(no subject)

[sythyry]

The Enchantment Project from Last Term

Ordinarily, an enchantment proceeds in periods a week long. The enchanter must be up at dawn, working for a few hours -- some days one can get away with an hour or two, some days things go slowly and one misses lunch and one's morning classes.

Now, this work is somewhat subtle. There are many, many things that can go wrong. These include:

1. One may have one of the chalk lines of the tlelexis-mlo diagram smudged by one's tablemate's tail ... or perhaps one's own, though it looked more like a fur-smudge than a feather-smudge ... and one does not notice until after the hastravanne.
2. One of the relevant gods missing the point of one of the rituals.
3. One may decide after five hours that the examination in Notable Magical Catastrophes is more important than getting the enchantment working right that week.
4. Some of the paste holding up the corner of the aquamarine cloth on one side of the mini-altar may come unstuck at an awkward time of the ceremony. One should have tied it up with threads.
5. One might get an inferior or contaminated grade of certhany from an inferior or contaminating spice-seller in the market, on a day when a relevant deity cares about such things.
6. One may stumble over words when repeating aitasi sirifei fossissa sosothai the required 345,463,235,134,654,834,562,163,145,154,166,562,235,121,643,653 times. Well, twenty-three, but still. Or perhaps one miscounted, though one suspects one might have said aitasi sirifei fossissa ssosothai or even aitasi sirifei fossissa sossothai.
7. One may take a step backwards and trip over a stylus that a Zi Ri at the next table over has just dropped.
8. One may be distracted by the sight of a small and savory bird flying outside the laboratory, and forget a word.
9. One may forget to put powdered salt on the polishing cloth.
10. One may get to the classroom just shortly after dawn, because of a pleasant, if brandy-laden, previous night.
11. One may regard one's table-mate with horror, for one has seen her at her indecent recreations the night before.

No, I didn't do all of these. These were some of the main guesses why various peoples' projects didn't get done this term. The only ones that did get finished this term are Esory's and Rhedwy's.

Comments

[dracosphynx.livejournal.com]

So, what was Rhedwy's project?

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

A very mundane device that digs trenches, which she has already sold to a construction company.

[dracosphynx.livejournal.com]

A very clever and profiting classmate!

[tempralisis.livejournal.com]

Out of curiosity, Destroc Herbador, Ruloc Herbador, or Creoc Locador?
-Tau

[cattitude.livejournal.com]

One may wonder whether someone in the class has reason to wish one to fail when one of reasons 1, 4, 5, 7 (this may not apply to all present), or 11 has just occurred. This in the spirit of the court, rather than that of the university.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Destroc Herbador. Very mundane.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Hmm.... 1 was due to someone turning around carelessly. 4 was due to the paster not having hands and having enough sense not to ask for help after 1. 5 is hypothetical, being mentioned by the teacher as a problem in more than one previous class. 7 certainly does not apply to anyone present! 11 may well be malice.

Ummm ...

[esory.livejournal.com]

Sorry about that brandy.

If there's anything I can do to help you out with it this term, just let me know, k?

Re: Ummm ...

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Never fear! I shall do so energetically, and with a devout sort of smarmy enthusiasm!