our defenses and we have nothing to combat this new..." My voice trailed off as I got an idea. "I've got an idea, before I present it to you two I'm going to need to make a few prototypes with the metal elementals."

I transformed into lightning and shot out the window, towards the metal elementals that had recently been dubbed the "War Crew" as they worked and made the war machines. Their building had been built out of metal and had a roof made of wood. It was their way of showing their building apart from all the white marble that had been constructed around them. The door was also metal but was covered with wood decorations to make it stand out more. There were windows on the building and they had wooden window sills, the bars that crisscrossed the windows were all metal. I quickly landed in front of their barracks and knocked on the door a few times. Armor was the first to answer. "It's good to see you're on your feet again!" Armor cheered happily. "Here, here!" Was heard from everyone else inside. Armor had been included in the War Crew since he had been leading the gun crews in my absence. "We have a problem," I quickly said and Armor raised an eyebrow at me. "This is the place to solve problems alright, what do you need?" "I need you and three other metal elementals to come with me, I have some ideas to deal with Lithius' new toy." He looked at me with skepticism. "What kind of new toy?" "He has the trebuchet design, I don't know how but he has it. We need something to shoot flaming rocks out of the air. Where better to figure something like this out than with metal elementals?" Armor nodded confidently. "Alright." He quickly looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Hammer, Quick Silver and Forge! Come with me, we're needed." The three elementals in question quickly stood and walked over to us. Hammer was an elemental that was dark gray with dark brown streaks in his fur. Quick Silver was apt for her name, she had silver colored fur and eyes and I suspected a very quick hand. Forge was a very stocky elemental and was a flat gray color with no streaks or markings. He was just a really big, muscular elemental.

We quickly walked to our underground workshop, which seemed rather empty now that there was nothing to hide. "Okay, we need to develop something that can shoot flaming rocks out of the air before they hit the walls," I quickly began, not giving the other three a chance to ask questions. "I already have a basic idea but we will have to sacrifice a few of the gun crews to do this." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, first off what are we making?" Armor asked impatiently. "I'm not going to sacrifice the defense of this city for something any other elemental can do." "We're going to make all metal crossbows that fire metal bolts. That's why we need the metal elementals. You've been trained to track targets and you'll be the faster learners with these new weapons. The crossbows will also be harder to reload and there is not a single elemental other than a metal elemental that has a chance of reloading one." I quickly drew out a design in the dirt of a basic crossbow. "This is your basic crossbow. We're going to modify the shadows out of it and make it perfect. This is why I called you here, you can suggest ideas that I wouldn't see and tell me when I'm talking about something you don't understand." Quick Silver laughed. "Don't you mean that you don't understand?" She asked rather pompously. "If you want to question the designer for the M777 guns then get out." Quick Silver had been a new addition for the crew because she was able to quickly learn how to fire the M777 guns and create shells. She also created a new procedure that when they ran out of ammo to make new ammo as they reloaded. But she stared in complete awe. "You made those beauties?!" I nodded. "Never question my knowledge again or you'll be leaving."

After that there were no protests about the weapon's design as we progressed. The weapon was, without a doubt, to be made from a metal referred to as Titanium, which was a mixture of metals and the reason why only metal elementals could reload and manipulate it. The bolts were also to be of the same metal along with the draw string. The overall design was brilliant and followed the "modern" crossbow design with the pistol grip handle and trigger. It also had a "cross-x" four armed bow and four separated draw strings for maximum power. When made and test fired it shot the titanium bolt to the small beach I stayed at for one night, though it was hard to find afterwards since it buried itself four feet into the ground. "By the shadows that was one hell of a shot!" Quick Silver said surprised that it worked at all. "I told you he's good," Armor said happily to her. "He would definitely be one hell of a metal elemental had he been one." "I'm better off as a lightning and fire elemental so I can quickly dismantle or destroy key components should the need arise." I began to tell them in caution. "If you guys simply turn them into something else the earth elementals will be able to make their own titanium, if I melt them it destroys several of the materials required to make it so it keeps it out of their hands." Armor whistled impressed but Quick Silver stepped towards me. "How do you know of this? You're not a metal elemental so you shouldn't know how metals work." I raised my eyebrow at her sudden outburst. "There are many things I know that you do not. How else could I give you such precise instructions on how to make the metal in the first place? There are even metals I forbid you to use because they're far too hazardous for the environment." "So you don't care about us elementals but the planet more?!" I sighed heavily at the direction this argument turned. "I do care about the elementals but there are things about the future that I want to preserve because we're not the only beings that are going to use it. I can't go around doing things without a care in the world." "Lithius does." I was unable to contain myself. "How dare you compare me to that bastard who does nothing but throw away lives as if they're his property! He cares not for this world or its people, only his own ambitions that further his goals. He would rather see the entire elemental race enslaved, chained and broken than preserve this world. If you wish to know why I work so hard to make sure that bastard doesn't get what he wants I'll tell you! The Lithius that you know is a fraud!" Armor suddenly began to give me a cut throat motion to get me to stop. "You're telling me that that bastard isn't the real Lithius?!" Quick Silver just continued to add fuel to the fire of my rage. "Yes, go ahead and tell the entire city if you wish. He is not Lithius, I should know that the best because I am Lithius!"

Armor sighed heavily as Quick Silver just stood there completely dumbstruck along with the other two metal elementals. "You just had to go and piss him off Quick Silver," Armor said tiredly. "He really can't be Lithius can he?" She asked rather shocked and afraid. "Yes child, he is Lithius. Crobobolus and Suloboborc confirmed as much when I met him. Just don't go telling anyone, the twins wish to keep it a secret." She looked horrified. "Why, isn't he the enemy?!" Armor shook his head softly. You saw those two fighting on the battlefield didn't you?" She nodded softly. "Lithius hates that imposter just as much as any of us do." "But how could we trust him if he's lied to us all this time?!" Hammer suddenly cleared his throat to get her attention. "Think of it from their perspective Silver," He began to tell her after having calmed down himself. "The goal of the twins is to make sure this city is happy and well-defended. I'm sure that if most of the others knew Lithormus' real name they would revolt and try to kill him hoping the war would end and be destroyed when they find out they killed an innocent man. I'm sure Lithormus agrees with their thinking otherwise he would not have grown so agitated at your comparing him to that tyrant." "Why do you still call him that?!" Armor tapped her shoulder and pointed at me, who was still in shock that I had let my rage overcome me and become so out of control that I nearly caused a rift in the city's defense. "He's much more kind than any of us dare realize."

I snapped out of my panic and learned of their discussion afterwards and I sighed heavily. "I apologize for my sudden outburst," I quickly told them very sorry about my actions. I noticed that she was clearly taken aback by my apology. "It's alright, I'm sorry for pushing you so far and saying those horrible things about you," She quickly apologized back to me. "I wasn't used to being compared as similar to that tyrant so I wasn't able to calm myself after the shock hit." "It's mainly my fault for pushing you so far in the first place." "I've never seen such ass kissing in my life," Armor suddenly said breaking the silence that lingered after Quick Silver spoke. "So long as you keep his true identity secret, no one will know the difference." She and the other two nodded softly. "His secret is safe with us," Hammer said to put emphasis on his trust worthy ness. "I've never known an elemental willing to die in order to make safe people he doesn't even know." Quick Silver looked confused. "What do you mean?" "You heard of the elemental that collapsed on the wall right?" She nodded. "The elemental that nearly died from wounds caused from over using his element right?" Armor nodded. "The very same elemental you just yelled at." She looked horrified and shocked at the same time. "You're meaning to tell me that that elemental is him?!" Armor nodded. "You were out in the field at the time, weren't you saved by a soldier made of fire?" She nodded softly. "He saved your life then." She looked at me in surprise and bowed respectfully to me. "Many of us soldiers owe you our lives. I could never repay your kindness, especially for what I've done." I placed a hand on her shoulder and got her to stand again. "Try to think before you decide to say something you're going to regret later. That's all I ask."

We quickly made around a hundred of the titanium crossbows and began to form the squads that would fire them and the new gun crews to replace them. We were forced to recruit a hundred more metal elementals that Crobobolus had rejected that I had found to be more than valuable. They proved to be exactly as I had hoped. They were quick, precise and much faster than their predecessors. Armor trained the new gun crews while I trained the new crossbowmen. I would help them practice by making them shoot fireballs that I created and made fly around in the air. They were much smaller than the boulders but I wanted them to be master marksmen and be able to pick off Lithius' officers in the field. They learned quickly but it took several hours before they were all able to accurately hit the fireball every time. I was happy with their speed. But I often found myself looking towards where Lithius' force had camped themselves. 'Why haven't they attacked us yet?' I thought to myself confused. 'It's like they're waiting for something.' This something was starting to eat away at my attention, even more so when the crossbowmen were finished with their training, which they practiced by throwing metal disks into the air and they fired their bolts through the rings in the center. War was coming, I just didn't know when.