Leon was going to answer but then Char spoke up and took the words right out of his mouth..

Welp, no use in repeating anything, instead he pulled out his notes and started to Jot things down..

Would any of this be on the NEWTS? Because he really needed to know that! But he just kept his mouth shut and listened..

Better this way, yeah?

What was what??? Jonas frowned. He hated ancient runes. He was never good at it! He sighed and tried to think of an answer. Not thinking of anything, he just kept silent and tried to understand the words that the professor had said.

Okay, to be honest: WHUT?

Zoryn was so lost. She tried to write some things down. But then Professor S started to go really fast and there was too much information and all the sudden her notes looked a lot less like notes and a lot more like.. Uh... Like not notes. Yeah. That.

So about halfway through she stopped trying to write things down and started trying to listen. But that was hard too because a lot of it sounded like a fake language. And well, runes was basically another language... So maybe that was the point? Either way Zoryn was lost.

She still wanted to try the question though. And she totally didn't even know what the question was about anymore. Was he asking why tattoos were a popular way to curse people? 'Cause that's what Zoryn thought she heard. "Tattoo curses are probably REALLY bad ones 'cause you can't take 'em off. So you're stuck with them FOREVER!!!" Which meant you were CURSED FOREVER. RIGHT????????? Maybe?????? Honestly, Zoryn's head hurt.

Uh.

What it had to do with the horse times, she had no idea. What even is a horse time?

The more Zoryn thought about it, the more everything stopped making sense. And once more her hand SHOT STRAIGHT UP in the air. "Actually, never mind. I like her answer," she said pointing at THAT (char) girl. Because the older Gryffindor (Char) sounded like she knew what she was talking about. Yeah. That.

Nod. Nod. Nod.

Harvey frowned slightly at the question. Was the Professor still talking about tattoos or Old Norse curses? or had he missed something in his reading?

"Strictly speaking, at least from what I read, the Old Norse curses weren't tattoos but carvings on the pole which is shown in the picture there," he pointed. "They were supposed to be more lasting, I guess, and had an affect on sprites in the ground which would somehow affect whoever you were trying to curse. The horse's he'd faced in the direction of whoever was cursed. It was a ceremony, so personally I'd say the whole ritual factor gave this method of 'cursing' a lot more power in people's minds. But that's just a guess.

Yep. That's what a summer of not being allowed to do very much did to you. Old Norse myths and traditions.

Hattie was kind of lost to be honest. More than kind of lost. She really did not get runes at all. But she was determined to not get distracted and actually try and pay attention a little. That way she could actually try and learn something. Now. She had a kind of idea. But it was more of her own thoughts than actually knowing anything about Runes.

"Well Professor" Hattie began raising her hands. "Tattoos are pretty permanent, especially the muggle ones, and so that would mean that a curse would have a longer affect, making it more worthwhile? It could cause permanent suffering, which would suck for the intended person"

Okay. She didn't know that much about the horse head on a stick, unlike some of her older classmates, apparently; they could probably be teaching the lesson themselves, with those monologues. She noted all their ideas down, frowning fiercely as she scribbled away, before raising her spare hand as she finished off the last few sentences.
"Doesn't life make really powerful magic?" she suggested, her eyes intent as she tried to remember what she had read. This lesson definitely reminded her of that, even if it hadn't been to do with runes originally. "Like... some dark witches and wizards used to use sacrifice to amplify their spells, and blood can be very powerful magically. And because it's dark, it works even better with curses?" It was logical, if nothing else. After all, no magical force could recreate a life which had been lost; it stood to reason, then, that the taking of a life could create a piece of magic like no other. Even if that life was only a horse.

Dora was LISTENING. Very carefully. The blonde was also jotting down things here and there as she did. Some had questions marks beside them because she didn't pretend to know everything. Besides, nearly every thought she had on the subject at hand had already been voiced.

Rune tattoos were likely a particularly powerful form of magic because they were permanent, right? Made since.

Well...all Derf got out of this conversation was that he was NEVER getting a rune tattoo because it sounded way too complicated and confusing to deal with. Which was sad because, well, he rather liked the salamander one...But the professor hadn't actually addressed his particular rune so maybe his was a safe option? The Hufflepuff still couldn't remember the names of all the other runes his classmates were talking about...so they basically went in one ear and out the other for the most part.

As did the following discussion.

And the 11-year-old was preeeeeeeeeeeetty much tuned out of the lecture because he was now busy drawing salamanders on his parchment. That is...until that HORRIFYING image appeared. The one of a decapitated horse on a stick.

Which was why he was GAPING at the professor in HORROR.

If the man was about to tell them they had to chop off a horse's head...he would riot.

Look, if someone was going to get that tattooed on them, it wouldn't be a really good choice. That's all Daisy thought, as she looked at the picture Professor Sokolov was showing them. Although, if it was to be a curse, it wouldn't really be self-inflicted, would it?

Right answers - or at least answers that to her sounded right - were being offered by her classmates and, not for the first time, Daisy wondered if she should bother reading the textbook before the classes. Hmmmmm ... yeah, probably not. "Professor, Norse warriors probably used horses in their battles, right? So cursing their opponent with a picture of a beheaded horse probably wouldn't be a good sign for their enemy."

Also, yeah, tattoos were preeetty permanent and a Norse curse through a tattoo? Yeah, she supposed it would do a lot of damage.

Whoah suddenly it got intese. Not just because curses and tattoos (which is still super cool to him) but now there looks to be an image of a decapitated horse's head on a stake.

Not cool that part, because Equine aficionado here hello, but far be it for him to dismiss anything just because a beloved equine lost its head.

Ok there was a question, but the Curly Top was stuck on what the Professor said before that. So he's gotta question of his own "Professor? You said we 'hold a curse onto someone through Tattoos...' like how does that go? We actually tattoo the curse onto them? How do you keep them still long enough to tattoo the proper Rune onto them?"

Olivia, of course, had no idea about these new symbols. She'd spent the better part of last term pushing most of her energy into memorizing the Elder Futhark and what those runes stood for. These new markings were completely foreign, and resembled children doodles. A horse-head on a stick was all she saw, which was supposed to be like riding a horse? Or something? Muggles were kinda weird with their kiddie toys.

..... Not that Liv needed to concern herself with answering, since Char seemed all over that one.

Of course.

Instead, she decided to focus more on what Ace was saying. He made a really great point; about keeping someone stationary to curse them.... But then again, they were magical, right? "You could stun them, beforehand." It was offered to her fellow Gryffindor, because... that's what Liv would've done. Stunned or used the body-binding curse.

Notes, making notes was the best thing to do right now because she absolutely had NO idea how to answer that question… The Norse mythology? Really? She knew that a lot runes were used in that mythology but she only knew the basics from the old futhark and with that she knew how to RECOGNIZE all of them but she only knew the meaning of a few of them. It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested into learning them but… Really, there were SO MUCH runes to both recognize AND to know the meaning of them… Sigh… She vowed to know more of those runes during her next lesson so she had work to do! But now… Now she just made notes to at last find out the answer for the question what had been asked…

And of course Dora approved of the methods mentioned by her fellow Lioness... but sometimes they forgot about sheer brut force. Such a shame.

"Or just punch them. In the nose. That'll knock em out for a bit." Or incapacitate them well enough. Just ask Mason Winslow.

Well he was trying to move from Tattoo's to curses since spending an enitre class on them would be rather dull even for him. Ah....well maybe he should have everyone else try and answer before Charlotte does. Might help or they would just stay quiet and let her answer anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

"That's a níðstang! You can channel the forces of the goddess of death through that, in Norse myth! And you carve in a bunch of runes and insults and things in the pole -which is SUPER long- and invoke them! Lots of negative ones mostly, or merkstave runes! Its a horse because you carve Ehwaz on its head, which is Odin's sacred horse! And I think its kind of like how wands work, where you have a stick part, and then the core, except the core is actually on the outside, the horse's skull is the core basically, and that's how the components come together to channel what you want."

"Nicely put. If the wand analogy makes it easier for you to understand than even better. Class it might be wise to copy down what she just said"Even with that answer some still tried to answer. He noticed the quiet ones in case some decided to nap. Zoryn's question was even not that bad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

"Tattoo curses are probably REALLY bad ones 'cause you can't take 'em off. So you're stuck with them FOREVER!!!" Which meant you were CURSED FOREVER. RIGHT????????? Maybe?????? Honestly, Zoryn's head hurt.

"These curses are a little different since they are on wood. Curses can be removed. Hence why there is a career's dedicated to getting rid of curses. But it can be tricky" Sounds like he will be having to bring up Runic Wards which will only get people more confused. And the question he was waiting for since he was going a little fast.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paintbrush

"Strictly speaking, at least from what I read, the Old Norse curses weren't tattoos but carvings on the pole which is shown in the picture there," he pointed. "They were supposed to be more lasting, I guess, and had an affect on sprites in the ground which would somehow affect whoever you were trying to curse. The horse's he'd faced in the direction of whoever was cursed. It was a ceremony, so personally I'd say the whole ritual factor gave this method of 'cursing' a lot more power in people's minds. But that's just a guess.

"Belief is a strong factor as well. But yes you are right with these curses being more on the wooden pole than on someones skin. We will get back to the difference between skin and wood shortly. A persons magical talent of course helps as well. Also class best to copy down what Mister Jarvis said about horse."

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachieRu

"Well Professor" Hattie began raising her hands. "Tattoos are pretty permanent, especially the muggle ones, and so that would mean that a curse would have a longer affect, making it more worthwhile? It could cause permanent suffering, which would suck for the intended person"

Did he even need to teach anything right now. This was frighteningly impressive. He could just make this a study class and just read behind his desk. Doubt Hawthrone would be amused with that. "Depends on what the curse is intended to do Miss Paton. But it is possible."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artel

Okay. She didn't know that much about the horse head on a stick, unlike some of her older classmates, apparently; they could probably be teaching the lesson themselves, with those monologues. She noted all their ideas down, frowning fiercely as she scribbled away, before raising her spare hand as she finished off the last few sentences.
"Doesn't life make really powerful magic?" she suggested, her eyes intent as she tried to remember what she had read. This lesson definitely reminded her of that, even if it hadn't been to do with runes originally. "Like... some dark witches and wizards used to use sacrifice to amplify their spells, and blood can be very powerful magically. And because it's dark, it works even better with curses?" It was logical, if nothing else. After all, no magical force could recreate a life which had been lost; it stood to reason, then, that the taking of a life could create a piece of magic like no other. Even if that life was only a horse.

Well now this is a interesting jump. Life does make powerful magic but then she starts talking about blood magic. And well this was not something that really ever is discussed at this school anyway. "So amplifying curses with blood magic. Essentially is what you are saying. Sounds logical. Sorry to say i don't know anything on that subject. But interesting."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crayola

"Professor, Norse warriors probably used horses in their battles, right? So cursing their opponent with a picture of a beheaded horse probably wouldn't be a good sign for their enemy."

To tell the truth its not really a good sign for anything having a beheaded horse in town. Even without the runes and everything. "That would probably make them angrier. But the worse thing you could do was put a Nid on someone. Which is a powerful verbal curse. Even powerful warrior's knew to take a nid seriously."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Whoah suddenly it got intese. Not just because curses and tattoos (which is still super cool to him) but now there looks to be an image of a decapitated horse's head on a stake.

Not cool that part, because Equine aficionado here hello, but far be it for him to dismiss anything just because a beloved equine lost its head.

Ok there was a question, but the Curly Top was stuck on what the Professor said before that. So he's gotta question of his own "Professor? You said we 'hold a curse onto someone through Tattoos...' like how does that go? We actually tattoo the curse onto them? How do you keep them still long enough to tattoo the proper Rune onto them?"

Did he want to get more complicated to answer Prefect Salander's question. He guessed he had to since apparently Olivia and Dora were helping him.

"You can. Its not easy and well not even worth it. But its possible. So most of the time curses are held in place by runic wards. If you want to be a curse breaker. You know what those are. But say you knock, stun, petrify someone and tattoo a ward onto someone. That could keep the curse on the victim."

Terrible waste of time in Viktor's opinion and it is not even guarnteed to work.

"Okay now some of you have already touched on this. But this related to curses, Tattoos and really just even carving normal runes and tattooing them on your body. What surface do you think is better to invoking Runes on and why. Skin, Wood or do you think there is a better one?"

OOC: I'll be moving on in around 24 hours same as before

Wasn't he going to tell them more? Char was waiting but it didn't happen, and oh! He wanted people to copy her answer? But she hadn't double checked anything, or gone into proper detail, just rattled off a few things that she knew and there was tons more, right? Too bad they weren't getting to try making them.... but they were moving on already, and that was cool with Char too, since she did often get bored of things... but even she was a bit thrown by how much they were jumping around.

She stuck her hand up at the next question.

"Professor, I think wood is traditionally best for a reason, especially fruit-bearing woods, because then you can invoke them properly because its connected with living things, and its easier for carving the runes in! Bone is good if you want to do more powerful or harmful magic though!" Well, some people did.

So, it had taken some time but Daisy was now lost. They were talking about curses and tattoos and now carving and it was all so fast that she sort of got lost somewhere in the middle. Honestly, she was still thinking about the poor horses getting beheaded.

But Norse times, eh?

Professor Sokolov had told her about Nid curses and she carefully wrote it down on her piece of parchment, but something wasn't quite adding up. "Professor," She started after raising her hand. "If Nid curses were that powerful, why did they need to do any carving to invoke the runes?" Couldn't they just curse their opponents verbally and be done with it?

Or did they need to invoke the runes in Nid curses as well? ... they probably did, didn't they? Oops.

Envoking runes wasn't something she was used to, or had thought much about. She tilted her head though, something coming to mind. Doing a rune on a skin. That meant doing it on a live person. "Professor..." She murmured as the put her hand into the air. "Surely trying to do a rune on someone's skin would have the problem of them maybe not being still? So I would think maybe the wood would be better?" Logic would make it easier to envoke a rune on a medium that wasn't moving. Well it made sense to Hattie that way, and she didn't really understand the subject a lot, so it did help.

..... yeah. Etta wasn't sure she liked this class that much. Or maybe she just hadn't prepared that well. In fact, she hadn't done any reading for this subject at all. It had seemed boring at the time, okay? Ugh. She sighed and gave the question some thought but.. UMM. No. She didn't know the answer. Wood, probably.

The girl decided to remain quiet and wait for the professor's explanation instead so she simply continued doodling, paying attention to the other responses.

Whooooooa. This was pretty cool! Brent had never thought of Ancient Runes as being anything remotely close to cool, but now that he was starting to see some connections, he thought he might like it. A little bit. Maybe. We'll see...

He listened to the discussion on tattoos and slowly began forming an opinion. Also, he had chosen a rune of protection, hadn't he? The professor had said he was surprised nobody had chosen a rune of protection, but Brent thought the one he'd chosen related to protection, too. Or not. He wasn't the best Runes student.

So onto those tattoos. Brent raised his hand. "I started to say skin, but that seems really permanent to me, or at least permanent until you can find a way to get it off," he said. "With wood, though, you can get rid of it if need be. Let's just say you ended up getting a rune on your skin and then you decide it was the wrong course of action. I don't know...maybe it's some curse or something. You're kind of stuck with it on your skin, but on a piece of wood, can't you just get rid of the wood?" Or was there some sort of weird connection between the carver and the wood at that point?

Wood…skin…or something else?

What did she thing was the best for calling upon runes? Cassie had to think hard on that, cutting out additional options given she couldn’t think of others at the moment. Both wood and skin were technically natural and living which she had to agree with others seeming like it made an impact in the summoning behind the carved runes in it. But then the professor had mentioned that on the skin they were tattoos not carved…did that make a difference?

“I think it would have to do with how the tattoos were applied. The act of carving into wood…or stone is part of the infusion of the magic behind the rune, wouldn’t then the application onto skin need to follow the same lines to be as strong or stronger?” That that she was thinking carving runes into skin was a good idea, but some were applied with needles…right?

So this was boring, really. Charlotte never gave anyone the chance to answer. Sighs. Dora had taken to chewing on one of her fingernails as she jotted notes down with the other hand.

Wood was indeed traditionally used in rune carving. Everyone knew that. Especially Charlotte. Meh.

Listening to his fellow Gryffindors and the Professor, the Curly Top nodded his head. Curses are nasty business innit-- even before the actual cursing.

And then the Runesman asked the next question, and with that Tenacius had to give pause. "Uhm.... Professor, I guess it depends on what you're gonna use the Runes for? I mean yeah, wood would be good--" he nudged his head at Char's response "-- but there might be situations where using stone or metal might be more appropriate, for one thing those material will last longer than wood... or maybe you want a rune to conduct electricity or something, so a metal one would be better than wood?.... I dunno." Runes looks so cool but it does seem to be so complicated.

And once again, Charlotte had all the answers..

Leon knew that wood was the best material for invoking runes in. But he didn't want to add that seeing as several people had already answered it. So, the seventh year once again stayed quiet..

He kept taking down his notes though and included a little drawing of a few runes etched into an apple tree trunk. Fruit bearing trees were best, yeah?

Thinking for a few minutes about the asked question she came up with a idea she thought best because it was actually something she knew Muggles were doing and she raised her hand. “Professor, I think that it’s good to carve them into gemstones because some believe that they are connected to living beings AND you can carry them with you” she said slowly, although she herself wasn’t exactly believing in the use of those stones… But, Muggles were doing it so why not mention it here? “It’s also handy because you can easy carry them with you in a small pocket” she continued.

All this was basically going over the first year's head...and soooooooooort of starting to sound loads like things he had read in the various wandlore books he had attempted to understand in the library. Attempt being the key word. Seemed that several of his classmates actually knew what they were talking about and the Hufflepuff couldn't help but make starry eyes at one Charlotte Kettleburn who seemed to always talk SO smart.

So he was in a bit of a schoolboy daze when he raised his hand to offer up an answer - because he knew what wood was the best! - and eyes certainly not on the professor when he was called upon. But thankfully there was not too much of an awkward pause between him being called and him speaking. Although noticeable enough.

"Lime and ash!"

The BEST woods for a REASON!