"Which of you will go first?" Aslan Longdell looked at the two princes in the field and asked expressionlessly.
Jacaerys swallowed. He had seen Aslan charge across the battlefield wielding Lion King. The young man before him was not much older than he was, yet his martial skill was already remarkably refined.
Standing to one side, Hofa Lawkeeper coldly tossed Jacaerys a wooden sword. The boy caught it steadily, spun it through a flourish, and fixed his gaze on Aslan's footwork.
"Begin." Hofa raised his wooden spear and brought it down sharply.
Aslan moved, driving straight at him with his wooden sword. Jacaerys raised his blade to block and barely stopped Aslan's first strike. The second came immediately after, then the third. Aslan's sword was fast and fierce, never striking the same place twice. Jacaerys soon found himself struggling to keep up.
Aslan knocked Jacaerys's sword aside and brought his wooden blade down heavily across the boy's waist. Jacaerys groaned in pain, but he kept his footing and slashed at Aslan before he could withdraw his sword.
Thud. Thud.
The first was Aslan grabbing Jacaerys's sword hand. The second was Aslan pulling back his wooden sword and thrusting it into Jacaerys's chest.
Lucerys clenched his fists, sweat already soaking his palms. "Don't worry." Valar placed a hand on his young squire's shoulder. "Aslan knows his limits."
Jacaerys wrenched free from Aslan's grip, endured the pain, and shifted his wooden sword, trying to strike at Aslan's exposed armpit. It was firmly blocked.
"Chipmunk, if you want them to acknowledge you, you need to show them what you can do." Aslan struck Jacaerys across the back again. "A brown-black-haired Valyrian Dragonlord? If you didn't have a dragon, the rumors would have spread everywhere long ago."
Jacaerys did not answer him. He simply