Term 1:Lesson II

[Ethelion Eriksson]

"Greetings class. I have read all your assignments... and they were EXCELLENT! Well done, everybody. At this rate you'll all receive an 'Exceeds Expectations' on your tests!" Prof. Ethelion looked around the room with a smile. His students in their first lesson and their assignments had proven to be avid students of history. Just think, a new generation of revisionist historians!

"Well now, today's lesson will be about the Legend of Jason and Medea. Jason as you all know was a muggle hero who sadly fell to the temptation of his quest to rescue the Golden Fleece, an object of great magical power from the King of Thebes who was assisted by a wizard, Diomedes the Dragon Tamer. Medea, our heroine in this case, ultimately sacrifices much for the wizarding cause. Now, has anyone heard of this story?" asked Professor Ethelion. He glanced around the room and saw one of his students raising a hand into the air. "Yes?"

[James McFinnigan]

"Well, I've heard of the Golden Fleece, but what did it do exactly? I mean, why did Jason want it so bad?"

[Ethelion Eriksson]

"Good question, Mr. Fin. Do you all recall Nicholas Flammel? The great wizard who created the Sorcerer's Stone, or at least that is what we refer to it in the East. The Stone gave it's beholder longevity without aging. Well, the golden fleece, Mr. Finnigan (is it?) was a map! Yes, a map much like in a treasure hunt, it was a map to the first prototype of a Sorcerer's Stone." Professor Ethelion replied.

He began to concentrate mentally on a picture of the story of Jason, Medea and their adventures that have been recorded into song and legend.

Meanwhile, a white puffy cloud was forming...

"Any other questions before we launch into our visual history?" asked Prof. Ethelion.

[Lisa Turpin]

Lisa listened intently from the back of the room, her eyes following her quill as she jotted down important notes. She had never heard anything like this story before, and felt her interest heighten with each word.

[Ashlee Van Dort]

Ashlee walked into class and sat in the front of the classroom. She listened closely to the Professor's lesson and was highly interested in it. She remembered her mother telling her the stories when she was a child.

[Helia Ollivander]

She shook her head and started writing furiously, this was something she did not want to miss.

[James McFinnigan]

(ooc: It's actually McFinnigan, or Mr. McFinnigan as the teachers usually call my character and stuff.)

[Ethelion Eriksson]

OCC: "Well, Mr. McFinnigan, you'll have to excuse me, I'm new at this you know?"

In Character:

"Well then here goes..."

The white cloud turned black. The room's shades closed themselves at a wave of Prof. Ethelion's hand. Then slowly a fuzzy image, quickly sharpening in details appeared on the screen.

"There you have our muggle hero, for now, Jason and his band of Argonauts. They have been tasked by the great wizard Laertes, on his deathbed, to seek the Golden Fleece in a last attempt to keep himself alive for a little while longer."

The screen shows a young man in his prime, with a finely toned body, brown curly hair, dressed in robes and sandals. His face is clean shaven, his eyes downcast. He sighed and looked towards the unforgiving sea...

"Jason, yes ladies, that's Jason... He is looking seawards for a favorable wind to begin his voyage. Laertes is his liege lord, in that the wizard had once saved Jason's life. Our hero, in a last attempt to keep his lord alive out of respect for the old man and out of love, since the old man had been a father to him, is desperately hoping for what muggles consider to be divine signs. Favorable winds and the like."

The scene on the screen has now shifted. The young man is now on his boat along with his crew of companions drawn from all the city states of muggle Greece. There is Hercules, who's father was what muggles considered to be divine Zeus. He was actually a wizard, and an exceptionally powerful one. There was Pollux and Castor, brothers in arms. And the list of fine young men all about to be budding heros simply goes on and on.

...

"At last after seven months of hard voyaging (notice how seven is a magical number...) Jason reaches the city state of Thebes. He is immediately set upon by men sent by Diomedes, the rebel wizard, in the hopes of driving the Argonauts as the crew has called themselves back into the sea."

Scene shows a battle in progress. Jason with his long sword is battling a brute of compact build but heavily muscled. He blocks, and parries, relying on his foot work and speed. His opponent with brute force knocks Jason flying with a heavy blow of the cudgel against Jason's shield. That would have been the end of our hero had not Hercules stepped into the fray. Dressed in his flowing lion's skin that was impermeable to arrows and weapons, he went into battle against that brute, the mainstay of the enemy line. The brute raised his cudgel and brought it crashing down on the skull of Hercules protected by the lion's head. Hercules however caught the blow in midair. Slowly exerting strength, our hero forces the cudgel back against the brute. Snap. The hold on the cudgel was broken, and our hero quickly took advantage of the situation. He headbutted the brute, and brought the blunt end of his enemy's cudgel onto the skill of the brute. The enemy lines dismayed, began to fall back.

Hercules about to pursue, was stopped by a dazed yet clear headed Jason. "Stop! Do not pursue them. It may only be a feigned retreat. And besides, we need the Theban's hospitality if we are to get what we came here for," said Jason in ancient Greek (Prof. Ethelion translating).

OCC: You guys like so far? PM comments to me

...

[James McFinnigan]

"Yeah, that's all well and good, but I thought 7 was just a lucky number. Isn't the magic number 3?"

[Lisa Turpin]

Lisa watched the 'film' intently, her eyes taking in all the details with fascination. Hercules a wizard! She thought, her eyebrows rising. She was familiar with Muggle Myths and Hercules had been one of the more famous ones she had read. Feeling a buzz of excitement come over her, she leaned into her seat, ready for the upcoming scenes.

[Keaira Liath]

Keaira watched the film intently, only looking away periodically to take painstakingly detailed notes. Jason's footwork and speed were fascinating; it was no wonder he had done so well. Of course, having Hercules as his backup couldn't have hurt, she thought with a tiny chuckle to herself.

[Ethelion Eriksson]

Jason and his band finally reach Thebes. Jason meets up with Medea, a beautiful girl of 17, a witch just coming into her own powers. She has flowing chestnut hair, and is dressed in a simple robe of deep red. Her father had been killed by Diomedes upon his seizure of power in the wizarding community. While her father tried to keep the muggle and wizarding worlds separate, Diomedes fragrantly went against that time honored principle. Her fight with Diomedes is even more bitter, as he has of late began to have an ... unhealthy interest in the girl.
...

Jason and Medea conspire together.
"Now that you know my story and I know yours, what will we do? You promised to help me?"

"Oh Jason, I will. The blood feud with Diomedes... it's an issue that must be resolved. You have to believe me, and follow my plan."

One could see that Jason was entranced by the figure standing before him. He reached out and placed a hand around her waist. "I have faith in you." And the thus the curse on our heroine was placed. The fires of passion enveloped them both down to their deepest marrow. She placed her hand on his face, and leaned into him, smelling his body. Her head only just touched his chin, and Jason bent down to smell her hair... It reminded him of the sweetly smelling orchard that he hadn't been in for nine months now... He reached for the brooch that clasped her cloak, and loosened it with a gentle jerk.

"AHEM... we're going to fast forward a bit, class... yes..." said Prof. Ethelion with feigned calm.

[Ashlee Van Dort]

Ashlee giggled and smiled innocently at the Professor then returned to movie.

[Ethelion Eriksson]

"So Jason and Medea, like most of you, have raging hormones as well. Not to mention that these two have what the ancient Greek muggles and wizards called FATUM. These two were destined to be together... in their case, it didn't go too well... pity..."
...

The scene now switches to the two companions stealthily making their way into Diomede's bedchamber. Medea, dressed in a thin shift of pure purple silk, and Jason following her, dressed as a manservant, walked beside her with a lantern. He had to prevent any guards from entering the room where Medea was to perform for Diomedes. They reached the side street where Medea knew Diomedes made his home. She whispered words of incantation, "Karadon, Faros, Tritsche!" A doorway suddenly opened in the wall. Motioning for Jason to put on his hood to conceal his features, Medea led him into the Dragon Tamer's Lair.
...
She had been entertaining the lying bastard for an hour now... If the wine didn't take effect soon... she would be hard put to repel his tipsy and crude advances. Jason was right outside. "Lord knows the things he may be thinking," thought Medea as she twirled in her dance for the tenth time tonight in front of Diomedes. At least he had dismissed his guards, and Jason would have an easier time. ... But it's working. Slowly but surely, his eyes were drooping. The eyelids were falling. Yes, there they are...

She had waited so long for this moment. There was the fool, for once away from the palace and its guards, and the closest help was at the entrance to the hall while Jason was right outside. But this task, she had set out to do herself. Tonight was to be a night of vengeance. She snatched out one of the pins that had held her hair in tresses. Slowly, she extracted them one by one, three in all. Combining the three, she used a fine thread to bind them until they fitted into one long stick. Her wand was now ready. Pointing it at the inert figure of Diomedes, Medea gathered her hatred, her anger, and her past feelings of helplessness. She channeled her fury, her rage into one spell, one that she had pioneered. "Exiscat vitam!" she shouted silently. A blast of light green light shot out from her wand and slammed into the body of Diomedes. Before he even had a chance to react, her magic was already burning him, twisting his body into flame.

Jason rushed into the room, saw the commotion. With one swift fluid motion, he sent a dagger flying through the air. It landed with a thud in the throat of the wizard. Medea's fire finished the rest. By the time it was done, there was only a charred corpse on the blackened bedsheet.
...

[Lisa Turpin]

Although Lisa had blushed immensley during the beginnings of the fastforward scene, she was soon once again captivated in the lesson. Keeping her eyes on the heroine, she let her eyes follow the film, watching the plan unfold.