Phoenix wasn't an ordinary Vermillion Bird. Sure, she had powers of fire, but her fire powers were great and powerful. She could summon a fire dragon, the spark of the universe. But this set her in a bad setting. 

Her parents — Chunhua and Jaw-Long — had broken the law in order to give birth to her. The laws were strict, and the consequences were huge. One law was to always hang a copy of the laws in their homes. The crinkly paper read:

—————Laws of the Universe —————

1. The universe is split into four Clans, which are: a) the Black Tortoise Clan. b) the Azure Dragon Clan. c) the Vermillion Bird Clan. d) the White Tiger Clan. 
2. No marriage between Clans. Each Clan must stick together, and all traitors to their Clan will be executed.
3. No trespassing into other Clans' territories without the Clan's permission.
4. Every day, before dinner, everyone must pray to the great goddess Nüwa to send them food.  Then the Elders of the Clan distribute the food to everyone.
5. Shamans are not allowed to use their powers on others. They are only allowed to use their powers on evil creatures.
6. No shaman shall be sided with the Lord of Darkness. Any traitors found shall be executed. 

The list ran on and on. Phoenix didn't like looking at these rules, because rule number 2 — No marriage between Clans— was precisely the rule her parents broke. She didn't want to be killed. She didn't want to be executed. But her parents were lawbreakers, and she had no way to change that. Her father, Jaw-Long, had an original name before. He was Haoyu, but he was so attracted to Chunhua that he changed his name to blend in with the Vermillion Bird Clan. 

Now, Phoenix, as a 13-year-old girl, with long black hair tied into a ponytail, wearing a red vest with white spiky cotton sticking out of the collar and the sleeves, and short black pants, marked with the symbol of the Vermillion Bird Clan. She was resting in her room, which was spacious and cozy. She stood in the middle of a fluffy red carpet and conjured fire into her hands. The flame was small, yet bright. She spread her arms out, and a rope of fire extended around her, twirling around her outstretched hands. 

Her friends, Heng and Da-Xia, sat around her, watching the fire curl around her body. Their eyes were filled with interest and curiosity. They respected her. They worshipped her. They sat on the white floor, wearing matching clothes to Phoenix. They were the Phoenixes, their own special group named after Phoenix.

"How do you control so much fire at once?" Da-Xia complained, trying to make a flame, but only ending up with a spark. She concentrated, sweat pouring down from her head, but the spark remained tiny.

"I've been practicing," Phoenix lied. She was the descendant of the Dragon Flame, which meant she had unlimited fire inside her. The Dragon chose her to be its host. Phoenix was stronger than anyone at school, and she aced the Elemental Powers class at Vermillion Bird Academy. But her Mathematics, Humanities, and Language? Not so much.

She made the fire shape into a phoenix, the two wings unfurling from its sides gracefully. The tail was long and silky, and it flew around the room with such grace it made the other Phoenixes gasp in shock.

"It's not the first time we've seen you control fire like this, but... we're still amazed every single time we see this," Heng said at last, her black-shoulder-length hair swinging. She was more successful than Da-Xia, able to conjure a flame. 

Phoenix just nodded, making the phoenix fly around the room, turning in circles above her head. She then swung her arms around and punched the air toward a target standing at the far end of her room. The phoenix went zooming into the target, smashing into the target with a bright flutter of flames. When the flames died away, there was still a small flame burning at the bull's eye of the target. The other Phoenixes gaped once again.

"Easy," Phoenix dusted her hands off and reached her hand out. The flame that Heng had conjured suddenly flew into her palm. 

"Hey!" Heng protested.

Phoenix just shrugged and started shaping it into a dragon, making the long whiskers and the scales appear. It was so detailed, even though it was made of fire. She sent it flying straight up into the tall ceiling of the room, which was decorated with red, orange, and yellow tiles arranged to look like a flying phoenix. The fire was ripped apart, sending symmetrical patterns on the ceiling, looking like a giant red snowflake. Then Phoenix made the fire snowflake descend down slowly. Then she clenched her hands into a fist and the fire turned back into a fireball once more. She gave the flame back to Heng, and Heng sighed with relief.

Then Phoenix flung herself face-first onto her bed.

"Hey! Tell me how to control my fire!" Heng yelled, dragging Phoenix off. Phoenix whined and swatted Heng with a red pillow. Heng raised her hands in surrender.

"What time is it?" Phoenix asked.

"Oh, 7:45." Da-Xia looked at her watch.

"Phoenixes, we have to go or we'll be late for school!" Phoenix jumped off her bed, grabbed her backpack, and walked out the door, the Phoenixes running after her.

Then Phoenix took a deep breath, and she called to the Dragon. She raised her hands up and a small fire tornado appeared. The three friends stepped into the tornado, and the Dragon teleported them to Vermillion Bird Academy.

———————

There was always one girl that Phoenix hated. She walked into the school, making fire phoenixes fly around the ceiling. Some students would look up and marvel at the birds, but this girl thought Phoenix was showing off and cheating.

"Hey! Look, the cheater came!" Jia Li strode up to Phoenix, smirking. Her gang of friends followed close after her, holding fire in their hands.

Phoenix rolled her eyes and said gravely, "let us pass. We're going to be late." She tried to shove pass the tall girl, but Jia Li held her back.

"Look at her! How can she create these phoenixes? What a show-off! She must be using a drug, maybe Flamizin, to make her fire bigger! Let's call the Fire Brigade, and let them arrest her!" Jia Li sneered, the faces of her friends matching her cold expression.

"I said, we're going to be late," Phoenix snarled, her hands curling into fists.

"Oh, look! She's mad!" Jia Li laughed, and her friends laughed around with her. Phoenix felt the urge to summon her fire and smash their skulls together.

She was about to raise her hands, but the Phoenixes held her hands and shot her a pleading glance. Please don't start a fight.

Suddenly a fireball blasted Jia Li in the side, and she fell, screaming, clutching her sides. Her friends immediately screamed, fleeing. 

"What? I didn't get to summon a single fireball? Who did that?"Phoenix gasped. But the Head Principal was already storming their way. 

"My office. Now," the principal stormed. He grabbed Phoenix's arm and dragged her away, the other students' gazes landing on Phoenix like a dart of shame.