Sorcerous duel

A sorcerous duel often occurred between two sorcerers who were unable to resolve their differences peacefully. These duels were respected and honored throughout the Land of Fate.

All sorcerers in Zakhara abided by the rules of the sorcerous duel or faced harsh consequences from their superiors.

Rules of Conduct
Sorcerous duels could not occur on a day that held religious significance for either of the participants. If the sorcerers belonged to a sorcerous society, then the heads of those societies were contacted about arranging the duel. It should be noted that two sorcerers from the same society rarely dueled since even suggesting a duel was usually enough to get them both expelled from their order. If the heads of the orders deemed the duel unnecessary, then the duel did not happen. A duel would be arranged for the nearest acceptable date, assuming the heads of the orders agreed that a sorcerous duel was the only way to resolve the issue.

Locations for sorcerous duels were carefully selected, especially if the sorcerers involved were specialized in different elements. An area with large quantities of each sorcerer’s main element was preferred. If such a location could not be found, then an area with smaller quantities of each sorcerer’s main element was chosen instead.

With the date and location for the duel selected, the participants prepared themselves in whatever manner they deemed appropriate. Since a sorcerous duel was far more than simply throwing spells or engaging in martial combat, preparation was the key to success. Sorcerers preparing for duels transformed their spells into raw magical energy that was stored within their body. This energy was expended during the duel by performing attack, defense, draining and fortifying modes. The energy derived from spells was appropriate for the mode for which it would be used, as listed below:


 * offensive spell (fireball) – attack mode
 * defensive spell (wall of stone) – defense mode
 * negative altering spell (power word, blind) – draining mode
 * positive altering spell, or a spell that created something (cool strength) – fortify mode

For example, offensive spells like fireball could only be converted into energy that was expended during an attack mode.

If the location for a sorcerous duel favored one sorcerer over the other by having larger quantities of their primary element, that sorcerer would gain more energy to add to their stored pool. Desperate sorcerers could convert their own life energy into magical energy to store in their pool as well. This was a risky choice since the sorcerer ran the risk of perishing during the duel if their magical energy was completely depleted.

Sorcerous duels existed in the minds of the combatants, so any uninvolved observers would find the whole ordeal rather boring. The key to winning a sorcerous duel lay in successfully predicting which mode your opponent would use, and how much energy they would expend on their choice.

Attack Mode
This action directly assaulted the opponent, draining energy from their defensive pool if successful.

Defense Mode
Defensive actions limited, or completely negated, an attack action depending on how much defensive energy was used.

Drain Mode
By draining their opponent a sorcerer was able to siphon energy from only one of their opponent’s energy pools. The victim of the drain might not even be aware that their magical energy had just been depleted.

Fortify Mode
Fortifying protected against drain attacks based upon how much energy was expended into the fortification.

The End
A sorcerer usually accepted defeat once their magical energy was completely depleted since they had no defense against their opponent’s actions.

The winner of a sorcerous duel named the penalty of the loser. Generally speaking, the severity of the penalty was determined by the nature of the disagreement between the two sorcerers. Rematches for these duels never occurred.