Post by Albus Dumbledore on Sept 14, 2004 22:37:22 GMT -5
dark creatures and how to prevent attack Charles Irving
We of course know that through basic principle, domestic animals are only as evil as their masters force them to be. Evil is a quality that only humans and various sub-species, such as giants and goblins, can possess. However, animals can, by nature, be dark.
All beasts, beings and spirits have been given classifications by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, ranging from X, denoting a “boring” creature, and XXXXX, denoting a “known wizard killing” beast or a beast “impossible to train or domesticate.” Dark animals can be found primarily in the XXXX to XXXXX range, but have been known to exist in the XXX category. We shall begin on what dark beasts are and basic tactics to avoiding them.
Dark beasts are those beasts consumed or personified by the human traits hatred or fear. They are not this way naturally, and therefore can be reverted. It is best not to hurt them too much, as they are good at heart.
A sneakascope is a good tool to use when looking for dark creatures. Dark creatures also tend to lurk in dark areas, such as caves and dense forests. It is also best to avoid those places that give you the “gut feeling” of evil.
I will now continue to describe some of the more, well, common varieties of evil creatures. Note: There will only be short descriptions, so I urge you to read Newt Scamander’s classic Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Acromantulas are large spiders typically found on the Indochinese peninsula and the islands to the south. According to some reports there is a colony of these beasts living in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts for the last fifty odd years though, but no other reports of European sightings of these terrifying creatures have been filed. They can’t be repelled easily because of their large numbers and their great size, but they are overly fearful of snakes. They can, however, be repelled by snakes, and, like most other animals, are a little frightful around fire. I therefore urge you to practice your Snake Summoning charm (Serpensortia) and the Incendio charm (Incendio).
Basilisks, also called the ‘serpents of Slytherin,’ are perhaps the darkest of all creatures. A Greek dark magician, Herpo the Foul, originally bred the first basilisk by hatching a chicken egg underneath a toad. They should be avoided at all costs, for if you even glance at it, you many be killed, as even its stare is deadly! It is also very poisonous, and due to its enormous size can crush you like a bug! It can, however, be repelled by the cry of a rooster, so for your own safety, bring a chicken when tracking basilisks! If you do not have a chicken handy, basilisks can be killed with common weapons, such as a sword or axe, but you should take out its eyes first to avoid its deadly gaze. Although they’ve not been spotted in Britain for four centuries, you never know when a toad will hop on an egg and wait for it to hatch!
Centaurs, generally, are not dark creatures, but some have been known to resort to a darker existence. The ancient wizard Hercules came upon centaurs that were both naturally good and dark. Chiron, his teacher, was a perfectly benevolent centaur, but the centaur Nessus, whom Hercules met much later on, was dark, and brought about Hercules’ downfall. Dark Centaurs who once aided the Dark Lord on his rise to power may still be alive. They are extremely powerful and intelligent creatures, but can be thwarted with a vast array of charms and hexes. Whatever you do, though, do not offer any centaurs carrots, as they are greatly offended by the plants.
The chimera is a beast with the head of a lion, body of a goat and tail of a dragon. These rather ugly brutes have been thwarted only once, supposedly by a Greek prince who died shortly afterward. Avoid them at all cost! The best protection against them is to avoid the regions that they inhabit, such as mountain caves and rocky hills. Chimeras are most likely to be found in Southern Europe, though some more hardy varieties have been known to inhabit mountain ranges to the north.
Dragons. At last, we come to these. Dragons are one of the most misunderstood of creatures. All dragons will eat you if they’re hungry enough, so in this case dragons are classified as dark when they attack unprovoked and when they are not hungry. While all breeds can turn dark, certain breeds are slightly more likely to turn dark. It should be noted that not all of the following breeds are dark.
Hungarian Horntail dragons are large and by far most dangerous of all types of dragons. The Hungarian Horntail is a violent beast that is slow and bulky, but it can move when it has to. Avoid its tail, as its spikes will go through you like a Firebolt through a wall of tissue paper. A simple Petrificus charm to their mouth just before they’re going to blast you with fire should do them in.
The furore of the Peruvian Vipertooth towards eating humans is unparalleled. Like the Hungarian Horntail, the Peruvian Vipertooth can be disposed of with a good Petrificus charm, but due to their size and speed, they can easily catch up to a fleeing meal. A nasty little maneuver for those who can pull it off is to slip under their jaw and cast a Summoning spell on their large fangs, pulling them through the bottom of its jaw. Violent, but effective.
We of course know that through basic principle, domestic animals are only as evil as their masters force them to be. Evil is a quality that only humans and various sub-species, such as giants and goblins, can possess. However, animals can, by nature, be dark.
All beasts, beings and spirits have been given classifications by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, ranging from X, denoting a “boring” creature, and XXXXX, denoting a “known wizard killing” beast or a beast “impossible to train or domesticate.” Dark animals can be found primarily in the XXXX to XXXXX range, but have been known to exist in the XXX category. We shall begin on what dark beasts are and basic tactics to avoiding them.
Dark beasts are those beasts consumed or personified by the human traits hatred or fear. They are not this way naturally, and therefore can be reverted. It is best not to hurt them too much, as they are good at heart.
A sneakascope is a good tool to use when looking for dark creatures. Dark creatures also tend to lurk in dark areas, such as caves and dense forests. It is also best to avoid those places that give you the “gut feeling” of evil.
I will now continue to describe some of the more, well, common varieties of evil creatures. Note: There will only be short descriptions, so I urge you to read Newt Scamander’s classic Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Acromantulas are large spiders typically found on the Indochinese peninsula and the islands to the south. According to some reports there is a colony of these beasts living in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts for the last fifty odd years though, but no other reports of European sightings of these terrifying creatures have been filed. They can’t be repelled easily because of their large numbers and their great size, but they are overly fearful of snakes. They can, however, be repelled by snakes, and, like most other animals, are a little frightful around fire. I therefore urge you to practice your Snake Summoning charm (Serpensortia) and the Incendio charm (Incendio).
Basilisks, also called the ‘serpents of Slytherin,’ are perhaps the darkest of all creatures. A Greek dark magician, Herpo the Foul, originally bred the first basilisk by hatching a chicken egg underneath a toad. They should be avoided at all costs, for if you even glance at it, you many be killed, as even its stare is deadly! It is also very poisonous, and due to its enormous size can crush you like a bug! It can, however, be repelled by the cry of a rooster, so for your own safety, bring a chicken when tracking basilisks! If you do not have a chicken handy, basilisks can be killed with common weapons, such as a sword or axe, but you should take out its eyes first to avoid its deadly gaze. Although they’ve not been spotted in Britain for four centuries, you never know when a toad will hop on an egg and wait for it to hatch!
Centaurs, generally, are not dark creatures, but some have been known to resort to a darker existence. The ancient wizard Hercules came upon centaurs that were both naturally good and dark. Chiron, his teacher, was a perfectly benevolent centaur, but the centaur Nessus, whom Hercules met much later on, was dark, and brought about Hercules’ downfall. Dark Centaurs who once aided the Dark Lord on his rise to power may still be alive. They are extremely powerful and intelligent creatures, but can be thwarted with a vast array of charms and hexes. Whatever you do, though, do not offer any centaurs carrots, as they are greatly offended by the plants.
The chimera is a beast with the head of a lion, body of a goat and tail of a dragon. These rather ugly brutes have been thwarted only once, supposedly by a Greek prince who died shortly afterward. Avoid them at all cost! The best protection against them is to avoid the regions that they inhabit, such as mountain caves and rocky hills. Chimeras are most likely to be found in Southern Europe, though some more hardy varieties have been known to inhabit mountain ranges to the north.
Dragons. At last, we come to these. Dragons are one of the most misunderstood of creatures. All dragons will eat you if they’re hungry enough, so in this case dragons are classified as dark when they attack unprovoked and when they are not hungry. While all breeds can turn dark, certain breeds are slightly more likely to turn dark. It should be noted that not all of the following breeds are dark.
Hungarian Horntail dragons are large and by far most dangerous of all types of dragons. The Hungarian Horntail is a violent beast that is slow and bulky, but it can move when it has to. Avoid its tail, as its spikes will go through you like a Firebolt through a wall of tissue paper. A simple Petrificus charm to their mouth just before they’re going to blast you with fire should do them in.
The furore of the Peruvian Vipertooth towards eating humans is unparalleled. Like the Hungarian Horntail, the Peruvian Vipertooth can be disposed of with a good Petrificus charm, but due to their size and speed, they can easily catch up to a fleeing meal. A nasty little maneuver for those who can pull it off is to slip under their jaw and cast a Summoning spell on their large fangs, pulling them through the bottom of its jaw. Violent, but effective.