Jace the Elemental

"Alright, everyone," Lord Severian said, clapping his hands together again. "We've all spent enough time here with these duels. So now that I have your rosters, you're all free to go." He gave them all a nod before he turned and left.

"I'll see you later, Jace," Ethan said as Lord Severian left. "Selene and I are going to grab some food and discuss potential strategies for our duel."

"Sounds like a good plan," Jace said with a nod. "I'm probably going to go and get rid of my nerves," cracking his knuckles.

"So you're going to go duel then huh?" Ethan laughed.

Jace put his arms out. "You got me. There's no better way to calm down than a good fight." 

Ethan smirked. "Well, don't get yourself too banged up before the real thing."

Jace waved him off. "Please, I'd have to actually lose for that to happen."

Felix adjusted his glasses. "Where are you going to find a match this late, anyway?"

"I'll duel him," Aurora said, causing everyone to go silent and turn to stare, wide eyed at her. "What am I not allowed?" she asked, confused.

"Selene! Change of plans." Ethan said quickly, turning to look at her.

"Oh yeah, no chance we can miss this," Selene agreed. A chorus of agreement coming from the rest of their group.

"You're all going to come and watch us duel?" Aurora asked, still confused.

"Yes," all the other members said at the same time. Before Lyra added. "You realize that most of rank 1 were saying that they considered you two some of the strongest duelers in rank 1 right? Who would miss a duel between you two?"

"Oh…" Aurora said as if it never occurred to her. "I guess that makes sense then." Looking at Jace. "Shall we?"

"Absolutely," he said. His heart started beating faster, instincts sharpening at the mere prospect of this duel. A match against Aurora? He wouldn't miss this chance for anything.

The whole group made their way toward one of the training buildings, but as they went something strange happened along the way. A few curious students asked what they were doing, and when they said that Jace and Aurora were going to duel, most of rank 1 decided to tag along. The premise of a duel between those two was too good to miss.

Before long, a sizable crowd had gathered behind them, but Jace didn't notice. His mind was already locked onto the duel, running through possibilities. What would Aurora try? What tricks had she held back against Lyra?

He wanted to run, no. Sprint to the training building, his excitement bubbling over. When they finally arrived, both entered the training room. Aurora adjusted the arena's settings, transforming it into a grassy field, just like the show duel that the teachers had the day before.

"No reason to hold back," Aurora said as they both stretched and warmed up. "The arena's magic prevents injuries, it just assigns points instead of actual damage."

Outside the ring, excitement buzzed as Rank 1 students explained the significance of this duel. Word spread quickly, and soon, students from other ranks gathered to watch. If these two were considered among the best duelers in rank 1 it was a chance to gauge just how close you were to their level.

A few people were already going around collecting bets on the duel's outcome.

"So, who do you think will win?" Selene asked, looking around the group.

"Jace. Not even a question." Ethan replied without hesitation.

Lyra scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You're only saying that because he's your friend, it's obvious Aurora's going to win."

"And it's obvious you're only saying that since you lost to her and it would make you feel better," Orion said, causing Lyra's face to turn red. "I think it'll be close, but Jace will pull it out"

"We think it'll be a high scoring draw," Astra said, while her brother nodded behind her.

"I think the opposite, " Lucian said quietly. "They both have insane reactions, so landing a hit will be tough."

"No matter what, it's going to be a good fight, I think," Felix said, finding a seat.

"We can all agree with that," Ethan said laughing, turning to face the arena.

"So, Jace," Aurora said, as she finished her stretches, her golem formed beside her. "Are you ready?" 

Jace took one last deep breath, unaware that his heightened emotions and focus had actually caused the arena to start snowing lightly. "Absolutely." A grin spread across his face, the one that always came when he was about to fight.

"Then, allow us to begin." Aurora said, activating the countdown timer.