hh_mirror | Ancient Runes class is held

callmewednesday.livejournal.com posting in

Mr. Wednesday knows full well that the kind of magic he does is a magic that can't be taught. There will be no field trip to Mimir's Well at the base of Yggdrasill. For one thing, few students are likely to sign a waiver stating they forfeit an eye or a limb or some other body part for the sake of wisdom. Nor does Wednesday believe that the Wizarding Examinations Authority would approve the task of hanging on the World Tree for nine days and nine nights, even if the students could survive it (the no-kill rule being no help with the World Tree located off Hogwarts grounds, naturally).

The kind of magic Wednesday does is a magic he alone can use to its fullest extent.

Nonetheless, he can share with them some basic facts. He can show them the letter-forms, teach them to carve and to color the letters known in his own language as secret. He can teach them the names of the letters.

It'll be a little like kindergarten.

Wednesday is good at giving speeches. He's good at lecturing. He can keep an audience's attention, provided the audience isn't comprised of simpletons; Wednesday has never had time for simpletons. He doesn't suffer fools gladly.

(It's too bad Beowulf signed up for his class, all things considered.)

He stands before the class wearing black Hogwarts robes over his Armani suit. (He draws the line, however, at a wizard's hat.) The chalkboard is already covered with symbols. He has in his hand a polished length of ash wood which he uses as a pointer. (It may or may not have been intended for use as a wand. Safe to say Wednesday can handle wandless magic.)

"These writings," he gestures to the board, "should have given you some idea which class you are attending, it is to be hoped. If you had not guessed, this is Ancient Runes class, and I am Mr. Wednesday. The course has no syllabus. We'll talk about whatever I deem useful or worthy. The course also has no textbook. There is no book presently in publication that I think would be any use to you. Those of you who signed up for the course will have seen on the sign-up sheet that I abjure the use of the Hogwarts-recommended text Ancient Runes Made Easy. My reasoning bears repeating: Runes are never easy. Think of this discipline as a workout. If it doesn't hurt, you're not doing it right."

There are a few handouts, which he directs the class to keep. They'll be useful, what with no textbook to consult. One is the Elder Futhark. One is the Younger Futhark: long-branch, short-twig, and staveless. One is the Anglo-Saxon runic alphabet, the futhorc.

The last handout contains four images, labeled neatly with identifying captions. They are pictures of the Björketorp monument:

a photograph of the monument;
a drawing of the monument, somewhat stylized, with the runic inscriptions far clearer;
a closeup of one side of the monument;
and a closeup of the reverse side.

Wednesday runs through a brief history of runology — "what the scholars would like to think, that is." He explains that the runic alphabet is thought to have been derived from Northern Italic alphabets, and that the earliest extant runic inscriptions date to the second century CE. (Wednesday doesn't care much for dating things according to the birth of Christ, so "the Common Era" it is, to hell with anno Domini.) He notes that the runes survived in specialized usage long after Christianity came to the North and brought with it the Latin language and alphabet. He distributes each of the alphabet handouts and describes the alphabet thereon, each in turn.

"Parchment and quill were not the intended medium for runic inscription. Runes were carved on staves of wood. They were engraved in stone. They were scratched into combs and tools made of bone. However, I think it best not to assign you a task which involves the use of sharp objects in my classroom. You can use quills without poking an eye out. I think you'll be able to handle today's activity:

"Write your name in the runes of the Elder Futhark. Then show it to your neighbor and see whether he or she can decipher what you've written. The exercise has more practical benefit if you aren't already acquainted with your neighbor, needless to say.

"At our next class, we'll be discussing the Björketorp runestone. That would be the monument pictured on the last handout I've given you. If you find time between Sortings and sundry revelries to do some reading, you may want to have a look over that handout, perhaps even to try reading the runes on the monument. Those of you who feel particularly attracted to the runes may then seek in the Hogwarts library this article." He points to a citation already written on the board: E.O.G. Turville-Petre and A.S.C. Ross. "Agrell's 'Magico-Numerical' Theory of the Runes." Folklore, Vol. 47, No. 2. (Jun. 1936), pp. 203-213. "And those of you who have read all that and wish further enlightenment will be welcome to visit my office. Owl me ahead of time and I may even be waiting for you with tea."

There is a stack of parchment and a pile of spare quills as well as some pots of ink on the table at the head of the classroom. It seems Wednesday felt his students might not remember to bring their own.

"You may begin your communal efforts." Wednesday almost smirks when he says it. The idea of groupwork amuses him.

(( OOC: First off, the link to the PBS site contains a script that, if you plug in a name, will generate that name in runes. Easy. Just remember to disable NoScript if you have that Firefox plug-in, or it won't work. ;) Second, those of you with characters who'd ICly read Wednesday's optional article on runic magic may consider the character to have read it without having OOCly done so. Third, if you have any questions OOCly, feel free to ping me; if you have questions ICly, please note in the subject line of your comment that you'd like Wednesday to answer. Otherwise I'll assume you're playing amongst yourselves.

The characters who signed up for Runes are listed here, but characters who didn't sign up are still welcome to attend.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

cardarchitect.livejournal.com

Near takes careful mental note of all that Wednesday says, studies the handouts closely.

He doesn't flinch outwardly at the assignment, but there is a mental wince. Why is it always names?

Nonetheless, he completes it handily.

From:

red-eyed-l.livejournal.com

Beyond took great delight in writing his name down. He peeked over Near's shoulder.

"Now that looks simple and nice, doesn't it? Too bad it's wrong."

[OOC: Beyond in Runes]

(http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/timeladyfred/?action=view&current=runes_b.gif) (http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/timeladyfred/?action=view&current=runes_e.gif) (http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/timeladyfred/?action=view&current=runes_j.gif) (http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/timeladyfred/?action=view&current=runes_o.gif) (http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/timeladyfred/?action=view&current=runes_n.gif) (http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n274/timeladyfred/?action=view&current=runes_d.gif)

From:

cardarchitect.livejournal.com

Oh. Him.

"It's quite correct, I assure you. But shouldn't yours read..."

He scratched another inscription on his paper.