I pushed my way into the crowd……everyone was craning their necks to see, but I could not get through.
Finally I pushed and crawled my way to the crowd’s apex and looked out onto the vast, dirt-covered arena.
Lightning bolts darted past directly overhead I could hear a thunderclap and yet the sky was clear and blue.
“What is it?” I cried amid the thunder to the woman next to me.
“A witches’ Duel!” she replied loudly.
I had heard of these, but had not imagined anything as great as the spectacle I now witnessed.
A Witches’ Duel is simple….the witches stand within the arena of combat. They are allowed to use each element, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit two times, which means each witch gets ten turns. They have to attack each other with elemental majick until a witch is either exhausted and can duel no longer, or forfeits victory in defense of honor. Most arenas were the size of a small corn field, perhaps a hectare in size.
This arena was huge! I wondered at the immense power these women must have, to have drawn such a tremendous crowd.
Suddenly, where a lovely young woman in the arena had stood, a menacing cyclone arose from the sand. Swirling and spinning, it gathered in speed and size as it pulled up the sands from where it had arisen.
Its massive body carved a great furrow as it sped across the arena towards the other side, the sound of its roar was deafening.
From the other side I could hear a woman scream as the great sandstorm pounced upon its prey. There was silence, and then the lovely young woman appeared again, running as she returned to the spot from where the sand storm had arisen.
The cheers from the crowd followed her in intensity as she returned to her circle. The cheering came at me from left and right and threatened to crash upon me like great, colliding waves.
The excitement caused me to raise my fist and cheer as they cheered. It was incredibly exhilarating! There was a pause while everyone began to silence themselves as if they were holding their breaths, waiting in anticipation. Suddenly, it began to become warmer, and a deep red glow bathed the faces of the crowd as a flaming river of molten rock creeped closer and closer to the young woman.