Arrogant Teenage Dragon Wizard (Fate x MtG)

[Zeist]

Hi there, SV. Zeist here, back again with a fanfic this time – and probably my most out-there concept to date! I don't know what came over me when writing this, but I'm glad that I did; I decided that canon is more akin to loose guidelines than hard rules.

This story ostensibly stars one of the many immensely powerful wizard characters in Magic: the Gathering lore, and a face I'm sure any EDH player is going to be familiar with. However, I've changed him from his canon depiction significantly, because I honestly find canon Niv-Mizzet boring. Also note that I do not use Nasuverse metaphysics in this work, as I am currently brewing my own magic system loosely based on Magic the Gathering's.

The work can also be read on AO3 here. An accompanying reference document will be posted soon.

 

[Zeist]

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.

 

[Zeist]

There wasn't a cloud in the sky that afternoon, which meant that the sun shone brightly down on Strixhaven's pristine campus grounds. It was just as well. Conditions had never been better under the sun, after all, and the archway commons were as good a site as any for the world to see his ultimate triumph and subsequent vindication. He'd show that asshat Kayneth, alright.

A small crowd had gathered around him. It seemed that word had spread quickly of their duel, which was good – he would hate to defeat this Edelfelt woman with no-one around to see him. Word on the street was that she was as fierce as the Edelfelt family could produce, but a brilliant mind such as Nivix's was not so easily impressed by pedigrees and bloodlines.

At precisely three o'clock, she arrived. Nivix was…underwhelmed, really. From the various myths he'd heard surrounding the Edelfelt name at the Firejolt Cafe, he was expecting their heiress to be a lot more intimidating.

Luviagelita Edelfelt kept her long blonde hair entirely in large curls, and wore a dark blue dress that accentuated her slim figure. She looked at Nivix with a disinterest that would've been infuriating in any other context – instead, her gaze prompted a cocksure grin from him. He was about to knock her ass straight off that high horse.

"So you're the one who challenged me to a duel, I suppose?" said Luvia. "Very well. What are your terms?"

Nivix chuckled. "Oh, well, to clarify – I won't be fighting you myself, as that doesn't serve my purposes." From his satchel, he took out a clear crystal orb that crackled with magical power. "Your challenger is in here."

Luvia raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. "You conjured a daemon to do your fighting for you?"

"It's called a weird." They were, strictly speaking, both right – a weird was just an exceptionally powerful form of demon created from a mix of two opposing colors of raw mana. That would be public information soon. "And for your information, this is for an experiment, not to prove my obvious superiority to you in combat."

"I'm sure it is." Luvia tapped her fingers. "Now, are we going to stand around talking all day or am I going to get to fight?"

Nivix shrugged. "Stand back, everybody!" he said, before taking out a small white crystal with his free hand and tossing it into the air. The crystal exploded with a pop, forming a shimmering white barrier that separated the crowd from Nivix and Luvia.

Once the barrier was up, Nivix threw the crystal orb down, shattering it against the pavement with a crack and unleashing a torrent of blue mist. Instead of spreading, the blue mist swirled inward, forming a crystal-blue humanoid daemon with clawed hands and spiky hair.

"Now, Melek, remember – don't hold back," Nivix said, more as a warning to Luvia than anything else. "We've got far too much riding on your success to fail here and now!"

Luvia assumed a fighting stance. "Can we fight now?" she said, a grin crossing her features.

Nivix shrugged and cleared his throat, then pointed a finger straight at Luvia. "Melek, attack!"

Melek broke into a sprint and careened at Luvia with a three-fingered claw outstretched. Nivix stood back and folded his arms, feeling contentment wash over him – but just before the claw could touch her, Luvia disappeared in a flash. She reappeared instantaneously behind Melek and grasped Melek by the waist, then lifted Melek in the air and slammed it on its back.

Before Melek could recover, Luvia let go and got up, then thrust her hands forward and blasted a single blast of white light at it. To Nivix's stunned, silent horror, Melek's body convulsed in midair – then there was a flash, forcing Nivix to shield his eyes with his hand.

The first thing he heard after the flash was Luvia's infuriating laughter. "Ohohoho! Was that it?" she said, as his shock turned to boiling rage. "And you'd hyped your creation up so much in your letter. I can't help but be disappointed – although I'm not even a bit surprised, Mr. Mizzet."

Then there was another round of laughter from both Luvia and the crowd, and Nivix threw down his hands. "Okay, that's it!" he said, snarling. "Now you're dealing with me, Edelfelt, and all the powers of my immense genius!"

"I'm sorry, but I seemed to have dealt with the 'power of your immense genius' in two seconds."

That was all Luvia could get in edgewise before Nivix grew back into his full dragon form. He looked down at Luvia, then roared. "Round two!" he said, his tone making it clear that "no" was not an option. "Right here, right now!"

"Fine." Luvia assumed her fighting stance again, although there was a spark in her eyes that he hadn't seen before. "I hope you're ready, Nivix Mizzet, because you are going down!"

Before Nivix could even break into a charge towards her, Luvia became a blur – the next thing he knew, something hit him in the stomach hard enough to send him careening into the barrier. He collapsed into a heap, then attempted to struggle up; Luvia stood above him in her fighting stance, an infuriatingly cocky smile on her face.

Nivix's wings flapped futilely as he tried to steady himself, but his head was already starting to spin. Luvia just laughed. "Now what was that about obvious combat superiority, Nivix? I made good on my promise, didn't I?" she said, folding her arms. "Now go down and stay down before I have to kick your ass again!"

Then Nivix felt the sensation of falling, and everything went black. The last thing he felt was the sudden slamming of his head against cold, hard pavement.

***​

When Nivix came to, the first thing he saw was a disinterested-looking nurse looking down on him. "You're finally awake, hm?" she said, writing something down on a pad of paper. "Luckily, your little stunt didn't cause any major damage. Sure was a pain hauling all two thousand pounds of you back here, though."

Confusion turned to comprehension, which turned to simmering anger and shame – he had lost badly. So badly, in fact, that it would probably be in the school newspapers next month! And his experiment had failed, too! He reared his head to roar, only to feel a sudden sharp pain in his gut.

"With a physiology like yours, it'll take some time for the healing magic to work," said the nurse. "Please be patient, Mr. Mizzet."

All Nivix could do was choke out a weak murmur. "I…I knew that. I was just…testing you."

Half an hour later, he was out of the infirmary and back on campus. The sky was already dark; he'd been out until nightfall, it seemed. Although at least his satchel had remained intact throughout the entire humiliating endeavor – the one silver lining he could find in all this.

He hadn't bothered to change back into human form; instead, he walked through the campus with his head down. Tears dripped down his draconic face. He wasn't going to cry where everyone could see him, dammit! Even if he knew that others lived on campus…

Then Nivix saw a flash of light above him. He looked up – through his tears, he could see two small points of light, one red and one blue, clashing against one another. They disappeared momentarily before the red light reappeared, growing brighter and larger with every second, as though it was…

…coming straight at him.

Before Nivix could jump back, a gleaming ruby sword landed right next to him, embedding itself deep within the pavement. And just as he was comprehending that, the sword spoke in a shrill young girl's voice. "Hey there, Mr. Dragon!" the sword said, not minding the dumbstruck look on Nivix's face. "Would you like to be my Master?"