11 Nov 2021, 00:39
Courage or Pride?
IC Date: Sunday, October 24
It was unlike Akira to speak before making carefully calculated decisions. Every action, every word, was more often than not very carefully planned out to achieve maximum efficiency towards whatever goal he hoped to accomplish. In this sense, the boy was often considered reticent -- he detested inefficiency. And why say more rather than less? There was no point in offering your counterpart more room for interrogation or attack than necessary.
However, he had not been coy enough to buy himself time to carefully think over Mr. Knight's suggestion of a 'friendly duel' on the first night of the feast. Had it been out of politeness that he accepted this offer before carefully considering the possible consequences? Was it the fact that Mr. Knight was his senior, and a student of their host school, that he had felt inclined to accept? Now, the same reasons made him hesitate whether this was the cleverest of decisions. First, Henry Knight was a third-year student, possibly with more than three times the dueling spells than in his own arsenal. Second, Akira was at a foreign school, likely to be judged by its own students and other visiting students for how well he performed tonight as a representative of Mahoutokoro. There was no way he could besmirch its name.
Feeling the weight of Mahoutokoro's reputation on his shoulders, he entered the Dueling Club, wand holstered to his side, navy haori billowing in his wake.
The room was not grand, he would observe, but the long piste in the center always brought a sense of thrill in his veins. It was a familiar platform, upon which he had ruthlessly trained for the past two months during his first year of boarding at Mahoutokoro, and he had been exposed to such a platform as a younger child before that. He was pure-blooded and Japanese, after all.
He stopped by the plaque at the door, studying the rules carefully, before he approached one of the dummies and observed its blackened body. Undoubtedly, it had been berated with spells over the course of many practice sessions. How many of these was he to receive and cast tonight?
Only time would tell. His opponent would show up any second now.
@Henry Knight
Last edited by Avery Chen on 29 Jan 2022, 17:30, edited 1 time in total.
20 Nov 2021, 02:32
Courage or Pride?
Interacting: Akira Shimizu@Avery Chen
Mentioning: N/A
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Since joining his house team last year, the lad have been obsessed with the sport and learning as much as he could. Often spending many day, turning to nights in the libary cramming on strategies and reading ahead in his classes to learn dueling spells before others to give him a edge in duels.
Henry Knight loves dueling and wants to strive to be perfect at it. Perfection is something that Henry can't help but try to obtain and maintain, with his grades and dueling and other topics. Upon arriving at Hogwarts in his first year, two years ago the lad knew that he had some shoes to fill.
He didn't have siblings attending with him but his father was a prefect during his time at Hogwarts while his mother was a quidditch captain. His brother than becoming prefect and head boy during his Hogwarts years. All three held straight O's in all of their classes. The prefect title ran in his family, the lad didn't think he would become one since he caused more mischief than anything and majority of his pranks tended to be pranksters.
Instead he strive to maintain straight O's in his classes but a part of him never felt like it was enough, now with dueling the lad tries his hardest to be perfect at it. His own way to fill the shoes that his family have left him.
Learning and dueling aginest someone from another school sounded like a brilliant idea to the teen. He had a chance to learn their strategies and better himself, seeing how well he would fare aginest a non hogwarts student.
Plus the Viridian Vipers went aginest other schools that summer holiday during the dueling games but not aginest Mahoutokoro. He would have a chance... a opportunity that his team mates didn't have yet.
Arriving at the dueling room with his orange feline by his side, Henry took a breath glad to be there. He spotted the asian boy and walked over to him, a emerald brooch could be seen pined to his shirt near the pendant. The brooch a gift from his captains and now his lucky charm in duels.
Loki trotted toward the side of the room, sitting down to watch the upcoming duel with amber eyes.
Henry softly smiled toward the boy ad he spoke"hello, ready Shimizu-san?" The third year would wait for a response before talimg his spot at the other end of the platform, turning to the boy and bowing a little as a sign of respect.
Taking his stance, wand out in front held firmly but also a little loose. Knees slightly bent and on thr balls of his heels, ready to move. Face emotionless, focus. Ready for the upcoming duel.
"There's no such thing as strange creatures, only blinked people" - Newt Scamander
20 Nov 2021, 19:11
Courage or Pride?
As always, Akira arrived a couple minutes early, taking the time to observe his surroundings, and to get acquainted with his environment. The candles were alight and floating above the room, emitting a warm glow for an otherwise cold stone castle. Paintings stared down at the navy-uniformed boy, some of them pointing quietly and speculating to each other -- from which school did this curious Asian boy hail? Surely, his uniform was not Hogwarts standard? He would give them a brief, polite nod before continuing to pace the length of the piste, preferring to be within his own thoughts than to converse with the paintings of accomplished British witches and wizards.
Yes, this was his own time. Readying the mind and settling the heart. Opening his acceptance to the possibilities of what might occur; fate was uncontrollable as the water that slipped through your bare fingers, after all.
Footsteps approached, and he knew them to be those of only one person, especially at this hour. He turned around to find Henry Knight with his cat Loki at his heels. The older boy had a noticeable emerald brooch penned to his shirt, and the logo upon it seemed to be that of the Slytherin dueling team, he knew -- The Viridian Vipers. Ah yes, it was quite fitting for the occasion.
"Hello, ready Shimizu-san?" the boy asked, short and sweet. Akira appreciated his brevity. Honestly, there was no use for useless, friendly chit-chat -- they were going to hurl spells at one another within a few seconds, after all. He preferred it this way: No chatter to distract him from the concentrated state he was already in, no unnecessarily friendly emotional exchange to make him feel any guilt about the attacks he would cast.
"Ready when you are, Mr. Knight," he would respond, climbing the stairs onto the piste and taking his place. He extracted his wand from its holster. The two boys bowed in unison.
When ready, he moved his wand to cut the air up, right, and down in an almost-finished square. "Tarantallegra," he incantated, casting his first spell.
Action: Casting Dancing Feet Spell at @Henry Knight
23 Nov 2021, 03:10
Courage or Pride?
Interacting: Akira Shimizu@Avery Chen
Mentioning: N/A
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Akira vs Henry
ReducioAkira casts the tarantallegra at Henry
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20:1]+7=8, fail
Henry vs Akira
ReducioHenry casts Nebulus at Akira
Wisdom DC: 12
Wisdom Check: [d20:15]+11=26, success
Duration: [d5:1] - 2 rounds
Effect: –3 Accuracy and –3 Evasion and additional –1 Accuracy and –1 Evasion for every 5 points in Arcane Power
Akira Shimizu kept the conversation short as well. Henry nodded toward his comment, taking his place across from the first year.
Taking his duelist stance, mayhaw wand in his hand held firmly but also loosely. Knees slightly bent ready to dodge, emotions hidden behind the 'barrier', and mind focused. Henry is ready.
Loki sat on the side, out of the way of the soon to be incoming spells. The feline watched the duel with amber eyes, tail flickering from side to side.
Henry watched the Mahoutokoro student carefully, sliding one foot back when he heard the boy say his first spell however the spell fizzled off. Not much happened. The third year looked on, giving a slight nod toward the scene not seeing the moment as a advantage to him. The duel is still young. Anything could happen. He's a Viridian Viper, he had to stay vigilant and ready. He needed to make his team and captain proud.
A strategy bubbled within his mind.
"Nebulus"
A small whisper escaped the third year's lips, moving his wand through the air swiftly and in one moment. Aimed for Akira.
Watching as a string of fog escaped from his mayhaw wand then enclosed the Mahoutokoro boy. Henry squinted trying to see the boy, nothing. All he could see his darkness, it would be hard for Henry to cast at the boy but it would also make it difficult for Akira to dodge or cast. Nebulus has its pros and cons. Would it help this duel? Perhaps or perhaps not....
Henry readied himself, not wasting a moment. He had to remain focus. Keep his eyes trained at the fog and limbs ready to move. He couldn't get distracted. He couldn't. Not now. Not again....
Next Action: Ventus
Last edited by Henry Knight on 24 Nov 2021, 14:47, edited 1 time in total.
"There's no such thing as strange creatures, only blinked people" - Newt Scamander
24 Nov 2021, 02:52
Courage or Pride?
He cursed under his breath with a low hiss as sparks fizzled and died at the tip of his wand. It wasn't often that his spells would fail. He would not make any excuses to himself as to why that had happened. However, he was grateful enough that the spell didn't backfire on him. No, he was too well-practiced for those types of blunders. There was no way he would be making himself dance like a marionette at Hogwarts today.
A dense fog sprayed from Henry Knight's wand, and he recognized it instantly as the Fog Charm that would soon mar his vision. "Well cast, Mr. Knight," he would curtly praise the third-year student, hoping to show grace even in the event of his own failure.
He hoped to recover quickly from his own mishap. Should he stick to his original plan to hit his opponent with a spell that could distract them from casting? He had half a mind to send over a nasty Flipendo or Incendio to do some raw damage, but he pushed that thought away. He had to play smart, now, especially if his opponent was planning to obscure Akira's vision.
As such, he readied himself for his spell, drawing a partial square in the air with its proper incantation. "Tarantallegra." He willed it to work, knowing full well that his accuracy was exponentially reduced.
Action: Casting Dancing Feet Spell at@Henry Knight
Last edited by Avery Chen on 24 Nov 2021, 18:18, edited 1 time in total.
24 Nov 2021, 15:32
Courage or Pride?
Interacting: Akira Shimizu@Avery Chen
Mentioning: N/A
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Akira vs Henry
ReducioAkira casts the tarantallegra at Henry
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20:15]+7=22, success
Accuracy Check: [d20:17]+8 - 4from nebulus = 22
Evasion Check: [d20:1]+6=7, hit
Duration: [d3:2] - 1 round
Damage: 50+5×5=75
Effect: –1 Accuracy and –2 Evasion
Henry vs Akira
ReducioHenry casts Ventus at Akira
Wisdom DC: 11
Wisdom Check: [d20:20]+11=31, crit success
Accuracy Check: [d20:8]+8 - 4from nebulus = 12
Evasion Check: [d20:7]+8 - 4from nebulus = 11, hit
Duration: crit success (max rounds) - 2 rounds
Damage: 50+6×10=110 (crit success - +70 Damage)
Effect: –1 Accuracy and –2 Evasion
Henry had a strategy brewing within his mind, of coruse it isn't a set one. Have learned from last year thay duelists can't stick to one strategy, they need to be able to adapt. Improvise. Grow in a duel.
Henry took aim, waited a moment as he took a breath. Squinting at the fog, determined to try to spot the Mahoutokoro student as he whispered"ventus." watching a perfect wind jinx blow from the tip of his wand, Henry stared at it. Surprised at now perfect a cast that was, he didn't think it was possible for him to cast a spell that is perfect. Eyes glued on thr wind jinx as it disappeared into the smoke ans didn’t come out the other side.
Did that mean it hit?
Squinting, Henry tried to see if his spell hit through the fog. If it was difficult for the third years to see the Mahoutokoro student from where he stood then he figured it must be chaos for the Mahoutokoro boy to see within the fog and now wind.
Henry was a bit to focused on attempting to see if his spell hit that he didnt notice the familiar sparks of the dancing jinx thag shot from the cloud of fog and wind.
Not having enough to dodge, feeling the spell hit him in his chest before his legs tighten along with his body. His ability of controlling his body slipped away as the spell pulled on him like a puppet, having him dance which would be a interesting sight since the third year doesn't dance.
Shame Akira couldn't see...
The dancing started as Henry felt his body uncontrollably fall to the grounds on his knees, he started to spin using his hands which was quite uncomfortable for the third year with a wand in his left. He felt his body do a array of break dancing moves, spining on the balls of his feet then finding him falt on the ground and rollimg into a split before another spin and he felt his hands push him upside down in a one foot handstand.
Then to his surprise he did a flip to his feet. The third year was surprised by his dancing abilities and by the jinx that the Mahoutokoro boy cast, wondering how he would be able to aim to cast his next spell as he tried to point his wand at the fog but kept on failing as the dancing charm kept him dancing like its own little puppet.
Next Action: Weather-modifying Charm - Metelojinx
Last edited by Henry Knight on 29 Nov 2021, 18:41, edited 1 time in total.
"There's no such thing as strange creatures, only blinked people" - Newt Scamander
28 Nov 2021, 16:24
Courage or Pride?
It was extremely difficult to see through the fog. The Japanese boy squinted through its plumes, but it was a dense and well-cast Nebulus. He could hardly spot Henry Knight's form through the gray that wafted all around him.
Nevertheless, he took aim in Mr. Knight's general direction, and possibly upon strike, he saw a murky form moving haphazardly through the fog. It was difficult to see what was going on, but he supposed that the shadows within the fog wouldn't normally move so erratically had his spell not hit. A small, merciless part of him wished that he could see the dance that he had cast upon the third-year boy for his own amusement and satisfaction.
However, soon enough, a strong gust of wind hit him in his side and nearly sent him off the piste. He landed on his side, shoulder aching from the sharp pain from the jolt of wind, which was more than he had ever experienced from Ventus. Undoubtedly, that was a very well cast spell to deal such a strong jolt. With gritted teeth willing the pain away and for his body to do his bidding, he got to his feet shakily and pushed off the floor with his non-wand hand, robes and body worse for wear. He would not utter a compliment for the boy this time.
Gathering up his strength, he raised his wand to cast his next attack. It was time to dig into his arsenal and find a spell with more damage. No time left to tarry.
"Flipendo," he uttered.
Action: Casting Knockback Jinx at @Henry Knight
29 Nov 2021, 19:23
Courage or Pride?
Interacting: Akira Shimizu@Avery Chen
Mentioning: N/A
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Akira vs Henry
ReducioAkira casts flipendo at Henry
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20:19]+7=26, success
Accuracy Check: [d20:4]+8 - 1ventus = 11
Evasion Check: [d20:4]+6 - 2tarantallegra = 8, Hit
Damage: 100+5×10=150
Henry vs Akira
ReducioHenry casts metelojinx at Akira
Wisdom DC: 12
Wisdom Check: [d20:3]+11=14, success
Effect: Rain cloud - 10% chance of lightning strike per round (Metelojinx)
Lighting
ReducioAkira - [d10:5] - miss
"Metelojinx. "
The whisper flew from Henry's mouth, his wand pointed above the Mahoutokoro's boy head. Shaking a little as his feet moved in a uncontrollable dance of a mixture of tap and break. His muscles tensed up and started to ache as a dsrk strok cloud formed over the fog at least the spell didnt require accuracy.
A spark of light shot from the fog, Henry tensed hia body to move but couldn't. The knockback jinx hit him, sending him back to the floor.
The dancing feet jinx ended when the fog clear, Henry is still on the ground but at least he wasn’t dancing uncontrollably. The third year won't give the boy that type of advantage or glee.
Getting to his feet, Henry took his stance. Wand aimed. He needed to get a advantage again as the teen looked upon the first year Mahoutokoro, he couldn't lose. He couldn't. Couldn't...
The teen wasn't at the summer games, he felt like he let his team down. He was a failure to them in his own mind, he couldn't help them when they needed it so the teen thought if he dueled a Mahoutokoro student. A school that none of the other Vipers went aginest yet and won then perhaps he could show his worth. He could prove to himself that he belogs on the team and is good at dueling.
Next Action: Nebulus
"There's no such thing as strange creatures, only blinked people" - Newt Scamander
2 Dec 2021, 22:53
Courage or Pride?
The strong gusts of wind were helpful in one respect, at least. As Akira got back to his feet, the fog had cleared. With a hook motion of his wand and the relevant incantation, his Knockback Jinx flew across the floor, striking his opponent. A small twitch pulled at Akira's lips as he watched the spell hit with satisfaction. After sustaining this much damage from a well-cast Ventus, he didn't know if he could successfully hit his opponent, but perhaps luck and ability were on his side when they needed to be.
A dark cloud had formed over his head, with traces of lightning flashing within. Was this the Metelojinx? He had seen upperclassmen cast it before, but he had never experienced its effects himself. He briefly wondered what would happen and how it would feel if the lightning were to ever strike him. Painful, he bet.
However, he quickly pushed that thought away. There was no use worrying about it now. He had to focus and put his mind to the task at hand. He would continue to ruthlessly pummel Henry Knight with the strongest spell in his first-year arsenal, to chip away at his opponent. May the winds blow in his favor.
Action: Casting Knockback Jinx at @Henry Knight
3 Dec 2021, 00:25
Courage or Pride?
Interacting: Akira Shimizu@Avery Chen
Mentioning: N/A
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Akira vs Henry
ReducioAkira casts flipendo at Henry
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20:19]+7=26, success
Accuracy Check: [d20:8]+8 - 1 ventus = 15
Evasion Check: [d20:14]+6=20, miss
Henry vs Akira
ReducioHenry casts nebulus at Akira
Wisdom DC: 12
Wisdom Check: [d20:6]+11=17, successfully
Duration: [d5:5] - 2 rounds
Effect: –3 Accuracy and –3 Evasion and additional –1 Accuracy and –1 Evasion for every 5 points in Arcane Power
Lighting
ReducioAkira - [d10:5] - nopeHenry was forming a strategy in his mind, taking what he learned from the Viridian Vipers and his captains but also what he learned from his own dueling experience. Combining the two to form a strategy, one that changed and bounced off of the mahoutokoro boy's.
The fog now gone, there is nothing between Henry and Akira. Both coild see each other, sim thier spells without squinting or guessing that their spells hit. The thought sounded daunting to the teen and he was leaning toward casting the fog charm again, at least that way the mahoutkoro wouldn't be able to see when Henry was hit.
Henry's eyes moved from the thundering strom over the Asian boy's head to the wind that was fading away, sliding his feet to the side to avoid the sparks of the knockback jinx.
Twice the boy cast the knockback jinx and twice the boy cast the dancing feet charm. Both in a row.
Henry didn't think that the mahoutokoro had a strategy and he thought if he did then it wasn't a really good one, Henry took his dueling stance. Wand in front held firmly but not too tight. Eyes ahead. Face focus, cleared of emotion. Spell.... soon to be cast bur first Henry called across the room.
"Is that your strategy?"
Henry waited a moment for the boy to reply back if he chooses to, if not Henry will softly smile toward the boy as he continued"it's not very good, now is it? I can show you some after if you want." The smiled faded from his lops but the offer still stood, Henry was tryinf to be friendly not relazing his know it all side came through a little with his words.
Henry took a breath, stuck to his strategy that didn't include fire. The one spell that the third year never liked to cast or be hit with, flames could do rather serious damage and Henry didn't want to hurt anyone to win.
"Nebulus."
Henry softly spoke, aiming his wand for the boy who stood across from him as a thick cloud of fog emitted from his wand and covered the boy. Forming a barrier between them once more.Next Action: Rictusempra
Last edited by Henry Knight on 5 Dec 2021, 22:56, edited 1 time in total.
"There's no such thing as strange creatures, only blinked people" - Newt Scamander