I... kinda finished off my alt False piece for today, so... This is probably like idk cycle 5? I like the idea that not all of the teachers have angsty backstories - some of those who join up later were students in previous cycles first! Hence, Gem is also here, rather than me making up a bit part student OC. Give her a few cycles, and Gem will be returning as the university's heroism teacher.
There is a common misconception, perpetuated by the Inquisition and Forces of Evil alike, that shadow magic is evil, and light magic is good. False, for the record, knows that this is ridiculous - and does not even believe that either side buys the lie.
Not that it matters; some students are incredibly squeamish about a class called assassination, and False cannot exactly blame them for that.
So, for the year where her classes are compulsary, she teaches the less violent aspects of her trade; parkour, anatomy, stealth. She used to cover self defence and antidotes, too, but Gem and Zedaph have been conviced to add those to their first year sylabii. Heroism and potions are much better places for them, afterall.
Second year, she gets the fitness nuts, the weirdos, and the people actually interested. A couple interested in her and not assassination, bur she makes do. It is also second year, where the students start choosing to be there, that she comes down like a tonne of bricks; if you just need shadow credits, Cub and Scar's demonology classes are /right there/. Parkour gets traps, anatomy starts focusing on killing, and the class gets introduced to her collection of body parts (mostly spares for Cleo, these days, but the students don't need to know that).
Third years are, however, her favourites. The weirdos have been chased out, leaving her with a small but dedicated group. Should she be increasing the number of assassins in the world? Well, right now they need all the help they can get, and not everyone is suited to heroism, elementalism, or explosives. Her graduates are loyal, sharp, and deadly - just the way she left school, an undisclosed number of years before.
Their exams are also her favourites. From fourth year onwards the practical exams form a variation on the third, applying stricter timers and tighter constraints. Third years, however?
She starts the third years off in a ring of lava. There's a few ways out, but the fastest is to manipulate a series of trap doors, higher and higher until you get out of the pit, and onto solid ground. Alternatively there are swinging platforms or, for the so inclined, a potions bench and ingredients.
There was also one year when there was a strangely red deepfolk lad, one who could swim in lava just fine. That's alright - making use of your talents is part of the course.
After escaping the lava pit, it tends to be less obvious as to what to do. Their mission, as they know, is to find a warden - already roughed up, and so angry, jumpy, and killable in about the same amount of time as a human - hidden somewhere on school grounds, and kill the one wearing a sign saying the student's own name. There's reason behind that: a being that cannot see but can hear poses an interesting challenge when combined with parkour, especially when you have to get close enough to read. Alerting or killing a warden other than their own is an instant fail, even if False will jump in to save them. This warden could, in theory, be anywhere. In practice, she's not going to get someone to put it people are - assassinations in crowded rooms is a year 5 sort of problem, just for the difficulty in testing it - but she might ask someone to take their class on a field trip for a few days.
In year three, speed is not relevant - racing False herself to a kill, even handicapped, is a sixth year project. They have to do it on their allotted days, but other than that…
For the most part, False watches them in crystal balls, assessing progress. Usually some of the other staff help out, not assessing competency but recording massive missteps for her, and alerting each other to students getting into trouble, or nearing their warden.
Once they near their warden, well, then False /lurks/. If she needs Joe to dip her back in time so she can duplicate herself and watch multiple students at once, that's fine; this is the most dangerous part of the curriculum, but the most fascinating too.
She doesn't tell the students about the lurking, of course. If they do well, they never need know at all. If they do poorly… The embarrassment of needing a rescue is usually enough to keep them quiet.
And so she perches, in the rafters of the currently closed refectory, watching as one hopeful sneaks closer.
She's a scrawny little thing, but managed the initial lava parkour well. At some point during her studies a magical mishap had her developing deer antlers, ones she proudly decorated - and still managed to keep quieter than most of her peers.
False perches in the rafters as the young woman pulls out a little, handheld telescope. She uses that to examine the warden and, upon finding it labelled 'Gemini Tay', grins.
The telescope goes away, and the bow and arrow comes out.
By the time the first arrow hits, young Gemini has already fired the second.
When the warden opens its mouth to scream she does not flinch; False's hands are on her own bow, but it proves unneeded as Gemini's last shot pierces through the warden's throat.
False drops her fingers from her own bow, and glides down from the ceiling.
"Congratulations on passing," False says, scribbling out a quick note. "Will I be seeing you again next year?"
"Thanks, boss!" she snatches the slip, tucking it away. "And of course - you can't get rid of me that easily."
False would reply, but other students need her attention; she smiles, and makes a farewell, and jumps out the window - and back up to the office they're using for observations.
Gemini Tay will make a fine assassin, some day.
… False is fond enough of the woman she might try to steer her elsewhere, instead.
(In another classroom, at just the same time, a future version of False - twelve minutes her elder - swoops down from the ceiling on pure white wings. Her sword pierces the warden's throat, her entire form mistakable for a vengeful angel as she descends from the skies.
She lands, and tucks her wings away.
"Get up," she tells the young man - at least he had the sense to dive for cover when the Warden began it's attack.
"Professor False!" he scrambles to his feet. "I'm sorry, I-"
"Fail," she tells him. "You may resit the exam after the solstice. If you fail a third time, then for safety reasons you will be removed from the assassination courses."
There are more students she needs to attend to - get back to Joe, loop on herself again, and watch another young adult nearly get exploded by wardens.
Exam season is never boring, to say the least.)
