2 Sep 2022, 07:39
The Utility of Futility
Everyone knows the utility of useful things;
but they do not know the utility of futility.
-- Chuang-tzu
Location: The Schnell Estate
Date: July 26, 2022
Valentin and Romeo greeted the team bright and early with new, experimental drills catered to each quidditch position. Romeo would lead the training for seeker and beater roles, while Valentin took on chaser and keeper training. A faux-pitch area was set up with low hoops in a field at the foot of the main complex.Blinded Blatching Quaffle
For his drill, Valentin approached the team with several long black cloth strips in his hand. The seeker had no tolerance for using his wand today, even if it meant going out of his way to acquire suitably thick fabric.
“Everyone, please face that hoop. There we are, now I’m going to blindfold you all. Right, snug enough? Now… Sergei has charmed this quaffle to emit music once I throw it. You should be able to hear it everywhere you go. Sergei will take Johannes and Romeo to the hoops now…” With a nod, Valentin sent the butler to assist the team keepers. “Today, both Johannes and Romeo are keepers to make this more fair. Their job is simple-- keep quaffle points from being scored, either by blocking or by ‘blatching.’ Because we don’t have brooms today, blatching simply means knocking someone off their feet. Good, now that they’re in position… The rest of you are all chasers now. Your task is to score with the quaffle, but at any point you may also ‘blatch’ other players. I will be going around and putting my arm out...” continued Valentin, amusedly extending one arm out to his side to demonstrate to the blinded players.
“By putting my arm out, I will be trying to catch you by the neck by letting you blindly run into it so that you’ll fall, ‘blatched.’ However,” Valentin shook his hands and produced a jangle-- his wrists were wrapped with strings of fine silver bells that chimed with even the slightest movement. “If I’m not subtle, you’ll hear me coming, just like you’ll hear the quaffle. You will have to not only evade me, but also not get ‘blatched’ by anyone else, and score with the quaffle based on dead reckoning. The point of this exercise is to make you use all of your senses. Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them. You must learn to use your instincts because, during a game, you may receive a quiet signal that could make or break you in a split second… faster than you can think.”
“Follow me. Alright, face a little to the right… For every quaffle you score (or for a keeper, block), the number of squats you have to do tonight is reduced by ten. For every player you ‘blatch’, you will do ten less push-ups. When there is only one left unblatched, we will break for healing and lunch. There, alright now, reach out with your feelings... On three… One, two, three!” Valentin tossed the quaffle directly up into the air, and immediately the ball began emitting a popular quidditch anthem in sparkling, chime-like tones. Sergei was apparently a softy for old sporting themes.
“Use your instincts!" Valentin called as he dashed off to set up for his first victim.Stats: STA 8 ✦ EVA 13 ✧ STR 2 ✦ WIS 15 ✧ARC 1 ✦ ACC 15 - Ency
Abilities: Keen Eye ✦ Charmer ✧ Evasive Maneuvers ✦ Fearless
