The fights were a mixed bag— Ling lost the first one, though not by much. That had her smiling even as she walked back to the others. Clover also lost, but like Ling, it was clear she had vastly improved. Yukiko was the third one to face Dave and she dismantled him, even with him using a shield and hammer and her using her wakizashi.
Yukiko swept the Iron Hand team, beating the four members in succession. Jenn then repeated her feat, which had three of the four Iron Hand apprentices looking a little upset. The exception was Farin, who was focused on learning instead of winning and losing.
When Gregory replaced Jenn, all four of the Iron Hand apprentices looked daunted, having seen his skill before. Their expressions turned to confusion when Indara handed Gregory a guandao instead of a naginata.
Dave was the first to face Gregory, and the fight was closer than Dave thought it would be. Gregory won, but it took a lot of effort for him to win it. When Farin stepped out next, he was wearing a look of intense concentration.
Farin’s weapon choice was odd. He held a kama in his right hand, but the base was attached to a chain, with another weight on the far end of the chain. Gregory had heard it called a “kusarigama,” and had seen Farin use it in his matches against Yukiko and Jenn.
The fight was swift and brutal, and Gregory was on the ground when it ended. When Mindie was beside him, already healing him, he realized what’d happened. Farin feinted with the chain, then pulled it back in and spun the whole thing around. Gregory had managed to get his guandao up, but the kama had spun around the haft and struck him in the head.
“He’s fine now,” Mindie said as she helped Gregory up.
“We’ll work on your technique against flexible weapons,” Gin told Gregory. “If you had been able to duck in time, you could have pulled him in and finished him.”
“He’s okay?” Farin asked.
“Fine, now,” Gregory said.
“It was a gamble,” Chen said. “Why did you do that?”
“Because, sir, even though he isn’t as proficient with that weapon, he’s still better than me. If this had been to the death, I wouldn’t have taken that gamble when I did. I also wouldn’t have if he’d been allowed foresight.”
“Hmm… as long as you realize the pitfalls of your attack.”
“I do, sir.”
“He won,” Gregory said. “Sometimes, you have to gamble to win. I have before.”
“Go rest,” Gin told him. “Daciana, you’re up,” he called to the eager, young woman.
Gregory glanced at Daciana’s wide smile, then back to Farin. “Good luck.”
Daciana was aggressive and, with twin hand axes, was able to keep his chain at bay long enough to get to Farin, forcing him to use the kama part of his weapon. Once Daciana was inside the range advantage, it was over for him.
The fights continued with a win or two before a loss, allowing everyone to cycle through. Jenn and Yukiko stayed out, as they’d already swept through the others. The morning turned to afternoon before Chen and Gin called a halt to sparring.
“Now we get to the fights that set this training session,” Gin announced. “Magus Klim.” He motioned her to the center of the arena. “Your first opponent is Apprentice Clover Clougdah.”
“Since she’s fighting with the bo, so will I,” Klim told Inda.
Once the two women had their staves in hand and bowed as directed, Gin told them to begin. Klim didn’t go to win right away— she tested Clover’s skill, working with her for a couple of minutes. She sped up and pushed Clover off-balance with a flurry of blows, then thrust the end of the bo forward, catching Clover in the diaphragm. Clover gasped and went to her knees, allowing Klim to tap her gently on the head.
Klim let Mindie come out to heal Clover. “You’re much better than you were. Your teacher should be proud, as should you.”
Mindie didn’t have anything to heal on Clover besides a bruise. “You were gentle with her.”
“No reason to hurt her,” Klim said.
Having gotten her breath back, Clover got to her feet and bowed to Klim. “My thanks, Magus. My teacher has been working me hard, and I’m focused on learning. Sparring against Greg also helps me learn.”
Klim glanced at Gregory, and she nodded. “Yes. What does he fight you with?”
“Anything but the naginata, for which I’m glad,” Clover smiled. “Ling’s better than me.”
“Apprentice Ling Lao,” Gin called as Clover handed the bo staff to Indara.
Ling came forward and accepted the weapon after having a quick conversation with Clover. Once she had her staff in hand and they’d finished bowing, she didn’t let Klim attack first. The moment Gin told them to fight, she rushed the magus. Klim accepted the attack and wove a defensive barrier, her bo in constant motion to catch and deflect Ling’s attack.
“Good,” Klim grinned. She stopped being defensive and pushed into the next attack, locking their staves briefly. “Now, it’s my turn.”
The next minute had Ling on the defensive, barely holding Klim off. But as Ling tried to push back into Klim, she just missed a block, and Klim’s bo came down hard on her wrist. With a brief scream of pain, Ling’s staff dropped and she went to her knees, holding her wrist.
Klim reached her before Mindie could get halfway to them. After Ling’s fractured wrist was healed, Klim exhaled. “You made me work for that. If you’d managed to block, you might have been able to force me to defend again.”
Ling panted when the healing energy faded. “It was my hope.” Taking Klim’s offered hand, she stood, then scooped up the bo. “Thank you, Magus. I will work to be your equal or better by the time I am a magus.”
Klim’s eyebrows went up before a smile bloomed on her lips. “Good. That drive is what you need.”
“Clover is just as driven,” Ling said. “She just doesn’t want to fail and didn’t give voice to her drive.”
“Good. Many alchemists and enchanters set aside weapons as soon as they can. If you keep pushing like I did, you might be able to live up to your words.”
“Novice Victoria Wilson,” Gin called.
Klim blinked, then bowed her head. “I did say I would fight them all at least once. For some reason, I didn’t consider the novices when they arrived.”
Victoria collected two daggers from Indara. “If you don’t want—”
“No, I’ll fight you. Let’s see how the youngest of your clan does,” Klim said.
~*~*~
Klim won against all three novices, and after each fight, she encouraged them.
Gin stopped the fights there so Klim could rest for a few minutes. Bishop moved forward to fight a single match against each of the Iron Hand apprentices. As Klim had done, she let them fight for a few minutes before she won, then explained what they could improve on. Chen agreed with her each time, helping to soften the sting to their pride.
Klim came back out with an eager smile on her face. That smile didn’t dim in the least when Yukiko was her next opponent. Klim didn’t use a bo against her— she was holding her favorite weapon, the su yari. The ensuing fight was joyous for Klim as she worked Yukiko hard, surprisingly pressed by the younger woman using a single short sword. In the end, Klim still won, but both of them were all smiles.
“Using your speed and the flat of the weapon to try getting inside my reach was the right thing to do every time. Without your magic, it’ll be difficult for you to close the distance on anyone using a weapon with reach. Even then, I assume it’s been your sparring with your husband that has made you this proficient.”
“And my teachers, but yes.”
“I look forward to seeing what Jenn can do,” Klim smiled as she bowed to Yukiko.
“So do I,” Yukiko smiled as she bowed back.
Jenn’s fight with Klim was the longest spar for her all day. Time and again, Jenn felt like she was about to land a winning blow when Klim parried or dodged her. The fight was over when Jenn got close and Klim let go of her weapon to grab her. Jenn hit the ground hard from the unexpected grapple, tapping when Klim got the submission hold on her arm.
“Made me work for that. Well done,” Klim said as she helped Jenn to her feet.
“I was so close so often,” Jenn sighed.
“Your passive benefits from your magic and body path training made it much harder for me. Not those by themselves, but those combined with your skill with the weapon. Few magi train their skill as hard as your clan does. Thank you.”
“Thank you,” Jenn replied as they bowed to each other.
When Gregory started forward, Klim waved to him and stepped back. Gregory was puzzled until Paul moved forward.
“A single match,” Gin announced to the watchers. “Naginata against katana, with no magic to be used.”
“Magus,” Gregory bowed to Paul.
“Apprentice,” Paul bowed back.
Taking their weapons from Inda and Indara, the two bowed as directed by Gin. When the fight started, Paul rushed Gregory, who had stayed still. Paul was faster and stronger than Gin, but wasn’t as skilled with the blade, though the difference was slight. Gregory worked to keep Paul from winning, focused entirely on the fight.
Paul forced Gregory to move, but he could never quite get a clean strike in. Knowing he was stonewalled, Paul gambled— he came down hard with a power strike, intent on making the blow jar Gregory’s weapon, or possibly even break it. He was caught by surprise when Gregory went from blocking to slipping to the side at the last moment. That brought Paul off balance, and then Gregory struck.
Klim was there a few seconds later, checking Paul. “He’ll be fine. If those had been real weapons, he’d be dead.”
Gregory panted as he stepped back and bowed. “My thanks, Magus.”
Paul grunted as Klim helped him to his feet. “No, Apprentice, you have my thanks. You also have my thanks for not sparring with our apprentices with that weapon.”
“I want to learn and improve. To do that means I have to challenge myself.”
“Yes, it does,” Paul replied, bowing to Gregory. “Now, can you win with more than just that weapon?”
“I don’t know, but I hope to, sir,” Gregory replied.
“We are at the last set,” Gin announced to the crowd. “Pettit against Klim. This will be a single match with five different weapons. We’ll start with the guandao.”
~*~*~
The five fights had a couple of surprises. Gregory won the naginata with ease at the end, but he also won with the kama yari and had nearly won with the bo. He pushed Klim with the su yari, but she beat him easily as the fight dragged on. The guandao was still a disappointment for Gregory, as Klim bested him handily.
“My thanks,” Gregory said, bowing deeply to Klim.
Klim bowed back, breathing hard. “My thanks to you. Fighting you pushes me to improve.”
“Clans, line up,” Gin announced.
The two clans came to stand in two lines facing each other. They bowed to each other, formally, with respect. Once they were done, Paul ordered the Iron Hand to turn and march, and they did with precision.
Chen stayed back to speak with Gin. Gregory wondered what they were talking about, but Bishop ordered them back to the clan hall, and Gregory turned with the others.
