Round One - Elana vs Dances with Wolves

Elana walked into the dueling chamber with her head held high, looking much more confident than she felt. True, her parents were the H.E.'s top duelests, but still, this was her first duel! And besides, if she did badly, the shame she would feel, the embarrassment. This added to every other worry in her mind, and she was nothing close to relaxed. Seeing that her opponent had not arrived yet, Elana began pacing one end of the chamber. The steady rythem of her soft footfalls echoed in the chamber and calmed her slightly. It's no biggie...just a duel. Nothing to it, right? In her head, she was going over various spells, hexes, charms, anything and everything that was going to help her win this duel. But before long, she remembered something she had learned while preparing for the dueling tournament. Elana stood still and closed her eyes. She clasped her hands together, wand between them, on her chest, which was rising and falling much more slowly than before. Letting a calm state of mind come over her, she kept her ears listening for footsteps. Once she had reached complete calm, she exhaled through her mouth and rose her arms above her head, stretched to their full extent. Eyes still closed, she uttered words to grant her protection from things her opponent might try, like getting into her mind and hurting her physically.

"Mens tutela (mind protection)...Bodily tutela (bodily protection)...Acer meus voluntas (sharpen my senses)."

That done, she decided to see if the sense sharpening spell had worked, she kept her eyes closed. Her arms slowly sank back down to her sides. The pads of her fingers could feel every fiber in her gray and blue plaid Ravenclaw skirt as they brushed against it. She inhaled through her nose and as she had expected, could smell the old wood of the door to the chamber, which was yards away. A small smile now on her face, she knelt down and pressed her fingertips to the cold stone of the floor. The spell had worked perfectly. She felt footsteps coming towards the chamber, and whipped her head around, extra sensative ears hearing the creaking of the old door to the chamber opening. Her eyes popped open, their bright green looking more than ever like shining emeralds due to the spell. She jumped up quickly, loving the spell that had been hidden so well inside of a dusty old book in a neglected corner of the library. The hand whose grip on her wand had been loose a moment before, tightened, as she stiffened as if a ruler had replaced her spine. The door was opening slowly to reveal her opponent. Elana turned to face the door, not letting her nervous fear show on her face. She put on a smirk (perfected by her father), almost casually placed her feet in fighting position as if this was the most natural thing in the world, and with her wand hand tightening its grip by the second, was as ready as she could be.

Before knowing who her opponent was, Elana sent the first spell at him or her.

"Lapsus (fall)!" she shouted, and her opponent did so. Her long black cloak made soft swishing noises as she quickly moved forward, smirk spreading. "Redimo glacies (Binding ice)!" she cried, wand pointed at the feet of the stranger before he or she could get up and fight. Heavy, hard, cold ice had burst from her wand and formed a thick barrier around his or her feet, making them unable to move an inch. Elana stopped a foot or so away and looked down into the face of her opponent. She recognized him vaguely from seeing him around the castle occasionally, and she saw a brief glimmer of recognation in his eyes as well. Now that he was on the ground and she knew who he was, Elana decided to let him have a shot. This was only the first round after all. She walked backward, bright eyes never leaving his wand, watching and waiting for the attack.