Tigist Seleshi Uagadou

Name: Tigist Seleshi
School: Uagadou
Year: Third Year
Status: Pureblood
Appearance:

A young Ethiopian boy with distinct elongated ears and a broad nose, as is common in his family.

Personality: Tigist, or Tig, is known for being a bit mischievous in nature. He enjoys pranks, yet is known for humbling bullies. A prank isn't mean and is usually easy to fix. The family is known for being philanthropists who help maintain order in Ethiopia's wizarding community. Many of his family become equivalent of an auror or other methods of doing good for their community. All that to say, Tig falls into that category as well. His fierce loyalty and intense focus on whatever goals he sets makes him a force to be reckoned with if he's passionate about a topic.

History: Tig comes from a pureblood family in Ethiopia that has been present in the country for as long as anyone can trace back. Their line is locally known for enforcing the law, writing law to be fair, and generally working to improve life for all. Their pureblood pride manifests itself as them being the ideal saviors of the people and an elitist wizard over muggle perspective. Tig's parents both follow this family stereotype and raised Tigist, their only son, to do the same. His mother is a healer that uses muggle methods for local muggles, and magical methods for wizards. This gives her a good cover to travel, study muggle medicine, and sneakily use magic to help everyone. Tig's father is a Geologist that specializes in magical locations in Africa. His work finds unique artifacts, natural formations, and more that can be of benefit to wizards.

As a child, the young wizard was known to be a big quidditch fan. He often ignored his early magical studies to read up on the latest stats from teams all over the world. Tig always wanted to become a player when he grew up. His first known instance of magic was even involving Quidditch. The family made a trip to see the Ethiopian team play against Egypt. In the souvenir shop outside, the excited young boy reached for a chocolate broom and caused it to explode, violently. A combination of high emotion, intense focus, and hand movement resulted in an accidental outpouring of magic. His parents were angry at the destruction causing the vendor stress, but excited that their only son was a wizard. Even a well-meaning family like the Seleshi look down on squibs when they have a strong pureblood ancestry.

Years later, Tigist received his dream messenger. The headmaster appeared in his dream to give him the token. When he awake, he was clasping the magical item in his right hand. Inscribed was the word 'hope'. It wasn't certain what this meant, but it was true that Tig was filled with hope at the prospect of going to this big school known for producing quality quidditch players. He and his mother performed the ritual, saying the words in their native tongue as the moon struck their water-covered medallion.

The first year at Uagadou went well for the young pureblood. He didn't struggle with classes due to a strong family providing tutoring and history. Despite his focus on sports, he still did fine enough to learn what was necessary to move ahead. His second year was similar, but the token had a new word for him. That year it added 'Focus', which proved to be something Tig would need to acquire. His focus had been on Quidditch and not on school. This not-so-subtle hint from the school told him that he needed to do more with his time to be successful in classes.

Finally, now entering as a third year with the new calendar year, Tig's medallion became inscribed with 'Journey'. This was a large unknown, but provided some excitement for the young wizard.

Is your character a Broom Racer? NO
Is your character a Quidditch Player? YES - Keeper Role preferred
Is your character a Duelist? NO

Stats:
Stamina: 10
Evasion: 15
Strength: 3
Wisdom: 2
ArcPower: 0
Accuracy: 15

Abilities:

Keeper's Catch

Reducio

As a big fan of Quidditch for his entire life, Tig grew up honing his skills for the sport. It was tough to decide on which position would be fitting for him. Seeker got the glory, but keepers were the saviors of their team. This fit with the Seleshi family style of working for the betterment of their people. It would certainly never fit to be a beater, and seekers were too much for glory. A good keeper was a treasure to a team and the backbone of champions. That felt fitting for him, so Tigist decided at a young age to aim for the position.

This means that entering school for the first time, he'd already been practicing blocking as a reflex. Good reflexes and predicting target locations became almost second nature. Tig spent his pre-school years finding ways to prepare himself. This meant bouncing tennis balls against a wall quickly to catch them, playing reaction games, and watching the best keepers play. There were also a few gag items kids often used to scare each other, such as exploding crackers. Tigist used such items in random assortment to train his reflexes as well, causing a few random burns to his fingers that his healer mother had to fix and scold him on.

Beyond reflexes, he'd also need to know how to handle a quaffle decently within the game rules. It took a bit of convincing, but he got his parents to buy him a professional quaffle for home. His father enchanted it to be a cheat, aiming for a goal automatically. Tig was able to practice by himself with this setup and some drastically reduced height goals. He'd see it launch for a loop, dive, catch, and launch it outwards to invisible teammates. And repeat. This went on with various forms for a few years before he turned ten for the dream messenger to appear. Like a hockey goalie hoping to become a young prodigy, there was little in his life outside the sport and weird practice games. It hurt him in developing magical skills, but he didn't really care.

This dedication to the sport and entering school wanting to be a keeper for the school make this a very fitting ability for Tigist. Once on a broom and on the pitch, this kid was instantly competing with upperclassmen for a position on the team. During this first year, Tig was the backup keeper and practiced with the team often. His natural reflex and dedication to practice put him in a perfect position to gain the ability of keeper's catch.

WC: 432

Evasive Maneuvers

Reducio

The token for second year told Tigis about 'Focus'. This was interpreted by his parents and confirmed by snide remarks during classes that the boy needed to turn his focus away from Quidditch and back to school. He had passed all of his courses the previous year, but it was nothing exceptional, which his family and teachers expected from him. This meant that Tig had to spend many hours in tutoring and individual study for his practical magical course, history course, and so on. That didn't mean he stopped preparing for Quidditch altogether, it just meant he had to hide it a bit inside his other work.
Practical magic classes offered the perfect opportunity for this integration. Classes frequently involved defensive dueling and evasion techniques, something that tied in perfectly with his Quidditch training. The skills he'd picked up on the field — agility, dexterity, and quick reflexes — were put to good use during these sessions. Tigist excelled in this particular aspect of practical magic. His quick reflexes from years of dodging bludgers came in handy when it was time to evade spells. He realized that the same sharp instincts which allowed him to swiftly maneuver his broom in Quidditch were just as effective in magical self-defense. Every spell he dodged, every attack he sidestepped, echoed the swift movement of evading a bludger in a high-stakes Quidditch match.
This fun discovery led to a newfound appreciation of the two seemingly disparate parts of his life. The exhilaration of Quidditch, the thrill of successfully saving a goal, began to reflect in his academic pursuits. His practical magic studies, particularly in defensive spells and evasion, mirrored the excitement he felt on the Quidditch field.
What emerged from Tig's second-year experience was a harmonious blend of sport and study, creating a dynamic environment where his evasive maneuver abilities shone brightly. Not only was Tigist becoming a formidable keeper on the Quidditch field, but also a formidable duelist in the world of magic. It became evident that 'Focus' wasn't just about concentrating on his academics. Rather, it was about channeling his passions and skills into an all-encompassing approach to life. The boy's talents in Quidditch and magic were not conflicting, but complementary. His nimbleness and evasive skills turned out to be the vital link that bridged his two worlds, reinforcing his aptitude for the evasive maneuver, whether on the broomstick or in the dueling ring.

WC: 400 (it was 399, and I added the word 'fun')

Rebound

Reducio

The dawn of the new academic year was a pivotal point for Tigist. The prior year’s focus on academics had carved out a robust foundation for his magical studies, and he had emerged from it not only a better student, but also a sharper Quidditch player. With a newfound balance between his studies and his passion for Quidditch, he had enough free time and permission to delve back into his favorite pastime without any guilt or concern.
His hours of intensive magical training in evasion and deflection, originally meant to satisfy his tutors and parents, had unconsciously seeped into his Quidditch performance. He found himself capable of executing an advanced maneuver, something that he hadn’t even dared to dream of before - the 'Rebound'. This maneuver was a rare feat in the Quidditch world. It involved not just dodging a bludger but actually redirecting it back towards an opponent. It was a move that required a blend of lightning-fast reflexes, an almost intuitive understanding of the bludger's trajectory, and the strength to effectively reroute it. All of these were traits that Tigist had refined through his diligent practical magical studies.
During his practical magic classes, Tig had learned the art of countering an attack, of not just evading but deflecting it back. This principle had translated beautifully onto the Quidditch field. The thrill of managing a Rebound was akin to casting a successful counter spell. Every bludger he managed to reroute back at his opponents felt like a testament to his growth as both a wizard and a Quidditch player. He was more capable of anticipating his opponents' moves, judging bludger trajectories more accurately, and deciding on the fly which opponent to target with a rebounded bludger.
The combination of academic focus and continued dedication to Quidditch had opened up a new chapter in Tigist’s journey. It was a testament to the symbiosis of magic and sport, of study and passion. It was a powerful reminder that not all learning happened inside the classroom - some of it happened on the Quidditch field, with a broom in hand, a bludger hurtling towards you, and the stands roaring with anticipation. While Tig had little desire to become a duelist or to fight much, the ability to evade and counter attack would be useful all around. A professional player was sometimes harassed by fans of opposing teams even, and a quick ability to redirect a spell or thrown bottles would be key outside of the game itself.

WC: 415