Even the best of the best can sometimes lose. This magic fight was simple. No major spells, just minor pranks. Wraithvine hadn't counted on this silly jokester to have two wands, but was amused when ze slipped onto their keester. Well, ze doesn't always win, and this was fun! -- Anon Guest
No matter how good you are, no matter how wide your reputation, there's always someone who believes they're better. There's always someone willing to prove it. Whether or not they actually can.
It takes someone truly wily to test the best.
Thus came the rules. Simple, elementary spells. Things any commoner could use or learn. No lasting harm to either party. The first to laugh was the one to lose. Simple cantrips could do a lot. Many used them for preserving food, lulling babies to sleep, or cleaning stubborn stains. There was one to mend small breaks, another to restore something truly broken, or one to untangle knotted threads. One could be truly creative with simple spellwork.
This duel was about that.
The extra rule was to announce the simple spell as it was cast. No counters. Just what each Wizard had to hand.
Manifest Water had turned the arena to mud. Shape Soil made it smooth clay and solidified it once more. Unravel undid the stitching in one Wizard's clothes[1], while Mend put it all back together. Impressional Sensation made one or the other itch or feel a tickle... or felt the crawling of insects against their skin. A simple Soothe could reverse that work.
The use of Frosty Touch on the ground was baffling. It did little more than create a low-lying mist in the arena. Wraithvine ignored it to use Sensory Affect to temporarily curse hir opponent with a personal, foul stench.
Oryn the Basic employed Frosty Touch on the ground for a second time.
Wraithvine employed Simple Illusion to turn Oryn green.
Frosty Touch for a third time. There was nothing in the rules against it, but it did make Wraithvine wonder. What in all the hells was he planning? Wraithvine used Sensory Affect to make Oryn sticky.
"Shape Water," said Oryn.
The ground underneath Wraithvine's feet was loaded with a fine layer of condensation, which, thanks to Frosty Touch, froze as soon as it moved. Under. Wraithvine's. Shoes.
Ze slipped and fell, bruising hir... dignity.
Wraithvine had never been happier to lose.
[1] The Wizard's hat remained untouched, of course.
[Photo by Chris Greninger on Unsplash]
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