Chapter 17: The Tooth of the Root

The training ground was a bowl of packed earth ringed by stone benches, and the afternoon sun beat down like a hammer on an anvil. Ryu Jin stood across from a third-year from Tidal Wave House, a boy with shoulders like a yoked ox and a smile that suggested he had already won. His name was Brog, and he had a reputation for ending sparring matches quickly, usually with a single charge that folded hi...