Hexwizard Task 1: Mahoutokoro v Ilvermorny

Action: Entering the ballroom
Stats: Stamina - 9 | Evasion - 9 | Strength - 8 | Wisdom - 7 | ArcPower - 5 | Accuracy - 8
Abilities: Potion Mastery, Evasive Maneuvers, Fearless

People were now making their way onto the board and Christopher knew it was time. Even though he generally didn't feel he did feel it now. Nerves. Just in the pit of his stomach. Maybe a little fear, fear of what he didn't know but it was there. Fear fascinated Christopher. People said that power came from knowledge, or strength, or money, but Christopher knew the truth. Fear was power. If you could harness that power to drive you, you could accomplish anything. And if you channeled that fear in others, they would follow you.

He walked back over to the bench before taking his place and walked up to Hiro. He knew Hiro better than anyone else on the team, he'd met Hiro after he'd moved to Japan with his mother. Hiro was the closest thing he had to a friend, even though he really didn't know what friends were, and Hiro was the only person he felt comfortable talking to. "Well, it's time... wish me luck." He said as he offered a fist for a bump, "If I get clobbered out there at least crumple me into a dignified position on the bench."

After a moment he walked out onto the board and took his place. He tried to loosen himself up, dancing back and forth on his square like a goalkeeper getting ready to face a penalty kick.

Action:Taking His Place On the Board (and/or doing as strategized if we're already at that point)

Interacting: @Kim Sato as Hiro Bakugo Mentioning: @ N/A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcU8HM3yesk&t=100s

Doing as strategized
Transforming into the clearly best looking player in this tournament.

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INTERACTING: Miles Thatcher (@Simon Kincaid)
MENTIONING: N/A
COLOR GUIDE: 580404
TRUNK: ✕✕✕
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As Olive watched the Ilvermorny team take their places on the board, she saw out of the corner of her eye Miles reach his hand back to grasp hers. She could not even begin to imagine how nervous he must be for the upcoming task. In hopes of giving him some more confidence, she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before he stepped up onto the board.

After he had stepped onto the board, she turned her attention back to the larger picture. The various other players from both Ilvermorny and Mahoutokoro were magically being transformed into the chess pieces they would be playing as for the duration of the task. She had to admit, the transformations looked extremely cool. All that was left to do now was to wait for the games to begin.

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STA: 8 | EVA- 8 | STR- 2 | WIS- 7 | ARC- 6 | ACC- 9

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Japanese ~ English

Reducio

Word Count: 220

Interacting: @Mahou team, @Hanako Tone as Sara

Date: October 23rd 2022

As Chiaki watched the rest of her team take their places, she gulped nervously and stepped forwards onto the board.

Instantly, her arms felt heavier. Obsidian-black metal armour had appeared over a simple black t-shirt and leggings. A metal helmet weighed down her head naturally. The small cat plushie in her hand had vanished. Eyes widening furiously fast, she looked down and scanned the ground from above for any signs of where it could've fallen.

Wait. From above...?

She looked up sharply, and it didn't take long for her to realise that she had a freaking horse!

Screaming internally with excitement, she leaned forwards to scratch her steed behind the ears. Sher wondered if it was stupid of her to name him (yes, she'd decided it was a him), but ignored the thought. Of course she had to name him.

She wanted to tell someone, desperately excited so much that her anxieties had been forgotten momentarily. To her left was the stern and cold Christopher Runnels. In truth, he scared her. A lot. So the only other was Sara, even if he was a lot older and probably wouldn't listen.

"Kohana-san! Look! I have a horse! I'm going to call him Ash."

Being on Ash gave her more confidence as she looked out at the opposing team. Maybe she could do this.

Action: As strategised

Stats:
Sta-9 | Eva-8 | Str-4 | Wis-6 | Arc-7 | Acc-8

Abilities:
- Calming Presence (ALLIES -> all of Mahou Hexwizard team (Aryaan Shamsi, Akira Shimizu, Christopher Runnels, Hadashi Hitoshi, Sara Kohana, Chikao Narumi, Ginyami Midorimori, Hiro Bakugo))
- 's Grace

Roleplaying as Akira Shimizu from Mahoutokoro
Outfit: Navy Uniform

Roleplaying as Phylicia Stanwood

All around her, teammates and opponents alike were transforming as their feet settled in their respective squares. This was absolutely the first step to being as chess-y as possible, in Phyllis' incredibly humble opinion, because how could they be chess pieces if distracted by the blandness of boring average clothes?

Phyllis took her position, and it was certainly a bit of a wild ride there for a moment, for two reasons. One, Iris was right next to her. Oh god. It was probably a good thing the chariot she ended up in half-blocked her from view, because Phyllis really did not know what to do with that one. Two, no sooner had her foot made contact with the board than was she lifted into the air, a movement thankfully not dizzying thanks to her extensive experience on a broom, and found herself on... a horse. Well, that was certainly on-brand for a knight. They were literally just horses in most chess sets.

She settled in, adjusting her grip on the magically-appearing lance and reins. Okay, cool. Armor, weapon, and stead, she really did feel pretty cool. But hold on a second, was this a real horse? Did that even work with all that magic rules stuff? Phyllis didn't think it did, but don't quote her on that one. So, did that make this, like, an NPC horse? Was that how her friends who played video games used that word, was that what it meant? Was it some sort of illusion? You know what, this was making her brain hurt; she was on a horse... thing, and all that mattered was her ability to ride it to victory. Considering she was used to being in the air and this was not her first-ever time on a horse, that was probably something she could do. "Let's do this!"

Action: Doing as strategized
Stats: STA: 14 • EVA: 10 • STR: 12 • WIS: 9 • ARC: 5 • ACC: 15
Abilities: Calming Presence • Fearless • Statistically Relevant [+2 Stamina] • Catch • Wandmaker [Snallygaster Heartstring | Dogwood | 33 cm | Quite Flexible]

Shamsi could feel the his clothes transform as he stepped onto the board, the weight on a metal circlet upon his head. It was surprisingly simple fare, a small band of gold to complement his new dark getup. Shamsi had to hold in a smile, his new getup was perfect. Black and Gold to suit the chessboard and his status as King, with a nod to oriental aspects that were his home.

Reducio

A small nod to Akira-kun (@Avery Chen), and a mumbled "Keep your eyes open, dude. This is the big stage" Uncharacteristically serious, but then the Champion knew what was at stake. Shamsi knew his limits and had left the strategizing to Mr. Big Blue and his rival(? friend?). And they would handle it best. All Shamsi had to do was focus on executing the tasks he was given, and follow Akira-kun's lead should there be any changes.
The Mahoutokoro Champion took a second to look over their opposition. This was one of those moments out of his childhood: the crown prince and his closest allies taking up spots on a Shatranj board to stand up to the evil, decadent king. But the American students looked nothing like evil, irredeemable monsters of song. Shamsi's smile broadened at the conspicuously empty position on the white chessboard -- someone had overslept, maybe, like Narumi (@Hunter Argentum) was prone to do.
Actually, now that he thought about it, the evil king had always played the black pieces. Did that mean that it was actually Mahoutokoro that was meant to be the evil team here?
Big Blue (@Dan Palmer as Hadashi) clearly thought so, from the bombastic persona he had adopted. And wasn't that a brilliant idea? Nothing like getting into the roles to overcome any nervousness that his teammates might have. It would not do to have Sara Senpai (@Hanako Tone) or Chi-san (@Pax Zhang) to have nerves get the better of them.

Well, best get into the role of it, then!

Shamsi took a large, performative step forwards, taking care to stay within his allotted square. "King Thatcher (@Simon Kincaid as Miles). Ilvermorny. You stand before the mighty army of Aryaan Shamsi. The Dark King of Mahoutokoro, and the youngest and best Champion in the Hexwizard Tournament. A moment to catch his breath, trying to assess the reaction to his grandstanding speech. "Consider well your decisions going forward; for if you choose poorly ...You. Will. Be. Vanquished."

Shamsi closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
"Let's WIN THIS!"

Action: As Strategised
Interacting: @Avery Chen as Akira Shimizu, @Simon Kincaid as Miles Thatcher
Mentioning: Several of his teammates, most prominently@Dan Palmer as Hadashi Hitoshi

Banner by Hanako Tone

Roleplaying as Ginyami Midorimori from Mahoutokoro
"English | Japanese"

Ginyami's brows rose as he watched his teammates one by one be beckoned to step onto the board where they were meant to play and each be transformed. Aryaan was changed into a king with a tunic, trousers, cloak, and crown all of black. Hadashi was to become his queen with an extraordinary gown, scepter, his own crown, and a ring for each finger. Sara and Chikao each transformed into leather-armored rooks with walled chariots drawn by black stallions while Chiaki was given a lance in place of her plushie and a black horse of her own.

Finally, it was Ginyami's turn and he discovered his role of a knight - specifically, the King's Knight - reflected the transformation he himself was meant to undergo. Like Chiaki, he found himself with a lance and upon horseback weighed down by heavy, black armor and tried to maintain his balance. Perhaps his new costume was fitting considering part of his name meant 'darkness', but he hoped he wouldn't fall off his horse due to the weight of his armor when it came time to move. From his place atop his new mount, he clutched his reins tight and watched Christopher and Akira's changes take place as they both became dark bishops equipped with a book each.

Across the board, their opponents were undergoing similar transformations, but in versions of white instead of black. His own side, for the most part, didn't seem intimidated, reveling in their own changes. Chikao called out to his horse with the name 'Hachiman', to which Ginyami had to smile. Sara, too, seemed to smile which made Ginyami almost want to laugh. Christopher seemed less enthusiastic, but spoke to Hiro, perhaps, for support.

"You'll be fine," Ginyami called out to Christopher encouragingly, not wanting the boy's spirits to dampen everyone else's before they even started to play. In truth, he wasn't thrilled about the presence of the non-Japanese-seeming boy, but no one needed to know that and it was easily disguised behind his usual smile. It wasn't the first or only time Ginyami had had to hide such sentiments, after all. The way Christopher loosened himself up on his square made Ginyami think he looked a bit ridiculous, but he said nothing of it.

Hadashi, meanwhile, seemed to fully embrace his status as Queen and Ginyami found that more amusing than anything else. He almost laughed again when Hadashi commanded the opposing forces to kneel, but managed to refrain behind a tight smile.

Meanwhile, Chikao wasn't the only one to decide to name his horse as Ginyami heard Chiaki tell Sara that she was going to call her own horse Ash. It seemed a good thing that the girl had had her plushie replaced by a realistic-seeming animal as Ginyami thought it appeared to give her more comfort and perhaps more confidence as well to be on horseback. He nodded to her with his smiling face in acknowledgement of her comment in the case Sara chose not to.

Akira to his right had spoken eloquently and flatteringly to which Ginyami was delightfully amused. "On the contrary, you honor me with your remarkably kind assessment of my abilities. I shall certainly have to do my best to live up to your expectations of me, now won't I? Though I'm certain you yourself will make the team proud on your own. You've already demonstrated excellent team-building." For once, Ginyami meant his compliments, too. Akira was one of those students who seemed to check on everyone else and reliably provide help where he could. Ginyami had no doubt he would be a great asset to their side in the Hexwizard tournament.

And then the tournament seemed to be starting. Shamsi took a step forward within his square to address the king of the opposing team of Ilvermorny. He fought not to snicker under his breath at the formality and arrogance of it all. When Shamsi declared that they win this, however, Ginyami responded with a resounding affirmative, holding his lance high in the air.

Mentioning: Christopher Runnels (@Bubba McGarry), Aryaan Shamsi (@Hui Ming), Akira Shimizu (@Avery Chen), Chiaki Hiroi (@Pax Zhang), Hadashi Hitoshi (@Dan Palmer), and Chikao Narumi (@Hunter Argentum)

Action: Watching everyone transform, trying to keep upright on his horse, and answering Akira

Stats: Sta 11 | Eva 11 | Str 5 | Wis 6 | Arc 6 | Acc 11

Abilities:
- Charmer (Allies for Charmer are:
Aryaan Shamsi (Hui Ming)
Hiro Bakugo (Kim Sato)
Akira Shimizu (Avery Chen)
Christopher Runnels (Bubba McGarry)
Hadashi Hitoshi (Dan Palmer)
Sara Kohana (Hanako Tone)
Chikao Narumi (Hunter Argentum)
Chiaki (Riku) Hiroi (Pax Zhang)
Ayako Yamamura (Sophia Nelson))
- Fearless
- Foulplay
- Evasive Manuvers

Ah, to be the princess again. Well, the queen. This was his second time doing chess combat and second time being chosen to be the illustrious queen that he was. Not just the gay sort either. While he was a boy a beautiful gown donned his body as well as a crown and scepter. Yes. Even magic knew what he deserved to be wearing. He smoothed out his dress, twirling the scepter in his hand to really sell the magical girl transformation.

Action | Doing As Strategized