{Three days ago}
The Sky Piercer's meditation platform was particularly cold tonight. She sat cross-legged across from Rosanna, her practice sword resting on her knees, every muscle in her body sore from the evening's session.
"Tell me," Rosanna said, reclining in a way that made her robe shift dangerously, "what do you think determines the winner of a fight between two mages?"
"Power?"
"Common answer. Wrong answer."
"Speed?"
"Closer, but no."
Aegis thought about it for a second.
"Technique?"
"All of those things matter," Rosanna said, waving a hand, "but they're not the deciding factor. A fight between mages is, in truth, a battle of information." She leaned forward, her purple eyes locking onto Aegis's. "If you know what the other person can do, you can plan against it. You can anticipate their moves, prepare counters, set traps. The mage with more information wins. Almost always."
"Okay," Aegis said slowly. "So I need to figure out what Darius can do."
