My first fanfic of all time. Hope you like it, even though this chapter's kinda short compared to the rest of them. RxR, and please no flames. Constructive criticism, however, will be welcomed.

Chapter I: The Silent Professional

The fort stood in front of him, its solid stone walls a testament to the resolve of the men inside. These were hard men, as tough as the stone they worked with, and this would be challenging.

With any luck, it would also be fun.

Lesser men, he was sure, would have opted for a safer position, but then this position may have been a hundred miles from the front when it was built. Now, it had become a nuisance, supplying the Earth Kingdom a base from which to attack three separate supply trains on their monthly trips through the area. The loss in supplies and troops was weakening the soldiers in the field, and the Fire Lord himself had ordained this fort's destruction.

I am the wrath of the Fire Lord.

I am the sword of flame.

Life is temporary, service is eternal.

I am Frostflame, known as simply Pack Leader by some.

By the enemies of the Nation, I am called Death.

No man stands against me.

He stood on the wall, watching the sentries collapse, letting the chilled weight settle in his chest as his hands cooled and the smell of lightning carried on the wind. Every time he bent lightning, it felt like something was being pulled away, something that belonged, yet didn't, and yet he always felt better when the freezing sensation had gone and he felt normal again. It didn't matter anyway. As the teachers said, lightning was the purest fire, available only to those chosen to wield it, and nothing of such power was rewarded without personal sacrifice.

Sacrifice, he hated that word, and yet he didn't think he could survive without it. More Earth Kingdom soldiers came, their stones parried easily with the specially made katana. Forged from the hardest steel the engineers had ever made, crafted by masterworkers; it was art, yet it was functional. Running along the walls, melting the stone to create ledges for his feet to catch, he felt the hilt under his hands. He had insisted on that point, that the hilt of this sword be of the same design as that of his old blade. The leather strips on the grip had been engraved with all manner of glyphs and words, symbols from the Old Texts and the names of those he would never forget.

Kenji, the fastest of them all, unable to outrun an Earthbender landslide that left half a mountain bare and an entire company in ruins.

Soru, a demon in battle, crushed by the attacks of a dozen Earthbenders at the Battle of Three Pillars.

The boy they had teased with the name "Ryu," dead in what was only supposed to be a training exercise when an ill-advised attempt to capture the legendary Iroh led to a ship-board battle, and the poor kid was incinerated as he fell into the harbor. He never even knew the kid's real name. Not that Ryu had been much younger than himself. A year-and-half separated the still-naive boy from the deadliest man in the Fire Nation.

He checked himself: The second-most deadliest.

The final two names on the grip were written so closely together that it was difficult to make out some of the characters. Akira Hideyoshi, the blade's owner and wielder, was written on top. The other name was the one reason he stayed in the capital and continued his training, through the times when his trust in the war waned, when his trust in his abilities was shaken, when he wasn't even sure who he was anymore. That name, that girl, that face. And that annoying braid.

The fortress lay in ruins, most of it enveloped in flames and smoke. Akira stood at the center of it all, coolly appraising the job. A hawk's scream nearly made him jump, and he scanned the midnight sky for a source. Suddenly he saw it, roughly two seconds before it landed on him with a loud screech. Akira almost hit the bird for its noise, but thought better of it as he recognized the official emblem sealing the envelope. He hurriedly shook the letter free as the hawk took flight, reading it about three times before realizing what the words meant.

Ba Sing Se fallen has fallen and the Earth Kingdom is ours. Return to the palace to resume your duties. You are hereby promoted to the rank of Captain, for much service to your nation and your lord. Congratulations on your successes, and return quickly.

The seal at the bottom--this had been personally signed off by the Fire Lord. A Captain. I've made Captain. The news nearly knocked him over. Captains were almost always thirty at least, even though a Field Captain could occasionally be as young as twenty in a small command. He had turned sixteen only a week ago according to his estimate, and he would bet his armor that it was a record of some sort. He almost smiled as he walked out of the destruction, before remembering his teacher's words, "Happiness breeds complacency, and it's temporary anyway. It is an illusion, maintained by sacrificing knowledge for comfort, and should be treated as such." Still, he wasn't able to stop the grin quite in time as he wondered if he would tell her, and in fact he wondered where she even was now. He had heard that the show was touring occupied lands within the Earth Kingdom, but he had never seen it. Maybe, once they had used Sozin's comet to end the war, and if he was permanently reassigned somewhere, he could send her some sort of letter. He wondered if the brilliant gymnast from the Girls' Academy would even remember him.

Well, here we go. My first chapter up on Fanfiction. I know it starts off slow, but give it time, it gets better. More to come, including the appearances of Zuko, Azula and her crew, and a certain wise old Guru in the next chapter!