<div class="floatleft">(https://yt3.ggpht.com/a-/AAuE7mBViEXufNE3sOcr1sfm2PL7B4vFb6ocvHP9Cg=s240-mo-c-c0xffffffff-rj-k-no)</div>Wait, yet another contest?  Vanessë arched an eyebrow.  What was Delnir up to?  Was this some sort of test?  Her eyes narrowed as something dawned on her.  Elven courting often involved contests; the girls giving a kiss to a male victor; the guys sent out to gather flowers for a female victress.  Sometimes in courting rituals, couples would compete with one another, usually only if their skills were considered commensurate, and often as a means of gaining parental approval.  The rewards for winning were often the same.  Was this what was happening?<br/><br/>She watched Erin as the dragonchess board is set up and notices his sigh.  Yes, he sees a plot from his father also.  She thought fast.  Having only just met the young man, she wasn't particularly looking forward to losing and having to grant a kiss.  She also felt that winning and sending him off to pick flowers for her was a bit too much.<br/><br/>Granted the first move, she sought to capitalize on air superiority, which was the typical strategy that she favored.  But Erin was not a bad player himself and was able to find ways to counter her from pulling ahead there.  His land defense was fairly tight also, and by midgame they were even in pieces, with the positioning of the pieces only slightly favoring her.  But as he could successful counter her positioning in land and sky, he did so in neglecting his underworld deployment, which she had slowly but subtly developed.  And that was his undoing.  Once he made a single mistake, she proceeded to dismantle his army from below, and from there, there was no turning back.  She was in complete control of the game.<br/><br/>Except...<br/><br/>She studied the board intently as her keen mind sought to bring about the desired result.  This was going to be much harder to accomplish than a checkmate, and in a game like dragonchess, it pretty much requires a long, patient, game of attrition to achieve.  But there it was - now that Erin was lacking in his army, his pieces either taken or pinned down, She checked and double-checked again.  Yes, this move would do it.  She flew her dragon across the board over Erin's king, but not to put it in check, but to remove his last remaining piece that could still move.  She looked up to see if he would acknowledge it:<br/><br/>Stalemate.  No Winner.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Insight 1d20+2 = 16 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=131398)<br/>Dragon Chess:  20 (air), 21 (Land), 23 (Underworld) = 64 (https://elliquiy.com/forums/dicebot.php?r=131399)<br/></div></div>