Showdown: Ellipsis and Maknud

[maknud]

Waves lap gently upon the Isle's quiet shore. Black waves, glinting now and again with the borrowed light of a mottled moon. A head and shoulders break the surface of the waters - a hooded and cloaked figure, rising from a sea bed path which only a Warlock dare travel. He turns his head to survey the Isle's beach, but nothing here stirs. I would meet him here, on his own ground, and still he will not face me?

With a great splashing a second Warlock, robed in bright green, strolls up from the sea. "Ellipsis! You took such time wandering the Path I wondered whether we would ever arrive!"

Ellipsis bows once, chagrined. As he straightens and turns to face his opponent, a grin breaks out uncalled for on both their faces. "One of us must die here, tonight."

"Neither of us would have it any other way."

[ellipsis]

As the warlocks faced each other and snapped their fingers, the salty air stung Ellipsis' eyes. As he closed them against the assault, he remembered what the beach looked like when the sun shone on it...

"Boy! I say, boy!"

Ellipsis turned to see a pretentiously dressed man strolling up the sand to meet him.
"Yes?"

"I suppose you work here, boy. I could use directions to the tower."

"Work here?" Ellipsis glared momentarily as the presumptuous stranger. "I just arrived - I'm a traveler like yourself."

"Well, not quite like myself, I think." the robed stranger gave Ellipsis' plain clothes a quick lookover. "Maknud is my name, and I'm here to see the master of this Isle."

"Is there a master? I heard there was some disagreement about that...but there are great mages, they say, and I am here to see them as well. Ellipsis is my name."

Maknud gave his most incredulous look. He imagined he did so sparingly, but Ellipsis had noted the same general appearance of discomfort on the other's face since they first began speaking. Eventually he dropped this face completely and spoke with more forced confidence: "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, my friend, but I doubt they'll see you. I've won the right to come here and see them by outperforming all of my peers in the land of my birth. They have an amateur tournament every year."

"Well, I have no such recommendation, but I should try since I've come this far. There's a wise man who lives outside our town, and when he saw me he told me I had a gift, and should see the mages of this Isle."

Maknud snorted a small laugh - slightly louder than he expected - then collected himself again. "Well, you have a 'gift' and I have years of training - if you don't mind, I'd love to see how two stack up against each other." He rolled up his sleeves.

"If you wish. We will have to stop when the victor is clear, for I would not like to kill you."

The two faced each other and snapped their fingers, as a gust of wind blew salt into their eyes.