Myth Into History, Week 12: Yes, Virginia, There Is A . . . [Thurs/1st Period, Danger Shop]
Today the Danger Shop was programmed to look like a forest. A very creepy, overgrown, foggy forest to be sure, but a forest nonetheless. Well. Except for the gravestones.
Standing behind one particularly decrepit stone was Janice, leafing through a well-worn copy of Bulfinch's Mythology and looking a bit more smug than usual. As soon as everyone arrived, she tossed the book over her shoulder and clapped her hands together.
"Got your notebooks ready?" she asked. "I guarantee you, you're not gonna find this story in Bulfinch's. One of the earliest Xena Scrolls we found tells an interesting little story about the god Bacchus and his followers. You've probably heard of Orpheus, whose musical skill was more than a match for most of the dangers of the ancient times. He outsang the Sirens and tamed the Underworld in his quest to get his wife, Eurydice, back from death. And he almost succeeded -- but not quite."
". . . pay attention, that's actually relevant here. See, the music of Orpheus was the one thing capable of keeping the shape-shifting, soulless, bloodsucking Bacchae at bay." She looked briefly disgusted with herself for the alliteration, then grinned evilly as she pulled a pale-skinned, decapitated head from a bag she'd been hiding behind the stone. "Which was why Bacchus stole his body. Kind of hard to play the lyre without limbs, isn't it?"
Still grinning, Janice put the head down -- face up, at least -- in a small nest of dried twigs, where it proceeded to glare at her balefully. "Well, even though he blamed Xena for his wife's death, Orpheus enlisted her help -- her, Gabrielle, and some bumbling klutz named Joxer. I mean the real Joxer, not this imposter here," she added, with a oh-so-ironic dismissive gesture toward Joxer. "And since the only thing capable of killing a Bacchae -- or Bacchus himself -- was a fragment of Dryad bone through the heart, they had to come here, to a Dryad graveyard, to get a hold of some weapons. But there was a catch: Bacchus could only be slain by one of his own followers. When Gabrielle" -- she rolled her eyes disgustedly -- "went and got herself turned into a Bacchae, Xena let herself succumb to the turning bite of the Bacchae at her own companion's hands, but held onto her own will long enough to take the Dryad bone to the god, stop him, and end the threat to the local townsfolk. Oh, and Orpheus here even got his body back. Don't you love a happy ending?"
She picked up a fragment of Dryad bone, tossed it casually into the air, and jumped back as it thudded, sharp point first, straight into the ground just inches away from Orpheus's head. Said musician let out a choked yelp of indignation, to which Janice quickly replied, "I meant to do that. Really. Okay, we've only got one class left before finals, so I hope you all have been studying. Being in good physical condition for the final would be a good idea too. In the meantime? Talk to Orpheus here, if you feel like it. Don't worry. He won't bite."
[OOC: Class Info Post. Expect some SP from me during the workday tomorrow as usual, but hopefully it shouldn't be too busy. (Yeah, you know I just jinxed it. Gah.) OCD is up!]
Standing behind one particularly decrepit stone was Janice, leafing through a well-worn copy of Bulfinch's Mythology and looking a bit more smug than usual. As soon as everyone arrived, she tossed the book over her shoulder and clapped her hands together.
"Got your notebooks ready?" she asked. "I guarantee you, you're not gonna find this story in Bulfinch's. One of the earliest Xena Scrolls we found tells an interesting little story about the god Bacchus and his followers. You've probably heard of Orpheus, whose musical skill was more than a match for most of the dangers of the ancient times. He outsang the Sirens and tamed the Underworld in his quest to get his wife, Eurydice, back from death. And he almost succeeded -- but not quite."
". . . pay attention, that's actually relevant here. See, the music of Orpheus was the one thing capable of keeping the shape-shifting, soulless, bloodsucking Bacchae at bay." She looked briefly disgusted with herself for the alliteration, then grinned evilly as she pulled a pale-skinned, decapitated head from a bag she'd been hiding behind the stone. "Which was why Bacchus stole his body. Kind of hard to play the lyre without limbs, isn't it?"
Still grinning, Janice put the head down -- face up, at least -- in a small nest of dried twigs, where it proceeded to glare at her balefully. "Well, even though he blamed Xena for his wife's death, Orpheus enlisted her help -- her, Gabrielle, and some bumbling klutz named Joxer. I mean the real Joxer, not this imposter here," she added, with a oh-so-ironic dismissive gesture toward Joxer. "And since the only thing capable of killing a Bacchae -- or Bacchus himself -- was a fragment of Dryad bone through the heart, they had to come here, to a Dryad graveyard, to get a hold of some weapons. But there was a catch: Bacchus could only be slain by one of his own followers. When Gabrielle" -- she rolled her eyes disgustedly -- "went and got herself turned into a Bacchae, Xena let herself succumb to the turning bite of the Bacchae at her own companion's hands, but held onto her own will long enough to take the Dryad bone to the god, stop him, and end the threat to the local townsfolk. Oh, and Orpheus here even got his body back. Don't you love a happy ending?"
She picked up a fragment of Dryad bone, tossed it casually into the air, and jumped back as it thudded, sharp point first, straight into the ground just inches away from Orpheus's head. Said musician let out a choked yelp of indignation, to which Janice quickly replied, "I meant to do that. Really. Okay, we've only got one class left before finals, so I hope you all have been studying. Being in good physical condition for the final would be a good idea too. In the meantime? Talk to Orpheus here, if you feel like it. Don't worry. He won't bite."
[OOC: Class Info Post. Expect some SP from me during the workday tomorrow as usual, but hopefully it shouldn't be too busy. (Yeah, you know I just jinxed it. Gah.) OCD is up!]