[Alneyan]

Power of the Spheres or Light of the Northern Star would also do the trick; failing that, you can always give your Shaman a couple of astral pearls to reach level 2 for one spell, thereby allowing them to Magic Duel your poor Pretender.

Standard warning, Magic Duel only looks at your base level, with one possible exception, so beware! Second standard warning, the Banner of the Northern Star might give +1 astral to *enemy* mages, so you could empower them without even noticing it.