A first person experiment

Blue light flashed in defiance of a waning sun. A crimson aura surged forth across the open plain. I set my stance and prepared myself; thirty paces away my opponent did the same.

She lunged forward, hurling another lightning javelin from the tip of her wand. I again leapt aside and sent a fireball as a counter attack. A restraining spell served as my follow up. She blasted it apart with enough strength to send most of the energy at me. Without time to dodge, I dispelled the attack with a ward. She pressed the offensive laying in a dozen quick strikes forcing me to tumble out of the way.

At the first opening I tried for a disarm. She dodged it with a snappy alteration. We locked eyes and as one raised our wands in front of our faces. The gathered crowd leaned forward in the stands. All knew that we had felt each other out; the real dueling was about to begin.

This was going to be a very close duel. We were both powerhouses, the top mythril class. I was a mixed duelist, using both magic and agility. She followed an offensive tactic of overwhelming the opponent with a high volume of spells. Normally this wouldn't be an issue, except she could put a lot of strength behind each of her spells. I couldn't relax my guard for a moment.

Unfortunately, I already had. During my analysis I was slightly distracted; my opponent noticed. In the span of a wink I was on the receiving end of a hail of spells, different ones too. Half of them exploded against my ward, a few twisted through the air toward me, the rest were a mix of ice and lightning darts.

She might have won right then if my reflexes had been just a little slower. Without thinking I doubled my ward and zig-zaged forward. I tried to deflect the spells back at her, but there were too many. I was forced to stay on the defensive. I turned my effort back to my ward, and had an idea.

I planted my feet in a weaver stance and reached out my wand toward my opponent. As I did, I pushed out my ward, curving it around my adversary. She looked confused at first, then as my ward got closer she understood. To defend herself, she cast a ward of her own to try and undo mine. I held firm, tightening my ward around her as closely as I could.

Light erupted where the two wards met. There was a smattering of applause from the audience as we held each other in check. Then I had another idea. Once I released my support, my ward was quickly eaten away. But it gave me the time to quickly conjure a long chain and animate it to bind my fellow duelist.

It reached her just before she resumed her overwhelming assault. As my chain entangled her arms and bound her legs, I launched another disarming spell. With a blast she deflected my spell, then disintegrated the chain. Our next attacks met mid-air with a forceful explosion

I picked myself up and wiped the sweat off my brow. An orb of energy rushed at me, no time for a war. I swung out my wand and directed the attack to my right. I dropped to one knee, finish this NOW! I told myself. I couldn't afford to redirect another spell. I bellowed and from my wand emerged a wide blast of raw essence. The blast destroyed a hastily cast ward and knocked back my opponent. I raised my wand, my next spell ready in mind. Then I heard it, "Yield! I yield." I won the duel.

The crowed applauded, an announcement was made that I, Arminius Traffurd, had won by disarming my opponent with a wand inversion. I got up onto my feet and staggered over to congratulate my opponent on a brilliant duel.

"That was very well done," I helped her to her feet.


"Thank you," she said in kind, accepting my extended hand. "You are a duelist of many surprises. I can count on one hand the number of times one of my spells has been redirected."

"I practice many unusual maneuvers," I explained. "And it's a good thing too! If not for that, you'd have had me from the start."

She nodded politely and stiffly began to walk off the dueling platform. "It was a pleasure dueling you." She smiled glancing back.

I smiled.

"You as well Miss Katarina," I limped off of the platform to accept congratulations from the duel's sponsors.