Chapter Text
When he saw Dr. Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi walk in with a familiar sheaf of papers, Nivix Mizzet grinned from pointed ear to pointed ear. Today was going to be a momentous, utterly unforgettable day for everyone in the classroom. Far more importantly, though, it was going to be the start of his long, illustrious career as a Strixhaven magus! He couldn't contain his trembling, and he didn't particularly care who was staring at him.
“Good morning, my students,” said Dr. Archibald, as he set down the sheaf of papers. “I would like to begin this class with a necessary lecture.” Nivix's heart skipped a beat, and he leaned forward. It was starting! He was finally going to receive the renown long overdue him!
“As you know, the mana we use to generate magical effects is split into five colors: white, blue, black, red, and green. Each color has two allied colors and two opposing colors.” Dr. Archibald picked up the sheaf of papers again. “Attempting to combine two opposing colors of mana in their rawest forms is ill-advised by most conventional theories.”
Nivix nodded his head vigorously. In his years of arduous study, he'd discovered a method to combine both! Surely Dr. Archibald would mention that somewhere along the line, when he wasn't busy praising the flawless methodology of the paper. Nivix had spent years perfecting it!
“The reason I bring this up is because a few nights ago, I received a paper on this very subject claiming to uncover the hidden benefits of forcing together raw plasma derived from mana of two opposing colors, with the goal of creating allegedly exceptionally powerful constructs termed weirds,” said Kayneth. Nivix couldn't take it anymore; he stood straight up, causing everyone to look straight at him. A faint trail of smoke wafted from his nostrils.
Then Dr. Archibald took the paper between his hands and ripped it in two. Nivix's smile turned to shock. “This is, of course, an utterly asinine idea! Did this magus consider how dangerous and unreliable such a thaumaturgical experiment would be?”
“WHAT?” screamed Nivix, as blood rushed to his face. “NO! This is not how this was supposed to go! My methodology was –“
“Contemptibly unbecoming of a magus!” Kayneth glared at Nivix. “To waste my time on such a foolhardy paper was an exercise far beneath my pedigree! Did you not consider how drastically your proposal's costs outweigh its benefits, Mr. Mizzet?”
Nivix sputtered. “You can't say that to me or my work! Do you know who I am, and what I can do to you?”
“Mr. Nivix Mizzet, I know exactly who you are. You're a sorry excuse for a first-year mage-student here at Strixhaven.” Dr. Archibald – no, he was Kayneth now – threw both halves of the paper away. “Do not waste my time with any more inquiries or protestations regarding this matter. Now sit down.”
“You egotistical motherf – “
“Sit. Down.”
Trembling, Nivix sat down. His classmates started giggling amongst themselves. Despite himself, tears started streaming down his eyes. As Kayneth went on with the lecture, Nivix's tear-streaked face turned to an expression of raw hate.
He'd show them. He’d show them all what he was truly capable of.
***
Nivix sat under a large tree’s shade and examined the rough drafts of what had been his masterpiece. He’d only made one freshly-typed copy; he hadn’t expected that arrogant bastard to actually rip apart his work. And he’d spent a week on it, too! His eyes were dry now, although streams where tears had been could still be seen on his face. Tears stained the pages of his drafts.
Back home in the city of Ravnica, Nivix had stood out starkly among his peers, even in humanoid form. Although he looked like a pale, skinny young human of eighteen from afar, his messy chalk-white hair, bright golden eyes, and pointed ears easily set him apart from that stock. He wore a simple gray robe over brown breeches and matching brown boots, and had a black leather satchel slung over his right shoulder. Crimson scales grew on his wrists, a marker of his true heritage.
“Hey there. You, under the tree,” came an unusually gravelly voice. “Don’t you know that this is House Silverquill territory? You don’t get to mope about whatever the Nine Hells here.”
Nivix sighed, then reared himself to all five-and-a-half feet of his full height. Surrounding him were three students dressed in immaculately-cut white robes. “I don’t recall seeing your asinine secret club’s name anywhere here, I’m afraid,” he said, with a grimace. He was not in the mood, but if it was a fight that they wanted, it was a fight they got.
“I’d expect as much from a freshman. Now run off, asshole.” The tallest of the three bullies, a young man with slicked-back blond hair, stepped forward with his chest comically puffed out. “Or we’ll make you run off.”
Despite his current situation, Nivix smiled and dropped his journal. Suddenly, he changed his mind about his mood. Really, he hadn’t realized how much he’d needed a situation like this until it hit him in the face. “Honestly, I’d like to see you try.”
That was all the warning Nivix gave the bullies before he grew, and changed from the short boy he’d been into his true form. The three bullies’ eyes grew wide as a seven-foot-tall crimson dragon with a blue-tinged frill stared all three of them down. He let out a low, guttural growl that was all the warning he’d give idiots like them.
Then Nivix struck, lashing his whiplike tail out and catching two of them with a strike of his tail, instantaneously laying them out on the pavement. He narrowly swerved past a blast of dark energy, then leapt up and pinned the third down in a tackle. As he strengthened his hold on the third, he swerved back to see the other two getting up and running away.
A sadistic glee overtook his senses. He stared down the third bully that he’d pinned, who looked at him in sheer terror. “You’re – You’re a – “
“Correct,” A smile crossed Nivix’s draconic features. “Now leave me alone!” he said, accentuating his demand with a roar.
Nivix leapt off. The bully wasted no time beating a hasty retreat – the sight of him running away was the most gratification Nivix had felt in a while. He shifted back to human form, gray robe and all, and only then noticed that a few of the students had been staring at him. With a grimace, he shooed them all away, a demand that they weren’t quick enough to oblige.
Half an hour later, Nivix had almost entirely forgotten about his little encounter with House Silverquill’s dregs. He was back to poring over his painstakingly-crafted pages, wracking his considerable intellect for ways to prove the worth of his invention. Something like a more detailed schematic, maybe, or a solid feat that could serve as proof of…
…concept.
Nivix closed his journal. An idea was forming in his head – an especially brilliant one, which was saying something considering the regular quality of his ideas. Grinning from ear to ear again, he put his journal back into his satchel and started walking straight for the Firejolt Café. He was going to show these imbeciles, alright.