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Post by Lady Sylvia Saphricorn on Feb 10, 2007 12:23:18 GMT 10
The soft breeze of summer floated across the lush green pastures of the school farm. There were hippogriff grazing in the farthest paddocks with a damn full of Grindylows, and pools of Kelpies in the front aquatic area of the farm. Professor Saphricorn was busy tending to some erklings that had started a fight with the nearby phoenix nest. The Phoenix had set fire to a number of the erklings for taunting it and the erklings were suffering severe burns. Professor Saphricorn knew better then to chide the Phoenix though, knowing the erklings would have caused the argument themselves.
Erklings were actually the subject of today’s class, which made things just that little bit harder. Stung by their own bad attitude to others, the erklings would not be in the mood to be prodded and poked, which students would normally do in such a subject, and so Professor Saphricorn was a little concerned that this will have disrupted the subject she wanted to teach on. It was then she decided to take a different approach.
Today the students would be helping her tend to the injured erklings all the while ensuring they did not get bitten.
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Post by Shane Moonraker on Feb 15, 2007 6:49:43 GMT 10
Shane walked under the great pavilion and looked around the farm breathing in the fresh air, sure the whole thing had a great roof over it, but there were no walls restricting the fresh mountain scent that wafted over the Manor grounds. He smiled as he and his friends walked across the fields of different types of grass being grown for pastures for the animals.
“Good morning Professor,” one of Shane’s entourage said to Professor Saphricorn and the rest of them, including Shane, chimed in unison. This was their favourite class, but mostly because it was not like a class. This subject was likened to being back in the common room farm, and no Saphricorn missed the chance of having a subject where they could become qualified and yet do nothing more strenuous then they were used to.
Shane spied the damaged Erklings and understood almost at once, though he knew they were not to be toyed with and stood back, with his classmates, waiting for instructions.
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Post by Belle Carter on Feb 17, 2007 16:31:36 GMT 10
Belle arrived in the Care of Magical Creatures pavilion feeling rather triumphant, with trials coming closer she had been practicing her beating skills daily, and had today had a very successful training session in which she did not miss the bludger once, even when she had set it to random attacking sequence. She was thrilled by her own progress. Which made everything seem just that little bit better today.
She walked towards where the rest of the class was and smiled broadly at anyone who looked at her, she didn’t care if she had to sort through animal droppings for a swallowed coin, nothing could get her down right now. Nothing.
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Post by Holly MacFarlane on Feb 19, 2007 15:28:24 GMT 10
Holly arrived with a bounce in her step. This was her favourite subject. Odd then, that she had been picked for Emerindyl, but she had drawn both swords at her sorting. Her short white hair was everywhere in the wind, mostly in her eyes. Though she was used to her hair being in her face, she knew it was definately time for a haircut.
She had spotted a few Saphricorns and an Emerindyl, but none of her close friends. She wasn't even sure who was taking this elective this year, but didn't really care. Holly didn't socialise during this class, she was too busy taking in all the information.
Moving towards Professor Saphricorn, she saw that the Lady was tending to some ill Erklings, covered in what she assumed were burns. Holly wondered if this was to be todays lesson and checked in her bag to make sure she'd bought her dragonhide gloves for handlign such creatures.
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Post by Mariana Torrenne on Feb 19, 2007 19:54:33 GMT 10
Mariana arrived at the class puffing just a little bit, she was late, she knew she was late, at least she thought she must be, that was of course until she looked around and noticed so few people had already arrived, this made her feel a little bit better, she didn’t want to let down her house head.
“Morning all,” she said with a smile as she sidled up to the Saphricorn Prefect and threw him a friendly grin.
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Post by Jay Rastan on Feb 21, 2007 0:42:59 GMT 10
Letting a large yawn escape him as he entered the pavillion for the class he managed to stumble over what appeared to be nothing when he looked back.
Sliding his bag up over his shoulder from where it slipped in his stumble he jammed his hands in his pockets, humming some nameless tune he had heard earlier while he survied the people in attendence so far. Guessing there was more people to come he didn't press forward up to the front of the class but hung in the middle section. He caught a glimpse of some Erklings looking in a rough state of being, guessing they were the sessions topic he mentally scanned through his knowledge of the creatures...and came up trumps. Although he did have to feel sorry for some creatures, the really didn't have the choice pick of species names.
He swore he had read something somewhere about them. He just hoped he didn't get called on to answer and questions.
Glancing out the side of the pavillion and pushing his hair oud of his eyes, he looked out over the expanse of view offered to him, letting his mind wander until he was require to pay attention.
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Post by Barnak Pengryffin on Feb 21, 2007 21:35:54 GMT 10
Barnak scowled when he saw the assortment of blue and green house colours milling about near Professor Saphricorn. He didn't know that he even wanted to be in this joke of a class and had hung back, hoping that for being late he would be kicked out at once. Instead, it didn't appear that the class had even started. 'How like a Saph', he thought, 'to be completely unconcerned about the time.'
He slowed his pace and kicked at a few clods in annoyance, ambling toward the others with nothing at all like enthusiasm. When he got close enough he drew himself upright and stepped up near to the back of the group, presenting himself, for any who cared to turn about and look, just as a Ruberagon should: an airy head above the rest of them.
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Post by Mariana Torrenne on Feb 22, 2007 7:27:28 GMT 10
“This is a Saphricorn Emerindyl class, what are you doing here?” Mariana said as she watched the Ruberagon walk into the classroom. She didn’t much care for Ruberagon’s at all, and why, when alone, she would not have even addressed this Ruberagon, surrounded by her friends she felt oddly bolder then usual. She smiled and looked at him.
Out of all the Ruberagon’s Marana had ever met, she had not liked a single one of them. She didn’t know if her head of house approved of this behaviour but she had no reason to like them and so did not make pretence of doing so. Likewise she did not directly oppose them either, she didn’t really care enough to carry on with it. Her smile turned into a grin when she was thinking, ‘I wonder if he believes me?’
A moment more she let it slide, before she grinned and said instead, “Kidding of course,” she laughed and a couple of the Saphricorn students around her joined in. It perhaps was not the nicest thing to do, but it was not the cruellest either. Unless of course the Ruberagon didn’t want to be there, then it probably was a little hopes dashing.
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Post by Lady Sylvia Saphricorn on Feb 22, 2007 19:38:17 GMT 10
“Ok everybody, that is quite enough thank you, we have a lot to be getting on with this morning and it will require your utmost attention, I will warn you this once and once only, today we will be working with living creatures, as you will see many times in this class I do not doubt, which means that you cannot make a mistake, if you do, you could be harmed by the creature you are tending to, or worse, you could kill it,”
The Erklings shuffled nervously from where they were contained to stop them from running away, they had immense wounds and would not last a minute in the wild without detecting something that could smell their burns and quite possibly utilise them to be something of a cooked meal.
“Now, anyone who has dealt with erklings before might be aware that they are something to be feared, stories are told to the very young about the erkling in the mist who called out to the naughty children, who went against their mothers wishes and snuck out of their beds at night, the children followed a voice that called them deep into the forest and no one ever saw one of the children again,”
She shuffled nervously when she told the story, or more summarised it, she knew she had done it very little justice. When she was a child it scared the hell out of her.
”Now, who here has heard that story? And if you haven’t, or if you have, then who here can tell me whether there story has a basis for truth, is there some secret message in the story that should cause you all to take caution with Erklings?”
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Post by Barnak Pengryffin on Feb 26, 2007 21:45:05 GMT 10
Barnak looked at the person - nay, at the nose - which had addressed him, barely able to hide his disgust. The teacher's words floated toward him and a memory of a story fellow students had spread in primary school wafted through his mind. But that nose was distracting - it was erkling him, one might say - and be damned if he was going to let a Saphricorn get the better of him. He pointed to it and whispered to the girl;
"Do you need a special licence for that, or is it considered domestic?" The look on his face, before he finally turned from her to the teacher, was of genuine feigned curiosity.
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Post by Elouise Sullivan on Feb 27, 2007 15:21:43 GMT 10
Elouise raised her hand ignoring the Ruberagon who was being rude in reply to a Saphricorn she didn’t know. Less and less familiar faces clogged the corridors and classes these days and Elouise wondered if sometimes it would just be better to get on with her work and let these new people act and behave the way they felt necessary.
”The story is about the Erkling that sings enticing stories to children in the woods or as in your version of the story, a mist, its voice is said to only be audible to children and they follow it while no one else can hear it,” Elouise said, knowing this was only reiterating what the Professor had just told them and not actually answering the question yet, “The basis of truth in this is that Erklings are woodland creatures, and they can be somewhat evil,”
She knew the creatures being evil was a matter of opinion, but in Britain when Elouise was growing up, Erkling stories were told with the air of someone discussion the bogey man, or something else sinister and creepy.
“But probably the most solid fact would have to be how the Erkling call can only be heard by children, it can say things… well sing them, and no one can hear it unless you are not of age,”
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Post by Andreas Mark on Mar 6, 2007 14:27:03 GMT 10
“Yes, but again there is a little bit more to that, its not only that the erkling song can only be heard by children, but also that it entrances them and they often cannot help but follow the voice, in the past this was just dismissed as children being curious, but it is also because when a child hears an erkling singing, there is very little they can do to stop themselves from following it… similar to the imperius curse I would have to say,” he said giving the Emerindyl a; ‘This-is-the-second-time-I-have-had-to-correct-you-in-class’ look.
“The erkling’s other name is Elf King, and they are not to be trusted,” he said looking at the erkling’s with a dark look in his eyes, he didn’t like them one bit and wondered why they would even have live specimens in the school, he could not say he felt sorry for them being burned one bit.
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Post by Jay Rastan on Mar 6, 2007 22:16:52 GMT 10
Jay wondered when Ameraid's had started being so...pompus. Smart. Sure. Quiet. Granted. Gifted. Undoubtably. Up themselves? Increasingly more so. He had seen the look that the Ameraid had given Elouise. You don't spend almost seven years in the same classes and not learn peoples names.
Deciding against giving the Ameraid a dressing down on manners. He piped in with his useless but maybe midly interesting tidbit rumour he knew about Erklings.
"I was also told that the children that the Erkling's had seduced with their songs were on a remote tropical island working at a resort for the Erklings. Not sure if I believe it but that is what was passed down along to some of the younger generations nower days." Jay added, peering over to look at the Erklings.
From the stories and tales he had heard, like the one Lady Saphricorn and Elouise had said he almost excepted long fangs dripping with blood and extremely long talons like feet. Jay was a little disappointed.
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Post by Lady Sylvia Saphricorn on Mar 16, 2007 9:46:09 GMT 10
“Both very valid facts,” Professor Saphricorn nodded her head to Elouise and Andreas. She had, as most teachers were famous for; not noticed any such look Andeas may or may not have given to Elouise and listened to both and then to Jay with avid interest. She laughed a pleasantly tinkling laugh of enjoying the class when Jay Rastan spoke of some remote island, “That part of the tale is a very farfetched thought,” she smiled. She knew of such rumours existing and appreciated Jay for bringing them up.
“Such rumours, thank you Jay for your example, exist to scare, and sometimes make us laugh about erklings, though I must tell you all, this is indeed not the case,” she said as she looked back at the injured erklings and then at her students again, wondering how they might take her next piece of information.
“Erklings are extremely dangerous, they are not mythical elves to be laughed at, and what they do to people, namely children, is not something to be taken lightly,” she said as she waved her hand at an invisible window and an image was conjured before the eyes of her students.
The image itself could not be more saddening. Likened to the pits of Nazi Germany and its holocaust victims though not nearly on such grand a scale. The image was of a clearing of dead wood and rotting bark. The ground was strew with bodies of young people, about a dozen or so, she hoped this would make her students understand the severity of erklings.
“Erklings kill their victims,” she said simply, looking at the image herself, it hurt her to do so, but she thought it necessary, “Thankfully the Australian breed we have here are little more then trouble makers,” she said gesturing to the burned little stick creatures, “Being shot by one of their blow darts will give you an impressive head ache, but they only hunt humans who come near their homes, generally speaking, the shot will knock you out for a couple of days and then you will simply wake up with, as I said, an impressive head ache,”
“The image you see here is the most devastating recorded in the forests of Bulgaria,” she said as she looked at it mournfully one more time before making it disappear, “You see, erklings of Europe can be quite vicious, but let us not confuse their acts, they do this to satiate their predators, by nature, an erkling is a herbivore,”
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Post by Alex Zander on Mar 16, 2007 12:45:03 GMT 10
‘Whoa, that’s a bit harsh,” Alex said as he looked at the picture the Professor was displaying. She might also have added that the Australian breed, such as the ones before her, were not nearly so evil. All the same though he now looked at the creatures with a great deal of dislike. He wasn’t exactly sure he wanted to help cure them and was pleased that they did not find comfort in the time it was taking the class to get around to helping them.
“Professor?” he asked raising his hand, “If the European version is so evil, then why do we not?” he didn’t really know how to broach the subject, but he suddenly felt very strongly about his belief in what should be done, “Well what I mean to say is, why don’t we just-“ he waved his wand around a bit and a green light followed the tip through the air. He hoped she understood what he was getting at.
“I mean, I know you probably don’t approve and normally neither would I, but that’s ghastly,” he said looking at the picture one more time before the professor made it go away, “Even if they aren’t doing it for themselves, which I guess, in a way, makes it even worse, don’t you think?”
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