Prismatic Education Begins With A Spark 12 (MTG/Multicross)

Prismatic Education 12

“You the Staff guy?” 

I looked up from my current task, blinking to refocus my vision after all that intense concentration. “Yeah, that’s me. What do you need?”

The dhampyr was dressed in Witherbloom colors, looking all dark and gloomy with minimal green, showing he was more aligned with Black in his college. Yet he brightened up in response to my answer.

“Heard you’ve got a knack for creating good casting foci. How much to make one for me?”

“That depends,” I said evenly, “On how much you contribute on your part.”

“Uhh… what does that mean?”

I elaborated obligingly.

Going by his appearance, he probably wanted a staff that could better channel necromantic or Arcane energies. Those were usually easy to make, by using materials related to death, like dried skulls or dark crystals seeped in the fetid swamp waters of Sedgemoor for some period of time. However, that usually came with a poorer efficiency in channeling Life energy or Green mana, which some Witherbloom mages still used even if they predominantly focused on Black. Better to make the tradeoff with Red or Blue instead, but doing so needed other materials.

My customers could get a good discount if they provided all the materials needed for the item they were commissioning, otherwise, they would have to pay more and wait longer. Sourcing the materials took time, and I couldn’t start working until I had the materials in hand.

He nodded with comprehension on his face. “I get it. Money’s no object for me.”

Oh, good, I guess? “So what sort of tool do you have in mind?”

I questioned him carefully regarding his spell preference, taking down notes, until I had a pretty good idea of what he wanted. Something to store the life essence from harvesting pests, and distill it into a more necromantic version used for dark spells. Having done such work for Witherbloom students before, I proposed several configurations, and he ended up picking the most troublesome one.

Groffs were carnivorous creatures that lived in the swamp, relying on the moss that grew on their shaggy fur to stay concealed. Though they could eat just about anything, including careless mages who weren’t looking where they stepped, their favorite food happened to be pests. That characteristic of consumption made their skulls more efficient at absorbing the mana released by draining pests.

A groff skull with a Black-attuned crystal core… I’m not even sure my supplier can get the first one reliably. I sighed with reluctance. I’m going to have to go get it myself, aren’t I? 

I didn’t know how exactly this student was funding this, but he didn’t bat an eye when I added a premium tax to the price. Whatever the case, this commission would cover more than half of what I paid for my Masquerade clothing.

Dhyish, which was the name the dhampyr wrote on the receipt slip, paid the deposit first, with the agreement to pay the rest upon delivery of the tool in a few weeks’ time. After he left, I resumed the task I had been interrupted earlier.

Palming one of my steel balls from its pouch, I took a quick glance at the facial features of a passing dragonborn student, and set it spinning. Looking back down at the wooden pole, I brought the spinning sphere down to touch the point I marked on it. 

Alright, gently… direct the energy along the fibers… and outwards!

Despite being hardwood, the wood just peeled apart without a sound, forming multiple curving growths as I repeated the process over and over. I reshaped each split section to curve back into itself, forming an open lattice of wooden tendrils. When it was halfway formed, I stopped and moved on to the next step.

Placing the ball on the back of my hand, I drew upon the energy from its inexplicable spin, letting it flow down my extended finger, which I began tracing along the inside of the wooden lattice. Next to me, my grimoire flipped open to a shining page.

[Prismatic Magic: Golden Inscription]

Golden characters were left in the wake of my finger, a magical script that would maintain the warped shape of the wood, and direct the energies channeled through this staff. Once I finished inscribing every part, I swapped the sphere back to my palm, renewing its spin before I continued weaving the lattice. 

Just like that, switching back and forth between the two tasks, I continued crafting a magical staff. The final step was to slip a bipyramid polyhedron into the empty space within the lattice before I enclosed the entire thing. 

Letting out a breath, I sat back and examined my work. From the feel of the mana flowing through it, I did a proper job of crafting the magical focus. Then I noticed that I had an audience.

“Nice to have you back with us, Roy,” The fourth-year Lorehold student teased, “Gotta say, it’s nice seeing you work.”

Despite being older than me, I didn’t have to look up from my sitting position to meet the eyes of the male gnome. “Hi Glen. How’s your store doing?”

“Sold out already,” The cheerful statement was accompanied by a flash of a bulging money pouch, “Just need to go pay the tax, and I’m set.”

The tax he was referring to was our contribution to the Future Entrepreneurs of Strixhaven club, which we were both members of. It also doubled as our fee for participating in this bazaar that was organized by the club. Considering how much I could make from selling my creations, that single tax was a worthy price to pay.

Many such bazaars occurred over the course of the year, usually planned up to two weeks in advance, and advertised in the student newspaper. In addition to the opportunity for live market research, they served as a way for members to get their names out there, hopefully earning themselves regular patrons when they eventually went into real business.

Glenmorag Hogsdale was rather peppy for a Lorehold pledgemage of Order, but he had talent for crafting miniature buildings in great detail. Apparently some of them were based on ancient buildings discovered by Lorehold archeological expeditions, and he used what he learned from architecture classes to design some of his own. As a senior member of the Entrepreneurs, he also studied economics, which he was willing to talk to anyone about.

“So is that the finished version?” Glen inquired, peering at the staff I just finished the head of.

I snorted. “Hardly. There’s the rest of it to do, the head is just the most important part.”

Unclamping the staff from its mount, I gripped the length and slid my hand along it, showing a slipperiness that wouldn’t be desired. Imagine trying to point your staff to cast a spell, only to have it slip right out of your grip. That would be seriously embarrassing.

Twisting slightly, I handed the staff off to my inkling Lyric, who began passing it back and forth over an automaton-ran carver. That would handle most of the job, leaving me to put on the finishing touches, and then it would be ready to sell.

“Your staves have been selling well. Any thoughts on making a business out of it?”

I considered the question for a moment before answering. “I’m still undecided about that. So far, it’s all just to fund my own activities.”

“That’s fine too, but having a stable income makes quite a difference, just so you know.”

“What are you going to do after you graduate from Strixhaven?” I asked curiously.

“I’ve got an architecture apprenticeship lined up, and it shouldn’t take too long to progress up the ranks.”

Ah, I’m kinda envious, seeing someone have their life properly planned out like that. “Oh, nice.”

Glen gave me a knowing grin. “No need to rush, laddie. I was just like you before. Just enjoy life as it comes. Things will just turn out right.”

I stared at the gnome. “Your confidence is inspiring,” I told him frankly.

“Thanks. Anyway, back to the topic of those staves. How’d you get so good at making them?”

“A lot of advice from people who knew more from me. Those who took the artificing class, the instructors who handle magical relics for the Arcane History class. That, and practice.” I thought of all the failures I had to dispose of. “Lots of practice.”

Glen hummed appreciatively. “Very nice. Well, keep up the good work. And hope you get more customers!”

With a wave of goodbye, the gnome skipped away, and was swallowed up by the crowd. Smiling, I continued working on my next staff.

…

Compared to mage duels, hunting a magical beast was much more complicated. For one, you had to track down your target first, and it usually had the homeground advantage. With my grimoire magic and the mapping function of the Spin, it wasn’t that much of a problem. Secondly, there weren’t any rules. No defeat on first blood, no time outs, just a direct, brutal fight, either with one side dead or fleeing for their life.

Said lack of rules also means that unexpected interference can be fatal.

I think this was my first death since coming to Strixhaven. I eyed the second groff that had struck me from behind while I was preoccupied with the first. Good thing I had a Revive fairy prepared just in case. No holding back now. 

The two of them were still busy eating my former remains, so I struck hard and fast, planting my staff in the boggy ground so I could use both hands to fling my balls at them. 

Their thick shaggy fur protected them from many things, especially with the swamp moss that grew on it. However, the Spin ignored most of that, the force twisting their muscles into tense paralysis and leaving them unable to react to the next attack. 

Cold-Cold-Cold-Arcane-Arcane! My grimoire, instead of vanishing after death, had reappeared with me, and it infused my spell with the appropriate colored energy, which I unleashed through my staff.

[Prismatic Magic: Blackening Frostbite Ray!]

The groffs made choking gagging noises as I blasted them with a cold beam, freezing their waterlogged fur and damaging their life essence with its antithesis. I cut off the spell before it got too far; too much Arcane would cause their bodies to explode on death, and I wanted an intact skull.

Lyric let out a concerned murmur when I resummoned it, the inkling having vanished upon my momentary death. 

“I’m fine, Lyric,” I told the inkling, “Do me a favor and slice their throats.”

The blobby shape nodded, and a line of black lashed out, cutting two black lines across the groffs’ exposed throats. A second later, red blood began gushing out. 

As I waited for the beasts to die, I walked a small perimeter around the area, setting down mines against further intrusion. One death this expedition was quite enough, thank you.

“Do make sure to clean those up before you leave, dearie.”

I paused and slowly turned to look at the treefolk watching me, its green eyes almost blending in with the rest of the plants. 

“Noted.” I replied in a short tone.

I didn’t ask why it hadn’t interfered before I lost my life, but I had a feeling it saw the whole life-and-death battle as part of the natural cycle, and thus not worth interfering with.

I was more than happy to leave Sedgemoor afterwards, riding on my fractal steed instead of walking just so I could get out of there faster. 

Troublesome the extracurricular activities may be, but there was no denying that they really helped me with the scholastic side of daily life. Thanks to the knowledge and practice, I easily cleared the midterm exams; the Advanced Arcane History exam was about matching the forms of magical devices with their functions, which I did a lot of research into for my staff-making, while Overview of Magical Notation tested on script reading and writing, both of which I had lots of experience with. As for the Artificing exam… well, according to the teacher, I had earned enough extra credit that I could skip the exam and still pass.

I wasn’t going to test that. I took the exam, writing an essay on the creation process of an item to fulfill a purpose, and troubleshooting the damaged one they provided for the practical. It felt good to see my name top the class list.

The Quandrix exams weren’t as easy, but with the increased understanding from studying the Spin, I was able to pass them with no problems.

“To us clearing the midterms! Cheers!” Dyna called out, raising her tankard.

“CHEERS!” Our call was echoed by several other student groups in the tavern, fellow sufferers of schoolwork.

The conversations filling the place cover all sorts of topics, the majority of them related to the exams; some are bemoaning their poor performance, having to endure extra homework as punishment, while others discuss how they could have pushed their excellent score even higher to perfection. My group’s conversation topic was the second-most common one.

Dance lessons for the Magister’s Masquerade.

Just like with the fashion show, this was one of the ways the planning committee used to drum up interest in the actual event. Planned for a week from now, it involved a whole day of dance lessons, taught by professional instructors at the Rose Stage, at the expense of the faculty.

“The faculty? Not the committee, with the funds from the fashion auction?” I asked Dyna.

“Do you even know how much it costs to hire a professional dancer to instruct for a whole day, not just one person, but an entire class?” She shot back with incredulity.

“No.”

Nivali shuddered. “It’s very expensive. Very, very expensive.”

Since they’re on the organizing committee, they would know. “I’ll take your word for it.”

The committee trio shared a few extra bits of insider info with Vyse and I; only the first day was free, those who lacked dancing skills would be recommended to take extra lessons. I knew there were a few dance studios around the central, Prismari and Silverquill campuses, so there was no lack of available teachers.

Preparation for the Masquerade was going well, though I hadn’t been tapped to help other than being a guard for the fashion show. I heard some students were tasked with retrieving supplies from the Biblioplex’s storage room, or to mix up dyes for the decorations to be used in the hall, and while there were a few delays due to slackers or unavoidable problems, they weren’t anything serious.

On the day of the dance lesson, I headed to the Rose Stage with the rest of the third-year students attending the event. Making use of the provided changing room, I donned my purchased outfit, and looked myself over in the mirror. With long flowing sleeves and an overlapping shirt style, it definitely had a style reminiscent of Kamigawa.

Or Japanese. Need to see if I can find such a country in the plane I visit. That said, these long sleeves aren’t exactly suited to the dance floor.

Stretching my arms out to the sides, I waved them in small sharp circles, the motion causing the sleeves to twist up tightly around my arms. There was a slight click as the metal studs at the hanging ends made contact with their counterparts near my wrists, and the material merged together to form perfectly fitting sleeves. The way it did so also resulted in a nice spiral pattern along the length.

As for the rest of my clothes, adjusting the buttoning and the belt caused the rest of it to tighten up as well, resulting in a neat suit where a loose robe previously was. A bit of color tweaking saw the spiraling lines take on a rainbow gradient, just so it fit with the Masquerade’s theme. 

Very nice. I think I made a good choice in bidding for this. WIth nothing to complain about in my appearance, I left the changing room to join the rest of the crowd waiting on the Rose Stage.

Vyse had decided to ask Nivali to dance with him, while Dyna and Hofri found partners of the same race. That left me alone, and I looked around, wondering if there was another free girl I could ask to be my partner. Some of them were already doing a bit of dancing on their own, and I found my feet moving slightly as I tried to imitate them mentally.

“Rather rough, but I think you’ve got potential.”

I turned to look at who had spoken, and found a blue-skinned genasi standing there looking at me appraisingly. Her features were quite pretty, framed by curly white hair. Her dress had the frilly look I was used to seeing on Prismari uniforms, but the frills themselves had been enchanted to look like clouds.

“Thank you for saying so.” Wait a minute… wasn’t she one of the models for the fashion show? Why’s she by herself? “Are you alone? Do you have a partner?”

“My usual dance partner decided not to come as he’s working on his performance for the final year.” She answered good-humoredly. “I was thinking of finding a replacement to the Masquerade here.”

Feeling a burst of courage, I decided to act, extending a hand to her. “Then, do you mind if I ask you to be my practice partner for today?”

“I gladly accept your invitation.” With a graceful movement, she placed her hand in mind. 

“May I know your name, my lady?”

The genasi smiled. “Nivall. And you are?”

“Roy.” I glanced at the instructors that were starting to organize the crowd. “Shall we dance?”

“Let’s.” Nivall agreed.

Nivall was a fantastic dancer, and was remarkably quick at giving advice on how to move to follow the dance routines that were being taught. During the short breaks in between, she confided that she intended to focus entirely on dance as her career. Once again, I felt a brief pang of envy at how someone could be so assured about their path in life.

But I squashed that emotion. Nivall had talent, both for dance and teaching, and I told her so. Whether it was as a famous dancer, or as a head teacher for a dance school, I had no doubt she would succeed in the field.

“That’s very kind of you to say so.” She looked over my appearance with a critical eye. “Now, if you could just fancy up your appearance a bit more…”

She suggested a few things that would make our outfits match better, and I couldn’t help but agree with her sense of style.

Perhaps Glen was correct about things just turning out right. Getting a dance partner like her was nothing short of a huge stroke of luck.

Afterword: Seems like I’m spending quite a lot on the third year. I don’t know why, but I just blame my muse like I always do. Nivall’s another character that appears in the source book, but it’s a small mention of her being a famous dancer who came to give lessons, and that was it. Not even a card like Hofri got. I couldn’t help but mix her into this because of that. 

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