2022, Stage 1 Gryffindor v Slytherin: Match 5

Opeila was nervous. A feeling that she had not once felt before her duels last year- why should she have? With Dmitri as her teammate, all their duels had been decided before they even began, but this year was different.
It seemed that the captains had really stopped drawing names out of a hat, but instead paired the duellists into fairly balanced matches. That meant that there were neither good or bad odds this time.

Another reason for her nervousness was, well, Galton. It was the second time Opeila was facing the fifth year in a duel, after he and Meenauh had absolutely crushed her and Adonis two years ago. But things were different now, right? She was no longer an inexperienced second year and also had Bridget by her side instead of another inexperienced second year. Did Galton regret having taught her to split spells?

When the young Slytherin entered the stage, she took a deep breath and gripped her wand tightly. Bring it on.

Credit to Hanako Tone

Bridget was a little different--sometimes a lot different--every time she stepped on this stage. That was a good thing, hopefully. You had to keep moving forward, whatever happened, not staying stagnant. And hopefully the movement brought you somewhere better, to a more thoughtful, whole version of yourself.

Philosophical musings aside, Bridget was currently rocking her overworked student arc. The homework load typically increased a bit each year, but the looming presence of OWLs at the end of the year made this one more serious than any before. Duelling, then, was an especially welcome break from studying. On her feet rather than at a desk, practical rather than textbooks. It was still something that required work, but it was a work easier to get motivated for.

Still, tests rarely produced the stomach-twisting, breath-shortening nerves a duel did every time. It was just adrenaline preparing her to perform, she knew, but that didn't mean it was a very comfortable feeling. Some mix of stage fright, her brain trying to keep all the swirling strategies straight, and dread of potential failure made standing there, waiting for her name to be called, decidedly unenjoyable. It didn't help that Galton was scary. Not in the sense that she was literally scared of him, but he was a duellist she knew to be skilled--she'd spent much of the summer duel admiring his ability--and that was intimidating to be up against. It was more fun than walking into a duel against two younger students and knowing she would win, though, just maybe not in this specific moment.

There was also Rose. Bridget... did not particularly like Rose. But she'd barely had to deal with her at all anytime recently and was not the sort of person to pull in unnecessary drama. Rose was just another opponent, and Bridget intended to beat her just like she had last time. At her side was Opeila. They'd yet to be partnered, but they both had been on the Viridian Vipers since the beginning, so that, coupled with working together for that secret ball, had to count for something. She was competent and Bridget liked her and she'd managed to put up with Dmitri as a partner for a whole year, so Bridget expected them to mesh easily. Unless she'd adopted Dmitri's standoffishness.

She'd already mentally gone over these things probably a dozen times since the match-ups had been posted, but it was something to do, and since Bridget's brain was never going to shut up, this was better than imagining worst-case-scenario ways to lose her win streak, or even her reputation as someone competent with a wand when she went down the especially bad rabbit holes. Her facial expression had locked itself into that tense neutrality it did whenever she had stress to hide, teeth clenched behind pressed lips. It was fine, this was fine. It's not like losing was a world-ending scenario, and as soon as she was actually up there, casting spells, she'd just be in the flow of casting.

But now Dorion was starting things, and Bridget gave them a smile, both as greeting and as silent thanks for saving her from waiting any longer. Okay, here we go. She took her place, listened to the quick rules reminder. Gave both opponents a little nod of her head, as always. For Opeila, she had a few words and a brief, hopefully encouraging smile. "Ready?" Okay, she had one word actually. Trying to steal a bit of Dorion's easy energy--seriously, their karate chop thing was so cool--she dropped into stance.

Action: Doing as strategized

Galton could feel the magic swirling, pooling, bursting throughout the air of the dueling club. The first duel of the season always had a different energy than others. Everyone was excited to show how they’d grown, what they’d been practicing. It made the matches a tad more brutal, but also a tad more exciting. And with the recent changes to pairings? The match was set up to be a doozy.

As he climbed to the dueling piste he couldn’t help but smile at those who awaited him. A powerhouse of students - two terrifying vipers, one he had even helped sharpen the fangs of. Dorian, a favorite moderator of Galton’s. Was this the setup for a year of following Dorian from duel to duel? Galton could hope as much.

And finally there was his new partner - Rose the Relentless. Surely, as ferocious as their opponents were, they would not be able to withstand the duo of Galton the Glorious and Rose the Relentless. With wand in hand Galton smiled at Rose. It was time for the fun to begin!

Action: Absorbing the magic in the air

@Galton Lansdale | @Opeila Winters | @Bridget Collins

Rose liked to think she was prepared for this duel. Not only was her hair braided back out of her face, but she had stretched a little, warming her body up. Since her arrival at Hogwarts, Rose had spent plenty of time practicing dueling spells, trying to shake off all the lack of practice over the summer. It hadn't really been her fault- she wasn't allowed to cast any spells at home.

No matter what happened in the end, she was determined to give it her all. This year, she wasn't paired with Alec, who had been her partner last year. That was a little bit disappointing to hear about, since she had enjoyed dueling and practicing with him. That was okay, though- Rose was learning that change didn't always have to be a bad thing. Instead, she was paired with Galton, a Gryffindor a little bit older than her. Rose had already decided that she liked him. He seemed kind, and like he wanted to win a good, fair duel.

Rose thought it would be a good, fair duel. There had been changes to pairings so that the same thing didn't happen as in previous years- two first years up against students with over four years more experience and instruction than them. It had happened multiple times. The pairings seemed a little more even this time, so there could be no accusations that the outcome of the duel was set against them from the beginning.

As they were called up, Rose's gaze lingered on their opponents for the duel. Their opponents belonged to Slytherin House, one of which happened to be Bridget.

Oh, joy.

Although the redhead wasn't one to hold grudges normally, her heart hardened when it came to Bridget. Bridget had beaten her in their last duel, and Rose would hate it if that was to ever happen again. But she had to rely on strategy, not any immature desire she might have to target Bridget. They would need strategy on their side if they were going to win this.

Rose smiled back at Galton, shaking the last of the nerves off. She tightened her grip on her wand, watching Dorion, the moderator, as they asked if they were ready.

And with a few words and a karate chop, they were off.

I'm still missing actions from both teams. Less than 24 hours left until the deadline.
@Rose Moon @Galton Lansdale @Bridget Collins @Opeila Winters

Round 1

Galton vs Bridget and Opeila

Reducio

Galton cast Fog Charm at Bridget and Rose
Wisdom DC: 11
Wisdom Check: [d20: 8] + 11 = 19 > 11 → Success
Duration: [d5: 3] → 2 rounds
Effects:
- Bridget and Opeila have -4 accuracy and evasion for 2 rounds -3 base, + -1 for 5 ARC.
- Anyone who targets them has -4 accuracy.

Rose vs Bridget

Reducio

Rose cast Blindfolding Spell at Bridget
Wisdom DC: 10
Wisdom Check: [d20: 13] + 10 = 23 > 10 → Success
Auto-Dodge (19 or 20): [d20: 10] → Fail
Accuracy Check: [d20: 7] + 8 = 15
Evasion Check: [d20: 19] + 10 = 29
15 < 29 → Miss
Effects:
- N/A

Bridget vs Galton

Reducio

Bridget cast Pressurized Water Charm at Galton
Wisdom DC: 13
Wisdom Check: [d20: 11] + 13 = 24 > 13 → Success
Auto-Dodge (17-20): [d20: 12] → Fail
Accuracy Check: [d20: 14] + 13 = 27
Evasion Check: [d20: 17] + 16 = 33
27 < 33 → Miss
Effects:
- N/A

Opeila vs Rose

Reducio

Opeila cast Wind Jinx at Rose
Wisdom DC: 11 + 2 Rose Lovely Creature = 13
Wisdom Check: [d20: 7] + 9 = 16 > 13 → Success
Auto-Split: [d10: 7] → Fail
Auto-Hit (19 or 20): [d20: 1] → Fail
Accuracy Check: [d20: 16] + 11 = 27
Evasion Check: [d20: 12] + 9 = 21
27 > 21→ Hit
Damage: 50 + 7 ARC × 10 = 120
Duration: [d3: 1] → 1 round
Effects:
- Rose loses -120HP and has -4 evasion for 1 round.

If there was one thing that Dori hated, it was the stupid fog spell. They were sure that Bridget and Opeila weren't big fans of it either, but it always made it so hard for Dori to see what was going on. They needed- fog goggles. Or something. Spells whizzed across the piste as the fog grew from Galton's wand. Bridget targeted Galton, a formidable opponent for her, but missed. He was a slippery duellist, incredibly hard to land a hit on. Dori didn't know how he did it. Rose went for Bridget, attempting to take away a duellist's most valuable tool apart from their wand: eyes. Luckily for Slytherin, the silky blindfold flew past the girl leaving her the ability to see- kind of. Again, fog. Opeila was the only one able to cause damage, hitting Rose with a well place Wind Jinx. It didn't split, but it was still effective. Rose would feel a bit disoriented from the hit the next round, but Dori had no doubt she would recover quickly.

Information

1. You have 96 hours from now to write your posts (50 words min).
2. In the same time period, send me (Dorion Anderson) your team's actions per owl. Do not hint at your actions in your post.
3. If you don't post in the allotted time frame, your action is void.
4. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to owl or DM me.
5. Good luck, and have fun!

Duelling Spells

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The spectator thread for this duel can be found here.
Come cheer for your House and friends!

The moment Willow- no, Dorion! Opeila would still need a little to get used to the Hufflepuff's new name- started the duel, Opeila raised her wand, not wasting a second.

"Ventus!"
It was a shame really that she never got to see whether it hit or not, as a wall of smoke rose up and swallowed all of them.

Oh, how she hated this spell. It was like losing orientation, so while she listened for every movement, she avoided moving too much herself, to avoid losing track of where everyone was.

Doing as Strategized.

Spells flew. It was clear each duelist wanted to win. Blindfolding somebody was largely stereotypical in dueling, but it was one of the first spells Rose thought of, and it was effective. However, Bridget was able to dodge the spell. At roughly the same time, Bridget's own spell collided with her, the wind of her spell pushing at Rose's balance. She hadn't really been expecting that. Galton's first spell was aimed at both of the Slytherins, enveloping both of them in fog.

She needed to focus. Get her head in the game. Losing a duel again was not something Rose was ready to do.

Credit to Hanako Tone

For a few moments at the very start of the duel, you had a totally blank slate: no spells slowing you down or platform transformed into a contained storm. This could very well be her best shot, and she was going to take it. But the Aqua Eructo missed Galton. Not really a surprise, she knew he was fast.

Well, that was her shot. Because as expected, the clear had already slipped away, replaced by a shroud of fog from Galton's wand. Bridget sighed. This had been expected--fog was a staple of any of Galton's duels--but that didn't mean she was going to enjoy it. She'd avoided Rose's blindfold, at least, so she had some vision. "Nice hit," she muttered to Opeila, praise for her Wind Jinx on Rose, before going quiet. If she couldn't see her opponents, she certainly wasn't going to help them locate her.

Action: Doing as strategized