Prismatic Education Begins With A Spark 7 (MTG/Multicross)

Prismatic Education 7

I sat crosslegged, floating in the air off the ground as my magic kept me aloft. It was the typical demonstration of mystical power, just defying gravity by meditating. It was like a statement saying that the universal constant of gravity could be ignored if one had enough power to do so.

However, meditating had long been proven to improve one’s skill with magic, and as such, I made sure to devote a good amount of time to doing so every week. It certainly helped in other ways, like regaining mental focus after a particularly complex lesson at Quandrix College. 

As always, my process of doing so was to meditate upon the meanings of each of the five colors of mana, based on lengthy discussions by past mages of Strixhaven, and to incorporate that into my own understanding.

I started off with Blue. For me, it presented as water, flowing and adapting. Change at its essence, it altered things to be the way its user wanted, whether it was by directly doing so, or cutting off the unwanted possibilities. At Prismari, perfection was the goal, attained by constant improvement until the desire was achieved. At Quandrix, it was about the theory of possibility, quantifying everything through maths. The associated land was an island, which was closest to the everchanging sea. Landlocked as Strixhaven was, the largest source of Blue mana came from the nearby snarls. But I had no problem drawing on Blue as a source. At my most basic, Blue was magic.

Next, I moved on to Red. It wasn’t just fire that symbolized it, burning all within reach, but lightning as well. Dynamic energy, passionate and fierce. Spontaneous and impulsive. With Red mana, my spells were much more spectacular, perfect for explosive effects. If I wanted to leave an impression, Red was my go-to. However, I didn’t use fire or lightning much by themselves, because that Red part of me wasn’t that big, and not focused enough for my liking. But occasionally the urge to just cut loose and- 

I felt a tingling in my fingers as though magic was itching to spill out of me, so I quickly asserted control with the next color.

White was the representation of structure and order, thus easily found anywhere there was civilization. But when it came to magic for me, White was best represented by Shield. It shaped my spells, making defenses to protect myself, the so-called ‘Protection from’ I recalled from the card game. I also used it to craft mines to punish those who would try attacking me. Yet my experience at Strixhaven let me learn about enhancing others. I knew Lorehold had some spells that strengthened their spirit statues, or others when they acted as part of a unit, but I much preferred Silverquill’s version instead. Why not, when I had a large list of songs from my memories that could be combined with their radiance magic? That shining moment of awe was something that deserved to be illuminated for others to see. White was a color of mana that I had no trouble drawing on.

I really ought to go see the next warsinger performance at Silverquill College soon. I felt a sense of falling as my magic fluctuated. Whoops, don’t get distracted.

Black… opportunistic and self-serving. I didn’t really have an element that properly represented it outside of Arcane, and that was more Red instead. The Black part of it was when those killed by my destructive beams exploded to damage their compatriots. That reminded me greatly of Witherbloom’s Decay philosophy, of life as fuel for the spells of death. Silverquill’s shadow magic was more conceptual, using cutting words to damage the confidence and position of opponents. To me, Black was just a small expression of my greed; if it was something I could use, then I would try to incorporate it into my repertoire. So I had no issues drawing on Black mana either, though it was a little harder than white.

The hardest one to pull on for me was Green, despite my choice of college as Quandrix. It was harmony and acceptance, something I could do, just with some difficulty. I wielded it in the form of Life element to heal myself, but that was just about all. Or so I previously thought; my research into the Golden Rectangle’s potential had taught me about how to look for the infinite in the shape of the smallest things. Quandrix’s philosophy of Green was about manifesting mathematics in the form of reality like how normal life and phenomena already were there, whether it was as fractal summonings, or as alteration spells.

I opened my eyes and gazed upon the green metal sphere that spun in the air before me, despite not having touched it to set it in motion. I didn’t have to color it, but it felt right. To draw upon the infinite energy of the Spin, I usually used examples in nature as a reference, so it made sense to pay my respects to Life itself. It certainly made it easier to draw upon Green mana when I did so.

While their level of attunement varied, all five colors spoke to me, and there was none that I rejected. The mix was chaotic, yet harmonious, and I felt like I was on the cusp of something important…

Knocking at my front door interrupted my meditation, causing me to sigh. I let myself descend back down to the ground, before standing up on stiff legs. I caught the metal sphere in one hand, and began running it over my lower limbs. 

“Lyric, could you get the door, please?” I requested, feeling the full circulation return to my legs.

My inkling obliged, slipping out of the meditation room through the gap at the bottom of the door. My self-treatment finishes just as I hear quick footsteps, before the door to my meditation room swings open to reveal Dyna. As for my inkling, it was quick to dive back into its book.

“Hey Roy, wanna join us for a meal at Gyome’s?” My efreet friend’s invitation is direct and to the point, as always.

“Gyome’s?”

Even as I ask, the memory comes back to me. Gyome was a troll chef who mainly worked out of Witherbloom Campus, and his food was always highly rated for its flavor.

On one hand, it’s good food, but on the other hand, it’s Sedgemoor…

Sedgemoor was the bayou where Witherbloom Campus was set in, and was teeming with all sorts of swamp creatures. Not exactly a place I would like to venture in if I didn’t have to.

“Yeah, I heard he just changed his menu recently!” Dyna flitted around the room enthusiastically, examining some of my half-finished projects. “What’s this?”

It was a calligraphy brush, or at least in appearance. The brush part came from the normal ones anyone could buy at the student store, but the length was of different make. I had sneakily acquired a few discarded training wands used in a General Studies spellcasting class, which were usually meant as guides to help mage students learn how to channel their magic. The reason for doing so was to try and repurpose that guidance factor towards writing magical script, which I was doing a lot of in the Scrivening and Symbology course.

It was still a work in progress, but I was hitting enough milestones that I was confident of my eventual success.

And to think that this came from chatting about cultivation with my group of friends.

“Just something I’m working on for my Artificing class.” I changed the subject. “Anyway, I don’t mind. Have you asked the others yet?”

“I’ve already asked Hofri, and he’s agreed. Nivali too, she’ll save us a table when we get there. Vyse, not yet. Talked to him lately?”

“Not as much since he moved out to stay on Quandrix Campus. I’ll send him a message,” I offered.

Dyna nodded. “Sure. I’ll wait.”

Sending was a very useful spell, and one that I tinkered around with in Computational Magic classes. So dispatching a short message to the elf was accomplished with a quick burst of mana. As we waited for his reply, I changed my clothes into something more rugged for the journey, idly chatting with my female efreet friend about our extracurricular activities. Now that Hofri’s path no longer lay with Prismari, he had switched from the Fine Artists one to the Historical Society club. 

Vyse’s reply came just as I finished, letting me know that he was available to join, and would meet us at the Archway Commons park. At Dyna’s request, I cast another Sending to let the other two know, before Dyna and I headed for the meeting place. 

We didn’t have to wait long; Vyse arrived shortly after we did, and Hofri a few minutes later, dusting off his body. Instead of taking the magic circles, we took one of the automaton drawn carriages, passing the time with conversation, about schoolwork this time. Hofri had quite a bit to complain about his spirit mentor, some famous scholar named Siulogma that every Lorehold student knew from their history studies on the Blood Age. Apparently they didn’t get along because of some difference in artistic sense.

In contrast, Dyna’s mentor was some war hero who fought a resistance war after that period, earning victories through clever tactics to leave behind his name. The two of them got along very well as mentor and student, considering how eager Dyna was to learn what her mentor could teach.

Then there was the matter of the assigned counselors.

One of Strixhaven’s educational guidance measures was to assign two professors to each second-year student in the same college, each as a guidance counselor representing one of the two conflicting philosophies. As to be expected with such an arrangement, the scholastic advice given by both teachers conflicted as well. 

“What are your counselors like?” I asked Vyse.

“I have Adrix and Nev, the triton twins. Getting them to offer concrete advice is a challenge,” The elf admitted, “Who do you have for yours?”

Oh yeah, those two are known for long debates about whose side is more useful. And being twins, they’re always together. Not exactly good if you want guidance. “Can’t complain about mine. Professor Frois is a good abstractor, and I’m learning a lot about summoning fractals from Professor Alaric.”

“He’s a vivifier, isn’t he?”

“Yes, I know he occasionally visits Witherbloom to study the animals there. Professor Frois also is the same, he knows more than just Quandrix stuff.”

When we arrived at Witherbloom College, I wove a magical aura around myself, one that would reduce the intensity of smells, which helped cut down the intense smell of the swamp. Thankfully, the location of Gyome’s restaurant wasn’t too far from the carriage station, and it had its own form of magical ventilation. 

Nivali was already there, waving at us from a booth table. A waitress came to take our orders after we were seated, and the Witherbloom girl easily slotted herself into our conversation. Since she was more focused on the Green-side of the college’s curriculum, there was enough relevance for me to pay attention to some of what she had to say. And she had quite a lot to say on that matter; her talent for growth magic was matched by her interest, and the normally shy girl was surprisingly enthusiastic about sharing it.

The arrival of our food put the conversation on hold, and we dug into the delicious-smelling platters.

“Oh my ancestors!” Hofri exclaimed after swallowing his first mouthful, “I’ve never tasted food this good before!”

“Much better than the camp rations we have on expeditions,” Dyna agreed.

Considering Midgard’s food was just cheese, bread, stews and sausages, this definitely beats anything I’ve had in that world, hands down. I savored the mouthful of juicy meat instead of echoing their opinions. Ooh, it’s not just the flavor, the texture is good as well.

Nivali and Vyse were eating more delicately than the rest of us, but their focused state was a clear giveaway that they felt the same as we did. Nivali was able to explain how some of the ingredients used in the dishes came from local sources, like trudges that were specifically raised for growing edible mushrooms and whatnot.

Then the next set of dishes came, and we focused entirely on finishing the food rather than using our mouths for talking. 

Good food, good company, there wasn’t anything to complain about.

…

“And that’s the match!” The referee called, “Winner, Roy D. Staff!”

I slowly exhaled, before twirling my trademark weapon into a thump onto the ground, releasing a quick healing effect that affected both me and my opponent. At the same time, I bowed as a show of respect.

Marcus Wycker, a senior member of the Future Entrepreneurs of Strixhaven and my fellow moneymaker, approached me and held out a hand, which I shook as the audience applauded. As to be expected of a Silverquill in his final year at Strixhaven, his magical combat skills had been a challenge.

I had to show more of my tricks than I liked, and I was lucky he couldn’t exploit the rough openings as much as he wanted. My next few opponents won’t miss those.

“Good duel. I have to say, you’ve developed quite an interesting repertoire of spells.”

“Hey, you’re no slouch yourself. You nearly got me with that triple verse battle poetry.”

We continued to discuss our respective performances as we vacated the arena for the next pair of duelists.

So far, my second year at Strixhaven was rather eventful, though it felt like time was slipping by at an amazingly fast pace. I attributed the cause to all the activities I was engaged in; scholastic work, extracurricular activities, my personal improvement, the occasional outing with my friend group… if not for a creative alteration of the Time Warp magick to improve my mental recovery, the stress might have gotten to me. Another strong contributor to my stress release was mage duels, which was an excellent way of testing out my magic against others. 

Lorehold Chaos scholars using fiery magic from old scrolls or summoning spirits as soldiers, Prismari fire dancers and elemental sculptors, Quandrix symmetrists using equalizing sorceries or augmenters enhancing their fractals, Silverquill shadewings armed with shadow weapons and lumimancers with their defensive light magic, Witherbloom druids who wielded flora and fauna or cursificers with their Black magic… With the variety of magical opponents to face, I could honestly say that it was quite the exciting and fruitful experience. 

My mainstay of magical combat was still using my staff to cast spells like my beams and mines, but I occasionally traded out my sword for the metal balls which I used with the Spin. I could still remember the first time I tried throwing a ball with a spell enchanted onto it; the target was practically obliterated from the result. Additionally, I mixed in verbal and somatic spells for debuffing and buffing purposes, sometimes together with summoned creatures.

I even experimented with changes of my equipment; Midgard had a variety of magic staffs, some with activated spell effects, but most enhancing the effect of one element at the cost of another. With the artificing knowledge I had gained, I was able to enchant a few such staffs of my own, even selling some of them for money so I could make more. 

“Is that staff you’re using one of your creations?” Marcus inquired, indicating the prismatic globe that topped the staff in my hand.

“Yes, I experimented a lot to come up with it. What are your thoughts on it?”

“It made fighting you very tricky,” He admitted honestly.

“That’s the idea.” I smirked, before changing the subject, “So what are your plans after Strixhaven?”

“My country has been seeing some border disputes with the neighbors recently. There’s the possibility of war, so they’re recruiting mages for the military.”

“Oof, that’s… stay safe, okay?”

Marcus chuckled, shaking his head. “It hasn’t happened yet, and besides, I have my final year project to focus on first.”

That actually made me start considering what I wanted to do with my future. Unlike most of the people here, I was restricted to the plane of Arcavios. Traveling sounded like something I’d like to do.

I haven’t done any planeswalking since I first came here… maybe I should check out some places during the next vacation period. Who knows, maybe I might meet some friendly people like I did here.

Months later, as I was fleeing from a bunch of fish-faced people in white robes through some caverns, I wondered if I had been too optimistic.

Afterword: Felt like a good point to end this chapter. Next chapter will be in another world, and with that, new possibilities of magic! I've given this story its own thread on QQ as well.