Emeralds and Enemies

Chapter Seven

Wen-Hou tried to stay inconspicuous as he watched the early rounds of the qualifying matches. His friends agreed he should attend as a courtesy to some of his allies but be careful not to signal he might be interested in recruiting. He stood at the back of the first balcony with some of the families there to cheer on their boys.

The larger training yards had scouts on the bleachers at the end of the field and drew attention from the competitors and judges alike. They made a show of presenting colors and insignia to winning candidates but the contracts, and probably even some of the rankings, had undoubtedly been worked out in advance.

There was an air of desperation among the unclaimed competitors as they went through the different events. For many, this would be their only chance to join a training yard and do their required service in the reserves, instead of the lower ranks of the army. In Wen-Hou's judgement there were only one or two who might deserve better placements but even they faced disappointment.

"Any prospects in that flight?" Zhong-mi asked knowing it was not likely.

Wen-Hou gave his friend a sharp look. He worried what someone who overheard the remark might think but then realized it was the type of banter that might be expected from casual observers.

"A couple might do if they had better balance."

"Or their families had deeper pockets?" Zhong-mi's cynicism had grown as he watched who was being courted by the recruiters.

Wen-Hou ignored this remark and wound his way through the cluster of family members who were departing with the senior group. The next flight had the full attention of the recruiters as it contained many highly ranked prospects. One who caught Wen-Hou's eye was a very elegant swordsman but he was certain the youth would have already been signed to a training yard.

He was pleasantly surprised when the young man ignored the ranks of the selected candidates gathered in the bleachers and came to sit in the balcony with his family. When he got a closer look, he realized it was the young man who had approached their table at the teahouse. It was interesting to see a candidate for the championships participating in open matches so he put extra warmth in his smile when he caught the boy's eye.

Most of the recruiters departed with their newly confirmed cadets before the field was reset for the junior competitors. The friends couldn't help grinning at each other now their wealthier rivals had departed. There was a bit of a delay as the judging tables were moved to take advantage of the little shade available.

Wen-Hou's position offered a clear view of the corridor where the competitors were waiting. Jostling in the line up signaled a brewing dispute. A couple of bigger boys seemed to be pushing others around. A smaller boy was trying to take a stand but was getting the worst of it. Suddenly a whirl of dust pushed the bigger boys up against the wall and they struggled to stay on their feet. The bullies turned to the wall and covered their eyes. They did not see a young man finished a pirouette behind them. Wen-Hou grinned widely and pointed the boy out to his companion. He recognized the dervish trick Training Master Wu only taught to the most promising students.

In the past few weeks Junseo drilled the third-dan sets over and over. The only breaks he took from the structured patterns were when he spared in the palace yard. Even there the training master kept after him to stay in form. At first practicing without his usual assortment of crystals had made him feel sluggish and he was not as confident as usual. Putting the two bullies in their place with a whirlwind reminded him that he did not need to mediate his energies through specific stones. He was naturally anchored to the earth. He took a measured breath before looking around to see if anyone had noticed what he had been up to. The bully's victim gave Junseo a shy smile. The other boys in the line-up were making remarks about karma so Junseo trusted he was in the clear.

He tried to stay toward the middle as they filed out to do the initial patterns as a group. The field captain noticed and directed him over to the front corner. He hurried into place and started the salutation a beat behind the others. Within in breath or two he found the proper flow and relaxed into the moves. The only mistake he made was doing a reverse, rather than forward flip toward the end of the set. He corrected his position with two forward flips and hoped he would not be docked too much for the error. He did not notice the smattering of applause from the small audience but did catch some of the suspicious looks from some of the other competitors.

Wen-Hou winced as he took in the boy's rebounding flips. There was nothing wrong with the boy's form and up until that point it would have seemed his training was just slightly ahead of his years. The error's immediate correction signaled something else and the remaining recruiters were now conferring as the individual matches were lined up.

Junseo was not at all discouraged by having drawn a match against one of the bullies from earlier. The boy had a slight advantage in size but Junseo was confident. When his first opponent displayed more aggression than finesse it was easy to throw the balance. In only a few minutes he won the match with a quick shoulder toss. The boy ignored Junseo's hand up and stalked out the ring.

Junseo's other opponents showed better sportsmanship but not greater skill so he was left wondering why so much had been made of competing in the capital. He had finished his matches well ahead of the others and did not have any tell-tale chalk marks on his plain blue dobak.

"Have to give it to him for neatness," Zhong-mi observed.

"Very economical, but I think others have noticed." Wen-Hou nodded in the direction of a scout signaling for a messenger. "I wonder if he will get permission to make an offer."