The Beast Studies building was certainly decorated for Halloween, with giant pumpkins, spiderwebs that were almost certainly created by real spiders, and the occasional bubbling cauldron or flask of mysterious, sinister-looking liquid set up in the corner of a classroom (though at least one of these was actually just a large batch of healing potions that Cressida had forgotten to move before the students came in). The witch herself was nowhere to be found, initially, even as the students took their places in their seats.
Then, from outside the room, the students could hear the faintest sound of breaking glass as fog streamed through the doors -- and they had no more time to wonder about it before they heard a long, haunting, high-pitched wail.
Cressida made her way through the doors and to the front of the classroom, wearing a costume that almost certainly had required the use of temporary transformation potions. She was wearing a simple white dress and a gray cloak instead of her usual attire, and her hair was red instead of its usual pale blonde. She had a ghostly, fey-like appearance that indicated that she was no longer an ordinary human witch, but something entirely different.
"Happy Halloween, everyone. I hope you don't mind that I've temporarily changed my own species for this," Cressida stated. Her speaking voice was, at least, exactly the same as it always sounded. "Perhaps you'll get to do the same when I finally get the chance to restructure the Beast Studies classes. There have been some... complications." Her expression grew dark and grim for a few moments, indicating that those 'complications' were probably a bit more serious than just being her over-the-top attempt at putting together a costume. "Anyways!" Cressida clapped her hands together once, loudly. "As you can see, I'm a banshee right now, though by the end of all the lectures, you'll probably see the effect wear off and you can watch me go right back to being a human. Don't worry, no one here is actually going to die, not as long as I can help it. I'm not a harbinger of doom, I'm a harbinger of education." She grinned, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Of course, this is Otherworlde, so you'll have to be careful. Now, shall we begin?"
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BST 101: Introduction to Cryptid TheoryAssignments:
BST 101 AssignmentsAssignment 1:
“The intersection of the magical world with the mundane world is really quite interesting,” Cressida began, “and nowhere is that intersection clearer than with sightings of cryptids. A cryptid is some sort of animal, or occasionally other form of life, that is generally hidden from the rest of the non-magical world, while still being present within it. Of course, you can often find cryptids in magical regions, as well, and perhaps some of you actually are cryptids.” That would certainly be interesting, Cressida decided. “There are all sorts of cryptids of all different types,” the witch explained. “One of my particular favorites is the Mongolian Death Worm. Look it up!”
The witch smiled at her students. This was an introductory class, after all, and so hopefully it wouldn’t be too difficult for people to pass.
“So, what you’re going to do for this assignment,” she continued, “
Enrollees:
Jon
Sylvester
Reaper
Eizou
BST 102: Animal HusbandryEnrollees:
Jon
BST 103: Dangerous Animal Safety
Assignments:
BST 103 AssignmentsBST 103: Dangerous Animal Safety
Assignment 1:
“In this department,” Cressida stated, sitting on her vine-covered desk, her expression quite serious and grim all of a sudden, “you will be working with a lot of very dangerous creatures. From sirens to dragons, from manticores to hellhounds – all right, Professor Baines was probably not very dangerous for a hellhound, but he’s not here anymore so that’s beside the point – you will find that this is not a very safe department. None of them are.”
Cressida clapped her hands together and stood up quite suddenly. “So! Because I’m a competent professor, I’m going to make sure that you’re all decently prepared to handle these creatures. Unless, of course, you simply choose to not pay attention.”
“So, obviously, what I’m going to have you do first is design some form of protective equipment. You’re going to
Enrollees:
Jon
Seth
Penny
BST 201: Creatures and the BodyAssignments:
BST 201 AssignmentsAssignment 1:
"In this class," Cressida began, "you're going to learn how to channel the powers of different animals with your own body. The strength of a bear, the grace and stealth of a panther, et cetera. You won't actually be physically transforming, but you're going to be taking on the traits of those animals nevertheless. Temporarily, at least. I would like to note, before we begin, that this form of beast magic won't grant you completely new abilities -- for example, you won't be able to fly at high speeds like a peregrine falcon unless you already know how to fly, and you won't be gaining the silk-spinning powers of a spider. But you will learn to augment your own natural abilities to a great degree using the abilities of animals. It's not a transformation of the body, it's a transformation of the spirit that affects the body. Right now, you're going to be focusing on one animal, but once you know how to do this, you can probably figure o
Enrollees:
Daniel
Cloe
BST 202: Elemental Beasts
Assignments:
BST 202 AssignmentsBST 202: Elemental Beasts
Assignment 1:
“Now, in this particular class,” the witch stated, “we will be studying creatures that utilize the basic forms of elemental magic, that is, earth, air, water and fire, and then we will move on to more complicated elemental forms and eventually the unearthly element known as aether.”
Almost like a dramatic theater curtain, many of the vines hanging down behind Cressida were drawn away to the sides of the room, revealing a clearly impatient griffin and a small golem with glowing green eyes. “For example, a griffin such as Heracles here is a beast of the air, whereas a golem is an artificial creature of the earth. And yes, I created the golem myself. I have a rather… reactive form of magic.” The griffin stayed in place, but the golem tried to wander off and had to be stopped by Cressida’s plants. “You can find water creatures in even the most remotely magical body of water, suc
Enrollees:
Daniel
Cloe
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If you signed up for a class and you're not listed here, please inform me!
Assignments are due December 24, 11:59 PM, Eastern Standard Time.
Complete at least two of the three assignments and leave them here in comments with the student's name so I know who it is. NO COMMENT = NO EXP GIVEN.
Feel free to ask questions in-character or out-of-character!