"Ok students, please quiet down." A tall, athletic man stepped up onto the battle-ring floor, looking out over the crowd. Link nodded appreciatively, the way this man stood and conducted himself showed that he clearly knew his way around the ring. The man waited for everyone to cease talking before continuing. "Thank you for choosing battle ring as one of your electives," He said, "It is an ancient and noble sport, and I'm glad the new generations haven't lost respect for it. "My name is Instructor Raru; I was a professional Battle-Ring combatant for many years before stepping down to coach the sport. I have been at Hylia Academy for ten years now, and I am excited to coach another group of Ringers." Link found himself smiling again. 'Ringers' referred to those who competed in Battle-Ring, and Raru had just addressed them as such. "Because you are freshmen, your first few trainings will be held with only your classmates. I don't want any of you getting knocked unconscious by a fifth-year on accident." Nervous chuckles ran through the crowd, and Raru grinned. "Now, I need to warn you. While all of you may believe you are ready for the challenges of life in the ring, this is a difficult sport, and above that, the rules only allow thirteen Ringers per battle. That means not all of you will be able to make this team." Link frowned at Yunobo; he had expected this, but it was still ominous to hear. "And as much as I want to take all of you to the championship, my job here is to create the best team I can, and if that means giving your place to someone more talented, then I will. I don't enjoy doing this, but unfortunately it's necessary. "By my count there are twenty-seven of you signed up. We lost eight members to graduation last year and two to different electives, which means that ten spots are open. By the end of this month, I will be forced to remove all but ten of you from the team." Murmurs spread through the crowd, that was way worse odds than they had expected. "To determine who we will be removing, and who we will be keeping on the team, for the next month, you may all consider yourselves Ringers in training. You are not true Ringers; that title is reserved for those who enter the ring and exit with honor. But by the grace of Hylia, in one month's time that name will be yours." Over the next month, you will attend trainings, learning and practicing. It will not be easy, and at times you may desire to quit altogether. Don't give in to that urge. At the end of the month, I will select the ten participants who have performed the best, and they will be promoted to the team. "This is a promising group, and I trust you will excel in this sport." "Only ten spots," Link whispered to Yunobo. "That's worse than I expected." The Goron shrugged. "Yeah well, when is life ever what you expect?" He said, leaning in, "Also, off-topic, but did you notice Sidon and that other Zora?" Link chuckled. "Yona? Yeah, he seemed pretty interested, huh?" "Bro, he couldn't take his eyes off her." Yunobo laughed as Raru led the group towards the gates. "Where are we going?" Link asked. "I'm not sure," Yunobo replied, shrugging as they walked through the gateway, exiting the school and turning to follow the walls right. "Oh, I'll bet this is one of the sports that meets outside the campus." Link said. "A lot of them have their practices and stuff outside the walls so they have enough room." "Makes sense." A couple more minutes of walking brought them to a small wood, and Raru stepped through the treeline confidently, weaving between oaks and pines as though he'd walked this trail a thousand times. "I guess that our practice area is way outside the walls then." Yunobo muttered as they followed the instructor through the trees. "Think we'll see a bokoblin out here?" "A bokoblin? This close to people? Not a chance. The Guard has driven them to near extinction; they wouldn't dare come this close to civilization." "Still, it'd be cool to see one. I've never even seen a picture." "Really?" "Yeah. My people drove them out of our mountain generations ago, and we don't exactly preserve records of our enemies." "Huh. Well, I have one of their horns; I'll show you when we get back." Yunobo glanced at him in shock. "You have a Bokoblin horn?" He asked incredulously. Link nodded. "A blue one, yeah." "How did you get it? Link, you could make a small fortune off that thing." "It's a long story." Link said, eyeing the surrounding students, "I'll tell you later." "You didn't steal it, right?" "Really Yunobo?" "Im kidding, don't worry. I don't think you're a thief. You'd make a terrible one. Too moral." "Morality doesn't mean you're a terrible thief. I mean, we wouldn't even be here if that were true." "Students!" Raru called from up front, "Welcome to The Grove!" Link whistled as the group entered a clearing ringed by trees. Finish in credits
Thick, green grass blanketed the floor, broken by the occasional boulder or stump. A small, clear stream ran through the center, laughing and splashing cool water onto the bank. Several practice dummies were set up on the right side of the clearing, and three large white circles were painted on the grass in the middle.Tall oaks rimmed the edge of the clearing, shielding the sanctuary from the outside, while the cool spring breeze brought the scent of oak and pine whispering through the grass. The warm rays of the sun shone down, balancing the cool wind perfectly. "This is known as The Grove," Raru said from up front, turning to face the students, "It is our sanctuary from the outside, sheltered deep in the woods. This place has been our practice field for centuries, known to no students save the Ringers. The location of this clearing must not be disclosed to any save your fellow Ringers. Here you will train and learn the noble art of Battle Ring. If everyone will please take up position in front of a dummy, we will begin our first training session."
