<div class="floatright">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/19/59/d5/1959d5a89df588d70e329492b8e6ff84.jpg)</div><strong>Location:</strong>Merryweather's Office<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Alundra<br/><br/>Professor Merryweather maintained her warmth and composure, understanding how difficult it can be for new students who aren't accustomed to the supernatural.  "The library has a number of good choices in separating fact from fiction," she explained.  "Illuminating the Shadows by Alexei Dragunov is a good read, but a number of students will recognize it and may tease you if they see you reading through it in public.  It was also written in the 1950s, and I don't know how much modern media has butchered the original sources to stories, but I think you know that vampires don't actually sparkle."  The hint of a smile held a touch of mirth.  "Specifically regarding night classes, vampires employ magic parasols to allow them to walk out during the day without burning up.  I've heard that some of the universities that precede Nevermore were entirely nocturnal so as to accommodate vampires and ask everyone to switch to that schedule, but I'm less than a thousand years old, so much of my understanding therein is secondary."<br/><br/>The question of danger got the professor more serious.  "Magic is far more dangerous than science," she explained, "because science hasn't learned how to affect the soul or pass through to other realms yet.  Even so, the analogy holds up.  Both supernatural mores and various guardians keep the mundane world from being plagued with various hexes and curses that would affect Earth in a widespread manner, however.  Just as the normies are at some small risk of a rampaging lunatic causing havoc with an axe, but various law enforcement officials mitigate the possibility for the most part, so too do we have few incidents of vampiric blood cults and the like.  Horror movies tell stories of isolated monsters who cause all sorts of problems, alone among their kind and others, where mundane hunters must step up to deal with the threat, and that rarely happens.  Most of us who hear about unexplained murders and the like will move to investigate."<br/><br/>Regarding different versions of the same spell, Merryweather explained, "Think of a light bulb.  The original design, made in 1880, has various issues that make it impractical for today's use, so people have studied and figured out better methods to make better light bulbs.  In regards to the Flash Flood in a Flask, nobody wants to carry around a teapot; they're fragile, apt to spill unless sealed, and rather large and bulky.  Thus, the spell was modified with a flask, much more designed for natural utility.  In the same way that light bulbs made of different materials will work in different ways, so too does the spell.  For example, the Flash Flood in a Flask will drench the room with a spray rather than calling down a rainstorm outside, since it remains tightly sealed and doesn't boil over and out to steam."<br/><br/>With the question of magic words, Professor Merryweather pulled out her copy of Truth in Stone, one of the books required for her class, even though she hasn't brought it up yet.  "Words have been recognized since ancient Egypt to carry power, but it wasn't always understood why," she said.  "We understand the brain better today.  Speaking synchronizes the mind to the focus of the task at hand.  Will and intent shape magic, focused by specific words which are chanted so as to aid in concentration.  While making the words rhyme isn't strictly necessary, it aids in ensuring that the words have a natural poetry that aids in making it all seem as natural as lifting an arm, the same way iambic pentameter just rolls off the tongue when perfectly crafted."<br/><br/>She then fished through her desk before pulling out a cheap steel flask which she offered.  "If you like, you can collect the three types of falling water, and I can meet with you tomorrow to handle the incantation aspect.  This won't count for your test, but it'll give you one as a beginning, either allowing you to redo the spell with another flask for the midterms or try another as fancy suits you.  I'm not sure if it's still raining outside, but if it's not, you can collect at least three drops from my umbrella as the first type of falling water."