Since time immemorial, mages have struggled against each other. Long ago, the Orders codified and formalized their conflicts to allow the Awakened to settle their differences. Their system is known in common parlance as the Duel Arcane or wizard’s duel, a magical battle between mages.
The practice of the Duel Arcane dates back to the time of Atlantis, and remains largely unchanged since then. All the orders, even the Seers of the Throne, recognize the validity of a challenge from a fellow mage (although the non-Atlantean orders are more likely to cheat or ignore the results of a lost duel). The ultimate purpose of the Duel Arcane is to allow sorcerers to test their powers against each other without immediately fatal results.
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