Fanfictions

A Lesson In Banshees - SAWB/Witcher Flash Fic

Jaskier watched his professor walking back and forth as he explained to the class about the dangers of banshees. The young artist had joined the class in hopes of getting a more in-depth look at how monsters worked. He was writing a novel and felt that a class being taught by a Witcher would be worth his while. Which so far it had been.

"The Banshee is the spirit of a woman, their call is a deafening scream or cry. They are known as harbingers of death. When you hear their scream that often means someone will soon die. Usually at the hands of that very Banshee. Meeting one is considered an omen of the very worst kind. Some people believe they are women struck in between life and death because of a traumatic experience."

Jaskier doodled a ghoulish woman shrieking on his parchment. He knew very well that he didn't know how they really worked, or why these women spirits were harbingers of death. He slowly raised his hand. "Why do they make a warning call if they're going to kill?"

"That is but their nature, they are making a warning to let those know a death has happened or will happen." Lambert replied. Jaskier didn't like that answer, he felt there should be more of an explanation.

"But why?"

Professor Lambert smiled, he liked having inquisitive minds in his class. He was both curious about what Jaskier did and why he was here, but there was also a way to explain the Banshee's behavior through an example.. "What do you do boy?"

"I am an artist, a writer, and singer." Jaskier replied. Lambert was surprised to have such an inquisitive mind within the class from an artist, he didn't see many artists as so intelligent but he wondered if he was wrong. He let out a soft smile and a sigh trying his best to explain to the young artist through his own experiences.

"Why do you sing?"

Jaskier's eyes widened at the explanation. "Because it makes me happy, it is who I am."

"It is just what the Banshees know. It is what they must do."

Jaskier looked over his paper. The doodle wasn't as good as he had hoped it would be, he wondered if the spirits of these women were just seen as dangerous. "Where do you find Banshees?"

"They follow death, there is not necessarily a certain place you can find them. Some live in caves, we do our best to kill them before they can choose to find a victim. When they do that they will often torture their victim with their scream. They will slowly go crazy, even when the Banshee is not screaming they will hear it."

"How do you kill one?" Another student asked from the back.

Lambert looked towards them, a half smile on his face. Jaskier could have sworn he saw his eyes flash with sadness for only a moment. "A silver sword will do the trick, usually one laced with specter oil."

"Are they usually dangerous?" Jaskier asked.

"They don't tend to be, but when they do attack they're dangerous. They have extremely sharp claws, and their screams can often stun a person. They often need to block their ears, it makes it extremely hard to fight. They are also often able to what we can tell, summon, other smaller spirits which causes it to be harder to fight because of course you have a distraction."

"So are they really a problem?" Someone else asked.

"They are as much of an issue as any other monster, but there is this class to help you both understand what they are like and what you need to do to protect yourself. If you hear the wailing screams get as far away from the location as you can."

"How do you tell the difference between a scream and a wailing scream of the Banshee?" Jaskier asked.

"The scream of a Banshee will often be so piercing that you cannot focus for a little while. It will immediately send fear through your body."

Jaskier nodded, writing down the little bit of information in his notebook. He wondered how many more amazing creatures he would get to hear about. He couldn't help but admire the way the professor was so willing to share about these dangerous monsters. It was also another way to ensure people weren't being idiotic and trying to hunt for these monsters themselves. Prior to Jaskier hearing about this class, he honestly was planning to see if he could follow some Witchers to their next jobs. He wanted to see in person the abilities of these creatures but he also knew it would be highly dangerous to not stay back.

"How do you kill a ghost?" Jaskier questioned, narrowing his eyes.

"As I said a silver sword," Lambert explained.

"No, I understand that but how does a sword kill a ghost? Are they not like see through, and wouldn't anything just go through them. Like say I tossed a book at it, would the book not go through it."

Some of the others laughed, but Jaskier was being very serious. "I can see why you would think that, but the reason why many people believe they are stuck between life and death is because these spirits are halfway solid."

"Half way..." Jaskier wrote that down quickly. That in fact was an interesting idea.

"They are considered spirits, they can float, make themselves invisible. That does not mean they are necessarily a ghost."

"That is so interesting." Jaskier replied. He could certainly use the idea for a half ghost in a novel, even in a few songs. "This class is amazing."

Lambert smiled, he certainly loved having students actually interested in learning and not being idiots he had to save later. That was part of the hope with these classes, was if people understood the danger of the creatures they wouldn't have as many people to save.

Usually the people they saved thought they were going to be able to kill the monsters themselves, they knew some smart ass would think they were brave enough to do it once they knew what weapon to use but others would know it was smarter to let the professionals do it.