Marishka Shtriga

Age: 82 years old Position: Headmistress of Durmstrang Institute Race: Human Blood status: wizard-born Stats: Stamina: 12 Evasion: 7 Strength: 15 Wisdom: 18 Arcane Power: 10 Accuracy: 8

Appearance:
Marshika’s midnight black hair has become streaked with grey over time, but she still cuts an imposing figure, being 1.79 meters tall. She has a slender build, although there is quite a bit of muscle on her arms and hands, the marks of a true blacksmith. Her hand are rough from the forge and her skin weathered from the heat, but her fingers are fine and long and her nails painted in dark colors that match her current outfit. For the occasion of the Hogwarts vs. Durmstrang Quidditch match, she has chosen to wear the colors of her school: robes in blood red and black with dark red nail polish to accompany the look. Her hair is tied back tight and pulled into a knot at the back of her head, leaving no strand to escape, and is mostly covered by an elaborate, black headpiece inlaid with jewels and rich in embroidery – it marks her as the matriarch of the Shtriga family. She usually carries an enchanted sabre at her hip that she knows how to use.

Personality:
Marishka has distinguished herself as a diligent and dedicated worker, who will see a project finished once she has started it. This makes her demanding both of herself, the Durmstrang staff, and her students: she always expects their best, that they fulfill a task to their utmost ability and with the seriousness required of it. She is a strict teacher who is not very forgiving towards lazy behavior or inattentiveness, but leads by example and doesn't demand anything of her students she wouldn't expect of herself. As a Headmistress, Marishika is always seen around the castle, known for her quiet voice and the deliberate way she speaks. She has an open ear for the worries and troubles of her student, and while she isn't the motherly type she does care for every single one of her students and takes their complaints seriously.
She is old enough to have seen a lot, including both the Great Wizarding Wars of Europe and their aftermath. Maybe that is the reason why she tends to be calm even in stressful situations.
Marishka smokes from a reading pipe made of Black Walnut wood - the same as her wand - that leaves the soft smell of peaches and cold winter mornings behind wherever she goes. It's not tobacco she is smoking, but whatever substance she puts into that pipe is, it makes her breath turn the air icy when she exhales. Only when the situation is really dire will she put her pipe away.

History:
The Shtriga are a very old Albanian magical family, and by the time Marishka was born they were also very impoverished. They held no riches anymore save for the family estate, which calling a castle would have been generous, as it was shabby and run-down, with half the building no longer habitable and all but a handful of its house-elves sold. Their line was no longer pure either, her grandmother having married a mildly famous magical clocksmith of half-blood descent. Her own mother Mirela had married a wizard almost twenty years her junior, and her job as a professional duelist in the lower Greek Leagues brought in just enough money to keep them off the streets. The only thing the family still had to its name was a hereditary seat on the Albanian Wizarding Council, an honour that wasn't rewarded in coin and that kept her father busier than most true professions would have.

Marishka attended Durmtrang and graduated its Dark Arts program, starting an apprenticeship as a magical weaponsmith soon after. When Mirela died in an accident in a sanctioned duel she became the new family head - as the Shtriga are matriarchic line - at twenty-seven. With her younger brother in his last year of school and her father grief-stricken, Marishka had to take up the Council seat or forfeit it. Her mother's pension wasn't generous and the years that followed were hard on the family. She immersed herself in magical law, studied texts and more texts, read ancient scripts, learned Greek and French, compared cases from neighbouring countries and worked hard to help overthrow some long-outdated laws.

Her dedication made Marishka not only renowned but over time also a sought-after expert on magical law. She was contacted by individuals as well as companies, the odd rich pure-blood as well as some magical governments to advocate for or defend their cases. Meanwhile her brother had his own plans of bringing the family glory, becoming a portrait painter and dallying with various ladies, both unwed and otherwise. He came to sire five children, all of them daughters. Marishka appreciated it in so far as that it absolved her of the duty to produce an heir of her own, though the siblings have no close relationship.

In her early fifties, she finally had enough time to take on her original profession of blacksmithing again, at least in the odd hours of her free time. Her life had settled - at least until that fateful day in 1995, when a representative of the Durmstrang Board of Governors knocked at her door.

Karkaroffs involvement with the British Death Eaters had sullied Durmstrang's good standing in the eyes of too many, and so the school sought to replace the fallen headmaster with one whose morals and intentions could not be questioned. Marishka Shtriga was their first choice and after a month of consideration, she agreed, not for the pay but for the good memories she had of Durmstrang, of the happy years she had had at school despite her family's struggles. Vesa, her oldest niece, took over the seat in the Wizarding Council while her aunt took over Durmstrang.

Character: Yefim Rumyantsev

1.) Is your character a Broom Racer?: NO
2.) Is your character a Quidditch Player?: YES
3.) Is your character a Duelist? NO

4.) Stats: +5 = 40 points total
◇Sta: 6 ◇Eva: 7 ◇Str: 10
◇Wis: 3 ◇AP: 4 ◇Acc: 10
(+2 to Evasion and +3 to Accuracy)

5.) Abilities:
First year: Martial Artist (Accepted)
Second-year: Terrible Presence
Application:

Reducio

As Yefim started to get older, the cute baby fat started to fade from his face. Without the illusion of childish innocence in his features, the inner demon began to appear more noticeable. He stood tall, bulky, too muscular for someone his age. His pronounced brow shadowed his eyes so only the whites glimmered through. He wasn't afraid of looking intimidating, having spent much of his childhood scaring other children away from his turf. He learned how to look dangerous, but more than that, he looked his happiest when people were cowering before him. Whether his opponent chose fight or flight didn't make a difference to him, and his body language said it.

The therapy could only do so much to try to rationalize the words that his father whispered into his impressionable young mind. He wasn't like other kids... he was special. Maybe more special than anyone who ever existed. After all, there was a lot of unexplainable things in the world, and with magic the possibilities seemed endless. Was it really so strange to think that someone could make their child the avatar of a deity? He behaved like a normal child around his mother, that was what she wanted, but in school, during classes, his professors loved his confidence and ruthlessness. The more comfortable he became in believing in his own strength, in believing he was destined for greatness, the more his cruelty grew.

He wasn't afraid to use force to get his way, or lie if he thought it would be funny. The world was his playground to do as he pleased with, and nothing so far in his short life had taught him otherwise. Weak people deserved to be put in their place, and victory belonged to those who did anything to get it. He didn't have time to care about other people's feelings when he dwelled so high above them. What he cared about was himself, and lording his greatness over the rabble and watching them squirm in discomfort.

It was power. Beyond just beating people to a pulp, he also had the power of intimidation. Anyone who met eyes with the wild creature would see no restraint, and no mercy. To his peers in Durmstrang, he was one of many students who were given a wide berth in the halls, but to Yefim, he was successfully exerting the pressure of his godly aura. Their fear fueled him, motivated him.

Word count: 407/400

Approved
Receipt:
Sta: 6
Eva: 5 + 2 = 7
Str: 10
Wis: 3
AP: 4
Acc: 7 + 3 = 10
* Stats are approved
* second ability: Terrible Presence (Approved)

An edit has been made to the original character post.

Additional Information: After the Durmstrang match with Hogwarts, things returned to normal for the most part. However, there was something striking about the Hogwarts team, they had a part giant among their ranks, their Seeker did not look quite right. There was some mention of this in the media, yes... Hogwarts was making headlines for their mainstreaming and inclusion policies of half-breeds. There had been some heavy criticism in wizarding, specifically pure-blooded communities. There were a few advocates in the Ministry that appeared to be strongly in favor of this policy but they were countered by very vocal people that felt that it was dangerous. Considering how hard the match was (win or lose), it would seem that these half-breeds have some brawn.

Durmstrang iNPC Update

Character: Alexander Ward

1. Is your character a Broom Racer? NO
2. Is your character a Quidditch Player? NO
3. Is your character a Duelist? YES

4. Stats Update (added +2 to Evasion, +1 to Wisdom, AP and Accuracy; total of +5)
Stamina: 5
Evasion: 5
Strength: 5
Wisdom: 9
Arcane Power: 8
Accuracy: 8

40/40

5. Abilities

• Charmer (1st year ability, already accepted)

• Perfectionist (Applying in the reducio)
  Reducio

  
  Being the son of Janice and Claudius Ward was not always easy. Since he was young, Alexander had to prove to everyone that he was worth of his family name; that meant he needed to always be perfect, ready for anything: his clothes would have to be of the finest quality, and always in pristine condition; the same thing applied to his hair, that were never too long or messy.
  Of course, all of this plus his ambitious and thorough personality impacted his way of studying as well.
  
  Whenever he faced a new spell at school, he would spend an insane amount of time researching the etymology of the word; he believed that if he understood better where the spell's name came from, he could pronounce it better. After that, he would spend hours just repeating, over and over again, the name of the spell; then he would do the same with the wand movement and only once everything was perfect, he would try and cast the spell for the first time.
  
  Some people might have said he was a little too obsessed with getting the spell's pronunciation and wand movement right, but for Alexander all of that practice was worth it. If he wouldn't take his time practicing the spell, if he would just try and see what would happen, the chances of failure would be way too high for his liking; he needed to be good, perfect, even at his first try.
  
  His parents were incredibly skilled spell casters, and he could not imagine them failing not even once; if some of his classmates preferred stying outside and relax during their free time, Alexander would often practice the spells he had learned. "Practice makes perfect," was one of the mottos he would often repeat in his head when, his wand in his hand, he would cast a spell for the 20th time in a row.
  
  There was no room for failure, not for him.
  
  With his family name on his shoulder, the weight of their job, their legacy, he could not afford any error. Of course, sometimes it would get a little overwhelming for the young boy, especially if a spell was particularly complicated, or during the exams weeks when the time to over-practice would be too little for his likings; but Alexander never backed down from a challenge, he was way too ambitious for that.
  
  He would have made his parents and the whole family proud.

  WC: 409 words.

Approved
Receipt
Stamina: 5
Evasion: 3 + 2 = 5
Strength: 5
Wisdom: 8 + 1 = 9
Arcane Power: 7 + 1 = 8
Accuracy: 7 + 1 = 8
**Stats are approved
** Year 2 ability: Perfectionist (Approved)

Additional Information: A school that is known for its power and its dark wizards, it likely comes as no surprise that there are some minor rumors going around the school. Rumors that there is another Dark Lord working his or her way into power. They are just rumors for now, childish statements, yet there is a twisting.... a turmoil within the magical community. Like most impending disasters, there are signs, like a sixth sense. This restless uncertainty that can be felt.

Durmstrang iNPC: Alisa Sokolova

1.) Is your character a Broom Racer? No.
2.) Is your character a Quidditch Player? No.
3.) Is your character a Duelist? Yes.

4.) Stats
Fourth Year: 45 + 5 = 50.

Stamina: 8
Evasion: 8
Strength: 4
Wisdom: 10
Arcane Power: 12
Accuracy: 8

5.) Abilities:

Fourth Year – Advanced Casting

Reducio

By the time Alisa had made it to Fourth Year her cousin Kirill was a Sixth Year fresh into the Combat Class of Durmstrang Institute. Oh, she had become good with spells, adept at throwing jinxes and the occasional hex, at looking like a well-behaved girl the moment a teacher appeared to see what the ruckus was about. Her eyes were blue and big and gullible enough to fool an adult who didn't know better, who hadn't seen first hand how vicious her spellwork could become the second her cousins were involved.

She had become somewhat of a standout pupil, at least in those subjects were first grade wandwork made the difference between good and excellent work. The professors had noticed how persistent the teenage girl was the moment spellwork was involved. Alisa had the advantage of having a Potions Master for a father, of having grown up reading books, and while it helped her in the subjects that related more to pure theory, ironically it was magic where she shone the most.

Her rivalry, if it could be called that, with her cousins and her spiteful need to outdo them and any other pure-blood had pushed her onto the path of becoming an brilliant duelist one day – a skill that Alisa bitterly needed the moment Kirill started studying martial magic in earnest.

No matter how good she was, her cousin was two years older and getting proper training at how to whip somebody's ass in a duel.

Another child, a less stubborn person, would have given up. Alisa had found friends, true friends, by then, had gathered somewhat of a reputation, had been invited to visit London for the School Quidditch Tournament. By all accounts she was making her family proud – and they were, her father elated that she had found a second home at Durmstrang, her grandparents beaming whenever they saw her report card at the end of the school year, telling their friends of their bright granddaughter who had earned a scholarship at a high-class boarding school.

The thing was that for Alisa it wasn't enough.

One day, she would put Kirill on his ass (Nikita was another matter, a boy younger than her, the second son, not as wicked as his elder brother). He had become the bar she measured herself against, the wall she needed to climb to prove that she had truly made it, that she'd become an accomplished witch.

Alisa wanted to be peerless. She would do better than any pure-blood. She would show them, once and for all, that her muggle blood was no taint to be ashamed of, that it was what made her better.

So picked up her wand again and again, until her fingers hurt and her eyes swam, to throw that jinx one more time, and another and another.

WC: 471

Approved
Stamina: 7 + 1 = 8
Evasion: 7 + 1 = 8
Strength: 4
Wisdom: 9 + 1 = 10
Arcane Power: 11 + 1 = 12
Accuracy: 7 + 1 = 8
* stats have been approved
* year 4 ability: Advanced Casting (approved)

Name: Maximillian Nocturne
School: Durmstrang
Year: Second Year
Appearance: With his middle parted brown hair and Latino-white heritage, this boy is definitely worth taking a second look at. You can find him smiling or making funny faces all day long along with easily messing around and getting into trouble. He stands at around five foot four, and is not going to grow much taller than that.

Personality:

Maximillian“Max” Nocturne happens to be the smartest of all fourteen of his unofficial half siblings. He doesn’t show it often, but if he wanted to he could do absolutely amazing with his schoolwork. His people skills though, they need to be worked on. Max people watches and judges people based on their first glance appearances rather than their actual personalities. He doesn’t fare well with talking to other guys though and tends to have a lot of girl best friends rather than boys.

History:

Being the Nocturne prodigal son he was supposed to be was not on this boys list of demands. He was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth, a sly and cunning instructor from the age of four to the age of ten, and a father who wouldn’t let him out of the house. At least with his permission of course. Max still found ways out of the mansion that he so dearly hated, but it wasn’t until the fourth time he’d snuck out did his father catch him. Of course, he’d received harder training and sparring with dear old papa the next day. To say the least… that was a brutal punishment on Max’s part. Let’s just say he wasn’t very fond of his father, and his mother wasn’t in the picture for long if at all.

When he was six he made a small tube of toothpaste squeeze itself dry on the glass of his fathers vanity, anger boiling in his veins as the toothpaste was turned into a smoldering pile of ash.

Anyways, this boy wasn’t but nine years old when his little brother was born. Of course, his father was fooling around with several different women at that time and decided to take that child for himself rather than let it go to waste like Max did.

His father picked up a new son and discarded the old one at the Durmstrang Institute, stating that Max would have to “make it on his own” in order to be allowed back in his house again. He’d scoffed, blowing it off and getting on the boat that would take him to Durmstrang. He would arrive, be sorted, and immediately start spray painting walls on the grounds where no one could see. Of course he gets caught, but not very easily.

Once the professor's caught Max in the act they did a little more than make him clean it up. They made him run extra laps and do more training than everyone else for three months before he was forgiven and allowed to do extracurricular activities again. His father’s letter had been interrupted once again and brought back to Max. Can’t let his tyrannical father get hold of something that could deem him unfit for his college funds.

Soon after this, he was informed of the broom racing competition between all of the schools and got super excited… before realizing his grades were down the drain and he wouldn’t be able to go if he didn’t shape up. After this, his grades rose and the professor;s eventually let him have permission to go… as long as he got a form signed by his father’s crest. Yeah, okay, like his psycho dad was going to sign a paper for Max to go on a little field trip. Luckily, over the break they got to go home and everything. He’d snuck into his dear old dad’s office and stamped the approval himself. Papa none the wiser.

Stats:

Stamina: 8
Evasion: 4
Strength: 4
Wisdom: 3
Arcane Power: 8
Accuracy: 8

Is your character a Quidditch Player?: No

Appearance, Bio and Personality: Approved But please remember if you are playing a pureblood, things like cans of spray paint would not be something you have immediate or frequent access to. Especially since it was difficult to get out of your house and these schools are not located in the middle of populated cities.
First Magic: we need a first instance of magic I think the first instance of magic was the toothpaste being squeezed out (magically?) who/why/what made it turn to ash? (Was it dad?)
Stats -- the total is 35 (Approved)
Abilities: none listed. You do not have to apply for an ability, but making here in case that was unintentional.
Quidditch/Broom/Dueling -- While in your bio you mention broom racing, there is nothing stating you are (or are not) a dueler or a racer. This would default to NO but I am trying to grant you the opportunity for clarity.

Approved
History, Bio and Personality (Approved)
First Magic (Approved)
Stats - add up to 40 (Approved)
Abilities: Lovely Creature (Approved), Evasive Maneuvers (Approved)

Durmstrang has stayed out of the media for the most part. It would appear that things were going normally from the superficial vantage point of the student body. However, there were some rumors during summer camp that something 'fishy' was going on. A few of the students who went to the summer camp made mention of it. How their things appeared to be misplaced or moved. How some blamed their peers but in some cases that was impossible. The obvious answer was of course magic and nothing to really be thought of twice. However, it was how the Professors who overheard this responded that was noteworthy. They seemed interested in knowing where, when and who was nearby. Not that these facts appeared to be particularly relevant and the gossiping students were taken away to answer. It just seemed... odd.

May I remind everyone that there are no Durmstrang houses? Our Durmstrang canon can be found here.

Ash Andwiltz

Is your character a broom racer?: NO
Is your character a Quiddich player?: NO
Is your character a duelist?: YES

STATS

Terrible Prescense

STA||7
EVA||6
STR||6
WIS||8
ARC P||1
ACC||7

Approved
* stats appear unchanged.
* ability appears to be one that is previously approved.
Only noticed change is the fact that this character is a duelist. Will copy this information over. You are welcome to add an ability now for this year as well as additional stats, however this is not mandatory. If you wish to do this, simply make a new post as this one will be locked with this approval.