A mage, a very strong one, sought out Wraithvine and asked, very politely, if they would be be willing to spar her. She wanted to see how well her abilities matched to the legendary wizard's. Of course, this was a sparring match, not a full-blown wizard's duel where one was trying to kill the other, so while tiring, it would be safe enough. -- Anon Guest
For training purposes, no Wizard of a higher level is permitted to use harmful spells on their junior. Since Wraithvine has been learning and growing in power since the dawn of history[1], that meant only harmless spells could be used. Which gave Krajamar the Spectacular an opportunity to use some of the heavy lifters.
Spells that froze the body, silenced an area, transformed the opponent into something harmless and non-verbal. Spells that ruined fine co-ordination, or slowed time in an area. Spells that created darkness or caused confusion, or even enfeebled the mind or body. And, of course, prepared scrolls to clean up the area from rampant, wild, and clashing magics after it was all done. The first Wizard to run out of spells or become incapacitated was the one to lose.
The spectators, of course, were in bubbles of invulnerability for the duration.
It was quite the sight. Spells and counter-spells and counter-counter-spells flew about. Silvery barbs shot through the air, sparking on anything that wasn't a Wizard.
The winning blow, if one could call it such, was Wraithvine's use of Reducio Temporus when Krajamar was out of Counterspells. Turned into a toddler, she plopped into a sitting position and then clapped. Laughing.
Wraithvine bowed before restoring her to her former self.
"I knew I couldn't win," she said. "I did want to test myself all the same. Creativity, innovation, novel uses for known magic... How did I stack up?"
"One of the less-known rules of a training duel is that the combatants are only permitted to use Wizard spells. You managed to get me closer than I was comfortable to running out of Wizarding magic. Well done."
"Very few Wizards brag about losing," allowed Krajamar. "I think I may be proud to lose to you."
"Amazingly, very few are," said Wraithvine. "I consider it an honour."
[1] Which is completely different from the dawn of time. History can only dawn when there are beings around to record it as it happens. The rest is simply conjecture based on evidence.
[Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash]
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