As Marie was walking back to the next mark on the floor she noticed Carter watching her. "Hey Carter, you should give this a try. Come over here and I will let you have a turn before I go again if you want."

Yes, let him have a turn that way she could practice in her mind just a little bit more. She knew it would take more concentration as she got further from the target.

Truebridge glanced at Carter when Marie addressed him.

"By all means, stand up and give it a go. Do you have the wand movement, the incantation?" The professor demonstrated the flick and jab cross again and gestured for the boy to take his mark.

Okayyy.

Gold knew this spell. She acted out the proper wand movement now, the flick and the jab and, when that was done, repeated the incantation to herself. Once, twice. All set!

She stepped forward, and aimed for the very first target. It was the closest, which meant it would be easy to knock over. She might have trouble with the latter ones, but she hoped she would not.

"Histedius."

A flick-and-jab to accompany that incantation, and circles of green light had been conjured from the tip of her wand. They zoned in on the target, pushed it back and ... yes, it had been knocked over.

Now for the next target.

Arya gave Truebridge a quick smile before going back to practicing the spell. Intent, that was the key. It had taken her a few tries but she was finally able to knock down the target. She was enjoying herself as well. Not really needing to practice her aim she practiced how much force she would put behind the spell.

Still in her stance at the first line she said the incantation, "Histedius!" with all the force she could muster. The green light left her wand and narrowed in on her target, knocking it down to the ground before it poped back up. Once the target poped back up she instantly shot another jinx at the target, "Histedius!". Again the target fell back before poping back into place and again she shot another spell at the target, knocking it down.

Once she had successfully knocked down the target, Arya figured it was tie to move to the next line. She skiped backwards til she was at the next line(8 feet). Giving her wand a few slow twirls she then pointed it at the target, taking her stance."Histedius!" The green light shot towards the target, knocking it back one fourth of the way. She wasn't discuraged though, just continued to throw spells at the target intil it would fall down all the way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Con_Stripes

"Good, Raiden. Work backwards now." Truebridge encouraged him.

That felt much better after the earlier... er, pointing out of his failure to answer. Nodding at the professor, a lop-sided smile on his lips, Raiden moved to the next line. Green eyes settled on the target; focusing on the center of it, barely sparing a bit of attention for the others in the class, he cast again.

"Histedius."

The target didn't fall down so easily this time, but it definitely toppled over. With a slight frown, Raiden watched as it jumped back up. At that rate, the next one might not go down at all. Hm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Con_Stripes

"Well cast, Ivory. Keep your focus on the target, the spell will do the rest." Truebridge noted the little first year's dedication.
Truebridge watched the students take their turns and noted those who were having more difficulty, but more importantly keeping an eye on those who were having trouble to begin with but figured it out after a few tries. It was important that they felt and saw the difference over distance.

Ivory shot a smile to the Professor before during back to the target. She was a huge fan of constructive criticism and an even bigger fan of encouragement.

Nodding she stared down the target again. Focus on the target...focus....target.

Rings. Rings. And nothing but Rings...

Since the target wasn't that far off she was able to look at the center of the target right in its Bull's eye with a gleam in her eye that said 'You're-going-down.'

"Histedius!"Her wand motion swished in the cross motion as neon green rings burst forth, changing in size as they neared the target.

THUD

The target rebounded against the floor with a thud and came right back up again...Only to be shot down again.

"Histedius!"

...and again.

"Histedius!"

and once more.
"Histedius!"

Her smile wide and excited, Ivory realized that she'd been stalling moving on the the further more harder to reach target. Sighing she took the few step to the next line and looked at the distance forlornly.

It was such a big gap between her and the target. Must've been about double her height that was for sure.

Biting her lip she glared at the target, wondering if she could make it come closer with a look alone.

Eventually of course she concluded that this was not at all possible and she would have to come to terms with the distance.

Alright, here we go. she thought to herself as she stretched out her arms a bit and limbered up.

Hey one had to be prepared right?

"Histedius!" Maybe it was her lack of confidence, maybe it was just that the target really was a long distance away, whatever the case where as before she had bit it that same target on her first try now her green rings barely teetered it. And when she tried it again it barely swayed.

Stamping her foot she took a few deep breaths and counted to ten before fixing the small details that were probably wrong with her impatient casting.

Okay offensive stance...center of gravity. Loosen grip on wand so that's it firm but not inflexible. Concentrate the mind on one single thing...in this case the outcome.

Exhale...
"Histedius!"

Green rings echoed forward honing in on the target, the force pushing it back so that it tipped over. Not all the way to touch the floor and come up again...but enough to give her hope that she'd be able to do it with a few more tries.

Mina continued watching and mental took notes on techinque . Silently, she recited the incantation over and over, as she visionalized the wand movement in her head.

It was probably a little harder than it looked, but she was almost ready to take a try at it. Getting up from her spot, she dusted herself off. "Professor, could I take a try?"

"Umm... Okay." Carter said heading over. He watched the wand movement again. A flick and a jab. He could handle that.

He flicked and then jabbed his wand. "Histedius" he said.

He watched as the target swayed unsteadily for a bit. It did not topple over and it did not move backwards.

Frowning slightly he tried again.

"Histedius" he said. This time the target did move back a bit and did fall over. Not too shabby.

Marie watched as Carter practiced knocking the target over. It seemed he had the same problem she had, couldn't get it to fall over on the first try. On the second try though she watched as the target fell over then stood back up. 'Yay, he did it!'

Smiling as she moved to the eight foot mark she said, "Okay, I guess I see if I can knock it over from here." She took a dueling stance, did the flick and jab movement of the wand, "Histedius!" she said as she concentrated on making the target fall over. She watched as it toppled back and forth a few times before actually falling.

"Yes!" She jumped up and shouted again when the target fell over. She knew it was only going to get harder as she got further away, but for now she was happy that she was being successful.

"Your turn again. Ready to give it another try?"She stepped out of his way so he would have plenty of room to work.

Lina looked about at the other students. They seemed to be doing better further... With a sigh, she stepped back to the 20ft mark. It was pretty much the length of a large room. Maybe a medium-sized private ward.

"Histedius!"

It shivered. Oh, that was threatening.

She focused more, less concerned with control and remembering the first time she used the spell. "Histedius!!"

Thump! It wavered. That was better. But it seemed to take far too much effort. "At twenty feet, it's more effort than it's worth to just knock someone back. It seems this spell should be used more defensively, when combat has become too close."

By now Arya had managed to get her target to tap the ground. It still didn't have enough force to hit the ground as hard as it did when she was at the four feet line.

"Histedius!"

When the spell made contact, the target fell back making a imperceptible thud before popping back up. She didn't move from her stance nor lower her wand, just sighed inwardly.

This jinx was really proving to be more difficult than she presumed. Finally she stood straight and lowered her wand, twirling it between her fingers. With a sigh she spun on her heals in a exceedingly slow circle. The girl wasn't giving up, she never gave up, just...taking a mini break.

After finishing her slow circles, she popped a piece of gum into her mouth. Arya resumed her previous stance with her wand at the ready, concentrating on her magic.

"Histedius!"

The green light zeroed in on the target before making contact, knocking it back with a resounding thud. She smiled as the target flew back up, popping a bubble before she continued to practice in the same spot.

Carter had to stifle a laugh when Marie jumped up and down celebrating. And by laugh... he meant because she was cute and not because she was funny.

"Yeah." he said. "I'm ready." he said taking the spot she was in before.

"Histedius!" he said. With a flick and a jab.

Yes!! The target fell over!

He wasn't sure how much range he could get out of it though.

"You're turn." he said with a smile. Yep, they'd be getting to the targets that were farther back soon.

One down, three to go!

Gold was enjoying herself, now. The spell was basic, in a way, and her aim was fine. She knew she could have some trouble with the target farthest off but, for now, she was ready to give the second target a try, and that was her sole focus. For the moment.

Taking a step backwards, she raised her wand.

"Histedius!"

Green circles rose from her wand, and the pressure they exerted, knocked the target down. It did not prop itself back up, something that was a surprise, and her mouth formed into an O of mild astonishment. "Well, that's an achievement," she grinned to herself.

The third target proved more difficult. Gold took aim, cast a clear "Histedius!" but the force of the spell knocked the target back, only for a moment or half. It was back up at once, and Gold had to give the spell another try, before it was finally knocked down.

But at least she had managed.

Now for ze last one.

Next line back. Raiden moved, eyes focusing on the target. The professor had said to just focus on the target, right? The spell would do fine then.

Hopefully... the target would go down. If it didn't, he'd... feel a bit like a failure. Heh. He was sixteen, this shouldn't be all that hard, right?

"Histedius." Unblinking, the prefect watched as the rings closed in on the target; the thing went down, but definitely not as easy as the other two had. Suppressing a sigh, because somehow this already felt like failure, he moved back once more. He wanted to be gooooooood at this. Good. Yes. Please.

Once Carter knocked the target over Marie moved back to the twelve foot mark and took a few deep breaths before getting in position.

Eyes on the target she thought, 'must knock target over, must knock target over.'

"Histedius!" she shouted as she did the wand movements. The target only moved just a little but didn't even come close to falling.

"Histedius!" she shouted just a little louder while she gave her wand a flick and then a jab crossing the other way. This time she seen the green rings shoot out of her wand and make full contact with the target knocking it over all the way before setting itself back up.

Turning back to Carter with a huge very cute smile she said, "Your turn again."

Ze last target.

Focus. The fact that she was so sure this would take more than one try, was not a good one. Things are what you make of them -- and Gold knew that, she really did, but she still could not help but feel that way. The fifth year gave an inward shrug. Silly thoughts!

She focused her attention on the last target, the one farthest away, and raised her wand. A flick, a jab crossing the other way --

"Histedius!"

Green circles rose from the tip of her wand, knocked the target backwards and... and then it was back up, again. Gold frowned, concentrated, as fully as she could, and this time, she thought of nothing, nothing but knocking that target down for good.

You're going down, matey! NOW!

"Histedius!"

The target fell backwards, and did not prop itself back up. A grin lit up Gold's face, at this. Scooorrre!

Arya continued her practice at the eight feet line. But instead of merely casting the spell at the center of the target, she began casting at the edge of the target and working her way in. She was gonna move back to the twelve foot line when she realized that her jinx still wasn't strong enough. Sure she was able to knock the target down, but that was because she had been aiming at the center of the target the whole time. In her eyes anyone could knock down the target if only aiming for the middle but it would be much more difficult if she had to hit the edge.

In her stance with her wand pointed one foot from the edge of the target. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she slowly chewed her gum, waiting a few seconds before firing off a spell.

"Histedius!"

She watched as the spell made contact with the target, causing it to teeter but not fall. Again she waited a few seconds, still chewing her gum before sending off another spell in the same spot.

"Histedius!"

It had the same effect, only teetering back a few inches more than the last time. Hmm, maybe working from the inside out wouldv'e been easier. Well she never was one for doing things the easy way. Arya continued to send off spells, slowly working her way towards the center.

Truebridge observed the volunteers carefully, nodding at those who managed to adjust the strength of their cast over the different distances and at those merely feeling the difference in their casts.

"Of course Mina. Let me know if you need a hand with the wand movement or incantation." Truebridge doubted she'd need help wit that, she was a very capable student and a quick study.

"At this level, yes." Truebridge agreed, "However this spell has other interesting uses and applications and certainly one can control it in other ways, as I will demonstrate at the end of the lesson." He actually grinned at Lina. He always appreciated astute observations and deep thought.

"While the volunteers continue on, and those of you who are watching take notes on your observations, we will move on and touch on reading patterns in duels. By this I mean attacking, defending and countering or any combination of these, as well as the types of spells cast in a duel and when they are cast. Does the dueler start out easy? Do they go on the assault immediately? Do they save certain spells for when they get restless?

Quite often, especially for those who spend time observing or participating in many duels, it becomes relatively simple to figure out who is likely to win or at the very least, who is more likely to lose. This is why it is important to vary your tactics and not become predictable and when you are dueling yourself, being able to read the ebb and flow of the duel so that you know whether you should attack, counter or defend and when to do which. What do these three terms mean?"

ooc: go ahead and keep going with the Histedius spell, anyone else who wants to do that can, just go back and read my instructions in previous posts so that you know what you need to do. In the meantime, we're starting to move on a bit.

Mina rolled her wand in her hand as she smiled. She felt she could do this. "Thank you Professor. I'll call if I need anything," she replied politely.

Flick and jab, flick and jab.

Making her way up to the first line, she mouthed Histedius quietly to herself. Focus and set your mark, she just needed to remember that and she would be fine. Giving her wand another roll in her palm, she gripped it and gave the wand movement a few practice tries. Flick and jab across. Flick and jab across.

Letting out a breath, she looked to her first target and raised her wand. With a clear voice, she firmly flicked and jab. "Histedius!"

She watched as faint green rings moved from her wand tot he target. The moment the rings hit it marks, the target barely moved an inch. She wasn't focusing enough, she knew it. Shaking the thought from her head, she took in a deep breathe and focused back on the target.

Raising her wand again, she cleared her mind and focused on the target. Again with a firm and smooth hand, she flicked and jab as she casted in a clear and precise tone. "Histedius!"

This time the green rings were more solid and hit their mark and toppled the target over. It wasn't at all a huge toggle, but it did knock it over and that was the point, right?

Time for the next line.

Miranda had a deep frown of concentration as she watched the other students practicing the spell. Listening to Truebridge, she nodded in understanding and was now quite eager to try the spell.

But she had to answer the Professor's question first. "Sir," she raised her hand, "... attacking is when you start casting spells to incapacitate the opponent, hoping to get the advantage of surprise, maybe. A good 'Expelliarmus' could be wise to start with...?" This was what he was asking for, right? Akward. Nevermind, move on, "Counter, that's when you want to disable the attacking spell with one of your own. For example, the opponent sends you a stunner, and you counter it with a 'Finite' to reduce the power from the spell...hopefully to stop it all together.

Defending is when you shield yourself from the attacks of the other person, trying to deflect the spells from hurting you and, if you need to, get a moment to take a breather and regain your focus. That would be using 'Protego' perhaps..." Well, duh.

Maybe.

"Sir, can I have a go?" She asked, biting her lower lip.

She stood up and started to make her way to join the others in the 'testing' group.

Carter clapped a bit as Marie successfully knocked the target over. And now it was his turn. He returned the smile and then stood behind the line.

"Histedius!" he said. Hm... he was too short. That was a bit embarrassing. But he gathered up his senses and focused on the target again.

"HISTEDIUS!" he said flicking and jabbing his wand. This time it worked. The target toppled over. He looked over at Marie with a happy smile. Yay! He did it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Con_Stripes

"While the volunteers continue on, and those of you who are watching take notes on your observations, we will move on and touch on reading patterns in duels. By this I mean attacking, defending and countering or any combination of these, as well as the types of spells cast in a duel and when they are cast. Does the dueler start out easy? Do they go on the assault immediately? Do they save certain spells for when they get restless?

Quite often, especially for those who spend time observing or participating in many duels, it becomes relatively simple to figure out who is likely to win or at the very least, who is more likely to lose. This is why it is important to vary your tactics and not become predictable and when you are dueling yourself, being able to read the ebb and flow of the duel so that you know whether you should attack, counter or defend and when to do which. What do these three terms mean?"

"In very technical terms, an attack is an offensive move against another person. A counter is when you act against an attack with an offensive move, or redirect the offensive maneuver back to the other person. To defend is to hold against an attack, or avoid it. Neither a counter nor a defense should be confused with a parry, which is a defensive move that is typically followed by an offensive one."

Marie stood by watching as Carter took his turn. It was starting to get tougher to get the target to fall so when Carter knocked it down she quietly squeeled with joy. Now it was her turn...again. She took her spot at the sixteen foot mark then just stood there.

Looking ahead of her she tried to imagine the green rings hitting the target that was sooooooo far away from her. Taking a deep breathe she gave her wand a flick and a jab. "HISTEDIUS!" She watched as the rings went straight for the target then just disappeared before even reaching it.

Not ready to give up on this she tried again only this time a little louder. "HISTEDIUS!" Yes, the green rings hit the target.....Crud, it didn't fall over though. She looked over at Carter hoping he wasn't laughing at her for not getting the spell to work as easily this time....cuz well that would just really embarrass her if he was.

Still not ready to give up she tried one more time only this time she pictured Kay's face on the target when she cast. "HISTEDIUS!" She watched the green rings swirl towards the target...SCORE...the target was down. "Yes, I finally got it," she said as ran over to Carter. She had figured out what it took to make it work from further away.....Just think about someone you don't like. Well at least that's what worked for her.

Mina walked up to the eight foot mark and eyed the target. Must keep the focus. The four foot target wasn't as easy as she expected and this one was probably going to give her some trouble. Twirling her wand, she practiced the movement again. Clean and precise movement....clear and firm dictation.

Closing her eyes, she took a breath and calmed herself. Waiting until she left at rest, she opened her eyes and exhaled.

"HISTEDIUS!"

The green rings shot from her wand and moved quickly at the target. The color was even more solid then her rings from the four foot attempt. As the rings hit the target straight on point, the target wobbled a bit before it toppled over. Yes, she had done it on the first try. She was getting a little better at it.

Eying the the sixteen foot target, she frowned slightly. Now that one, was sure to give her some issues. Four and eight foot would be a cake walk compared to the sixteen foot one. Yes, more practice and focus would be needed.

Carter watched Marie as she practiced. It seemed like she was having a bit of a hard time. He nodded encouragingly. After three times she got it. He wondered if he'd have the same problems.

Well... here goes nothing. He thought as he approached the line. He stared the target down. "Histedius!" he said. He watched as green from his wand collided with the target. The force wasn't enough to knock it over though.

He prepared himself again. He took his stance and fired another one. Sadly there was the same result. "Any suggestions?" he whispered to Marie.