2021, Stage 2 Group A: Ravenclaw vs Slytherin

Pericles' mouth had formed a little "o" when Henry said to "shut up", then widened even more when Dee retorted "make me", partially knotted tongue jutting as an awkward wad. "Langoosh," he remarked, astonished. Sick burns, however, were the least of his concerns. Astrea was splitting her spells successfully now. The ability was incredible to behold, though it was more worrisome than fantastic when one was on the other end of it. Her first strike (along with the untwisting of his tongue) seemed to strike any residual silliness from him. There was no more room for banter, for sympathy or doubt. Brow shining with the start of sweat, his expression fell numb as the initial pang faded. When the second spell hurtled towards him, he was ready. Pericles spun out of its path and fired back a retaliating kinx, though to no avail. A hasty glance between his partner and opponent implied both were worse for wear. This made them more volatile, more vicious. If he wanted to keep Dee standing, he had to help take Astrea down, and quickly.

As strategized.

Unconscious. The second year dueler fell during his second duel. After winning his first with his partner, now laying on his back letting darkness surround him while he didn't know how his third year partner was coping... as he now provided zero help to her since he's unconscious.

However the dueler wasn't just seeing darkness but instead a duel... the sound around him almost silent but muffled as the second year was standing in front of a ravenclaw except it wasn't neither of his opponents.

In his head this dream like vision played as the boy shot off spell after spell toward the opponent who blocked them with ease only to fire them back at the boy.

Silence as the boy felt himself fall to his knees as he saw the light start to diminish within his head as for a moment to thought to himself that he couldn't do this...

Action: Unconscious

An extension has been requested. All posts and moves are now due on February 17th 5:25pm EST (UTC -4).

@Pericles Dralt @Dealla Prince @Astrea Soleil Neptune @Henry Knight

Official duels only ended with a forfeit or the fall of a team. Astrea had stalked her way through the idea of proper conduct the day she had reached the team on waitlist, neatly inked notes written between practice and duels alike. Unlike a S.W.A.G game, there was no set limit of rounds to count down to, no hourglass hanging over them. Unlike a S.W.A.G game, the stakes were higher and the attention set upon them greater. So many rounds already into this engagement and her only possible aid unavailable, she would have to hold herself out just long enough to call a defeat honourable.

Now with all three still conscious fighters unhindered and able to cast around the crumpled figure of Knight, the odds seemed to stack even higher. She was not amongst the other duelists who had advanced to Stage 2, who already tasted the bittersweetness of closure and found in their partner experience- of that, Astrea had no such memory to boast. How peculiar it was, to be drafted into such combat without the celebratory title of a previous win, only to fight for the last one standing in a duel alone. The Ravenclaw team still keep their ranks up- as powerful a single blast of the Knockback charm was, it was one out of many dodged spells. Astrea herself was not so unaffected below a layer of target focus, more by her own hand than anything else, but she was still standing. She would keep standing, or so she hoped.

Action: As Strategised.

Round 8

Dealla Prince vs Astrea Neptune

Reducio

Dealla casts the Knockback Jinx at Astrea
Wisdom DC || 9 + 2 Astrea's Lovely Creature = 11
Wisdom Check || [d20: 16] + 10 = 26
Auto-Miss Astrea's Terrible Presence || [d10: 10], Spell Misses
Effects || N/A

Pericles Dralt vs Astrea Neptune

Reducio

Pericles casts the Knockback Jinx at Astrea
Wisdom DC || 9 + 2 Astrea's Lovely Creature = 11
Wisdom Check || [d20: 17] + 8 = 25, Success
Auto-Miss Astrea's Terrible Presence || [d10: 5], No Auto-Miss
Accuracy || [d20: 20] + 7 = 27
Evasion || [d20: 2] + 9 + 7 Dodge Action = 18
27 > 18 → Hit
Damage || 100 + 8 x 10 = 180 - 18 -10% Damage Astrea's Terrible Presence = 172
Effects || None

Astrea Neptune

Reducio

Astrea Dodges
Evasion (9) +5 + 25% Evasion (2) = 16 Evasion
Effects || N/A

After the last round it seemed like no one was taking any chances. Astrea wasn't even attempting to cast, she was just trying to hold on as long as she could. She was prepared to dodge. There was no need to dodge Dealla's spell as hers flung off to the side no where near Astrea. Pericles' however, did the final blow. Astrea didn't stand a chance as she fumbled her dodge and was hit squarely with a final Knockback Jinx. She was passed out before she even hit the floor. "Enough! Both Slytherin opponents are unconscious, Ravenclaw has won." Willow left her post as the moderator to go assist getting Astrea the medical attention she would need. Henry had long been hauled off to the hospital wing since his KO. She smiled and waved at the Ravenclaw victors, giving them a thumbs up for a duel well fought.

A Win for Ravenclaw

OOC Notes

• The duel is over, and Ravenclaw has won.
• If you think anything is off in this mod post feel free to owl me!

@Dealla Prince @Pericles Dralt @Henry Knight @Astrea Soleil Neptune

Spectator Thread for this Duel Here

Eligible for Rewards:
To be eligible for rewards, your team should have won the duel and you shouldn't be disqualified.

@Dealla Prince
@Pericles Dralt

Please link to this post in the trunk updates if you are eligible for rewards and wish to claim your +1 stat point from this duel.

Only moments, second, left to the duel, and some part of Dee knew it. The tension around her heightened, electrifying, seemed to creep under her skin and make it prickle with anticipation.

One last spell to cast, and she did it without flair, without exaggeration. Chose the simplest one again, pure force, no point in taking detours. And yet, again... Astrea didn't make any attempt at casting this time, for some reason had decided that it was more advantageous to focus on defense. She needn't have worried about Dee's spell, because just as it went off, it struck her again, whatever it was about the Slytherin girl that set her on edge like this. She hesitated, caught off-balance for only a second, yet still long enough that her spell went awry, shooting past the girl harmlessly.

Pericles's aim proved to be better.

Maybe Astrea had been just as focused on Dee as the Ravenclaw had been on her, let her attention be distracted from Pericles, maybe something else had caught her off-guard, but Peri's spell went arrow-straight, aimed with a precision that was nothing less than perfect. Astrea was thrown back, didn't move anymore, and Willow immediately stepped in to stop the duel. Declared Ravenclaw the winner.

Dee paused. She was still holding her duelling stance, her heart thrumming in her chest, fast like a bird. The room seemed to be twisting around her as she blinked, surreal, and even as she lowered her wand, it took another moment for the situation to sink in.

They had... won. Had they? It seemed like it, and Dee wasn't sure why it came as such a surprise to her. They had trained for this (Dee more than she would ever admit), they were both competent duellists. They had been doing better than their opponents for most of this duel, that early hiccup aside. But she still had to take another breath to fully realise it, until the shadow of her first duel finally started to fade, leaving her lighting up with a blinding smile as she turned towards Pericles.

She hadn't planned her next action. Dee was the Ravenclaw Duelling Captain, this win should be something expected, something to be accepted with poise and grace, a serious nod and congratulations. Instead, her next breath turned into an undignified squeak, and she hopped over towards her duelling partner, throwing both arms around his neck in a tight hug. "We won!" she cheered, all thoughts of dignity and gracious words forgotten, childish excitement taking over. "That spell was perfect! Although I wish mine had hit first, but I'll give that one to you, I guess."

Another tight squeeze (was she squishing him?) and she stepped back, her grin sharp and brilliant, like she'd been dimmed down by a fog for the past few months that had now lifted. And truly, although she'd never admit it, in spite of all her determination and practice and bravado, she had been terrified of repeating that day, of failing again.

But they hadn't, and it left her feeling lighter, kept her on the tips of her toes, as if trying to float. "Thank you," she said softly.

Well fought, Henry and Astrea! Thanks to Peri for being an amazing partner and screaming with me a lot, and thanks for doing a wonderful job modding for us, Willow. Couldn't have asked for a better mod

When Pericles came to Hogwarts, he had little concept of competition. Raised in a homeschool setting, seldom interacting with others his age, he didn't even have a sense of "team pride" until many months into his first year. Throughout his childhood, the only records he had to beat were his own. His father timed tasks and training regimes, courses meant to make him quick and keen. Be it building, darting over obstacles, speeding through survival drills, it was merely a matter of doing things better than he had before. Then the boy became a student. Houses competed for points and prestige, though there was more to it than that. It was not competitiveness alone he had learned, but comradery. Pericles' devotion to Ravenclaw was clear as the eagle on his chest. He had something to prove, something to uphold here, particularly after that blunder early on in the match. His folly wasn't in a single miscast Expelliarmus. Rather, it had been believing, for just one moment in the blindfolded darkness, that the fight was already lost.

Dee had talked him out from that state of mind-numbing dread. As soon as he was at her side again, he'd made a silent vow to stay there this time. She had done most of the heavy lifting. Now he was obligated to make it up to her, and with willpower peaking, the next two spells hit their mark to take out Henry. The third missed Astrea. He could feel it, same as his partner: something ever so slightly off about their opponent, an aura which set hairs on end, and it wasn't just the pressure of an official duel. It tickled one's fight-or-flight senses, plucking at concentration. Yet as he aimed again, emotions culminated behind the final Flipendo's intent. Desperation to compensate for their former duel, to make up for the start of this one, to raise Ravenclaw on the roster, to not see an unconscious Dealla carted from the club room, bubbled and burst with an uncharacteristic expression. It only lasted a moment. He had been focused, numb and driven by adrenaline, then for a split second the neutrality cracked. Silver eyes cooled and narrowed, upper lip curled with an indignant sneer, scorn worn not for Astrea, but at his past performance. He would do better this time. He wouldn't let her get away.

Pericles lacked a word for the feeling with which he hissed the incantation. Predicting which direction she may dodge next, he aimed slightly to her side at the last second, and was somehow startled when the spell struck her down. Like Dee, shock washed over him when he heard those fateful words: Ravenclaw has won. Wand hand slowly sinking, shoulders slumped, all the energy built to sustain him collapsed. A vocal sigh of relief was huffed as Peri wiped his brow with a robe sleeve. Turning tiredly towards his partner, a dazed smile started up, only to be cut off with a startled "Oof!" Her excitement was infectious, whiplashing him out from the stupor of repose, and he wrapped her in a (less side-smashing) hug caught up in the moment. A laugh was wheezed out when she squeezed him, and when she drew away, she'd find Peri beaming brightly as ever. "Sorry Dee," the boy snickered through a wide smile. "It's just, you'd already done so much of the work, I thought you might be tired. Next time, the last one standing is all yours." The sensation of success buzzing between them made him want to celebrate, but the waning adrenaline made him want to take a long, deep nap. A softer smile replaced the childish grin when she thanked him. Shaking his head, Peri retorted, mirroring her whisper, "You were brilliant." Then on a less serious note, he announced "Well fought, captain," and took her hand. It was raised high in triumph towards the crowd before they hopped down from the piste, where he would fuss over her need for a medical exam.

Exiting the thread.

THANK YOU Astrea and Henry for the fight, Dee for the excited screaming over rolls strategizing, and Willow for all your smooth moderation work!

The second year dueler was far from the duel going on actually ending as the darkness within the boy flickered and a duel started to play out within his head while the boy laid unconscious at the dueling platform.

While in his head, the second year faced against a student not exactly from ravenclaw. The noises around him going quiet as only images played in the second year's mind.

Green sparks firing from his wand as his opponent dodged only giving the dueler enough time to dodge his opponent's spell. The duel continued in the second year's mind like this although the only one getting hit was the slytherin.

It could have been a another form of his conscience or a feeling of guilt that he couldn't aid his third year partner. That he laid unconscious and useless on the platform in the dueling room. He may have won one duel but he had lost this one, he let his house, team, captains, third year partner, and also his old partner down.

Some dueler the second year was to be taken down in his second official duel after preparing and practicing for weeks on end. Learning every dueling spell in both second and third that he could now laid defeated and useless on his back.


The duel in his head played out almost the same as the one that happened with this third year partner.

A flash of light and his wand dropped before another familiar flash of the knockback jinx and the boy was thrown on his back. Yet a part of him sense he wasn't finish, yes he won one duel then lost another but that didn't mean he was done. There was still one more duel left in the season, one more chance to prove himself and lead both his house and team to victory. And the second year was about to give it up as showed in his unconscious mind the boy would return to his feet holding his wand and cast spell after spell until his opponent laid crippling at his feet.

No way for the twelve year old to know that they would have lost that duel that day but it wouldn't matter since he may have lost that day. He may have let his house, slytherin team, and partner down that day. But he won't do it again. The next duel, he'll be ready. He'll be better. He would win.

Exits the duel unconscious

Great Job and Thanks for the exciting duel Pericles and Dealla! Astrea your a great partner with coming up with strategy and watching the dice go against us! Willow your moding was amazing and I couldn't ask for better!