Fortnightly Writing Contest: Theme: TEACHER (Open until June 27th,2023)

[Mandle]

I'm gonna be hosting this round, as Stupot and I decided after our collective win.

As we are both teachers the theme is kinda a natural:

Write a story about a teacher.

The theme can be interpreted in any way.

Please refrain from writing any saucy, inappropriate sexy stuff between a teacher and a student, unless it is a part of the story. In which case, go ahead!

[Baron]

Please refrain from writing any saucy, inappropriate sexy stuff between a teacher and a student, unless it is a part of the story.

Uh... How do you write it if it's not part of the story? 

[Mandle]

Uh... How do you write it if it's not part of the story? 

Yup.

[Sinitrena]

Warning: Marital rape is mentioned, but not in detail, consequences of it are a focus of the story. Also, torture is mentioned.

As this is a play (albeit one that might be a bit difficult to put on a stage), you will find stage directions in the spoken text from time to time. I tried to put them all in italics, but it's so easy to miss some. Also, if one speaker's part ends with "-", it indicates that the next speaker interrupts. I just really didn't want to write "interrupts" over and over again.

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And in the Darkness - Night

Dramatis Personae:

Courtiers and Supplicants
Several Guards
A Clerk
A Herald
Anem, a King
Magol, a Widow
Elvrin, a Necromancer
A Raven
Liéne, a Ghost
Rehm, a Child (13 years old)



Scene 1

Late afternoon. A throne room, elaborately decorated with mirrors, tapestries, paintings, gold and silver. A carpet shows the direct path to the throne.
The room is filled to the brim. The king, Anem, sits on his throne on a raised dais, a herald and a clerk at his side. Guards stand at the door, noblemen to the side of the room, not on the carpet, other supplicants further in the back.
A woman, Magol kneels on the carpet in front of the throne.

Magol: I lost my husband. He died in an accident.

The door opens. Two of the king's guards lead Elvrin into the room. They are obviously escorting him, their weapons vaguely point in his direction, but they also eye him suspiciously and don't dare to come near to him. Elvrin his completely dressed in black. He wears black trousers, a black shirt, black falconer's gloves and a black cape that reaches to the ground. A hood obscures his face. He holds his left arm in front of his chest. A raven sits on it. Until otherwise specified, he never moves this arm.

Magol: I have children. Five, five children...

The entry of Elvrin has caught the attention of almost everyone in the room. They turn towards the stranger and they murmur indistinctly amongst themselves. Magol also turns towards Elvrin and interrupts her speech and even the attention of Anem turns towards Elvrin. He stares at him for a while. Meanwhile, Elvrin withdraws in a dark corner of the room, his guards close, but still with a respectful distance to him.
After a moment:

Anem: Continue!

The room falls silent again.

Magol: Yes, your Majesty. I – I have five children, and without my husband... I don't know how to feed them. Or protect them. Clothe them. Tears start streaming down her face.

Anem holds up his hand to command her to be silent. He stands up and walks the couple of steps down from his throne. Then, he stoops down to Magol and helps her to her feet.

Anem: (silently) Your husband was a faithful servant. I remember him well. You shall not suffer or hunger. (To the room:) The widow Magol shall receive a stipend of 10 thalers a week for the remainder of her life. (To the clerk:) See to it.

Clerk: Yes, your Majesty. (To Magol:) Mistress Magol, if you would follow me?

While the clerk leads her from the room:

Magol: Thank you. Oh, thank you, my king, my lord, you are... (And so on while she leaves.)

Anem returns to his throne.

Anem: Next!

The herald steps forward, looks over a piece of parchment in his hands, then:

Herald: This was the last supplicant for today, your Majesty.

Anem nods.

Anem: Thank you.

The courtiers start to move towards the door, but stop once they realise that the king hasn't declared the audience over. An atmosphere of nervous waiting spreads among the noblemen and -women.
Anem looks towards Elvrin again and again, who doesn't react.

Anem: (quiet:) Elvrin, please.

Nothing happens for a while, but the king shows signs of nervousness. From time to time, he seems as if he wants to say something, or gesture to his guards to lead Elvrin in front of him, but ultimately, he doesn't. The courtiers look from the king to the stranger, clearly aware of a strange tension between them and in the room.

After a while, Elvrin steps forward. The guards start to follow, but a gesture from Anem stops them.

Elvrin walks slowly over the carpet, almost as if he is gliding. His coat hides his movements. At the end of the carpet, he doesn't stop or kneel, but sets one foot on the first step of the dais, so that he is eye to eye with the sitting king. He raises his head, so that the hood slides from his hair, revealing it to be sandy blond. A large scar runs from his left eyebrow, over his nose and ends on his right cheek. It is deep, but doesn't change the fact that Elvrin looks young and handsome.

Anem: Elvrin. Thank you for coming.

The raven craws, ruffles its feathers and looks from Anem to Elvrin. Elvrin snaps his fingers without moving his arms, a surprisingly loud sound considering his gloves. The raven settles down immediately and stares at the king.

When Elvrin speaks, there's usually a slight ironic tone in his voice. He talks silently and calmly.

Elvrin: You intended to give me a choice?

Anem: I-

Elvrin: We will not talk here.

Elvrin turns around and follows the carpet quickly back to the door. The guards raise their halberds but at a sign from the king they step aside. The doors open at a gesture from Elvrin.

Anem: Wait!

The king follows and murmurs from the courtiers follow him.



Scene 2

Evening. The gardens of a castle: flower beds, blossoms, fountains, pebble stone or sand paths between them.

Anem and Elvrin (raven still on his arm) enter, already talking.

Anem: You could have easily avoided the guards or-

Elvrin: I could have. That is hardly the point. The fact that I don't have to follow orders due to my abilities doesn't change the fact that you gave an order.

Anem: I have every right to give you an order.

Elvrin: You might. Why did you call on me?

Anem: Liéne is dead.

The raven crows and tries to fly from its masters hand towards the king. Elvrin holds onto him with the strings on its legs. He gently taps on the raven's head with his other hand and the raven calms down again.

Elvrin: I am aware. Why did you call on me?

Anem: You knew? You knew! And you didn't come?

Elvrin: Of course I knew. And of course I didn't come. Why would I? I knew her and I loved her. I knew she wouldn't want me here. Why would I come? - Anem, why am I here?

Anem: You are a necromancer.

Elvrin: I am acutely aware of this fact. (sighs) Why did you call me here?

Anem: (gets agitated) Do I really have to spell it out for you? She stole my son! She never told me where he is, never in life. You can-

Elvrin: Call on her ghost? Because a ghost has no choice but to answer? Because I could force her to tell you what all your threats, all your torture would not reveal?

Anem: My son, Elvrin. She stole my son!

Elvrin: And hers.

Anem: Yes, but-

Elvrin: I do not serve the living, Anem. Unless she is haunting the castle, there is no reason for me to call her.

Anem: You've woken others before! Others that weren't-

Elvrin: Weren't haunting anything? For other reasons? Yes, I have. And yes, I could. And I will again someday, I am sure. But no, I won't. Not now. Not in this case. Not for you.

Anem: (angry:) Why not?

Elvrin: (to himself:)Do you really have to ask? (to Anem:)I serve the dead, not the living. I do not serve you.

Anem: I could order you.

Elvrin: You could. It wouldn't change anything.

Anem: Be careful, necromancer. You will obey! I could have you drawn and quartered right now. The guards found you digging up bones, performing your black magic on a former battlefield. Not to speak of all you have done before, all-

Elvrin: On a battlefield haunted by thousands of ghosts, angry because nobody ever bothered to bring them home.

Anem: And you think people would care about your excuse?

Elvrin: (laughs) Of course not. Even though it is not an excuse, as you know perfectly well. But do you really think threats would change my mind? Fear? Anger? (with emphasis:) I. do. Not. Serve. The. Living.

Anem: This – This really is an excuse! As you know perfectly well! For anyone else, you would do it. But not for me. Not for me! Because – because you are jealous!

The raven craws angrily and this time Elvrin doesn't bother to calm him.

Elvrin: Jealous?

Anem: You're jealous. You always were.

Elvrin: (shrugs) I let her go.

Anem: You-

Elvrin: (also slightly angry now:) I let her go, you didn't. And don't tell me she wanted to stay. (calm again:) She fled. With her son.

Anem: My son!

Elvrin: Yes, it seems you happen to have fathered her child. So? - So you hunted her, you caught her. You imprisoned her. You interrogated her. You tortured her. All because you wanted your son. Her son!

Anem: (fast) I loved her!

Elvrin: (fast) You raped her!

Anem: (fast) She was my wife!

After a slight pause, while the raven fights angrily against its strings:

Elvrin: So? That doesn't change my words... or your actions.

Anem: I had every right-

Elvrin: (with emphasis:) Every. Right? (shakes his head) A law made by man. That does not a just law make.

Anem: Aren't you a sanctimonious bastard! You're a necromancer. You do whatever the fuck you want! You dig up corpses. You called an army of skeletons to my father's aid! You do not care one bit about laws or believes or the sensitivities of the people. You lengthen your own life with the energy you steal from the dead! You look younger today than the first time we met!

Elvrin: (angry) And you intend to hire me, hire a necromancer. Hire me to conjure Liéne, the woman you married, you raped, you imprisoned and tortured. The mother of an innocent child and the woman I loved. Why – Why do you think I would ever help you?

Elvrin starts to storm away, but stops in his tracks after a couple of steps. With his back to Anem, he continues.

Elvrin: (calm, sad) She tried to love you. For a while, you know. She tried, she really did. She was never in love with me. I could have told her a thousand times how I felt, I was not the right man for her. How could I? I am, as you so succinctly state, a necromancer, a black wizard, darkness itself. And in the darkness, I am the night.

He turns around and lets go of the raven's strings. The bird is fairly calm. It flies up, circles over the two men's heads once or twice, then sits itself on Elvrin's shoulder.

Elvrin: You? You were a prince, son of a good king, a just king. Handsome, nice. Light. She didn't love you, not right away, but the marriage was arranged and she thought she might fall in love with you one day. She liked you. She didn't love you, but she liked you. But you - you wanted too much – wanted too much and wanted it too fast. She needed time, you didn't give her any. After the r... (he chokes)– after that faithful night where she fell pregnant, she tried again, she tried to love you. For a year she tried, for a year she stayed, even then. And she pretended, but- (trails off)

Anem: How do you know this? How do you know any of this?

Elvrin: (shrugs) She wrote, often.

The raven turns its head towards Elvrin's and pecks him once on the ear. Elvrin pats its head gently.

Both men are silent for a while, not looking at each other. Elvrin pats his bird from time to time.

Anem: (conciliatory) My son is out there somewhere, Elvrin. My son! He's innocent, and alone. He's somewhere out there. Please, Elvrin, please. I don't know where he is. I don't know if he is safe, if he is alive. Elvrin, please, you could find him.

Elvrin: I do not serve the living, Anem.

Anem: I know, but-

Elvrin: I do not serve the living.

Anem: Elvrin, I beg you-

Elvrin: I do not serve the living.

Anem: Please, Elvrin, please. (After a moment:) At least stay for the night. Maybe you'll change your mind, maybe you'll-

Elvrin: I will not change my mind. (After a pause:) But I'll stay. For a night.

Both off.



Scene 3

Night. Darkness. A crypt on a graveyard is hardly more than shadows. Elvrin enters, the raven back on his arm, nearly invisible in his black clothes. He tries to open the door of the crypt, but it is locked. He touches the door, runs his fingers over the walls, studies the letters on the crypt and so on.

After a while, he takes out candles from under his coat and puts them in a half-circle in front of the door. He lightens them, then kneels down outside the half circle. The raven flies to the roof of the crypt and perches there.

Elvrin: I call upon you. I call upon you, Liéne, in the name of magic and death, in the name of love and life. In the name of Elvrin and in the name of Rehm. Liéne, I call upon you as the master of death and as the one who loved you once. Liéne, come, come forward, show yourself in this darkest of nights, show me your face one last time, to answer my questions and receive your peace. Come, Liéne, come forward. Now that I will forever serve you, serve the dead, as you are one. Come, in the name of my magic, in the name of my power, in the name of love, come!

Lights, sparkling, magic.

Elvrin: Come to me, for here you are safe. Come to me, for here I have power. Come to me, come Liéne, come!

More magic. Liéne appears in the circle. There are traces of blood and bruises all over her body. Her hair is irregularly clipped short. She screams.

The raven flies down from the roof, circles over their heads and finally lands on the ground next to Elvrin, outside the half-circle.

Elvrin: Liéne...

Liéne: (screaming) Who? Where? Why? Who calls me here? Have I not suffered enough?

Elvrin: Liéne...

Liéne: Have you not punished me enough? Did I not deserve peace? After 12 years. After 12 years!

Elvrin: Liéne. Listen to the words I am speaking, listen to the voice that is speaking...

Liéne: Why do you call me back? Why do you call me here? 12 years I resisted you! 12 years you ask me day after day...

Elvrin: Not I was the one asking you. Not I was the one punishing you. Not I am the one to force you to reveal your son's location. For I am the one who already knows.

Liéne falls to her knees and looks directly in Elvrin's eyes.

Liéne: (confused) Not you? (recognizes him) Not you. It wasn't you who kept me here. Not you. Not... Elvrin?

Elvrin: Liéne.

Liéne: (angry) You promised never to return! You promised to stay away! You promised-

Elvrin: Never in your life. But your life has left you, Liéne.

Liéne: (scoffs) I know that I am dead. No need to gloss over it. Have I haunted this place? Was there a reason to?

Elvrin: You do not haunt. You are not a ghost. You are safe.

Liéne: I was free, Elvrin, I was safe. And now you come here. You! You come here and help Anem?

Elvrin: I would never help Anem. He doesn't know I called you.

Liéne: Then why? Why did you drag me from my grave?

Elvrin: I needed to see you again. (at the same time:) Liéne: Why would you endanger my son?

Elvrin: I needed to... I could have saved you. I could have rescued you. All these years ago.

Liéne: Then Anem would have hunted you down. Us. I didn't want you to, you know that. Then my son would not have been safe. To this day. He is safe, to this day. He is safe?

Elvrin: Yes, he is. He is safe to this day and for all days to come. I promised you then and I promise you now. Forever and always, Rehm is safe.

The raven scurries closer to Elvrin and puts its head against his leg. Elvrin ignores it.

Liéne: Then why? Why are you here?

Elvrin: You suffered for 12 years, Liéne. I could have saved you and I could avenge you.

Liéne: No!

Elvrin: I am your son's guardian, his teacher, his father, in all but blood.

Liéne reaches towards Elvrin, but can't move further than the circle of candles. Elvrin's hand joins hers. Without touching, they touch.

Liéne: You kept him safe. I asked for all and you gave more.

Elvrin: And as long as you lived, your son was yours and no-one's else. But he is the son of a king.

Liéne: No!

Elvrin: He is the son of a king who has no other sons. No daughters either.

Liéne: No!

Elvrin: A king who is good, in all but your treatment. Just, honest, just not with you.

Liéne: No! You promised to keep him safe! You promised to keep him away from here!

Elvrin: And that is still your wish?

Liéne: It is. It is still my wish, forever and always, it is my wish!

Elvrin: Not even in revenge? Your son, my student on the throne. I do not need fire and blood, no torture and pain to punish your husband.

Liéne: (after a pause, shaking her head:) Not as revenge, not as punishment. Never. Keep him secret, keep him safe. (silent) That is my vengeance.

Elvrin kisses her hand with the necessary distance.

After a moment:

Elvrin: I cannot hold onto you for much longer. You do not haunt this castle, you were never meant to be here. Tell me, tell me, is there anything left you wish to say? To your son, to Rehm? To your husband, to Anem? To... (chokes)

Liéne: To you?

Elvrin nods.

Liéne: Keep him secret, keep him safe. I wish I would have loved you, Elvrin, I wish I would've. Keep him secret, keep him safe. Keep him secret, keep him safe...

The words echo and trail away as Liéne disappears again. The raven craws angrily and tries to catch her fading figure, but he pecks nothing. When his beak closes, the candles go out. Darkness again.



Scene 4:

A bedroom in the castle. Late at night. Elvrin enters, the raven on his shoulder, candles in his hands. He puts them on a desk, then sits down on the bed, head in his hands. After a moment, the raven starts to peck Elvrin's ear, flap its wings and so on, trying to get Elvrin's attention.

Elvrin: What? What do you want?

The raven craws.

Elvrin: Not here, not now. It is too dangerous.

The raven flies to a table and stares at Elvrin. It craws again.

Elvrin: If someone enters. It is too dangerous.

The raven pushes the candles to the floor, so that they roll towards Elvrin.

Elvrin: I brought you here to learn, to listen. I gave you this form so you would be safe.

The raven takes one candle after the other in its beak and puts them in a circle, while Elvrin watches him and continues speaking.

Elvrin: You needed to hear her say it. In order to believe it. You needed to know what had happened then, you needed to hear her wishes. There was always doubt in your mind that she wanted me to keep you away from your father, from your birthright. There was always the fear that I stole you.

Once the candles are positioned, the raven sits in their middle and looks expectantly at Elvrin. It craws and flaps its wings.

Elvrin: Now you know. Now you know. I wish I could have shown you to her. She would have been proud, boy, so proud. But I'm not supposed to hurt ghosts. Knowing that you are safe calmed her, seeing you would have pained her.

The raven gets more and more angry and agitated.

Elvrin: It is dangerous, Rehm. It is dangerous to change you, even though we are alone. And I know what you would say, it was dangerous to call your mother as well. But you needed to hear her. And once, just once, you needed to see her. I only wish you could have seen her when she was happy. And I wish I could have shown you more of Anem. He is a good king. Most of the time. To all but your mother. He cares. He cares about people, about justice, but when it comes to your mother, he is blind. No, not blind, he sees her... saw her perfectly well, understood her, even. But he didn't want to, he didn't want to...

The raven flies at Elvrin's face, clawing at it. Elvrin catches its leg strings and drags it onto his arm.

Elvrin: Fine. Stop. I'll change you. Stop. (once the raven has calmed done some.) Get in the circle.

The raven flies back into the circle.

Elvrin: I call you back, Rehm. I call on your body and I call on your mind. Remember your form, remember your being. You are Rehm , son of Liéne and Anem, Rehm, student of Elvrin. And in their name and mine I call you back, call back your body, and call back your mind. I call them together, here, and now.

The raven slowly transforms into a child, Rehm. Elvrin throws his coat over his shoulder to clothe him. Rehm kneels on the ground at first and shakes his head, confused. After a moment, he stands up.

Rehm: A good king? People say as much, they say it in every street, at every manor. I've heard it all my life. I've heard how awful it is that his son was stolen. And I heard you talk about my mother, about the day she came to you after three years, with me in her arms, telling you that she didn't know where to go, didn't know where I would be safe. Is it true? Was it true?

Elvrin: Was it true that she came to me with a one-year old and that this child was you? Yes, of course. Is it true that you would not have been safe with your father? No, probably not. You would have been safe here. Anem would have loved you. But he also loved Liéne, and you saw what he did to her.

Rehm: Because she stole me.

Elvrin: Yes. Because she stole you. And because he hurt her before.

Rehm: Because he raped her.

Elvrin: Yes.

Rehm: Is that true? Did he rape her?

Elvrin: He didn't deny it, not really. But I'm sure he does, to himself. Because he can't admit the truth, not even to himself.

Rehm: He said he had the right...

Elvrin: Laws. Laws are men-made. Laws are changeable. The law is no absolute right that is true by its mere existence. A sense of morality means that you notice at some point that a law is wrong. Anem does have this sense of morality, so I'm sure he noticed at some point.

Rehm: And still he kept her imprisoned.

Elvrin: Yes.

Rehm: And people still say he is a good king.

Elvrin: Yes, they do. Because he is. He's fair, generous, merciful. He also raped your mother and imprisoned her for twelve years.

Rehm: That... that doesn't make sense.

Elvrin: And don't think he is a good king because of remorse. He's not penitent. He doesn't regret what he did. - He is still a good king.

Rehm: It doesn't make sense.

Elvrin: It doesn't? Someone can't show one person mercy and another hatred, protect one while hurting the other? See good and act evil, see evil and act good?

Rehm: No.

Elvrin: Rehm, you may not know your father, but you know me. Do you think I am good? Or do you think I am evil, or selfish, or arrogant? I send ghosts to the world beyond and I keep the remnants of their living being for myself, to strengthen my magic and to prolong my life. I talked with your mother one last time, because I wanted to, not because she was a haunted ghost. Am I good or evil? A servant or a demon?

Rehm: You are...

Elvrin: Neither, Rehm. I am neither. And neither is Anem. And neither are you. And neither was your mother. Did she steal you to protect you? Or was it revenge? Was it selfish or selfless? Neither, both. No-one is ever just one or the other. You have so much to learn still, child.

Rehm: I am not a child any-more!

Elvrin: You are all children to me, Rehm.

Rehm sits down next to Elvrin on the bed and leans against him.

Rehm: You said to my mother... You suggested... that I... that you want me to stay here... as revenge... against my father?

Elvrin: As revenge or because of your birthright. Because you want it or because you might one day be needed. It doesn't matter, really.

Rehm: But you want me to stay?

Elvrin doesn't answer for a while, but embraces Rehm and presses him close to his chest.

Elvrin: The kingdom is without an heir. There will be chaos and death when Anem dies.

Rehm: I thought you do not serve the living! I thought you do not care-

Elvrin: I lied. - And I told the truth. I do not serve the living. I do not serve the dead. Your mother was alive when I gave her my promise, and then I intended to keep it. She is dead now and I think about breaking it. I'm a hypocrite. I tend to do the right things for the wrong reasons. I didn't take you in because I cared about you, I took you in because I loved Liéne. I help ghosts move to the world beyond, not because they suffer but because the energy they leave behind strengthens me and lengthens my life. I was an ally of Anem's father because he paid well and because he allowed me to do my work in his kingdom, albeit not officially. I still know that it is just to help ghosts, it is just to protect an innocent child, it is just to help a kingdom endangered by an invader. I know what is right. I know what is wrong. And I have my own reasons for all I do.

Rehm: So you... Do you... do you really want me to stay here?

Elvrin: No. But it might be the better choice. (to himself:) I could also just kill him...

Rehm: Elvrin, I...

Elvrin: Your choice. It is your choice, Rehm. Yours, not mine. I'm just here to...

Rehm: To...?

Elvrin: ...teach you. Teach you all you need to know.

Rehm: But if you... if I... What would happen with you? When Anem, when my father finds out that you...

Elvrin: Hid you? Kept you from him? What will he do? What part of his character will be stronger? His anger, his hatred? His love, his compassion? I do not know.

Rehm: But...

Elvrin: I do not know.

Rehm: But if he-

Elvrin: Then I'll flee. (laughs)It wouldn't be the first time that I run from an angry mob.

Rehm looks up at Elvrin for a while, then he sinks into the embrace and puts his head on Elvrin's lap. He falls asleep while Elvrin pats his hair.



Scene 5

Throne room. Morning. Courtiers, guards, clerk and herald are all on their places again and talk among themselves. Elvrin stands in the back of the room, the raven back on his arm.

Elvrin: (silent, to the raven) You are sure? You can always change your mind. And no matter your choice, I'll be there for you, no matter how far away I might be.

The raven nestles up against Elvrin's sleeve.

Elvrin: Always remember that your choice does not need to be final. You can always change your mind, I can al-

The king enters through a door behind the throne.

Herald: His majesty, king Anem!

The courtiers turn their attention to the front and bow, but Elvrin doesn't. He steps forward as soon as Anem sits down. He gestures to the herald to announce him.

Herald: Your majesty. (reads:) Elvrin, the... (he hesitates) the necromancer.

Murmurs and general agitation from the courtiers.

Elvrin steps forward and kicks the carpet out of the way. The guards intend to stop him, but Anem holds up his hand to stop them.

Anem: So, you have decided to help-

Elvrin: Help? I do not help you. I do not serve you.

Elvrin starts to put candles in a circle where he removed the carpet.

Anem: Not here, Elvrin!

Elvrin: Do you not want them to see? Did you not ask me to-

Anem: Elvrin!

Elvrin: Do not worry. I shall not call the ghost of your wife.

Anem: What then...?

The raven flies into the circle and turns towards Anem, staring at him.

Elvrin: Your son, Anem, I am here to show you your son.

Anem: How? How would you...

Elvrin: I call you back, Rehm. I call on your body and I call on your mind. Remember your form, remember your being. You are Rehm, son of Liéne and Anem, Rehm, student of Elvrin. And in their name and mine I call you back, call back your body, and call back your mind. I call them together, here, and now.

Anem: Student of... Elvrin...

The raven changes to Rehm again and Elvrin throws his coat over him. The courtiers startle, alarmed. More pronounced mumbles amongst themselves. Elvrin turns to Anem.

Elvrin: May I present: Rehm, son of Liéne, ward of Elvrin, fathered by Anem.

Shocked silence. After a moment:

Anem: This cannot be. You knew. All this time, you knew where he was. You knew when I begged you to call on Liéne, you knew when I...

Elvrin: When you tortured her. When you interrogated her. When you murdered her. I knew.

Anem: How? How did you-

Elvrin: She entrusted him to me. She trusted me.

Rehm: (trying to start a speech:)And I have come now as heir, to take my rightful place-

Anem: (dangerously calm:) You will pay for this! (calls out:)Guards!

The guards draw their weapons and advance on Elvrin.

Elvrin: He is your son, Anem, always remember it. Liéne entrusted him to me. Now I entrust him to you.

Elvrin backs off towards a window.

Rehm: Don't leave! I want you to stay!

Elvrin: I cannot stay. But should you wish me to take you with me, say so and it shall be done.

Rehm: No. I have to be here.

Elvrin: (with a smile) I know. And you don't need me, not any longer. I've guided you here, and you have chosen. Do not fear the path you've taken, Rehm, wherever it might lead, for it is your path, and yours alone.

Rehm: Elvrin, I...

Elvrin fights off the guards for a moment.

Elvrin: I'll be close. And if you ever are in danger, if you ever need me, as a friend, as a teacher, as a guardian, I'll be there.

Anem: I will hunt you down, Elvrin, you will pay for this, for your deceit, for your lies, for your black magic-

Elvrin: (soothing)Rehm, I'll be the shadow in the night, the whisper in the dark, the cloud on a stormy day, the blood on your knife. All for you, Rehm. I will never be far. (threatening) And Anem, for you I shall be the shadow in the night, the whisper in the dark, the cloud on a stormy day, and – if I have to be – the blood on the knife. I will be close. For in the darkness, I am the night.

Elvrin jumps out of the window. The guards run towards the window and look after him, then out of the door to follow. The whispers of the courtiers get louder and louder. Anem and Rehm stare at each other.

Curtain.


-----------------------------------------------------------------

It feels good to be done early, once in a while.

Spoiler

If you feel like this story is incomplete, your supposed to.

[close]

[Mandle]

Awesome, Sini... I'm off back home to Australia in a few days for the first time since before the pandemic and it seems that Stupot will not have time to get an entry in so he will be taking over moderation during the voting stage, unless he DOES have a sudden boatload of time and gets an entry in, in which case the thread will just stay on lockdown after the deadline and I will start voting when I get back about halfway through next month.

[Sinitrena]

I'm off back home to Australia in a few days [...] the thread will just stay on lockdown after the deadline and I will start voting when I get back about halfway through next month.

And here I thought Australia was a modern country with internet access. 

Kidding, I'm kidding, of course.

Take your time. Have fun going home!


BTW, anyone else working on something?

[Mandle]

Cheers, Sini. Yeah, not gonna be spending much time online except for travel functions. To be honest though, Australia isn't really my home anymore. Feels like a foreign country I visit from time to time while knowing something about. Especially now that both my parents are gone. Got some good friends and some relatives (that I hardly know) there. The food and views and memories still speak to me, but almost like something from a different lifetime.

[Baron]

So... this got a bit dark in a hurry, with an uncharacteristic expletive count.     If you don't like teen slayer flicks this one's probably not for you!


Nadir High

   Jalena Tyro took her seat in the back of the classroom and popped her bubblegum loudly, in defiance of both section 13c (banned substances) and 8e (improper noises) of the student code of conduct.  In trickled the rest of the students for another 75 minutes of torture in Mr. Colesen's math class.  There was Rebecca Walsh, the stuck up cheerleader that gave Jalena the middle finger as soon as she walked in (violation section 8d); Lily Phong, the spoiled rich girl who was gaming frantically on her mobile (violation section 9a); and Jason Speck, the obnoxious jock that liked to draw penises on all the desks (violation section 6b, section 9e, and section 12c).  Then there was April Moreau, dressed like she was going to work a street corner in the red-light district at midnight (violation section 3a); Jamir Kollandu, the greaser playing with a lighter (violation section 4b), and Sammy Benz, the fat kid who made profane jokes at the top of his lungs (violation section 8e and section 11f).  The only kid in the whole classroom trying to pay attention was Tina Brimmer, a shy mousy girl who sat anxiously in the front row after running the boisterous gauntlet of her peers.

   "Whatsup, my niña?" her friend Milenna asked as she plopped herself down in the next desk over, causing all her piercings to clink like a pocket full of loose change.

   "It's all steep," Jalena replied, bumping fists with her pal.  Somewhere in all the noise she heard names being called, and noticed at the last minute that Mr. Colesen had appeared in the room and was trying to take attendance.  She shrugged her indifference before continuing her chat with Milenna.  "You hear about Giddy?"

"Fuck niña, that was some heavy shit!" Milenna exclaimed, violating several more sections of the code of conduct.  "Fucking falling accident, I heard.  His family must be losing their beans over it."

"Some people are saying he was doing parkour while high," Jalena said, shaking her head as if she couldn't believe it.  She stared hard at the seat in front of her, left empty out of respect  for the fallen.

"The teachers aren't saying shit," Milenna remarked.  "If it was an accident they'd be calling it sad, and if it were stupidity they'd be calling it a tragedy.  They only say nothing when it's the big S."

Jalena couldn't believe it for one second.  Giddy was a bubbly bro, full of enthusiasm for life.  There was no way he would commit suicide.  Her thoughts were interrupted by her surname being repeated again and again.

   "Is Jalena Tyro here?" Mr. Colesen's voice repeated testily.

   "Hey, fuck you Teach!" Jalena barked, crossing her arms defiantly.  That violated section 8a and section 1b of the code of conduct, but barely dented the ongoing conversations.  Mr. Colsen merely continued down to the next name on the list without missing a beat.  The thing was, ever since the Department of Education had determined that students had the right to pass, the moral tone of the school had basically gone to shit.  Students couldn't get expelled or suspended anymore, for it was seen as hurting their chances to succeed.  They couldn't fail classes anymore, no matter how little work they did, for it might crush their self-esteem.  They couldn't even get yelled at anymore, for that would show a degree of unprofessionalism from the teachers that could easily get them fired.  The code of conduct still persisted, for it was a fine document to showcase on the school's website to placate anxious parents, but it was completely and utterly unenforceable.  Jalena popped her bubblegum and stewed over the death of her friend.

*   *   *   *

   The next day the students trickled into Mr. Colesen's math class again as usual.  Jalena as always surveyed it from the back, but something was off.  Mr. Colesen could be heard prattling on about numbers or something over the din of chaos, and finally she put her finger on it - she had never been able to hear an actual lesson from way at the back.  "Wait, where's Sammy?" she asked Milenna.

   "OMG, you didn't hear?" she gasped.  "They found him drowned in the pond at the park this morning.  Everyone's been talking shit about it.  Poor fuck."

   Jalena squinted at the empty chair where the joker once sat.  "Sammy was a tub of lard," she said, trying to make sense of the senselessness.  "He'd be more buoyant than a beach ball - the fuck he drowned!"

   "Fucking pictures online and shit," Milenna shrugged.

   Jalena brooded.

*   *   *   *

   The next day was even eerier, for not only could Jalena hear Mr. Colesen, but his words were beginning to make sense.  "The fuck is going on?" she asked, scanning the seats in front of her.  It was the bling-bling of Lily Phong's gaming device that was now missing.

   "Peeps be saying her house burnt down," Milenna said, shaking her head.

   "What are the fucking chances of that?" Jalena asked, suddenly rising to her feet.  "Yo, Teach!" she called out, storming up to the front of the classroom.  Mr. Colesen turned around, slightly surprised that anyone in the room had even noticed him there.  He was a slender man, balding in an especially unflattering way, and he wore thick glasses that made his eyes appear to bulge out from his face like a squeezed bug.  Honestly he looked to be about the least threatening person in the world, but Jalena wasn't buying any of it.  "You been killing us off, one at a time, Teach?" she asked accusingly.

   "I am the water boy for the football team, and then mark and do lesson planning all evening," Mr. Colesen sighed.  "When would I even have the time?"

   "Don't play dumb with me!" she yelled.  "First Giddy, then Sammy, now Lily - what kind of idiots do you think we all are?"  A few of the other students broke off from their own conversations to nod their agreement.

   "Learners," Mr. Colesen soothed.  "You are not idiots, you are just learners."

   "Are you fucking correcting me?" Jalena asked indignantly.  She walked over to the intercom system and paged the office.  "I need an administrator down here in room 216 immediately," she shouted.

   "I'm sorry, all administrators are currently unavailable," the school's office coordinator droned lazily before hanging up.

   "The fuck is this?" Jalena wondered.  "Ima get you fired before you kill anyone else.  Don't you fucking teach me one more thing!"

   Mr. Colesen pushed his thick glasses up his nose once more.  "Wait, one more thing?!?" he asked incredulously.  "You mean, you've actually been learning in my class?" 

   "Fuck you!" she shouted, and stormed off to the principal's office.

*   *   *   *

   The next morning Mr. Colesen was back at the front of the class, much to Jalena's dismay.  The principal Mrs. Henning was there with him at least, and Jalena made it her business to get a personal debriefing up at the front of the class.  There was an awful racket as this was going on, as Jason the jock had Jamir the greaser in a headlock, causing him to squeal in pain.

   "Quiet please," Mr. Colesen pleaded.  "The principal is trying to speak."

   "Colesen!" Mrs. Henning said in exasperation.  "You know very well that Jason has Disruptive Dysregulated Mood Disorder and cannot control his actions.  Leave him be and listen!"

   "What about me?" Jamir squeaked in pain.  "Doesn't this constitute bullying under section 5a of the code of conduct?"

   "Quite right," Mrs. Henning nodded.  "Jason, you'll have to swing by my office after class for ice cream and we can talk about restorative gestures."

   "Oh, I love ice cream!" Jason grinned, now grinding Jamir's face into Tina Brimmer's desk.  The shy girl recoiled fearfully in her seat at the wanton disregard for the safety of others.

   "Now, as I was saying," Mrs. Henning went on, turning back to Jalena, "we've opened an official investigation into Mr. Colesen's treatment of students.  This, coupled with his dismal performance appraisal earlier this year may well be enough for the Board to terminate his contract."  Mrs. Henning eyed Mr. Colesen sternly.  "However, this process takes time.  As for killing off students, this is a matter for the police, and there is simply no evidence that it's anything other than a series of unconnected tragedies."

   Jalena shook her head in disbelief, and then she spat on the floor.  "He also gave me a C on the last test," she complained.

   "Mr. Colesen," Mrs. Henning grated in an irate tone, her hands on her hips, "I thought we were clear at our last staff meeting about our evaluation benchmarks.  This is a Board Review year!"

   "All she did was write her name and the lyrics to some song," Mr. Colesen replied meekly.

   "Song!" Mrs. Henning exclaimed.  "You do know, Mr. Colesen, that mathematics is the very basis of music, and that your callous disregard for alternative learning styles has blinded you to this student's intuitive understanding of your lesson content?!?"

"We're studying coordinate geometry right now," Mr. Colesen tried to explain.  "I don't think-"

"-Yes, that's precisely the problem!" Mrs. Henning sniffed triumphantly.  "If it wasn't for the fact that for some reason we are having difficulty staffing substitutes these days, I'd relieve you of your job right here and now!  As it stands, you'll have to at least finish off the week.  In the meantime, I want you to change this student's C to an A+, as amends for your brutish misogynistic colonial attitude!"

"I'm actually half-native Cherokee and was born a woman," Mr. Colesen mentioned mildly, but the principal had already stormed off in a huff.  Shrugging, he turned back to the blackboard and began his droning lesson.

"Hey wait," Janela said, finally taking the opportunity to survey the class.  "Where's April?!?"

*   *   *   *

   The next day Mr. Colesen's math class was eerily silent, for by now everyone had noticed the pattern.  Everyone that is, except Jason Speck, who was mysteriously absent.

   "They say he snuck into some frat party at the college, and drowned in his own vomit," Milenna whispered.

   "How does that even happen?" Jalena whispered back, ever sceptical. 

   "They say he had his head stuck in the toilet he was barfing into.  You ever heard of a swirly?"

   Someone's water bottle fell off their desk by accident, causing a loud clanking sound.  Mr. Colesen turned around in surprise, and everyone sat bolt upright and quiet.  It was becoming apparent even to them that the principal's enforcement of the code of conduct with the teachers was about as effective as it was with the students, and nobody wanted to be next mysterious victim.  Nobody, that is, except Rebecca Walsh, the cheerleader, who asked snarkily "Is, like, all this shit going to be on the test?"

   Mr. Colesen pushed his glasses menacingly back up his nose.

*   *   *   *

   That night it was Friday, and Friday night in their town meant there was a highschool football game.  Jalena dragged Milenna along to the field, for she was certain Rebecca would be Mr. Colesen's next victim.  The first half passed uneventfully except for the six unanswered touchdowns from the visiting team (the home team was desperately missing Jason Speck's plucky pugilism).  Rebecca, as always, was the centre of attention as the cheerleaders took to the field at halftime, and that was when Jalena noticed that Mr. Colesen was missing.

   "He's probably refilling the team's water bottles, or some shit," Milenna shrugged.

   "Dammit, girl!" Jalena shouted.  "Don't you see?  This is the perfect opportunity, in a public place, with everyone distracted.  I bet he's going to hunt her down in the dark under the stands, right after she gets off the field.  We have to go save her!"

   Milenna shrugged.  "Save that bitch?!?  Honestly, if it were me going postal she'd be the first victim."

   "We gotta stop this guy!" Jalena scolded her friend.  "Think for a bit.  If he kills Rebecca tonight, who's next?"

   "...Jamir Kollandu?" Milenna asked, trying hard to connect the dots.

   "Us!" Jalena said, shaking her friend.  "Let's go!"

*   *   *   *

   The cheerleaders left the field and the players returned, but still there was no sign of Mr. Colesen.  Frantically the two girls ran along the shadows behind the bleachers, deaf to the roar of the local crowd who must finally have seen something worth cheering about.

   "Like, where did they all go?" Milenna asked, turning on the flashlight function of her smartphone.  Then she gasped.  Jalena followed her friend's line of vision to see a cheerleader's preppy skirt, soaked in blood, dangling from a loose nail under the bleachers.  "Rebecca?!?"

   The crowd quieted down, and they now heard gasping coming from deeper under the bleachers.  With trepidation they followed the sound, until they found Rebecca, or at least what was left of her.  Her clothes were ripped beyond recognition, and she had been stabbed multiple times.  She gasped and twitched and grabbed at Jalena's ankle with a blood soaked hand.   With her last ounce of strength she rasped her last words:  "Black.... Cloak.... Fuck....!"  And then she was gone.

   Jalena and Milenna didn't even think of calling the police.  All they could think of was to run.

*   *   *   *

   Saturday.  The two girls had slept over at Milenna's, considering that there was security in numbers.  They were up most of the night, startling at the slightest creak in the floorboards or clang from the street, but eventually at dawn they felt safe enough to sleep.  It wasn't until late afternoon that they awoke to feel the creeping terror of another night approaching.  That was when Jalena remembered Jamir. 

   "That fuck-wad chain-smoking skid?" Milenna grumbled.

   "Hey, one of us can escape while the killer is busy stabbing the other," Jalena explained, "or we can bring Jamir in and hope he gets picked off first."  That kind of logic made sense to Milenna, but despite phoning Jamir repeatedly all they got was his answering service.

   "This voice message box is full," droned the answering bot, in a voice and tone eerily reminiscent of the school office coordinator.

   "Where does Jamir hang out on weekends?" Jalena asked frantically.

   "Well, he's always carrying around that shit-painted skateboard," Milenna remarked.

   "The skatepark!" Jalena shrieked.

   But it was dusk by the time they got down there, and the flickering lights and graffiti everywhere made the skatepark feel more like a prison yard than a safe hangout.  The kids that hung around after dark all had their hoods drawn up to keep off the chill of the evening, which made Jalena imagine seeing black cloaks everywhere.  Different music jived and jangled from various speakers as they walked around, looking for their classmate.

   "Has anyone seen Jamir Kollandu?" Jalena asked a group of twelve year olds.

   "I think he's with your fucking mom!" one of them answered, and the whole group tittered like a pack of hyenas.

   "Fucking rude ass little shits!" Milenna barked back.  "They are going to be so dead when they get to highschool."

   "We're all going to be fucking dead in highschool!" Jalena shouted.

   "Hey, you guys Jamir's friends?" some guy asked.

   "That's right," Jalena said, trying to calm herself down.  "Have you seen him?"

   "Yeah, like ten minutes ago.  He just went to skate the back alley through there."  The guy gestured towards a gap in the skatepark obstacles.

   Jalena dragged Milenna down the alley, but immediately regretted it, for here the lighting was sparse and dumpsters smelled of garbage fire doused in hoodlum urine.  "Fuck this!" Milenna said, bolting for the comparative light of the skatepark proper.

   "We have to stick together!" Jalena told her.

   "Not for jaundice-teeth Jamir," Milenna shook.  "Not even for you, niña.  I'm fucking sorry.  Peace out!"  And with that she shouldered her way past another hooded twelve-year-old, running as if for her life.

   "Well fuck," Jalena muttered to herself.  But then she heard some kind of scratching sound coming from the alley, and turned to investigate.  There, behind the dumpster!  There was the shadow of something that looked like a man lying on the ground.  Forgetting caution, Jalena turned her phone flashlight on and rushed to what turned out to be Jamir's bloody corpse, his throat sliced cleanly from ear to ear.  Jalena screamed, casting about for help.  Her eyes fell on the shadowy figure of the hooded twelve-year-old.

   "Help me!" Jalena cried.  "My friend has been cut up!  Go get help!"

   But the shadowy twelve-year-old stood staring, his expression unreadable under the darkness of his hood.  Suddenly Jalena considered that it might not actually just be a hood, but rather a black cloak that he was wearing, and she was instantly reminded of Mr. Colesen's slight build.  "Holy fuck, it's you!" she whimpered.

   The hooded figure only nodded.

   Jalena ran.  She ran like she had never run in her life.  She ran through the streets, screaming for her very life.  At last, when she had screamed herself hoarse and her lungs burnt like cinder ash, and her legs felt floppy like dead fish, she stopped.  Her body shook and her mind spun, but there was suddenly one thought in her head.  Milenna!

   She called her friend, over and over and over again, but never was the call answered.

*   *   *   *

   Monday morning, Mr. Colesen's math class.  Jalena strutted in and defiantly took her seat at the back of the class.  She had decided she wasn't going to be afraid any more.  If she was going to go down, she was going to go down swinging!  But surveying all the empty seats in the classroom, she suddenly began to lose her nerve again.  Tina Brimmer came in to take her seat quietly at the front of the class - of course she'd been spared, the brown-nosed little teacher's pet!  But nobody else entered until she heard the gentle patter of Mr. Colesen's feet.

"Look's like everyone's taking a long-weekend," he joked lamely, setting his books down before plunging immediately into his lesson, back to the class, chalk writing furiously, calling out items of particular interest over his shoulder.

Jalena swallowed hard.  "I'm not afraid of you," she called out.

The lesson continued, as if there were no interruption.

"I said, I'm not fucking afraid of you!" Jalena shouted. 

Again, the lesson continued unabated.

"You think you can get away with this, you sick fuck?!?" she asked.  "You're the only fucking common element running through the victim's lives!  I know what you did this weekend, and I fucking wrote it all down and mailed it.  They're going to fucking catch you, and you're going to fucking rot for a long, long time!"

"A long time?" Mr. Colesen called over his shoulder.  "No, I was only gone the whole weekend to visit my mother in Tulsa."  And then he continued with the lesson, as if the interruption had never even occurred.

Jalena swallowed hard.  The back of Tina Brimmer's head slowly disappeared behind a black hood, and as she rose from her seat the black fabric continued down to below her knees.  Slowly, menacingly, she turned to face Jalena.

"It was fucking you the whole time!" Jalena gasped.

Tina put her finger to her lips.  "Hush now," she said in her tiny voice.  "Someone must learn their lesson." 

And then on silent feet she rushed at Jalena.

[Mandle]

Oh, awesome, Baron! That will be all the entries, and I'm off to Australia tomorrow, so handing moderation over to the very moderate Stupot.

Seeyas in a couple of weeks, unless I get really high... erm... I mean "inspired" and enter the next round on the fly while there!

[Stupot]

Well, class. It's time to put down your pencils and face the front.

The two entries are:
Sinitrena - And in the Darkness: Night
Baron - Nadir High

Anyone may vote. Please simply choose your favourite story and post the title in the thread. In the case of a tie I will cast the deciding vote.

Voting closes on July 4th at 23:59 Hammer Time.

[Sinitrena]

Alright, let's see.
Baron, parts of your story read like a conservatives fever dream to point at: "See, see, how the world will end when we allow all those snowflakes and trans and, and, and "teenagers" (these are scare quotes, in case it's not obvious) to run the world!" Anyway, it's satire, I assume, but that than leads to a very heavy tonal shift once Jalena starts investigating - it changes from smiles and head-chakes to (something resembling) horror. The satirical tone is also present in the beginning due to the constant reminder of school rules and the (slightly exagerated?) youth speech we start out with. Interestingly enough, that disappears to some degree once we are no longer limited to the classroom as the only location of the story.
Jalena herself is a bit of an annoying character, due to the way she speaks, and - holy hell - does she jump to conclusions. There is actually zero reason to assume the teatcher is the culprit here (though her assumption that something is going on is reasonable). I'm not sure how to feel about the reveal because of that. On the one hand, I'm glad that it was indirectly acknowledged that she jumped to conclusions here, on the other, it makes her look incredibly stupid. The fact that she doesn't even consider any other murderer, that she confronts him right then and there as soon as she thinks it. Yeah, she's stupid (especially because I immediately clocked the moussy girl as a suspect, mainly because she stood out in the descriptions due to being the only one outside of the chaos).
But at least Jalena isn't the only stupid person here. The world in general is too, by not picking up on the fact that something is going on - but that's again more pronounced in the beginning of the story and I would consider it part of the satircal aspects. Whose stupidity is annoying though, is the murderer's. It's something you see again and again in all kinds of murder mysteries (books, tv): As soon as a protagonists starts invastigating, the murderer throws caution to the wind. Up until the  football game, all murders were disguised, be it as suicide, accident, whatever. But then, the football game happens, Jalena investigates and she finds the victim clearly murdered. You can't even argue that Jalena surprised Tina. "Her clothes were ripped beyond recognition, and she had been stabbed multiple times." There is no mistaking this for anything but a murder. Tina didn't even try. And the only reason is not an internal one, not one prescribed by the story, but one needed by the author. Jalena had to find a murder victim for the story to continue, even though Tina would logically still have followed her usual modus operandi. It makes no sense and it makes Tina look incredibly stupid as well.
Minor thing: Colesen or Colsen? Both spellings are there.
Overall, I like the second part of the story better (despite Tina's stupidity), mainly because the first part is just a bit over the top for my liking. Still, an enjoyable, slightly chaotic read.

Obviously, my vote goes to Baron.

[Baron]

I vote Sinitrena!

It was a dramatic and emotionally charged piece, although I'm not sure a play was the best format for this story.  Staging challenges aside, so much of the colour and feeling came from the stage notes that I think a viewer of the play might miss some of the subtleties.  The strongest part of your story were the complex and layered characters, both good and evil/selfish and selfless at the same time.  This does raise some serious moral conundrums (Elvrin himself concedes the political necessity of having an heir to the throne, somewhat justifying the lengths the king went to produce and search for one).  It was sad that Liéne's vengeance against the man who tormented her for so long came to naught almost immediately after she died (and this after being consulted directly beforehand), but I suppose this is a life lesson that practicality trumps feelings.  In the end the king must live with the fact that his son is really more Elvrin's son, which is a petty vengeance itself (although more for Elvrin than the long-suffering Liéne).  This is a strong point in the story, but a liability in terms of this contest in that Elvrin acts as more of a parent towards Rhem than as a teacher (complete with tender cuddling moments, bickering, and stories about his mom).  Not only that, but the teaching bit of his role is entirely glossed over (what kind of abilities or skills has Rhem developed as an apprentice necromancer, aside from a sturdy moral compass?).  Besides not conforming to the theme, I think the biggest area for improvement is in pacing.  The first and second scene could be fairly easily combined without sacrificing much, and the Liéne consult added length without much substance (it was purely to demonstrate Elvrin's platonic love, since he entirely ignored her wishes) - in a non-play format this inner tension could be explored in more detail but less length as an inner monologue.

Sorry for typos, but I'm stuck on my phone atm.

[Sinitrena]

This is a strong point in the story, but a liability in terms of this contest in that Elvrin acts as more of a parent towards Rhem than as a teacher [...]. Not only that, but the teaching bit of his role is entirely glossed over (what kind of abilities or skills has Rhem developed as an apprentice necromancer, aside from a sturdy moral compass?).

I don't think it matters much for the story as a whole, but in the context of this contest, I'll point it out: Being a teacher was never about the things Rehm might or might not have learned in the past, but about the lesson Elvrin gives here, in this moment to Rehm. It's about the act of teaching, not the role of a teacher. I think you were looking a bit too much for the role (or, in other words, the profession) of a teacher and didn't notice that Elvrin is teaching. (And yes, of course he acts like a parent, because he is one. But parents are often teachers to their children as well.)

[Stupot]

I'll keep this brief.

Spoiler

Both stories were pretty decent and had a lot going for them. Sini's play is very atmospheric and raised a lot of interesting moral questions. There was also a hint of lots of interesting background without ever being too expositiony. I would like to have read or "watched" the first part, and learned more about their master-apprentice relationship. My only real concern was more of a practical one about how you're gonna get a raven to do all the things this raven is described as doing. Even a man dressed in a raven's suit is going to struggle to live up to those state directions.

The slasher element of Baron's was really fun for me, but I was less keen on the setting with the students getting away with (as it happens, literal) murder. I think that in a school so lenient towards students, there wouldn't be any students in the classroom anyway. They'd all be breaking violation 22b about truancy, punishable by 12 extra merit stickers. The slasher stuff was fun, but could have used a bit more breathing space. A lot of deaths and days are packed into a just a few paragraphs each, but this could easily be a whole novel.

[close]

We have a tie-break situation, so guess it's up to me to decide the winning entry.

Spoiler

It's a tough choice but I'm going to give my vote to Sinitrena. I agree with Baron that normal prose might have suited it better than the play format but it was a good exercise and I had fun reading it and visualizing what it might look like on stage.

Over to you

[close]

[Sinitrena]

Settle down, class, settle down.
Today we continue our lesson on lesser known literature categories, and especially on sub-genres of dramas. Todays lesson is on the "Closet Drama". As your study guide (aka Wikipedia) tells you: "A closet drama (or closet play) is a play created primarily for reading, rather than production. Closet dramas are traditionally defined in narrower terms as belonging to a genre of dramatic writing unconcerned with stage technique.". For further study, especially concerning sociological and historic aspects, please consult your book on the relevant pages here
(I couldn't remember what this was actually called, but I remembered the concept. Took me a while to find this page, my search terms were... lacking)

Thanks for your votes, guys, I'll think of a new topic soon.