[ WP ] Two magicians compete to see who is capable of the most complicated spell .

Dameon and Ruby faced each other beneath the hot stage lights. Sweat trickled down Dameon ’ s neck, soaking the tight collar of his cloak. The silence was loud as the audience waited in thick anticipation for the first spell. He waited too. 
 
 Ruby stepped forward with confidence that Dameon did n't quite have. She was older by nearly three decades and adored by all. She had the upper hand because she was *her*. Dameon was only a student, but a prodigy. His name was becoming famous already, moving through the Magic City like a hurricane. It was Ruby, a well known master of magic who had challenged him to try and exceed the distant boundary that she had set. He was n't sure why she wanted to duel with him. Jealousy? Respect? Perhaps both. 
 
 Her red hair was dull with age, but her smile sparkled. Between them was a white drawn circle, and Ruby focused her wand on it. 
 
 “ Exsto Crocodylinae! ” She called sharply, and in the circle appeared a crocodile. Dameon was surprised that she had started with something so simple. Sure, it was n't easy to draw enough energy to make something so large appear, but for Ruby, it wasn ’ t very grand. Dameon was more inventive. Younger. 
 
 “ Verto Ruby! ” He shouted, his wand pointed at the crocodile. It twitched and grunted as its skin roiled and its bones cracked, until finally the poor creature took the shape of Ruby. To the untrained eye, there were two Rubys standing before the crowd. Feeling a bit more confident with himself, Dameon flashed a cool smile at the audience. They hummed and chattered, impressed with his spell. Many veteran wizards could n't do that. 
 
 Ruby ’ s ego had clearly been crippled. Her smile became tense and her shoulders were rigid, but Dameon doubted that anyone but him had noticed. 
 
 “ Fictus Ruby pereo! ” she called, but nothing happened. The second Ruby stood blinking at the audience. Dameon could n't believe it. She had tried to kill her likeness, but destroying energy was much more difficult than drawing it. He almost felt sorry for her. 
 
 Her face glowed red and she tried the spell again, but this time, it worked. “ Fictus Ruby pereo! ” The false woman perished, and the audience was delighted. She had failed the first time, but the spell was so impressive that the crowd had already forgiven the error. 
 
 Dameon knew that he needed to step things up. He needed to do better. She had used a simple spell in the beginning to to give him false confidence. He decided to take a risk. He focused his whole mind on himself and his challenger. 
 
 “ Verto! ” he shouted at last, and as quick as a wink, he was standing where Ruby had been, and she was standing in his former place. The audience cooed with delight. Ruby did not look pleased. 
 
 “ Ignis! ” she screeched, and she burst into flames that did n't burn her. It was a difficult spell that required the whole mind, to both harm and heal at once. With a twirl, the flames went out. 
 
 Again, he needed to step it up. He coughed a few times to stall while he went over the most difficult spell he'd ever tried. He hoped it would work. If it did n't, the consequences would be dire. 
 
 “ Succido! ” Dameon roared at last. His body turned to sand and crumbled to the ground. The audience blanched and a few people shrieked, but after a beat the sand rose again, twirled in the air and reassembled his body. He tried not to let the relief show on his face as the audience leapt to their feet and cheered. He was the obvious winner. Ruby could never top that. 
 
 When the crowd quietened down and turned their attention back to Ruby, she stood quietly for a few minutes. *Give up, * Dameon thought. *It's over. I've won. Walk away now. * He felt a pang of pity for her. The poor old thing. Youth and invention would always win. 
 
 Finally, Ruby whispered, “ Caecus, ” and disappeared on the spot. For a moment, everyone quietly stared at the place she had been. Then, people muttered to one another, puzzled. They'd never seen such a trick. `` How did she do it?'' they wondered aloud. `` Impossible,'' some called out. Nobody was more surprised than Dameon. He looked around, as though she could be hiding behind him. 
 
 After a minute that felt like an hour, she appeared again right where she was, and took a bow. The crowd thundered. They chanted her name and cheered until their voices were hoarse. Dameon was shocked, but shock quickly turned into hot anger. 
 
 “ That's nothing! ” he shouted, his voice cracking with passion. “ I can do the same thing! It's nothing! ” 
 
 The crowd fell quiet again and watched, waiting for him to impress them more than Ruby had. He rubbed his face nervously. The truth was, he did n't really know how she'd done it. He knew the word she had used, and he knew the principle, but he had never done it. 
 
 “ Well, go on then! ” someone shouted from the crowd. 
 
 Dameon straightened himself up. He could do this. He was a prodigy. The best wizard the magic city had seen in two-hundred years, some had said. He focused, and then he said it. 
 
 “ Caecus. ” 
 
 Just like Ruby, he vanished on the spot. The crowd cheered again, just as enthusiastically as last time. They yelled and stomped and shook their heads wonderfully. Ruby even looked impressed. 
 
 Minutes passed and the crowd grew quiet again. They waited a while, and waited some more, but Dameon still had n't reappeared. After half an hour, Ruby started doing different spells to try and bring him back, or at least find him, but nothing was working. Cheers of delight turned to shouts of concern. A few people in the crowd cried out in heavy sobs. Perhaps they were friends of the young, inventive boy who was gone. 

