Way to Start the Year
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october 4th, 2025
Calling an exploration of the grounds an adventure would be an understatement. If anything, it was an absolute nightmare. The moving staircase was only the beginning and, for once, Vera was grateful that her living quarters were on the ground floor. There would be no blue skies to look up and out to or birds to hear at sunrise, but at least she wouldn't have to calculate her next steps as she traversed the Grand Staircase after a day of classes.
Finding the Duelling Club proved to be harder than she realized. All Vera could think about was how much she'd have to walk when the championship started. After checking out the other rooms on this floor, Vera approached the big wooden doors. Out of the corner of her eye, she found a plaque with a long list of rules. So, this was the Duelling Club? She huffed. Finally. Then, she pushed the doors open.
There wasn't much to see, as expected of a Duelling Club. Spaces for said duels, mannequins that Vera assumed were for practice drills if there were no opponents, and a fancy wall of picture frames with names and dates. Famous duellists, Vera figured. She looked around and sat on the bleachers, waiting to see if anyone would come in and have a duel. She needed to see what it was about before the other captains threw her into watching a match at the championships.
(Vera still didn't know how she managed to land a position like that as a First year and as a Muggle-born.)
I N F O R M A T I O NGood luck!
- Normal RP rules apply (i.e. 200 words minimum) as this is an unofficial duel. I won't set a deadline unless you want one, but remember that faster means the plot keeps moving
- Send me your action either via owls or DMs. Not picky about where I'd prefer it
- Please have a read of the following if you haven't already:
- If there are any mistakes, please let me know ASAP so I can rectify it
Way to Start the Year
interaction: @Mercy King@Verity Engels wc: 571 dialogue thoughts
It had been nearly a month since the start of her second year, yet Victoria Blythe had only now summoned the nerve to join the dueling club. She had first noticed the club at the end of her first year—half-hidden flyers on noticeboards, whispered stories in the common room about the dramatic duels that took place in the old chamber after hours—and for months she had imagined herself standing on that polished floor with a wand in hand. But imagining was safer than acting. Only now, with the new term underway and a restless ache under her ribs, had she finally crossed the threshold.
The chamber smelled faintly of stone and chalk dust, like a classroom left sealed for the summer. Dust motes stirred in the shafts of light slanting through the high, narrow windows, swirling in eddies as she pushed the door closed behind her. Her footsteps echoed off the walls, too loud in the cavernous space, as if announcing to everyone present that she was new, untested, and desperately trying to look calm.
She took a breath deep enough to make her ribs ache. What’s the worst that could happen? she asked herself.
Embarrassment. Humiliation. A hex that singes your eyebrows clean off. That last thought made her stomach lurch, but she pushed it aside. She adjusted the strap of her bag across her shoulder, fingers digging in a little too tightly, the pressure a small anchor to keep her from bolting.
She had read the dueling club handbook so many times she could recite whole passages in her sleep—positions of the feet, etiquette when bowing, the formal opening spells allowed in a first duel. Yet as soon as she’d stepped into the chamber all that knowledge had vanished from her mind like water running off slate. What remained was the drumbeat of her own pulse in her ears and a restless whisper of You don’t belong here. Not yet.
She tried another slow breath. It felt a little steadier. She reminded herself of the promise she’d made last night while sitting on the edge of her bed, wand across her knees: she would duel today, no matter what. The result didn’t matter. What mattered was breaking the seal of fear, stepping into the ring, testing herself. That was what she had told herself, at least. But even in her head the words sounded a little hollow. If I lose, I’ll probably cry all night, she thought grimly, and the thought almost made her smile. At least she was honest.
Across the chamber, a blonde girl was sitting on the bleachers. Victoria caught her eye and gave a small, polite nod, then pulled her wand from the inner pocket of her robe and let it rest against her palm. The familiar wood was smooth and cool, grounding.
Today was the day she would begin—whether or not she triumphed. The thought sent a small thrill through her chest, a tremor of anticipation beneath the anxiety. Her fingers tightened around her wand as she straightened her back. She could only hope her first opponent would be merciful, or at least patient.
For a heartbeat, she closed her eyes and listened to the low hum of magic in the room. Then she opened them and fixed her gaze on the far door where her partner would appear, the waiting stretched taut as a drawn bowstring.
She was ready—or at least, ready enough.
ACTION: sent.
Way to Start the Year
@Victoria Blythe, @Verity Engels
Mentioning @Cassius Hirano
Duelling. A purely wizarding, magical, and foreign sport to Mercy, who considered himself quite the fan of athletic activities. After all, the majority of his (admittedly, short) life had been ruled by practices, matches, and early morning lifts and runs by the only unrequited love in his life. He was intimately familiar with the physical grind and hard work of lacrosse, but the mental challenges of the sport had more to do with spacing, timing, and shaking off mistakes. Not... determining whether you actually successfully did anything at all. It was actually precisely the mental strain of the sport that made it so off-putting to him, and was also why he had never previously attempted to dabble in chess— there was simply too much thinking involved. After all, sports were supposed to be about honing your instinct until something became second nature, right? Although he supposed that the concentration required to become a successful duellist was certainly similar to the level of concentration requiring in lacrosse. Maybe they weren't so different after all.
The room was eerily silent as he entered, the door creaking open as he slipped inside. He afforded a stilted nod to his opponent for the day as Mercy took his stance across from his opponent, another Slytherin he could only consider himself a casual acquaintance of, and his eyes darted to the bleachers. No head of dark curly hair awaited him, just some blonde hair framing a face he didn't recognize in the slightest. Of course, Cassius was unable to attend his practice match, but he certainly hadn't hesitated to unload the few tips he did have from his newly appointed leadership position on the team. How on earth his best friend had managed to squirrel his way into such a coveted position was beyond him, but who was he to question the methods of a Song heir? He desperately tried to remember the basics of what Cash had told him (feet like... this? no, you have to to the bows first— deep breaths, stay calm), but mentally dragged himself back to the present.
"Miss Blythe, I presume?" Mercy said awkwardly, weight shifting from foot to foot. Boy, was this going to be challenging. "Shall we get started?Action: Sent!
Way to Start the Year
Round 1
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Victoria vs. Mercy
ReducioVictoria is casting Obscuro @ Mercy; WDC 10
Victoria wis d20(5)+7 = 12, success
Victoria acc d20(16)+8 = 24
Mercy eva d20(6)+6 = 12, hit!
Effects: Mercy is blindfolded, and Mercy's ACC and EVA are reduced to 0
Mercy vs. Victoria
ReducioMercy is casting Flipendo @ Victoria; WDC 9
Mercy wis d20(14)+8 = 22, success
Mercy acc d20(4)+10 = 14
Victoria eva d20(5)+6, 11, hit!
Effects: Victoria is hit with 100 + 5 × 15 = 175 HP damage
october 4th, 2025
The girl—Miss Blythe, the boy had called her—had noticed Vera on the stands just before he came in. She gave a small nod then as a greeting. The boy had noticed her, too, but his eyes moved too quickly across the stands to be a proper acknowledgement. She looked around. It was only her, for now. She looked back at the piste and readjusted herself. Hopefully they wouldn't mind an audience.
Not long after the formalities, they began. Vera watched the spells fly across. Both had been well executed, with not a hint of imperfection in either wand movement or incantation. Vera recognized the boy's spell; one from Defense Against the Dark Arts. His aim had Vera a little nervous, considering Miss Blythe was already moving out of the way. Fortunately for him, she hadn't dodged fast enough and was subject to a solid hit.
Miss Blythe, on the other hand, hadn't gone for anything flashy or damaging to start. Instead, a blindfolded wrapped itself neatly around the boy's eyes. It didn't look like it was going to fall off any time soon without proper intervention. The idea was sound, however. Blindfold your opponent and stop them from aiming or dodging effectively to give yourself time to conjure the damaging spells and whatnot.
Vera nodded. Perhaps that was a strategy she could consider for the upcoming games.
I N F O R M A T I O NGood luck!
- Normal RP rules apply (i.e. 200 words minimum) as this is an unofficial duel. I won't set a deadline unless you want one, but remember that faster means the plot keeps moving
- Send me your action either via owls or DMs. Not picky about where I'd prefer it
- Please have a read of the following if you haven't already:
- If there are any mistakes, please let me know ASAP so I can rectify it