An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on May 11, 2022 6:38:59 GMT 10
As interesting as a duelling session sounded, Elizabeth was not in the mood to be shouted at by dozens of people as she did anything, not to mention that it sounded like exactly the type of event where she'd have to interact with the more rude members of her class. No, she was better off avoiding it.
She decided using her other bronze key could be a good way to spend the afternoon. After all, she had some success with it previously, and if it didn't take too long there was still an opportunity to see if Professor Rivera needed some help with some tasks.
After heading up to the Spiral Staircase, Elizabeth unlocked a door. She didn't know which would be worse, seeing the potions again and ending up with stripes on her face or finding a more difficult task, one that meant messing up her hands or her uniform.
The room was pitch black, concealing its true size and surroundings -- apart from the skeletal-like limbs of ancient trees. Growing from the branches were lantern-like objects, revealing a huge boardgame imprinted on the stone floor. On each square was an unlit lamppost, too tall to be lit by hand.
There was a pale, glowing wolf sitting at the starting line. It watched, waiting.
A plaque reads:
"Among a forest of the forgotten, there are whispers of hope. Believe in yourself, and the magic shall flow through you without incantation. Here you need not the knowledge, but the heart, to light your way. First to the end, wins."
Player 1 (your character)
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Player 2 (the wolf)
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How to Play
Your character goes first. To have your turn, RP attempting to light lanterns with their wand -- yet without using a spell, as per the plaque's message. It's open to interpretation.
A mod will roll a die to determine which of the three outcomes occur for your character:
Failed to light a lantern. Remain on the current square.
Succeeded in lighting the lantern ahead of them. Take one step forward.
Succeeded in lighting two lanterns ahead of them. Take two steps forward.
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Included in the mod post will be the NPC wolf's turn (using the same die roll method).
The game continues until someone reaches the finish line. When a lantern succeeds / fails, you can free-RP the reason why or how your character received that result.
Winning earns 200 exp to their Charms skill, and 20 exp to every other skill.
Although playing a mini-game, this is still an RP-thread. We strongly encourage immersing your character in this experience and challenge, as these threads are also designed for character development.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on May 12, 2022 12:26:09 GMT 10
Elizabeth was surprised by the dark room, and even more nervous about the dog. She recalled seeing Fang earlier in the year--and the bad memories that had brought back. It seemed not to be attempting to chase her, but Elizabeth kept her wand out anyways. It seemed like she would need it even if the wolf was friendly.
The plaque on this one was perhaps even more confusing than the previous one. Why would she ever want to rely on her heart instead of her knowledge? One was far more easy to trick than the other. She reached out her wand and touched it to the lantern in front of her.
While she did feel somewhat silly, she also tried to believe that it would light the lantern without a spell. She hoped that it did, as well, since she was a bit nervous that the wolf would become dangerous should she fail in this task.
Wisps of light trailed from the wolf, lighting a lantern of its own. It stepped onto that square, sitting in a signified yet confidence pose. It didn't pay much notice to Elizabeth, though remained aware of its surroundings and every movement she made.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on May 15, 2022 16:03:02 GMT 10
Elizabeth could feel her heart skip a beat when the lantern lit, and then accelerate when she realized the wolf was following her. Whether it was her fear or belief that lit the lantern, she could not have said, but she knew that she had to keep on going.
She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the wolf, hoping to see that it was minding its own business as Elizabeth was minding hers, more or less. Whoever decided that keeping a dangerous animal like a wolf in the school could have had the bright idea to place it under some sort of spell or other enchantment to keep it from attacking. Or maybe it wasn't a wolf at all.
Brushing off those thoughts and focusing on the task at hand, Elizabeth touched her wand to the next lantern, hoping that it would light in a similar way.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on May 18, 2022 5:52:26 GMT 10
This time, two lanterns lit up. Elizabeth's eyes widened, while the wolf only lit one. Maybe she was gaining a lead on it. It was just an animal after all, whatever magical properties it possessed. Surely it couldn't beat plain old human intellect. Elizabeth felt her face flush a little. She hadn't realized how nervous she was about the creature.
She continued attempting to light her lanterns with the wand. Now that she knew that she could go much faster than the wolf, she hoped she'd be able to continue doing so. The more distance between her and the wolf, the better.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on May 19, 2022 6:19:29 GMT 10
Panic briefly overtook Elizabeth as she noticed that the wolf was also able to light lanterns quickly. With this in her mind, Elizabeth was unable to focus enough to light any of her new lanterns, and now the wolf was ahead of her!
Elizabeth tried to calm herself. She was a Doren and a witch. She could do this. She stuck her wand into the lantern again, trying to feel the same sense of belief and hope as when she'd been able to light the two lanterns. She knew she was clever enough to figure out whatever was going on. That, she thought, should be enough.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on May 21, 2022 22:45:23 GMT 10
Elizabeth took a deep breath once she caught up to the wolf. She didn't really want to find out what happened if she lost this game. The other one had said there would be poison, and Elizabeth believed being mauled by a wolf would be much worse than whatever pain would come with the poison. She winced at the idea.
Trying to put the idea of pain out of her mind, Elizabeth put her wand up to the next lantern, imagining it lit so that she could continue onward as quickly as possible.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on May 22, 2022 1:32:09 GMT 10
Elizabeth allowed a small smile to cross her face as she once again passed the wolf. There were only a few lanterns left to go now, and the taste of victory was almost irresistible. She could easily picture herself lighting the next few lanterns, the only question was if the wolf would manage to do it faster than she could.
She stretched out her arm again to light the lanterns. This was not something she was used to doing, but it was definitely an interesting way to spend the afternoon. At the same time, she wondered how the dueling session was going, and who was winning. Probably Anjay Xcalyn, or another student with a talent for dueling. She wondered how she might've done.
Regardless, she had made her choice, and Dorens did not leave things unfinished, especially something as simple as lighting lanterns. Elizabeth willed the lantern to light as she touched her wand to it.
Post by Elizabeth Doren on May 22, 2022 1:42:25 GMT 10
Frustratingly, the lantern did not light. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, the wolf's lantern, or rather, lanterns, did. Elizabeth held her breath as the wolf passed her, still unwilling to let down her guard even though the wolf still had yet to attack her. That didn't mean that it wouldn't do so.
Elizabeth concluded that she had distracted herself by thinking of the dueling session and decided to clear her mind of it and focus only on the lanterns and her current situation, a task that was easy given that she was still nervous around the wolf, and a bit more nervous that something would happen to her if she did end up losing.
She reached out her wand again, seeing the same lantern and picturing it lighting up.
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