Dueling saw somewhat of a resurgence all the way back in the early 2200s, and has been going since as a part of an overwhelming majority of cultures in some way or another. Most places treat is as a sport like any other, though some more militaristic ones have special connections to it, especially
Cellean Culture and the cultures it influenced and reigned over. There are a lot of variance of the practice, ranging from formal sports to duels to the death over an insult. The majority are melee duels, as firearms are both generally less accessible and more lethal, though the latter is often not an issue.
Origin
Where they got it from is unknown, but the start of dueling practices in modern day likely started in some influential nation in the
Core Worlds, likely
Earth. From there, it managed to expand into other societies, and eventually other planets and so on. For some reason, maybe the development of medical technology helping wounds be less critical, it grew in prevalence overall, and became regarded well, to different extents.
Variance
Dueling conventions vary a lot. They vary extensively, in fact, since there's been quite a bit of time for them to develop in a broad variety of cultures. Where the
Fetaen of a Thousand Lifetimes of Cellea is rigidly formal but with freedom in the actual fight, the Single-Stroke Affair is fought with a specific, non-lethal weapon, used very precisely.
Many regions and cultures view dueling as no more than a sport, like fencing today. Of course, these vary, and more than a few are preformed with actual, lethal weaponry, sometimes even
Layered Chain Blades. Ranged duels are far less common as sports, but do exist.
Lanfal City, for example, has two large sparring halls full of small arenas for people to have a casual match of a given dueling sport. Many martial arts are also practiced, and many of them have their own duel and sparring systems.
Jon, for example, is quite skilled in his chosen style, and spars often.
Duels as a response to something like an offense or to resolve an issue are somewhat less common, though still a thing. They're naturally more common in more militaristic cultures, and are prevalent in regions like ex-Cellean space. Usually, these follow some sort of dueling convention. Similar to how duel sport has rules and regulations, a proper duel will usually follow a set of standards and common practises, such as the aforementioned Fetaens or the Single-Stroke Affairs. Kollim Nafraka, originating from Corlaen, in the Barnard's Star system, has a notable place for being exceptionally influential, being a very old system from the Core Worlds. More than a third of all duel systems can trace their roots to it today. It resembles old Renaissance-era dueling traditions in Europe, though with its prevalence, it varies immensely.
Impact
The existance of dueling as a practice has had some impact on other elements of the cultures that have it. Cellean culture, for example, was highly militaristic, and its military placed emphasis on the prowess of an individual soldier. This extend all the way to the top, and
Admiral-Captains of Cellea, for example, were all trained, augmented and expected to be great warriors and duelists on top of skilled strategists and able politicians.
Militaristic cultures and nations are somewhat more common as a whole, but determining whether the resurgence of duels is connected to it is difficult. It seems to be that the slight increase in militarism has increased the popularity of dueling, though the numbers are inconsistent, as duels are wildly more common.
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