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Ancient Runes Lesson 1 - Suiting Up with Algiz As you make your way along the corridor, gazing out the windows has become nearly impossible. Snow that had begun falling the night before was now thick and swirling aggressively downward, causing the inside of the castle to be darker than it usually was in daytime. Torches scattered down the hall provide a source of light as you walk past them on your way to Ancient Runes. The heat coming off from them is not enough to keep you from shivering slightly, so it is best that you make your way to class with haste. |
Wait......whhhhhaaaat? He was the first to class? That was unusual for the now sixteen year old. Perhaps age had had an effect on him? Nah......everyone else was probably trying to fight the urge to skip class and throw snowballs at each other. Honestly, that's what he wanted to do. But he was also quite enjoying his place amongst the top Gryffindor point earners, surprisingly, and skipping class was a surefire way of losing that. So, here he was, entering the classroom and reading the board. Please stand next to one of the suits. Okay. Ronan chose a suit in the middle (what? he was enjoying his status but he wasn't suddenly turning into a Ravenclaw or anything), adjusted his tie, and slipped his arm into one of the 'knights'. Which sort of made them look like some sort of weird cosplay obsessed couple on top of a wedding cake. Hmmm. Oh well. |
Austin Moore was happy to be a little early this class. He had slacked off in this class his past few years (mainly because he found it difficult). But this year he made it his goal to do better in this class. So here he was, almost half way through the year and he was finally early. The note was a little ominous, but he stood by a suit anyways, placing his messenger bag on the floor next to it. Looking around, he saw another suit at the front of the room with a rune on it. The rune did look familiar, like someone tugging strings in his mind, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what it meant, or what it was. He hoped the suit didn't start moving, and especially not towards him. |
Kitty pulled her hood up over her head and straightened her turtleneck so it covered her entire neck. Merlin's beard, it was cold! Thankfully she didn't have to patrol outside today, that would have been dreadful. Just looking at the dark, snow covered windows made her feel even colder. When she was approaching the classroom, she removed her hood - thinking that the headmistress would probably tell her to remove it if she hadn't already. Crossing the threshold, she took note of her surroundings and froze, wondering if there had been some mistake. Why was this room full of armor suits? Had her hood obscured her vision and accidentally led her to the armor gallery? But no, she saw two more students already here, and then she saw the message. Weird. "Hey guys," she called cheerfully to them as she moved to stand behind her armor suit. Definitely weird. "Anyone fancy a guess if Headmistress Hawthorne is watching us from somewhere in this room?" |
By now, it was more of just a not wanting to give up on what she’d accomplished last term. Even if Stasya didn’t really know how she’d done so well in Runes last term, she had, and therefore it meant she was going to try again this term. Maybe Headmistress Hawthorne had just awarded how hard she’d tried before. She could only use what little knowledge she’d gotten from her grandparents in Iceland for so long, and it wasn’t like talking in the language with the groundskeeper. Runes were harder, definitely, and it was harder still to get to the lesson when it was snowing outside. Part of her still wanted to go let Dobby play in the snow, because she’d been working on her heating charms so she felt like she could stay warm enough. Even if she’d still been wearing a thick sweater over her uniform shirt and two layers of stockings as she’d walked through the corridors to get to the classroom. Only to blink at what the classroom looked like. That was a lot of suits of armor, and she’d gone up to examine the one at the front of the classroom curiously. It was the bird foot rune, whatever the actual name of it was. It looked like a bird footprint. She’d just have to think really hard about if remembered what the rune was, what it meant. While she chose a suit of armor, of course, sort of hugging it a little as she looked to see if it had a rune on it too. And also, she sent a smile to Ronan and the two Ravenclaws. But she was more curious about the topic of the lesson, and, as she’d heard the Head Girl’s question, wondering if the headmistress was inside the suit of armor with the rune on it. |
BoG in the haus! Despite the acute morning sickness, Marilyn Romalotti had arrived on time for this Ancient Runes lesson. Though her first born was across the pond, attending Ilvermorny, the Slytherin alum continued to feel a responsibility to the school. The school she'd forced her daughter to flee after the previous terms unfortunate events. These audits came at the perfect time, in truth. It started with leadership. She was in the unique position that the class she'd drawn was also the subject the Hogwartian Headmistress taught. Being a supporter of Regina Hawthorne, Marilyn was confident things would go smoothly. Or so she hoped. Upon entering the classroom, the replacement of desks with suits of armour inspired a strange knot of tension in her abdomen. And here she thought she'd gotten lucky with more theoretical subject matter. Or at least in a classroom where she wouldn't need to concern herself with wayward magic. Constant vigilance it would be, then. As per Roderik Hirsch. Slowly unwrapping her scarf, the blonde tugged it loose; her tan coat getting removed moments later. It was fairly warm in the open room, and with her natural body chemistry out of sorts thanks to pregnancy, she felt she didn't need the extra layers...Mm, now where was Headmistress Hawthorne? ...And there were children already filing in. Wonderful. Promising. "Hello, everyone." Smiling at one younger child in particular (Stasya), who looked familiar thanks to Olivia's diligent scrapbooking, the older blonde quickly summoned a chair for herself. There was little need for her to be kept standing around. So, when she finally seated herself, she crossed her legs and dug down into her bag for a clipboard and her glasses. Despite a more stoic appearance, Marilyn found herself quite eager to begin. |
Dorian did not like winter. He did not like the cold, or the snow, well actually he liked snow but only when he was inside the castle and didn't have to be outside. Which happened to be the case now as it was time for Ancient Runes. Unless the professor thought it was a GREAT idea to study Runes out on the grounds. As the Ravenclaw entered the room, he unwrapped the House scarf from his neck and held it together with his bag in his hand. The first thing he noticed was definitely the suits of armour and for a second, Dorian thought he had walked inside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom by mistake. He leaned back and checked the door but it was the right room. He shrugged to himself and re-entered again thinking that if he WAS in the wrong classroom he'd still learn something. "Maybe she's in one of the Suits of armours and will jump out at the start of the class to scare one of us and the person getting scared is the chosen one" he said, answering the Head Girls question with a small chuckle. He'd love to see that. He walked over to a suit and stood next to it as instructed and also giving it a glance over. She wasn't in there right?! Great now he had made himself nervous! He looked away from the suit and his blue eyes landed on a woman who was not the professor seated at the back. Board of Government member. He had seen them in multiple classes now but he wondered what for. Was it just to see the professors at work and judge them or was something else going on? Ah well, not his problem. |
Maisie stood nervously next to a suit of armour. She had been looking forward to her Ancient Runes lesson, but she didn't like being so close to the suits. They'd been something Maisie had been looking forward to seeing at Hogwarts, although she made sure her mother didn't know. Maisie had stories in notebooks that she'd rather her mother didn't know about. One of them was about knights. Heroes. Swords and armour. It was this that made the suits magical to Maisie. She studied the one she'd chosen. There were things about Hogwarts armour, spells, poltergeists maybe. Maisie tried touching it, to see if that helped her feel better about them. Nope. There was just something creepy about empty armour. |
Kimi entered the ancient runes classroom and looked at the rune on the armour as he was making his way to a free seat he was curious to know what they would be learning today he would need to take notes as Ancient Runes was still not one of his strong subjects |
Ancient Runes had become more interesting ever since Headmistress Hawthorne took over the class, and not to mention last term she was on the top student list. That's why Ava still took this lesson and felt much confident that she could get a pretty good result on NEWT for this lesson... Hopefully. The Gryffindor walked to the classroom and noticed that the Professor was not there and the classroom arrangement, including the presences of the suits of armor were noticeable by her. Huh, were they going to combat today? Maybe not. But the written on the board said that she needed to stand beside the armor. Okay then. "Hmmm... I don't think so." Ava said to Kitty when the Head Girl asked if Hawthorne did watch them somewhere, and hiding in one of the armor, just like what a first year (Dorian) had guessed did not sound like the Headmistress since she thought that woman didn't really have that kind of sense of humor. Ava also noticed there was a grown woman joined them. Oh, another Board of Governor member again. She just smiled politely at her and let the woman did her job. |
Charlotte still really enjoyed Ancient Runes, but still only when they actually got to invoke them for magical uses. All that other stuff, the transcribing and the divination, was just soooo boring to her, but the magic? YAS. And TODAY looked like it was going to be a magic lesson. There were suits of armour everywhere! And she did spot the Algiz rune on the one at the front. She also cheerfully made the assumption that that particular suit of armour actually contained the headmistress, so Char cheerfully waved and greeted it, not for a second considering that maybe it was as empty as the rest seemed to be. Why else would it already have a protection rune on it, right? "Hello professor!" She waved in view of the suit's eye slats and popped herself next to one of the suits that hadn't yet been claimed. OH and LOOK. Liv's mum was there too! Char waved at her as well and gave her a big bright smile and then looked around to see who else had arrived. |
Vivian had started developing a love-hate relationship with Ancient Runes. She had found the subject really complex, but it never really stopped her from actually trying. Besides, she found the activity portion of the class rather fun... except that time last term when she and Sky were chased by pixies. That wasn't fun in any level—just loads of pain in the hair roots, thank you very much. Skipping into the class, the prefect smiled. "Good d—," Vivian paused, definitely taken aback by the nowhere-to-be-found Headmistress and the arrangement of the classroom for today's lesson. The blond blinked, before ultimately shrugging and finding a place to crash while waiting for the class to begin. As she passed by, the blond definitely noticed one of the governors. Vivian offered a smile. "Hello, ma'am," she greeted, before she made her way to a knight near her usual seat and placed her bag down, standing beside it. And yes, Vivian couldn't help but think that maybe the Headmistress was inside one of these suits of armour. That would have been funny. A tiny smile played along her lips at the thought of it. And yeah, that looked like an Algiz rune... right? |
There was a chill in the air and Shay was feeling it. She was really glad that she had worn an extra layer beneath her robes. As she entered the Ancient Runes classroom, the Gryffindor had just opened her mouth to speak. She was about to greet the professor when a curious sight met her eyes. First of all, there was no professor in the classroom.......not that she could see anyway. Then there were the suits of armor filling the room. Now that was something you didn't see every day. Glancing around the room, Shay noticed the note on the board. Following the instructions, Shay walked over to a suit of armor that did not yet have a partner. "Alright buddy", she said. "Looks like it's you and me.". She put her book bag down on the floor and stood waiting for further instructions. |
This weather was an asthmatic's nightmare. In the last day or so, there was hardly a place the Ravenclaw could go without a good warming charm and her pump. Today was no different. Charm firmly in place, Jessa made her way to her next class, Ancient Runes with the Professor as it would seem. She was about another second from greeting the redheaded woman when it occurred to her...she wasn't here. Curious. Even more curious was the suits of armor about the room with runes on their breastplates. well wouldn't this be an interesting lesson. What would they be doing with these? Were they animated? Could she animate one...?...And keep it? Naturally she'd return it but she couldn't help thinking of the interesting cross comparisons she could make with it. "Has anyone seen the Headmistress?" It was a question worth asking but the woman was nowhere insight. |
Skylar had an interesting relationship with Runes; on the one hand, she had finally begun to understand it slightly more, except for that one time when she and Vivian got attacked by pixies. But on the other hand, there was Brent. Sigh. Last year's practical use of runes by Brent just made her think of him and while they were in a good place now, in terms of friendship, she still couldn't help but think of him with Runes. He would want her to be great at the subject though, she knew that much. As she entered the classroom, the fifth year fully expected to take her usual seat, but instead found instructions to stand next to a suit of armor? Huh? And no headmistress, although there seemed to be possible talk of her wearing one of the metal armor suits...Perhaps the one with the runic shield? Finding an empty suit next to where Vivian was, Sky smiled at the best friend. She could do this. |
From her hiding spot, a bit of a grin appeared on the headmistress' face when she heard the first set of footsteps enter the room. She wasn't surprised in the slightest at those who had arrived being so quiet. Their setup today for class was a bit out of the ordinary for Ancient Runes. When voices were overheard, the grin on her face grew a little wider. Where was she? Was she watching them from inside the suit of armour, waiting for the proper time to scare them? As humorous as that would have been, the answer to that question was no. That would have been too predictable for a woman whose motto was to always be vigilant. Instead she had something else up her sleeve, which she had been busy keeping an eye on before they all had arrived... The woman, at ten o'clock sharp, quietly slipped her way through a door that connected the backside of the classroom to another room and quickly closed it before what was within decided to make an escape. Not a single sound was made as she gave their visitor, Marilyn Romalotti, a nod as a greeting -- they would have time to properly greet each other later; she had a lesson to teach now -- before sneaking up behind everyone else that was present and accounted for. Her voice suddenly sounded after Jessa Cambridge asked if anyone had seen her, likely surprising those who assumed she was watching them from within the hunk of metal in the front of the room. She had, after all, more or less appeared out of nowhere. "I hear someone got their revenge by permanently transfiguring her into that suit of armour up there. Matches her personality, doesn't it?" A gentle smile was playing on her lips, implying that she was obviously joking and proving that she could make fun of herself within reason. Now that she had revealed herself, Regina walked between the student-armour duos to the front and took her place next to the only rune-carved suit in the room so far. "Good morning, everyone! Up to this point in the term, we have spent a lot of time learning and mastering the runic alphabet and its meanings. We are now ready to move on to runic magic and using it in more practical, day-to-day scenarios." It was at that moment she then made a grandiose gesture at the breastplate her suit of armour was sporting. "If you haven't realized this yet, carved on the metal of this suit is an Algiz rune. This rune will be the focus of our lesson today. Before we dive in, however, let's quickly review what we already know about Algiz. I'd like for each of you to share one thing you know about Algiz, and please raise your hands before sharing." OOC: Hello, everyone! Thank you all so much for participating in our first role-played Ancient Runes lesson of the term. I am so excited that you are all here! If you have yet to post in this lesson and wish to do so, act like your character has been here the whole time ... unless you want your character to show up late, of course. ;) To kick of the lesson, Regina wants to know something (1 thing) that your character knows about the rune Algiz. Try not to repeat something that was already said, and remember that both correct and incorrect answers will be accepted. The lesson will continue in roughly 24 hours. Have fun! |
Oh! Char turned around and looked at the headmistress. Not in the suit of armour! And while she got the joke, she couldn't help thinking that the professor kind of was like the armour? In good ways anyway! Imposing, strong, and protective too. And question time was always good because it always meant that soon enough they would get to do fun things. She stuck her hand up. "Algiz is for protection and shielding! It can even help your shield spells work better if it's correctly carved and invoked on your wand!" Should she mention about it being a bad idea to try to that with your wand if you didn't know what you were doing? Naaah. Nobody would assume, right? |
He was ignoring the head girl, aside from a look in her direction, for he was still convinced that she was a Cultist. Instead, he returned Stasya's smile with one of his own and chuckled at the suggestion from a young Ravenclaw boy. "I don't know about chosen one." Unlucky would've been the word he'd use. Having everyone see you sweat was not his idea of a good time (another reason for ignoring the head girl, for it had been her wall message that....well anyway). He returned the BOG lady's greeting with a "Hello, madame." Wasn't it a little snowy outside for non-Hogwarts based visitors? He had been considering giving his suit of armor a little kiss (hey, it had been awhile, okay?) when the Headmistress appeared, causing him to abandon that idea. Ronan wasn't exactly surprised by it, though, because he had heard the door. Constant vigilance, as Professor Hirsch would say, though, his mum would call it something else entirely. He turned to look, arm still in the 'knights' as she spoke. The Headmistress had a sense of humor after all? Good to know. He turned to face the front again when she reached the marked suit. Hmm, Algiz. "The color or colors most associated with it are black or purple." If he was remembering correctly, anyway. |
Out of nowhere the Headmistress revealed herself as Jessa asked if anyone had seen her. See? That woman was definitely not inside the suit of armor. Ava just gave a tiny smile when the Ancient Runes professor said someone permanently transfigured her into an armor and that... was not really funny. But nice try, Headmistress. With the presence of Hawthorne, it means the class has started. The Gryffindor listened to her talked about the algiz rune that they're going to learn today and heard Char mentioned about this rune could help with their shield charm if it was carved on wand. Oh, really? That was interesting and she wanted to do that if/when she got into YATI because that could be helpful. "The rune algiz is also can be used for hunting." She answered the question as she put her hand up in the air. |
Shay watched as her classmates speculated about where the Headmistress might be. She had a feeling that the lady in charge was not too far away. She was proved to be correct when the Headmistress suddenly appeared from who knows where. You always had to expect the unexpected at Hogwarts. That much Shay had learned. So now, the class was starting to learns bits about the topic of class for the day. They would be learning about Algiers. Shay had noticed the rune carved on the main suit of armor. The one that was taking the professor's place in the classroom. She was starting to get an idea about where this lesson was going. And as the first question was asked, the Gryffindor began to formulate her answer. Then she raised her hand to respond. "Algiz is associated with Heimdall of Norse mythology. He is known as a protector, one who watches over. And as Char said, Algiz is the rune of protection." So then....... a connection, yes? |
Derf was suddenly relieved that he had not gone knocking on any suits of armour upon entering the classroom today because that could have been AWKWARD. Although NOW he was kinda sorta hoping that this was a little preview of things to come and that they were going to play hide-and-seek INSIDE suits of armour somehow. Like...well...he could probably think up about a billion ways that this would make sense and WORK but right now he was trrrrying to focus on the question at hand. Protection. Got it. Colors, er...that was more Abey's forte than his own for reasons. Mythology...er...Derf didn't know so much about that to be honest. "It kinda looks like a stag...or an elk," he offered up after a bit of thought. "Which...um..." He paused to ruffle his hair a bit. "I think...there was a story somewhere about magical process to become a deer to escape from enemies...or to blend in with them for tactical purposes...like...kinda like an animagus form ... but Celtic peoples passed it down as lore..." He remembered dad talking about that. The antlers meant something too...but...er...he couldn't really remember that at the moment. Cycle of life? |
Vivian glanced to the side when she felt someone drawing closer. The blond offered a smile at the bestie, and gave her a tiny wave. Sky was very much welcome to pester her anytime but... oh. Sneaky. The headmistress was definitely sneaky. One moment, the woman was no where to be found, and now she was in front of them as if all Apparation boundaries were lifted at Hogwarts for a few seconds just so Hawthorne could perform her stunt. And transfiguring the Headmistress into one of the suits of armour? Obviously, Vivian knew that was a joke. A weird one, to be frank. However, the prefect managed a tiny smile so that it wouldn't be awkward. But on with the lesson, yeah? Vivian had already figured the rune in front was Algiz, and she was glad she actually got it right. The mention of practical rune magic excited the prefect a bit. Thank Merlin, she didn't want to sit down and listen to hours of lecture anymore. She was sooo done with those. With the energy she still had from the wee bit go excitement for felt, Vivian raised her hand. "Algiz is one of the three runes used in a rune victory charm, along with Sowilo and Tiwaz," the prefect offered as her answer. Since the others were able to share that the rune was for protection and all that. Could they get to the real practical portion now, please? |
So the Headmistress? If she'd gone to Hogwarts would definitely have been a Slytherin, Skylar was convinced. Except she hadn't gone to Hogwarts, so instead the Headmistress did get silent praises for that stealth from the fifth year. Something else she could appreciate? That the Headmistress didn't play guessing games with them in today's lesson topic. No, like Camilla Stewart, the woman was upfront that today they'd be talking about Algiz and while details weren't provided yet, at least it wasn't a generic open-ended question. "Algiz is more than just generic protection, but goes deeper than a mere shield charm. It's protection in both offensive and defensive. It protects us spiritually and physically, our emotional well-being." Skylar elaborated on what was already stated. |
If no one else jumped at the sudden voice of the Headmistress, she did. It was unexpected to say the least and a little uncanny given the timing. Hadn't she JUST asked where she was? The 14 year old turned on her heels, eyes practically sparkling. Of course, she wasn't daft enough to believe what the woman had said by way of announcing herself but.....the prospect of it was intriguing to say the least. Turning her into the suit of armor? Transfiguring anyone into a suit of armor. The cogs in her head were turning and she suddenly had a ton of questions that had nothing to do with Algiz. Like everyone else, her hand went up but to say the Ravenclaw had gotten sidetracked from the actual lesson was an understatement. "Would you still have been sentient, Professor?" She asked. "If you'd really been turned into one...would you still hear and feel? What would the risks be? Would we be able to get you back?" Lesson on runes? What lesson on runes? Jessa was far too taken by the idea to focus anymore. |
Zoryn wanted to chime in and help Hawthorne make fun of herself, tbh. BUT they woman had already moved on and posed her first question to the class, so unfortunately it was a lost opportunity. The prospect of turning someone into a suit of armor for revenge, however, gave her a couple of ideas. Zoryn needed to get her revenge before the term was up, so this was helpful. As for the question, Zor didn't feel like thinking too hard. She still raised her hand like everyone else though, 'cause the Headmistress said that she wanted an answer from everyone. And Zoryn was the greater part of everyone, obviously. "Algiz would make a good name for a pet," she nodded. "'Cause it's short 'n sweet, but it's got a spunky sorta ring to it. Plus you can say GEEEEEZ ALGIZ! When you're angry 'n it'll still sound cute." Zoryn would probably name her next inchworm Algiz. This lesson was proving to be all sorts of helpful today and it just started! WOW! |
What did she know about Algiz? Um, it was a rune. Everything she had studied for her OWLs seemed to have just completely fallen out of her brain. She needed to answer SOMETHING, though, so she pulled out her textbook and flicked through the pages until she found the entry on Algiz. She raised her hand. "It represents the divine might of the universe," she answered. That was....vague. |
Kitty couldn't say she was too surprised when Headmistress Hawthorne appeared seemingly out of nowhere. While originally she thought she might have been hiding in an armor suit, the stealthy way she'd entered through another door made way more sense. Also, what was up with Ronan giving her that weird look?? For a moment she wondered if her hair was out of place, but thinking that reminded her of why he had probably given her that look. The bowl of blood incident, of course. He thought she was in the Cult of Walpurgis. Ugh! When it came time to answer the first question, she remained silent. She knew the basics of Algiz, but she didn't want to repeat what someone else said. |
Bored, Dorian leaned against the suit of armor he stood next to. His fears of the Headmistress popping out of it to scare them forgotten as the time before class started went by sloooowly for him. Next time, he was going to be in the classroom a few minutes before it started and not ten. He rolled up the sleeve of his Ravenclaw robe and turned his arm to check the watch that was upside down on his wrist. Only a minute left until 10 o'clock, the Headmistress was always punctual. A woman's voice cut through his thoughts and Dorian believed it to be from the BoG member seated at the far back and he was shocked to find himself laughing at the lame joke. One did not say something like that to THE leader of the school and one did not laugh when said leader was insulted. He turned and was surprised to see the Headmistress herself standing behind them all. Uhoh...had she heard what BoG lady had said???? He casted a nervous glance between the two to see if there was any tension but either they hid it really well or he had been mistaken. He looked away and to the suit with the rune on it when instructed and he frowned in concentration on what he knew about Algiz. Eventually, he raised his hand and turned back to face the professor as he answered "Its a rune of ...uh...balance and justice...right?" he tried, already having the feeling he had messed up the answer but couldn't explain how. |
SO like, Dora had made it a point to REALLY study up on her runes while she had been studying so much with the Headmistress. Time to impress the Head Lady for those letters of recommendation and all. Ahem. Raising her hand the seventh year spoke softly, "Algiz is mostly thought of in relation to the Valkyrie. Also it is rumored to banish the fear of death... so like that would super useful on a suit of armor if the Knight was heading into war." Her thoughts on things anyway. Mhm. Also was that Olivia's mother? Interesting. For now Dora just glanced at her, thoughts bouncing around. HMMMM. But whatever. Hey DERF! Sitting next to you, little Puff. MHM. |
He had no clue what she was talking about, to be honest, but Eddie knew not to say that. He knew which professors to basically ignore during class and which to actually pay attention to and with the headmistress as one of those professors to pay attention to he sat nicely the way he was supposed to and had his parchment out to take notes. He listened as others spoke, vanished the fear of death? That was interesting and he jotted a few things down before raising his hand. "Professor why would people want to vanish the fear of death? Isn't death part of life and anything you do risk death, so do they think if they vanish that fear it won't happen? Is there a rune to bring on a fear of death to someone?" Just curious, not reason, not like he'd try to use it on his sister or that annoying girl who kept trying to say she was his best friend. |
Runic magic… Granted they hadn’t dealt with it this term yet, but Cassie remembered working with runic magic in classes previously. After all the horse-whisperer scenario out by the barn had no doubt involved it, not to mention when it had appeared on her OWL exam afterwards. But that was neither here nor there she supposed as the lesson was begun and the first question posed to the class. The Ravenclaw taking in the Algiz rune carved on the shield of her suit of armor as answers were given by various students around her. Now what did she know of Algiz? A lot was already being mention, so it was limited unless she really wanted to repeat something, which she didn’t. Finally she raised her hand with a response. “It’s part of the second Aett…and you have to have faith in the working of the rune.” |
Text Cut: Individual Responses "You all did a great job in compiling that list of facts about Algiz," the woman said as she stopped her pacing in the middle of the group and returned to the suit of armour at the front of the classroom. "While there is much we can discuss about the rune, we'll save a lot of those details for future lessons. Today I would like for us to focus just on the physical power of the rune and how we can use it today." Suddenly a loud BANG! sounded from the room in which the headmistress had came at the beginning of the lesson. The woman's blue eyes shot over to the door, but then returned her gaze to the students. A calm and collected smile appeared on her face, telling them all that there was nothing to worry about. Though they did need to move with haste... "What I need all of you," -- yes, including you, Marilyn -- "to do right now is carve Algiz on the breastplate of your suit of armour like I have done," she instructed with a gesture at her suit. "The incantation, for those of you who haven't done the Carving Spell before, is Intaglio Algiz. Clearly think about how the rune looks in your mind and keep on saying the incantation until the rune is completely carved on the metal." The chalk levitated once again and began writing: Quote:
"Once the rune has been carved onto your suit of armour, I then want you to activate it by chanting the galdr for Algiz," Regina continued before modeling exactly what she wanted everyone to do. The woman placed a hand on her suit's breastplate, right on top of the rune she had carved beforehand, and chanted, "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)." Right after she had said the end of the galdr, the rune on the breastplate glowed a nice shade of purple. The rune had been activated with the protection of Algiz, which would be put to the test soon enough. Once more the chalk did its thing before returning to its resting place: Quote:
OOC: It is time for the mini-activity of our lesson! As Regina said, everyone needs to carve Algiz on the breastplate of their suit of armour and then chant the galdr to make the rune glow purple. You are welcome to make as many posts as you would like at this stage in the lesson. Furthermore, keep in mind that not every student will be able to complete these steps in one go successfully. Feel free to have your characters struggle, ask for help, offer to help others, etc. The lesson will continue in roughly 48 hours. |
mini activity ... plus question? :3 Something else Skylar was to be concerned with? After everyone seemed to have exhausted the list of Algiz facts, there was a loud bang which jolted the fifth year slightly. If she wasn't awake before, she most definitely was now. Eyes for you Headmistress, if that was part of your plan to make sure the class was awake, given she had come from that room. And they were moving on to carving into metal; something they'd done last year, but it was on bracelets, was it? Wait, that was right before she got attacked by pixies? Vigilance this time, Skylar wouldn't let herself be distracted. "Intaglio Algiz," she said just to get a feel for the incantation on her tongue. Concentrating on its meaning, as specified, the fifth year focused on carving. "Intaglio Algiz. Intaglio Algiz. Intaglio Algiz" Repeating it to get the rune carved just right into the center. One thing Skylar did note was that carving felt different on metal than on the bracelets. Another thing she noted, was in the galdr they had they receipt next. Shouldn't they be starting it with algiz, not eihaz? Was the Headmistress testing them to see who was paying attention? Raising her hand, Skylar stared at the board, perplexed. "Headmistress? The galdr? Why are we starting it with eihaz?" |
catching up kinda || also question The temptation to jokingly puppet the suit of armor next to him was strong oh so strong. But he thought he better leave it well enough alone in case it might actually turn the tables on him so to speak. Dad stories with suits of armors are definitely remembered now. Also something exploded in the back where the Headmistress was earlier and that sufficiently distracted him enough. Ok so now it was time to carve up Algiz eh? Talk about supercharging your defense. He twirled his wand for a bit as he sized up his armor, quickly assessing how much magic and concentration he needed, where to place the carving, should he muck about with that helmet because its soooo asking for it-- -- ok he is ready! Wand aimed at the spot where he wanted the rune to appear, he started out with murmuring the galdr.... "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z...." And then he had a thought "Headmistress do we always have to chant galdrs verbally or can we do that non-verbally as well?" |
Could he vanish or something? It wasn't often when he got a answer wrong so when it happened he felt really embarrassed. His father had once told him that making mistakes was part of the learning proces. But that did not made him feel better. The sudden loud BANG that came from the other room startled him and the eleven year old let out a yelp in surprise. Shouldn't we check what caused that sound?" he asked when the Headmistress just smiled at them. She....she wasn't deaf right? Dorian watched as she began to chant and the rune began to blow purple. He liked purple, blue was his favourite color but purple was nice too... Getting side-tracked again. He turned to his suit of armor and took out his wand. He pointed it at the breastplate to carve the rune in with the incantation. Or...that was what he wanted to do. He said the incantation , tried to trace the symbol but nothing happened. He tries again, failed, again, failed. He even closed his eyes to focus on the incantation but when he traced it nothing happened. Giving the suit of armor a low kick in frustration, Dorian looked around. "Can someone help me carve the rune in here? My wand doesn't work" ALWAYS blame something else. Those were going to be his words of wisdom to his future children when he got older. |
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"I'll speak with you after class." She replied carefully, not wanting to be disrespectful but equally unwilling. There was nothing wrong with waiting to have a question answer, especially when it was the far better of two options. For now, the Ravenclaw would pay attention to the activity at hand. Carving runes, nothing new here. The carving was never the issue, she was quite use to making incisions by now. Jessa turned to her suit of armor, drawing her wand while she sized it up. Perhaps she would making the carving this big...no.....this big. Yes, that would work. "Intaglio Algiz." She moved her hand along while she cast, trying to ensure it was as accurate a cutting as possible. "Intaglio Algiz." Almost done--just a bit more on this side should do it. "Intaglio Algiz." Better? ...Yeah....she supposed this would do. |
a blessing, DUH! The Head Lady smiled at her and praised her? Yas. Not that Dora let it SHOW that she was swelling with pride, but ya know... she was for sure. She had definitely been trying really hard since Headmistress Hawthorne had shown her so much care in their private lessons. While the woman was a tough cookie, she was definitely an inspiring teacher for the seventh year. Smiling to herself, Dora then flexed her wrist and released her wand into her hand before turning toward the suit of armour she had chosen to stand beside. "I'm gonna name you Thor," she whispered before placing her wand on the breastplate and visualizing the rune as she began to move her wand and speak the incantation, "Intaglio Algiz.... Intaglio Algiz... Intaglio Algiz." She spoke each word clearly and firmly as she drew her wand across in the smooth lines of the rune she needed to form. Her confidence was much higher this year with her runic magic, so she smiled as she worked. Once she was pleased with the carving itself she did as the Head Lady had instructed and began to chant the galdr.... since there had been a BANG and it seemed as they needed to act with some sense of urgency. Heh. Shifting her wand to her right hand she then placed her left over the carving and closed her eyes, letting herself focus on the magic she wanted to transfer... just like the lady had taught her. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)," she chanted, eyes still shut, focusing her energy on her work... and much to her surprise... the rune heated up and glowed purple after her first chant!!! OMG OMG OMG OMG did Headmistress Hawthorne SEE that? Her extra studies had certainly paid off!!!! "If anyone needs a hand I would be happy to help, Headmistress," Dora offered with a HUGE smile. This was exciting okay!? |
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"It's not your wand." Just like she'd told that Gryffindor First Year the other day. What was with Firsties and blaming their wands anyway? Jessa turned to face her housemate, no judgement in her expression, but rather a matter of fact look. "It's your concentration and intent." She walked over to his armor, figuring she'd begin her own chanting in a minute. "Once you're sure you've got the incantation right," And she paused to repeat it to him just in case he didn't, "You've got to kinda...imagine the rune being carved. You gotta concentrate on it happening and concentrate on getting your wand to do what you're imagining. Like this." The 14 year old took aim at his suit of armor. "Intaglio Algiz." A mark appeared in the breastplate, but it was in no way complete. "Now you go ahead and give it a try. Just like I did. Focus on the intent. Concentrate and execute." She took a measured step back and gestured for him to give it a go. |
Now they were going to be carving the rune. Cool. Kitty wasn't the best at this subject, but she'd slowly but surely been getting markedly better over the years, and she was confident in her basic carving abilities. Pointing her wand at the chest plate of her armor, she closed her eyes and mentally repeated the incantation, picturing it doing what she needed it to. Then she opened her eyes and traced her wand along the surface of the armor's chest, carving the shape she wanted to appear. "Intaglio Algiz!" It worked exactly like how she'd hoped. Smiling in satisfaction, she rolled up her sleeves and proceeded to the next step of activating it. Putting her hand on the breastplate like headmistress did (just for luck) she proceeded to repeat the next incantation. "Algiz Galdr!" It didn't work. Eh. Skylar asked a question at that moment. Kitty paused to hear what the answer was. At the same time, Jessa was helping a younger student. Good for her. |
So there were some, this interested Eddie and he thought for awhile on it. He bet it was in the restricted section, but how could he get in there to find them. Things were going on around them and he was thinking more about that then what was being said so when he went back to the conversation she was showing them and telling them what to do. He was not about the suit of armor, he wasn't some metal piece and he wasn't a muggle that needed it, so he just stared at it as she explained. Looking a little longer he decided to give it a try and started to do the carving. "Intaglio Algiz" Moving his wand he tried to make the shape that the professor had, but he wasn't an artist so it was sloppy if compared to, but he did what he was supposed to at least he did what he would get him done with the project and he could move on to the next part. |
Austin took a deep breath. Runes weren't his strong point, especially when needed to be carved. He wished he could go back in time to his younger self and study runes more. But, alas, time travel was illegal outside of the Ministry of Magic. Turning his attention back to his suit of armor, he tried practicing the incantation without his wand. "IN-taah-lyoooh." It didn't quite sound right sounded out, but maybe once he said It while carving it will sound better. "Alll-giz. Alg-iz. AAlgiz." Honestly he felt a little silly sounding out the spell. Sounding out spells was something first years did when they didn't understand how to cast one. But he was a seventh year. This should come easy to him. Embarrassed, even though everyone else was doing the same thing, his face turned red. To save himself any other kind of embarrassment, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at his suit. "Intaglio Algiz." |
No quotes. Rearranging a smidge. #YOLO And then they were off! It was at this point in the lesson where Regina started to make her rounds, returning to her pacing around the room and soaking everything she saw into memory. The attention to detail would be beneficial for reviewing the lesson later in the pensieve, as well as provide immediate feedback for those that were struggling with the basics of what she expected them all to do today. So far, so good. A fair amount of students were off to a great start, having already started to make their carvings on the metal -- embrace this moment, kids; it was one of the few times such behaviour would be allowed. Of course, there were some that weren't doing so great. Dorian seemed to be having 'wand issues.' Regina wasn't too surprised by this. The spell was a little more complex than what first years were used to. "No need to worry about that noise, Mr. Katharos." Everything was under control. It was all part of her plan for their lesson today. "And the advice that Miss Cambridge has provided is very accurate. Imagine the rune in your mind and then say the incantation with great concentration." A nod was given, and then the headmistress' eyes fell upon the blonde. "Take five points, Miss Cambridge, for assisting Mr. Katharos. I greatly appreciate it." And then there was the Head Girl, who had clearly mastered the carving spell. Her work there was noted and which earned an approving look, but it wasn't enough to distract her from the galdr (or lack thereof) that had been chanted. What in Merlin's beard? She, uhh, did know the galdr was written on the board beneath the words she had said, right? Regina casted a look over to Dora. That was her cue to lend a hand to her fellow seventh year. Right now that there were on-topic questions that needed answers. First there was Skylar, who brought up a valid question. Though it made the headmistress wonder if she didn't catch onto what she had said in response to Derfael earlier. But she was going to let it slide, considering they had covered a lot of theoretical information in just a few short minutes. "To put it simply, 'Elhaz' is another word for Algiz. It is all a matter of the runic alphabets changing over time. Today in we pronounce the rune as 'all-geez' whereas those living in during medieval times would have said 'ale-haws.'" Next up was Tenacius. "Make sure you're casting the Carving Spell first, Mr. Salander. Remember that you need to carve the rune before chanting the galdr," she quickly corrected him before responding to his question with a very Horned Serpent-like answer. "The word galdr comes from a root meaning 'to sing or chant.' Vibrations are needed if you wish to bring the might of the rune upon which you are calling into full being. Chanting the galdr provides a direct route to the source of runic energies, which just simply cannot be obtained non-verbally I'm afraid." Following the Gryffindor prefect came Austin. Right away the woman was able to sense, just by the intonation of his voice, that he wasn't very comfortable with the incantation of the carving spell. She gave him a warm, encouraging smile. Confidence was key here. Her rounds then ended with Eddie, and Regina was not exactly impressed with his work. The carving was quite sloppy, which just wouldn't do when it came to runes. "Let's work on improving your carving before moving on, Mr. Blaze. You have the basic shape, but, just like you need to measure ingredients in Potions with precision, you need to do the same in Ancient Runes if you want the best outcome." Which would be extremely important later. "Let's make those lines a little neater by steadying your wand arm, alright?" She'd be back to check on his progress in a few moments. "Keep on going, ladies and gentlemen. Once you have carved Algiz, make sure you activate the rune by chanting the galdr as many times as it takes for it to glow purple. If you finish early, feel free to give some pointers to those who need a little nudge in the right direction. We will moving on in roughly eight minutes!" OOC: Just a quick post before we move on. The lesson will continue in roughly 24 hours. Carry on! |
She hadn’t really been able to contribute much to the discussion about the Algiz rune, but that didn’t bother Stasya as much as it probably could have. Mainly because she still could only think of the fact it looked like a bird footprint. Sort of. But she was pretty sure the headmistress wouldn’t have appreciated the statement, so she’d just stayed quiet. Stayed quiet and took notes as carefully as she could, kind of resting her parchment against her new friend the suit of armor. The suit of armor that apparently was going to get to have the rune carved on it just like the headmistress’ did. And that reminded her of the lesson last term when she got to ride Cygnus, which helped her confidence. She’d managed to carve that rune, so she could do this one too. First, though, she took her wand out and stepped in front of her suit of armor, after she made sure she’d written the galdr down as carefully as she could. Plus, all that stuff about why the galdr word wasn’t the same as the name of the actual rune. She figured that was important, because it wouldn’t have been mentioned if it wasn’t. At least, she didn’t think so, but finally, she’d pointed her wand at the breastplate of her suit of armor. “Intaglio Algiz,” she said as deliberately as possible, tracing out the bird footprint shape of the rune carefully. Frowning a little as it barely appeared the first time. Maybe metal was harder to carve than the wood was? Either way, she was a determined blonde. “Intaglio Algiz.” She’d just keep casting it until the rune appeared the way she thought it was supposed to. Like the rune on the headmistress’ suit of armor. |
It wasn't his wand? Uh yeah it was! Dorian stopped trying as he heard a girl's voice near him and he looked to see Jessa, an older Ravenclaw. He watched her as she came closer to the suit of armor and for a second he thought she was going to use the spell on it for him. But he was sad to be mistaken again. What was with him today anyways?! Concentration and intent? Wow he had never thought of that. Sarcasm included. Dorian didn't speak back though. It was clear that she was helping him and he'd be stupid to talk back. So instead, he nodded his head and then said the incantation again. "Alright, i'll try" he said and was about to turn to his suit of armor when he heard the Headmistress giving Jessa five points. He made a mental cheer that the person who had helped him was a Ravenclaw just like him or else he had given housepoints to a different House. He did not like that thought. Ravenclaw was already last place so far. He pointed his wand at the breastplate and in his mind he tried to visualise the rune carved in the armor. "Intaglio Alzis...no Algus..Algiz..." of course nothing happened... He totally got it though so he pointed his wand again and this time, the combination of concentration, visualisation and intent made it possible for him to actually carve a line in. He didn't stop to celebrate and continued to carve the rune until it was done. "I did it!" he cheered. The design was sloppy and the lines were definitely not straight but it was there. "Thanks Jessa" Alright, now he had to chant then..thingy...Galdr? He stepped closer to his armor to place a hand near the rune and his blue eyes went towards the blackboard where the chant was written. *"Elhaz elhaz elhaz z z z z z z z z z uz az iz ez uz oz ez iz az uz z z z z z z z z z m m m m m m m m m" Had it worked? Dorian looked away from the blackboard and to the rune and huffed when it wasn't glowing a purple color. He tried again, concentrating more this time. After he was finished he turned to look but he had failed yet again. Why did magic not work the first time all the time?! It annoyed him but it did not make him give up. So he chanted for a third time and it seemed that he got lucky as when he was finished chanting, the rune suddenly started to glow faintly at first but then the purple color got stronger and he knew he had done it. |
Etta listened quietly as she took notes in her parchment, making sure she hadn’t missed out on any important detail. As much as she tried to like this subject, she just couldn’t manage to actually enjoy it.. somehow. Not as much as she enjoyed some of the other subjects, at least. But, she definitely did make an effort to be reasonably good at it so that was something, yeah? Intaglio Algiz. The prefect kept repeating it softy until she was sure her pronounciation was correct. Just to be sure. Okay.. moving on. She focused on the suit of armour, wand in hand, picturing the rune in her head as the Headmistress had instructed. “Intaglio Algiz.” The girl said clearly, repeating the incantation while moving her wand across the centre.. until the carving was complete. There. She was rather pleased with the way it turned out, to be honest. Next.. they had to activate the rune. She watched the Headmistress demonstrate it for them before she turned to concentrate on her suit of armour. She placed her hand on the carving and chanted slowly and precisely. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)." ...... and it worked! On her first try, that too. She watched as the rune glowed a lovely shade of purple. HEH. Trying not to look too pleased, she turned to look at the Headmistress, wondering what she had in store for the next. |
Uuuuuum...sure? Derf probably had heard of the The Old Woman of Beare somewhere, but he was quickly scribbling it down in on his parchment for proper reference later so he could find it in the library to read properly and retain...along with all the rest of the stuff the Headmistress was saying. He was particularly keen on reading up about these four elks. Okay...maybe he could get a little more into runes with all these stories. He liked those...quite a bit really. Derf was, once again, a bit sidetracked thinking about what stories waited for him in the library - and his textbook too but the library was kinda a special place to the third year for reasons - when all of a sudden there came this massive BANG that knocked the Hufflepuff clear off his feet as he went stumbling backwards and on to his bum. WHY DID THIS SORT OF THING KEEP HAPPENING...IT WAS SCARY AND TRIGGERING AND NOW THE THIRD YEAR WAS SHAKING WHERE HE SAT ON THE GROUND AND JUST WANTING TO GO HIDE UNDER HIS SHIELD OR SOMETHING. At least he had not secreted himself from Wand in hand, Derf retrieved the breastplate he had sorta knocked out of the way with his flailing and pointed his wand at it and made a shaky attempt. "Intaglio Algiz...Algiz...A-Algiz...Algiz...Algiiiiiiz..." Only his engraving was all over the place with some bits penetrating deeper into the metal while other parts just barely were scratching the surface. |
As Headmistress Hawthorne elaborated more on her answer, Vivian paid attention despite already knowing those stuff and nodded along. Yup, Algiz was indeed a useful rune, don't you think? But that loud BANG definitely placed a halt on her train of thought, making Vivian wince and eye the door from which the Headmistress came from before the start of the lesson. Sneaky was an understatement, and the prefect wasn't going to let this go lightly. She didn't want to die in the middle of the class, okay? Back at the task at hand, Vivian fixed her gaze on the board (with occasional side eyes to the door, of course) which now held the incantation to activate the Algiz rune. All easy. They had done so with other runes in class before, and even last term. Once they were given the head start, Vivian took her wand and pointed it at the armour's breastplate. "Intaglio Algiz... Intaglio Algiz... Intaglio Algiz...." the blond said, ignoring all other thoughts Tada! That looked like a lovely Algiz rune, yeah? Now, she just needed to activate the rune. Which was the easy part, of course, because Vivian was naturally talkative. Chanting was no problem for this blond. Vivian placed her right hand over the suit's breastplate, where the newly carved Algiz rune was now. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)..." A faint glow appeared as she chanted. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)...." The prefect repeated the galdr a few times before achieving the same purple glow that was on the Headmistress' rune. So far, so great. And now she looked around, checking if anyone (her ickles, specifically) needed some assistance. Y'know, just in case. |
Her carving was pretty much perfect on the shield, but now Skylar just needed to activate it and she may have been slightly flushed at the Headmistress repeating information that sounded vaguely familiar. Had it already been said before? Sorry! She was on information overload here with all her OWL studies and then the theoretical information given in each class, but she was trying. She really was! And she could even see the similarities, which kind of made sense, because silent g's sounded like h's ... so it wasn't really that far off. Nodding at the Headmistress' explanation, she quickly jotted down a few things in her notes on the pronunciations and things, before focusing back on the galdr. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)" A faint glow appeared around her carved rune. And again she chanted, "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)" and again, "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)" Three times was the charm, it seemed, as her rune was now glowing purple just as demonstrated. Did anyone need help? A glance over at Eddie in particular, who seemed to have been sloppy with his carving. Though the Headmistress had given him some pointers, so perhaps it would help? If not, she was here... |
"It's no problem, Headmistress." She replied, truly, the young girl enjoyed helping others. Add the fact it was a little eagle struggling and it was a no brainer. Couldn't have a bunch of them going around thinking the wand makers got it wrong. That was a different level of ignorance, one they'd probably try spreading when the problem lay within themselves. It was a simple choice, help or leave them to be ignorant. As you can imagine, the latter didn't appeal to the girl who valued knowledge at all cost. Jessa stood by watching and waiting for him to give it another go. The first attempt was pitiful but a smile grew across her features when the boy finally did grasp it. "Brilliant. Keep that in mind the next time you think your wand's busted. You'll be amazed the difference really focusing can make." Soon enough, he wouldn't even need that much focus, he'd be able to cast in his sleep she bet but for now, while his wand was still getting accustomed to him and he was still training his mind to be in sync with it he would need that focus. She gave his rune one final look before heading back to her own suit of armor to begin her chanting. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m." She chanted over and over, not discouraged when at first, the rune didn't begin to glow. It made no sense to be frustrated when she'd just encouraged a Ravenclaw not to. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m." It was faint in the beginning but with much persistence she watched it glow brighter and brighter. This was more like it. |
Good, he'd remembered the colors correctly. Ronan copied the notes from chalkboard diligently, just to make sure he had them for OWL study later. Because yes, he did want to do well in those. In fact, he was being so diligent that the bang from the other room had him jumping slightly (obviously needed to work on his constant vigilance). What the heck was in there? Whatever it was had to be pretty large to make that loud a noise. Anyway, it was time to carve the rune into their own knight's armor. Ronan put his wand to the breastplate, then took a moment to get a picture of the rune into his head. Once it was there, he focused on getting that picture onto the armor. "Intaglio Algiz. Intaglio Algiz. Intaglio Algiz. Intaglio Algiz....." He repeated this until the carving was complete, then blew some of the silver shavings away. It wasn't completely perfect (some parts were slightly wider than others), but overall he felt he had done a good job. Now it was time to activate it. He put his hand lightly over the place where the rune was now carved and put all his concentration into what he was about to do. "Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m. "Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m." It took him eight chants in total, but the rune finally glowed a nice deep purple. Now what? |
Okay if Zoryn was being real honest here, doing all this rune stuff was, like, the WORST part of Ancient Runes. Couldn’t they just sit here and talk about weird animal names like ‘Algiz’ all day? Z wouldn’t even mind doing a DOUBLE period if it meant they could avoid all this other mumbo jumbo stuff, no offense. Okay so, WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT BANG ABOUT??? Zoryn NEEDED to know. Her attention had been so drawn to the door that she hardly registered anything else the Headmistress had said. SO when it was time to do the activity, Zoryn was simply copying everyone around her hoping that they actually got it right. As much as she despised the girl, Skylar Diggory normally knew what she was doing. So Zor moved over to a suit of amour near the Slytherin girl and began repeating everything after her with the delay of a few seconds. “Intaglio Algiz,” none of this stuff sounded real btw. “Intaglio Algiz, Intaglio Algiz, Intaglio Algiz,” okay how come they were saying it so many times? Zor was very annoyed. But while she did it, she moved her wand around trying to carve something on her suit of armor (which was VERY difficult seeing as she had to watch as Skylar carved hers, while trying to carve her own at the same time!!!!!). So of course, Zoryn wasn’t exactly looking at her own carving ‘cause she was so focused on looking at Skylar’s. Okay so like, once all that was done and Skylar asked a question, Zor actually took a real look at her work and… That sort of kind of (not at all) resembled the thing they were supposed to make?????? Ish. Well. Did it really matter if it looked like that? OH Skylar was doing stuff again!!! Z turned back to watch the girl, but oh boy. This was definitely not english. Again just as Skylar finished each word, Zoryn started, “Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uuuuuz aaaz izz easy uz, oozy ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m!!” Zoryn deserved a nobel prize for all this work tbh. |
There was a loud BANG heard from out of nowhere and surprised her. What was that, intruders or something? Should they be concerned? Maybe yes, but the Headmistress seemed very calm about this. Oh well, maybe it happened in purpose of the class topic today or something. Instead of handling the banging situation, they were asked to carve the algiz rune on the breastplate of armor and chanting the galdr to active it. "Intaglio algiz!" Ava took her wand and started carving the rune. She concentrated really hard and repeated the spell in order to make the rune carved perfectly on the armor suit. And now the galdr. The Gryffindor closed her eyes and concentrated really hard while chanting the galdr. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)." First try? The rune only glowed faintly which means her energy wasn't strong enough. Ava repeated the galdr a couple of more times until the Algiz rune started to produce a nice purple-colored glow. |
Long post. Mentions of everyone, and moving the lesson along near the end. The woman was back to making her way around the room moments after announcing that everyone was now on a time crunch. In all honesty, she wasn't a big fan of rushing students in their learning, but they only had so much time cut out for Ancient Runes today. When Stasya came into her line of vision, Regina then realized that the second year was being rather quiet today. Even though that were the case, she knew that the girl understood what was going on, solely based on the determination that the girl had showed last year. The girl's carving of Algiz on the metal proved her right. The carefulness she was editing while casting was very pleasing. "Nicely done, Miss Dalgaard-Volkova. You're ready for the galdr now." Speaking of galdrs, she was starting to hear a lot of runic song chanting going on right now. Henrietta, who had come a long way, managed to invoke her rune on the first try. This earned the prefect a genuine look of approval and a nod of her head before she continued onward to observe the progress of the others. Dorian, Vivian, Skylar, Jessa, Ronan, and Ava, the headmistress mentally noted, needed to chant the galdr multiple times in order for their carved rune to strongly glow. A bright smile was directed at each of them, happy and proud of them for their accomplishment. Invoking runes wasn't exactly the easiest task, and it was not a problem that they weren't able to get the rune to glow purple right away. All that mattered was that they were successful in the end, which they fortunately were. And then her eyes fell upon both Derfael and Zoryn. ... Why did it always have to be those two? "Breathe, Mr. Ashburry-Hawthorne. Slowly breathe in through your nostrils and then exhale. Everything is alright," she told him. Had that banging startled him? The woman reassuringly placed a hand on his shoulder and then examined his carving. "Hmm. Let's level out that carving by concentrating just on the rune. I know you can do it." As for Zoryn's carving of -- was that supposed to be Algiz? Had she even been watching what she was doing? Merlin... "Miss Spinnet, I don't want to be the giver of bad news, but your galdr isn't going to work until your carving is complete and done well. Let's work on fixing that up, yes? It is okay if the lines on your suit are thicker than the ones on mine." As long as it actually looked like Algiz, then all would be well. The headmistress then made her way back at the front of the room. Glancing at the students and the purple glow on their shields, she then faced her suit of armour and started to put the different pieces on. "Alright, everyone! Once your rune is glowing purple, go ahead and put on your suit. They are more likely than not a bit too big for you, but everyone's armour has been charmed to shrink appropriately to your individual sizes." Like clockwork her armour then began fitting to her body. While that bit of magic occurred, a puff of black smoke snuck its way underneath the crack of the side door in the back of the room... Regina, obviously not at all worried about or phased by that sight, gave everyone a minute or two to climb into their armour. She would continue once they were all suited up and the metallic clanking ceased. "Now before we dive into the main portion of today's lesson, I have one more question that I'd like for all of you to answer. At the beginning of class, we touched on the key purpose of Algiz: protection, both physical and spiritual. What is one scenario you think using this particular rune would come in handy? How would you use it?" OOC: Moving the lesson along a few hours early because this girl has RL lesson prep to do before hitting the hay. *_______* But here is our final question before we move on to the main part of the lesson. YAY! If you want to post your character wrapping up their carving ad chanting the galdr, feel free to do so if they haven't finished. Otherwise, the focal point of this component of the lesson will be centred on 1) putting on the suit of armour and 2) responding to the open-ended question that Regina asked. Feel free to think outside of the box for that question -- I am looking forward to seeing some unique ideas coming from your character! The lesson will continue in roughly 24 hours. |
Giving a look to the Headmistress and then down to his carving he may have glared a bit. He didn't care if she ran this school, this part was stupid. "and what happens if I'm not an artist and can't get the carving perfect. Does that me I just can't do runes? Not everyone can make perfect lines."That's what it seems to mean and if that was the case he would see himself tot he door because it was hopeless and he wasn't going to try harder for art abilities. Looking at his carving he did try to hold his hand steady, "Intaglio Algiz" Though in the end his lack of caring and his lack of being able to keep a still hand his carving was still not exactly the way it should be. He was going to fully move on though before she could stop and say anything again. He had to chant something, another reason why Edward Blaze knew he'd never use runes to help in life, the chanting wasn't his thing. As quiet as he possibly could, Eddie started the dumb chant, "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)." Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m)."" That was enough, wasn't it? Just as he thought it the headmistress seemed to be moving on. Good, good, though putting on the armor wasn't something he wanted to do. He took it slowly and put it on. He kept quiet with the question though, he didn't need to be a top student around here, nope, it was easier to try to just blend in. |
Er...well... Running his finger over his work, Derf could be certain that he had INDEED carved the rune into the the breastplate...but the depth was all over the place, like a little metallic wave. He supposed it was good enough though...considering her had never carved in anything other than wood and OCCASIONALLY stone...be metal was an entirely different material all together. He was far too focused on his own efforts to notice much of anyone else around him - including Zoryn's efforts who he would have informed did NOT look like an elk - and was instead tracing still. Until he felt a hand on his shoulder that is. Breathe? Well, he WAS doing that, you know? Kinda had to as a living thing...but he soon put two and two together and figured out what the Headmistress was getting at. Level out the carving...right...so thaaat meant that what he had done wasn't really good enough nor accurate...although at least it was not a complete failure either. "I'll...give it a go..." he nodded with subtle confidence, steadying his wand hand and pointing it at what he had already carved. It was all about intent, right? So like...if he wanted everything to carve as deep as the deepest bits then the spell should, in theory, comply? "Intaglio Algiz....Algiz...Algiz..." Did it work? He was just about to run his finger over things when the Headmistress was speaking again. Oh fudgesticks...he still needed to invoke! Assuming that he had done enough, Derf began whispering the galdr under his breath repeatedly and almost without stopping to take a breath. "Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m...." As for her question, well, Derf had already worn a suit of armour to a lesson before. It had been his first year and it had been a certain Herbology lesson. So, you know, this Hufflepuff had some real life experience to offer up. Or would of were not still chanting under his breath and trying to make his rune glow more than just the faded lilac color it was currently. Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m...." |
SPOILER!!: Professor She smiled happily back at the professor, feeling a flood of warmth and pride at the approval. For some reason, and not just because she was the headmistress, Char had an urge to step up her game and really really try and show how much she was working when it came to runes. Sure she had an interest already (when it came to the fun parts) but there was something about Hawthorne's approval that seemed.... important. Weighted somehow. Now wouldn't that be cool if they got a chance to engrave their wands? She was always looking for a chance to play with that sort of thing. Her wand already had a few bindrunes on it of course, but there was still plenty of space for more! The trouble was if you weren't knowledgeable then you could make your wand backfire or even kill it, which would be horrible if it happened to a lot of people at once. Maybe they would cancel exams though? Oh... no. No they'd make them all theoretical instead. THAT would be terrible. Char got all her best marks from the practical portions. And they were already jumping into action! After a bit of teaching of course, which was nice, to feel like things were being explained. She turned to her own suit of armout and non-verbally cast Intaglio Algiz, tracing the straight lines that made up the rune as evenly as she could. Not that it had to be perfect, but it was always easier to carve straight than it was curved, because of the grain of whatever you were carving into. She examined it and was satisfied so began to invoke it, letting the sounds echo and shape in her mouth without any sort of self-consciousness. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m. Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m." She focused hard on the meaning of the rune, on what she wanted it to do, on its resonance of protection and defense. Twice should do it! And it looked like it was supposed to be there, carved on the breastplate, as if it hadn't just been done a moment ago. And glowing too, a deep purple that she thought was really fetching. When the professor said they were to put their armour on, Char jumped at the chance, happily putting it on, piece by piece and marvelling as it changed to fit her tall but wirey form. How cool was that? She put the face guard up and answered the professor's question, metal-encased hand raising with a clatter. "You could carve it on your door or like... around the door frame of an entryway, to help protect against entry from thieves. I think its maybe even one of the runes that makes up the runic charm protecting Platform 9 3/4 entryway?" She wouldn't know for SURE because it wasn't as if it was visible, but still! |
As the rune carving and galrd-ing (hehe) had been done, Ava waited until the next instruction. Wearing the suit armor? Were they going to have a combat or something? This would be interesting! She wasn't sure if this one would fit in for her but the headmistress had mentioned about the armors had been charmed to shrink and fit them. Ah, okay then. She was quite struggling putting on her armor. Well, thankfully they didn't need to wear this everyday because it was quiet difficult to be worn, perhaps safety did not equal practicality then. Okay then, now she was ready to fight. But before that (or any kind of activity that the Professor had been preparing for then), there was still one thing Ava needed to answer. "I think... it also can be used to protect valuable possessions so some people carved it on their vault or jewelry box?" She wasn't very sure of her answer but... worth a try, right? |
For the record, Skylar had ZERO issues with helping anyone, even those whom she tended to have disagreements with. But what she did have issues with was when people tried to be SNEAKY about following her lead. Yes, we noticed you in our periphery, Zoryn Spinnet, because how could we not, when you were so intensely focused on us and completely messed up your carving. And your pronunciations. But thankfully, the Headmistress called Zoryn out about accuracy before Skylar could say something she regretted and she did appreciate the bright smile she got when her rune was glowing purple. Yes, focus on your task at hand, young anxious one. As for herself, they were going to be WEARING the armor suits? Which would shrink or expand to their individual sizes? That was actually really clever, which only made Skylar realize exactly how much more she had to learn. Slipping into the metal, she had to admit she felt oddly like the Tin Man in that Muggle classic film. And she could probably use a new heart, so this was extra fitting? Glancing at her metal clad arms and body and legs, she considered the question. "Probably could come in handy just around this castle, given how dangerous things seem to fall upon us each year." Could this rune be used as protection against the darkest arts??? What about unforgiveables? |
It seemed that he'd pleased the Headmistress with the success of his rune carving and invoking, which was always a good thing. And now they were being asked to put on the suit of armor. Though luckily it would adjust to fit them. A good thing, considering. Ronan carefully put on his armor feet first (since it would be harder to get the feet on with hands that were covered in metal), lifting the visor once every piece was on. And being awed as the suit moved to fit his small, slender frame. Wait, was that smoke coming from that door? Was there a dragon in there? That would explain the bang, actually. Before he could ask though, the Headmistress asked a question of her own. "Well, it would make a pretty cool tattoo.....if you could figure out a way to do it safely," he answered, hand in the air. Now he was wondering about the very logistics of that. How would one safely tattoo a rune on their body, yet still be able to invoke it? |
Anicent Runes wasn't her favourite subject in the world. She wasn't the best at it, and she knew she wouldn't be carrying on next year. But she was going to try. She could try, and that was all that she needed to do actually. It did stress her out a little though, but she did try to not get worried too much. There was no point worrying over it. It wasn't like she wanted to do anything with Runes in the future, so she didn't really need to pass. But she also didn't want to fail any of her exams. So hopefully she would pass. But now. She would think more about the class, and just try to not get distracted about worrying about her exams. For now anyway. Hmm. How to use the rune for protection. "I suppose you could carve it onto a broom to help with protection. Though, that may also ruin the broom. So maybe not?" |
BoG! (sorry for the wait) Having graciously returned everyone's greetings, the older blonde woman properly settled in to begin taking notes. Again, she didn't suspect anything would be amiss in the Headmistress' methods, but a thing couldn't be done for others and not for all. Besides, Marilyn enjoyed Runes. Always had, and was looking forward to a refresher. ....The loud BANGing noise was completely unsettling, however...and had her half out of her chair within seconds. Fight of Flight reflexes. Regina was assuring them that all was well, but Marilyn made a note on her clipboard, finding that too many unexpected interruptions, especially unidentified noises, could negativity affect the learning process; pulling too much focus from the lesson at hand. Merlin, she was also receiving instructions?...To carve runes into armor? Staring at Regina over the rim of her glasses, Marilyn carefully stood; settling the clipboard down on her chair. Carving runes was something she hadn't done in ages, but...surely it was just like riding a bike. The knowledge was there, all she had to do was apply it. Moving towards an open suit of armor, she withdrew her wand, focusing on the breastplate. Keeping in mind that this was about observing the lesson as a whole, she had one eye on the task at hand and the other on everything else. Mainly the small boy in Hufflepuff robes having a panic attack in real time. Had something else occurred?....Or had that been caused by the noises? Said Hufflepuff boy looked very familiar to her. She made a mental note to add all of this to her report. And also how astute Regina seemed to be in handling the issue quickly and efficiently. Clearly when her own child had been hurt, it hadn't been due to a lack of caring staff and administration. Something else to investigate further at a later time. Completing her carving in a way that was surprisingly dignified, the wonders of non-verbal magic, she took a step back to survey the overall appearance of her rune. The years of inactivity showed in the problems with scaling. Perhaps it should've been slightly bigger, given where it was placed, but Marilyn hadn't taken that into account. Ahem, was she also meant to chant the galdr? ....The students were doing a fantastic job with their chanting. Goodness, this really did take her back.... "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m. Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m." Since Algiz was meant to invoke Protection, the blonde kept her unborn child in mind as she focused 80% of attention on it. 20% on the "constant vigilance" factor. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m. Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m." Once hers was glowing purple along with everyone else's, she stepped back to retake her clipboard; quickly updating her notes. There had been little doubt that the Headmistress would make this easy for her today. As she wrote, half of her attention remained on the discussion. A question had been posed... "Jewelry and clothing might be the most obvious answer. Anything that might be worn on someone's person. Namely amulets or pendants." It was offered after the fact.... She was meant to answer, as well, wasn't she? Or had that just been meant for the children?.....Oops. "I apologize."....She had been asked to participate, after all. |
Ooooo, they'd be climbing into their suits of armor. Needless to say the lesson had just gotten a little more interesting for the young Ravenclaw. Jessa wasted no time getting into her own, pausing only a moment to observe as it fitted itself to her small frame. "What charm did you place to make them do this, Professor?" She asked, mildly intrigued by the process. There were a few guesses floating about her head but it couldn't hurt to get a more accurate response. Oh, but the redheaded woman had asked a question of them as well. Best answer it if she expected one in return. "I think we could use it right now." Dwelling in the present. The abstract was usually somewhat harder for the young girl to grasp unless it was before her and she could physically pull it apart herself and have a look at it herself. "Now that we've got these on, I reckon we'd be more likely to withstand whatever you end up throwing at us." Very very practical, that's what she was. |
AW NUTS! Her galdr wasn’t gonna work?? Well this was bogus. Zoryn nodded her head (visibly annoyed with the task but otherwise unfazed) and turned back to her suit of armor again. So, like, she had to do even MORE carving? Holy moly this was awful. You couldn’t pay Zoryn to want to do this stuff. Not even if it meant also getting to be the Headmistress. Yeah, she’d have to let Professor Hirsch know that she was no longer on that track. Anyways, the Gryffindor lifted her wand again and began trying to retrace the proper rune. “Intaglio Algiz,” okay now she could sort of see where her original carving hadn’t been… on point. “Intaglio Algiz, Intaglio Algiz, Intaglio Algiz, Intaglio Algiz, Intaglio Algiz,” over and over and over again until the point at which she had one BIG, FAT algiz carved out in the metal. Maybe since it was wider, it would work even better?!?!!? Yeah. This was the plan the whole time. “Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m,” she began chanting to get her stuff to glow purple and boy was it a lot of words. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m,” though none of the words even remotely sounded real. She continued to read them straight off the board as she tried over and over a couple of times. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m.” Her voice box was getting tired. "Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m,” and finally she got a slight glow, which felt like it was better than nothing and Zoryn was gonna take this as her cue to move forward because everyone else was already climbing into their suits of armor and Z didn’t want to be the last one to look like an epic transformer!!!!!!!!! The third year struggled taking each piece of the armor and putting it on, but finally she locked the helmet into place and WOW!!!!!! It fit her somehow???? AWESOME! “Maybe above your bed to protect your DREAMS from turning into nightmares and keep your sleep all nice and snuggly so that you don’t keep waking up in the middle of the night!” Like a muggle dreamcatcher or something!!! Zoryn liked this part of lessons. If only they could be less magic and more CREATIVITY. |
The earlier bang hadn’t entirely gone unnoticed by the second year, but Stasya had been more focused on getting the rune carving done right than anything else. Except for Derf’s panic attack, but she’d been too far from his suit of armor to help. Instead, she just resolved herself to make sure he was okay after class. Plus, she’d gotten a bit distracted by the realization the headmistress had stopped near her and complimented her work. Luckily, she hadn’t actually been carving at themoment, as she’d turned wide grey-green eyes to the woman as she’d been told she could move on to the galdr. Which she’d nearly forgotten about. Therefore, there had been a tiny glance over to her notes to remind herself of the weirdness that was the Algiz galdr, along with another wide-eyed glance at the smoke that was now seeping from the crack below the door the headmistress had walked through at the beginning of the lesson. What were they going to have to go up against? It just made it that much more important that she get the rune invoked so she’d be protected. Hopefully. “Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m),” she said, making sure she said the whole thing clearly. She guessed they didn’t have a lot of time, especially when the headmistress had moved on in the lesson and she panicked a little. Speeding her words up as she kept repeating the galdr. Only stopping when the rune had glowed purple the tiniest bit. It had been a bright glow though, so she hurriedly started putting the armor on incase whatever was in that other room burst in suddenly. Oh, and there had been that question. “Would protection spells be stronger if you carved the rune onto your wand?” Maybe? She was willing to try it if it worked. |
Text Cut: Individual Responses "Excellent answers, those of you who shared your thoughts with us! I thoroughly enjoyed your creative theoretical application of when and how you could use Algiz beyond the classroom," she said, getting ready to transition into the part of the lesson she knew everyone was eagerly waiting for now. "As Miss Cambridge hinted at in her answer, you all will be making good use of the energies of Algiz that have been invoked on your suit of armour. In the side room in the back, I have --" BANG! ... BANG! ... BANG! BANG! At that moment, the headmistress was cut off. The door of the side room was blasted off its hinges and a cloud of dark smoke burst into the classroom. Regina immediately grabbed hold of her wand, her metallic pieces of her armour clanging. Well, that hadn't gone exactly according to plan. Oh well. "Everybody, take out your wands NOW! Your goal is to put our rune-protected armour to the test and subdue our beastly guests in any humane manner you can think of. Work together as a team and stay vigilant!" OOC: We have made it to the main part of the lesson! =D As Regina stated, your goal is to subdue the beasts that will soon be making their appearance. Here are a few rules: 1) work together -- there is strength in numbers; 2) use your wands ... or don't for the LULZ; 3) any spell your character knows is fair game, so long as it doesn't torture, kill, etc. our beastly friends; 4) the rune-protected shields will DEFINITELY keep everyone safe -- at most the armour will be lightly scratched or dented; and 5) HAVE FUN! Our lesson will be wrapped up sometime in the evening on October 15th, so feel free to go bananas! Updates from out beastly friends will happen at least once per day -- fingers crossed for more than that if RL is not super crazy for me! -- until Sunday. |
If they were capable of human speech, the leader of the group likely would have been shouting something along the lines of 'CASH ME OUSSIDE, HOW BOUT DAT?' Wasting no time whatsoever, the hoard of skrewts inched their bodies past the threshold of the door. Wanting to fart fire out of their rear-ends, these beasties were ready for a fight. The creatures scattered around the room. The younger ones were pale, lobster-like, and only three feet in length. Others, grey in colour and looking like a bizarre giant scorpion-crab cross were much bigger in size. A number of them had stingers already erect, whereas others were revving up their suckers. Their bums were already blazing. Ready ... aim ... FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRE! |
*Deadpan* She wanted one....no two....no, no ten. This was like Defense Against the Dark Arts all over again and the Ravenclaw was definitely looking for specimens. Would the Headmistress let her have There was no doubt she'd be humane--can't study dead blast-ended skrewts.....or well....she could....but she'd rather the live ones for the study she had in mind. It wasn't until the fire started blazing about the room that Jessa snapped back to the present. Right, they were in class. There were living flamethrowers crawling about brilliantly and above all else.....she still wanted several. She jumped back, just as the flames rose before her hand immediately shot up. "If I catch this one right here, can I keep it?" Very very very important question. Even while she waited on a response, the Ravenclaw drew her wand, her intent on a body binding spell. The problem? She'd already decided she wouldn't cast another spell verbally until she could re-learned everything non-verbally. That was Valko's deal. He'd show her the spell he used, if she could become flawless at non-verbals. The fact nothing happened even with the wand movement and intent told her she still had a ways to go. Ugh. Come on. Intent. Focus. Wand movement...............still nothing. This was going to be more frustrating than she thought. |
"Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m...." The lilac glow was steadying...somewhat...although it seemed to fade between white and lilac in a really elegant gradient - although the Hufflepuff's eyes could not make out the purple hue and only the change in brightness and subtle hue change. So he could only ASSUME that he had things right...but more chanting never hurt anything sooooo... "Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m....Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m....Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m..."Elhaz, elhaz, elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, m m m m m m m m m...." And the Headmistress was talking again...but in all honesty Derf wasn't listening. He sorta couldn't really hear her over his own focus, attention to detail, and chanting. He was SUPPOSED to have his armour on by now, surely, but the third year was too determined to make the rune he had carve glow more brightly - because he could tell that his, compared to his classmates' was not entirely up to par yet. That is....until ANOTHER blast came...and then Derf went through such emotional whiplash his neck hurt. FIRST he was crestfallen for not identifying the source of all the noise because HOW could he have mistaken the DISTINCT sound of a BLAST-ENDED SKREWT?! But then there was unfiltered delight and a Cheshire grin spreading across his face because BLAST-ENDED SKREWTS! Not hearing ANY instructions, Derf hid himself behind his breastplate that he SHOVED into the ground to act as a kind of wall, squatting, and pointed his wand at the ground. "Aguamenti!" he commanded, wetting the ground with the water enough that he could submerge his fingers in the earth. Grinning when he felt some wiggling beneath his finger tips, the Hufflpuff pulled a fist full of mud out and pushed it around with his free hand. "One...two...three...four!" he chirped as he counted the worms with delight before peering out from behind his makeshift wall. Clearing his throat, he tossed one of the worms on the ground in front of him HOPING to entice one of the blast-ended skrewts towards him and readied his wand once again. He had YET to do this spell properly so...here went nothing. Giving a quick swish and flick, he spoke the incantation as clearly as possible, "Wingardium Leviosa!" To his delight, AGAIN, the spell worked and the worm was slowly rising into the air...but also bulging here and there... uuuuuuuuuuum....no.....nononononono.... The worm exploded with muffled pop...sending little bits of it in everywhich direction and leaving one very frazzled Hufflepuff in its wake. |
Awesome! Annd now he wanted a runic tattoo. His mum could hardly say no, since she had a couple of her own.... Before he could explore that thought further, whatever was in the side room had blasted the door off its hinges and escaped. Blast-Ended Skrewts. Well, he hadn't been too far off with his guess, since they did spew fire. Just out their butts instead of their mouths (there was a crude joke about farts in there somewhere). Ronan made sure the visor on his suit was shut before jumping out of the way of a jet of flame. Alright, NOW it's on. He took aim at the one closest to him. "Ducklifors!" Well, that shouldn't hurt it, anyway. Unless it had a weird fear of ducks. |
SPOILER!!: headmistress and skrewts Charlotte was semi-interested in the whole... charms protecting Kings Cross thing, and had once looked into it, only to stop when she realised it was SO much and also so much of exactly what was there was a secret kept somewhere she didn't have the patience to dig into, but it was still interesting, and also gratifying to have confirmation that her answer was correct. She smiled happily and continued adjusting herself to be comfortable in the armour. And she HEARD that, again! Another confirmation that they'd be getting to dabble with wand customization! Next level exciting, right? She smiled at Stasya, her excitement at the the prospect evident, and was about to say something when the next thing she knew, the professor herself was being interrupted by loud bangs. And soon the purpose of said armour was revealed. She almost had a conniption, she was so excited! Her wand was already out, though she noted that gripping it wasn't super easy in armour. So then, to start, a gripping charm, on herself. That was a good idea. She kept a wary eye on the approaching Blast Ended Skrewts, and had the fleeting thought that riding one of the bigger ones would be PRETTY exciting. No. Focus! She was going to focus! What did she know about the Skrewts? The boy ones had stingers and the girl ones had suckers. Their armour deflected most spells, right? Like her own, she supposed. And they were vulnerable on the belly! Yes! Also, she wanted to challenge herself. It was Ancient Runes right? So, why not use runes? Speaking of runes.... the Algiz one was protective right? But what if the heat from one of those skrewtsplosions ROASTED her alive? And if not her, then her WAND? WHAT IF that happened? Especially because she was the sort, with all her dueling expertise, to just get on in there. So which rune would be better for her purposes? Hagalaz or Isa? Hail or Ice? Char decided on ice in a split second and turned her wand on herself, casting Intaglio Isa, engraving a second rune onto her armoured self. She chanted as she moved into a better position. "isa isa isa i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i s s s s s s s s s s s s i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i." Would it glow the same colour, she wondered? Would it effect the colour the Algiz was glowing, as the runes began to adjust and work in harmony with each other? She was unsure, but she couldn't spare it too much more thought -it was time to go on the offensive! The invoked Isa could hopefully also have the effect of strengthening her freezing spells, which would help counter any firey blasts for sure AND hopefully slow them down if she could get at their... erm... propulsion... system. And there was one blasting itself right at her! She flicked her wand out, drawing a line sideways and then flicking up, the homing spell she'd learned.... in first year. "Persequoris Skrewt's belly!" The orangey light flared out, zagging towards, and hopefully homing in on its target. She wasn't combining it with anything else yet, but she would. This was just... a test. To see if it would be a useful aiming tool, one that she could combine with some Isa-enhanced freezing spells, if it all worked out! |
Oh, so the possession itself can be use to protect the possession itself. If only she knew about this earlier, maybe there would be nobody stole her underwear or even touch that to put a permanent sticking charm on it. After this class, Ava would put the algiz rune on her trunk so none of her precious possessions would be stolen anymore. But then suddenly the banging sound became louder and louder... Attack of Blast-Ended Skrewt? Seriously? Was this part of the lesson plan or this was 100% unplanned? Well, that didn't really matter though. Some of them already started fire and the only way that she could do now was conjuring the water. The Gryffindor non-verbally cast aguamenti and focused so hard to extinguish the fire. Also, what should she do next? Well, let's just focus on the fire itself shall we? Also, maybe Ronan should've used draconifors instead of ducklifors. How on earth ducks could protect them by the way? |
The second part was obviously harder to pronounce ("Elhaz elhaz elhaz, z z z z z z z z z, uz az iz ez uz, oz ez iz az uz, z z z z z z z z z, (m m m m m m m m m.") but she got it right in the end. The rune lit up with a vaguely purple hue, and not a moment too soon either. The headmistress had moved on to the second question, unfortunately she wasn't able to answer that one either because of the extra time she'd taken in getting the second half of activating her rune done. It did interest her to have confirmed what many of her classmates guessed: that Algiz could be used to protect personal possessions. So that was good to know. As soon as she got back to her common room, you could be sure she'd cast a protection rune on every single one of her possessions - as well as encouraging everyone else in her dormitory to do the same. Hopefully that would put a stop to their sociopathic stalker who wrecked their dormitory earlier in the year and who Kitty was SURE could be blamed for her bizarre possession. She had little time to dwell on that, because at that moment the doors barged open and in came some of the most utterly disgusting creatures she'd ever had the misfortune to lay her eyes on: Blast-Ended Skrewts. UGH! Just looking at those BUGS made her wish a giant would come and step on them. But the headmistress wanted them dealt with humanely, so Kitty would try not to harm them too much unless she had no other choice. Instead she stood next to Ava Burton and copied her. "AGUAMENTI!" |
Subdue the creatures?! Oh no, Scarlett hoped they were all creepy crawly sort of creatures, and not FUN cute ones, like Crups. She was sure they wouldn't be...although she considered some other creatures cute that others didn't. Like Clabberts. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize right away that the SKREWTS were attacking! OH NOOO! Ok, she had NO qualms about trying to take THESE suckers out. "Die skrewts, DIEEE!" she cried as she ran in to battle. Not really, of course. She didn't want them to actually DIE. That would be awful. Still, she had to do something to stop them from attacking her. She pointed her wand at the bum - or was it the head? These creatures made NO SENSE - of course nearby and silently cast Aguamenti towards it, watching as the stream of water shot right at the creature. Hopefully that would subdue it, and she wouldn't have to see if this rune charmed armor worked or not... |
The blondie (Jessa) wanted to do what?! As if it almost understood her -- but not really since it didn't speak stupid human -- one of the adult male skrewts blasted a ball of flame at her as he made its way over to her at full speed. The beast did not wait to attack. Its stinger was already flinging toward her with full intent to get to the being within that shiny metal. ----- One of the younger baby girl skrewts watched in total amazement as her mommy and daddy went off to show those two-legged things who was in charge around here. LIKE A BAWS. She was so inspired by them ... and hungry. She was so hungry. She was also very angry because her feetsies were now wet. Her small body turned toward the boy (Derfael) and inched forward. The smell of worms made her sniff. Suck, suck, suck, suck. Oooooooooh! Look at that! Her reflection in the boy's armour made her look #flawless. ----- A medium sized skrewt was just chilling, minding her own business when one of the humans (Ronan) was clanking around nearby. Loud noises were leaving her body, more out of confusion than anything. And it was that confusion that made her angry. She charged forward ... and then stopped. "QUACK! QUACK!" ----- What was that girlie (Charlotte) muttering about? The skrewt shrieked. Did she just call her fat?! ERMAGERD. The teenage lady skrewt eyed up the girl, waiting for the human to make her move before she made her own move. The orange light caused it to noisily suck the air, a threat that her suckers would be doing their worst soon enough. The sucking of the skrewt caused another of the skrewts, a male one, to realize what was going on. OH MY GAWD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? ATTACK! The second skrewt flared his rear at the human and tooted flames at her. BACK OFF, TWO-LEGS! THAT'S MY BAE! ----- HOW RUDE! How rude of that two-legger to extinguish that beautiful fire it had started. The skrewt flung his stinger toward the girl (Ava) and loudly tapped his feet to get the attention of the others. This one was a threat, and her friend (Kitty) was too. Water was not their ally. Soon three other skrewts began to approach, one coming on either side of the girl as the original skrewt continued to lash for the metal armour. The others steadily moved forward, two stingers erect and two suckers who were thirsty for blood. Targets locked. Bums loaded. HERE COMES THE FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRE! ----- The skrewt she (Scarlett) had casted a stream of water at was facing the opposite direction. But, out of no where, another skrewt, a female one, skirted on over, taking the hit for her brother. Water soon made contact instead with the female skrewts its rear-end, causing the poor beast to emit a loud and angry noise. She attempted to blast fire toward her with nothing but revenge on her mind, but she could not. Seeing this and sensing his friend's anger, he arched his stinger and swung at her ferociously. |
Zoryn hadn't exactly figured out how to move in this thing quite yet as her body was very stiff with all this metal on it. The skrewts were closing in though!!!! And Zor NEEDED to join in on the fun!!!!! With a clang-clang-clang-clang, she maneuvered herself around so that she was in front of one of them and lifted her wand to cast the most horrifying, most powerful, most SCARY...... "Aguamenti!!!" Take that idiot sandwich!!!!!!!!!!!!! .... Okay, so she panicked. But aguamenti was the spell she was best at (((arguably))). It just felt like the right thing to do. |
Derf was wiping a bit of worm from his face when, well, EVERYTHING seemed to happen at once. It was hard to really catch everything, particularly when he had one of the creatures so close to his person - LITERALLY on the other side of his breastplate! - but he could certainly hear the spells his classmates were casting and that was beneficial. But then a little lingering thought hit him - something the Headmistress had said and, er, he had selectively not heard until this moment. They were all supposed to work TOGETHER and they all tooooootally were not. Although there was a particular spell that many were casting and, well, great minds think alike? Peering around his armour, the Hufflepuff caught the creature...admiring itself in the reflection from his breastplate...well then. He hadn't taken the creature to be VAIN...but this was certainly helpful. Although he could not speak for the rest of the creatures if they too would find their own reflections appealing. Although he WAS impressed that they were self-aware enough to recognize themselves. Like...that was SUUUUUUUUUPER neat! Derf was calculating a plan of attack, everyone using Aguamenti somehow, when he heard Scarlett shouting about the skrewt DYING. "NO YOU CAN'T!" the third year shouted as he jumped to his feet with his wand already pointed at the older girl. And since, er, Aguamenti was on his mind...that was what he ended up casting. Right at her. Oops. It took about another half second to realize that one of the creatures was going AFTER her too (well, karma was funny that way) but Derf couldn't very well justify the death of a classmate - especially one that was helping him with Divination - and soon his wand was flourished at her again. "Protego!" |
Whoa whoa WHOA! Jessa staggered back a step when a ball of fire was suddenly hurled in her direction. Having tried and failed at a non-verbal protego, she didn't think standing directly in line with it would have been such a good idea. The suit, she had full confidence in but for the patch of exposed skin on her face, she wouldn't be taking that chance. Yikes. Look at that speed. That persistence. Look at it headed right for her. It SO wanted to come back to the makeshift lab she'd created up on the sixth floor in one of the old, disused classrooms. Yep. It'd heard about the other test subjects currently housed up there and the way they were well taken care of. It WANTED to be poked and prodded under a microscope. There wasn't a second to lose. Jessa leaped at it, meeting it half way as she fell to the floor. One way or another, she would be keeping this thing. The Headmistress hadn't said no, making this fair game. "C'mere you rotten tempered thing." Jessa grabbed for whatever part of it she could manage, forsaking her wand completely in the moment. |
BoG! (mentions!) . . . Yes, Marilyn had been more than happy to play along for the sake of the lesson. So that things ran smoothly. Solidarity, but....this was going to be a hard "no" from her. Apologies, Regina. Taking several steps back from the armor she'd been doctoring with her rune carving, the older blonde woman whipped out her wand, preparing to block off the back part of the classroom. So that she could make her observations in peace, with some guarantee of safety. Besides, there was no way she was squeezing her body into that armor. Her enlarged belly wouldn't allow it. And if that hadn't been enough to convince her....a young girl (Jessa) had just discarded her wand and flung herself down at one of the horse-sized creatures. It seemed counter-productive to what this class was supposed to be teaching today...Protection, correct? Why did Marilyn get the sense that she was meaning to collect it? Continuing to take steps back, until she was in a good spot, she moved her wand in a wide arching motion, throwing up a strong shield to keep the Blast-Ended Skrewts at bay. Away from herself, anyway. As far as the students were concern, Marilyn thought this was a brilliant learning exercise. The hands-on approach was truly the best way. And yes, she'd have thought that even if her own child had been present. It didn't get any easier out in the real world... Eyes darting around at the sudden shouting...only to find the same small Hufflepuff boy from before (Derf), the blonde snorted. She idly wondered if he was this dramatic in all his lessons. But then again, Marilyn supposed it wouldn't have been Hogwarts if the children attending weren't next-level theatrical. Teenagers. It was a wonder how the staff team wasn't entirely overwhelmed.... Oh, and Charlotte was handling herself well among the fray. Also, the other Gryffindor boy (Ronan). Transfiguration was an interesting tactic. The Gryffindors were appropriately Gryffindoring. Yes, she saw you, Zoryn. Recollecting her clipboard, she retook her seat and began adding additional comments. |
"Thanks, Kitty." She noticed the Head Girl had joined her to extinguish the fire. Regardless what had happened to the Ravenclaw girl (and yes, she heard the rumor about her), Ava did not mind her help in here. Weren't they supposed to work together against these hybrid creatures? But Merlin, it seemed like they made the skrewt unhappy by extinguishing their fire and they seemed attempting to made an attack to them. Ugh, the Gryffindor could just send stunning charm or petrified them but the Headmistress had warned them to treat the invaders in any humane manner. So that means, those two spells were not an option. How about ensnarement charm that Hirsch had taught them? Heh, it barely worked on a little pervert potato-head creature, let alone on a beastly blast-ended skrewts in front of them right now. Ava muttering the galdr once again until it glowed brightly. "Protego totalum!" She aimed her wand to the herd of skrewts. |
Ha, ha, it worked! There was now a duck standing where the blast-ended skrewt once was. A much less dangerous creature by half. One that could be subdued by simply giving it some bread or a cracker. There wasn't much time to celebrate, however, as there were plenty more of the dangerous creatures running around to transfigure. Ronan took aim at another one of the creatures. "Ducklifors!" Hopefully, it would work a second time. And a third, since he had taken aim at another of the attacking creatures. "Ducklifors!" Their names, in his head anyway, were Quinn, Lynn and Fin, by the way. |
No, she hadn’t realized that Char had basically answered her question already. There was that little detail of SMOKE coming from underneath that door that had distracted Stasya enough that she’d neglected to pay attention to what the others had been saying, not to mention getting the rune activated on her suit of armor. As it was, she was still not entirely sure it was as strong as it ought to be, but at least the other spell had worked. The suit of armor had adjusted itself to fit her long limbs. Plus, the headmistress hadn’t seemed entirely disappointed with her answer. She’d just said that they’d be discussing that later. So she wasn’t too bothered by it all, and besides, the mysterious door had literally been blasted off its hinges to reveal a horde of skrewts. Was that the right word? As the others had broken away from each other to go on the offensive, the second year had gotten distracted by wondering what exactly the proper word was for a group of skrewts. Maybe that was something to ask Professor Wayland. If the CoMC professor knew about this lesson because she really didn’t want to get the headmistress in trouble. But she figured she had to have asked him, because she’d obviously had to get the skrewts from somewhere. Plus, the fact the headmistress had been clear about that they weren’t supposed to hurt the creatures… Except that didn’t change the fact all the fire and skrewts were a little scary. And there was Jessa trying to catch a skrewt, Derf exploding worms and weirdly getting a skrewt to flirt with its reflection…Ronan turning them into ducks. Okay. Ducks weren’t scary, but she didn’t think that was subduing the skrewts. Neither was telling them to die, like Scarlett had done, and she’d been tempted to follow Derf’s lead and deal with that except she didn’t. Instead, she had found herself moving over toward Charlotte, slipping a little on all the water collecting on the floor. She was curious about that spell the older Gryffindor had cast. That and she sent a freezing spell in the direction of the nearest skrewt just to stay safe. She didn’t exactly trust the skrewts, even if she’d rather not hurt them. |
An average-sized skrewt was waltzing her way across the room when she was suddenly SOAKED. WITH. WATER. Naturally, the create took offense to this. She had been minding her own business, making her way downtown, walking fast, faces passed, and was homebound. She hadn't even been blasting fire at anyone! But now she was FURIOUS. The female skrewt didn't hesitate to latch herself onto the girl's (Zoryn) armour and start sucking away. Where was the blood? Why wasn't this shiny thing quenching her thirst for revenge? ----- The skrewt that had been admiring her reflection in the shield was quite taken aback when the boy (Derfael) jumped to his feet and started blasting water at one of the other humans in the room, taking the shield with him. It was triggering. It made her realize why her mommy and daddy were fighting these ... these ... THESE MONSTERS. She spat fire out of her bum at him. As for the skrewt that was savagely thrusting its stinger at a girl (Scarlett), its stinger made contact with the invisible shield the boy had casted. It continued to whack its stinger over and over and over again. Eventually the shield would start to break, granted the armour itself would produce enough protection. ----- "C'mere you rotten tempered thing." The male skrewt was now being touched by the human (Jessa), which both annoyed it and humored it. He didn't like being touched, and at the same time he felt that this was a very stupid human. He was bigger than her. If she wanted to wrestle, then it was go time. His stinger made contact with the girl's armour. Then again. And again. ----- A skrewt had caught sight of the older human (Marilyn) and was casually inching toward her. He had already targeted her as easy prey, considering she was backing away from everyone and was without armour. It's stinger made contact with the magical barrier she had produced. Knock, knock? ----- The four skrewts made quick work to attack the girls (Ava, Kitty). The original managed to make contact with one of the protective suits the human's were wearing, his stinger banging against it a few times. As for the other three, the female skrewts were attempting to suck at their feet and the other male continued to shoot fire in their direction. Then a large protective shield was made from magic, though the armour was enough to keep the human's safe, had been casted and blasted the four skrewts away. That didn't stop them from quickly returning, stingers banging against and fire being blasted at the barrier to weaken it. ----- While the transfiguration worked the first time, the attempts that followed didn't exactly go as planned. The spells that the boy (Ronan) had casted after caused the skrewts that were targeted to have another layer of hybridity. 'Quinn' was still quacking away, trying not to get caught in the line of actual fire. Her wings were flailing about, causing her to take flight even though there really wasn't anywhere for her to take refuge. As for the other skrewts, well, 'Lynn' had sprouted feathers that were catching on fire. 'Fin' had grown duck wings, however. The beast was flapping those wings, levitating slightly off the floor, blasting fire at the boy and lashing his stinger at him. ----- The skrewt that was sending fire at one of the human's (Charlotte) was now frozen thanks to another two-legger (Stasya). The sucking female skrewt that was noisily threatening the older Gryffindor now turned on the younger, seeing that her bae wasn't moving. NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! She was never going to let Jack go. Never. The skrewt revved up her rear and released the flames. This place was going to be lit. |
Regina, in a similar fashion to Marilyn (no judgement for her not wanting to be involved with the students; this lesson was for them after all -- the armour was just a precuation), stayed out of the action. However, instead of blocking off part of the room, the headmistress was still vulnerable to the skrewts. The shield would be enough to protect her, even if one of the creatures decided to attack her. "No, Miss Cambridge, you are NOT keeping any of the skrewts," the woman stated in response to her question. These weren't pets or anything to be experimented on any further. As the skrewts continued to roam free around the room, the woman was intently watching the reactions of the students. She was observing, mentally taking not of the spells they were casting and how well they were faring. Algiz was at work here, folks! The armour they all were wearing was and would keep them safe from the flames as well as any suckers and stingers. Well, almost all of them were wearing the armour. There was a lone Hufflepuff who, for some reason, had apparently missed that crucial instruction. "MR. ASHBURRY-HAWTHORNE, PUT THAT ARMOUR ON RIGHT NOW!" Honestly. Common sense. Eyes moved to the others, impressed with their usage of spells. Aquamenti was doing them some favours, at least when it came to extinguishing the skrewts' flames. Though was it really working in subduing the beasts? Regina noticed that it seemed to make them only more upset. The orange light coming from Charlotte's wand made the woman curious, wondering just what the girl was going to do. The Isa carving that was on her shield now was promising. Suddenly the sound of quacking filled her hears. What the -- oh. The headmistress' head turned toward Ronan, who had successfully transfigured one of the skrewts into a duck. Needless to say, she was impressed. Though she was a bit taken aback at the one that now had duck wings. Merlin's beard... An approving smile was given toward Stasya, who had just frozen one of the skrewts. That was one of several ways to go about stopping them. She hoped the others were willing to think of the other methods that could be used in this situation. Lastly, her focus landed on Kitty and Ava. So far the two were getting on pretty well, and Ava had just casted a strong shield. Though was the shield really necessary? "Miss Burton, while I am impressed by your magical shield, remember that your armour does have the energies of Algiz surging through it. There is really no need for magical shields to be casted." Unless you were an amour-less Derfael. Speaking of not casting magical barriers or even using a wand at all, Jessa caught the woman's attention once more. Wow. Talk about putting the power of Algiz to the test. "Alright, everyone! In ten more minutes I want to see these skrewts restrained. Figure out how to humanely stop them with magic," she briefly instructed to the whole group. "And keep in mind that some spells will work more efficiently than others. Regardless of what you cast, however, your armour will protect you." So, if they made a mistake, at most the armour would be lightly scratched, burned, or dented by the skrewts. OOC: Hello, everyone! You all are doing great! Just a heads-up that the lesson will be wrapping up tomorrow in roughly 34 hours from the time this post was made. I'm hoping to get a couple more SKREWT! posts made before then, so keep on posting. :) |
lol someone please help us? HAHA!!! The water was working!!! The Skrewt looked like a soggy transfiguration assignment left in the middle of the courtyard during a monsoon. Zoryn let out an echoing LAUGH, before realizing that the Skrewt was making it's way towards her at a horrendously fast pace!!!! !!!! !!!!! !!!!! And while the amor was good at protecting, unfortunately also made running away VERY difficult. Her lets were too stiff for this!!!!!!!!!!!! By the time the skrewt had a hold of her--presumably to suck out her insides--it was too late to do anything other than let out a blood curdling SCREAM. "SOS, SOMEONE HELP ME!!! I'M TOO YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL AND FULL OF POTENTIAL TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!" She was clearly going to die right here right now and the world didn't even know her name yet. What was the point of being dead if no one was gonna be sad about it except for her parents????? Zor needed the world to be in mourning. This was no way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "AHHH HELP!!!!!!" |
Helping Zoryn since we can't keep one Wait.....WHAT? Merlin's beard she wished the woman had told her that BEFORE she'd gone and decided to wrangle with this thing. Don't get her wrong, the Ravenclaw didn't care that this thing was bigger than her and naturally weighed more, she cared that she'd wasted all this time only to find out it could be hers. It wasn't like she'd keep it forever....just...until she was done getting information. No? Fine. Jessa took hold of the stinger that tried to penetrate her armour and shoved it away from her before reaching for her wand again. The young girl cast the only spell she could manage non-verbally, the levitation charm to get it off its feet and more importantly off her. To be completely fair, non-verbally, the spell was shaky at best but she'd already caved to carve the rune verbally, she couldn't risk trying something else when she knew this was literally the only thing she could half get her wand to cooperate with--especially with that time warning....and ....Zoryn screaming....? Not waiting to see how high the skrewt would eventually rise, the Ravenclaw rolled from under the hopefully rising frame and turned toward the Gryffindor. "Zoryn, you've got armour, remember? It can't actually hurt you--unless you did the spell wrong." Which...they probably shouldn't have waited to find out. Yeah. Again, Jessa cast a rather shaky wingardium leviosa non-verbally, hoping for the best while prepared to step in further at the worst. |
It was nice working on a team with Ava. Kitty probably would have overwhelmed if she'd tried her strategy alone. The Skrewts were more agitated than ever after they'd put out the fire and now were coming at them three at a time! Kitty raised her wand arm defensively, but Ava's Protego spell combined with Algiz pushed them back temporarily."Nice one!" she shouted above the roar of chaos to be heard. But then the Skrewts were advancing again. Kitty pointed her wand at one of the Skrewts and shouted, "Stupify!" And how dare anyone suggest stunning them was inhumane. Stupify wasn't capable of injury and it didn't even hurt. All it did was keep its target incapable of motion, which was much less than what the Skrewts were trying to do to them! Er...hopefully the Headmistress saw it that way too and wouldn't be angry. |
Over by Zoryn and Jessa .... !!!! Mention of Derf's worm splattering too o.o What in Merlin's beard just happened?!? One moment there was lecture and the next there was a bang there was an army of skrewts blasting fire from their bums. And Jessa was trying to capture one? And there was water shooting around and wasn't this Runes class?? Not Defense? Not Creatures? Then again, the headmistress seemed to have an affinity for creatures in her lessons and it was kind of a way to show them the practical application of runes, so it actually made sense. Only thing was that Skylar was iffy about defense, mostly due to lack of confidence strangely. And worm guts shower? Where in the world?!? The fifth year glanced around for wherever the worm guts may have come from, bewildered. Stare. Why couldn't she think about what charms or jinxes to use? Why was she just standing there ? Waiting for an attack ?? And then she heard it; SOS, SOMEONE HELP ME!!! I'M TOO YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL AND FULL OF POTENTIAL TO DIE!!!!!!!!!! a voice that she recognized as the person who had been staring at her rune carving and chanting. So dramatic, Zoryn Spinnet, and while Skylar really could care less about the younger girl, she also didn't want her to die. Who would she pick on for the remainder two years she had left at Hogwarts? Mentally considering her options, she aimed her wand at its underside casting impedimenta at the one that seemed to have latched itself onto Zoryn's armor. |
The third year had yet again found himself a complete and utter mess in Ancient Runes. Then again it would probably be easier if one were to count on their fingers how many lessons and activities he did NOT find himself in some sort of predicament. At least he was not under a Full Body-Bind Curse at the edge of the Forbidden Forest this time? Yeah. Looking at YOU Head Girl. And staying faaaaaaaaaaaaar away from her wand this time around too. Getting struck with one of those this lesson could be... "WOAH!" HOLY FLAMING SALAMANDERS THAT HAD BEEN CLOSE! Derf just BARELY managed to avoid some butt!fire from one of the creatures with a well timed roll. Only problem was that he ALSO sorta lost his wand in the process and now had to go crawling back over to get it. To make matters worse...the Headmistress was yelling at him. Well, it WAS a warranted yell and even the Hufflepuff could admit to that. Too much time trying to invoke his rune and then Scarlett was talking about these magnificent creatures DYING and, well, there was a lot of stimuli going on, okay? "S-S-Sorry!" he squeaked apologetically to the Headmistress as he booked it back over towards his breastplate that was still stuck in the ground. Bending at the knees, the third year tugged and tuuuuuuuuuugged until he pulled it free and then scampered over to one of the remaining suits to start the process of FINALLY getting himself in proper attire. Which meant loads of CLANKING and DINGING noises as he tried to do so QUICKLY because he was super worried about the skrewts and how agitated they were all getting with all the water being thrown at them. But HEY! At least his rune was still glowing, right? Small victories. |
The male skrewt was not happy that his stinger had been grabbed by the human (Jessa). It also wasn't enjoying the fact that it was now off its own feet. As it rose in the air, the beast swung its stinger at the girl, though was unable to reach her. It was time for Plan B. FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRE! ----- The skrewt was still sucking away at the girl's (Zoryn) armour, unable to penetrate it in spite of all the screaming that was coming from her mouth. It was infuriating. Even the occasional flame from her bum wasn't doing anything besides give the suit a light burn mark. The Ravenclaw's (Jessa) nonverbal levitation spell didn't affect the skrewt much besides levitate one end of it, but the end with the suckers remained strong. The beast remained attached to the shield until the Slytherin's (Skylar) jinx sent the skrewt flying off of it, flames soaring through the air. It was the screaming that attracted the other skrewts that were nearby. Four of them, in fact, were now approaching the trio, one spewing out flames and the other three rapidly swinging their stingers toward them. ----- The thick armour of the skrewt was enough to keep it safe from the girl's (Kitty) stunning spell. Once it made contact with its outtershell, the spell ricochetted off of it up toward the ceiling. Had it been casted elsewhere on the creature, it likely would have knocked it unconscious. ... But there were better spells that could be used on these hybrids to stop them. The skrewt that was targeted by the girl then turned its attention onto her, blasting fire from its rear. The other three skrewts continued to approach, one following the same action by screwing out flames and the other two attacking from either side of the girls by swipping their stingers at them. ----- The skrewt that had sent some fire his (Derfael) way made a point of tracking the boy. She was still quite upset that she was unable to look at herself. Now that he was clanking and dinging around, it made it significantly easier for her to watch him and wait for the opportune moment. Joining the ranks beside her was her BFF. After a little rear end flaring, the two then approached with loud sucking noises and released their angry fire. |
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Another problem. They now had not one, but FOUR skrewts charging at her, Jessa and Zoryn. Uhhhhh.............. run away? At least that was Skylar's first thought, which probably wasn't the best option, since they were meant to use their wands against these skrewts, yet not harm them. Her jinx worked well before, but to aim for three that were swinging their stingers and then the fourth one spewing flames, making her armor heat up even more... yea, not happening. Yes, run away, was still on the foremost of her brain. But instead, she jabbed her wand forward at the three swinging their stingers, casting "Incarcolvo!" and hoping to entrap them in a mesh cage. Please, please, please. |
Jessa & Skylar The Gryffindor continued screaming until she saw Jessa coming to her rescue!!!!! “Oh,” was all she had to say to the Ravenclaw’s knowledge. Well, it was still kinda scary. Even if it was all pretend and her Algiz was actually gonna keep her safe ’n all. Jesse Cambridge was, quite literally, her knight in shining armor. Only…. Whatever she did didn’t actually work and Zoryn was still being latched on to by the MONSTER. Which meant, screaming would once again resume. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Though a few moments later the skrewt went flying away!!! VICTORY!!!!! She turned to thank the Ravenclaw for BOTH of her acts of bravery, but instead of seeing Jessa’s wand raised this time… She noticed Skylar’s in the air. Uh. Never mind. Zoryn would rather die than have to admit the fact that she owed this Slytherin her life now. Could the skrewt please come back? … NOT FOUR OF THEM. JUST ONE!!!!!!!!!! Man, it really is true what they say. Gotta watch what you wish for, GEEZ. Unsure of how to handle the situation, the Gryffindor raised her wand the same time as Skylar and shouted a loud, “Rictusempra!!” At one of the four beasts that were bounding in on them. Her spell arsenal was weak, ok? |
Scarlett thought it was kind of sweet that the one skrewt decided to jump in front of it's...sibling? Significant other? She wasn't sure. Did they even have genders? That didn't matter right now. Either way, it was kind of nice, and she let out a triumphant "WOO!" when her spell made contact and managed to inflict a hit on the creature. Then her thoughts were cut off as she heard Derf screaming in her ear, and then suddenly...she was all WET. WHAT? She let out a little shriek, surprised by the spell, and then she toppled over. There had been a skrewt running RIGHT behind her, and she tripped over its stupid scaly self and fell RIGHT on her bum, her wand flying out of her arm and into the fray. WHY had he done that again!? She hadn't even heard what he had been screaming (or registered WHY he had been screaming in the first place). She DID see, however, that he was in the target zone for one particularly cranky skrewt, and because of her little tumble, she didn't have her wand and couldn't try and stop him. Whoops. "Derf! Look out!" she cried. She was still mad at him, but she didn't want the kid to get FRIED either. |
Ooops? Ronan didn't know rather it was distraction or what, but something had caused his transfiguration to go horribly wrong the second and third time around and instead of three ducks flapping around and trying to find a safe place to get, there was one. One of the skrewts had sprouted flaming feathers that luckily seemed to be keeping it busy. The other had sprouted duck wings, however and was now flying....and aiming right for him! He quickly threw himself to the floor and started rolling away with clanging sounds. Once he felt that he was out of the line of fire, he sat up, aimed his wand at the one he had planned on calling Fin and cast a nonverbal Finite (the only spell he could do nonverbally at this point in time) at him. This was going swimmingly. #sarcasm |
short post from sick me <3 SPOILER!!: skrewts, stas, hawthorne Well that hadn't gone completely as planned but not completely against the plan either. "Thanks Stas!" Char hollered, when the younger girl jumped in to help. But she couldn't pause for too long. Charlotte redoubled her attack, making it a combo this time, and non-verbal because it was easier to do that if you were tangling with so many incantations at once. So it was Glacius Persequoris Skrewt's belly this time, and a shot of ice at the skrewt's unprotected and vulnerable underside, with the homing spell to help be sure it got there, and the added oomph of the isa rune to help the freezing spell do its thing. A second blast of the same followed the first, but at a different Skrewt. Char didn't spare a glance for the Headmistress when she spoke out but she kept it in mind: she was going to be as humane as possible! No hurting the skrewts! But freezing them a bit could certainly stop them in their tracks. |
Well that'd been a relief, for however long it lasted. It felt good knowing the spell had worked non-verbally even with the wad of fire being sent her way but the feeling couldn't last when her second attempt had barely done anything. Jessa bit her lip, marginally concerned for Zoryn in light of the fact she hadn't actually managed to save her. Thankfully Skylar stepped up and they could get back to the--HOLY KNEAZLE THERE WERE FOUR OF THEM!!! jhsbgfjguregwouegfo Jessa watched both Skylar and Zoryn throwing off spells at the creatures but all she could do was stand and stare for several minutes. As she'd just proven, her levitating was only so good and no more if she insisted on casting non-verbally and she DID insist. If she kept leaning back on her verbals like a crutch, she would never master her non-verbals and Valko would never teach her that curse. Of course...when she'd first decided to quit cold turkey....she didn't think it'd have such an impact on her lessons. Merlin's soggy beard. UH...uh.......could she just...stand here....? Didn't seem like an option, they were moving in too quickly. Once again she tried a non-verbal body binding, praying to Merlin that SOMETHING would happen. |
Viv giggled. Why would anyone want to keep a Blast-Ended Skrewt? Why?! They were so dangerous! She continued to cast spells on the Skrewts! She also giggled at Ashbury-Hawthorne. He could die! Professor Hawthorne cares for her safety. Aguamenti was an awesome spell. She wished she could drink the water being conjured. She was so thirsty! She then looked over at Ronan! She asked him, "Out of every incantation you could conjure you transfigure your skrewt into a duck?!" She was bemused. She then started restraining her skrewt. She stunned them with Stupefy and remembered her armor. |
BoG! Though she felt safe behind the spelled blockade, the noise level in the Runes classroom was still mildly stress-inducing. The key, however, was that she could now properly watch and pay attention to all aspects without needing to keep her guard up sky-high. A lot would've probably been missed if her attention stayed split for the entire lesson. Having just made herself comfortable again, the blonde glanced between the various students "battling" against the Skrewts, and her notepad. The one thing that really impressed the former Slytherin was how....determined they all seemed to be in protecting one another. Camaraderie was refreshing to witness, when one spent so much time in the competitive world of Wizarding World politics. The Ministry could be very dog-eat-dog, and...these children weren't nearly as jaded yet. That brought a tiny smile to her face... Attention ripped back by one of the creatures trying to invade her private bubble, Marilyn squinted. She didn't feel her magic was faulty enough to allow it entry, but... Well, if the need to defend herself arose, she'd be ready. Surely something as simple as...Immobulus would work. Or even one of her daughters favorites; Ebublio. Encasing it in an indestructible bubble... Not nearly as theatrical as what these children were coming up with, but it'd do the job in a pinch. ....And again, Gryffindors. Bless the Gryffindors for their entertainment value. |
The rootin' tootin' fire beasties grew closer and closer as each second went by. They were wasting no time to seek revenge, some because their pals had been rudely treated and others because, well, this place flat out agitated them. These humans were SO RUDE. And the spell that the girl (Skylar) had cast was just downright mean. It was NOT fetch. It just simply wasn't going to happen. These humans were mean girls. And the three of them being trapped inside a cage together was definitely not grool. Even though they had been stopped from moving forward, their flames, more intense than before, were still able to get through the bars. The remaining skrewt was left to her own defences. Though it didn’t take long for her to be hit by one of the human's (Zoryn) spells. In spite of the magic that had been casted on it, it did no good. The skrewt's armour made it nearly impossible for it to be tickled. If anything, all the spell did was move it back a foot or two. It then began to move forward once more ... only to freeze, half-way at least, thanks to another one of the two-legger's (Jessa) spells. Half of its body was limb, causing it to fall to the floor. It's still functional side made it move in a circle, going nowhere at all. ----- WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, DUMB DUMB! Gawsh. Humans sure had a knack for acting like they owned the place, did they? The skrewt that one of the girls (Scarlett) tripped over shot out a burst of fire from her rear and moved forward, making sucking noises. She was going to show this human that this was the year of the skrewt. With her being wandless, this was sure to be easy. If only that armour wasn't here. She was thirrrrrrrsty for blood. ----- 'Fin' flapped his way around the room, following the boy (Ronan) the best he could with his new body feature. These wings sure were coming in handy! Out of his rear, flames continued to spew. He following the clanging sound and locked his target in, the stinger ready to strike an impactful blow... And then the skrewt fell to the ground, the duck wings disappearing. The beast angrily let out a great blast of flame and charged. ----- With some spellwork and the help of an additional rune, one of the skrewts was frozen on the spot. She was just about to release some fire out of its bottom, but suddenly the flame died out and she could no longer move. With all its might, the beast tried to break free of this horrible trick, but was not able to do so. A second skrewt soon joined the ranks. At least he would be frozen with his love. #relationshipgoals Well played, human (Charlotte). Well played. ----- More water was conjured thanks to another tiny human (Viv), which only upset the skrewts nearby even more. What was it with humans using water? Didn’t they know that FIRE was good? Sheeeeeesh! And then stunning was just RUDE. A few of the baby skrewts, whose outer shell was still developing, easily were knocked out. This of course had a pride. Mommy and daddy skrewt did not appreciate this one bit. No, they did not. So, naturally, the two decided to teach the human a lesson that would be burned in her memories forever. FIIIIIIIIIIRE! FIIIIIIIIIIRE! FIIIIIIIIIIRE! ----- The skrewt that had been knocking on the woman's (Marilyn) shield was, to put it mildly, hating on the human hardcore. How rude of her to not let her inside her private bubble. Was that how she treated everyone? The skrewt would have at least let the human come inside her dwelling had the roles been reversed. Granted the human would've been roasted. Speaking of roasting, the skrewt angrily spat out fire from its backside. FIGHT LIKE A MAN, YOU COWARD! |
Five ... four ... three ... two ... one ... After letting the students take ownership of their own learning and letting them figure out what would and wouldn't work against the blast-ended skrewts, Regina then stepped out onto the battlefield. Wand at the ready, the headmistress made her way to the centre of the classroom. Naturally, this caused a few of the skrewts to turn on her, blasting fire in her direction and swinging at her with their stingers. Of course, she was unphased by this. She let the flames hit her armour, causing a very faint burn to appear, and simply flicked her wand at the male skrewts without speaking. A bright purple light, along with a purple flame and smoke, appeared one moment and the next the targeted skrewts were floating in the air in a bubble that they and their flames could not get through. "We've now come to the end of the class period, ladies and gentlemen. And it looks like we all managed to survive thanks to the protective energies of Algiz. Congratulations. Remember to keep this rune in mind should you ever need a source of protection in the future. "Before you go, lend me a hand by stopping our fiery friends from roaming free and setting the entire castle ablaze. I strongly recommend Immobulus or Ebublio for the quickest results," she instructed. "Once all of the skrewts have been contained, you may take off your armour and head to your next class." Another skrewt was then trapped within the confines of a strong, large bubble. She watched as it floated up toward the ceiling, bobbing when it bumped into another of the bubbled skrewts. "No homework, by the way." Someone was clearly in the holiday spirit. OOC: Thank you all so much for participating in this lesson! I hope you had fun with it. I will keep this thread open for another 24 hours for you to make your character departures. Again, thank you for being a part of this lesson, and I hope to see you when our next lesson comes around! |
BoG! Oh, thank goodness. Giving the Shrewt confronting her shield a withering stare, Marilyn quickly maneuvered her wand to lower the defense...only to immobilize the creature in the next moment with Ebublio. The young Hufflepuff boy seemed especially attached to the lives of these creatures. Even though they released flames from their backends. Comical as that might sound, it was actually repulsive to witness. This lesson had been insightful. "Regina, thank you for allowing me to sit in." This was said as she tucked the notepad away into her bag. There was a pause before she hefted it up onto her shoulder, still keeping her wand handy. The idea was to sort a few of the remaining Skrewts before leaving, in case any of the students continued to struggle with them. Eventually, however, she made an exit. She suddenly felt quite nauseous. |
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