Hogwarts Summer Camp 2021 Chess Combat (Match 3) Closed

Opeila knew that there had been a chess combat last year but she hadn't bothered to participate then. Too disturbed from the battles she had fought at school, the little girl didn't have the energy to fight more in her free time.

Sometimes Opeila was surprised how change had crept up on her, but if one thing was clear it was that she was no longer the little helpless girl who made nothing but naive and poor decisions. Sure she had made a few in her last year, but not nearly as many or heavy ones as she had in her first year.

This summer camp Opeila was participating in the chess combat. She had practically begged Lord and Lady Virtanen to let her go to summer camp to fight this final duel of the year and here she was. Not all of the Slytherins next to her were on the team, but what did it matter? With all its dangers, Hogwarts offered great education, she had to give that to the school.

If they lost today, it was because the others were more trained, not because her team was bad, Opeila was certain of that.
This was the first battle where she faced entirely unfamiliar students and she would lie if she said that it didn't make her the slightest bit nervous. She didn't know those kids' abilities, what spells they knew, hell, she didn't even know what year they were in.

Alright, just breathe. "Good luck.", Opeila murmured, although Starlee and Hanako on the other side of the field probably couldn't even hear her.

Doing as Strategized.

Obviously Starlee was over the moon that Slytherin had won the Hogwarts Dueling Championship, even with the loss of the one duel that she participated in. However, she wasn't expecting their own team to issue a competition to the other schools for a little friendly dueling competition over the summer camp, to prove that the Viridian Vipers were on top - of the entire world when it came to school dueling.

However, this wasn't like any duel Starlee had ever heard of. She had played chess before and her father and brother were extremely great players: going to all sorts of local competitions, and even getting the chance to play against a Grandmaster. Starlee... didn't quite have that same chess gift that her brother processed, but she still enjoyed the game. The added element of dueling certainly made it seem like it could be fun.

But... and there was a huge but... she disliked two members of her newly formed team from the get-go. At least the other two were fine; there was Opeila, who she generally liked, they had made a great team already when they played together in that quidditch scrimmage. And then she didn't really know Percival at all, he hadn't participated in any duels yet, so no opinion. But Hanako and... and... Piper - now those two were just bad eggs.

Hanako wasn't as bad as Piper - she just really didn't trust him after the strange incident at the Autumn Ball. But Piper... she was sure being chosen as queen was going to go right to Piper's head. And here Starlee was, a Bishop that seemed pretty useless, only able to cast diagonally. She tried not to let it affect her, she was supposed to be the new and improved 'now with bangs!' Starlee, but she really couldn't lie to herself like that.

She would try to push her feelings aside for the good of the team. She did want to win this after all, to finally have a claim to a dueling win under her belt. And so, she stepped her way onto the dueling platform, wand in hand, standing tall in the bishop position - right between Piper and Hanako - of course. She tensed her face. She would win this time.

Action: Doing as Strategized

Summer camp so far had been a whirlwind of activity. Between rounds of Truth or Dare and campfire tales, Piper had been much busier than she had anticipated. However, among all the activities she had participated in, this one took the cake. Not only had Piper wanted to be a part of the dueling team for some time (despite Starlee's presence); she had wanted a chance to hone her spellcasting skills. Though she had never been a good chess player, Piper thought a chessboard where the players were people was genius.

Now, there was just one damper on this thrilling experience, the name of which was Starlee Kennedy. Of all the three teams, Piper had just had to be partnered with the one person that she downright despised. At least the arrangements had been made so that she was the queen, which meant that everyone, including Starlee, would be obligated to protect her. If they even could, given Starlee's dismal casting skills. Piper couldn't wait to show her up with real talent.

Marching onto the life-sized black and white, the twelve year old felt her stomach give a peculiar little twist, as if it was trying to escape from her body. This was accompanied by an unfamiliar thumping in her chest. Piper set her jaw. She had to do the best she could to win, or her name would forever be smudged in the Hogwarts records of dueling. And in other magical schools. Those opponents erred on the side of terrifying.

Failure was for, well...losers. Piper didn't need to bother about wanting Starlee to fail - they were on the same team, and the other Slytherin would probably do a fine job embarrassing herself anyway.

Taking her place facing the other opponents, Piper gave Starlee a deceptively confident smirk. "Good luck. You of all people will need it."

Action: Doing as strategized

INTERACTIONS @Yefim Rumyantsev | MENTIONING @Theodore Duncain, @Nichlas Forsberg
NORWEGIAN | SWEDISH | RUSSIAN | GERMAN | ENGLISH

Several years of work and practice had—finally—brought Greta to this point. Durmstrang was well known to be a school that prided itself in its combat magic, and now was the opportunity to demonstrate that claim, to show the other international schools that even one as diminutive and unimposing as Greta was a force with which to be reckoned when permitted a wand in hand. Regrettably, the form that these duels would take were not the traditional sort. Granted, it wasn't as though this was entirely unfamiliar, either. This sort of quasi chess game had been one that Greta had played at last year's camp as well. Then, she had been the queen and their team had reigned victorious. This time, she'd been demoted several tiers to rook. Woe to any who would take that to mean she wasn't able to hold her own, however.

Getting into position, Greta took a moment to steel herself. Her nerves felt aflame, like a bush fire had erupted in her stomach, hot tendrils reaching up her core to choke her on the spot. It was one thing to play at combat in the comfort of her school and amidst familiar and friendly faces. It was quite another to represent that school in an international capacity in an official game without any of her usual companions to back her up. A nervous glance flickered frequently towards the crowd, searching the plethora of faces for someone—anyone—familiar to latch onto. Ella, preferably. Greta could always count on her friend for a morale booster. And, hopefully, Nichlas would not be among them to see Greta fail and make a fool of herself. Unless she performed spectacularly well, then hopefully he would be there and catch every moment of it and finally take note of her beyond simply an annoying accessory to his little sister.

It was in that moment as well that she wondered if Theo was among the sea of faces. She'd spied him at the camp from afar a time or two, although had taken care to avoid him up until then. Guilt still ran deep at how their communications had been so abruptly cut. She had attended the dance with him, technically, although it was all a blur. Then... then her parents had found out about her growing attachment to a muggle and forbid contact. Dutiful and obedient as she was (most of the time), she obliged. What were the odds of seeing him again anyway? Plus, she'd been growing increasingly closer to the Forsbergs and... well... thoughts of anyone else seemed to peter out as soon as Nichlas entered a room. Even now, a shiver ran down the length of her spine. He had an aura about him that crept and clung, pervading an area long before anyone could lay eyes upon him. She felt that aura now. Although.. somehow... she didn't think it was him this time.

Swallowing away her nerves, Greta clapped her hands to either cheek in an attempt to snap her focus back to the present. Beside her stood Yefim, a boy in her year. They weren't particularly close, and as far as she could tell, he was something of a dunce when it came to casting. But he was strong and stronger-willed. There was some measure of comfort to be drawn from that. And at the very least, they had to stick together to bring pride to their school... right? "Ready?" She flicked him a nervous smile, and pulled her wand from a pocket of her patchwork dress before peering forward.

Getting into position | Doing as Strategised
Allies: Those on Greta's team (Yefim, Roberta, Lovanna, Enzo)

Mentions @Hanako Tone and @Opeila Winters

It was no secret Percival had applied for the school dueling team, but even he wasn't expecting a big occasion like representing the school to come so soon. Leading into the summer camp, he was put on reserve for anyone who couldn't make it. And sure enough, his name was called last minute to fill in. Gray knew himself he was unprepared for this occasion, he barely had any practice leading up to the event and only had a few days to memorise different facts. Nonetheless, he was going to try his best and get his team over the line. In his mind, he had nothing to lose...

Clad in his ever present black sweater and jeans, he strolled calmly over to his place on the chessboard. It would have been a lie that he felt no nerves at all. This was quite an important event for the school where a humiliation would most certainly damage its reputation. Although, right now Gray certainly didn't look moved by the slightest. He had a knack for looking confident and unfazed in the most stressful of situations. Sometimes it was for the best for his teammates, as well as his opponents who for sure would use any form of weakness to exploit him.

Coming to halt on his square, he gazes over to the opponents and slowly rolls up the sweater sleeves with a firm tug. He took great care in looking at each of their faces, glaring them down coldly as he took out his wand and let it hang loosely in his hand. Some of them were surely feeling the nerves, even if they didn't show it in their expressions, their actions during the match for sure were going to prove that.

His teammates on the other hand were probably suffering the same effect. A few of them were familiar to him, such as Han who was also part of the notorious Snape dorm. Then there was Winters, a person he had gotten to a bad start with when they first met. However, as time went on Gray began to grow mutual respect for the girl. She probably didn't share the same thoughts on himself, but that wasn't his problem anymore.

"Let's get this over with..." he said sternly to his opponents, looking chilled and unbothered with what was to come. No matter what, this was going to be a struggle for everyone.

Action: Doing as stratigized

Banner by Winnie Harper

[font=Monotype Corsiva]Enzo had sort of surprised himself with agreeing to partake in this duelling tournament, considering he would normally just stick to his usual sport, broom racing. He wasn't particularly a huge fan of sports that depended a lot on teamwork, since he did not favour having to rely on others to get things done, but he could deal with it once and a while. Besides, it never hurt to try something new and prove that one could excel in anything put into, right?

Well, that was the mindset that Enzo had as he stepped onto his designated spot as bishop.
Just as he was sure they were giving him, he gave each of his opponents a good look up and down as he pulled out his most trusty companion, also known as his wand since it was getting closer and closer to showtime.
He then quickly glanced over at his own team. Upon seeing that he did not really know any of them he just proceeded to offer them all a short yet cordial nod, hoping that that along with his way of conduct would be enough to indicate to them that he was ready, and he wasn't about to back down, at least not without a good hard fight.

His stance and posture were rather stoic and it was showing the more poised side to him as he inhaled deeply preparing for the cue to start.
No snide remarks or taunting comments would be heard from the boy towards those opposing him. He'd rather just show them what he thought.

[font=PT Sans]At first, Hanako was skeptical of the Summer Duel. While it was true that Slytherin had won valiantly as last year’s dueling victor, he was just on the waitlist. Never had he joined a duel before. Had he shot a spell against someone? For sure! Most very well intended to make situations worse most of the time. So he wouldn’t have any problems with kicking some wizard butts today.

Nevertheless, despite how hard he tries to appear indifferent, it truly was exciting to be in this position for the first time. He knew most of his teammates as well. Percival Gray, who was the less relevant Percival in his life. Starlee, the star to Martyna’s moon -wardrobe malfunctions or not. And Pei the hamster ex-girlfriend of his best friend. Piper was a new name he was going to forget soon. Fortunately for her, she played as the Queen in this chess combat. With that, the percentage of possibilities for Hana to remember her name after this has increased drastically. Good for her!

Upon getting into position, he turned to his other teammates to see what they would do. He managed to listen to Piper’s slight shade to Starlee. Or at least, that seemed like shade. Was there beef between the two? And being snarky during a duel together. Whatever it was, dang. Perhaps Piper won’t be as forgettable as he thought. He slightly laughed at the exchange and turned his focus on the opponent's side.

Was no one in his team attempting to be snarky to the opponents? Absurd! Don’t they know the beginning of the game is the best time to be an asshat before possibly losing? Well, they’re lost. Hanako’s eyes fell on the opponent's Queen. He did several quick and quiet poses to gain her attention, such as numerous hand gestures. Whether he got the attention he wanted or not, he grinned mischievously and sent them a dramatically mocking air kiss.

Gosh, he felt so powerful. Just what he needed before the duel started. [/font]

Reducio

Action: Doing as Stratigized

Mentions: @Starlee Kennedy@Opeila Winters@Percival Grey@Piper Clark@Sylvain Wyllt

Interacting with: Our team, @Hanako Tone

Hexcode= #967bb6

Carefully weighting her alternatives Roberta had selected regalia to wear which armored her in confidence and graced her already elusive form. Plenty of preparation had gone into making herself well equipped for this moment, for this duel. An opportunity to fight, and in victory, an opportunity to make a name for herself. Resolute in her decision to stand and fight, she would not be hesitant to snatch victory from under their noses nor would she be reluctant to flourish in the glory and spoils that came such victory. Today, she would live and die by the wand.

Like smoke on water, Roberta would drift into place without so much as a cutting word edgewise. She was not their leader, but instead a bold and calculating warrior who fought beside them. Gauging the opposing team for strength and weakness both, she quickly recognized none were so well known that she would have any reason to know their names. Something their imminent defeat would perhaps alleviate from her conscience. None among them seemed so extraordinary that she would doubt herself or the abilities of her team. A team which had been comprised of the best duellists from the collective of schools outside of Hogwarts. Well, four of them and a single meat head. Sorry, not sorry, Yefim.

Movement from one of them belied some sort of secret message. Was it adoration that he was signaling? Did he recognize her or her talent? No. It seemed more like a cheap attempt to make her uncomfortable. To intimidate her. As Hanako blew her a mocking kiss, Roberta's reaction would follow fluidly more or less dripping with well practiced sarcasm. She would then wink back assertively raising her head high. Roberta then raised her wand, along with her laser like focus, into the ready position. She was fully prepared to make good on the threat her prowess represented. She would have to collect on that kiss later if he was still so confident in its delivery.

Assuming he survived the ordeal of course.

Reducio

Action: Doing as strategized