Hogwarts Summer Camp 2021 Chess Combat (Match 1) Closed

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This really wasn’t going so well; it was rare—in fact, Karilyna hadn’t recalled this ever happening—that she’d be so far into a duel and without a hit to call her own. There wasn’t really an explanation for her poor performance, either. The other team was quite skilled, both in strategy and in duelling, but they weren’t exceptionally agile—they’d avoided many spells, of course, but not more than her own teammates had. She was typically a strong duellist herself too, consistently on target. Just not today, clearly, a fact made even more obvious as she missed yet again. Well, at least others on her team had done better.

Honestly, her heart wasn’t in this anymore. It wasn’t like her to give up so easily, but so many misses in a row had shaken her deeply, reaching a point where it no longer could be dismissed as a result of an off day. She had a clear shot at the queen, though. Hopefully, she’d be able to make use of it because even if nothing else, her team was depending on her.

Round 7

The guests seemed intent on pressing their advantage. Almost all foreign students chose to cast, a barrage of Knockback Jinxes flying at the Vipers, with varying levels of success. Notably, Karilyna's aim seemed rather off, her spell veering off its intended target and missing even the closest opponent (Illowy) by a landslide. Jan fired off an impressively powerful jinx, that ended up knocking Bridget, who was starting to look rather battered, to the ground. It took her a couple seconds to get back to her feet, which meant the international team would get another clear shot at the Viper's Queen.

On the other side of the field, Slytherin was taking more time to regroup. Santario, swaying on her feet, managed to dodge the spell aimed at her by Rodion, and got some support from Illowy. She'd feel a cool relief wash over her as her teammates healing spell made contact. Ileen managed to rid herself of the blindfold covering her eyes, but not in time to dodge the Knockback Jinx cast at her by Milo. Finally, Alexander chose to go on offense - and impressively so.

Dee's eyes widened a little, something between surprise and awe, as Alexander's flames split in two, one stream aimed at Rodion, the other at Karilyna. Both hit, although Karilyna almost managed to dodge, escaping part of the damage that Rodion had to endure. It was the first time Dee had seen this feat performed by someone her own year - so far it had only been older students, in various duels she'd watched or refereed.

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

What happened next happened fast. She raised her foot, moving to retake her position, and the next moment she was on her back in the grass. Perhaps if she'd been in the audience she would have appreciated the perfection of the cast from start to finish. As it was, she frankly didn't care. Not about the impressive Knockback Jinx, nor Alexander managing to hit two opponents with a single spell, or really anything going on around her. The thing all her senses had zeroed in on was that she couldn't breathe.

It hurt, the wind knocked out with the blow to her diaphragm coupled with the sheer force of the spell and hitting the ground. Three Flipendos in, she wouldn't have minded staying on the ground, except for the fact she was still in a match and unfortunately still targetable. So, with as little wincing as she could manage, she pushed back to her feet. It took too long--every moment of this was wasted, time she wasn't prepared to dodge and Alexander was left exposed--but she couldn't really go much faster, not when she was bruised and recovering her breath and, dare she say, starting to feel rather exhausted. This hadn't happened all season, courtesy of being undefeated and generally too quick to take many hits.

But this was chess combat. This was different than the regular season. She had a very specific role to play, not that she was doing fabulously at it; she hadn't landed a single spell so far and wasn't the most effective shield for Alexander. She was on her feet again, though, and that was something. She would keep trying. Like a tool in Minecraft, she'd give all her use until she broke. Why she was thinking about the Muggle video game right now, in the middle of a duel and when she'd barely played it in years, she didn't know. Perhaps she'd hit her head when she was knocked down. Okay. She just had to push past the pain. She could do this. If Santario was still hanging on, then so would she.

Action: Doing as strategized

Playing as iNPC Milosh Rehnquist

Actions: Doing as Strategized
Allies: Foreign Team

It seemed like the time of spells missing their target was over - in this case the odds were not with Ileen. The young girl who was still blindfolded raised her chestnut wand and spoke the counter spell. Inwardly, she could only suppress a shudder. It was the first time that someone had used it on her, and the feeling of disorientation and helplessness that immediately overtook her was worse than flames or a flipendo. She shook herself barely noticeable to shake off the uncomfortable feeling completely and blinked to quickly get her bearings. This was no time for self-pity.
Although she had acted quickly, she had still been too slow. The boy from the other team who had cast the spell on her hadn't hesitated for a second and had quickly taken advantage.
The young Slytherin could just see the spell flying towards her and made an attempt to duck out of the way, but she was too slow. The Flipendo hit her with full force and a sharp pain shot through her body. She clenched her teeth and instead of a jocular yelp, only a slight hiss escaped her. She straightened up with blinking eyes. It was time to finally strike back.

Action: Doing as strategized

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And when Karilyna thought things couldn't worsen for her, they did. As she shot off another Flipendo, mustering as much concentration as she could even with her wavering confidence, her spell didn't only miss her target, it veered sharply away and towards another opponent. It didn't hit, of course. This time, she resigned herself to a sigh, loathe to express any more frustration, although her grip tightened further around her wand, knuckles growing bone-white.

The international team's dodging wasn't going as well as it previously had, either, two of them hit by a single diverging spell - the effect she'd been hoping to try her hand at, actually - one of them being herself. She'd dodged, though, which had apparently been enough to reduce the severity of the flames spreading across her clothing yet again. It hurt, still, and so she steeled herself against the heat, fighting the rising panic that was only instinctive.

Although it was clear her team was faring better than the Vipers, that success didn't seem to extend to herself as an individual. She continued clinging to hope that that fact would change, however slim a chance it was, but for now, perhaps it was good that this was a team effort.

23 hours left for posts and strategies!
@Santario Martin | @Bridget Collins | @Alexander Varellion | @Ileen Knight | @Illowy Magnard
@Aurora Ranvier | @Edric Banes | @Annie Morgan | @Thora Larkston | @Elena Jangleton

INTERACTIONS: Guest Team

Jan was feeling great, fantasic really as the game played out on the massive chess board they were using as their battlefield as spells hurtled this way and that. He was feeling great because they were no longer getting picked off like sitting ducks but returning the favour. He almost had to wince watching as his spell left his wand slamming into the girl with some considerable force, the boy would not have liked to be on the recieving end of that jinx. Still, his lips curled upwards into a smirk watching the kid scramble to her feet a bit battered but still in the fight. The tide was slowly turning in their favour but there was still room for either side to come out on top. They had to be careful but as long as they didn't end up on the back foot again, he reckoned they would be fine.

He wsa actually surprised really they had managed to gain the upper hand relatively quickly in such a short amount of time. Just a couple of moments ago, he was just about ready to completely obliterate his wand for it's inconsistent casts but now it seemed to be responding well to his desires. Perhaps the boy was pushing his luck a bit but there was no harm in keeping the pressure up, the message they were sending was pretty clear in Jan's opinion. They were winning this game one way or the other and the boy could certainly take his comptetive nature to another level if he really needed to.

Action| Doing as Strategized

Doing as strategized