Artistic Duel

Once the duel was confirmed, Annaleigh went with her challenger to the staff room to announce the duel and request a supervising staff member, along with three judges. Arcane calligraphy, chances were that if you chose a random ten persons and asked them about it, you wouldn't receive any good answers. This was because it was an art only practiced by Star Stream Academy and a few related forces in the Alterna Kingdom. This meant that Annaleigh had no idea what it was, but thankfully since this was an official duel the rules were explained to her.

Despite how eccentric it sounded, the rules of arcane calligraphy were simple. An ancient character would be chosen and players would draw this character, but only through the use of spells. Speed wasn't a factor but players would be judged based on technique, presentation, creativity and intent. It sounded like an interesting way of exchanging pointers, but with the stakes that were on the line, Annaleigh couldn't afford not to take this seriously.

"If I win, I want you to withdraw from the Asteria Dance Club and leave A class."

Fortunately, although she couldn't refuse this battle, Annaleigh could ensure that the bet was fair.

"Fine, but if I win, you have to drop out of the academy."

"What? That's too much, isn't it?"

"No, I will allow it. The challenger should bear the greater risk."

Once the supervisor gave his permission, Annaleigh's opponent had to decide whether to continue or not. She didn't come to a decision quickly, but eventually agreed, confident that she had an absolute advantage.

The site of the duel was an open field near the edge of the academy, with boulders and trees around a grassy area with a pond in the right corner. This field didn't have a specified use, but arcane calligraphy was usually performed here because there was a nice blend of the natural elements. Annaleigh and her opponent were each given an equal amount of space to draw the selected character but the field seemed crowded because of the spectators.

There was quite a large amount of students and staff watching the two despite the challenge being sudden, but Annaleigh didn't bother worrying about the strings her opponent pulled to make this happen. If she failed miserably then news would spread like the wind, but she had no intention of losing.

"The character for this match shall be, 'Star'."

The character selected ended up being the same one used in the academy's name, but Annaleigh didn't think this would lean the game in her favour. While 'Star' was an easy character for her to visualize, such a basic and popular character was definitely practiced frequently by those experienced with arcane calligraphy like her opponent. Not a single part of this duel seemed to give her an advantage, perhaps the judges had even been bought out, but once she was reminded of who this battle was for, Annaleigh was ready to surpass adversity and attain victory.

"Duel between Annaleigh and Vitia, both of year three class A. Begin!"

Vitia made her move first. With a firm step, she signaled a boulder the size of her upper body to leap from the earth. Then, she summoned graceful flames that attacked the boulder from opposite sides while it was in the air, shattering it into fragments. Her next move involved shaving away at the largest fragment with sharp winds while the other fragments hovered in the air. Annaleigh watched her performance with keen interest as a way to discover inspiration for her own work. Those who opposed her snickered at her lack of action, but she knew she couldn't be reckless. As a Soul Realm cultivator, the amount of spells she could use was limited, so she had to plan her performance wisely.

Once she was done shaving away at the largest fragment, Vitia used the wind to gather the fragments and forced them to collide. Then, as the dust rode the wind to the ground, the 'Star' character appeared in the sky where the fragments had collided. A round of applause went off for Vitia who accepted it with an elegant smile that hid her exhaustion. She then sent a disdainful smirk in Annaleigh's direction, but Annaleigh began focusing on her own character.

While a variety of gazes attacked her, Annaleigh visualized her 'Star'. After watching Vitia's performance, she understood that the process, method and outcome all had to contain special meaning. If Vitia wanted to, she could have made the same character in a tenth of the time, but by utilizing the dust and wind to create the right atmosphere, the impact of the character's reveal reached a higher level. This was her first time so she wasn't sure if the idea she came up with would be as special, but she had other means of securing victory.

"If I'm to draw a star, then isn't it too bright?"

Before anyone could question the meaning of her words, they sensed a blanket of darkness cover the sky. A starry view suddenly appeared, but most were able to tell that this was a simple illusion. Intrigued by this move, the audience raised their expectations for Annaleigh's character.

Maintaining an illusion, even one of the lowest level, would be difficult considering the amount of spectators, but Annaleigh proceeded to the next step without breaking a sweat. She stretched out both hands and closed her eyes. Nothing happened at first, but eventually the light from the fake stars gathered and shone a spotlight on her figure. Within this spotlight, small orbs of light slowly swayed towards the ground like the petals of a flower.

Once ten orbs had landed, Annaleigh stretched out her hands further and raised her left leg behind her as if desperately reaching for something. Possibly enamored by her grace, an orb that landed on her head turned into a wisp and flowed towards her hands and then to the sky.

Annaleigh proceeded to transition to her next position, one which she had seen at an idol concert. A similar thing happened and another orb of light returned to the sky. None of the moves that she went on to use were original, but her dance was good enough to captivate the audience. Once ten positions had been taken and ten lights had returned to the sky, the lights combined into a miniature blue sun before morphing into a complex sphere made of ten rings formed by the lights going around in circles.

Finally, the sphere popped like a firework, bursting in a show of brilliant light and revealing the dazzling 'Star' character that was hidden within. This character seemed to be formed from the stars themselves, and fit perfectly in the night sky. Even as the veil of night was drawn back, everyone kept their eyes on the character. Regardless of the reason why it was drawn, the character was splendid enough to justify the existence of arcane calligraphy.