Hogwarts Summer Camp 2021 Chess Combat (Match 1) Closed

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Mentioning -

Interacting with @Santario Martin

What an embarrassing spell casting. He was supposed to cast incendio then his tongue slipped and said the duo extension for some peculiar reason. The wand of his was supposed to conjure a big flame but ended up throwing away his pride out of the window, never to be seen again. The quick remarks of the Slytherin beauty queen was not helping at all. It made Rodion just want to run away, changing his entire face and identity. He was quick to think, however. Whether the girl will buy his foolish excuse or not, it will not matter because in his mind, he just said the best comeback in his life. “It's not my fault you look so beautiful.” And yet, another wink. Was that even a comeback? Probably not.

Charmer
Allies : the international team
Action : As Strategized

RPing as iNPC Alisa Sokolova.

Action: Doing as strategized.

INTERACTIONS: Guest Team

Jan was hurting, both physically and mentally. Mentally, he was weighing the risks of just throwing caution to the winds and attempting to take one of the Hogwarts kids with them before they laid him flat on his face. It wasn't how he had planned for this to go at all. The fact that someone could best him in wandwork was a fact that he was struggling to fathom at this very moment. He had seen the spell coming, it had been obvious but yet it had found it's true marks and he was gritting his teeth as he shrugged off it's effect which if he was being perfectly honesty wasn't exactly a walk in the park. One more wrong move and he was done for, he would have to keep an eye out for that girl, she certainly knew where to hit where it hurt, they had to play thier cards carefully or they would be whisked away into the dust like nothing had ever been there. On the other hand, he was enjoying it, they were putting up a fight, a real challenge so he supposed that made the struggle worthwhile if anything.

However, he wouldn't have to worry about his diminishing energy and lack of strength for long. Milo managed to re-energize him with a spell which was an appreciatve gesture as he felt strength sweep back into him as he nodded a thanks to the boy. "Nice one, thanks." Whatever feelings of immnient defeat and despair he had been feeling before, those quickly left him as he stood up a bit straighter, wand held a bit more firmly. Their teamwork was coming in handy but they needed to make a move. They had been caught on the defensive once and he had paid the price for that, they needed to give them a taste of their own medicine, something the boy would happily oblige to but first, he needed to get a bit closer. "We're basically sitting ducks if we don't do something." Jan muttered as he scanned the opposing team. You could tell who were the dangerous ones and who were just all talk in some cases.

Having drawn a rather rough analysis in his head, Jan began drawing a mental plan in his head. It was simple what they needed to do, the question was how they did do it. They needed to do something, big, bold and effective. As long as they could dwindle the numbers a little, the boy reckoned that dealing with any who remained wouldn't pose too much of an issue. They just needed to find solid footing and work their way from there. In a game however where your reach and spell-casting were bound by rules and regulations, it was rather tricky as you had to work your way through this checkered surface without being picked off. However, he held faith that it would all work out. There was always a way, giving up was never an option especially to these Londoners. Hogwarts was not the only school with an famed reputation and Jan intended to remind them of that, give them a reality check if anything else.

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Goods and bads, ups and downs. Really, that was all that there was to a duel, and the same went for Chess Combat, it seemed—it wasn't a shock, of course, Chess Combat being literally a duel with far more moving parts and several additional layers of complexity, but the fact had never really occurred to Karilyna prior to the past moments. As she stood on her spot, eyes peeled and unusually attentive thanks to her acute awareness that she was currently in range of two Vipers, not one, but two spells came flying towards her. Interesting.

Very few people here had seen her duel before, and thus few could attest to whether or not she was a threat on the stage; her weaknesses and strengths laid largely unknown. As such, it was an interesting choice to have her be the immediate target—but then again, it wasn't like they had anyone else they could hit, so okay. Anyway. She'd heard the incantations, knew what she was up against: Ventus and Flipendo, both of which were pretty nasty spells and neither of which she wanted to be hit by. And so she threw herself into dodging, surprising even herself as she managed to duck out of harm's way, reappearing untouched. If only the rest of the duel would continue this way.

She sent off a Flipendo in retaliation, left only to watch and cringe as it blew past her target by an embarrassingly large margin. Perhaps she'd gotten cocky, overconfident in her own skill after those dodges she'd pulled off. Whatever the reason, though, she wasn't about to make the same mistake again. There was little room for error here, after all.

Round 3

Admittedly, so far it seemed like the Slytherins had the better strategy. Despite moving less and attacking more, they had managed to move into a formation in which their Queen, Alexander, was completely protected, while the Vipers now had a clear shot at Milosh, the foreign team's Queen. Dee supposed it was the advantage they had from working together for a year, where not all of the guests even shared the same language. Yet, with this new flurry of spells exchanged, the visiting team proved that they were well able to pull themselves together. Given a little more time, they would certainly prove to be a threat.

The Vipers were on the offense again, every team member in a position to attack, and except for Alexander, who was still struggling with the effects of a nasty Curse of the Bogies, making use of the opportunity. It seemed that something had gotten them off balance, however: Of the four spells, cast by Illowy, Bridget, Santario, and Ileen, only Santario's Knockback Jinx found its mark, hitting Rodion, the youngest of the guests. Milosh managed to duck out of the way of Ileen's very impressive jet of roaring flames, and Dee couldn't help but feel a little disappointed for her friend.

The international team, on the other hand, was again trying to maneuver themselves into a better position. Only Milosh and Karilyna attacked, both of them aiming at Bridget. The Slytherin nimbly ducked below the Knockback Jinx aimed at her by the small yet intimidating Ilvermorny girl, but did not manage to also dodge Milo's spell, which took her in the stomach and sent her stumbling back a field.

In the break between the attacks, Dee surveyed the new situation. The round had been rather even - both teams had managed to land one spell - but the constellation had changed, and she couldn't help but feel like the international team was in a slightly better position now.

Information

1. You have 72 hours from now to write your posts (50 words min).
2. In the same time period, have one team member send both moderators (Pericles Dralt & Dealla Prince) your team's actions per owl. If you don't post in the allotted time frame, your action is void.
3. Please comply to the Chess Combat rules explained here.
4. If you have questions or notice something odd about the mod post, don't hesitate to owl or DM one of the moderators.
5. Good luck, and have fun!

@Santario Martin | @Bridget Collins | @Alexander Varellion | @Ileen Knight | @Illowy Magnard
@Aurora Ranvier | @Edric Banes | @Annie Morgan | @Thora Larkston | @Elena Jangleton

Spectator thread

Credit to Dmitri Jones

She had been tuning out most of the noise around her, only paying attention for any communication from her team. Duelling required focus; talking, bantering, whatever you wanted to call it subtracted from that focus. But with Santario beside her, a position that was comfortable, familiar, she noticed her teammate seemed to be in conversation with the Rook across from her. This struck Bridget as odd, for throughout the season they had demonstrated a similar view of talking, only offering encouragement to one another. What would make her change that now? Sparing an ear, she frowned slightly, narrowing her eyes at what the boy had said. In a low voice, she told Santario to "Hit him hard." That she did. What an idiot, honestly.

Back to the task at hand. She would try something similar to last round, merely a change in spell selection from Ventus to Flipendo, as she and Illowy directed their casts at Karilyna. This time she missed by a much larger margin, not even forcing the girl to dodge. There wasn't really time to aim her spell just right, unfortunately, or to be disappointed in missing twice in a row, because this time the opposing Queen wasn't healing someone, this time two spells were shooting at her. It wasn't like that had never happened before. It had. But between all the other things going on around her, the fact she was angled more towards Karilyna to cast, and the shiver the girl on her left sent up her spine, she couldn't pull this off as well as she normally might. She twisted out of the way of Karilyna's spell, not by much, before the Queen's Flipendo hit.

The force sent her stumbling back, enough so that she ended up in the square behind her, doubled over because of course the spell had to hit her in the stomach. She gritted her teeth; no matter how many times you experienced a Knockback Jinx, it didn't hurt any less. That... sucked. Being forced out of position was certainly not appreciated, and now Alexander was exposed and she had no targets. Being able to cast straight would have been nice, what with the whole line of three in front of her. Straightening, she did her best to shake off the impact. It was just one Flipendo, she was fine.

Alexander, for that matter, wasn't looking too great. She supposed that was one incredibly minor plus of her forced relocation, being able to check on their Queen without glancing over her shoulder. "Come on. Fight it, it can't last too much longer." She didn't allow herself to engage with opponents, but a few words to her teammates? That she could spare, that was helpful. Perhaps what they needed right now was some encouragement after so many misses, and as co-captain she felt more inclined to do so, even if Dmitri proved it was hardly a requirement. "We can do this."

Action: Doing as strategized

Playing as iNPC Milosh Rehnquist

Actions: Doing as Strategized
Allies:Foreign Team

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There was little room for error, after all. Yeah. It was the obvious truth, but it seemed like it had yet to sink through Karilyna's thick little skull, for she missed again, making the same mistake as the last time. Misses were a given part of duelling, of course, but she knew herself to be far more accurate than this; perhaps she wasn't yet the most consistent, but missing twice in a row wasn't typical of her. She smiled wanly, nodding in acknowledgement of her queen's thumbs-up. She'd tried, yes, but it hadn't been good enough. On the bright side, at least he'd hit, leaving the queen unprotected on one front.

It looked like she was going to face retaliation for her attempts, though; four incantations rang out from the opposing side, two evidently meant for herself. No surprise there, honestly, much was the same from the previous time, the only difference being that this time around, she was facing two Flipendos, which was, ironically, a spell she had considered her signature. One was surprisingly easy to avoid, not even forcing a shuffle in her feet despite the automatic flinch contorting her features for a quick moment. The other gave her a bit more trouble, but a quick duck ensured that no harm was done. Well, at least she was making up for what accuracy she lacked with agility.

This duel wasn't going well for her; that much was clear. Despite her calm façade and tendency to push past negativity, Karilyna couldn't help but let a bit of disappointment sink in, upset with herself. She'd duelled through the past year, and though clearly she had a large margin within which she could improve, she'd never been too shabby a duellist. Besides, there was a need to prove herself that wasn't typically present. See, the Slytherins had something of a strong reputation already, being the reigning champions of Hogwarts and all that jazz, but the international team? They were all unknowns, from their capabilities to their very faces and names. She'd never been one concerned about impressions, but this was different; there was an intense urge to do well, to pose herself as a capable duellist. And this wouldn't cut it. It couldn't.

There rose desperation in her as she awaited her next opportunity to cast, all the while being swamped by a fierce pleasure as her teammates settled into what finally resembled something like a proper attacking formation. Their strategy had proved to be a little questionable thus far, all moving parts and shuffling, but perhaps things were finally coming together. Karilyna could only hope that her spellcasting would follow suit.

Mentions | @Santario Martin

Ileen’s eyes were fixed on the queen of the other team, the boy she was allowed to cast at.
She felt the adrenaline rush through her body as she raised her chestnut wand. It was the first time she would cast this round.
She took a breath and concentrated on the movement, then spoke the words. She didn't know what she had done differently this time, but the beam of flame that burst from her wand was brighter and wider than usual. She looked proudly at her work, pleased with what she had accomplished. But unfortunately, her spell did not find its target. The boy ducked out of the way and let her spell fizzle out without effect.
In addition, another boy now stepped into her path and blocked the way. Ileen saw him get hit by Santario's Flipendo and winced in sympathy as a memory of the pain flared up in her.
But then she shook her head. She would not let her failure get her down.

Action: Doing as strategized