~Fourteen years later~

"Get up, Lolo!" Beta Xini, a pleasantly plump woman with very feminine features, floated around the room picking laundry up off the floor and shoving it hastily into the appropriate basket. It was a beautiful sunny morning in early May, but Beta Xini was in a bit of a mood. "I swear. Once kids turn into teenagers…." She never finished her thought but kept mumbling unintelligibly to herself.

"Mom, just five more minutes?" Huo Lohse pleaded.

"No, now! You've had enough sleep," came the expected response.

Lolo groaned. "Just once," she thought, "just once I want the answer to be 'yes'."

"You have a long journey ahead of you to get to the tournament grounds, and I need to get you ready."

"Mom, we've got plenty of time before sunrise!" Lolo sat up and stretched, yawning as she rolled out of bed. "Wait. Get ready?!" Lolo was suddenly quite awake. She knew what that meant, but dared to ask anyway, "what do you mean, 'get ready'?” Beta Xini shot a threatening look at her daughter that clearly meant, "surrender now!", and Lolo groaned but didn't argue.

Beta Xini clapped her hands and three maids shuffled into the room, each carrying a tray of torture implements. Huo Lohse scowled and was promptly frog-marched to a tub where she was scrubbed unceremoniously down.

"Can't I at least bathe by myself?" she whined.

"No. You always forget steps and it is important to look your best for this," came the answer.

"The boys don't have to do this," Lolo grumbled to herself, but loud enough to be heard. Beta Xini pretended not to hear her daughter and simply scrubbed her scalp extra hard.

Once Huo Lohse was bathed and robed, she was presented with three beautiful, but very impractical dresses.

"I can't wear these!" Lolo was a little surprised that her mother hadn't thought this through.

"Of course, you can, Lolo," her mother replied with a little too much cheerfulness to be believable.

"But-"

"These are to travel in, and then you can wear your training clothes for the actual examination."

Lolo sighed heavily. So she had thought this through. "Ok. Fine. Which one would you like me to wear today?" Huo Lohse knew her mother would get much more pleasure from picking the dress out than she would.

Beta Xini clapped her hands together in delight like an excited child. She then picked up each dress in turn, holding them up to her daughter and gushing about their individual merits. Eventually, she settled on a dark green dress with black embroidery and a black sash at the waist "to bring out the green in your eyes and flatter your curves." The dress went on and it was now time to do the hair. Of all the tortures, this one wasn't so very bad. Lolo could lean back in the chair and close her eyes while her mom fussed and chattered. "I want to put this hairpin in, so I think we will keep the hair fairly simple and let the pin and dress speak for themselves," Beta Xini mused more for her own benefit than for anyone else. The tangled strands of damp, silky black hair were brushed, sectioned and styled by the practiced hands of a master. It took less than ten minutes of finagling and adjusting for Beta Xini to finally be satisfied with her work and put the comb down.

With her hair now twisted and plaited into a half-up do, and a simple but elegant black hairpin in place, it was time to do make-up. "You're only just fourteen. Maybe a little color on the lips and something dark to line the eyes?"

Lolo shrugged. "This is your project, mom. You call the shots."

Whether given permission by her daughter or not, Beta Xini was going to do what she wanted to anyway. "Yes. Something red-based for the lips will really stand out against the green…." Beta Xini continued muttering to herself until the make-up process was completed.

Finally gussied up to her mother's content, Huo Lohse put on her traveling cloak and grabbed a pack equipped with clothes, a hair brush, and a small container of make-up.

“Lolo, please remember to do your hair and make-up every day, especially before your exam."

“Ok, mom,” Lolo submitted but added her last-ditch protest, “but we’re just walking for the next six days. Who’s even going to see me to appreciate it?”

“It’s not about other people, Lolo. It’s about presenting yourself like the princess that you are. This time, you are going to the tournament grounds not as a silent observer in some tribe leaders’ meeting and not for some festival where no one will recognize you. This time, you are going as a representative of our tribe-- one of the best youths our tribe has to offer. Your father and I let you get away with your informal preferences when you are home, but when you’re out there, you need to represent your tribe well. You are old enough now that it matters.”

Lolo scrunched her nose up in displeasure but argued no more, and the Beta sighed from exasperation as she followed her daughter out to meet up with the Alpha, Zhongyan, and Haowan.

"You actually look like a girl!" Haowan feigned shock.

"I didn't think that was possible," Zhongyan added with a chuckle. "Mom, you are a miracle worker!"

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Lolo rolled her eyes, but she was glad to engage in playful banter after a morning of being fussed over. "Surprised? Boy! I pulled the wool over your eyes, didn't I!"

***

They arrived at a small village just outside the tournament grounds about an hour before nightfall. The Alpha made room reservations for the night above the local tavern, and the teenagers were given permission to explore the village during the remaining daylight.

“‘You ready for tomorrow?” Zhongyan asked his twin.

“Yeah. Sure,” Haowan said unconvincingly. “What about you, Lolo?”

Sensing that there was more behind Haowan’s lackluster response, Lolo tried to lighten the mood. She laughed a warm, reassuring laugh. “We’ve been training for years! Qingchi, Rensui, Zizai, and Lingdao all got in early, and we are leaps ahead of where they were when they got tested.”

“You really think so?” Zhongyan wasn’t convinced, but he was happy to be persuaded.

“That’s what they said; they’ve been helping us train and would know. We’ve got this.” Lolo winked at Zhongyan to seal the encouragement.

“That’s easy for you to say, little miss prodigy,” Haowan teased wryly. “You're as bold as brass testing two years early. Only one person, Standig Tragen, has gotten in two years early in the last, I dunno, fifty years... or more?”

“It’s worth the risk of embarrassing myself to not be the odd man out as usual,” Lolo justified herself.

“Psh!” Haowan snorted and muttered, “embarrassing yourself….”

“The Wolf Tribe may be hosting this year, Haowan, but if I’m not a part of the exchange, I won’t be able to train with you guys this summer... and you know you’d miss training with me too.” Huo Lohse shot him a cheesy, you-know-you-love-me sort of look.

“It certainly puts the pressure on us to do well tomorrow,” Haowan brooded.

“Why’s that?” Lolo frowned.

“We’re used to you kicking our butts at home, Lolo, but the rest of the world doesn’t need to know of our life-long humiliation,” Zhongyan interjected with an anxious grin and what was almost certainly a more eloquent and tactful answer than the one that Haowan would have provided.

“Oh….” The enthusiasm Lolo was working so hard to project faltered momentarily. “But you guys will do great. Like I already said, we’ve been training for this for years. And we watched the older boys’ examinations, so we know what to expect. It’ll be fine.” Over her head, Zhongyan and Haowan communicated wordlessly with each other and resolved to move to a less stressful topic, or at least allow this particular conversation to die.

Lolo didn’t notice her brothers’ silent exchange as her focus had shifted subtly inwards. Despite her encouraging words to her brothers, Huo Lohse was also very anxious about the next day’s testing. There was a reason why early admittance into the training exchange held bragging rights. Youths with no intention of attending the exchange at all would flock to the exam just to see if they were good enough to qualify early. Last year, the Wolf Tribe had sent two trainees to be tested; neither one made it. In fact, out of the twenty applicants last year, only two were successful: Standig Tragen from the Bear Tribe, and Fortus Arum from the Lion Tribe. Unlike her brothers, not qualifying this year wouldn’t hurt her ego so much, but it would mean that all six of her brothers would be a part of the exchange without her. As a wolf with a true pack mentality, that outcome was unacceptable.

Having finished giving a pep-talk to her brothers, Lolo gave herself the same speech. “I’ve got this.” She tried really hard to believe it.

***

The next morning came early. Despite Lolo’s pep-talk, none of the Wolf Tribe teens seemed to sleep very well.

“I had this recurring dream that they gave me a wooden sword to spar with, and the fifth year kept slicing little sections off the end until I couldn't fight anymore.”

“Lucky you. You actually got to the point where you could dream. I just couldn’t get comfortable. Did anyone else notice that one really loud frog?”

“Me! That dumb frog must have woken me up five times last night!”

The tournament grounds were bustling with young applicants exhibiting varying degrees of trepidation and a collection of tribe leaders and elders greeting each other and making last minute preparations. There was quite the turn-out this year, twenty-five applicants total with two to five applicants from each of the five major clans and seven others besides. The energy was infectious, but it did little to soothe Huo Lohse’s nerves. She was the only girl and the only fourteen-year-old to apply this year. Suddenly, Lolo felt very bashful, a feeling she had little experience with. Pulling the hood of her cloak securely forward over her hair and painted face, Lolo kept close to her brothers and avoided contact with everyone else.

The examination was conducted in two parts. First, there was a written exam; applicants were expected to answer questions about history, ethics, and etiquette. Those who passed the first test could then progress to the second, a sparring match; each applicant took a turn crossing blades with a pre-determined, rising fifth year student. The goal was not to win the match but rather to prove that you could hold your own against a stronger, more experienced opponent. Applicants were then judged by a panel of tribe leaders and elders to determine if entrance into the training exchange was permitted.

After sign-ups were completed, the applicants were corralled into a section of rising benches on the sidelines of the sparring field. “Welcome to part one of the entrance exam,” came the raspy voice of an elder from the Phoenix Tribe. “Please sit on the ground and place your tests on the benches.” The test moderator handed a divided stack of papers to the applicants at the end of the rows. “Take a test and pass the rest along, and here are your ink and quills. Take and pass. Take and pass. You have one hour, and that time starts… now.”

Huo Lohse opened her test.

Question 1: What is an animal spirit host?

This wasn’t so bad.

An animal spirit host is a human born with an accompanying animal spirit in addition to their own spirit. Each infant is screened for an animal spirit so they can receive special training to help develop a relationship with their animal spirit. If successful in developing that relationship, the animal spirit can share added strength, endurance, intelligence, spiritual energy, etcetera with their host.

Question 2: What is a primordial spirit, and how is it different from an animal spirit?

Lolo frowned. The answer to this question was steeped in mythology more than fact. She took a deep breath.

According to legend, before history was really recorded, a small tribe of humans was protected by a collection of powerful creatures. The members of that tribe developed deep relationships with the creatures; some relationships were so strong that their spirits bonded, forming the first human-animal spirit connections. Over time, descendants of the original tribe scattered and formed their own tribes in honor of individual primordial spirits. Our tribe was formed in honor of the primordial wolf spirit. To this day, members of those tribes can still serve as hosts to spirits of the same species as the primordial spirit that their tribe honors. It is believed that, occasionally, a descendant of the ancient parent tribe can serve as host to the reincarnation of an original primordial spirit. For example, there is speculation that the Great Owl is a host to the primordial owl spirit.

Question 3: Write a little about the history of the training exchange and its purpose.

The training exchange is a tradition that was established 207 years ago by the tribe leaders of the Wolf, Bear, Dragon, Lion and Phoenix tribes, the five main tribes, to promote positive intertribal relationships, collaboration, and mutual understanding and appreciation. The commencement of the exchange was preceded by over 400 years of continual peace between the tribes, and the ultimate goal of the exchange was to encourage that era of peace to continue by developing trusting, respectful relationships between the next generation of future tribe and military leaders. As we are over 600 years into that era of peace now, I’d argue that the exchange has been successful.

The test was long and tedious. But Lolo was well-prepared for it. Time was eventually called, the tests passed in, and the applicants dismissed for lunch while the judges reviewed the tests.

“How did it go?” Haowan was the quickest to ask.

“I think it went really well!” Lolo felt confident. “What about you, Zhongyan?”

“Yeah, same. Though I couldn’t remember the proper way to greet the Great Owl. It’s not like she cares, so why should I?”

Haowan laughed. “That was a dumb question. But in case you were wondering, you are supposed to kowtow three times and then wait to be acknowledged before standing back up.”

“Oh yeah!” Zhongyan slapped his forehead. “Can you imagine if that was how we had to greet the Great Owl for real? She would probably walk right past you and leave you there to kneel forever.” The three siblings burst into a choir of laughter. “What about you, Haowan?”

“Once I got over my nerves, it actually wasn’t too terrible.”

Reassured that they probably all passed the first round, the siblings found a comfortable, remote patch of grass to sprawl and picnic on.