It was so hot outside, and the shadowmancy professor could barely tolerate it. He may have been a reptile, but he wasn't cold blooded, and high temperatures often made him sick. As a result, he looked out of sorts, glaring at the students like they were the reason why he had to tolerate this obnoxious heat.
"It appears that most of your classmates are on summer vacation, likely killing each other in the tournament." He nodded in agreement at the statement. It was nice to think of students killing each other. "But some of you, it seems, are intent on showing me your dedication to the department." He glanced over the third year students and gave them a tiny nod of approval, then looked toward the beginning students. "And some of you have yet to show me that you're worth even a fraction of my time."
"If you haven't figured it out yet, this is shadowmancy. Here, you shall learn one of the most aggressive types of magic in the academy. Be aware that you will fight, and you will be injured, as well as you will be injuring others. If this is too difficult for you to handle, go spend your time in the medical department, and cease the assured waste of mine."
SHD 101: Shadowmancy in Nature
MDrake says:
Professor Moritz's claws tapped against the desk that he leaned against. "This first course is Shadowmancy in Nature, or a study of beings that utilize shadowmancy within the natural world. Our first lesson will be on plants that use shadowmancy. I suppose I needn't explain that all shadow-using plants are carnivorous, as you should have the mental capability to infer that for yourself."
He pushed away from the desk and slowly approached the student who was enrolled in the course. "Your first assignment will take you well into the depths of the mountains to the west. There, you'll find places in pure darkness, where shadow plants live. As there is no light down there, these plants have evolved to reject photosynthesis and instead to use shadow to catch prey. Similar to a venus fly trap or a pitcher plant, they digest their prey with enzymes in their stomach acid and absorb the nutrients."
"I will give you a map, and with it, you shall bring yourself to a cave in the mountains - one I have marked as not being terribly dangerous, though I won't promise safety. Inside the cave you will be surrounded by darkness, and upon bringing a flashlight, locate a shadow plant. You will know it is there because it will probably try to kill you. Harvest part of it, then go the shadowmancy library and look up what specimen you have taken. When you have identified the plant, bring it to me and I shall grade your efforts."
[Assignment - Draw, write, or roleplay your character going into the mountains to get a shadow plant specimen. ]
Willow Vullexa - 5
Luz gabbydo02
Leon ArsNatura
Bloody Evil-Wren
Cyrix The3schizos7467 - 5
Marlena Sharkiey
Willow Vullexa - 5
Luz gabbydo02
Leon ArsNatura
Bloody Evil-Wren
Cyrix The3schizos7467 - 5
Marlena Sharkiey
SHD 102: Aggressive Shadowmancy
MDrake says:
Shadow tendrils were certainly this professor's favorite type of aggressive shadowmancy, because they slithered along the ground like black snakes as he moved onto the next subject. "This course, Aggressive Shadowmancy, will teach you the simplest form of aggressive magic using shadowmancy, and that is the use of the shadow tendril. The simplest explanation for this type of magic is constriction magic - a shadow tendril's goal is to constrict a target, either restricting their movement or putting enough pressure on their body to cause blood vessel disruption, and thus death, similar to a constricting snake."
A single, barbed shadow tendril curled around each student. While they weren't constricting very hard, the barbs pressed uncomfortably into the students' skin, causing some squirming. A glare from the professor made the students tense and force themselves not to move. A moment later, each student experienced a sensation like gaining an extra limb as the shadow tendril's control was passed to the student. Some of them were already starting to flick the end of the shadow tendril back and forth like tails. However, as the students started moving around the shadow tendrils, their thorns pulled back into their forms, leaving them with a smooth surface.
"Familiarize yourself with my shadow tendrils," the professor murmured to the students. "As you get used to moving your tendril around, you shall start experimenting with lifting them out of your own shadow, or the shadows of other objects. You will only be able to create smooth shadow tendrils for now, but do not fear. Constriction is still a wonderful way to fight. That said, I would like you to create some shadow tendrils of your own, then find a victim to wrap with them."
[Assignment - Create some smooth shadow tendrils, then constrict another student with them. ]
Casper Kawa-Mucchi - 4
Isobel halcyon-moon - 5
Midnite kunehoGod
Aimee AnimeImages
Sever AnimeImages
Licht Leo-Awesome - 4
Rhapsody kunehoGod
Amazi Firelord-Lia - 5
Darell Tiny-Midget
Naho moneyoniis - 5
Evan JayVerti
Lilith musicpackwolf - 4
Calliey Classicblackcat - 5
Tapu DangoJU
Silverthorne NoxSilverlight - 5
Lavender Owl-een
Nikitus MartiniCup
Marlena Sharkiey
Go follow the assistant professor to his classroom.
"Well, shadow wormholes are something that is quite useful. In the first part of the term, we will be focusing on shadow wormholes around the academy, and how you can use them to speed up your movements."
He cleared his throat and closed his bright yellow eyes. "You are probably familiar with shadowporting, and how it requires a strong focus, as well as a knowledge of the place that you are attempting to go to... and, of course, the state of the shadows on the other side, your destination. There are shadow wormholes, however, that are fixed points between one place and another, and these do not require your focus, and they do not change... hence why they are called fixed."
He gestured for the student to follow him out into the hallway. He silently walked until he reached the end of the hallway, where the classrooms ended and there appeared to be nothing but a wall. "Do you see this space here?" He pointed to the wall, a pitch black color in the dark building. "This is a wormhole. If you step through it, it will take you to a random place within the shadowmancy building."
He inclined his head. "I want you to jump into this no less than five times, and report where you land each time. That will give you a good sense of how these feel, and you will be able to sense them out around the campus."
Tishna soapiesthorse - 5
"It's comforting to know I'm not wasting my time on you," he said, studying the students. "For now." He always tempered his expectations, even if life was so full of disappointment. "The point of this course is to learn how to create objects out of shadow -- many shadowmancers enjoy creating weapons out of shadow, for instance, but if you want something more..." He paused. "...routine, you can make anything you wish. The shadows can effectively be your 3D printer."
He held out one hand and formed a small ceremonial knife. It was pure black, and rejected the light, appearing to be a solid form. He held the handle and moved it about. "This is truly just another form of illusion magic, but strong enough that they can hold their form, such as shadow tendrils do. Your first task shall be to a take a small object and duplicate it into a shadow form. Bring both the original and the duplicate to me for grading."
[ Assignment: Duplicate a small object. ]
Tishna soapiesthorse - 5
Rose MichiYaslana
Cal AnimeNeko123 - 5
Casper Kawa-Mucchi - 4
Isobel halcyon-moon - 5
Midnite kunehoGod
Aimee AnimeImages
Sever AnimeImages
Licht Leo-Awesome - 4
Rhapsody kunehoGod
Amazi Firelord-Lia - 5
Darell Tiny-Midget
Naho moneyoniis - 5
Evan JayVerti
Lilith musicpackwolf - 4
Calliey Classicblackcat - 5
Tapu DangoJU
Silverthorne NoxSilverlight - 5
Lavender Owl-een
Nikitus MartiniCup
Marlena Sharkiey
SHD 103: Shadowstalking
SHD 104: The Shadow Realm
SHD 201: Shadowporting
SHD 203: Shadow Illusions
Go follow the assistant professor to his classroom.
SHD 301: Shadow Wormholes
MDrake says:
"Well, shadow wormholes are something that is quite useful. In the first part of the term, we will be focusing on shadow wormholes around the academy, and how you can use them to speed up your movements."
He cleared his throat and closed his bright yellow eyes. "You are probably familiar with shadowporting, and how it requires a strong focus, as well as a knowledge of the place that you are attempting to go to... and, of course, the state of the shadows on the other side, your destination. There are shadow wormholes, however, that are fixed points between one place and another, and these do not require your focus, and they do not change... hence why they are called fixed."
He gestured for the student to follow him out into the hallway. He silently walked until he reached the end of the hallway, where the classrooms ended and there appeared to be nothing but a wall. "Do you see this space here?" He pointed to the wall, a pitch black color in the dark building. "This is a wormhole. If you step through it, it will take you to a random place within the shadowmancy building."
He inclined his head. "I want you to jump into this no less than five times, and report where you land each time. That will give you a good sense of how these feel, and you will be able to sense them out around the campus."
Tishna soapiesthorse - 5
SHD 302: Shadow Objects
MDrake says:
"It's comforting to know I'm not wasting my time on you," he said, studying the students. "For now." He always tempered his expectations, even if life was so full of disappointment. "The point of this course is to learn how to create objects out of shadow -- many shadowmancers enjoy creating weapons out of shadow, for instance, but if you want something more..." He paused. "...routine, you can make anything you wish. The shadows can effectively be your 3D printer."
He held out one hand and formed a small ceremonial knife. It was pure black, and rejected the light, appearing to be a solid form. He held the handle and moved it about. "This is truly just another form of illusion magic, but strong enough that they can hold their form, such as shadow tendrils do. Your first task shall be to a take a small object and duplicate it into a shadow form. Bring both the original and the duplicate to me for grading."
[ Assignment: Duplicate a small object. ]
Tishna soapiesthorse - 5
Rose MichiYaslana
Cal AnimeNeko123 - 5
SHD 303: Shadow Acid
MDrake says:
The professor's eyes seemed to brighten at the thought of the subject. Shadow acid was certainly getting more into what he was interested in. "This course involves a certain amount of alchemy," he said. "Essentially what you will be doing is studying the properties of acids -- and perhaps extreme bases, if you really feel the need -- and then modifying your shadows to mimic those properties. As follows, your shadows will gain a rather potent ability to burn away at those you desire."
He moved away from his desk, where three vials of acid sat in glass. "This first glass is carbonic acid, which is a fairly weak acid and has a formula of H2CO3 . The second acid, one you may be more familiar with, is sulfuric acid, with a formula of H2SO4. The last is fluoroantimonic acid, with the formula of H2FSbF
The professor's eyes seemed to brighten at the thought of the subject. Shadow acid was certainly getting more into what he was interested in. "This course involves a certain amount of alchemy," he said. "Essentially what you will be doing is studying the properties of acids -- and perhaps extreme bases, if you really feel the need -- and then modifying your shadows to mimic those properties. As follows, your shadows will gain a rather potent ability to burn away at those you desire."
He moved away from his desk, where three vials of acid sat in glass. "This first glass is carbonic acid, which is a fairly weak acid and has a formula of H2CO3 . The second acid, one you may be more familiar with, is sulfuric acid, with a formula of H2SO4. The last is fluoroantimonic acid, with the formula of H2FSbF
6, and is extremely dangerous... heh."
"You, as an introduction to this course, will be playing with the first vial." He picked it up and handed it to the student. Throwing it was tempting, though. "Study the acid, let it soak into your shadows. Use it on flesh, and report back on how it works. It is a weak acid, so you needn't be too careful..."
Tishna soapiesthorse - 5
"You, as an introduction to this course, will be playing with the first vial." He picked it up and handed it to the student. Throwing it was tempting, though. "Study the acid, let it soak into your shadows. Use it on flesh, and report back on how it works. It is a weak acid, so you needn't be too careful..."
Tishna soapiesthorse - 5
SHD 304: Shadow Stitching
MDrake says:
The professor looked over the students who had registered for his class. "A lot of students find this class enjoyable, so I suppose you may as well. It depends on whether you enjoy designing a new piece of clothing for your wardrobe." He closed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "By the time we are finished with the term, I would like to see each of you having completed a full, completely new outfit for yourselves. Whether you decide to wear it after that is not my concern, but the outfit must be high quality for me to consider passing you."
Having said that, the professor stretched a piece of shadow ahead of him. "Shadows can be used by shadowmancers to create a physical form, as you are already aware by having taken the shadow bandages course. You will, of course, need to keep the shadows solid to make clothing, or you risk the possibility of your clothing simply disappearing from your body."
"First, you will be making something simple for your outfit. You may start with something like an accessory."
Ida JeanaWei - 5
The professor faced the upperclass students with a blank expression, though after a moment he almost seemed to smile. Maybe. Perhaps it was a trick of the eye? "It seems you're all not so useless after all, and for that I'm quite surprised. I'm quite proud, in a way, that you haven't blatantly failed like most who have come before you."
His gaze flicked from student to student, then he finally began his lesson. "In this high ability class, you will be focusing on the equivalent of shadow telekinesis. With traditional telekinesis, you use the force of your mind to move an object by exerting energy on it. In this course, what you will be doing is similar to that, except you will be exerting your energy and force of will on the shadow of objects and people."
He placed an apple on his desk. He then focused on the shadow cast down from it, sliding the shadow along the desk. The apple slid along with it, always connected to the shadow it had cast. "As you can see, if you grab hold of a shadow with your mind and tug it, the object will come with. Typically, you expect that an object's movement will affect the shadow, and that is true, of course. But you will also find that the shadow's movement can affect the object if performed by those with control over shadows."
He tossed an apple to each of the students. "You will practice doing the same with these apples, as I have shown you. It shouldn't be very difficult. If you get the hang of it, you could use it to fling small objects around."
[ Practice moving an object by moving its shadow around. ]
Ida JeanaWei
The professor looked over the students who had registered for his class. "A lot of students find this class enjoyable, so I suppose you may as well. It depends on whether you enjoy designing a new piece of clothing for your wardrobe." He closed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "By the time we are finished with the term, I would like to see each of you having completed a full, completely new outfit for yourselves. Whether you decide to wear it after that is not my concern, but the outfit must be high quality for me to consider passing you."
Having said that, the professor stretched a piece of shadow ahead of him. "Shadows can be used by shadowmancers to create a physical form, as you are already aware by having taken the shadow bandages course. You will, of course, need to keep the shadows solid to make clothing, or you risk the possibility of your clothing simply disappearing from your body."
"First, you will be making something simple for your outfit. You may start with something like an accessory."
Ida JeanaWei - 5
SHD 401: Shadow Puppetry
MDrake says:
The professor faced the upperclass students with a blank expression, though after a moment he almost seemed to smile. Maybe. Perhaps it was a trick of the eye? "It seems you're all not so useless after all, and for that I'm quite surprised. I'm quite proud, in a way, that you haven't blatantly failed like most who have come before you."
His gaze flicked from student to student, then he finally began his lesson. "In this high ability class, you will be focusing on the equivalent of shadow telekinesis. With traditional telekinesis, you use the force of your mind to move an object by exerting energy on it. In this course, what you will be doing is similar to that, except you will be exerting your energy and force of will on the shadow of objects and people."
He placed an apple on his desk. He then focused on the shadow cast down from it, sliding the shadow along the desk. The apple slid along with it, always connected to the shadow it had cast. "As you can see, if you grab hold of a shadow with your mind and tug it, the object will come with. Typically, you expect that an object's movement will affect the shadow, and that is true, of course. But you will also find that the shadow's movement can affect the object if performed by those with control over shadows."
He tossed an apple to each of the students. "You will practice doing the same with these apples, as I have shown you. It shouldn't be very difficult. If you get the hang of it, you could use it to fling small objects around."
[ Practice moving an object by moving its shadow around. ]
Ida JeanaWei
