The main courtyard was full of people. The trainees were handed sack lunches and instructed to find seats on blankets sprawled out on the ground. Once everyone was settled with their meals, Tribe Leader Lang entered the courtyard followed by a couple servants very cautiously carting a large rectangular something hidden by a large sheet. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have the privilege of introducing Durfein Anam of the Badger Tribe to you. Many of you are already familiar with him as you’ve worked with him this summer, but for those of you that haven’t met Durfein, he requested an alternative exchange experience. Today I am excited for him to reveal what he’s been working on! Without further ado, Durfein….” The Alpha gave the floor to the Badger prince who waved bashfully at the crowd.

“Hey guys! As the Alpha already said, I chose an alternative study path this summer and focused on the arts instead of the art of the sword.” There were a handful of appreciative chuckles from the crowd for his word play. “Before I reveal my final project I just want to thank you all for your support. Just scanning the crowd, many of you are my mentors that made this project possible. So thank you all! For this project, I used multiple art mediums to showcase what I learned from some of the best artisans the Wolf Tribe has to offer. I tried to bring out the essence of the Wolf Tribe, as far as I understand it, in my work.”

Durfein pulled the cloth off the hiding rectangle to reveal a beautifully crafted, one-of-a-kind, decorative screen. There were audible gasps across the courtyard followed by clapping. The screen had a thin white cloth at the center, painted with shimmery silvers, deep, warm blues, and black to imitate the Crescent Lake landscape under a full moon. An intricate weave of reeds stretched the cloth flat and attached to a beautifully carved, black-stained oak frame. The carvings took on the shape of gently curving vines and foliage. Embedded in the oak frame were small, light-colored circular ornaments of stone, polished iron, and porcelain. The ornaments were sculpted to resemble the wild flowers that grew by Crescent Lake. Every detail was meticulously crafted, and each element specially curated to form one cohesive whole.

Durfein let his work speak for itself, took a little bow, and thanked the Alpha for giving him the opportunity to study Wolf Tribe art. Wolf Tribe Leader Lang stood up to shake Durfein’s hand and admire the screen more closely. The crowd was then invited to queue up to view the masterpiece and congratulate the artist.

Lolo didn’t have to be told twice. She jumped up and practically ran to be the first in line. “Durfein! You made this?! It’s incredible!”

Durfein blushed a delicate pink. “Thanks, Lolo.” With a long line forming behind her, Lolo couldn't do much more than give Durfein a quick hug before being swept away.

At long last, the screen was once again covered and moved to the Wolf Tribe council room for display according to Durfein’s request.

“You’re sure you don’t want to take it home with you?” the Alpha questioned for the fourth or fifth time.

“I’m sure. I made it for you and your tribe to express my appreciation for this summer's exchange.” Durfein smiled as he spotted Lolo chattering animatedly in the crowd.

Tribe Leader Lang followed his gaze and chuckled to himself. “Thank you for contributing it to our hall then. I feel honored to receive it.” The Alpha bowed.

“Thank you!” Durfein returned with a bow of his own.

As the lunch hour wound down to a close, the updated tournament bracket made its rounds through the group of trainees.

“Alright, Standig, we’ve been assigned to field three to compete against Haowan and Ulana.”

“Who’s in the other two matches?”

“Sattal and Tamkhee (no surprises there) against Kuchezan and Sharisip. And then Qingchi and Philige against Fortus and Shanti. That hardly seems fair,” Lolo added with a slight scowl. “Two second years against a fifth and fourth year?”

“It’s not as though that can be avoided though,” Standig observed. “The older trainees are going to be over-represented in the final bracket tiers.”

“True,” Lolo sighed. “I guess we’ll all get an opportunity to be the top dogs of the exchange someday.”

Lolo and Standig made their way to field three to warm-up for a few minutes before their fight against Haowan and Ulana.

“Hey, Ulana! We caught the end of your fight against Zhongyan and Et’zana,” Lolo said when Ulana arrived on the field. “I think we can safely credit you for that win.”

“I got lucky,” Ulana grinned modestly. “Et’zana was a tough opponent.”

“And yet, here you are,” Lolo winked and Ulana laughed.

“Lolo,” Standig called her over for a brief huddle, “how do we want to play this?”

“Doesn’t matter to me. Frankly, I’m pretty confident that I could beat either Haowan or Ulana.”

“Same. Any preferences?”

“Want to split guys and girls?”

“Mn," Standig nodded.

“Are you all ready?” The moderator called from behind Lolo. The contestants moved to join the moderator in the middle of the field. “Ready…. Begin!”

It wasn’t much of a match. Standig eliminated Haowan in a handful of attacks, and Lolo had Ulana beat in under a minute. To their credit, Haowan and Ulana took the defeat in stride.

"Who thought putting the two prodigies together was a good idea?" Haowan teased good-naturedly, making everyone laugh.

"Well-done, guys," Ulana added and hugged Lolo.

The group moved to watch the other matches. As they passed field two Lolo was pleased to see Fortus and Shanti putting up a good fight against Philige and Qingchi, but it seemed only a matter of time before they were defeated.

“Let’s go see how the other match is going,” Lolo tugged at Standig’s sleeve.

As they approached field one, Lolo became keenly aware of a certain tension in the crowd. People were booing and shouting angrily at the match moderator and the various contestants. As the match came into view, the reason why was obvious. Sattal and Tamkhee were pushing the absolute limits of the sparring rulebook. Kuchezan and Sharisip were in trouble under the dragons’ relentless assaults, and as Lolo looked closely, she could see that Sharisip was protecting a bleeding injury on his left upper arm.

“Why hasn’t the moderator called for a reset?” Lolo turned to ask Standig.

“I don’t know. When someone is bleeding like that, they are supposed to.”

Lolo watched in shock as Tamkhee kicked Kuchezan in the chest, knocking him backwards into Sharisip. Sattal took full advantage of the situation to knock Sharisip to the ground, forcing him to yield, and Kuchezan moved to counter Tamkhee, unaware that Sattal was now targeting him from behind. Tamkhee blocked Kuchezan’s attack as Sattal brought the hilt of his sword down over Kuchezan’s head, hitting him just above the right ear right as Tamkhee pushed him backwards into Sattal’s swing. Kuchezan hit the ground seeing stars.

The crowd booed angrily as Kuchezan and Sharisip were helped to the medical tent, but technically, the dragons hadn’t done anything illegal. Kuchezan’s injury could have easily been an accident, the result of two separate and perfectly legal attacks that just happened to combine in a way that caused an injury. Had Sharisip not gone down nursing his own injury, the match might not have seemed so controversial or brutal.

“That was….” Lolo trailed off, but Standig seemed to understand and nodded.

After a thirty minute hiatus, it was time for the semi final rounds to begin. With three teams in the semi-finals, one team had to win twice to take the tournament. The first match was Tamkhee and Sattal against Philige and Qingchi. Lolo and Standig, still a little shaken from seeing the way the dragons’ last match ended, found places on the sidelines to watch.

“Begin!”

Within the first couple of minutes, Tamkhee bested Qingchi, but Philige eliminated Sattal before the dragons could gang up on him. One on one, Tamkhee and Philige circled each other for a few moments, each looking for an advantage. Tamkhee rushed Philige so quickly, it was all Philige could do to get out of the way. Tamkhee adjusted his attack to follow Philige’s dodge and brought his sword down over Philige’s retreating head. Philige caught the shift in the attack's trajectory in his peripheral vision and barely deflected it by bringing his sword up over his shoulder and spinning out to face his attacker. A little surprised to be deflected, Tamkhee disengaged long enough for Philige to mount an attack. Philige was quick. His jabs forced Tamkhee back until Tamkhee managed to get his sword up and hit Philige’s to the side. They crossed blades, spitting sparks as they exchanged blows.

From the sidelines, Lolo found herself clinging anxiously to Standig’s sleeve, tense and flinching with every clang of their swords. This match was a little too real, and at some point she realized Tamkhee was striking to kill… or at least seriously maim.

Somehow, Philige prevailed. Backing Tamkhee up against a boulder on the field, Philige managed to thread his sword through another of Tamkhee’s attacks, bringing the edge of his blade up to Tamkhee’s Adam’s apple. The match was over. Lolo was so relieved, she felt woozy.

Philige was given thirty minutes to catch his breath before the next match against Standig and Lolo. If Qingchi and Philige won this match, the tournament went to them. If Huo Lohse and Standig won, they would then have to fight Tamkhee and Sattal to gain the title. And if at that point the dragons gained the victory, a three-way match would be the tie breaker.

Walking onto the field, Qingchi mused, “who knew I’d be fighting with my baby sister in the tournament finals? And you, Philige, fighting against your little brother?”

Lolo shot Qingchi a playful look. “Just don’t be too embarrassed when you lose!”

Qingchi laughed and engaged in the banter. “I’d be too impressed to be embarrassed.”

Philige and Standig exchanged an amused look, and Philige clapped Standig on the back.

“Alright teams. Ready…. Begin!”

It was clear from the start that while Philige and Qingchi had more years of training, Lolo and Standig had more natural talent and raw power. Qingchi hadn’t sparred with his sister since the beginning of the summer and expected to have his usual skill advantage over her. He quickly discovered that her hours of practice with Standig had paid dividends. She was killing him! Qingchi could barely get an attack in. Huo Lohse was quick and resourceful, using the field’s layout to her advantage and forcing Qingchi onto less than ideal footing, while Lolo navigated the uneven terrain expertly.

Philige was no less surprised in his face-off against Standig. Previously evenly matched, Standig was now a much stronger opponent. Philige’s attacks were deflected effortlessly, while Standig’s attacks hit with a precision and ferocity that kept pushing Philige backwards.

In an effort to stay in the match, Philige and Qingchi pulled a switch attack and changed opponents. Standig had never faced Qingchi in a sparring match. This gave both of them the advantage and disadvantage of not knowing each other’s swordsmanship styles. Unfortunately for Qingchi, Standig was a faster learner than him, and Qingchi was quickly disarmed.

On the other side of the field, Lolo had bested Philige before, and it took her only a few maneuvers to best him again. Philige was fast, Lolo was faster, and she had the advantage of a lower center of gravity. When Philige tried to overpower her by bringing his sword down over her head, she moved in too close for his attack to be effective and let his sword fall on thin air. He fell forward following the momentum of his attack as Lolo slipped under his arm, and, once again, her sword rested on his shoulder, ending the match.

Qingchi whistled. “Wow! You two actually beat us. Color me impressed!”

Lolo pulled Philige onto his feet, and nodded across the way to her partner.

“You know that means you have to spar with Sattal and Tamkhee now, right?” Qingchi realized aloud. He drew close to his little sister and whispered a warning in her ear. “They fight dirty. Please be careful.” Pulling away, he gave Lolo a look of utmost seriousness. “Don’t lose.”

Having just finished a desperate fight against them himself, some of the color in Philige’s face drained when it hit him that his brother would have to fight the pair of dragons. “Standig, Sattal and Tamkhee don’t spar. They fight for real. Tamkhee especially doesn’t care about injuring his opponent. He stops short only of killing blows.”

Standig tried to give his brother a reassuring smile, but wasn’t sure if he succeeded. He looked up to find Lolo and waved her over as Philige turned back to the sidelines.

“It’ll be ok, Qingchi,” Lolo was trying to comfort her brother when she saw Standig’s signal. “I need to go discuss strategies with my partner. If all goes well, we won’t have to beat you guys in a rubber match.” She gave Qingchi a wink and took her leave.

“Lolo-”

“Did Philige just give you a talk about being careful in our next match?”

Standig nodded, his face grave. “Lolo, Philige has been around Sattal and Tamkhee a long time. He knows what he’s talking about.”

“What did he tell you?”

“Basically that we needed to be prepared to fight for our lives.”

“It’s that serious?! I was hoping that the match against Kuchezan and Sharisip was a fluke. Why hasn’t anyone stopped them before?”

“Philige said that Tamkhee only stops himself from delivering the final blow. I’d imagine that other injuries can be attributed to errors of judgment or legitimate accidents by the moderators, so he hasn’t been called on it.”

“Did Philige say anything else?”

“Nothing beyond warning us to play for keeps.”

She nodded. “Qingchi gave similar warnings. He said they fight dirty.”

Standig looked ponderous.

“Are you up for this, Standig?”

“Are you?”

They looked at each other. Lolo could see the tension in Standig’s jaw, and couldn’t stop her impulse to try and relieve it. “Hey! I’ve got your back, ok?” She flashed her friend a toothy smile.

Standig studied her expression but remained completely serious. “And I’ve got yours.”