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Hogwarts RPG Name:
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Gryffindor Seventh Year
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Text Cut: Individual Responses She should have expected the class to go quiet once they were focusing just on runes and not engaging just general knowledge. The silence was there, but the woman simple smiled and waited. As long as they were thinking and trying their best, then a few minutes could be spared (especially for those that needed to peek at their textbook ... if they brought it with them). Though it was just a little worrisome. They had spent the entire term immersing themselves with these runes, learning their meanings and how to interpret them.
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Originally Posted by RandomRaven  Oh, so they were not just planting the tree but also using the runes to help them grow? Wow, just... wow. The Gryffindor was curious, she's itching to ask and raised her hand. "Professor, how exactly the runic energy help the planting? Like.. Will it speed the growth or something else?" And perhaps she should answer the headmistress' question too. "I think... Inguz can be used for the tree planting because it means new beginnings." Cue a small nod. A hand then shot up, unsurprisingly one that belonged to a Gryffindor. Eyes settled on Ava, and they might have twinkled at her question. Someone was jumping the gun. "You'll find out soon enough, Miss Burton." Patience, child. Patience.
As for the girl's answer to the question she had asked, Regina firmly nodded her head. "Very good, very good. And you are absolutely correct thinking that Inguz would be beneficial in growing trees because of its meaning. The rune represents fertility and new beginnings."
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Originally Posted by Kayla Taaffe Vivienne loved pine.
She was going to encourage hers to grow. Quote:
Vivienne would use Fehu. It means cattle. Manure can be used as fertilizer.
It was at this point that the headmistress began to walk through the cluster of students, moving her way in between them. She had gotten tired of standing in front of them all, and she was hoping her walking near them would get them to talk before she randomly called out a name.
She did quickly look over Vivienne's shoulder, seeing that she was writing down her answer once again. The sentences that were written down were correct ... though Fehu served a different purpose that didn't quite relate to planting trees. "You are correct that Fehu means cattle, Miss Awning. However, that rune in particular applies to wealth and abundance as, in past times, the amount of cattle one had determined their status."
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Originally Posted by ChanceCoeur Looking back up at the professor, she raised her hand slightly. "Eihwaz." She stated. Not Ehwaz. "As others have mentioned. It means Yew tree. Since we are growing trees, I figure that would be the best option. Just like Ehwaz we used for connecting with horses and it meant horse."
Noelle also like Ava's answer. Was her wifey good at runes?? They could practice together! The slight raise of her hand didn't go unnoticed. Regina's head turned toward Noelle, giving the girl her full attention. Her answer to the question though ... hmm.
"While Eihwaz does translate to yew in present-day English, the purpose of the rune is more symbolic than anything. Using the energies of Eihwaz invokes change. While one could think that Eihwaz can bring about change on a growing tree, it is important to keep in mind its deeper meaning. Eihwaz brings necessary change in our lives, something that we need to accept and, through that acceptance, gain some sort of wisdom that will aid us in transitioning through life." It was more applicable to humans rather than plants in this instance.
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Originally Posted by PhoenixRising Ah, good one Ava. And Noelle used the rune she had mentioned earlier; if she hadn't taken too much time to think, she could have suggested Eihwaz again, since that one was already in the air. But with twenty-four main runes, surely there had to be another one.
"Berkana, of the third aett, has a lot of symbolism and meaning around new beginnings and growth and fertility." And ironically meant birch, the seed tucked in her pocket so she wouldn't lose it. Moving between students once more, the headmistress waited for another response. Skylar was the next to speak up, making her the next to gain her attention. Her answer was one that earned an approving nod.
"Very good, Miss Diggory," she said, wondering if she could just leave it at that because the Slytherin had justified why using Berkana would be beneficial so perfectly. Though, for the sake of those that needed the repetition, she repeated and then left a little teaser for them, "Like Inguz, Berkana represents new beginnings and fertility. There is a slight difference between the two. We'll be getting to that soon enough."
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Originally Posted by ArianaBlack Did Zoryn know the answer? Definitely not. Was she gonna try to answer anyways, yeah maybe. Zoryn remembered all of two runes: Jera and Raidho. Why she remembered those two? No reason in particular. They were just the only ones that got stuck in her head. Though if you asked her to give their meanings... She'd have to go with a hard pass. Nope. She just remembered the names. BUT in her defense she was ONLY a second year and totally had like five more years to memorize this stuff.
"Jera," she nodded putting her hand back down.
But that was as much of an explanation she'd give. Aka no explanation. Because it was a wild guess. Mhm. At least she tried.... Was she done NOW? Could she go? The next hand to shoot up in the air was Zoryn's, and Regina braced herself for another Zoryn-esque, short and sweet, answer. At the mention of Jera, Regina honestly had hope for the Gryffindor. She waited for an explanation to why the girl thought Jera would be a good rune to use to make a tree grow, but was disappointed that her hand went down and no more words came out of her mouth.
Was this a wild guess? Tut, tut.
"Correct, Miss Spinnet. Now can anyone tell me why Jera would be beneficial?" Because it was for obvious reasons.
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Originally Posted by NifflerFan The first year had absolutely NO idea what the answer to the next question was. Emmeline had a short attention span on a good day, and today was not a good day for this. Her classmates and the headmistress had said A LOT of stuff, and even the headmistress's attempt to summarize the information left the Gryffindor rubbing her aching head in confusion. Ancient runes made no sense at all, nope.
Other people seemed to know what the professor was talking about, 'cause they were offering up runes and stuff. She still had no idea what to say until Zoryn said a rune that she remembered!! Zoryn hadn't said why, so maybe she could explain that one and the headmistress would be happy enough? Raising her hand, the first year replied: "I think Zoryn is right and Jera is the beeeest rune for this, 'cause Jera means growth and, um, fetilidy and stuff like that." Okay, so she'd kind of messed up at the end there. Emmeline thought that was probably close enough to what she remembered hearing or reading or whatever about Jera. Thank Merlin someone was able to elaborate on Jera. Once Emmeline's hand was raised and started speaking, the headmistress took a few steps toward her so that she could hear her loud and clear. The beginning of her explanation was spot on, though it did get a little weak at the end. It was something she was willing to forgive. They honestly hadn't spent a whole lot of time studying Jera, hence today's lesson.
"Thank you, Miss Sparkes. And you are most certainly right about Jera being the best rune for growing a tree." Regina certainly agreed with that statement, and she then explained why, "Jera represents change, a positive change. It is the rune of good harvest, motion, productivity, and development or growth. It's energy helps things move through cycles as they are meant to happen."
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Originally Posted by Lady of Light That question.. Etta frowned, trying to figure out the answer. Um. She remained quiet as her classmates raised their hands, running her fingers through her hair distractedly. Maybe she was going to have to drop this subject.. how was she so bad at it? But she had to give a guess, right? She raised a hand hesitantly before answering the question.
"Inguz? It's literal meaning is 'seed', right?" .. or not. She wasn't a hundred percent sure. The girl absently stared down at her hand, already starting to panic about her OWLs. How was she going to do well in this subject? Maybe she should ask a friend to help her.. hm. She sighed, listening to the other responses, trying not to get too upset. Looking around for more answers, the woman couldn't help but notice the Hufflepuff prefect running her fingers through her hair. Was Ancient Runes really that boring for her? She did know that the class was an elective course, right? It was one that required one's attention and hard work and if her hair was more important...
The girl's hand was raised, eventually. Regina turned her head toward Henrietta and listened, soon discovering that she was yet another that believed Inguz to be useful. She was right, though the explanation as fairly basic. "You are correct in saying that Inguz would be beneficial, Miss Kramer. And some sources do believe Inguz's literal meaning to mean 'seed' due to the rune's symbolic connection with fertility."
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Originally Posted by griffin Ancient Runes was actually a really fascinating subject, and Isa had been looking into runic charms because that seemed like something that would be really interesting to try if she could find a good reason to. "There are many runes that have connections to fertility that might be beneficial to plants, but I think I would choose Inguz. Berkana has connections to trees and plantlife and fertility, but I think it is more symbolic of personal growth and childbirth than actual growth. Inguz more literally represents growth and connecting to the ground. Inguz is associated with Freyr, the Norse god of agriculture and fertility. Some of the ways Inguz can be used is for farming and growth, making this a good rune for helping a tree grow. Maybe some of these runes can be combined as bindrunes or a runic charm to increase the effect on the seed." Had she said too much? Isa easily got carried away when she was talking about things she was interested in. Runes of fertility were of special interest to her as an aspiring herbologist. She had read a lot about the divinatory meanings of runes too, because she wanted to try doing some of the rune spreads to see how well they worked. There were many applications for runes. It was all fascinating. Actually, runes was one of Isa's favorite subjects. Herbology was always going to be her favorite of course, but there was something about runes that captivated Isa. As a first year she had come in knowing nothing about runes but that one of them was Isa, like her name. She had learned a lot since then. Had the third year Hufflepuff said too much? Perhaps. Though her answer was very thorough and it was clear that she had put a lot of thought, along with her understanding of runes they had already covered, into it. Regina definitely wasn't going to rebuke that. She preferred answers in which someone got carried away over simple guesses.
Ahh, yet another student that saw the perks of Inguz when it came to tree-growing.
"It is true that Berkana is more symbolic of personal growth and childbirth. Berkana is the container and releaser of life, but it has a strong connection with trees and plantlife just as much as childbirth," the headmistress replied, making that minor correction before moving on to the rest of Isabel's answer. "But you what say about Inguz -- especially it representing growth and a connection to the ground -- is very accurate."
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Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie Aaaaaaaaaaaaand he really had no idea what the answer to this one was because, well, plants. He did not pay much attention to things that benefited plants sooooooooo...drawing a blank here. Although he SUPPOSED that he could see why trees were important and stuff. Like...his black and white thoughts about them were sort of getting shades of grey and all that. Although he associated that with Picketta's influence more than anything else.
OH BUT A THOUGHT!
"Tiwaz? Er....Tyr?" Eeeeer...which was the pronunciation of that? "It SOUNDS like tree...and the rune kinda looks like one." Seeing Derfael doodling and walking around, Regina began to wonder if he was actually listening to what was being said. Yes, Ancient Runes wasn't exactly the best subject for visual and kinesthetic learners with it being mostly a theoretical subject, but the headmistress did her best to bring practicality to it. Patience, dear Hufflepuff, the information overload (it was the Horned Serpent in her) was nearly over.
"Teiwaz, Mr. Ashburry-Hawthorne," the woman corrected, though she was appreciative of his effort and willingness to try. "And it has a direct connection with the god and warrior Tyr. With that in mind, the rune would be more beneficial in battles to invoke energy for strength and protection, not planting trees." Again, this was another moment when Regina wished she had a blackboard. Writing everyone's thoughts, or having Derfael write them down, would have served as a good visual. But, alas, it was a downfall of having class outside instead. Repeating and summarizing the details was going to have to do.
"Very good, everyone," she said, clasping her hands together as she made her way back to her original spot in front of everyone. "Based on the responses that were given, the majority of you have a good intuition of which runes would be quite useful in growing a tree or plant from just a seed. There are, of course, many other runes that weren't mentioned that can be used. For instance, the energy of Sowilo can be used to bring strength and progress in a plants growth, especially when it requires healing. But our focus today won't be on Sowilo. In fact, the three runes we will be using today have already been mentioned: Berkana, Inguz, and Jera." There was a brief pause, allowing for that to sink in before explaining why they would be using those particular runes.
"The energy of Berkana serves as a container and releaser of life, thus creating a new beginning. Like a mother's womb holds a baby until it is ready to be born, so does the seed of a tree. From there Inguz comes into play. It is a planned burst of energy, encouraging the new beginning to become grounded. This is where the roots of our trees will burst out of the seed and become one with the land it was placed in. And, finally, Jera's energy represents positive change and promotes growth as it is meant to happen. These runes, in combination with a certain spell, will cause our little seeds quickly grow into a healthy tree. But, before we get to that stage in our lesson, there are a few things we need to do."
With a wave of her wand, another box appeared. Instead of showing everyone what was inside the box, she simple handed it over to the nearest student. "Inside this box are bracelets made out of pine. We will be wearing these bracelets to channel the energies of Berkana, Inguz, and Jera to provide additional strength and accuracy with the magic we will be performing later. Go ahead and take one bracelet when the box is handed to you. For now, keep the bracelets on your wand arm. As you all can see, there are no runes carved on these bracelets. We will be taking care of that shortly," Regina instructed, watching as the box was handed from student to student.
"First, you will need to find somewhere to plant your seed. You will need to dig a small hole for your seed, cover it up, pat the earth down, and gently water the area where your seed has been planted. I will remain here by the Stone Circle, but the pathways are open to you as long as I can still see you. Make sure you are far enough apart from your classmates and other trees so that your tree doesn't clash with another when we get to growing them. If you have any questions, please ask before running off. Otherwise I will simply be observing until it is time for more instructions." OOC: It is time for the mini-activity of our lesson! Everyone needs to take a bracelet and then go find somewhere, within eyesight of Regina (the Stone Circle is at the top of the hill, but it branches off to many pathways ... to the left takes you toward the Whomping Willow, right takes you toward the Beetle, and down the hill takes you toward the groundskeeper's hut, the creature barn, etc.), to plant their tree seed. Please assume that your character knows how to plant seeds and any necessary charms due to Herbology class.
You are welcome to make as many posts as you would like at this stage in the lesson. The lesson will continue in roughly 30-36 hours.
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