The evening at the Go's residence had been more formal than he had hoped and his uncle's subsequent quizzing over the Minister's guests taxing. Junseo was embarrassed over losing his temper, finally asking the man if he was doing a write-up for the protocol office. The slip might not have been so bad if his sister had not laughed and promised to tell Granny Min.

"Please don't. If she finds it funny, she is bound to tell the Dowager and it may get back to Knight-Master Lei," he had pleaded but that just gave his uncle an excuse to go off on a tangent about the older woman's notorious improprieties and willingness to trade on childhood associations. His sister listened impatiently, then interrupted.

"It was the Dowager who summoned Granny. She was curious about why Knight-Master Min's old armor needed to come out of the palace storage so don't go blaming any of us, and especially not Junseo." Numni thrust out her chin and stamped her foot. Headmaster Kim backed away muttering about the unruly women. Junseo stared at the floor fighting back the fit of giggles this interaction prompted.

"So, is that old armor useful? I heard Grampa was a large man so I can't imagine it on my little brother," Numni winked.

"It fits well enough, so either Grampa was not that large, or I am not that little anymore."

"I hope it brings you luck but I would rather you would be more careful than lucky. I didn't expect they would be deploying crystals before the final rounds but it seemed like the locking rings were charged up. Could you sense them?"

Junseo shrugged, "I wouldn't be the only one to notice. Not after we all had to hand over our stones last week to keep things more level." He unconsciously rubbed the wrist where the bulk of his crystal collection used to rest.

"Alright, I won't worry about it too much. I mean you are still recovering so your crystal energy might be unpredictable but you know your own limits," she patted his shoulder then wished him a good night.

Junseo was up and away early the next morning. His nerves about the competition spurred him out of bed but avoiding his uncle pushed Junseo to jog down the street nibbling on what he could sneak out of the pantry. Chenhui and one of the younger boys met his at the arena gates.

"I thought you would be over with the horses by now," Junseo said.

"We are your runners and seconds today. The schedule won't be posted for a while yet so let's find the equipment stores," Chenhui pointed to one of the long low tents across the field.

"Fine, but let's make it quick. I want to see what sort of horses San Jin and Hae-sung drew," Junseo's remark got a curious look from his young helper.

"Each team contributes mounts and some of the larger yards do special training to make them harder to figure out. San Jin says it's usually just mixed-up signals or maybe a command to buck or rear you wouldn't expect."

"That is so mean," the boy frowned. When they checked in with San Jin, they found out it could be even worse. Whenever he tried to tighten the girth, the horse kicked. It didn't matter which side he tried the result was the same.

"I hate to say it but I think we need to tie her back legs. Do you think you guys can hold her? Maybe Chenhui can stand at her head with some treats." San Jin helped the group get safely in place before his next approach. Very little bribery was necessary as once all the ropes were on the feisty mare settled. A quick flick of her ear was the only sign of her former temper. Once San Jin was mounted, she turned her head around to sniff his knee, gave a little shake, and walked placidly to her place in the starting line-up. Hae-sung and Song-hee seemed to have matters well in hand for the second heat so Junseo just waved to them before heading out to look for his own match schedule.

The competitors were gathering around the boards. A pair of the larger boys, with no affiliation markers jostled Junseo and made rude comments about country bumpkins not knowing their place but he ignored the provocation.

"Saving it all for your matches, hey junior," one of the Sun Temple trio teased. Junseo rocked back on his heels switching into a ready stance before he notices the warmth in the boy's smile.

"Who needs more trouble on a day like this," he said looking to the way the clouds were rolling in.

"Yeah, this might be a mud-bowl by this afternoon," the temple boy said before thrusting out his hand. "I'm Initiate Kwan-jo, you probably don't remember but we met your first day at the Sun Temple."

Junseo bowed saying, "It is an honor to be recognized outside of the terraces."

"Relax. No need to be formal when we have the same ranking for our hand-to-hand." Kwan-jo pointed to the board where they were both listed in the topflight. "There was a bit of a fuss over someone your age at our level but our training masters insisted so don't mess up in the first round."

"Right," Junseo said vaguely as he tried to sort through his schedule. He pointed to the boards, asking Chenhui if he missed something. Chenhui looked puzzled then suggested the find a marshal to clear things up. They had to hurry to get Junseo kitted up for his first fencing match.

"Sorry guys if you want to go watch the races you can. I should be fine from here, just put my dobak on top of my pack."

"Nah. I'm good but maybe the youngster can bring us updates." Chenhui's offer was immediately accepted and the young boy bounded off.

"You sure?" Junseo asked knowing how much Chenhui admired the cavalry style relay races.

"I don't expect my father will be interested in these early matches. The stakes won't be nearly as high at the first heats so it should be safe." Chenhui said quietly as he adjusted Junseo's armor.

Junseo nodded carefully walked the strip to check the footing. His competition was doing the same but did not acknowledge him. They made their way to the official for final instructions and waited for the signal to start. Junseo took a series of deep breathes looking for his center trying to tell himself it did not matter if he was up against one of the capital's favorites, silently reminding himself he routinely practiced with an equally skilled fencer, who had drilled the special defenses against the styles preferred by the top trainers in Lesou. He couldn't help admiring his opponent's finesse but scored with some of his more battle-ready moves. The bell rang and they changed ends. This time Junseo advanced with more confidence but faced swift counter moves and the match went back and forth with no clear win. Time ran out and the judges awarded the win to the more senior of the pair.

"Too bad, I thought you might have him at the start of the second round." Chenhui handed over a towel.

"I'm just glad to push it to a point-based decision. No seriously, he nearly disarmed me right at the start, and I really had to hold my ground not to get pushed off-side." Junseo smiled at his teammate and took a quick sip of water.

"Not too much," Chenhui put his hand on the earthen jug, "You are up again in couple of minutes. Look, they are walking the strip already." He pointed to the left.

"Alright," Junseo said then did a quick series of stretches before heading to the neighboring strip. It took Junseo less than a minute to disarm the boy and it was hard to say who looked more surprised by the result.

"Oh, well done!" the academy trainer congratulated Junseo, adding, "Headmaster Kim's confidence was not misplaced. Give him my best when you see him." Junseo blushed as he bowed. He then nudged Chenhui who spoke up.

"Thank you, sir. We will keep you in mind but if we don't hurry, we will miss our teammate's race." He gave full attention to the straps and buckles to release Junseo from his protective gear and quickly stowed the equipment.