Archmage Circle - the duelling requirement doesn't add up

[Rooksx]

How could anyone hope to join the Archmage Circle if they have to duel every mage in the Circle back to back? The idea sounds cool at first until you think how little sense it makes. The Archmages are meant to be the most powerful Kith in Eora;  the Watcher can testify to that. So how could anyone best all of them in a row? And wouldn't that mean that the newest member of the Circle is the most powerful of them all, and that joining the Circle would get progressively more difficult? Think either Tayn or Llengrath said that most hopefuls don't survive the process. Well if they're duels to the death, there wouldn't be a circle. Just a dude/dudette standing on a heap of dead archmages. 

[uuuhhii]

it was suppose to be a test

so other archmage likely won't use their full capacity

most likely fight everyone is meant to give every archmage a chance to evaluate new recruit on their own

so no one will reject a new archmage they didn't get a chance to judge

Edited August 31, 2019 by uuuhhii

[Kaylon]

Even If you win you won't  probably kill them (see Llengrath and Concelhaut). And probably the duels are just meant to test your power, not to determine who's stronger.

[wingedchocolatecake]

Yeah, I also have some questions... 

I'm just going to go with the theory that they simply test your abilities. The way I imagined it was that they'd make sure you could 'handle them,' like you said. 

There are a few more contradictions concerning the Circle too. For example, Llengrath, when asked about joining, describes the process and says Tayn completed it because he "can be frightfully driven when he puts his mind into it." Tayn later says that he earned free scholarships due to his father's influence and wealth. He also states that he didn't fight all the archmages, but simply pulled up a chair. Does that mean the Watcher can also just pay their way into archmage-hood?

Another question more concerning Llengrath is: How did she get new dragons? If you kill her, you kill both Gafonercos and Turisulfus, so how in the world does smaller Llengrath have another dragon? Is there a store where she just picks them out or something?