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Magical Creatures and Characters

Page history last edited by Roswenthe 15 years, 10 months ago

Dragons

Dragons are not pets in the HP universe.  To have one or to give one away icly is not allowed and there will be ic consequences.  Dragons are also not allowed to just be let loose or wander around in the sim since the sim is a high rp area.  To ask about Dragons or Drakelets you must contact, icly of course the head of that department Rayna Kievnov ((Rayna Dragonash))

 

Merpeople

http://www.worldofhogwarts.org/abmerpeople.htm

“A cluster of crude stone dwellings stained with algae loomed suddenly out of the gloom on all sides. Here and there at the dark windows, Harry saw faces... faces that bore no resemblance at all to the painting of the mermaid in the Prefects' bathroom...

  The merpeople had greyish skins and long, wild, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of pebbles around their necks. They leered at Harry as he swam past; one or two of them emerged from their caves to watch him better, their powerful, silver fishtails beating the water, spears clutched in their hands.”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 26 The Second Task pg. 432

“He looked around. Many of the merpeople surrounding them were carrying spears. He swam swiftly towards a seven-foot-tall merman with a long green beard and a choker of shark fangs, and tried to mime a request to borrow the spear. The merman laughed and shook his head.

  “We do not help,” he said in a harsh, croaky voice.”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 26 The Second Task pg. 433

“Dumbledore was crouching at the water's edge, deep in conversation with what seemed to be the chief merperson, a particularly wild and ferocious-looking female. He was making the same sort of screechy noises that the merpeople made when they were above water; clearly, Dumbledore could speak Mermish.”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 26 The Second Task pg. 438

The first glance we have of a merperson in the books is the painting of a mermaid which hangs in the Prefects' bathroom which Harry visits shortly before the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament in his fourth year. This image of a mermaid fits, more or less, the common appearance of a mermaid as popular opinion and folklore dictate (think The Little Mermaid, or the Sirens of Greek legend). However, it is important to remember that the merpeople in Hogwarts' lake are NOT like that (see description above). It is probable that most witches and wizards have no idea what a merperson actually looks like. Clearly, they do not emerge above water very often.

Merpeople have their own language; Mermish. They perhaps can speak English, but this is probably a scattered talent which very few merpeople possess, if at all (due to friendship with Dumbledore, perhaps?). The Mermish language sounds almost unbearably horrible to human ears, a loud, screeching sound not unlike the musical saws at Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party. However, it is unique in that when both the speaker and the listener are underwater, the screeching noise becomes a voice and the listener can understand what is spoken, without a knowledge of the language.

During the Second Task Harry discovers the true appearance of a merperson, and there are more hints at their lifestyle. Merpeople clearly live in a hunter-gatherer style community, with some knowledge of art and music (think native tribes of America, Africa or Australasia). Their dwellings are basic. Many carry spears, and there are lots of references to hunting; it is likely merpeople eat fish. They also, apparently, keep smaller water-dwelling creatures such as the Grindylow as pets.

If you are interested in roleplaying as a merperson, it is likely that you will have little contact with most human characters in the roleplay. You would certainly not travel onto the land. You can, however, breathe in the air, and human visitors to the lakeside might catch a glimpse of you; or, if they are lucky, get to talk to you! (Anyone speak Mermish?) It is also important to note that merpeople have no magical ability at all; when faced with an angry Harry's wand in the lake, they scattered.

 

Useful Links to Information About Merpeople

The HP Lexicon

Merpeople: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/bestiary/merpeople.html

Merchieftainess Murcus: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/wizards-non.html#murcus

 

Giants

from: http://www.worldofhogwarts.org/abgiants.htm

“The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.

  A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.

  The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.

  “Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey...”

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 4 The Keeper of the Keys pg. 39

“A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forwards, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully. Then Harry saw a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage - a shoe the size of a child's sled - followed, almost immediately, by the largest woman he had ever seen in his life. The size of the carriage, and of the horses, was immediately explained. A few people gasped.

  Harry had only ever seen one person as large as this woman in his life, and that was Hagrid; he doubted whether there was an inch difference in their heights. Yet somehow - maybe simply because he was used to Hagrid - this woman (now at the foot of the steps, and looking around at the waiting, wide-eyed crowd) seemed even more unnaturally large. As she stepped into the light flooding from the Entrance Hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face, large, black, liquid-looking eyes and a rather beaky nose. Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 15 Beauxbatons and Durmstrang pg. 214

“I jus' knew... knew you were like me... was it yer mother or yer father?”

  “I - I don't know what you mean, 'Agrid...”

  “It was my mother,” said Hagrid quietly. “She was one o' the las' ones in Britain. 'Course, I can' remember her too well... she left, see. When I was abou' three. She wasn' really the maternal sort. Well... it's not in their natures, is it? Dunno what happened to her... might be dead fer all I know...”

  Madame Maxime didn't say anything. And Harry, in spite of himself, took his eyes off the beetle, and looked over the top of the reindeer's antlers, listening... he had never heard Hagrid talk about his childhood before.

  “Me dad was broken-hearted when she wen'. Tiny little bloke, my dad was. By the time I was six I could lift him up an' put him on top o' the dresser if he annoyed me. Used ter make him laugh...” Hagrid's deep voice broke. Madame Maxime was listening, motionless, apparently staring at the silvery fountain. “Dad raised me... but he died, o' course, jus' after I started school. Sorta had ter make me own way after that. Dumbledore was a real help, mind. Very kind ter me, he was...”

  Hagrid pulled out a large, spotted silk handkerchief and blew his nose heavily. “So... anyway... enough abou' me. What about you? What side you got it on?”

  But Madame Maxime had suddenly gotten to her feet.

  “It is chilly,” she said - but whatever the weather was doing, it was nowhere near as cold as her voice. “I think I will go in now.”

  “Eh?” said Hagrid blankly. “No, don' go! I've - I've never met another one before!”

  “Anuzzer what, precisely?” said Madame Maxime, her tone icy.

  Harry could have told Hagrid it was best not to answer; he stood there in the shadows, gritting his teeth, hoping against hope he wouldn't - but it was no good.

  “Another half-giant, o' course!” said Hagrid.

  “Ow dare you!” shrieked Madame Maxime. Her voice exploded through the peaceful night like a foghorn; behind him, Harry heard Fleur and Roger fall out of their rose bush. “I 'ave nevair been more insulted in my life! 'Alf-giant? Moi? I 'ave - I 'ave big bones!”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 23 The Yule Ball pgs. 372-373

**Please note: You can not play a full-giant character in The World of Hogwarts. Sorry, but we have nowhere for your character to live!**

The most obvious example of a half-giant character in Harry's world is Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper and keeper of the keys at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and professor of Care of Magical Creatures from Harry's third year at the school. Hagrid is a main character in the books so I will not go into detail about his appearance.

In general, half-giants appear to be much the same as normal humans, aside from the fact that they are abnormally large. Hagrid is quoted to be twice the normal height of a man, and is proportionally as strong. They are also quite rare (see above) - if Olympe Maxime (Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy) was the first and only other half-giant Hagrid had ever met, it is a fair assumption that Hagrid was the only half-giant in Britain at the time of the War. It is also interesting to note that both Hagrid and Madame Maxime have black eyes.

Both the rarity and general size of a half-giant should be considered carefully when creating such a character, but I included the particularly long quote above to make a secondary point which I think you should take into consideration. While Hagrid seems particularly comfortable about his existence as a half-giant (though he doesn't exactly scream about it from the rooftops), Madame Maxime is extremely sensitive about it.

 As Harry later finds out through his friends and the poison quill of Rita Skeeter, giants are dangerous creatures who either died or were killed off by aurors, and as such are feared. Half-giants are obviously much gentler and more human-like than their full-giant counterparts, however it is apparent that there is a considerable stigma attached to being a half-giant in Wizarding society. Your character would be suspect - people whom you had never met might be scared of you, fearful of your temper, even angry that you are allowed to walk amongst them. How you react IC to this knowledge is up to you, however.

Useful Links to Information About Giants

The HP Lexicon

Giants: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/bestiary/giants.html

Rubeus Hagrid: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/hagrid.html

Olympe Maxime: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/maxime.html

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