Azra-El Series Arc 2 Ch. 01

"Strategy?" Blaze responded to the General's question.

"No. Information," Xuan Er offered, before her mother could answer.

Blaze had been initially unsure when the General informed him that her daughter would be joining him for their lectures, especially since he'd been looking forward to dropping his alter ego when they were alone. However, his fears turned out to be completely unfounded. Even after learning of his true identity, Xuan Er had a strong competitive spirit when it came to the lessons; so much so, that she did not care one bit about Blaze being a rhyka and got into prolonged arguments with him over various issues that arose during Wu Mei's lessons. However, it did not mean that she and Blaze did not get along well. They had actually become good friends; just not in the way Blaze had hoped.

Brija sat silently, nodding at their discussion. It wasn't because she had no opinion of her own, but because she usually did not speak unless she was asked or held a strong opinion that needed to be stated.

"She is right," Wu Mei said to Blaze. "Do you know why most deities in the army can become generals?"

Blaze shook his head.

"Because ninety percent of the strategies that generals use can be found in books. Any individual with an average intellect can learn those strategies and can reference them during wartime. However, the effectiveness of any strategy depends on the information gathered, and how one deals with it. That is what makes a good general. A great general, on the other hand, is one who can do all that, and is also clever enough to deal with the ten percent of situations that have no reference in the books."

"But, don't most deity-generals have a second who is specialized in tactics?"

A deity-general often fought in battles, so there was always a trusted tactician placed at the Central Command to give out orders. Wu Mei was one of the few generals who did not use a designated tactician.

"Yes, but it does not mean that a deity-general need not be knowledgeable in the art of war."

Blaze nodded before speaking. "So, you mean that as long as one becomes a deity and puts a little effort into learning the art of war, one can become a good general?"

"There is more to it, but yes. Now, I shall describe a scenario. The three of you should discuss it and tell me the steps you would take to win the battle. Remember to keep the general repercussions of the battle in mind," she said, before narrating a fictional war-time situation.

"General," Blaze spoke after the end of the lecture. "You must have heard about the recent discovery of the Qunrun ruins to the north of here."

"Yes."

"Delegations from Taixue, Tir, and the University of Bologna will be arriving on the 28th of Natt. A couple of my friends from Tir are also coming to visit. I wish to spend a few days with them before my departure to the Pixie Lands," Blaze requested, demurely.

"You wish to end your apprenticeship early?" Wu Mei asked.

"If you don't mind."

Wu Mei laughed and said, "How can I keep a Rhyka against her will? Very well, I shall move forward my plans for your final lessons."

Blaze thanked the General and left the bunker, together with Brija, only to be caught up to by Xuan Er. "Is Elyssa Marigold coming?" she asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"You have other friends?"

"Hey! I will let you know that I have a whole battalion of minions serving me as friends. It's your future too," he quipped.

"Ahaha, if you say so. Anyway, can you introduce me to Elyssa? I have always wanted to have a chat with her," she asked, as her usually half-closed eyes lit up in anticipation.

"Oh, I dunno. What's in it for me?" Blaze teased.

"Thanks. I shall look forward to it," she said, refusing to indulge him, and quickly turning around to return to her mother.

"Wait,"--he grabbed her arm--"would you be interested in a prank?" he asked with a devilish grin.

oOo

LE 643, 24th Natt

The sun had already set when Wu Mei summoned him to the west-facing ramparts of the fortress.

"Bruì qí ," she began, staring at the distant mountains. The sun had already set, but the soft glow of twilight lit up the sky in a brilliant orange. "What is the difference between war and battle?"

It was the question she had posed to him at their first meeting.

"War is decided by grand strategy which takes into account the planning done over the years, while a battle can be decided by tactics that take into account the current situation, and the execution of those tactics." Blaze gave her the answer he had been formulating for almost two months.

"When you first arrived, I said you were unsuitable to be a general," Wu Mei said, without giving an opinion of his answer.

"Yes. I kinda agree as well."

"But, that is only on paper. If you have others by your side who can complement your strengths and balance your weaknesses, or if you can overcome your weaknesses and offset your shortcomings with your strengths, then I see no reason why you cannot lead an army and our nation to victory. However, you still have a lot of growing up to do, so simply keep these words of mine in your mind, for now. "

Blaze considered it high praise. Wu Mei was not someone who would speak lightly, even if he was a prince of Xian.

"What are my weaknesses?" he asked.

"Some you are already aware of, and some I've mentioned before. The others are the ones I believe you should figure out for yourself. The reason I called you here tonight is because you have not had any field experience. Shirva!" she said, before calling out to someone.

A figure silently stepped out from behind one of the cannons, surprising Blaze.

It was Cerulean Death, though she was dressed a little differently than usual. She was wearing a short and tight midnight-blue frock with long sleeves. Her gloves, leggings, and shoes were all the same color. Even her skin seemed to possess a turquoise shade under the moonlight. Her long sky-blue hair was held in a high ponytail, and her famous rifle was in her left hand, sporting a dirty white camouflage.

"Ensure her safety at all costs," Wu Mei said to Shirva.

"Understood, General," she answered, with a quick salute before looking at Blaze.

Blaze walked up to her as she unfurled her cerulean fairy wings. Just like the pixies, fairies hatched with two sets of translucent wings. However, while the pixies had short and wide wings, fairy-wings were long and narrow with tapering ends.

The angel and the fairy silently sized each other up.

Shirva had a pretty face with a sharp nose, small and pointy ears, and narrow hazel eyes. Her eyebrows were thin with high arches that tapered into sharp lines. She had a small mouth with thin lips that were perpetually pursed, making her seem unapproachable.

Blaze extended his arms towards her neck. "Are you not going to carry me, big sis?" he asked, in a lilting tone.

The more serious a person was, the more Blaze enjoyed messing around with them.

Shirva glanced at the General, who gave her a nod and a wry smile. At a little under six feet tall, Shirva was petite, even for a fairy; so much so that most angels looked big-boned beside her. Nonetheless, she bent her knees a little and picked Blaze up as he wrapped his arms around her neck.

"You need to grow a little more, big sis," Blaze notified her, even though Shirva was way past her growing age. In fact, her energy signature indicated that she was older than Jie Er. Also, no one knew whether he was referring to her height or something else.

Once Blaze made himself comfortable in the fairy's embrace, she shot into the sky with a jump and a hefty flap of her wings. She beelined for an eastward-moving cloud, and soon the duo were above it, invisible to any observers below.

Noticing that Shirva intended to move along with the cloud, Blaze tried to make casual conversation with the reticent sniper.

"What brings you to Xian, big sis? I would call you 'aunty', but you are kinda small."

"Are you patronizing me because I am a fairy, Rhyka Fenghuang, or have I offended you in some other manner?" Shirva asked, her eyes remaining focused on their surroundings. Her voice was tantalizingly raspy.

Blaze was taken aback. "You knew?"

"No, I simply deduced it. So, why do you mock me in this manner?"

Blaze sighed in exasperation. Some people are no fun... "I was not mocking you. I was just being playful. It had nothing to do with your race. You must know that one of my best friends is a pixie, and that I have taken the undine under my wing. To me, race does not matter. I apologize if my words were offensive."

"Such a thing cannot offend me. I was simply curious."

"So, why is a fairy fighting in Xian?" he asked, again.

There were less than fifty-thousand fairies left on Azra-El, and most of them lived in the refugee camps of Vaikunheim. Shirva was the first fairy Blaze had seen up close.

"The demons of Vaikunheim and Anjalnebo have grown used to my methods. Moreover, my family has a long history of working with the Xian, though our races once competed for territory in the west."

"Oh... Still, wouldn't you rather fight in the country where your friends and family live?"

"The demons began to take precautions against me, so I could not kill as many as I used to," she answered, as if killing demons was the only thing that mattered.

"Is there a particular reason for your single-minded hatred for the demons?"

"Do you really have to ask?" she asked, as if it should have been obvious.

The population of the fairies had been close to six million, before the war and the genocide. However, that was hundreds of years ago, and even Shirva was not old enough to have experienced those times. So, Blaze did not quite get her one-track mindset. Maybe there was something more to it, but he decided to not pry further.

Instead, he gave her a tight hug, trying to give her some of his warmth, before planting a quick peck on her cheek. "I hope someday you find fulfilment in something other than taking lives," he told her sincerely, before a terrible realization dawned upon him.

No! No! No! No! How have I become this? I don't wanna be a princess! Goddess-darn angels and their feminine ways... I need to arm wrestle some mermaids and go mano-a-mano with more Viking-chicks... It's high time for Blaze Hawk and Blazey Balboa to make their debut on Azra-El.

Shirva did not bother to respond, nor did she care about Blaze's internal discord. She remained silent as the cloud made its way towards demon territory.

"Can you fly on your own for a moment? I need to check on enemy positions," she asked.

"Okay," Blaze agreed, materializing his wings to hover over the cloud.

"Stay here. I shall be back in a bit," she said, and dove down into the dark cloud.

The fairy popped back out in a couple of minutes, quickly drew Blaze into her arms, and made him wear a greyish-black fur cloak. The insides of the cloak were completely white. "Switch it inside out when we land," she said, and dove down.

They passed through the cloud in a jiffy and immediately shot towards the ground, the shadow of the cloud providing enough darkness for the two angels to be unseen. Shirva chose a large rock to land beside and hid behind its shelter. The cloud loomed past the terrain, revealing the bluish-white landscape of snow.

"What now?" Blaze asked, while turning the cloak inside out. He glanced around and found himself in a small valley between two mountains. They were surrounded by nothing but snow and rocky projections, and were quite exposed.

"See that ridge on that mountain? We must get there without being spotted. It will serve as a good sniper's nest."

"But how do we even get there without being seen?"

"Lay low, use cloud cover, and keep an eye on the movements of the patrols. I will have to carry you most of the way. Your wings are too conspicuous for this terrain," she instructed.

Most flying sentients had excellent distance-vision. On a clear day, Blaze could spot a carnike from a yonder away. However, his eyes needed a moment to focus on objects at such distances. The same applied to others who could see that far. In addition, the night, the mist, and the terrain made things trickier.

"Okay!" he enthused, finding it hard to reign in his excitement and nervousness. He had never imagined that he would be allowed to go on a real mission and wondered if his granny or Jie Er would blow a fuse if they ever came to know about it.

Shirva, on the other hand, was as calm and cool as ever. She made him sit beside the rock for ten whole minutes before she unceremoniously grabbed him and took off for the next hiding spot.

Thus, began their slow and arduous journey through the valley, creep-flying over open spaces, scurrying along when their visages were blurred by the clouds, and hiding behind rocks or any other flimsy cover that they could find.

The fairy was careful, almost to a fault, making them lie unmoving in the most uncomfortable of places, waiting for that perfect cloud to coincide perfectly with the positions of the patrols. She even took wind direction into consideration; not because it helped her fly better, but because flying against the wind made the translucent feathers of her wings stand up, making her a little bit more conspicuous.

"What do we do if we are spotted?" he asked softly, as they made into a thin crevice, narrowly avoiding being spotted by a high-flying patrol.

The crevice was unfathomably deep and, at most, two feet wide. The two angels hung against the walls with their bodies pressed against each other.

"We fly as fast as we can and return to base. I will not be able to fight an entire patrol unit. However, we should be safe in most instances. I am a quick flyer, and as long as I am not stuck deep in enemy territory or completely surrounded, I should be able to get you back."

Blaze was not too worried. He had an inkling that the General would keep them safe no matter what. She would not have sent him on such a mission if she had not taken the necessary precautions.

He glanced up at the sky and realized there were no nifty nearby clouds, which meant that they would be stuck in the crevice for a while.

He shuffled to move to the side, but Shirva held him in place. "Do not move. It is best to make as little movement as possible in these situations. We may also have to get away quickly. Besides, it is warmer, is it not?" she whispered and drew him close, so he could sit over her thigh, while she pressed her feet against the wall of the crevice.

Blaze was wearing woolen robes over his shorts, but even with his natural resistance to heat and cold, he still felt the biting temperatures of the mountains.

He raised a brow, but he couldn't find anything in her eyes. "Are you treating me as a child?" he asked.

"Are you not?"

It had been 8 years since his appearance on Azra-El, but his energy signature did not age the way they had presumed. In fact, it was becoming purer, making him seem younger than twenty, as if it were trying to reflect his true age. If that were the case, they wouldn't be able to hide his age much longer.

Blaze sighed and placed his chin over the fairy's shoulder. The sweet smell of hyacinths wafted into his nostrils; it was not a perfume, but her natural odor. It made him calm and relaxed.

Shirva began to gently caress the back of his head.

"Tell me a story, fairy," Blaze whispered into her ear.

"This is not the time for stories, Rhyka," Shirva whispered back.

"Will you tell me a fairy tale, or should I go after some fairy tail?" Blaze uttered the terrible pun that he had been looking for a chance to use ever since he laid eyes on the fairy.

"What?"

"I am a kid, right? If you don't want me to mess around with ya, you should tell me a tale; a fairy tale."

Shirva couldn't argue with that logic.

"A long time ago, in the lands to the west, there lived a fairy who had made herself a name as one of the greatest hunters of her time. She hunted all sorts of creatures, from nefarious Mardykhors to rampaging cerafents and cattle-devouring Boitata and xenodons; she was even said to have killed a titanoarachne and a Cerberus, but those are most likely myths. However, she never killed for sport, and only hunted those creatures that posed a real threat to sentients.

"During the initial years of her career, when her name was only known in Fehimmel, the fairy nation, a Xianian traveler heard of her skill and reported it back to her Empress. The Empress immediately summoned the hunter to her castle.

"During those days, the Xian Empire stretched all the way to the Infernal Desert, and the regions bordering the desert were being plagued by an angel-eating Quetzal. Usually, Quetzals do not target sentients unless they are threatened. There had also been no prior instances of them viewing sentients as food. However, this Quetzal, known as the Jubba Quetzal--after the place where the first incidents were reported--targeted small towns and villages, carrying away lonesome angels.

"There were many rumors as to why the Quetzal had turned angel-eater. Some claimed that its mother or child had been killed by an angel or a demon, while others said that it was a Quetzal trained by the demons to wantonly kill angels. Whatever the reason may have been, it needed to be culled.

"The Empress had hired many hunters and even sent some of her best warriors to kill the Quetzal, but the creature proved to be too elusive. It never consistently attacked the same place and always avoided places with larger populations. It also had a wide hunting area, stretching almost four hundred yonders, and usually, by the time the hunters heard of its appearance, it was long gone.

"By the time the fairy arrived at Xian, the Quetzal had already killed more than three hundred angels. The Empress beseeched her to get rid of the menace, but the fairy laid out two conditions. She wanted the Empress to retract the bounty placed on the Quetzal and recall all the other hunters she'd dispatched. Her reasoning was that the bounty would cause people to kill innocent Quetzals, while more hunters would mean that the Quetzal would become more cautious.

"She also asked the Empress to send out a decree that all angels living near the Infernal Desert should live and travel in groups, until the Jubba Quetzal was killed. The Empress consented.

"Armed only with her trusty rifle, the fairy traveled to the border of the Infernal Desert. She visited all the villages that had been attacked and noted down when and where the Quetzal had struck. Soon, she figured out a complex pattern that none of the other hunters had noticed. The Quetzal's habits depended on the terrain, the moon's phases, and the activities of the angels.

"Using this information, the fairy narrowed the location of the Jubba Quetzal's next attack to a range of fifty yonders. She then requested a few fast-flying scouts to act as bait. As expected, the Quetzal attacked, and the scouts quickly informed the fairy of her location.

"It was a massive Quetzal, rumored to have been 35 feet tall, with a wingspan of 80 feet. However, when the Quetzal spotted the fairy, it immediately retreated, and the fairy followed it into the desert.

"We only know of the fight through the accounts of the fairy herself, and the fairy was not much of a talker. The fight apparently lasted for five whole days, during which she fired her weapon a hundred-and-twenty-one times. It was a fight of endurance, and ultimately, the fairy and her rifle won. The Quetzal was put out of its misery by a final shot to the head.