Prismatic Education Begins With A Spark 20 (MTG/Multicross)

Prismatic Education 20

“Excuse me, but we don’t allow mascots into this store!” 

“I am no mascot. I am a messenger with a missive to deliver!”

A commotion at the store entrance drew my attention, and my glance in that direction caught sight of a spirit statue walking into the place. Its stone face turned this way and that, and a sinking feeling filled me when it locked onto me and started heading in my direction, shoving past the shop staff trying to corral it out. They barely proved any obstruction, considering that it towered over almost everyone else.

As with any spirit statue, it was comprised of stone segments held together by magic in a humanoid figure, with the glow of magic shining through the cracks of its body. Unlike most examples, this one looked more put together than most. I raised my gaze upwards, past its impressive chest of chiseled stone, and met a pair of glowing eyes beneath a large bowl-like helmet. 

“Message for you, Master Staff!” It extended its hand, a rolled-up scroll in its grip. “I was instructed to wait for your verbal reply!”

Pretending not to notice the annoyed looks the staff people were giving me, I quickly unrolled it and read the message written in a familiar script. As expected, it was a note from Hofri, reminding me that I was very late for our agreed meetup.

Sighing, I looked at the staffperson who had been serving me. “Could I make an appointment to come back another time?”

“Yes you can. In fact, I recommend it.” The woman replied coolly.

The service following that was abrupt, and I was practically shoved out the door with the animated statue afterwards, with a hissed reminder about following the store rules next time.

I looked at the patiently waiting statue. “What’s your name?”

“Melos Selien, messenger of the Third Dyzan Legion!” The spirit statue introduced himself proudly, with a fist to his broad chest as a salute, “Never failed to deliver a message on time!”

Damnit, Hofri. You deliberately picked this guy to come get me, didn’t you? “Right, nice to meet you. Let’s get going then.”

“I shall inform Milord the dwarf!”

The spirit statue strode off, breaking into a run after a few steps. He really moved quickly, and his imposing size saw several people hurriedly make way for him. 

Instead of following after him, I resorted to a swifter method of transport. My grimoire floated out of its carry case, opening up to the spell I desired as I called upon the water element necessary for it to work.

[Prismatic Magic: Aquamarine Portal]

The blue water shimmered, reshaping itself with a twirl of my staff into a vertical rippling disk floating before me. Numbers and geometric shapes whirled around its edges, before abruptly halting, indicating that it had locked onto its intended destination. I stepped into it, and emerged from one of the fountains in the Archway Commons. Despite the method of my travel, I wasn’t the slightest bit wet. Looking around, I quickly found my group of friends, who weren’t looking very pleased as I approached them.

“About time!” Dyna complained, “What’s your reason for being so late?”

“Long queue at the store. I thought it would be fast, but the ones ahead of me took a long time.” I realized how much it sounded like an excuse, and controlled myself by slowing my breathing. “Sorry, I should have sent a message.”

“At least you came quickly once you got my message.” Hofri sounded scolding, but I detected a note of amusement in his voice.

“Yes, it was very attention-grabbing.”

I turned my head to catch sight of Melos arriving. The spirit statue reported the successful delivery of his message, and Hofri dismissed him to return to Lorehold College, which saw Melos go running off again.

“When you said store, did you mean the one that supplies uniforms?” Nivali asked me, pulling everyone’s attention away from the departing statue.

“Yeah.”

Vyse squinted at me. “It’s not my imagination, is it? You’ve grown bigger.”

My written magic might not have manifested into the proper body-tempering effect I wanted, but enduring the various forces pressing on me had caused a boost in my muscle development, turning me from a staff-wielding wizard to a buff staff-wielding wizard. 

Not that I’m gonna go ‘I CAST FIST’ anytime soon… 

“Your project’s going well, I take it,” The dwarf standing next to him commented.

“It is, but still not where I want it yet. In the meantime…” I shifted my body, showing how my Quandrix uniform was pulling a little tightly on my expanded frame. “My uniforms need adjusting.”

“Yes, we can see that.”

“Alright, let’s not waste time standing around here talking. Shall we go?”

Very few people could stick to the grindstone the entire time, and we certainly weren’t among that number. This excursion was intended to help us unwind from the stress of working on our respective projects, and it was planned to last at least half a day. We walked over to the nearby docks, which was one of the other ways to get around central campus besides walking. However, the ride we were taking today wasn’t one of the water taxis that ferried students.

“Remember,” Dyna reminded us as we stepped onto the fancier boat that awaited us, “We can talk about our projects, but not too much. If talking about it stresses you, then don’t.”

“Aye, captain.” I replied jokingly, which Nivali and Hofri echoed.

Moving under the installed cloth shelter on the deck, we sat down on the cushioned seats provided there. Thanks to magic, the temperature there was kept comfortably cool. Once we were all seated, the boat set sail automatically at the direction of the magic it was enchanted with. Music began to play from recessed holes, the gentle tune setting a peaceful atmosphere for us to relax in, and we watched as the waterside buildings of Central Strixhaven drifted by. A mini-fridge on board contained drinks, which we helped ourselves to.

There were many ways for Strixhaven students to engage in leisure, and this happened to be one of the costly ones. It was a big indulgence, really. Dyna had been the one to plan this outing, and I had generously covered the majority of the cost with the treasure I had found. Yet I couldn’t help feeling like it wasn’t as overpriced as I initially thought. I had suggested inviting Nivall or Dyna’s boyfriend along, but neither had accepted as they were too busy.

“Alright, let’s have Nivali start us off!” Dyna decided with a flourish of the glass in her hand. “Talk about something you accomplished that made you happy recently!”

“Me? Um…” The brunette took a while to think of what to say. “I managed to develop a new breed of swamp lilies with purifying effects?”

“Cool! What about you, Hofri?”

The dwarf spiritcaller hummed, before answering, “I learned of a possible site with strong historical value, thanks to recently summoned spirits. Expedition plans are underway.”

“Awesome. Invite me if it’s got anything to do with battles!” Dyna took a drink from her glass. “Next, Roy!”

With two examples ahead of me, I was prepared. “Nearly reached the working example I’m aiming for in my project.”

She wagged a finger at me. “Nope! No ‘nearlys’! It must be something you actually did!”

I shrugged. “I got another three magicks for my grimoire?”

“Mmm… good enough. Vyse?”

“My project topic was finally accepted.” The elf announced with deep relief.

The rest of us clapped and congratulated him for that. Having your guidance counselors reject your project proposals sucked, and Vyse had been struggling to find something that they would accept, with each failure cutting down the time he had left. I d

“As for me…My accomplishment has nothing to do with project work!” Dyna paused for drama. “Last night… I did the deed with my boyfriend!”

Caught mid-drink, Nivali and Hofri both spat their drinks out at that announcement, while I burst out laughing at the absurdity of the whole scene. Vyse just facepalmed. 

Nivali quickly changed the subject, and we talked about various topics as the boat continued on its circuit around Central Strixhaven. Sometimes we did talk about our projects, but just as Dyna said, we dropped it as a conversation topic when it became stressful. It did help that we were all passionate about our choices, and the discussion helped bring about some helpful inspiration.

By the time the boat went all the way back around to the dock we had left from, we were all refreshed and ready to return to work. Dyna preened when we all thanked her for organizing this small excursion.

“Alright, Nivali, you plan the next one!” The fire genasi announced, pointing at the other girl.

“But I-” She started to object, before giving up, “Fine. I’ll let you all know when I have the details.”

Hofri directed his gaze upwards. “What’s that? Looks like a fractal’s coming this way.” 

We looked as well, in time to see a small-sized fractal bird come landing right in front of me. It dropped a note, and flew off. Seeing my name on the document, I picked it up and opened it. After I read it, a smile spread across my face.

“Looks like good news,” Vyse commented, “Who’s it from?”

“Professor Ruxa. He says he has some good news that he wants to give me in person.”

“Good for you then!” Dyna slapped me on the back. “Go ahead, don’t let us keep you!”

The rest of them agreed with her, and I quickly took off, encouraged by the support of my friends.

This was truly a great set of friendships I had here.

…

I sat before a desk, with a blank piece of paper, a quill and inkpot in front of me. Picking up the quill, I dipped its tip into the ink, and brought it over to the paper. As the writing implement hovered over the clean surface of the paper, I started cycling the mana within my body in a certain way. Then I started to write.

H-heavy! This weight… it’s like a dumbbell instead of a quill!

However, I persisted, fighting to keep my hand steady as I carefully wrote down the first word.  Just like the previous times I experimented with developing this spell, the moment I put the ink on the paper, pressure started pressing down on me. However, there was a difference in sensation compared to those times. 

Professor Ruxa’s news was the lucky break I had needed. His examination of the staff’s enhancing effects had revealed how the ‘permanence/extension’ augmenting effect functioned; the disks’ movements had constructed an internal metaphysical space that sustained the spell, similar to a skeleton maintaining a body’s structure. He was able to break down and reverse-engineer that effect, which he shared with me. With that understanding, I adapted it for the purposes of this spell.

The construction of an internal framework that would be filled in externally, like putting down bricks in a shape before filling it with cement. Without the former, the cement would just flow away, most of it going to waste with the remainder only slightly useful.

The ‘cement’ in this case was another recent achievement. Dean Lu might have scoffed at the idea of using words to temper oneself instead of cutting down one’s enemies as he preferred to do, but the Dean of Shadow still helped me nonetheless. Restricted tomes on poetry magic, harsh lessons to impress the use of the techniques required… even if I wasn’t an official student of his, I learned enough to deeply respect the stern man. And the best way I could express my respect was to put what I learned to use.

As the sentence on paper grew longer, the gravity on my body grew heavier. The words I was writing literally weighed down on me, but at the same time, they carried the power of light that I was aiming for. 

It feels like the ‘righteousness’ that I picked up when I read about those paladins. I strained to lift the quill up and shift it to the side, starting on the next word. It’s seeping into me, strengthening and tempering my body!

Despite struggling to continue writing against the mounting pressure, with gritted teeth and sweat pouring from my body, I was feeling extremely pleased. Silverquill’s combination of scriptomancy and lumimancy, with some small element of Lorehold pastraising, supported by an underlying foundation of Quandrix arithmancy. After so much effort, I had finally arrived at version one point oh.

With my muscles strained nearly to their limits, I ended up making a mistake on the second verse, leaving an unwanted line on the paper. The deviation resulted in the spell ending, dispelling the effects involved. Almost instantly, the pressure faded away, along with the slight glow in the characters I had written so far. Since it was over, I ceased the internal aspect as well.

Damn… I let the quill fall from my hand, wheezing as I tried to catch my breath. Not quite there yet… 

Theoretically, if I managed to write down the entire thing, it would have gained me an extra bonus of growth, but it looked like doing so was going to be very difficult. That would be my next step, to prove that it would work as I theorized.

But first… I reached out and grabbed one of my staves from nearby. A quick cleanup, then a test of the results.

Water! Fire! Life-Life-Life! Dispel!

My momentary drenched state vanished off me in a burst of steam, followed by my flagging stamina getting restored, and finally ending with a spell that would remove any enchantments on me. That done, I fell into a pushup position, and began doing the exercise.

After a minute of doing so, I started changing things up a little. Only one hand on the right, then the left. Then I tried going into a handstand, with my legs slowly going up… until I lost my balance and fell over onto my back.

Lyric floated above me with its wings flapping, and my inkling let out a concerned whistle.

“It worked.”

Another whistle, this time questioning.

“It worked!” I repeated gleefully.

I sat up straight, clenching my fist, and threw a few punches at the air. Without the proper observation programs, it was a subjective appraisal, but I felt like I had gotten faster as well. And as the earlier Dispel proved, this wasn’t an enchantment effect.

Unfortunately, the next step was the tedious task of documentation. With a sigh, I picked up my quill, bringing over a new piece of paper to write on. I wrote a few words, then paused.

Ah, screw it, I don’t feel like doing it now… I began looking around the room, before my eyes settled on a book with a blue-black cover. How about I take care of that instead?

I sent off a message first, and received a reply from the recipient shortly after, just as I was changing into more appropriate attire. 

‘I can be there ten minutes after the twilight bell.’

Guess I can take my time preparing… better make sure I don’t forget anything, I thought to myself as I began checking over what I intended to bring.

It was barely light out by the time I arrived at the chosen meeting spot, but I could see that the person I was here to meet was already present. This was one of the less frequented areas on central campus, and I could only spot two other people present nearby, looking like they were waiting for someone as well. The girl spotted me approaching, and waved to me while waiting for me to draw closer.

“Evening, Lydia,” I greeted the girl when I was close enough to speak without having to raise my voice.

“Senior Staff, thanks again for doing this favor for me,” She said with a smile, her purple eyes shining slightly in the dim light.

“It’s not a problem. It’s an easy task to do to pay you back for your help. Here.” I dug into my bag, and pulled out the book with the blue-black cover, which I held out to her. “The rules say we’re not supposed to share restricted books with others, but a little bending never hurt anyone, right?”

Lydia nodded, her teeth showing as she smiled. “I totally agree. You really helped me a lot by doing this, Senior Staff.”

I turned my head to look around the space, noting the approaching presence of others. “Hey, no need for thanks. You’re totally welcome.”

“If it’s not too much trouble, could I ask you for one more favor?”

I interrupted her before she could say what it was, holding up a hand to stop her. “Wait, before that, shouldn’t you check that the book is the one you wanted? I know it’s getting dark, but I can make a light.”

I did as I said, creating a glowing ball of light above us, which illuminated the area we were standing in. 

Irritation flashed across her face for an instant, so quickly I nearly missed it. “Sure,” Lydia replied cheerfully, “I’ll do that right away.”

Supporting the book in one hand, she used the other to open the cover. The next moment, tendrils of ink burst out from the open pages, wrapping around her body and binding her tightly. At the same time, the Witherbloom robes she was wearing were ripped away, replaced by jagged grey armor. The cheerful face I knew her by vanished as well, revealing a black helmet with a glowing purple aura that had formerly been hidden by illusion magic.

“Ooops,” I said in a falsely apologetic voice, “It was a book enchanted with trap magic. My mistake.”

“What?!” Her voice, now sounding ominously echoey beneath the helmet. “How did you know!?”

I turned my head away, appearing casual, but keeping a wary eye out. “The professor who gave me the key to the advanced stacks gave me a warning. Oriq mages might try to gain access to the restricted knowledge within, he said.”

The Oriq was a society of mages who opposed Strixhaven’s purpose, believing that the college was restricting rightful access to magic the way it was going about it. Their method of doing so was to wield magics typically forbidden by Strixhaven tenets, along with deception and stealth, which made them a very tenacious enemy. Subversion and recruitment of young mages were a common thing as well, and Strixhaven was one of their favorite hunting grounds.

“By the way, I bet that the second favor you were going to ask was ‘could you die for me’.” I remarked to the struggling Oriq mage. “And your next line is ‘How did you see through my plan, damn you.’” I pointed at her with one finger.

“How did you see through my plan, da-!” 

‘Lydia’, if that was her real name, cut herself off mid-sentence when she realized I had predicted her words.

“Slipping a potion into the drink you gave me was sneaky, but I happened to have something that helped me notice. After that, well…” I shrugged, “I investigated my suspicions.”

Not that I was going to share more than that, no need to give away all my secrets. As for the investigation, illusion magic could and did fool many senses, physical or magical, but the mapping effect of the Spin wasn’t so easily tricked. As for this whole setup, it was to take advantage of their assumed superiority just when they thought they had everything all under control. It truly had been an interesting time preparing for it, even if it took time away from my project.

“This changes nothing,” She hissed venomously, “You might have seen through me, but you will fall, and the Oriq will rise!”

The nearby pair cast off their disguises, revealing themselves to be Oriq agents as well, their darkly ominous magic flaring to life.

I twirled my staff. From my belt, my grimoire opened up and floated next to me, with Lyric pouring from its pages, making a deep sound of a gong. On the opposite side, the containment sphere opened up, releasing Marill to grow to its full size, the elemental ready to fight by my side.

“Alright then, shall we?”

Afterword: Another small slice of life scene, along with a look into how a body cultivation technique gets adapted into the setting of MTG. It was difficult trying to present the whole process, with glimpses into its workings. As for the last part, as fun as the whole peaceful atmosphere of Strixhaven has been, a little bit of conflict would help liven things up a little, and who better to pose trouble than the Oriq? Hopefully the desire to craft another live combat scene helps stimulate my muse.