Round Robin (1)

"Great!" Earl clapped his hands once with a smile on his face. "In that case we will start with a match up between the birthday boy and one of you five and then the adults will decide the pairings from there. Which of you wants to give sparring Jien a try?" Earl said this with a smile but there seemed to be a slightly devious glint in his eyes that was not usually there. This was a chance to show both the adults and children of the neighboring territories how great Jien was. This was his son's debut and he had to make it count or else it was quite possible that while Jien wouldn't be bullied or trampled on that he would be swept up in the waves.

Jien's own response to this development was almost to sigh. Why had his father chosen to do this to him? He just wanted to sit back and read books but he was being forced to be the center of attention. Meanwhile the other children found this to be relatively normal, wouldn't any parent want to make their child the center of the event if they were playing host?

It was only a moment after the question was asked when Rosalind seemed to regain her energy suddenly in a that would make a volcanic eruption seem tame in comparison. She practically jumped from her chair and raised her hand high saying "Me! I will spar with him!" Hearing this and seeing the large broad headed hammer sitting on its head near her seat the other noble children looked over at Jien with a slight hint of pity in their eyes along with a drastic look of relief. Maybe this hyper girl would wear herself out before she faced them and make their lives easier.

Jien this time did not hold back his sigh, which everyone ignored, treating it as if he had just sat there quietly. At seeing that nobody was going to try and save him from this predicament he sighed once again while standing up and picking up his sheathed rapier that had been resting against his seat. He quickly connected it to his belt once more and gave the hyper, orange haired girl a deadpan look. "Let's get this out of the way shall we?" Saying this, without waiting for the others he started to make his way from the room in the direction of the door leading to the training ground, knowing that that was where this part of the day would be spent.

It didn't take long for the others to follow after him. Of all of them Rosalind was the first to head in the direction of his back, slinging her pole hammer over her shoulder as if it didn't weigh anything despite how heavy it looked. Of course anyone could see how heavy it was because as she lifted it to set it on her shoulder the muscles on her delicate arms seemed to bulge out some but more that that where they did bulge one could clearly see that there was more power than the level of muscle mass should have.

Once they all made their way out of the manner and to the flat dirt covered training field Mark and Emily stepped forward. "We will be the two watching over this match to ensure your safety." Mark said facing the solemn Jien and the excited Rosalind. "Both of you choose a side roughly ten meters from each other and then we will begin the match on my count."

Jien walked to the far end of the training ground making sure that the appropriate amount of distance was between them before facing Rosalind who was giving her large pole hammer a few swings as if swinging a wooden club made of pine wood. He sighed again, looking almost gloomy as he drew his rapier and took a half-hearted stance. He was wondering what he had done to deserve this. All he wanted to do was spend his time reading but now he was forced to spar with this highly energetic girl.

It was then that he decided to end the match as fast as he could. It may require a bit more mana and strength than he would have used in the average sparring match but he felt that if he could do it he would be saving himself a lot of grief moving forward. Having had that thought he looked over to Mark who was to his right, between the two of them and then at Emily who was to the left opposite Mark.

Mark raised his hand to perform a chopping action and stated calmly but with conviction. "On the count of three." Both Jien and Rosalind took a more serious stance. Jien lowered himself close to the ground in a sprinters position with his rapier in one hand and his other hand off to the side of his body with a mixture of relaxed tension, preparing to use his hand to draw sigils. Rosalind took her own grounded stance, grabbing her pole hammer firmly with both hands, her arms bulging against the delicate fabric of her sleeves and a determined look in her eyes.

"One!" Jien began to pull on the mana from his body, starting it's process in body casting. He pulled a second filament of mana to the tip of his empty hand and yet another to his throat so that he could cast by his voice. Lastly he took some mana and sent it through his hand holding his rapier without injecting it. When the time came he would choose whether to use the formation of his rapier for the paralytic, the wind enchantment or to unseal the Vine Guard. He had learned early that preparation in a battle was paramount if you had time for it.

"Two!" Rosalind smiled as she noticed how seriously Jien had become. She understood immediately that he was aiming to make this short and she couldn't quite decide if that was what she wanted or not. As she was thinking it over she passed a small tinge of mana to her serpent shaped necklace. In response the golden shaped jewelry turned into a dark shadowy fog before seeming to uncoil and sink into her skin.

"Three!" Mark dropped his hand, signaling the start of the match.