Despite the fact that Halloween had come and passed, the decorations from the holiday remained. It was suitable, of course, in some way - this was a dark magic academy, and naturally the darker residents would be interested in extending the fearful season. In any event, Christmas was too bright and cheerful, and the shadowmancy professor wanted to delay any Christmas spirit from leaking into his building until the last possible moment. Like Christmas Eve, probably.
"It is now the second term for this year, and it appears that some of you have grasped the material well. Others, however, have been unsurprisingly ignorant. You have a chance to redeem yourself in this instance, however, as you can still complete your work for this term and the next, and impress me with your ability to actually pass your courses."
"That is, of course, provided you put significant effort into them. Unlike the other departments, I don't want to see any low quality nonsense. If you're not striving for fives here, maybe you should go somewhere else. Like I told you, Magical Linguistics is apparently very easy."
SHD 101: Shadowmancy in Nature
MDrake says:
Isobel (halcyon-moon) -
Heinzel (nashiepotato) -
Yuurei (merccutio) -
Leon (ArsNatura) -
Marlena (Sharkiey) -
Leopold (vordella) -
Rafa (juralynobra) -
Mirage (AskTheBagMan) -
Dru (Evil-Wren) -
Shadow (S-h-A-d-O-w--C-a-T) -
Evan (vestigearl) -
Bridgette (kunehoGod) -
Alistair (KnightLycoris) -
Licht (Leo-Awesome) -
Zaya (Musicallychalanged) -
Night (Evil-Wren) -
Midnite (kunehoGod) -
Perrie (perrie99) -
Darell (Tiny-Midget) -
Cyrix (The3schizos7467) -
Stitches (Kuku-Klock) -
Laerias (Sailyonera) -
Blue (Halo-Hearts) -
Go to Kaine.
The professor weaved his fingers together as he leaned back against his desk, studying the students that were in front of him. "This second term is for learning about shadow animals. These are creatures that are entirely or partially made out of shadow, and they are capable of manipulating it," he said. "Some of these include the shadow hounds of the realm, which are long, sinewy beasts with a proboscis at the end of their snouts. You can also find many species of shadow spiders that make use of tendrils instead of silk to build their webs. They have a much longer lifespan than physical spiders simply because they can manipulate the world for their webs instead of producing it inside themselves, reducing the amount of energy they must expend to hunt."
He moved to the back of the classroom, where he pulled two large black eggs from the cabinet, each about the size of an ostrich egg. Each egg had pulsing red veins coating it, and it was slightly slimy to the touch. He placed one egg on each student's desk. "This is the egg of a shadow monitor lizard. They are closely related to lesser shadow dragons and look much like flightless dragons, however they lack the high intelligence that such beings would have. Keep this egg incubated with warmth for the next month of class time and then when the creature hatches, bring it to a cavern in the mountain and let it go. Shadow monitors are not good familiars, so if you attempt to keep and tame it, you will find yourself wasting your time."
"Be sure to carefully maintain the heat to a range of a hundred degrees to eighty degrees, and ensure you do not leave it in an area with poor humidity for too long. In the event that it hatches early, you may take care of it for upwards of one week, but bear in mind that all of us reptiles are born self-sufficient and capable of living on our own. And that means it can, indeed, take off your hand if it wants to." His yellow eyes flashed in the darkness, as if to remind all the students of his own draconic heritage. "This is a wild animal, not a pet, so beware your fingers."
[Assignment - Take care of the egg that MDrake has given you, and when the animal hatches, bring it to the mountains to release it into its natural habitat.]
Isobel (halcyon-moon) -
Heinzel (nashiepotato) -
Yuurei (merccutio) -
Leon (ArsNatura) -
Marlena (Sharkiey) -
Leopold (vordella) -
Rafa (juralynobra) -
Mirage (AskTheBagMan) -
Dru (Evil-Wren) -
SHD 102: Aggressive Shadowmancy
"It seems that some of you have experience constricting with basic shadow tendrils now, and this is good," he said. "Your second assignment is going to be about learning how to control multiple tendrils. When you are fighting other humanoid creatures, you will usually be making use of about six different tendrils. For those of you who aren't used to controlling six outside entities, it can be difficult."
He glanced over the students and briefly contemplated something to himself. A moment later, he continued. "If you are going to be fighting someone, there is technique you can observe. Wrapping your shadow tendrils around the joints of the body is an easy way to gain control of your opponent. This would be grabbing them at the wrists, elbows, ankles, and knees. This allows you to control their movement, and if their hand motions--or leg motions"--he looked specifically at Mel for that--"aid them in their magic, as is common, then you can disrupt their casting ability."
"Another good place to wrap shadow tendrils is, unsurprisingly, the neck. If you train your tendrils to be able to lift weights, then you can wrap one around the neck of your opponent and hoist them up, as well as wrap them around their wrists to prevent them from grabbing at the first. This is a simple technique to suffocate your opponent by means of hanging."
The grim knowledge lingered in the air as the professor studied the students' reactions. "As such, you're going to be practicing restraining people properly. Work on restraining the joints, and you should get an idea for how much strength your individual tendrils have."
[Assignment - Using multiple shadow tendrils, restrain someone by means of their body joints and control and disrupt their movement that way. ]
Shadow (S-h-A-d-O-w--C-a-T) -
Evan (vestigearl) -
Bridgette (kunehoGod) -
Alistair (KnightLycoris) -
Licht (Leo-Awesome) -
Zaya (Musicallychalanged) -
Night (Evil-Wren) -
Midnite (kunehoGod) -
Perrie (perrie99) -
Darell (Tiny-Midget) -
Cyrix (The3schizos7467) -
Stitches (Kuku-Klock) -
Laerias (Sailyonera) -
Blue (Halo-Hearts) -
SHD 103: Shadowstalking
SHD 104: The Shadow Realm
SHD 201: Shadowporting
SHD 203: Shadow Illusions
Go to Kaine.
SHD 202: Shadow Beasts
MDrake says:
The professor rapped his knuckles against the desk in front of him, eyes narrowed as he stared at his students. "All throughout history, people have reported the presence of shadow people. These are the strange, terrifying experiences caused by certain medical issues, such as sleep paralysis or hallucinations caused by drugs."
"However, you might be surprised to learn there are entities such as these in existence within our world and the shadow world. The entities -- shadow people, as the humans call them -- are not actually people. They do not have intelligence or sentience at all. One might consider them more of imprints of the shadow realm on the regular world, a place where the connection between the two worlds is so strong that some of the shadow realm's energy leaks through."
"Some of you might say that these are not beasts, but rather environmental phenomena -- and you would be right, in a way, except that these entities still cause much the same fear in humans and the ignorant as any other beast might. And they are quite predictable, always happening in these places where the connection is strongest, as I said before. Thus, you will locate one of these areas, and keep watch for any of these entities... it will not speak to you, but it might watch you. Be warned, the experience may not be as simple as you may anticipate."
Lilith (musicpackwolf) -
The professor rapped his knuckles against the desk in front of him, eyes narrowed as he stared at his students. "All throughout history, people have reported the presence of shadow people. These are the strange, terrifying experiences caused by certain medical issues, such as sleep paralysis or hallucinations caused by drugs."
"However, you might be surprised to learn there are entities such as these in existence within our world and the shadow world. The entities -- shadow people, as the humans call them -- are not actually people. They do not have intelligence or sentience at all. One might consider them more of imprints of the shadow realm on the regular world, a place where the connection between the two worlds is so strong that some of the shadow realm's energy leaks through."
"Some of you might say that these are not beasts, but rather environmental phenomena -- and you would be right, in a way, except that these entities still cause much the same fear in humans and the ignorant as any other beast might. And they are quite predictable, always happening in these places where the connection is strongest, as I said before. Thus, you will locate one of these areas, and keep watch for any of these entities... it will not speak to you, but it might watch you. Be warned, the experience may not be as simple as you may anticipate."
Lilith (musicpackwolf) -
SHD 204: Shadow Bandages
MDrake says:
"Now we move on," he said evenly. "Now that you know how to flatten your tendrils and absorb liquid through them, you must start learning how to sever them from your grasp while keeping them in permanent solid state. This can be understandably difficult, as most of you are used to manipulating shadows by having them controlled by you. However, it is not reasonable to expect that you would be able to keep proper control over the tendrils used in shadow bandages indefinitely, especially if you wish to do something like go to sleep which would sever your control anyway."
Naho (moneyoniis) -
Calliey (Classicblackcat) -
"It seems... you have managed to succeed in the assignment I gave you. Moving on, the next thing you will be using for shadow wormholes is movement of objects between spaces. Find a wormhole that starts in one place, and ends in another, both of which you know their destinations. Create something small and simple, such a letter or a small package, to send through the wormhole. See, this is how shadowmancers send mail to each other all across the world, by utilizing wormholes that allow them to move mail and packages all throughout. Most shadowmancers don't want to spend the energy shadowporting long distances if they want to send something to a comrade, so having a wormhole to send something through is far easier."
Shadow (S-h-A-d-O-w--C-a-T) -
"Now we move on," he said evenly. "Now that you know how to flatten your tendrils and absorb liquid through them, you must start learning how to sever them from your grasp while keeping them in permanent solid state. This can be understandably difficult, as most of you are used to manipulating shadows by having them controlled by you. However, it is not reasonable to expect that you would be able to keep proper control over the tendrils used in shadow bandages indefinitely, especially if you wish to do something like go to sleep which would sever your control anyway."
He made a gesture like he wanted the students to start making some shadow tendrils. "Thus, you are going to be using this assignment to learn how to sever your shadow tendrils from themselves, but make them strong enough that they can last on their own. You are going to run into considerable failure in the beginning, but if you keep pushing through it, you will eventually train your mind to impart enough strength on your tendrils that they remain in place even without your guidance."
[Assignment - Practice severing tendrils from yourself while keeping them solid.]
Naho (moneyoniis) -
Calliey (Classicblackcat) -
SHD 301: Shadow Wormholes
MDrake says:
"It seems... you have managed to succeed in the assignment I gave you. Moving on, the next thing you will be using for shadow wormholes is movement of objects between spaces. Find a wormhole that starts in one place, and ends in another, both of which you know their destinations. Create something small and simple, such a letter or a small package, to send through the wormhole. See, this is how shadowmancers send mail to each other all across the world, by utilizing wormholes that allow them to move mail and packages all throughout. Most shadowmancers don't want to spend the energy shadowporting long distances if they want to send something to a comrade, so having a wormhole to send something through is far easier."
Shadow (S-h-A-d-O-w--C-a-T) -
SHD 302: Shadow Objects
MDrake says:
"Well, it appears you've managed to copy suitably enough." He looked over the small object that the students had turned in. "Of course, those who copy are hardly useful, are they? No, it's much more useful to be able to create something from your mind."
"But you won't be able to hold the shadow in form for long. At most, probably a minute, but this is all right. You will get better as you keep working at it. For now, I would like you to construct an object out of shadow from your imagination. If you need to draw a 3-D blueprint on paper to help this visualization in your mind, then you may do so. When you are ready, come to me and create your object. I will test you on how long you manage to keep it solid."
Melusine (KeplerNova) -
Cal (AnimeNeko123) -
Shadow (S-h-A-d-O-w--C-a-T) -
"Well, it appears you've managed to copy suitably enough." He looked over the small object that the students had turned in. "Of course, those who copy are hardly useful, are they? No, it's much more useful to be able to create something from your mind."
"But you won't be able to hold the shadow in form for long. At most, probably a minute, but this is all right. You will get better as you keep working at it. For now, I would like you to construct an object out of shadow from your imagination. If you need to draw a 3-D blueprint on paper to help this visualization in your mind, then you may do so. When you are ready, come to me and create your object. I will test you on how long you manage to keep it solid."
Melusine (KeplerNova) -
Cal (AnimeNeko123) -
Shadow (S-h-A-d-O-w--C-a-T) -
SHD 303: Shadow Acid
MDrake says:
The draconic teacher made a faint noise of pleasure at the fact that he was able to continue lecturing on this subject. "Now that you have gotten a feel for acid, now you are going to want to start being able to create and use it yourself. With the acid I gave you, you were instructed to get a feel for it, what it was made of, and know how it sits in your shadow. By duplicating that sensation, you can start to manufacture some acid in your shadow on your own. The more complex the formula, the harder it will be to try duplicating it, but that first vial I gave you should be too easy, so we'll move onto the medium strength one."
He gestured toward the second vial that he'd presented to the students before. "Soon as you manage to start producing the formula within your shadows, I want you to start practicing battle moves with it. In particular, tell me one battle move that you think would be very useful when utilizing shadow acid in a fight."
Melusine (KeplerNova) -
The draconic teacher made a faint noise of pleasure at the fact that he was able to continue lecturing on this subject. "Now that you have gotten a feel for acid, now you are going to want to start being able to create and use it yourself. With the acid I gave you, you were instructed to get a feel for it, what it was made of, and know how it sits in your shadow. By duplicating that sensation, you can start to manufacture some acid in your shadow on your own. The more complex the formula, the harder it will be to try duplicating it, but that first vial I gave you should be too easy, so we'll move onto the medium strength one."
He gestured toward the second vial that he'd presented to the students before. "Soon as you manage to start producing the formula within your shadows, I want you to start practicing battle moves with it. In particular, tell me one battle move that you think would be very useful when utilizing shadow acid in a fight."
Melusine (KeplerNova) -
SHD 304: Shadow Stitching
MDrake says:
"In this part of the term, you will be making the remainder of your outfit, not simply an accessory. You may be wondering why it is I ask you to make clothing, and the reason is this: the primary function for this course is both making shadow clothing that fits to your body no matter how it changes, as well as how to stitch up wounds that you may encounter on the battlefield. Stitching the delicate hems and lines of a piece of clothing is an important part of understanding how to stitch up wounds, and you will be doing that in the very last part of the time."
"Thus, you should know what is expected of you this time. You will complete your outfit and imbue it with shadow magic that allows it to morph to the size of your body. If you must test this, then try one of those childhood potions to shrink you down to a child. The clothing should scale with your body if you have done it properly."
Melusine (KeplerNova) -
Lycoris (KnightLycoris) -
"In this part of the term, you will be making the remainder of your outfit, not simply an accessory. You may be wondering why it is I ask you to make clothing, and the reason is this: the primary function for this course is both making shadow clothing that fits to your body no matter how it changes, as well as how to stitch up wounds that you may encounter on the battlefield. Stitching the delicate hems and lines of a piece of clothing is an important part of understanding how to stitch up wounds, and you will be doing that in the very last part of the time."
"Thus, you should know what is expected of you this time. You will complete your outfit and imbue it with shadow magic that allows it to morph to the size of your body. If you must test this, then try one of those childhood potions to shrink you down to a child. The clothing should scale with your body if you have done it properly."
Melusine (KeplerNova) -
Lycoris (KnightLycoris) -
SHD 401: Shadow Puppetry
MDrake says:
The professor steepled his fingers. The inanimate objects had been the first stage of the class, and now he knew his students would be desiring a skill far more useful in their battles. He wouldn't teach them the final stage quite yet, but they would learn something useful today.
"If you happen to think the apple was too good for you, we shall be moving onto manipulating the actions of people. As you may guess, manipulating those with power over shadows is far harder than those without. So we shall start with the latter, as you may find it a fun skill for your future battles."
"As for how you use it, you may have already been anticipating the answer. Much like you can tug around inanimate objects, you can tug the shadows of limbs to move them. Right now you shall be working on jerky movements just to get the idea. With objects, the mass of the object is what puts strain on your abilities, as you must exert more power and effort to move something with more mass than that which does not have as much. The same is true for bodies, but there is something else to consider too: the strength of the limb in opposition to your movement."
"Imagine you were to be arm wrestling someone. When you attempt to push their arm down, they are pushing at yours as well, fighting back against your action. The same is true for shadows. When you move limbs, you will be exerting more focus and energy by fighting against their muscle strength. Notably, those who are weaker will be easier to manipulate than those who are not. But of course they must have a shadow for that to be useful."
[ Move some people around by their shadow who do not have shadow abilities ]
Theon (Yekrutslover) -
Broken (Evil-Wren) -
The professor steepled his fingers. The inanimate objects had been the first stage of the class, and now he knew his students would be desiring a skill far more useful in their battles. He wouldn't teach them the final stage quite yet, but they would learn something useful today.
"If you happen to think the apple was too good for you, we shall be moving onto manipulating the actions of people. As you may guess, manipulating those with power over shadows is far harder than those without. So we shall start with the latter, as you may find it a fun skill for your future battles."
"As for how you use it, you may have already been anticipating the answer. Much like you can tug around inanimate objects, you can tug the shadows of limbs to move them. Right now you shall be working on jerky movements just to get the idea. With objects, the mass of the object is what puts strain on your abilities, as you must exert more power and effort to move something with more mass than that which does not have as much. The same is true for bodies, but there is something else to consider too: the strength of the limb in opposition to your movement."
"Imagine you were to be arm wrestling someone. When you attempt to push their arm down, they are pushing at yours as well, fighting back against your action. The same is true for shadows. When you move limbs, you will be exerting more focus and energy by fighting against their muscle strength. Notably, those who are weaker will be easier to manipulate than those who are not. But of course they must have a shadow for that to be useful."
[ Move some people around by their shadow who do not have shadow abilities ]
Theon (Yekrutslover) -
Broken (Evil-Wren) -
SHD 402: Shadow Erosion
MDrake says:
When the professor said that they would get into bloodier actions, he certainly meant it. He faced the three students with a rather serious look on his face, arms folded over his chest. "You probably think you are fast with shadow tendrils, but you will learn a completely new use for them today. As I said before, torture can be quick, or it can be slow."
He created from his shadows a grinding stone. Slowly, he turned the stone. "This is much like a shadow tendril being used at your current speed." He then sent the grinding stone spinning. "And this is the speed you will be seeking to achieve. Your tendrils are sharp enough to inflict damage at high speeds, enough to grind away. That is the goal of erosion, to slowly erode the body."
"Practice whipping your tendrils at a circular speed. Right now, we will focus on shadow blades, which are tendrils spinning at a high speed, enough to slice through something. You will create a shadow blade and send it through something -- the choice is yours, though I would suggest it would be something soft and full of blood. After you get the hang of keeping the shadow tendrils' speed high, we will focus on actual grinding instead of sending them out, as the former requires more brain power."
Ida (JeanaWei) -
Theon (Yekrutslover) -
Broken (Evil-Wren) -
When the professor said that they would get into bloodier actions, he certainly meant it. He faced the three students with a rather serious look on his face, arms folded over his chest. "You probably think you are fast with shadow tendrils, but you will learn a completely new use for them today. As I said before, torture can be quick, or it can be slow."
He created from his shadows a grinding stone. Slowly, he turned the stone. "This is much like a shadow tendril being used at your current speed." He then sent the grinding stone spinning. "And this is the speed you will be seeking to achieve. Your tendrils are sharp enough to inflict damage at high speeds, enough to grind away. That is the goal of erosion, to slowly erode the body."
"Practice whipping your tendrils at a circular speed. Right now, we will focus on shadow blades, which are tendrils spinning at a high speed, enough to slice through something. You will create a shadow blade and send it through something -- the choice is yours, though I would suggest it would be something soft and full of blood. After you get the hang of keeping the shadow tendrils' speed high, we will focus on actual grinding instead of sending them out, as the former requires more brain power."
Ida (JeanaWei) -
Theon (Yekrutslover) -
Broken (Evil-Wren) -
SHD 403: Shadow Reconstruction
MDrake says:
The professor nodded to himself. "Right, we have completed bones, and as you might assume, muscles are going to be the next step. You must go to the anatomy sections of the medicine department and study anatomy there to learn where the muscles connect. Or, alternately, you could always take a victim of your choice down to the dungeon, shackle them to a table, and remove their skin so you can examine the musculature below."
He paused for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I think that's what I'll require. Find a victim, skin them, and look at the musculature. You will then remove one of their muscles and reconstruct it with shadow, as you will have an exact replica available to you."
Though he had originally considered against the last part, he held out two potions. "These potions will rejuvenate your victim and make it so that they have not been inflicted any injuries at all. They will also lose memory of the event, so feel free to choose whoever you want."
Ida (JeanaWei) -
Theon (Yekrutslover) -
Broken (Evil-Wren) -
The professor nodded to himself. "Right, we have completed bones, and as you might assume, muscles are going to be the next step. You must go to the anatomy sections of the medicine department and study anatomy there to learn where the muscles connect. Or, alternately, you could always take a victim of your choice down to the dungeon, shackle them to a table, and remove their skin so you can examine the musculature below."
He paused for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I think that's what I'll require. Find a victim, skin them, and look at the musculature. You will then remove one of their muscles and reconstruct it with shadow, as you will have an exact replica available to you."
Though he had originally considered against the last part, he held out two potions. "These potions will rejuvenate your victim and make it so that they have not been inflicted any injuries at all. They will also lose memory of the event, so feel free to choose whoever you want."
Ida (JeanaWei) -
Theon (Yekrutslover) -
Broken (Evil-Wren) -
