Wizard Chess: The Gauntlet Invite Only

Ava watched as the game unfurled around her, carefully planned moved disappearing into disorganized chaos. Around her, her teammates execute their own moves and strategies, she focused ahead on her own opponents, and what she was meant to do. She had a job here, and it wasn’t to observe. It also wasn’t to be protected, meaning she had to get out on the field. She moved, letting the players around her do the same before she (or at least I assume she) fired some offensive shot, magical or otherwise. When the action had died down for a moment, she turned to their coward of a king.

"Did you bully them into letting you be king?" She asked innocently, although she realized she should have reserved such quips for their opponents. Well, Clark deserved it more, and she knew the majority, if not the rest of her team, agreed with the statement.

She blocked out whatever horrid response he would likely have to her statement, and turned her focus to their other team. She smirked at them, smugly declaring to all that could she that she thought she was far above them, and that they would be easily defeated. Maybe her luck recently hadn’t been exactly ideal, but surely it was good enough to secure them the win?

She finally scoffed, rolling her eyes at the other team and yelling out "is your goal to lose?"

Action: stuff
Notes: lowkey have no idea what’s actually happening, sorry if my post reflects that
Stats: STA • 7 | EVA • 10 | STR • 6 | WIS • 6 | ARC • 5 | ACC • 13

ROUND 3 of 5

A note to all players: The word count minimum is 200 words. The next deadline to post and submit the strategy is 6 days, the deadline should be around the same time as before and linked in Discord. If you believe a mistake has been made in the calculations of this round, please contact me ASAP so it can be addressed promptly.

As Malcolm remained continued his statue impression, he was tagged out by a bystander. Camilla really hoped the boy was okay. But round three, and the game was more than half over already, and things were getting.... interesting.

Astra actually picked up Aodhan, like fully lifted him like a sack of potatoes and swapped places with him. After last round, Astra clearly did not want to be in the way; and leave it to the upper year to treat a magical chess like a high-stakes game of musical chairs. Camilla actually cackled at the sight, despite knowing its tactical usage: Aodhan’s new spot looked perfect for launching all kinds of trouble on team Black.

Landon threw up a shield for Maisie --likely to deter Aodhan's attention from the girl -- even as Elisa followed suit, casting her own shield around Mamori.

Reducio

And then, a power surge. Ara, Black’s Queen, suddenly went full supervillain mode. She had already exuded an air of discomfort. But now her aura flared up, dark and terrifying. It was impossible not to stare. Even Liv, the coolheaded sniper for White, sent her targeted spell sailing wide. Prat, over on the other side of the board, was apparently just as distracted; Camilla spotted his swing go wide, and honestly, who could blame him? Certainly not Camilla. She was perfectly happy being on the sidelines; though she had to wonder. Couldn't Archer -- white's Queen have done the same thing? It looks cool as anything, after all.

But Aodhan wasn’t fazed by the rampant malignant aura of the Black Queen. With Maisie shielded, he lined up a shot at Ara, laser-focused. His bravery, however, would not bear fruit as Aislin dashed out from her backline perch to block the attack on the Black Queen with their own body. That was a clutch move, the rooks were really showing off what they could do defensively this game.

Meanwhile, Knights do what Knights do best. Mamori and Ava clashed right in the thick of it. Last round, Aodhan had gotten in Ava’s head, but you don’t get to be the scariest Black Knight without a comeback. Ava dodged Mamori so smoothly it looked almost scripted; landing a brutal counter that shattered Elisa’s shield and whacked Mamori hard. Camilla winced; that didn't land as hard as a bludger, but Mamori would definitely feel that in the morning.

Black's New Bishop (who Camilla still couldn’t pick out by name; someone really needed to give that person a proper entrance) tries to snipe Astra with a sharp spell from the chaos. But aiming through a whirlwind never works out; and the attack sails embarrassingly wide, into the magical soup of stray magic and missed shots. Camilla half-expected someone on the sidelines to flinch.

Then it was Maisie's turn to show how deadly Knights could be in close range as she let fly an up-close attack at Astra, only thanks to Astra’s earlier switcheroo, it was Aodhan standing there. Maisie aimed a fierce melee spell at Astra, only it wasn’t Astra anymore. Thanks to the new swap, it was Aodhan standing there. For a moment, Camilla’s heart jumped. Had that swap been the worst timing ever?. King Mahlioz’s aura flashed, ready to save their Knight. But no, turns out that Maisie missed. Unfortunate.

And then came the movement. Black, after bunkering all match so far, began their slow, deliberate push into White’s territory. White counterpushed, with their Knights securing positions past the Black position. As the White Queen moved forward to secure a central position though, Ava shouldered them aside with casual nonchalance, claiming the prime spot for herself instead.

There was a loud ding, signalling the end of the third round. Just past the halfway mark, all the easy openings and little skirmishes were gone. Now every single piece, and every single action was for the brutal control of the central positions. Well, except for Ara. Nobody, and Camilla meant nobody, wanted to get near that Queen’s malignant aura. That looked scary.

Team & HP

Reducio

Team WHITE(a1-h1) 4536/5500 (82.46%)
Rook (left)- @Prat Pass 600/600
Knight (left)- @Mamori Anezaki 486/600
Bishop (left)- @Elisa Wagner 600/600
Queen- @Archer Duncan 645/1000
King - @Mahlioz Evethisawe 900/900
Bishop (right)- @Livia Machavariani 200/200
Knight (right)- @Aodhan Shaw 600/600
Rook (right)- @Astra Norrick 505/1000

Team BLACK (h8-a8) 5507/6400 (86.36%)
/Rook (left)- @Aislin Darragh 599/700
Knight (left)-@Maisie Fenwick Rose Williams 600/600
Bishop (left)- @Landon Matthews 900/900
King - @Clark Baird 900/900
Queen- @Ara Villa 433/1000
Bishop (right)- @NPC, proxied by Blaize 900/900
Knight (right)- @Ava Winchect 615/700
Rook (right)- @Blaize Valerian 560/700

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Date: 10/05/25 | Outfit: Here | CC: #1f5cc6 | Words: 255 | Graphic by Ara Villa
────────────────────────────────

Things were getting more intense with this last round and Landon was enjoying himself. He figured that he would, but he had been a little nervous about the whole thing. He didn't want to let his team down, but this was, dare he say it, fun? Did he really like being on a team with Clark? No, but he put up with it. He was going to be a team player no matter what happened. Landon watched as the action unfurled, following the plan that the team had made.

Throwing up a shield to defend Maisie came naturally to him. Landon liked being a protector. It was part of why he was a Keeper, even if he was only second-string. He enjoyed defending the goals and, now, defending his teammates. He watched with wide eyes during the rest of the round, unsure how it was going to go. Malcolm was replaced, which was strange, but Landon still stood in front of the new person, trying to protect them.

He watched as the other players did their attacks. He was glad that he was more of a defensive player than an offensive player, even though he had wanted to be a Knight, Bishop suited him much better.

When the round was over, Landon looked around, humming softly. They had faired pretty well and they were in a good spot. The teams were fairly evenly matched. Landon prepared for the next round, bracing himself for round four and the changes that it would make to the game.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

xxwordcount 266/200

|oct 05th 2025 datexx

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

xx

Sometimes Mamori wondered if any sports-related activity at Hogwarts was less about skill and more about gambling. And from his admittedly limited betting experience (which he'd rather not specify where that came from) the more you hoped something wouldn't happen in gambling, the more likely it was to occur. Like right now — he'd really hoped his opponent wouldn't suddenly develop superhuman attacking abilities, but that ranged hit definitely felt like someone had unlocked a hidden talent. Even with Elisa's shield it hurt like hell. "ARE YOU SECRETLY PREJUDICED AGAINST PINK HAIR OR SOMETHING?" he yelped at his attacker, "Because that felt personal!" Might as well have taken a bludger to the face, though that was probably an exaggeration, his scrawny self would likely be unconscious if he'd taken a Hogwarts-grade bludger head-on. Even a sneak attack could knock him flat, but we won't elaborate on that here. Adding too many Quidditch references would make it obvious his writer was just trying to hit the word count. At this point, Mamori had neither the energy nor inclination to analyze the broader tactical situation. He simply followed orders, only belatedly realizing he'd been sent down what appeared to be the suicide lane with Prat, pitifully undermanned on their side and surrounded by enemy pieces. The good news was his proximity to the diminutive black king. The bad news was having six opponents in engagement range with at least one or two capable of reaching him. His current mood stood in stark contrast to Landon stationed beside him. The odds of victory seemed to be shrinking by the minute.

xx

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

xx

xx

𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 as strategized 𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑒 white team l. knight 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑠 sta. 5 6 | eva. 10 11 | str. 5 6 | wis. 7 8 | arc. 3 4 | acc. 10 11 𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 Non-Human Enthusiast | Foulplay (Girding Potion: +1 to all stats) 𝑜𝑜𝑐-𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒 ouch </3

x

Their team had decided it was go time. Half the game had been played out by this point. Actions and movements were getting more aggressive, and yet still nobody had fallen from either side. Dread trickled up the back of the first year's neck as a looming body had conveniently stood next to him. It was Prat, the kid who he was briefly roommates with. The boy opened his mouth to say something before squeaking as he attempted to bash him.

An unsettling feeling creeped around him as he glanced over his shoulder catching the glare of the student who played their Queen. Ara was her name, ah right. He shivered and turned back, expecting to get backhanded or something, but to no avail as the other boy seemed to hesitate. A weary breath escaped him, but no movements were made by either of the boys, which meant next round he might not be as lucky.

Had he been expected to be targeted as much given his position? Maybe not, he hadn't thought that far ahead. But that's what happens when you stay within protection range of the King. Speaking of, he did a whole lot of yelling and not a ton of movement or action. Not that he minded though, their goal was to keep him safe, alas his own mouth was doing quite the opposite as some snarky comments were thrown across the board by teammates and opponents alike.

He noticed a lot of their opposing team had failed to land strikes that definitely should've occurred. Perhaps Ara had a wave of power surge through her as she stepped closer towards enemies' lines. So did Ava and Landon. They were deep in enemy territory now, quite scary for them. The red head felt a pang of fear spike through him. Would they be on their feet by the end of the next round? Only time would tell, and that was the unfortunately agonizing part of waiting, because everything happened so quick.

sta 9 | eva 10 | str 4 | wis 11 | arc 9 | acc 11

wandmaker (5% auto-dodge) | perfectionist | calming presence (allies: white team) | spell spread

role: white team king

october 5 2025 | time unknown banner by aiden choi Reducio @ara villa, @mamori anezaki, @astra norrick Reducio action: as strategized

english | french | thoughts gif by ava winchect Reducio outfit - top, pants Reducio ooc note: oh my gods why is this game so hard (i am enjoying it in the midst of all the confusion)

Credit to Maisie Gemmell

Mentions: Ara Villa, Clark Baird, Livia Machavariani, Aodhan Shaw

Where to go from here was a puzzle solved for her by the actions of the White team. The overall state of the board was difficult to determine--Aislin might be taller than her team's King, but she wasn't that tall--but she simplified it into two starting checks. Firstly, was their King in danger. No, so was their Queen in danger? And that question yielded a two-pronged yes, White team's sniper Bishop and one of the Knights setting their sights on the Black Queen. Instincts to avoid danger and pain were swallowed down, moving herself decisively next to her Queen to eat the damage for her. When the figurative dust kicked up by magical attacks had settled, she was in better shape than she had thought she would be, all limbs still attached when she looked down to confirm. Her skin stung and the impact pulsed for a few seconds, but there was nothing worse.

The stinging might not even be from the Knight's attack. After a few seconds, watching her Queen charge the opposite end of the board, she wondered if the sting was really more of a prickle, light and crawling. Their Queen had some sort of presence about her, powerful and dangerous, and Aislin's sleeveless vest wasn't enough to keep out the shiver. Discomfort aside, the Black Queen was stunning, absolutely a force to be reckoned with that was now poking at the White team's defenses. If Aislin wasn't still playing, she might have stood there, unusually still, to watch the destruction unfold.

Action: Doing as strategized
Stats: STA: 7 • EVA: 6 • STR: 4 • WIS: 7 • ARC: 4 • ACC: 7
Abilities: Charmer