Week Three - Task #10. - "An Agile Exchange"

[Adeline Morior]

You feel a little nervous and excited as you head to your next practice duel. You were told to meet up in one of the school ballroom halls. As you enter, you notice the hall wasn’t set up for dueling like you’d expect. Students are standing on the edges of the room with a great square dance floor in the middle. You spot Adeline Morior standing just on the edge on the far side waiting.

'Wait, is she my opponent?' You think as she turns towards you and smiles. She takes a deep bow, ready for the match.

You quickly bow in turn and step onto the dance floor. It happened so fast…

Adeline stepped off of the dance floor, took another dramatic bow but this time gently touched her want to the floor while muttering something. Next thing you know, you slip and fall hard on your back.

”Ouww!” You try to get up only to slip again. She made the floor slippery. You were suddenly forced to roll to the side as birds lunge toward you and try to hit you one at a time, slamming into the floor and disappearing. You managed to dodge them all.

You look over to see Adeline gently step onto the floor and start moving like she is ice skating. Skating to the left making an elegant and little dramatic twirl and moving back towards the right, hands behind her back.

”Have you forgotten what you’ve learned already?” She says playfully as she skates around on her side. Waiting for your response.

You try to slowly get up and notice Adeline flicking her want twice. You suddenly feel very tired and your limbs and movement feel sluggish. Did she just double hex you? You barely had a chance to finish that thought before she flicked her want again causing you to trip over your own feet, slamming hard forward onto the floor.

”Ah!” You yell in frustration. She is barely giving you a chance.

”I hope you aren’t giving up yet, we’ve yet to start this dance.” Adeline says as she comes to a halt from her skating. She smiles a compassionate and inviting smile, slowly bows down with an open right palm extended toward you, her wand balancing on it. Waiting.

You breathe out a deep sigh. She was testing you. Now inviting you to the duel. You feel a smile forming and new excitement as you slowly get up. She is right. This is a dance and you’ve yet to participate. This is the perfect opportunity to show exactly what you’ve learned.

You slowly stand up, still feeling sluggish and take your dueling position. ”Let's duel!” You say with determination.

Adeline stands up straight and smiles excitedly. ”Let’s duel…” She says taking her stance.


Task:
Considering the jinxes/hexes/spells used above, write a poem in 100 words or more on how the above match continued and how you felt when it ended. Include the jinxes/hexes/spells you cast and the ones you used to counter the attacks against you or reverse the effect on you. Remember to include what you learned from the match.


Alternatively, create your own magical jinx or hex that can be used in dueling. 150 words or more. Include what it does, how it affects someone and how it can be countered or reversed.


This task is worth 10 Beans/Sapphires and is due on March 30th before 11:59PM HOL time.

[Dibyarup James Potter]

Poison Cloud Hex

Incantation: Nubes Veneni (NOO-bes-veh-NEH-ni)

Wand Movement: Double, outward, counter-clockwise spiral

Purpose: The Poison Cloud Hex creates a cloud of poisonous particles capable of killing intrusive insects or bugs. It is usually nonlethal to humans above the age of 4-5 years. However, in case of any side effects, a human (both adult and child) can take the ‘Antidote to Common Poisons’ or a Bezoar.

This hex can be used in duelling as well, because even though it is non-lethal, it has a very pungent smell and will make a human target (older than 4-5 years) choke and cough for a couple of minutes, thus incapacitating them during a duel.

There are several counters for this hex, including Protego (the Shield Charm), hex-deflection spells like Salvio Hexia, and of course, as stated earlier, the Antidote to Common Poisons, and Bezoar.

If the hex is cast with the incantation “Nubes Veneni Maxima”, the cloud created by it, can last for several days in the location it was cast at, hence it can be used outside cottages or tents to keep the insects/bugs out.

Etymology: "Nubes" means "clouds" and "Veneni" means "poisoned/poisonous".

[River Fenwick]

A hex I have created to use during a duel is the tunnel vision hex, Oculocuniculum. The wand movement would be to wave your wand to resemble an archway, then move to make a circle. Oculo would come from the Latin word "oculus, meaning eye, and cuniculum with Latin origins that means tunnel. This hex would temporarily impair one's vision only to see a limited view, making tracking the opponent's movements more challenging to keep up with. This hex can be used on living and inanimate objects, with an example of using it on an object such as a camera that would only allow it to focus in a circle. It could be countered and reversed by nonspecific spells, such as the Hex Zapper or Salvio Hexia, though the hex does resolve itself after 100 blinks; in theory, one could also blink rapidly in hopes of clearing it up fast.

[Hiya Debnath]

I created the Rapid Rotating Jinx, to use in dueling. It causes the opponent who it is cast on, to rapidly spin or rotate on the spot, thus making them dizzy. This can help distract the opponent for a long while. It can be used as an offensive dueling spell.

Spell Components:
The Rapid Rotating Jinx
Incantation - Celeri rotare, pronunciation - "Say-leh-ree Ro-TAR-ay"
Wand Movement - An anti-clockwise loop ending in a flick towards the body of the target.
Willpower - Moderate
Concentration - Moderate, visualize target spinning on the spot.

The more willpower is put into the spell, the longer and faster the target will rotate.

The only counter to the Rapid Rotating Jinx is the Effect-Cancelling Charm, Finite Incantatem. However, even without casting the Effect-Cancelling Charm, the Rapid Rotating Jinx stops by itself after a short time which may range from a few seconds to a maximum of two minutes depending upon the amount of willpower applied.

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Having gotten to my feet, I considered trying to Transfigure my shoes into ice skates but realized it would take too long... and, worse, Adeline could easily end the Glisseo spell, making the ice skates useless. Instead, I focused on maintaining my balance, having my wits about me, and cast a Protego shield charm around myself.

The next spell Adeline cast, a stinging cast, simply deflected off the shield. From there, the duel proceeded as a stalemate: the Disarming Charm I cast was simply dodged and then her spells kept on deflecting off of my shield. After a few minutes of this, with neither of us getting any advantage on each other after that awkward beginning, the duel ended in a draw.

What I learned from the experience is that I always needed to be prepared; a change in circumstances with a new spell could happen at any time! I felt a bit disappointed in my performance, but at least I was able to recover from the awkward start...

[Janne Halla]

Spectral Shackles Spell (incantation Spectro Vincula) is a sophisticated and difficult spell used in dueling to incapacitate opponents and hinder their magical abilities. When cast, translucent chains materialize around the target, snaking around their wrists and ankles before binding them tightly.

Spectral Shackles Hex not only physically restrains the victim but also disrupts their connection to their magic, rendering them unable to cast spells effectively. Furthermore, the hex inflicts a draining sensation upon the victim, sapping their magical strength.

To counter or reverse the Spectral Shackles Hex, witches and wizards must use its counter-spell Liberatio Vincula. This advanced counter-spell requires precise wand movements and a strong mental focus to unravel the spectral chains and restore the victim's freedom of movement.

As it relies on wand (or hand if wandless) movement, it can only be cast by another person. The spell also stops if the original caster has been incapacitated.

This is an incredibly difficult spell to cast and only the most advanced duelists manage it properly. If miscast, it can backfire and results in the caster being bound themselves.

[Lex Green]

I took a breath and raised my wand
Thoughts racing round of 'bring it on'
Before Adeline had blinked her eye
I gave a cry of 'Stupefy!'
She stumbled back and I breathed in deep
But before too long she was back on her feet
In a flash, her wand was raised
'Impedimenta' she said, stopping me in my place
My movements were sluggish for a moment or three
But as Adeline went to cast again, I managed to break free
Her wand traced a jagged arch shape
But I worked out her thoughts and planned my escape
As she yelled 'tarantallegra,' I cast a charm of my own
Forming a shield around me with 'protego!'
Her jinx rebounded and her feet started to dance
And whilst she paused in confusion, I took my chance
I cast 'expelliarmus' and Adeline flew back
Her wand dropped to the floor with an exaggerated clash
She tried to stumble back up, but the duel was done
It had been a close match, but I had finally won

[Viviana Kingston]

Illusio incantatio is an illusion incantation that can be cast with or without a wand. The general movement of the hand or want is in the shape of a X starting from the bottom right and ending on the top right with a flick of the wand or hand upwards. The spell itself draws the target into their own mind, causing them to hallucinate or see a specific scene that the caster wants. In order to counter the spell, you reverse the movements by starting bottom left and ending top left and a flick down. In order to reverse the spell, the caster must say the words “illusio metam”, another incantation that ceases the vision or hallucinations that was being inflicted on the target. It is used as a disarming tactics but is often a forbidden spell because prolong use of the spell can cause casters to have difficulty in determining reality from fantasy.