“Enchantments on the field will ensure no wound is critical,” Avaim explained, his voice carrying out to the crowd, “points will be scored for hits based on severity, with additional points scored for knock downs. Knocking out your opponent, delivering a ‘killing’ blow, or forcing them to surrender will result in an automatic win, as will the referee stepping in to call a match if it gets out of hand.

“All magic is available for use during the duel, as the same enchantments that protect against physical damage will ensure no spell is lethal. The challenger has dictated that no time shall be given prior to the duel to pre-cast spells.”

Shaya cursed inwardly.

“Existing enchantments are allowed,” Avaim continued, red cloak billowing in the chill wind, “I shall inspect each duelist to ensure no spells are currently being maintained on them, then they shall report to their designated squares. As per tradition, the challenger stands to the east, and the challenged to the west.”

Shaya felt a slight pressure on her spirit as Avaim probed for ongoing spells.

An active use of Vision, perhaps? She wondered. Rather than just relying on it passively?

Avaim nodded at her when he detected no magic, then followed the same process for Una.

“May the best woman win,” Shaya said to her as they were about to part for their starting spaces.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Una replied with a vicious grin, then walked to her spot, poleaxe over one shoulder.

Shaya finished strapping her shield onto her other arm, checked that her broadsword could be drawn easily from its scabbard, then drew her new axe instead. Unlike the one she took into the swamp, this one had a shorter haft for close-in fighting and a smaller head counter-balanced for throwing. Since Una wasn’t in Foundations and committed to Jade magic tied to woodcraft, Shaya suspected she was attached to her polearm. She was happy to see she was correct, and happier still that Una continued to favour light armour her weapons could punch through easily.

Gods, my armour repair bills are going to kill me. Why is health care free here, but not padding?

Shaya rolled her shoulders, cracked her neck, and readied herself while Una did the same fifty yards away from her.

Good thing it’s overcast today, Shaya said, looking up at the sky as she stretched her neck, otherwise the sun would be beaming into my eyes at this hour.

“Today’s challenger is Una Irvyn, fifth in line of Zothiri’s Dozoel County!” Avaim announced, addressing the crowd in the stands by their dueling ring, “her opponent: Serra Shaya Heirosoth, second in line of Kelahk’s Mangdae County!”

A murmur ran across the stands as Avaim used Shaya’s title, surprising many. Shaya wasn’t particularly proud of how she earned her knighthood, so she usually kept it to herself. The story of the young barbarian already knighted would spread, she was certain, and she’d have to figure out how to explain that she was knighted for saving a stupid girl out of her depth.

Avaim lifted his hand from the edge of the arena. The crowd went silent, tension mounted as all eyes watched the hand. Shaya tried not to focus on it, but it fell in slow motion in her peripheral vision as her adrenaline spiked.

“Fight!”

“Phaedra!” Shaya invoked, feeling her esper appear in a burst of light and connect her to the aetherium. She was drawing in Amber a heartbeat later, her confidence soaring as she took it in and shouted, “Ward me from Jade energy!”

Rather than rely on a directional shield, Shaya went with a tight cylindrical ward, knowing that Una was in Ren’s Floramancy class. She expected plants to be nipping at her heels and trying to restrain her for much of the match, and couldn’t afford to be caught off-guard against Una’s attacks.

Shaya kept back while she cast the spell, but Una advanced towards her while casting, her gladiatorial esper looking appropriate for their surroundings. Shaya kept an eye on her and tensed when Una gestured towards her, the scarred spirit behind her roaring. A slight shift to the ground told her Una had cast her spell faster, and Shaya darted backwards, barely dodging the overgrown grass that tried to ensnare her legs. Another hop took her away from more animated grasss and she finished tracing the last of her circuit two long seconds later, channeling her aether into the spell to form a translucent barrier around her.

With another gesture, Una’s animated grass entwined into two taut ropes and lashed towards her. They smacked off the ward, draining some of the aether from the spell. Beyond the spiteful plant, Shaya heard Una invoking another spell but missed the particulars. Shaya started her next spell as well, impressed at Una’s casting speed and wondering if this was the difference between her and someone who focused on only a single colour’s magic. She took a risk by dropping the invocation, not wanting to reveal her play as the distance between them closed, but worried about how little she had before Una engaged her.

Shaya’s keen eyes let her see the Jade light leave Una’s eyes as she rushed towards her, but the lack of overt effects made her suspect it was an enhance strength spell. Despite the likely enhancement, Una came in cautiously with tentative thrusts of her poleaxe timed alongside vine swipes that bounced off her ward, leaving minor fractures as they wore it down.

That's why I made it invisible, Shaya thought, parrying thrust after thrust with her shield, so she won’t know if she’s close to breaking it or not...

The force of each impact was enormous, even when parried. Shaya was happy to fight defensively, tracing her spell in the meantime, since she was pretty sure one of Una’s blows would make the massive gators she fought last week seem like mosquitos.

Fortunately, Una seems too busy multi-tasking the control of her vines with her attacks, so she’s not coming at me with enough skill to break through my defense.

“I didn’t know you were a Serra,” Una growled as she attacked, “I guess you think we should respect you for it, given how you earned it at such a young age.”

“Hardly,” Shaya replied through gritted teeth, “there’s a reason I don’t bring it up.”

She blocked a few more thrusts, these one’s aimed at her head, then prepared to unleash her next spell.

That’s when Una skidded backwards after her last thrust, spinning to build momentum.

Shaya realized the Jade light had left Una's eyes again.

She was making me block my own vision!

Una’s poleaxe extended with explosive force, the weapon howling as it flew towards Shaya with more than enough power to cut her in half. Her mind raced with options: block it and hope it didn’t shatter her arm; dodge back and hope Una couldn’t extend the weapon fast enough to correct it; dive to the ground and hope Una couldn’t recover from her massive swing fast enough to punish her for it...

Hope, hope, hope...

Shaya lunged towards Una, closing some of the distance between them, then braced her shield against the incoming blow. Rather than block with it, however, she chopped the sharp end of the shield into the incoming haft.

The wooden haft was strong, but it was never intended to absorb as much force as she delivered then. Wood exploded as it slammed into Shaya’s shield, splintering around it and launching four-feet of weapon towards the crowd. A few of the younger students cried out in alarm, but the weapon exploded against an invisible barrier at the dueling ring’s edge and its remains rained to the ground.

The shock of the impact blew through Shaya, wrenching her shoulder and leaving her shield arm numb. Pain shot through the right side of her neck and face, shrapnel peppering her exposed flesh but – through the ring’s magic – simply conveying the pain it would have caused to her. She had aimed to keep advancing after the block, but even with her firm stance she stumbled sideways and lost her momentum – and concentration on the spell she had been casting.

Una followed through with her swing, the grass whooshing as she stopped her weapon in mid-air forcefully. Shaya’s maneuver left her dazed and confused, trying to register what just happened, which gave her opponent precious seconds to recover and move in again.

Spell lost, Shaya rushed in and hoped she could chop Una down, drawing in more Amber and tracing the same spell again. Una didn’t oblige, shifting the grip on her newly ‘crafted’ staff and whirling it in close-quarters. With her enhanced strength, she swiped away Shaya’s incoming chop and used the opposite end of her staff to attack. Her spell seemed to give her control over the wood’s length in general, and it shrunk down to adjust to the close-in fighting Shaya was forcing, limiting her advantage.

“And they call me crazy!” Una gasped, deflecting another chop from Shaya and giving ground to open some space between them, “Do you always literally rush into danger like a dumb ass?”

“Did you invite me here to chat?” Shaya shot back, “Or did you maybe want to focus on the fight you’re losing?”

Una’s eyes narrowed as anger flashed through them, her movements growing more aggressive.

Good, Shaya thought, bring the fight to me.