The wooden sword was swinging in towards Link's left leg. Link deftly parried the strike and tried to stab at Lance's right shoulder with her own sword. With a twist Lance dodged, spinning into a horizontal slash that forced Link to jump back before charging in again with a fast overhead slash. Lance seems to just barely deflect the blow aside, and just barely block the follow-up attack. Link is feeling confident today. She never manages to get Lance to defend this much, normally she's the one defending. Maybe, just maybe, today will be the day. Grabbing her sword with both hands she quickly thrusts forward and tries to whip her sword sideways to catch Lance as he dodges, but in a flash something happened. The next thing she knew, she was on her back on the floor, a slight pain in her wrist and shoulder, and feeling slightly dazed.

"Do you know what happened just now Link?" Lance asked, his voice calm and friendly, as always. It was something she liked about him, that he never got arrogant. He was always helpful and trying to teach rather than show off his skills.

Sitting up and rubbing her sword arm, Link thought for a moment about what had just happened, tried to recall every detail of the last five seconds of the sparring match. She had thrust her sword, Lance had dodged, as planned. Link whipped her sword sideways…or tried to at least. In the moment after her stab, Lance hadn't dodged purely sideways, but was moving towards Link as well, his off-hand coming off his sword and grabbing Link's left wrist, pinching it in that perfect way that made Link let go of her sword, and skillfully stepping into her zone and throwing her, all in such a short moment, she hadn't grasped what had happened.

"Well?"

"I tried to use a move on you that you taught me yourself." Link said dryly, knowing exactly where she went wrong. It was not in the execution of the move, which she would have done perfectly. It was using the right move on the wrong person.

"Exactly." Lance's hand appeared in front of Link, an offer to help her up which she accepted. After pulling her up, Lance continued. "I promise you though, if you had used that move on someone else, who wasn't waiting for it, it would have worked."

"Maybe, I won't know for sure until I try it on someone else." Link said, dusting herself off. Taking a break in their sparring, Link looked around at her school. It was the High Academy of Swordsmanship, a prestigious institution for those wanting to join the Royal Army. Located in the city of New Hyrule, it was just a couple streets away from the main gate of Castle Hyrule. There were rumors that the school was due for an overhaul though, despite its fame. But this was because of the advancement of technology. Gunpowder and Crystal Magic weaponry was becoming more useful and becoming easier to mass produce. The fact that people can fight from a distance was heralding the end of swordsmanship, though the school and the Royal Army stubbornly clung to tradition. Even if the Royal Knights now needed to learn how to load and shoot a flintlock rifle, or use a Crystal Amulet's Spell, swordsmanship was still prized for its many virtues of honor, skill, and general fitness. Plus Link always loved the feel of a sword in her hand.

"You know, my offer is still standing for personal lessons, Link." Lance said, pulling Link's mind back to the present. Smiling, she looked at Lance and shook her head.

"Sorry, you know I don't have time for lessons outside of class." She gently let him down. Truthfully she did have a little free time, she could take up some extra lessons, but she knew the real reason Lance wanted to be alone with her. But she wasn't interested in courting at the moment. She needed to stay focused on her goal, to be the first non-Gerudo woman in the Royal Army in over a hundred years. As it was, she was the only woman in the academy at the moment. But that was partially the fault of the head instructor.

"Attention boys!" An old, sharp voice called out. "Line up!"

The master of the school had called out. Master Byrnwuld was an old-fashioned man who believed that men were warriors and women were homemakers, only suited for bearing children and cooking food. As such, he had a habit of always saying "boys" or "men" when calling for his students, explicitly excluding Link as the only girl. He was somewhat hostile to any girls who tried to enter his school, generally forcing them to quit. He justified his behavior by saying that since girls were inherently weaker, he had to work them harder to bring them up to the minimum standards of the boys. Link was the first girl to ever endure and make it to her senior year. She almost wanted to thank Master Byrnwuld, because the harshness of her training made her far better than the other students her age. She already defeated several of the Junior Instructors in sparring, with Lance being one of the few she couldn't yet defeat. There was no doubt in her mind that she would get accepted into the Royal Army.

Link hurried and took her place in line, ignoring the glare from Byrnwuld. She was at the far end of the line-up, in the spot usually reserved for the worst student in the school, Master's orders. She took it in stride though, grinning because it was just a joke for her.

"Today we have an officer from the Royal Army come to inspect this year's candidates for entry." Master Byrnwuld spoke to the men at the other end of the line, where the supposed best students stood. Link could barely hear him with about a hundred students distance between him and her, but her ears had grown sharp over the years, so she could make out what he was saying, even over the quiet whisperings of the lower students who didn't care about graduation yet. Link felt a tremor of excitement that it was almost time for her entry into the army.

"He'll be here shortly and at that time I'll have my best students come forth and show your skills by sparring with each other. Do me proud lads."

The twenty-odd students at the other end of the line all answered with a prompt and loud "SIR!"

At that time the door at the far end of the dojo opened and everyone looked and watched as a dark-skinned woman strode in and headed straight for Byrnwuld. Her walk was crisp and sharp, and Link quickly saw that she wore an officer's uniform, with many shiny badges and medals on her chest. Her fiery red hair, cropped short in a military cut, and piercing yellow eyes made Link think she looked rather badass. Link briefly thought to herself that Gerudo don't technically count since their race was 98% women anyway. Once Link is in the Army she'll be the first Hylian woman in a hundred years to get in. Still she could already feel an admiration for the officer, being a woman in the army couldn't be easy. Glancing down the line Link saw a stunned look on Byrnwuld's face that brought glee to Link, the Master hadn't expected a woman. Looking back at the Gerudo, Link saw her yellow eyes staring straight at her, a curious look on her face. Quickly the woman looked away and soon arrived next to Byrnwuld.

"Colonel Naboora, reporting for the inspection of potential Royal Army candidates." The woman spoke to Byrnwuld after snapping a smart salute. Composing himself somewhat, Byrnwuld would talk back.

"Colonel? I thought…never mind. Welcome to my Academy." Byrnwuld was clearly annoyed that a woman had come to inspect, and even more annoyed that any woman could be an officer. Turning he made a quick hand motion for his students to step forward, and they all did so. "These are my twenty-five best students. They are my recommendation for the Army. If you'll let me, I'll pair them up for sparring to let you see their skills."

Naboora nodded sharply saying, "Do so. But save your best and bring him to me."

Byrnwuld smiled. It was common practice for the inspecting officer to spar against the top student personally, measuring their skills and later interviewing them for potential officer placement. And judging by the look on his face, Byrnwuld fully expected his student to easily defeat the woman. With a motion, Byrnwuld called his student over.

"This is Viscen, my finest student. He'll be sparring with you today." He said smugly. His smile faltered however when he saw the equally smug smile on Naboora's face.

"No, I'm thinking he will fight…the girl at the end of the line." The officer said, turning and looking straight at Link. All the students in between the two women turned and stared wide-eyed at Link, though some didn't look too surprised. It made somewhat sense that the officer would notice Link being the only girl, and would be interested. But she was at the end of the line, the spot reserved for the most failing student. Quickly composing herself, Link strode forward, not even waiting for Byrnwuld to motion her over, she doubted he ever would. Standing in front of the Gerudo woman, she stood at attention and waited for orders, trying hard to suppress her own smile.

"What is your name, girl?" Naboora asked.

"Link, Ma'am." Link had to resist the urge to say more than was necessary. She knew she was the best student, but she also knew that the Army respected humility.

"Why are you placed at the end of the line?" She asked, her eyes saying she knew the answer, but wanted Link to say it aloud.

Link hesitated though, glancing at her instructor. This was something of a crossroads. If she said the truth, the instructor would likely kick her out of the school, and her only hope would be to impress the officer directly and get recruited on her recommendation. She would have to be perfect in her display of skills.

"I'm at the end of the line because Master Byrnwuld is chauvinistic and thinks that the strongest woman is weaker than the weakest man." Link's voice as she declared the truth rang clearly through the entire gym. She could hear many of the students behind her gasping in surprise.

"I see. In that case, let's see how the woman fairs against the strongest man, shall we? If that belief is true, you should be easily defeated." Naboora said, smiling mischievously as she stepped aside, giving Link and Viscen room to spar.

Link glanced over at Byrnwuld, who was glaring at her, yet there was a smile on his face. He no longer had to hide his dislike of Link. Stepping over to Viscen, he whispered something in his ear before stepping away. Reading his lips it seemed like he told Viscen to destroy her, so the look of disgust on Viscen's face wasn't a surprise. Link knew and sparred against Viscen all the time. She knew he was a nice guy, and a hard worker. She honestly respected him and hoped that he would get into the Army as well. But she needed to prove herself, so she wasn't holding back. She pulled out her wooden sword and readied herself as Viscen did the same. They nodded at each other, knowing that neither would hold back. Their current win-loss record was at 87-75 in Link's favor. Link knew she was better than him in terms of strength and technique, but he still won quite often because he knew a larger number of techniques than her, thanks to Byrnwuld's personal tutelage. Just because Link could swing a sword better than him, didn't mean he didn't know a dozen counters. His style was generally one of defense, waiting for the right opportunity to counter. This was actually a fair fight.

They reached their swords forward and tapped them together, signaling the start of the match. They had barely tapped when Link and Viscen's swords collided down low. Link had opted for a swift start, having immediately gone for a leg strike, which Viscen had predicted and blocked. Bouncing off the impact Link twirled her sword into an over-head strike at his sword arm, which was parried. Over the next couple seconds Link's sword flew furiously between them and Viscen's responded in kind, blocking all attacks and attempting some of his own. This was how spars between them usually went, though not normally at this speed or intensity. After a few seconds of clashing, they backed off and stared at each other, staying perfectly still as they measured each other. Neither was out of breath despite how hard they were just going at it. Link grinned though. She loved the fact that she was left-handed, it always threw her opponents off in their defense, though Viscen and most of the students here had somewhat adapted. Viscen was in top form today, and so was she.

Both Viscen and Link moved at the same time during the next clash, though they both slowed down a bit. They were carefully aiming their strikes at places they knew the other to be weak at defending, aiming at spots of old injuries and generally putting on a masterful display of swordsmanship. A small part of Link's mind noted that it felt more like they were dancing that fighting, but she quickly put the thought aside and focused on Viscen's blade. After about five minutes of clashing with sweat now dripping off of them and their swords feeling heavy, Link suddenly changed pace. Following the flow of their fight, Link was going to do a quick side-slash before blocking Viscen's attack, but instead she jumped back as she swung her sword. The swing was to make Viscen instinctively block while the jump made sure it missed. Following the momentum of the missed swing and bouncing off her heels, Link jumped, bringing her sword around the side, up, and into an over-head slash while Viscen was off-balance from blocking air. He barely had enough time to bring his sword up as Link came down, blocking the attack. But the force behind Link's attack, and the extended abuse the swords had taken caused them both to shatter at the impact, pelting both of them with shards of wood.

Link and Viscen stood there then, both slightly stunned. No wooden sword had ever broken in the dojo before, as they were built to last and were replaced every month, well before such wear would actually affect them. A chuckle from Viscen brought Link out of her amazement.

"I always knew these swords were too weak for you, Link." He said humbly, standing up and brushing splinters off of himself. His sword arm twitched though, and he quickly grabbed his shoulder with a look of annoyance. "Seems I was defeated. Even if our swords hadn't broken, my arm would have given out. I concede to your skill, Link."

Viscen winked at Link and turned to Naboora, with Link quick to do the same. The Gerudo officer had no look on her face to say whether she was impressed or disappointed. Byrnwuld however looked furious. Link knew he had expected Viscen to win, having always stated every single time that he lost that Viscen was merely holding back because Link was a girl. There was no doubt now, Link was better.

"It seems to me, that if Viscen here was your best student, then Link here was either misplaced in line, you misjudged her abilities, or you're being like she said, chauvinistic." Naboora spoke harshly, giving Byrnwuld no room for redemption. The Gerudo woman turned back to the two students, and spoke to them, Viscen first.

"You, Viscen, show a fine tactical mind. You stayed focused and knew the limits and abilities of both you and your opponent. Your skill is very refined and I can see that you have a large repertoire of combat knowledge. You will make a fine officer in the army. And your genuine humility is nice too." She said, smiling at Viscen. She then spoke to Link.

"You, Link, show great natural talent. The sword moves naturally in your hand. It is clearly an extension of yourself. However, even though I recognize the environment you're in, being a woman in a man's society, your eagerness to prove yourself is dangerous. Just now you nearly broke Viscen's arm, and if you had he would have become useless as a warrior, ending his career before it could begin. I would like to enter you as an officer, but I'll have to take into account your maturity first. You definitely have my recommendation though, and will join the Royal Army one way or another, and I know you'll go far."

Turning, Naboora spoke to Byrnwuld.

"I've seen what I needed to see. Including the rest of you. I already know all your names and relative skill levels before I even came here today. Today was just a formality and exhibition. Fifteen of you will receive invitations to join the Royal Army in a week, five as officers. The rest, while skilled, are not up to the standards we currently require of our soldiers. I take my leave now."

With a salute, Naboora turned and left with the same sharp movements as when she entered. Never did Link ever see someone so strict and powerful in the way they held themselves. She felt like she had a hero to look up to now, even as she felt disappointed that she might not be an officer right away. Turning to the Master, she was about to speak when he cut her off, yelling at her.

"Out of my dojo, Link! You are not welcome here anymore!"

Link blinked, surprised by the outburst from Byrnwuld, who'd always managed to keep his composure in the past. With a smirk, Link felt free to speak her mind.

"I don't believe I was ever welcome here. I'll be glad to take my leave of you." She said, no longer having false respect in her voice. Turning to Viscen she said, "Thanks for the match. Sorry about going too far."

"It's fine, Link. I understand. I wish you luck."

"You too."

Link turned and strode to the showers, a smile on her face. She was going to join the Royal Army!