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fandomhigh2008-10-20 12:45 am
berserkerminsc.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2008-10-20 12:45 am
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Care for Magical Creatures; Period One. [ 10/20 ]
"Good morning, class!" As usual, Minsc greeted his students with the usual, boisterous, proud cheer. "I hope you all enjoyed your week off! I know I, for one, found it very restful but now it is time to get back to work!"
The students would now find their danger shop surroundings to be of a sort of laboratory, deep within the bowels of some castle lit by both natural and unnatural means. Behind Minsc stood several barred gates, behind which today's creatures were waiting to be presented and described. Behind the students were work tables, with bubbling beakers and tubes and plenty of paper and pens.
"Today," he declared, "we speak of some very special creatures known as chimeras. A chimera is a single creature composed of many creatures! They are very magical and very important to know about because they can be quite a thing to encounter as well! Do you remember the Sphinx we discussed last class? She is an example of a chimera, because she is composed of part human and part lion! Centaurs are also examples of creatures that are considered to be chimeras, although they rank much higher on the humanity scale. Allow me to introduce you to some other, more wild types!"
"First off, the chimera, the creature that leads this special class of creatures! With the body of a great and powerful beast, this behemoth of mixed animals sports three heads: one dragon, one lion, and one goat, as well as great big wings to fly with and knock people down if they do it right. Dragon breath, lion bite, lion paws, ramming goat and the ability to fly! If one intends to encounter a chimera, I suggest he have very good armour and one hell of a sword. Not to mention, a lot of luck and badly tasting body! However, the man who has a chimera in his arsenal is a feared man indeed! In defeating one, I suggest a shot from the gruond, while it is in the air. The fall is sure to do some damage! In taming one, well...you better have quite the charisma! They like warmth, though, so that might help, and I hear that the middle lion head is particularly succeptable to a good scritching, but the trick is getting your hand close enough! They can be reasonable creatures, though, so, if you wish to tame one, a little old fashioned manners might be the ticket!"
"Meanwhile, the manticore is a much gentler type of chimera. Gentler in the fact that it is quick and efficient, while the chimera tends to just rampage about all nimbly-pimbly! Huge lion body, with a spiked tail, great wings and the shaggy, sagelike face of a near-man. I say near-man because there are still more animalistic qualities to it. They certainly have power and have a formidable attack; they prefer aereal attacks, and can shoot their tail spikes at their enemies, which will either carry poison, carry paralyzation juices, or just really, really hurt a lot, but they only fight unless they deem themselves threatened. Unless you want a challenge, then, I suggest making yourself seem as unobtrusive as possible! After all, his name means "man-eater," if that tells you anything about his favourite snack! Often, they are employed as guardians of keeps and caves and castles for folk who have no qualms about keeping a steady diet of men through the manticores jaws. They are, however, very human in their ideas of compassion and kindness, despite their size, their ferociousness, and their unfortunate diet. Tred with care, and you tred with safety. They are a quiet lot, and respect those of the same ilk."
"Everyone, now! Divert your eyes! Take a fleeting glimpse but do not look into the eyes of this cockatrice! Remember the basilisk from earlier in the semester? This rooster-serpent-dragon hybrid has the same effect of turning men to stone with its gaze! Do not let his silly, almost humourous appearance fool you! It is not only their gaze, either, but their touch that can petrify someone. I heard an awful story once in a tavern in Berogast about a man who thought it was a good idea to fry up his cockatrice kill: talk about a heavy meal! Men who are interested in caring for a cockatrice for whatever reason would do well to know that weasels are the only creatures completely immune to their stony charms; they have been known to make excellent substitutes for herding dogs for cockatrice flocks! And let it be known that one thing may kill a cockatrice instantly, and that is the crow of a true rooster! Why this is, I do not know, but such is the way of magic."
"Very, very useful in many ways is the griffin a popular mount for very bold warriors, indeed! Consisting of a lion body and an eagle head, the griffin is fast and quick and strong! They are a bit harder to mount than a horse, of course, but quite worth it! Their loyalty is not to be bested, and is earned through great care and patience. Never, ever approach a griffin with ill intent, or you will regret it! Approach it, however, with respect, and let it decide if it deems you worthy, and you may have a good mount! They are noble and important creatures, and expect to be treated as such! They are known to be quite monogamous, so once they have a rider, they are dedicated to that rider for life, and, once their chosen rider is dead, they rarely choose another. You cannot beat that kind of loyalty! And if that weren't enough, some griffin have medicinal properties to their claws and feathers that can give the blind sight! They are very popular with apocatherists, as you can well imagine! Such a good, strong magical creature! It is the one we will work with today!"
"These, of course, are just a few examples of chimera. There are many, many more, like the nue, which is a monkey-faced, raccoon-dog bodied, tiger-legged, snake-tailed harbinger of bad luck and misfortune, and his counterpart, the Qilin, or Kirin, that brings good luck! He is even a vegetarian that does not feast on flesh and only punished bad-doers, and takes at least two different forms! One is a sort of giraffe-elk-serpent, and the other is more of a fish-ox-serpent. Usually, however, they can be found covered in flames! Oooh! There are also many humaniod chimeras: your minotaurs, and centaurs, and satyrs, and harpies, and so on and so forth!"
"But, anyway, I have have yakked on long enough and you are probably growing restless! That I like to see! So let us get to today's assignments. First of all, I'd like you to partner up with someone and go over to the worktables at the back of the room. I would like you to design your own chimera! What parts does it have? What powers? Why? What sort of things can tame the beast and what sorts of things engrage it to massive proportions? What do they stand for? I look forward to seeing some truly magical creatures!"
"And, secondly, when you are comfortable with it, take a moment to approach the griffin! Remember, he will not let you near him unless he is comfortable with you and if you try before that, he will attack! He will not let anyone ride him, as he already has a rider, but he will allow you to come up and pet him if he likes you. Try your hand, and I have plenty of supplies on hand if it turns out he just simply does not like you. It is known to happen."
[[ OCD ison its way up! ]]
[[ Class Syllabus and Roster ]]
The students would now find their danger shop surroundings to be of a sort of laboratory, deep within the bowels of some castle lit by both natural and unnatural means. Behind Minsc stood several barred gates, behind which today's creatures were waiting to be presented and described. Behind the students were work tables, with bubbling beakers and tubes and plenty of paper and pens.
"Today," he declared, "we speak of some very special creatures known as chimeras. A chimera is a single creature composed of many creatures! They are very magical and very important to know about because they can be quite a thing to encounter as well! Do you remember the Sphinx we discussed last class? She is an example of a chimera, because she is composed of part human and part lion! Centaurs are also examples of creatures that are considered to be chimeras, although they rank much higher on the humanity scale. Allow me to introduce you to some other, more wild types!"
"First off, the chimera, the creature that leads this special class of creatures! With the body of a great and powerful beast, this behemoth of mixed animals sports three heads: one dragon, one lion, and one goat, as well as great big wings to fly with and knock people down if they do it right. Dragon breath, lion bite, lion paws, ramming goat and the ability to fly! If one intends to encounter a chimera, I suggest he have very good armour and one hell of a sword. Not to mention, a lot of luck and badly tasting body! However, the man who has a chimera in his arsenal is a feared man indeed! In defeating one, I suggest a shot from the gruond, while it is in the air. The fall is sure to do some damage! In taming one, well...you better have quite the charisma! They like warmth, though, so that might help, and I hear that the middle lion head is particularly succeptable to a good scritching, but the trick is getting your hand close enough! They can be reasonable creatures, though, so, if you wish to tame one, a little old fashioned manners might be the ticket!"
"Meanwhile, the manticore is a much gentler type of chimera. Gentler in the fact that it is quick and efficient, while the chimera tends to just rampage about all nimbly-pimbly! Huge lion body, with a spiked tail, great wings and the shaggy, sagelike face of a near-man. I say near-man because there are still more animalistic qualities to it. They certainly have power and have a formidable attack; they prefer aereal attacks, and can shoot their tail spikes at their enemies, which will either carry poison, carry paralyzation juices, or just really, really hurt a lot, but they only fight unless they deem themselves threatened. Unless you want a challenge, then, I suggest making yourself seem as unobtrusive as possible! After all, his name means "man-eater," if that tells you anything about his favourite snack! Often, they are employed as guardians of keeps and caves and castles for folk who have no qualms about keeping a steady diet of men through the manticores jaws. They are, however, very human in their ideas of compassion and kindness, despite their size, their ferociousness, and their unfortunate diet. Tred with care, and you tred with safety. They are a quiet lot, and respect those of the same ilk."
"Everyone, now! Divert your eyes! Take a fleeting glimpse but do not look into the eyes of this cockatrice! Remember the basilisk from earlier in the semester? This rooster-serpent-dragon hybrid has the same effect of turning men to stone with its gaze! Do not let his silly, almost humourous appearance fool you! It is not only their gaze, either, but their touch that can petrify someone. I heard an awful story once in a tavern in Berogast about a man who thought it was a good idea to fry up his cockatrice kill: talk about a heavy meal! Men who are interested in caring for a cockatrice for whatever reason would do well to know that weasels are the only creatures completely immune to their stony charms; they have been known to make excellent substitutes for herding dogs for cockatrice flocks! And let it be known that one thing may kill a cockatrice instantly, and that is the crow of a true rooster! Why this is, I do not know, but such is the way of magic."
"Very, very useful in many ways is the griffin a popular mount for very bold warriors, indeed! Consisting of a lion body and an eagle head, the griffin is fast and quick and strong! They are a bit harder to mount than a horse, of course, but quite worth it! Their loyalty is not to be bested, and is earned through great care and patience. Never, ever approach a griffin with ill intent, or you will regret it! Approach it, however, with respect, and let it decide if it deems you worthy, and you may have a good mount! They are noble and important creatures, and expect to be treated as such! They are known to be quite monogamous, so once they have a rider, they are dedicated to that rider for life, and, once their chosen rider is dead, they rarely choose another. You cannot beat that kind of loyalty! And if that weren't enough, some griffin have medicinal properties to their claws and feathers that can give the blind sight! They are very popular with apocatherists, as you can well imagine! Such a good, strong magical creature! It is the one we will work with today!"
"These, of course, are just a few examples of chimera. There are many, many more, like the nue, which is a monkey-faced, raccoon-dog bodied, tiger-legged, snake-tailed harbinger of bad luck and misfortune, and his counterpart, the Qilin, or Kirin, that brings good luck! He is even a vegetarian that does not feast on flesh and only punished bad-doers, and takes at least two different forms! One is a sort of giraffe-elk-serpent, and the other is more of a fish-ox-serpent. Usually, however, they can be found covered in flames! Oooh! There are also many humaniod chimeras: your minotaurs, and centaurs, and satyrs, and harpies, and so on and so forth!"
"But, anyway, I have have yakked on long enough and you are probably growing restless! That I like to see! So let us get to today's assignments. First of all, I'd like you to partner up with someone and go over to the worktables at the back of the room. I would like you to design your own chimera! What parts does it have? What powers? Why? What sort of things can tame the beast and what sorts of things engrage it to massive proportions? What do they stand for? I look forward to seeing some truly magical creatures!"
"And, secondly, when you are comfortable with it, take a moment to approach the griffin! Remember, he will not let you near him unless he is comfortable with you and if you try before that, he will attack! He will not let anyone ride him, as he already has a rider, but he will allow you to come up and pet him if he likes you. Try your hand, and I have plenty of supplies on hand if it turns out he just simply does not like you. It is known to happen."
[[ OCD is
[[ Class Syllabus and Roster ]]
Talk to Minsc -- 10/20.