2023, Stage 2 Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor: Match 6

@Regina Miller

House Colours: Gryffindor
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

~ Sun Tzu

He just couldn't seem to catch a break, could he!? He hadn't felt this targeted since the last duel, when he had been throwing out shielding charms right and left so that he could reflect Ravenclaw's own arcane prowess back at them. As it was, just as a particularly nasty gust of wind slapped him just to the left, it was just enough to let the Knockback Jinx from Jake clip him in the hip, causing the boy to stumble back as his joint let out a POP! of displeasure.

With a small yelp, Piérre shifted his weight in a way that caused a second POP! to echo in his ears; a signal that his joint was properly aligned back in its socket. With a small hiss and a chuckle at Fiorescura, the boy grinned back. "Truly, Fiorescura Italian: Literally "Dark Flower", I'd love to see you try to avoid some of these shots better than I'm doing. I'm practically your personal damage sponge!" He joked as the last of the pain ebbed off into a low pulse that would surely wear off the more that he maneuvered his lower half. "I've done so well so far at keeping us both propped up. Perhaps by the end of this, I will have your trust." His last words rolled off into what sounded to be both a clever spin of the tongue just as much as almost a (threatening?) musing.

He shrugged, tracing a small, simple sigil. "Nebulus!" and then watching as a silvery fog drifted through the air and settled across the Hufflepuff team. It had the fresh smell of ozone and rain, slightly stuffy, and was that a hint of seasalt? Ah yes, the boy had conjured his best understanding of fog; that of the rising clouds that would blow off of the Italian coast on the Mediterranean Sea. Besides having a pleasant aromantic scent, it would make it difficult for the opposing team in particular to see through. Piérre was fine with guessing at shadows, though. They would have just a hard of time trying to see where he was aiming as he was going to have trying to guess exactly where they were. It was more of a defense measure, he supposed; just a need to lessen the ability of the adversary to hit him in particular.

Green eyes twinkled. "So.... Miller." Piérre turned the surname-calling back on his partner. "Shall we dance?"

The yew wand twirled in the hand of the young duelist, seeming to sing with the emphasis of the incoming cast like he was a conductor before an orchestra. He was conducting fortissimo, commanding the basses to sing louder than even the shrillest piccolo. Snallygaster liked flexibility, adaptability.

Piérre liked to play the chameleon. If that meant pandering to his partner, so be it.

Besides, he wasn't scared of the broken lioness. No, he had seen a completely different side of her when he had dueled her in impromptu at the beginning of this year. She needed encouragement. If that meant playing her emotions to make her cast more powerfully, being the source of her ire... then Piérre was willing to play with fire.

At this point, it was child's play.

Doing as Strategized
Calming Presence Ally: Regina Miller

date / Monday - January 30, 2022
word count / 221 words

They were doomed. So doomed. Autumn wanted to break something. Ideally, the wand Regina kept setting her on fire with, but she wasn't too picky. She also wanted to walk off the podium. Or maybe dramatically fall backwards onto the ground, hopefully break something minor, and earn a visit to the hospital wing. However, because the universe hated her, none of those things were options. She had to win or go out fighting.

This was significantly harder task to accomplish when your vision was covered with fog, your robes covered with fire and your pride covered with bruises from your missed Flipendo. She'd live, but she wasn't sure if her dignity could say the same. It would take a miracle to save them now.

Everything hurt. Everything was the worst it could ever be, and possible the worst it had ever been. She was being punished for something, she was sure, but it was unclear for what. But it was a duel, and duels were pragmatic, not emotional. Nothing mattered, as long as spells kept shooting out of her wand.

Until, of course, her clearly impending state of unconsciousness. There was no use sulking about it now-- of course, she still was, a little bit, because she was Autumn Ivy, and sulking made up a large percentage of her daily routine.

health / 452/800
stats / Stamina - 8 | Evasion - 9 | Strength - 7 | Wisdom - 7 | Arcane Power - 10 | Accuracy - 10
abilities / Sixth Sense - Perfectionist - Comprehend Languages (Mermish) - Terrible Presence

Jake fought back, empowered by the cheering charm that kept him standing despite the residual throbbing and pain from the lightning that had coursed through him. It wasn't that he didn't feel it, but it somehow seemed far-off, distant, unimportant. He even sent a knockback jinx at Piérre that grazed him once again. But Regina on the other team had set her sights on Autumn and once again Jake's partner was on fire.

"I can help!" Jake said. "If you want me to..." he raised his wand cautiously. NOW should he put out the fire? If it happened again he was going to HAVE to. How could he let her burn? But he knew that duelists worked differently from other people and sometimes they wanted to deal with things on their own.

It was going to be ok though. He was sure of it. Having gotten struck by lightning and still being standing up was practically a miracle! He felt lighter for some reason. They said that near-death experiences were supposed to change you. Was that what had happened to him? They ALSO said that lightning never struck the same place twice. So what were the odds that he could ever be struck by lightning again? It was just physics (probably). There really was a bright side to everything, wasn't there?

But soon fog began to creep onto the platform. This was actually great news though, because now nobody would be able to see that he had teared up from the lightning (Ow...it DID hurt a lot didn't it...? Ow ow ow....) Plus even if he couldn't see them, that worked both ways didn't it? No seeing them meant no spells hitting, and that meant probably no more fire. No, this was definitely great!

The other team was talking amongst themselves, and maybe they were fighting? Jake wasn't really sure, but they didn't seem to be getting along. Before he'd been afraid of the Gryffindor girl, but now he just squinted. "I have no idea what they're talking about," Jake observed bluntly. The cheering charm was still running strong.

@Piérre Marchonné @Autumn Ivy @Regina Miller

Action: As Strategized

Round 5

Jake vs Regina

Reducio

Jake casts Tongue-Tying Spell at Regina
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20:10] + 10 = 20 > 9 → Success
Auto-Miss: [d20:12] → No Auto-Miss
Accuracy Check: [d20: 4] + 13 - 4 Fog Charm = 13
Evasion Check: [d20: 2o] + 9 = 29
13 < 29 → Miss

Autumn

Reducio

Autumn casts Healing Spell at self
Wisdom DC: 11
Wisdom Check: [d20:9] + 7 = 18 > 11 → Success
Effects:
- 50 + AP × 5, so +100 HP

Regina vs Autumn

Reducio

Regina cast Flipendo at Autumn
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20:11] + 8 = 19 > 9 → Succes
Accuracy Check: [d20: 18] + 9 - 4 Fog Charm= 23
Evasion Check: [d20: 11] + 9 - 4 Fog Charm = 16
23 > 16 → Hit
Damage: 100 + AP × 10, so 200 x 0.9 (tp) = 180

Piérre vs Autumn

Reducio

Piérre cast Flipendo at Autumn
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20:19] + 10 = 29 > 9 → Succes
Auto-Miss: [d20:8] → No Auto-Miss
Accuracy Check: [d20: 2] + 14 - 4 Fog Charm= 12
Evasion Check: [d20: 20] + 9 - 4 Fog Charm = 25
12 > 25 → Miss

Lightning

Reducio

Jake: [d20: 3] → No Hit
Autumn: [d20: 11] → No Hit

Jake aimed his wand at Regina and tried to hit the younger girl with a mimblewimble. However, the lion was on top of her game and dodge the spell with ease. Autumn focused on herself this round again and cast a healing spell. Two other duelists also decided to focus on the badger. Both of the Gryffindors would cast flipendo at Autumn. Just like Regina had done earlier, Autumn dodged one of the incoming spells perfectly. Piérre spell missed her while Regina's flipendo hit the girl in the chest. The flame on Autumn's sleeve would disappear, at the same time as Jake would feel the effect of the cheering charm fade.

I N F O R M A T I O N

• You have 96 hours from the timestamp of this post to owl me, Samantha Salwis, your actions. If you do not send your actions or post within the allotted time, your action is void. There are no extensions.
• Word count minimum is 50 words, but feel free to write as many as you like. Do not hint at your actions in your post, as it'll let the other team strategize against you.
• Your stats, abilities, and spells have been locked on 26th of January. Any new spells that are added after that day cannot be used.
• For any questions, comments, or concerns I ask that you only contact me through my owls or on discord.
• And most importantly, have fun!

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[Spectator Thread Day 1]

@Regina Miller

House Colours: Gryffindor
"Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

~ Sun Tzu

The easiest spell in a duellist's handbook was the Knockback Jinx. One of the first defensive spells learned, one of the easiest to cast, and the best for dealing bulk bludgeoning damage in a very small span of time. Piérre had discovered that whenever he cast this spell well, he nearly took his arm in the complete opposite direction than the motion of his cast, his entire shoulder following Newton's Third Law as consequence for the force of the magic he emitted.

Now was no different, and blast of white force left him and sailed into the darkness alongside the light sent by Regina's.

One had hit, one had missed, but it was nearly impossible to tell which one was which. For some reason, though... the boy suspected that it had been his own, as he had been aiming under the assumption that the girl he was aiming at would move in some way, shape or form. He had been hoping that her evasion would send her dancing directly into his spell. Well... they would have to see.

"One for two, not bad. Not bad at all." The kid murmured before a tongue-tying jinx missed Regina altogether. Piérre hardly paid it any mind, the only indication that he had noticed an event occurring in his immediate vicinity being only the smallest piquing twitch of his elf ear towards that direction. Mind games were the Italian's forte. Squinting into the fog, the boy tried to continue deciphering the playing field as the foggy clouds began to let up a touch. "They won't be around much longer..." He mused to himself aloud.

Lightly tapping his yew wand on his leg, Piérre couldn't help but remember what Ollivander had told him when he had first gotten this wand. 'Yours is the younger brother... he will treat you well, but may restrict your magic if he feels you require discipline...'

With a small huff, Piérre looked at the wand directly and stroked it for a second, his scarred fingertips lightly dancing on the bone white wood. "Look, I get it, you're trying to 'discipline' me. I know I've not been a good kid recently... but if you want mischief, I can do more mischief. If you want me to study harder, I will."

Time was slipping away. He had just a little bit more time until his next move. "Can it be saved for classtime instead of dueling, though? Then at least I'll have an excuse for my average grades?" He requested lightly, swishing the slightly bendy wood sporting a few buds of newly sprouting yew leaves in the air before him and then squeezing his eyes shut as he tried his best to call to himself his next spell.

Please... Please, please, please work!

Doing as Strategized
Calming Presence Ally: Regina Miller

Why were their opponents fighting even more against each other than against them? Jake wouldn't wanna complain about it - after all, he was happy that a lot of Regina's rage was directed against the other Gryffindor and not against HIM, but it was still odd. Even him and Autumn hadn't been that bad...had they?

Regina had just side-stepped his spell like it'd been nothing, sending a nervous wave up the boy. She hadn't been hit yet at all, and suddenly Jake wondered just how good she was. She didn't seem nervous at all...and the fog that had filled their side of the platform made her seem almost ghostly. Even though he could barely see her, he could hear her, and what she said to Autumn.

"Hey...! I am NOT pathetic," Jake argued back, scowling at her off-hand statement. Maybe it was that his time with a prefect badge, or as a duel captain, had begun to let him stand up for himself just a little. Maybe it was because he still had the last remnants of a cheering charm on him. Or maybe he just felt a bit braver when hidden by a cloak of fog...

But either way he said it, her words hitting hard. (He maybe might have argued about the pacifist part too but he wasn't totally 100% sure if he knew exactly what that was.)

But then an awful thing happened. The cheering charm which had begun to wear off lost its grip on him entirely, and with it there seemed to come an influx of pain. Pain that maybe had been there all along but that some part of him had been ignoring. "Oww...." he groaned. The boy's eyes widened as he felt it, and he looked up at the cloud above him with a new apprehension. Maybe he wasn't okay after all.

He looked across the platform and was grateful for the fog which hid the look on his face as he felt himself freeze. He had to be strong...he had to not show the pain...but the gravity of their situation began to hit him all at once. They were losing, his partner was getting hit, he was hurting....he'd never been hurt in a duel before, and the cloud was still above him to hurt him again. He was scared. And he didn't know if he could keep fighting.

@Autumn Ivy @Regina Miller

Action: As Strategized

date / Monday - January 30, 2022
word count / 273 words

Being a cynic was pretty integral to Autumn's identity, but her lifestyle did have its weakness. For example, when she was right about things, she could never quite feel pleased about it. Figure A, their team being doomed. If the beginnings of duels reminded her why she had joined the club, moments like these made her remember why sometimes she regretted her decision.

She muttered up a healing spell (humiliating, when they were barely past halfway through) and was mildly disappointed when it did nothing to fix her broken pride. Her magic-charred skin did thank her for it though.

Her confidence may have seen better days, but Autumn still wasn't going to let some third-year Gryffindor mock her, so she spoke up, hoping that her voice would still travel through the thick smoke, which was now (thankfully) slowly but surely dissipating. "Miller, I liked what you were telling your teammate earlier about shutting up. Maybe you should consider following your own advice."

She heard the boy of the pair mention quietly that they wouldn't be around much longer. It was arrogant, his casualness. Is this how Autumn sounded to others? She wasn't sure who to be annoyed at. The boy wasn't wrong though.

Autumn likely wouldn't be around for far longer. However, there was something fun about inevitable defeat. The duel became less a fight, and more a performance. A little like dance, and Autumn was well-versed in that field. Hopefully some of the skills she had picked up over the years were transferrable to magic fights to the unconsciousness.

If she was going down, she could at least give everyone a show.

health / 312/800
stats / Stamina - 8 | Evasion - 9 | Strength - 7 | Wisdom - 7 | Arcane Power - 10 | Accuracy - 10
abilities / Sixth Sense - Perfectionist - Comprehend Languages (Mermish) - Terrible Presence

Round 6

Jake

Reducio

Jake casts the Wind Jinx at the storm cloud
Wisdom DC: 11
Wisdom Check: [d20:20] + 10 = 20 > 9 → Critical Success
Random target: t!choose Regina | Pierre → Regina
Effect:
- Stormcloud is moved toward the Gryffindor team
- Critical Success → 70 Damage to a random opponent

Autumn

Reducio

Autumn casts Sneezing Hex at Regina
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20:14] + 7 = 21 > 9 → Success
Auto-Miss: [d20:17] → No Auto-Miss
Accuracy Check: [d20: 8] + 10 - 4 Fog Charm= 14
Evasion Check: [d20: 8] + 8 = 16
14 < 16 → Miss

Regina vs Autumn

Reducio

Regina cast Flipendo at Autumn
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 8] + 8 = 16 > 9 → Succes
Accuracy Check: [d20: 11] + 9 - 4 Fog Charm= 16
Evasion Check: [d20: 7] + 9 - 4 Fog Charm = 12
16 > 12 → Hit
Damage: 100 + AP × 10, so 200 x 0.9 (tp) = 180

Piérre vs Autumn

Reducio

Piérre cast incendio duo at Autumn
Wisdom DC: 12
Wisdom Check: [d20:10] + 10 = 20 > 12 → Succes
Auto-Miss: [d20:20] → Auto-Miss

Lightning

Reducio

Regina: [d20: 10] → No Hit
Piérre: [d20: 18] → No Hit

The perfect execution of the wind jinx from Jake was aimed at the storm cloud above the Hufflepuff team. The strong wind moved the cloud over to the lions and was even strong enough to hit Regina. She would feel the painfully hard wind hit her as the storm cloud was now rumbling above her head. The Gryffindor would also be the target of Autumn's spell, an annoying Sneezing Hex, but she was able to dodge that one.

Regina herself would cast the good old flipendo at Autumn. Just like in the previous round, the spell hit the fourth year and she would feel the pain. Piérre seemed to have had a similar idea and wanted to cast a spell at Autumn. But as soon as he laid his eyes on her, something felt off. He created the fire-making spell easily but his aim was terrible and didn't even come near the girl.

I N F O R M A T I O N

• You have 96 hours from the timestamp of this post to owl me, Samantha Salwis, your actions. If you do not send your actions or post within the allotted time, your action is void. There are no extensions.
• Word count minimum is 50 words, but feel free to write as many as you like. Do not hint at your actions in your post, as it'll let the other team strategize against you.
• Your stats, abilities, and spells have been locked on 26th of January. Any new spells that are added after that day cannot be used.
• For any questions, comments, or concerns I ask that you only contact me through my owls or on discord.
• And most importantly, have fun!

Duelling Spells

Duelling System

Newest Patch

[Spectator Thread Day 1]