Arya led Jasper to a room on the second floor that had an ornate wooden sign hanging outside it. 'Vice Captain's Office.' He followed Arya as she knocked and let herself in. "Who the hell? Oh Arya. When I said knock next time, I meant wait for me to tell you to come in." A woman's voice lectured.
As Jasper got into the room, he saw her. She was tall and looked similar to Arya. She seemed to be in her late twenties and had dark purple hair. It was straight and fell to her shoulders. Her face was similar to Arya's as well except for the serious eyes. "Isla. How are you today?" Arya said. She locked her sister into a hug.
Isla pushed her off and looked to Jasper. "Who's this?" She asked. "I ran into him on the road and thought he'd be a valuable asset to the clan. He's Jasper West, the youngest of the Lord's children, and the one-" Arya explained before her sister interrupted.
"Who's got a necrotic affinity. Huh." She said. She put her finger to her chin and inspected Jasper. She pulled his arm up and pulled his sleeve back. Her fingers pressed into his forearm and bicep.
He confusedly complied before he realized what she was looking for. He flexed his relaxed muscles, and she seemed happy with it. "There's that West family training. Dense muscles at 18. You know, I fought your older sister a couple of times." She said.
"Which one?" Jasper asked.
"Astrid." Isla clarified.
Jasper nodded, "I hope you won." He said simply.
Isla smirked and looked to Arya. "What are you vouching for him? Our selection period already ended for first years." She said.
"I encountered an Ethereal spirit that he'd survived. He was also responsible for warning me of a potentially lethal attack." Arya described.
"Oh, so this is a life debt, huh? Have you seen him in combat?" Isla asked.
"It is not. I had planned on bringing him to be assessed before the incident. I've not personally seen him in combat." Arya said.
"Not personally?"
"No, I haven't seen him in combat. Though I believe you'd find him impressive." Arya answered.
Isla glanced back at Jasper. "You know, if I admit a necrotic user, I'll be criticized by some." Isla commented.
"You're always criticized by some. They're stopping you from making decisions now?" Arya said.
Isla held eye contact with her sister for a moment. "Unfortunately, I can't admit him unless someone's seen him fight. He could be a trash fighter, and I'd have admitted someone useless." Isla said with a shrug.
Arya narrowed her eyes. "So what do you propose?" She said.
Isla tapped her foot on the ground. "To even admit someone after the selection period, they'd have to be better than 75 percent of the new first years. Add on the fact that he has a necrotic affinity adds a couple of points. And of course, he's been disowned from the Lord's family, so that's plus one." Isla added up numbers on her fingers.
"How'd you know that?" Jasper asked. He wasn't sure if his disownement was public or not.
"I have friends in places. I got an idea. I'll have one of the top ten first years so far spar him. I know just the student. I'll invite some higher-ups in the clan to watch." Isla said. She smiled neutrally as she looked at her sister. Jasper realized their relationship was not all good things. He was a bargaining chip right now.
Arya sighed and rubbed her head. "C'mon, Isla. You know that's not fair. It's the first week in his journey, and you're gonna put him against people who've been training here for months. And to have the higher-ups watch? That's just unnecessary for this." She reasoned.
"I have some goals of my own I need to accomplish. Unless you have anything else to offer?" Isla said with a grin.
Jasper spoke up. "Sounds good. I'll take the fight."
Arya looked at him, surprised. "I know you're the Lord's son, but these first years already have experience in the spirit world, and some of the top ones can already manipulate spirit energy. You can't take them lightly." She said.
Isla laughed slightly. "Coming from the girl who was top 3 in her year." She commented.
Arya glared at Isla and turned to Jasper. "You may be good, but I haven't seen it personally. I advise against it." Arya said.
Jasper shrugged. "I have nothing to lose. Except your reputation, I guess. Oh shit, I do have something to lose." He realized. His eyes were wide as he considered things.
Arya looked at her sister, concerned. "Alright then, I'll schedule it for later tonight. Arya, why don't you get him ready." Isla said. Arya sighed as she dragged Jasper out of the vice captain's office. They exited the building and reached the group, who were posed up outside the building.
Arya rubbed the bridge of her nose as she spoke to them. "My sister's having him 'spar' a top ten first year to prove himself. She's inviting higher-ups to watch for some reason. I thought maybe she'd try something, but I didn't think it would be this."
Weston scratched his head as he thought. "Wait, doesn't that one higher up, Marco, have a granddaughter who's in the top ten first years? Doesn't he oppose your sister at every step ever since she became vice captain?" He said.
"Ah, of course! She's using this as a way to strengthen her position. Jasper, she's betting on you winning, too." Arya realized.
Jasper nodded as he felt more pressure appear on his shoulders. "I'll do my best." He said with a smile.
Weston punched Jasper lightly in the stomach. "You're awfully unconfident for a Lord's kid. Believe in yourself and get the job done." He encouraged.
Jasper closed his fist. "I just don't know what I'm going against. They could be weaker than me or much stronger. I don't know what to expect." Jasper said.
"I think that you're at least at a level where you can compete." Brackton said. Jasper looked to the tall man and nodded. "If I can compete, I can win."
Jasper stretched his shoulders as Arya talked to him. "She's known for her speed and reaction time. She'll try to end the fight fast, so be ready. On the other side of this door is the outdoor battlefield.
She'll be standing on one side, just go to the other. There'll be a referee and spectators. Ignore the spectators and focus on winning. I wouldn't be surprised if that damn Marco doesn't try to create a distraction on the sideline. Oh, that's you. Win this!" Arya pushed Jasper forward.
Jasper stumbled into the door and glanced back at Arya, who gave him a big thumbs up. The rest of the group was in the stands and ready to watch the spar. Jasper gripped his sword and shield and walked onto the dirt battlefield. Across the rectangle stood a girl his age. She had a sleek helmet on and carried a sword and shield.
Her eyes glowed with purple energy as she watched her opponent enter the ring. Jasper threw a glance at the stands and saw a bunch of individuals who gave off powerful energy. The higher-ups. He estimated 15 people were watching him whom he didn't know.
He focused his attention back on his opponent and watched the ref walk down to the middle. "Both of you come here." He said. Jasper walked forward, his body preparing for the coming battle. As he reached the referee, he started speaking again. "Only one spirit may be used for spirit possession or summoning. The fight will end when one of you admits defeat or I decide the fight is over. Shake hands." He said.
Jasper reached his hand forward and shook the girl's hand. She smiled and spoke to him. "It'll be an honor to defeat the Lord's child." She had brown pigtails that shook as she spoke.
Jasper tilted his chin up. "I suggest you take this slower than you were planning. The match will end too quickly." He said. It was in this moment that Jasper decided to use his blood spirit. His control over it was weak, but if he gave it a clear opponent, he could see its value.
He wouldn't let the spirit target the girl directly and instead would push it to the girl's spirit. He doubted she'd only use the spirit through spirit possession. It would just be more effective to make it a 2 on 2. Jasper was worried about her spirit and her working in tandem. That was one thing he couldn't do with his blood spirit.
The girl seemed to be only spurred on by his comment. And the way she was twitching, he bet she'd still take this fast. One of his best qualities was his battle iq. He knew how to take someone's attack and use it against them. Either way, an assault launched as fast as possible will have holes in its defense. That's what Jasper will exploit. "Return to your starting places." The ref said.
Jasper walked back and readied himself. He talked to the blood spirit in his head and gave it an overview of what to expect. He knew it could hear him, but it gave no indication that it would listen. That's fine. Jasper wasn't going to lose.