Hogwarts Summer Camp 2021 Chess Combat (Match 2) Closed

At long last, the day of International Chess Combat had come, admittedly the only reason why our darling Astrea had followed the year's summer camp calling. Too used to the careful balance act of high society and home, she struggled to understand the excitement plaguing her campmates' minds and therefore strived to spend most of her days blissfully alone where her already limited social battery could not be mercilessly drained. There were few people whose presences she could tolerate, even fewer who she could reluctantly enjoy company with, but the chaos of summer camp meant that more often than not, they would be strung along into other activities.

Regardless of her personal opinions about the camp, she would show up for the match nonetheless with her wand freed from its holsters and mind in the game. The familiar swirl of wood, a pre-readied match area, a moderator. How nostalgic.

Astrea, ever unimpressed with the patience of what could hardly be called encouragement and more accurately be described as a promise, refrained from voicing her thoughts on the matter. Even as a tentatively loyal subordinate, she truly did not approve of the antagonising stance her captain deemed necessary, though she could not deny that similar taunts had been spoken many times prior during the school championships. Energy unnecessarily spent for the benefit of none involved, but perhaps that was simply due to her own distaste for idle conversation. Unwilling to draw further attention, she would simply take her assigned space as strategised.

Eyes sharp past the roiling veil of darkness about her, Astrea took a moment to observe the patchwork quilt of foreigners. The opposing team was not to be underestimated. There was most definitely a reason why such a select few, out of all of Europe's junior duelists, had been singled out to battle against Hogwarts' best, the same reason why the Vipers were representing the Scottish school. Not in an official duel format, but something more akin to Astrea's experiences within the SWAG team when she had lasted there.

Though it had been more than a year since she had last participated in the club's quirkily creative magical competition, the intricacies of mock-battle could not escape her. The safety net of a team rather than a single partner, the shameful ferality that had overtaken a younger her in the heat of adrenaline, she remembered it all too well. Impulsively tacky and childish, it had been extraordinarily easy to lose herself in the chase towards experimentation.

She had long tempered that spiced unhingedness into sweet control, took its intensity by its arms and twisted it into submission, in a self-bettering move away from her tasteless past habits. But still, it lingered just under her mask of control like a foul aftertaste, fueling a competitive streak often hidden and threatening to consume her very being. Oh, how she silently relished the hunt, they her prey and she, one of many predators.

Action: Doing as strategised.

To say Adonis was excited would be an understatement. He was more than thrilled at the opportunity to duel once again. This time against other Witches and Wizards from different schools. It gave him the chance to test his abilities against those who were from different countries and gauge their own abilities. Just the chance to even be able to participate in once again another chess combat duel was exhilarating in of itself, but representing Hogwarts this way and it being his houses duelling team specifically? Even better. Made him more proud of himself and the others hardwork that allowed them all to get here. The Slytherin didn't pay much attention to those across him upon arriving there. For now, he simply assumed a stance and readied his wand.

Action: Doing as strategized.

Statistics

Stamina: 8
Evasion: 5
Strength: 1
Wisdom: 11
Arcane Power: 10
Accuracy: 11

Ability: Prodigal DADA & Lovely Creature
Trunk: Here

ROUND 1

Ana chuckled and rolled her eyes at one of the foreign student's(Maksim) flirtatious remarks. Normally, she likely would have flirted back, but at that particular moment, she was on a mission and nothing would distract her. "I suppose we'll find out about that, won't we?" she remarked with a wink before the boy took his place.

The duel began with a burst of movement and spells flying. Adonis begun the duel strong with a Rictusempra, which hit one Henrietta despite her best efforts to dodge. Astrea and Dmitri both decided upon Ventus as their opening move, but the spell proved not to be the right choice for either of them. Both were close (13 to 15 and 26 to 29) but both Felix and Irina were able to twist out of the way of the attacks at the last moment. Felix successfully fired off a Flipendo towards Astrea, but the effort to avoid her attack threw off his and the spell did not make contact with the Slytherin across from him.

Interestingly enough, or at least it interested Ana, nearly all the rest of the players opted to move spaces rather than attack or defend just yet. On the Slytherin side, Sarah and Violet both moved to the spaces directly in front of them. Maksim moved one space diagonally so that he was nobly protecting his team's queen, Henrietta moved to the side into the space that Maksim had just vacated, and Amauary chose to move directly in front of Felix.

Information

1. You have 72 hours (8 August) from now to write your posts (50 words min).
2. In the same time period, send both moderators (Alan Vanes & Anastasia Beckett) your team's actions per owl. Do not hint at your actions in your post.
3. If you don't post in the allotted time frame, your action is void.
4. Your Stats, Abilities, and Spells have been locked to what they are now for the duration of this contest.
5. If you have questions or notice something odd about the mod post, don't hesitate to owl or DM one of the moderators (Alan Vanes or Anastasia Beckett).
6. Good luck, and have fun!

Spectator thread here!

Banner made by Winnie Harper

August 14th, 2021

A dodge, her first move was going to be as simple as it could be. She was playing as the queen and the goal was to keep her protected and take out the opposing queen. As expected at the start, the Hogwarts team’s queen aimed at her trying to take her out. By almost an inch, Irina dodged the spell. It was a close call, and not one that she wanted to have again. A teammate of hers moved in the spot in front of her to protect Irina and their chance of winning. Taking a small breath, Irina readied herself for the next moves.

Action: Doing as strategized
Health: 900/900
Allies: Henrietta, Maksim, Amaury, and Felix (The iNPC team)
Paragon of Health Allies: Maksim and Amaury

Banner by Winnie Harper

RPing as Henrietta Montagne of Ilvermorny

A dark-haired boy with a rather arresting demeanor had come in strong to the duel, immediately uttering the incantation to the tickling charm as the spells proceeded to fly and waves of movement began to ripple through the group. She’d attempt to evade the silver, glimmering jet of light, but it was a solid hit, and Ret was forced to giggle uncontrollably. While her laugh was pleasant, a whistle rivaling the harmonies of songbirds, there was a growl beneath it and a flicker of frustration in her gaze.

Time had slowed so the blonde could linger in her failure to dodge, and she could only speed it up again by squinting at her teammates, hoping that their clocks still rocked unfazed. A few of them had evaded incoming attacks and shot out a few of their own, but through watery eyes, the girl couldn’t decipher the exact movements. In her peripherals, Maksim’s tall and defined figure slid from his spot, leaving a gap for Ret to infiltrate. With these new positions established, the young girl got a glimpse of silvery hair in the corner of her eye, and confidence began to boil back up. She would shake loose the tension, breathless giggles still creeping into her steady breaths, and ready herself a second time.

Action | Doing as strategized.

Since she was one of the Bishops, Violet decided that it was a good idea to take a step ahead. Her wand was clutched to her hand as she watched Thorn cast Rictusempra at one of the opposite duellists. She was about to do her next move when she saw something that was going to make her more embarrassed than she had ever been in her entire life.

@Aurora Ranvier and Violet were starting to bloom a friendship from becoming the worst of enemies. What Violet did not know was that this friendship was not going to turn out well, considering the laughing stock that girl was. Jeez, come all dressed up in green, and- wait, dressed up in her clothes? Violet couldn't help but look at Aurora and flush hastily. Why did that Ravenclaw have to make her pass through this embarrassment?

To be honest, Violet kind of appreciated Aurora's efforts to support her, but it was not the moment to be distracted by her awful dancing and yelling. Her face red because of how embarrassed she was, Violet raised her free hand and raised her middle finger up in annoyance. Hopefully that would make her shut up.

As strategized

It was a good thing that Felix needed Maksim @Ami Procoppio to remain unharmed, or he would have smacked the boy for his useless flirtatious nature. Was he trying to butter moderator up? Who knew. It could have easily backfired, and it did not impress him. A narrowed look sent in the boy’s direction would tell him as much. "Stay focused." Was all he said to the boy.

His glare hadn’t quite been laced with venom until the boy turned towards Ret @Levi Drakos and extended his greeting to her as if they were old chums. Were they? The boy had somehow won the blonde’s attention, casting Felix into the metaphorical shadows of her mind. His gut seemed to twist when the American greeted him back. Hm. Interesting, this was new.

Some Hogwarts student was babbling on about how they hadn’t sent their best students, trying to stir the pot. Felix would not fall for his bait, because it was embarrassing, truly. The only reaction the white-haired boy would receive was one of Felix’s signature eye rolls. As Amaury @Cecily Quinn entered the area, he would offer the boy a silent nod in greeting.

He didn’t like it, especially because he couldn’t control this feeling. No, it wouldn’t do at all. He would have to distance himself from the girl before she retained some sort of control over him--. Wait a minute, had that boy just Rictusempra’d Ret? How dare he, Felix grit his teeth together, his grip on his wand tightening... Before remembering his initial plan. Ret wasn’t a porcelain doll. She was a tough western beauty who could handle herself, as he had quickly learned through their interactions.

He would focus his aggressions on the girl standing across from him, he readied himself to fire a flipendo her way, but it would seem she was quicker than he was, and his spell was sent flying elsewhere in his attempt to avoid the strong jet of wind that was sent spiralling in his direction.

@Astrea Soleil Neptune
@Adonis Thorn
@Sarah Lightwood
@Dmitri Jones
@Cecily Quinn (Amaury)
@Ami Procoppio (Maksim)

roughly 26 hours until the deadline! Make sure to post and get your actions submitted prior to then. If you have questions or notice something odd about the mod post, don't hesitate to owl or DM one of the moderators (Alan Vanes or Anastasia Beckett). Good luck and enjoy!

The duel began, and Amaury immediately made his move, stepping one square diagonally in front of Felix to his right, who was already very busy in a direct duel with the girl directly across from him. Both rooks, they had very little choice but to go after each other, although neither quite managed to land a hit.

As Amaury occupied his new square, ideally being able to hit someone now, he found himself staring down the girl who had just gone after Felix with a penetrating glare, sizing up what now was to be his attacker. Although she looked rather tame, these were supposedly Hogwarts' best, and he supposed that, although his typical style of duelling held a reckless disregard for his own wellbeing, he had a team with him today, and he would rather overestimate an opponent and be just a little too careful than flippantly underestimate one and lose the match for the four other students standing behind him.

ACTION: as strategised
charmer & lovely creature opponents: slytherin team

From a spellcasting standpoint, the first round was disappointingly ineffectual. Claim upon her square unchallenged, Astrea was free to focus upon her intended target as positions shifted about her, a lighthouse beacon upon an ever-changing shore. Potent magical energy buzzed stronger beneath her skin, a constant companion as familiar and writhing as ever, sprinting laps about the plans within her memory with anticipation seldom felt. This sensation which had once overtaken her with its newborn intensity she could now control, she would know it senseless.

Native power moulded into an alien incantation, a burst of wind sprouting from the tip of her wand only to be dodged readily, twinning with her captain's. Astrea's spell did not hit, nay, but it did the next best thing in throwing the enemy rook's aim off enough to render their ill-fated directing ineffectual. Easily moving out of the way within her boundaries, the whizzing path of brilliant red and opponent exchange of places helped fill in the gaps of what had just happened. Only one of the foreign duelists had cast off a spell, all the rest had focused entirely on their formations. How interesting.

Action: Doing as strategised.