Lesson One

Today I will be journaling about a creature that we learned about in class - the Ashwinder. Ashwinders are thin grey snakes with glowing red eyes. They are born from the flames of an unchecked magical fire. This term is used loosely as Ashwinders are not really born from the fire, they just come from it to lay their eggs. At this time they are deemed adults. These creatures only live for an hour during which time they lay their eggs, then disappear into dust. They lay between 10 and 20 glowing red eggs at a time that give off intense heat, enough to burn a house down, meaning they should be dealt with promptly. Ashwinders leave a trail of ash behind them so they are easy to track.Only one Ashwinder can live in a house at a time, with the first one hatched living in that house with others moving out. Hatchlings will live in the fire, then leave in a month to lay eggs at which time they are an adult. Ashwinders are hermaphroditic and can self fertilize. Ashwinders move in a sideways motion.

Ashwinders are interesting because of their short lifespan. Their sole purpose in life is to reproduce. Once that is done, they die. This is very interesting because if a creatures sole purpose is to make babies, then what is it truly for? It is also interesting that the eggs can be in Love Potions, keeping in mind an Ashwinders sole purpose is to make babies. I first stumbled upon an Ashwinder in my aunt's home. She was making soup, and rather than using a mundane fire she decided to use a magical one. Unfortunately, my aunt is a bit of a scatter brain. Therefore, she left her magical fire unattended. I am assuming the Ashwinder was born when my back was turned because the next thing I really remember was a quiet sizzling sound. I looked around and saw a glowing pile of something coming from the corner. I went to investigate and saw a little grey snake. Suddenly, it disappeared in a poof! All that was left was a glowing clutch of what I later knew were eggs! I called my aunt who promptly extinguished her fire and Summoned a pot to put the eggs in. She was remarkably excited, likely due to how much she was able to sell the eggs for at the Apothecary.

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