fandomhigh | Literature, Class 3: Period 3, Thursday, January 22

"Good morning, class," Miss Bennet said, as she removed her gloves and scarf and stomped the snow from her boots. "It is quite good of you all to come here, considering the quite hazardous conditions outside."

Glancing around the room, she noticed the quite unexpected fireplace, and the mugs of hot cocoa. "It would seem that the island is attempting to apologize for the intrusion," she smiled. "Very well. Who am I to stand against the roaring warmth of a fire? Please fetch a mug for yourself and follow me."

When they were all comfortably seated in a semi-circle around the fireplace, she continued. "We had plans for another discussion entirely today, but perhaps now is a good time to speak of storytelling, instead. All literature has its roots in this ancient practice, where folk would gather around a fireplace and tell tales to one another. The constellations in the sky above were shapes suggested by mythology. Homer's tales of Troy were part of an oral tradition, extending back generations before anyone thought to put pen to paper and record them permanently. A good storyteller can keep his audience's attention. A good storyteller might also embellish, might tell the story differently each time, depending on the particular audience before him. Storytelling is more fluid than a tale set permanently on paper could ever hope to be."

"Therefore," she said, taking a sip of her cocoa, "I should like to discuss storytelling, today. How it differs from such structured things as novels, plays, and the television that seems so prevalent in this time-period. What forms of storytelling each of you are familiar with. Why it is that we turn to stories to make sense of events that happened. And then, if all of you are willing to participate, I believe I should like for us to try our hand at that noble art."

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"Here is how we shall progress," she smiled. "One of you will start the story. A character -- as specific or vague as you like -- will react to his setting, or to events that are progressing around him. You will share a few sentences of the character's plight, and then your part will end. Someone new will pick up the tale and take us through the next bit. Obviously, one cannot deny the reality set forth by a previous storyteller, and one should also strive to leave an interesting 'hook' for the next storyteller to build on. Who would like to start?"

(This one should be collapsey, but you can ping in as many times as you like. First person starts the story, next carries it further, and so on. Miss Bennet herself will probably contribute, here and there. Let's see where this thing goes?)

"Once upon a time," Agnes began, "there was a peasant girl who lived in a village in the forest. And although she was perfectly content with her lot in life, and in no way needed to be rescued from anything, or married to a prince, or any such silly nonsense, she decided to head off on an adventure and see what strange and wonderful things the world had to offer."

Ronan took up the narrative next. "The girl," he spake, "whose name was Anna, left her village at the break of dawn, in hopes of reaching the edge of the forest by nightfall. Many brave men, traders and travelers, had lost their lives in the forest, she knew, when the dark-hunting creatures bared their teeth and unsheathed their claws. Still, though she had been walking all day, keeping to the path, barely stopping to break her fast or even take a sip of water from her waterskin, she found night falling around her, and bright eyes staring at her from the shadows."

"This, she decided as she heard a low growl," Inara said, lowering her voice to deepen the mystery, "and desperately hoped that whatever the bright eyes were attached to wouldn't eat her, was perhaps not so wonderful as she'd dreamed, although it certainly qualified as strange. Anna desperately wanted nothing more to than to sleep, but there was no way she could do so now."

"Fortunately," Agnes cut in, "Anna was a sensible girl, and wouldn't have dreamed of going into the forest without a stout oaken walking staff and a bread knife stuck in her belt. She shook the staff at the darkness, trying to act braver than she felt. 'But let me pass,' she shouted, 'and unto you I'll do no harm!'"

People always talked a little funny in the stories Agnes knew. It made them seem more authentic.

"The bright eyes appeared to be considering that," Miss Bennet contributed, after a sip of her cocoa, "though Anna still could not see the rest of her foe. The growl deepened as the creature spoke. 'Who are you, that believes you can hurt one such as I?'"

"'My name is Anna, kind beast,' she said, 'and I merely seek to make it through these woods safely. Please, I mean you no harm.'" Ronan considered where to take the story next, and then got inspiration from his encounter the previous night with Blysse and Blind Seer.

"The beast of the bright eyes stepped out of the shadows, into what little light there was on the path, revealing himself to be a rather large wolf. 'Then, young Anna,' he growled, 'would you like a guide through these woods? They get truly dark before the night is ended, and I would not like you to lose your way.'"

Literature, Class 3: Period 3, Thursday, January 22

Activity: Our Very Own Story [LIT-3]

Re: Activity: Our Very Own Story [LIT-3]

Re: Activity: Our Very Own Story [LIT-3]

Re: Activity: Our Very Own Story [LIT-3]

Re: Activity: Our Very Own Story [LIT-3]

Re: Activity: Our Very Own Story [LIT-3]

Re: Activity: Our Very Own Story [LIT-3]