Chapter Text
"Oiiii, Frogfish, do we REALLY need to do this? We're not dumb, y'know…"
The five chosen students were already set to take their trip to the Ink Cap Mountains. All arrangements had been made; transportation via mirrors, their quarters and amenities handled within a single building, as well as local guides and guards to a multitude of places within the city of Mt Barren.
There was just one more thing to do: teach them about the multitude of races that congregated within the city around the time of the Awakening.
The Headmage had allowed it to prevent any sort of liability on his part, and also to keep these troublemakers busy.
Tusya had gathered them all in a spare classroom once all their exams had been handled, already done up in a robe and glasses. They had written up a simple chart displaying the main races that existed within the Miasma of their homeland, and with a few large pads set up for additional notes and races that were not quite as common or impactful upon the culture of the city.
"Man, Floyd. Let me have this. I wanna be able to teach you guys about my home, while making sure you don't get kicked to death by being accidentally racist." Tusya would huff and pout, grabbing a ruler to use a pointer. "You ever see a fairy get kicked by a pissed off centaur? It's like a craft store threw up in a haunted house. Glitter and gore everywhere. Very messy. I don't want you guys getting thrown off a cliff by angry harpies either so listen up."
"There's a few main kinds of people that fall under the Monsterfolk umbrella. We'll start with the equines, which are centaurs, pegasi, unicorns and equine beastfolk."
Tusya began to write on the board under the equine column.
"Pegasi and Unicorns are not able to talk but have some intelligence. Moreso than most horses. They generally can be seen as beasts of burden, but must also be handled with respect and care or else they will lash out."
"Centaurs and equine beastfolk are generally lucid and capable of speech. Do not try and compare them to regular horses or they will Get You. Do not ask to ride them. They will find every reason to deny you service or trample you." They explained. "Just be respectful and polite like you would with any other person and you should be fine."
"Perdon, petit monstre." Rook raised his hand. "Why do you differentiate between beastfolk and centaurs?"
"Oh, because beastfolk are like. Horse horses. That talk and stand on two legs."
"Aren't those just Beastmen?" Azul asked.
"No!" Tusya would say, shaking their head and waving their arms. "That's a whole other issue entirely! But to keep it simple…"
They would scribble down two drawings on the board. One was a man with horse ears. The other was a crudely drawn horse standing on its hind legs in a waistcoat and wearing glasses. "A beastman is a humanoid with animal features like ears and a tail. BeastFOLK are animals with human features, like standing on two legs when they're usually on four, or having a snout instead of a human face. You should remember this because a lot of beastFOLK don't like being called beastMEN and vice versa. A lot of them don't care but you do not wanna call the wolf beastfolk a beastman, as an example."
"I wasn't aware that monsterfolk were so touchy about such a subject." Vil would interject. "But wait, if there are beastmen in your land, how did they get there? I thought that the Ink Cap Mountains was a land of monsters?"
"It kinda is! But a lot of early explorers ended up living there and just not coming back out." Tusya explained. "And a lot of the ones less affected by the Miasma and thus survived to reproduce were beastmen! So a lot of them settled in, since apparently back then there was a lot of discrimination between beastmen and humans. But that's a whole other kettle of fish!"
"And speaking of fish…" Tusya would move over to the piscine column. "We do have merfolk in the region, but they generally don't come on land much. We got fresh and saltwater mers, but since like, three of you are already saltwater mers, we can just talk about the other forms of monsterfolk. All I will say is that, due to the Miasma, a lot of our merfolk are kinda uh… weird? Looking? Compared to the stereotypical merfolk, I mean. Some have glowing patches, others have extra eyes and glowy lures… it's a lot to take in, but as far as I can tell the culture is similar enough."
"Ne ne, Frogfishie, that sounds like a lot of the abyssal merfolk." Floyd would speak up, raising his hand. "I didn't know you had that above sea level~"
"Uh? I've never heard of that but if they're similar in appearance, maybe the culture is similar? I'll be honest, you guys are my first real interactions with merfolk on the regular so…" Tusya would shrug. "I can only tell ya so much, so you might just have to meet 'em in person."
"Hmmm…" Floyd would frown. "Alright."
"Okay, so we're almost done. You guys have had courses on dealing with the fae by now so I'm sure that that doesn't need a refresher. So let's talk harpies and such."
"Harpies are a race of humanoid avian folk that live all over the region. They can be pretty aggressive at times but most are reasonable. Do not try and trick or defraud a harpy… well, no, don't try and trick or defraud anyone! But especially not a harpy. They have a nasty habit of mobbing those who wrong one of their flock and either tearing them to bits, or dropping them off a multi story cliff."
Tusya would pause and sigh. "Ultimately, they're like any OTHER race, with traditions and culture and misconceptions like us all. So I guess the biggest piece of advice I can impart is just. Be chill. Treat people with respect no matter what they look like?"
"...I...See?" Vil would huff. "A lot of these things you mentioned seem obvious to a bystander. Why don't you just skip this charade?"
"Well, for two reasons! One, if I say I mentioned it, and you guys get in trouble I have no liability. Two, I'm not a teacher and can't organize as such."
Vil would just shut his eyes and sigh, shaking his head. "...And the last column?"
Tusya would look over at the last, currently empty column labeled "Misc". "Ahhhh. Yes. Well. Okay. This is why most of the lesson was glossed over. Because the Misc category is most everything else. The biggest subcategory are the Pyrocaste! So we can start with them."
Tusya would pull up a few drawings of a feline looking entity with flaming ears. "You already have seen one of the Pyrocaste before! I still have no clue what one of them was DOING out here, but I digress. They are one of the oldest species in the region, with some even claiming that they're the first created by the Lord of the Mountain himself."
"Lord of the Mountain?" Jade's eyes would flash with interest.
"Yeah! Every being under this umbrella technically counts as one of His Children. Merfolk included, somehow. Mostly due to a lot of early merfolk colonies falling under his care during the Fae and Human wars. Even if you don't live in the region, you still count so good for you three!" Tusya would clap.
"Interesting… so back to the Pyrocaste. Is that their species name or…?" Jade scribbled that down, smiling faintly. He wanted to learn more about this supposed Lord ...
"No that's the name they give their collective society. Their name in Monster dialect translates to "Magic Granted Felines". So we mostly just call them the Pyrocaste. Or Pyrocats. Whatever floats your boat." They would pull up another chart. "Their role is maintenance! A lot of these guys are not only engineers, but also architects and builders. They can't hold tools conventionally but they CAN hook up magical conduits and, in the case of some more modern settlements, electrical equipment."
"Oh? I was not aware your area had access to electricity." Azul noted that down. To think that they knew so little about Tusya's home…
"Yeah, it's mostly solar power or wind. Either way, a lot of the Pyrocaste are highly respected, and could probably get away with killing you since they're all unionized."
"...You can't just SAY THAT and not go into it!" Vil snapped after a moment of silence.
"WHAT? It's true! If you piss 'em off they'll just rig your home's wiring to get messed up and cause a fire. And of course no one can prove anything… anyway! The point is, be nice to them. Please. Their paws are in many different pots, so to speak."
From there, Tusya would draw a few more generic monsters. Shaggy furred, pig snouted individuals… horned monstrosities with blank staring eyes…
"These are some typical monsterfolk you'll see in my hometown!" They would explain. "They're all just people, ultimately, and would like to be treated with politeness and respect. Obviously, don't treat them like they're the Other in the conversation, and don't be surprised if they come up and ask you insensitive questions. A lot of them have never SEEN a human, nevermind met one."
Tusya would look at the board. "Any questions about monsterkind?"
"I do, actually." Jade would raise his hand. "Tell us more about this...Lord of the Mountain."
"Oh? Well uh." Tusya would pull out one of the large paper pads and draw an ominous horned figure seated atop a mountain. "Well for starters, if this is gonna be a history lesson, you better be prepared for some blank spaces in the history. A lot of the stuff was never translated into a common dialect."
"So let's start with the Lord. He's old. He's overseen the Mountain Range since before recorded history. He's probably seen humans at their earliest. But most importantly, he made all of the species of monsterkind we see today. Merfolk are a hotly debated topic, don't ask me about that." Tusya would motion for Jade and Azul to put their hands down.
"The Lord of the Mountain was usually painted as a force of evil back in the day, simply because he sided with the fae in the Human Fae wars. His children, monsterkind, would work with the Fae and assist in fighting the humans. And to keep the humans out of his kingdom, he created the Miasma. It was meant to beguile and confuse humans, making them easy targets for the local wildlife."
"The truth was? He was and still is a nice guy. He loves his children and has done everything in his power to keep them safe. Even if his policies are… isolationist, he has his reasons. Dedko talks to him all the time."
"You mean to tell us that your grandfather is on speaking terms with a primordial entity that created your species?" Azul would ask, adjusting his glasses. It wasn't that he didn't believe them, but…
"Yeah! I've met him before too. And if you play your cards right, you might get to meet him face to face at the Awakening." Tusya explained.
"...Explain." Azul narrowed his eyes
"Oh! If you get up to the mountaintop, where the big celebration takes place, then he will join you and he might pick you up! That grants you the yearly magical boost." Tusya explained. "You're gonna have to fight a lot of people for a spot though. Like. Physically fight in a lot of cases. Is it worth it? That's up to you."
"Blahhhhhh… Frogfishie, can we take a break? This is a lot." Floyd complained.
"Sheesh, Floyd, I'd have thought you would have been interested in a party like that." Tusya would say, hands on their hips. "But I'm okay with taking a ten minute break. Get some coffee or a snack, that sort of thing."