fandomhigh | Practical Folklore, Monday 2nd period

"Right." Jon nodded at them all. "Today we're discussing a golem. They come to us from Jewish folklore. They're a rare example of a mostly positive creature, or at least one with positive overtones originally, as they were created to be protectors. A golem is a creature traditionally created from clay, mud, or stone, then animated via magical means. Originally the word of god, but for our purposes, let's go with any means available."

He paused. "I suppose, technically speaking, this would include zombies as a sort of...um, well, flesh-based golem? But let's consider them as something else. And, um. Not computers or robots, since they're not magical. As far as we know. But a creature of inanimate materials animated by magic of some sort."

He wrote on the board. "One method of animating a golem involved writing that was inserted into its head or mouth. Removing or altering the writing could be a way to...well, not really kill it, but stop it. The primary danger of golems is that they are apparently very literal, and don't really have good judgment, so they may end up doing things you don't expect. The main way to know a golem is either by its appearance, or by the fact that it can't talk.

"So, um. Does anybody have experience with them, or knowledge about them? And apart from 'don't cross people who can create one', are there other methods of dealing with them?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Muddy?

Charlie Gale

Belle

Eleanor Zarrin

Josephine Jones

The story of the Prague golem is actually pretty cool.

Golems! Any knowledge or questions?

Or debate the golemness of zombies or droids.

And wonder how often the practical solution to magical things is "don't piss them off".

"You can also animate them with the right word carved into their forehead," Charlie offered. "And you can stop them by removing the name.I even heard tales of someone who called up a strong rainstorm and basically melted a clay or mud one away, then tore up the name. And they're not always used for good purposes unfortunately."

"They sound as if they're more widespread in your world," Jon noted.

"I think a lot of these things are more widespread in my wold," Charlie said cheerfully.

"I...ha. I don't envy you," Jon said. "Although they also seem largely less terrible than in my world."

"Well, I wouldn't go wandering blithely into the Underworld to hang out with the Fae and dragons," Charlie said. "They're pretty darn dangerous. But on this side of the gates, the Gales trump pretty much anything."

"That's...um. That's...good? I suppose."

"Especially if you're not a Gale," Charlie said with a grin.

"I'm not sure why that's true," Jon said, frowning in confusion.

"Because the Gales stop 'em if they try to come in on this side," Charlie said.

"Ah. That makes sense." Jon nodded.

He's here!

Golems are nifty!

Practical Folklore, Monday 2nd period

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Talk to Jon!

OOC!