2022, Stage 3 Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff: Match 3

Round 4

Meenauh Silmataurea

Galton Lansdale vs. Bogies

Galton Lansdale

Autumn Ivy vs. Meenauh Silmataurea

AngelFyre McCubbin vs. Meenauh Silmataurea

With one final sniffle, it seemed that Galton had rid himself of his curse. The smoke billowing from his wand would obscure the vision of every duellist on the stage. Meenauh took the chance to heal herself, Episkey restoring some of her vitality only for Autumn's Flipendo to come blasting across the stage to try and knock her off her feet. Angelfyre was keen to follow up, but due to some expert dodging skills by Meenauh she escaped the cruel fate of flame this time around.

OOC Info

- The minimum WC for this duel is 50 words.
-You now have 96 hours to post before the next round.
- In the same time period, send me (Thomas Baines) your team's actions per owl. Do not hint at your actions in your post.
- If you don't post or owl in the allotted time frame, your action is void.
- Your stats, abilities, and spells have been locked for the duration of the duel (you cannot cast spells that are added to your trunk during the duel, for example). Check out the latest patch so you're on top of things.
- If you have any questions, don't hesitate to owl me, or feel free to reach out on Discord as well! If you notice any mistakes in this duel you're probably not going crazy, I might've just missed something!
- Good luck, and have fun

Spectator Thread

It seemed Meenauh didn't know something about Galton. Some hidden side of him, which contained so much raw arcane power that he had to unleash on their opponents. The smoke filled the stage, while Meenauh took a moment to heal herself up just to be hit with quite an unpleasant Flipendo. She groaned and the Gryffindorish anger started to fill her up. For now, she would classify that as annoyance, but if the Huffles continue the offense, it may grow into something bigger. Probably, she and her anger would enter their next state of their relationship much faster if that fire would have hit her this time.

Autumn chuckled lightly at AngelFyre's words of encouragement. The first year seemed to embrace the spirit of Helga Hufflepuff effortlessly. Autumn could only wish kindness and hard work came as easily to her. But perhaps the middle of a duel wasn't the best time to question her house spirit.

Especially since she could see Galton's illness slowly leave his body. That was... not good. In fact, that was quite terrible. It was the loss of pretty much their only advantage in this duel, and the realisation of this led Autumn to bite her lip and go on the offensive. She cast a Flipendo toward Meenauh's way and sighed as she heard a muttering of Episkey from the Gryffindor. It was yet another reminder that they were facing off against two fourth years.

It seemed AngelFyre had a similar idea, spelling some fire Meenauh's way. Autumn saw it miss and tried not to groan before she realised they were being shrouded in fog.

Fumos.

She didn't exactly have good memories considering the spell being used in duels, but what could she do? Run away?

(That thought, however ridiculous, was becoming more appealing by the second.)

STATS | Stamina - 7 | Evasion - 7 | Strength - 7 | Wisdom - 7 | ArcPower - 8 | Accuracy - 9
ABILITIES | Sixth Sense - Perfectionist - Comprehend Languages (Mermish)
RACE | Human
HEALTH | 700/700 - 100%

A clear pattern had emerged, and it was one that always had them playing defense it seemed. Not what either of them had wanted as they took their places on the piste that morning, but like it or not, it was the reality they were both forced to confront.

It was difficult at this point to not allow herself to fall into the doldrums about their current situation or to blame herself for it due to so many misses. That was the real cut right there. Her casts were not landing which meant she was not pulling her weight. Another Incendio meant for Meenauh flashed across the stage, just missing the Gryffindor... again. Adding insult to injury was the fact that now Galton was no longer sniffling, so their troubles had only compounded. At least Autumn had sent Meenauh reeling with her Flipendo. Not everything was a disaster, it would seem.

She was aware Galton's Fumos was headed their way. She exhaled deeply and took a deep breath just a millisecond before the bank of smoke shrouded them from view. She knew their strategy like the back of her hand, so being unable to see Autumn was not critical from that standpoint, but she would be lying if she could not admit it would have been reassuring.

Get back to the basics, AF. Do what you know works.

AngelFyre closed her eyes and did as she had done when she first got on stage. She shut down all extraneous thoughts and tamped down the negativity. She was in position and she was focused. Listening intently for any clue as to where her target was across the stage, AngelFyre was determined to land her next spell.

It is now or never.

Action: Doing as Strategized

Sta 5 || Eva 4 || Str 1 || Wis 7 || Arc 6 || Acc 7
Seer 1 (10% auto-dodge chance and 10% auto-hit chance)
Health: 220/500 44%

As he fought through another cast it was as if the never ending snot torrent was about to consume him. He had surely not produced the same potency of smoke as he usually would, but he at least had produced some.

And then it was gone. The snot started to retract, leaving his nose clear for a normal breathe of air. Galton wasn’t sure who to thank - Merlin? His Wand? But whoever had freed him from the slimy hell was a saint.

Action: Happy to not be boogieing

Round 5

Meenauh Silmataurea

Galton Lansdale vs. Autumn Ivy & Angelfyre McCubbin

Autumn Ivy vs. Meenauh Silmataurea

AngelFyre McCubbin vs. Meenauh Silmataurea

Galton, now in good health, was ready to ensure that these Hufflepuffs knew that he meant business. With a Ventus sent at both parties on the opposing team, Angelfyre found she was able to avoid the gust that came her way. Autumn would not be so fortunate, with the wind striking her and seeming to envelop her in a sense, restricting her movement. Even with the fog, it seemed Galton was still able to aim. Meenauh once again took the chance to heal herself of her ailments, some strength and vitality restored.

Autumn felt explosive power erupt from her wand with the Flipendo she cast, the strength of the spell enviable. Unfortunately for the Hufflepuff, Meenauh was able to avoid the blast. Angelfyre was able to strike true with her Incendio, however, tenacious flames licking at Meenauh's robes; they would not die out so quickly.

All in all, it was still anyone's game, with the better half of the duel still remaining.

OOC Info

- The minimum WC for this duel is 50 words.
-You now have 96 hours to post before the next round. Due to recent events summarized by this announcement written by Lear, there will additionally be a 48-hour extension on this round.
- In the same time period, send me (Thomas Baines) your team's actions per owl. Do not hint at your actions in your post.
- If you don't post or owl in the allotted time frame, your action is void.
- Your stats, abilities, and spells have been locked for the duration of the duel (you cannot cast spells that are added to your trunk during the duel, for example). Check out the latest patch so you're on top of things.
- If you have any questions, don't hesitate to owl me, or feel free to reach out on Discord!

Spectator Thread

The successful bruise maintenance was once again spoiled by a first-year fire. Disregarding the strength of it, it was still fire. And, again, had to be taken care of. One way or another. It seemed Galton hit the target, so at least some progress on their inevitable victory.

Or dragging off the inevitable defeat. Hufflepuffs haven't won a single duel since the start of the year, so even by the worst of probabilities, Meenauh clearly understood that The Mighty and the Glorious could become the first pair to gift them a victorious result. With a diligent effort, of course.

Ventus seemed to be a confusing spell for Mr. Wand. The chaos caused by the spell, be it on a successful cast or utter failure, Mr. Wand got something out of it. But Galton was thankful that he had allowed him to send the spell at the opposite team, and not himself this time.

And while he was locked in a discussion with his wand, trying to keep it placated, he still noticed the strife of his partners current position. He would offer her a small smile, as if to say “Keep it up!”.

Action: Doing the elemental boogie

Getting back to basics seemed to have done the trick, at least for Round 5. It was an important lesson for AngelFyre. Practice sessions, for the most part, had probably given her a heightened, and inflated, sense of her capabilities. Casting at enchanted dummies that were not casting back at you did not in any way accurately mimic the situations one found themselves in on the piste with two opponents. Filing a lesson learned in her memory banks for future practices, AngelFyre determined that her Accuracy and Evasion skills needed to be of primary focus in the immediate future.

Surprisingly, and it really was a surprise to her, she was still here. She honestly thought she would have been gone in Round Two, but here she still was. She had dodged Galton's Ventus this time, even though she was still shrouded in the smoke from his Fumos in the last round. Nice. Better still, she could hear the crackling of fire across the stage so she knew her Incendio! had finally landed on Meenauh. She waited to also hear Meenauh fly backwards, but it seemed Autumn's first miss of the match had occurred. Worse still, it seemed she had been unable to dodge Galton's Ventus. It was clearly a mixed bag for both sides this round, but AngelFyre felt the tiny spark of hope burn within. She allowed herself a small smile and quickly reached up and rubbed her birthday badger pin for good luck.

Trying to recreate her recent success while also trying to ignore her now stinging, watering eyes from the smoke that still shrouded her, AngelFyre once again got into position. With her wand raised and her attention focused on any sound coming from the other side of the piste, she grew silent and focused on what was to come next.

Action: Doing as Strategized

Sta 5 || Eva 4 || Str 1 || Wis 7 || Arc 6 || Acc 7
Seer 1 (10% auto-dodge chance and 10% auto-hit chance)
Health: 220/500 44%

Autumn tried to spectate the events of the duel, but the magical fog surrounding her clearly wasn't a fan. The first thing she could barely observe through the dark, polluted mist was Galton's Ventus, splitting off into two different spells from his wand, an impressive feat of magical prowess.

However, the display of power was also apparently a major distraction, as Autumn found herself unable to dodge in time, although from the looks- or, more specifically, the sounds- of it, AngelFyre had evaded the spell. Good. She herself had not been so lucky, and the pain of the wind pushing up against her in the fog hurt more than one would expect. She didn't exactly have the best memories being the victim of this spell in a duel either. She heard Meenauh muttering off another healing spell. Her mind began to ache.

She herself spoke carefully the incantation of Flipendo in Meenauh's direction. She was getting more desperate, but clearly that wasn't deterring her strength, as the spell practically exploded out from her wand. Perhaps the desperation had messed with her aim, though, she noted, as she observed her spell fly past her opponent. Her first miss in the duel, and not a pretty one. Too much potential had been missed, and Autumn felt determined to make up for it.

Still, AngelFyre was clearly set on their team's redemption, a burning hot Incendio flying out from her wand. Autumn bit her lip, watching the spell fly off through the fog, until she heard it ignite against cloth. Her sense of victory and pride at that was only deterred by a small tinge of jealousy.

STATS | Stamina - 7 | Evasion - 7 | Strength - 7 | Wisdom - 7 | ArcPower - 8 | Accuracy - 9
ABILITIES | Sixth Sense - Perfectionist - Comprehend Languages (Mermish)
RACE | Human
HEALTH | 600/700 - 85.71%