Picture Story: The Duel

When two mages find themselves in conflict, and they are unable to resolve their dispute via mediation through the auspices of the Mages Guild, their recourse of last resort is the time-honored tradition of the Duel Arcane. The Guild maintains an arena for just this purpose, constructed in a remote location to protect the public from potentially devastating collateral damage that can result from the unleashing of raw, arcane power.

For the community of mages, such duels are a source of visceral entertainment. The arena was not designed to accommodate an audience, but spectators are able to watch remotely through the use of scrying spells as they sit safely in their own homes. Whenever a pending duel is publicly announced – a formality required under the bylaws of the Guild – thousands of mages across the land typically set aside time to witness the event.

The conflict between Mauve “The Maelstrom” Margolis and Farah Iskandrakis was of long standing, having begun when they were both students at Everstar Magical Academy. Mauve, a battlemage fond of fire magic, has a reputation as a bully; she mocked and belittled Farah at every opportunity, until it reached the point that Farah could not tolerate the humiliation any longer; she challenged Mauve to a duel in the arcane arena.

Most of their peers believed Farah’s challenge to be foolhardy; after all, she had specialized in mysticism and enchanting, while Mauve had a plethora of devastating combat spells at her disposal. In fact, it was common knowledge that the only combat spell Farah knew was magic missile, and she was not very adept at wielding it, particularly under the pressure of battle. Everyone expected Farah to go down in short order once the duel commenced.

What they had not counted on was Farah’s mastery of Bishram’s Mystical Runic Circles. The rune circles conjured with this spell can serve as portals to other planes, allowing a mage to divert attacks safely into other dimensions. By linking the portals to planes that obey different physical laws from our own, a mage can also achieve impressive transformative effects – such as turning searing flames into harmless snow, or dissolving cloth into powdery dust.

Or turning human flesh into stone…