The Courtyard

Liam explained to you that it is vital to be familiar with the area around you in a duel, and so the four of you meet in the courtyard beneath the White tree. It's getting late, only one or two students occasionally walk past, most have gone to bed already. Parisa and Keira sit on a nearby stone bench and pet a sleeping Trois as you and Liam train.

The rules of a duel are simple, at the beginning of a duel you lock hands with your opponent and recite the duel charm. Each participant states their potential reward and a halo of light appears around the participants' necks binding them to the contract. Next the participants walk twenty paces in the opposite direction of one another. A blue sphere of energy encircles each participant. The magical field appears to disappear to the naked eye but is ever present throughout the duel. Once both participants confirm they are ready, a moderator declares that the duel has begun and the participants are free to attack one another. The first person to use enough magical **** to burst the other participant's magical field wins the duel.

You know very few offensive spells and find yourself losing to Liam seven straight times. Liam's magical affinity peaks at 78, Harmony is far more powerful at 93. The power difference fills you with despair as you realize you have no chance tomorrow. Finally the four of you sit together and try to figure out an alternative to beating Harmony. Keira mentions Harmony will likely rely on fire based spells as most duelists in Phoenix house do. Parisa points out to the others you are skilled at summoning magic. As a Wyvern, Liam is skilled at elemental spells and can teach you a few basic offensive spells before morning. The four of you train long into the night developing a strategy to take down Harmony