Disclaimer: I do not own 'A song of Ice and Fire' nor 'Magic the Gathering'.

Author's Note: Man, when i decided to start writing this fic, i thought keeping up a monthly schedule would have been relatively easy to keep up with. To paraphrase GRRM, 'oh, you sweet summer child'. It seems like with all life is currently handing out to me, my average seems to be every two months.

Contrary to Jon's rant, i loved the series while growing up. You'll understand when Niv comes up...

This chapter is focused a bit more in the personal relationship between Liliana and Jon, and possibly the last chapter of what i privately dub the 'training arc'. From the next chapter onward, i plan to have Jon start to interact with canon events.

For those of you wondering if Jon will ever meet the Gatewatch: Good news everyone! [Prof. Farnsworth's voice]. If there are no sudden strokes of inspiration, Jon will meet his first Gatewatch member next chapter. I don't know how to create a poll in this site, so if you want to take a guess, feel free to post it on the review.

I would like to thank everyone who liked this story and I will answer questions & respond to comments at the end of the chapter.

If you want to see what people & things in the story look like, i took inspirations from the following cards: Mnemonic Sphere / Katsumasa, the Animator / Paliano, the High City / Ornithopter (M15) / Paliano (Planechase) / Canal Dredger / Cogwork Librarian / Cogwork Tracker / Sentinel Dispatch / Staunch Throneguard / Academy Elite / Show and Tell (Conspiracy: TtC).

Chapter 10

Fully engrossed with reading the book he had recently checked out from the Biblioplex, Jon almost missed the knocking in the bedroom's entrance, but once he did he wondered who would be looking for him, or Nivaeron, this early in the morning. Getting up from the bed, he put a bookmark on the book and after setting it aside, walked up to the door, pulled it open and immediately recognized his visitor.

"Mother!" Jon exclaimed as he hugged her tightly before looking up. "What are you doing here?"

"Is there a problem with a mother wanting to visit her son?" Liliana replied.

"Of course not! I'm just surprised because you normally visit us at the end of the semester." Jon answered as he let her go, left the room and closed the door. "Come on! Niv's in his studio right now, he'll want to see you as well."

Liliana followed her adopted apprentice as he led her to his familiar. "So, are the both of you doing well? Anything noteworthy happen since we last saw each other?"

Jon sighed in annoyance. "You remember that bauble Niv brought with him from Towashi? After all this time playing around with it, he actually found a way to unlock it."

Liliana felt intrigued by the discovery. "Unlock it? That implies that there was something of value inside of it."

Jon kept walking towards Nivaeron's studio as he listlessly responded. "Yeah, there were thousands of schematics inside. Mechas, vehicles, drones, weapons, alloy composition and manufacture guides, you name it. Niv has been studying them and looking to adapt them in his schoolwork."

Liliana was perplexed at why Jon was so displeased with such a boon. "So why do you seem so apathetic about this Jon? Is Nivaeron refusing to share this treasure trove of information with you?"

Jon barked in laughter. "Ha! No, he's actually being very generous in sharing what he found with me. It's just... I think it's better if i show you."

Liliana wondered what could have possibly happened to leave Jon like this as they made small talk while strolling to their destination. Soon enough, they arrived at the entrance to Nivaeron's studio and, after unlocking the door, he crosses the threshold into Nivaeron's personal domain with Liliana following along.

Inside the room, filled with all sorts of artifacts in various states of completion, in the center of it all Liliana watches in befuddlement as a small red dragon, around the size of a large draft horse, lounges on top of his personal, glittering hoard. That was not the source of her confusion, however. Instead, it was the construct that was projecting a moving image with sound in front of of said dragon, consuming all of his attention. An illusion depicting five colored warriors fighting what appeared to be a Kamigawan demon.

Liliana turns to Jon, hoping he had the answers to the conundrum in front of her. "... What exactly am i seeing, Jon? I cannot... how do you explain... this?!"

Jon pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes in exasperation. "There weren't just schematics in that sphere. Niv also found a collection of some Kamigawan children's show in there. He built that thing from one of the schematics inside and connected the sphere to it. Said it was to 'better view the blueprints', but he spends half the time watching that ludicrous show. I don't even understand why he likes it so much, every episode is the same ridiculous thing." His hand left his face to aimlessly gesture as he explained. "A monster appears, warriors don colorful armor and beat it, then it grows giant, and they beat it again with giant constructs that for some reason have to combine into a mecha." He punched his palm and cracked his fingers. "I don't know who this Katsumasa is, but if i ever find him, I'll make him regret corrupting Niv with this stupidity."

Liliana's left eye twitched as she mumbled to herself. "He is using a vast repository of knowledge... for entertainment?!"

"NIV! We have a visitor." Jon yelled.

Nivaeron turned his head toward them after pausing his show and saw Liliana with Jon. "Lili! You're back!" He ecstatically exclaimed as he sprang from his hoard. He laid his head on her shoulder, his version of hugging someone. After a moment, he pulled back to look at her. "What are you doing here?"

'He is still a child. He is making use of the information inside.' Liliana thought to herself. After a few seconds and a deep breath, Liliana answered him. "Honestly, can i not visit my two favorite individuals in the Multiverse without a reason? If you must know, a project of mine has ended recently and i find myself with an excess of free time. So, i figured i would invite my son and his familiar on a fun filled tour for a few days to celebrate. What do you say?"

"A few days? But mother, it's the middle of the semester, we still have classes." Jon replied.

Liliana caressed Jon's cheeks. "Come now, Jon. Can you not afford to spend a few days with your dear mother? It is not every day that we have the opportunity to spend time together, not since you enrolled in Strixhaven."

Jon looked at Nivaeron and started a silent conversation using their telepathic bond. What had started as a nebulous bond that vaguely emitted emotions had developed and strengthened over the years. At the moment they can hold a conversation with themselves without having to utter a single word, via transmitting their words directly into each other's mind. The discussion happens much faster in their minds, but it only works from a certain distance at the moment. Thus, they come to an agreement much faster than it would have normally taken.

Jon turns back to Liliana. "All right, but can we warn our counselors first? That way they'll know we will be out for a few days and can help us when we return."

Liliana hugged both child and dragon. "Of course you can, Jon. Now go get ready while i speak with your deans. I will give them an appropriate reason for both of your absences." Once Liliana left the room, her confident smile morphed into a melancholic expression as she went to find their teachers.

Sitting across from his mother as they enjoyed a luxurious meal at a restaurant in the High city of Paliano, Jon thought to himself that he should have every reason to be content. They had spent hours browsing all sorts of wares in the city market, managed to find a picturesque restaurant with delicious food and a private balcony with a magnificent view, were having a pleasant time enjoying each other's company, and he had just finished regaling her with how he had earned his new nickname among his Prismari colleagues. Yet, as he thought back on the events that had brought them here, he kept noticing subtle signs that not everything was as well as she pretended to be. He was afraid of bringing up the topic and ruining such a wonderful day, but as her son he worried about her wellbeing.

Jon took a moment to subtly set up an air based, sound blocking ward he had learned during his studies. "Mother, is everything all right?"

Liliana aborted her attempt to grab another bite of her dessert after seeing Jon set up the ward and focused on him with a carefree smile. "Whatever do you mean by that Jon?"

Jon was even more sure now that something had happened. "What i mean is if everything is all right with you. Did anything happen recently that you're not telling me? I may not be able to help, but i can at least hear you out."

Liliana chucked at Jon's plea before reassuring him. "Oh, Jon... you are such a considerate boy. Nothing has happened, so there is naught to be worried about."

"Mother, i can tell you are trying to hide something from me. Perhaps it's to protect me but i can tell something is bothering you." Jon retorted.

Liliana's curiosity was piqued, wondering what exactly he saw. "Fine, let us humor this. What have you noticed?"

Jon vaguely pointed to their surroundings. "We went on a trip across the Multiverse, in the middle of the semester. We only see each other every few months because you wanted me and Niv to become the best we could be. I know how much you value and respect our education."

"Honestly Jon, i did mention that my project came to an unexpected end. I found myself with free time and i felt like spending it with you. I admit it was a spur of the moment thing but can i not be spontaneous occasionally?"

"If it were only that i wouldn't be asking." Jon said before pointing to the packages besides their table. "I've accompanied you plenty of times while you were shopping, so i know how demanding your tastes can be. Yet, you've bought things today that you previously would never have considered trying out."

Liliana's smile held together against Jon's blunt honesty. "Am i not entitled to try something new once in a while? That is how fashion works Jon. If all i wear is the same thing over and over, it becomes stale."

Jon lowered his eyes towards Liliana's plate . "That's the third apple tart you've ordered for yourself."

Liliana's smile did not change, but he swore he felt the ambient temperature drop a few degrees. "What exactly are you trying to imply, child?"

"Something happened that has left you feeling down, so you're trying to cheer yourself up while hiding it from me. That project of yours, it didn't turn out as well as you were hoping for, did it?" Jon guessed.

Realizing that any other attempt to dissuade Jon from learning of her recent failure would be futile, Liliana dropped her cheerful façade. She must be losing her touch if a child could read her so easily. More importantly, what was she going to tell him? During her personal mission, there had been a few times when she wanted to tell Jace the truth, leave behind her scheme to free herself and run away with him. However, her fears of never being free from her demonic pact always held her back and, in the end, she lost both Jace and her chance at freedom. That couldn't happen with Jon, he was too important to lose, not after all the time and effort she put into him. He wasn't ready for the whole truth, but perhaps she could give him something to help him... understand.

Liliana leaned back in her seat and relaxed as she got ready to impart her side of the story. "Remember how Tezzeret stole the Infinite Emporium from another planeswalker? I met him a while ago and learned that he still wanted his organization back. So, in exchange for my help in acquiring his assets back, he would help me with a certain... predicament of mine. While looking for allies inside the Emporium to work with me, I happened to meet a very talented telepath. Over time, we happened to become lovers and things were going well, until he was captured by the Emporium. I infiltrated where he was being held captive and helped free him, then he went and mind-wiped Tezzeret in their battle. Because of that i couldn't fulfill my side of the bargain and ultimately, my relationship with Jace ended due to the circumstances we found ourselves in."

Jon took a moment to process what he heard, choosing to ignore the mental picture of his mother having a lover, before focusing on the most important part. "So you're disappointed that after everything you did, this planeswalker won't help you with what you need because of circumstances outside your control. That explains the 'why' but not the 'what'. You're the most powerful person i know, mother. What could you possibly need help with?"

Liliana sighed. "Breaking a magical contract."

"A magi... did you just say a magical contract?!" Jon blurted out, the implications immediately clear to him. "Mother, are you telling me that you let someone magically get a hold over you?! What could possibly justify binding yourself like that?! You always warned us against making these sorts of pacts!"

"I was dying Jon." Liliana stated in a deadpan manner. "After recently losing a large portion of my power and facing my imminent demise, i became desperate for any method to prolong my life. That was when the Emporium's owner told me of a way to not only save my life but regain most of my powers. In my despair, he managed to convince me to accept a deal he had brokered with a powerful being, and once i saw what I was making a deal with, it became too late to back out."

Jon dreaded to find out, but he just had to know. "What did you make a pact with?"

"A demon." Liliana stated.

Terror pooled inside Jon's heart at the answer to his question. "You bound yourself to a demon?!"

"Technically, four demons. My fellow planeswalker was very powerful, and he did this clever bit of bargaining where he used the previous-" Liliana corrected him.

"Four?!" Jon's eyes bulged in shock as he interrupted her. "This... monster doomed your soul to four demons?! And you still worked for him?!"

"He may have brokered the deal but it was I who accepted, Jon. At the time i was dismissive of my soul and considered the deal beneficial to me, but over the years i have come to regret my current state. That is why I have strived to teach both of you to take great care when making deals of any kind." Liliana admonished.

"But mother, you're a necromancer!" Jon exclaimed. "Wasn't there a way to save yourself with your magic, without selling your soul? Just off the top of my head i can think of vampirism to save yourself without resorting to such drastic measures."

Liliana closed her eyes as unbidden memories washed over her, reminding her of one of the greatest mistakes of her life. "I have never told you how my spark ignited, have I?"

"No, you haven't. Why bring this up now?" Jon answered as he pondered on the purpose of the sudden tangent.

As Jon soon found out, there was a very good reason for his mother to suddenly bring up this topic. She told him of her early life growing up in Benalia on Dominaria under her father's thumb, a general who ruled over the lands he fought for. Of joining a holy order of clerics dedicated to the healing arts and secretly dabbling in necromancy, thinking the manipulation of death would enhance her healing. Some of this he had already known over the years under her, but then she brought up her brother.

Josu being afflicted with a magical illness during a battle with her father's enemies. Her mentor, Lady Ana, giving her the task of gathering the required Esis roots to cure him. Arriving too late to the razed groves where the Esis trees grew. Encountering a strange man, who claimed to be a supporter of her father, who told her that her father's enemies had set the copse ablaze. How the stranger instructed her to use her necromancy to reactivate the roots and prepare a potion out of it. Being warned by him that the potion would cure her brother but that they would try to stop her from giving her brother the cure. Returning to the castle and giving Josu the potion, despite Lady Ana trying to stop her. The horror at learning her brother had indeed been cured of his illness, at the cost of driving him insane and poisoning him anew. Realizing she would have to kill the crazed creature her dear brother had become, by raising the bodies of his recent victims, and ending her story with her spark finally igniting and ending up in Innistrad after her first jump.

Personally, Jon would rather have died before offering himself to such evil beings, but he finally understood why his mother took such drastic measures. Fooled into cursing her brother with undeath while trying to save him, the experience was so traumatic that it caused her spark to ignite. Now that he thought about it, he realized that she probably feared turning into the same monstrosity as her sibling. His pragmatic and sometimes amoral mother willingly gave up on easier paths to power and immortality, all so she wouldn't have to suffer the touch of undeath. Even when faced with her own death, she chose to bargain her life with multiple demons rather than take that final step.

Liliana had done so much for Jon in the few years he had known her. She saved him from the fever that ignited his spark, sheltered him when he had nowhere else to go, taught him the secrets of magic when he was but an ignorant child and gave him the kindness he always yearned for. Even Nivaeron being in his life was a direct result of her actions. His mother had done more for him than his natural kin in his original plane ever did, but now he had an inkling of how to possibly repay all that she has ever done for him.

Jon took a hold of her hands and resolutely held her gaze. "Mother, i don't know how i'm going to do it, but i swear to you i will help free you from the clutches of these foul demons. Even if it takes me years to become powerful enough, I'll find a way to kill each and every single one of them if that's what it takes."

Liliana was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions at that moment as she observed Jon. Relief that he hadn't distanced himself from her after learning about her past, guilt at manipulating him into doing her bidding, elation that her original plan to turn him into her pawn had borne fruit and a bit of self-loathing that her ploy to adopt him to secure his loyalty had worked out so well. He truly did not deserve someone like her in his life, but she would still take advantage of his kindness to free herself.

The heartfelt moment was ruined, however, by a mental message from his familiar, who had to be nearby. 'Uhh... Jon? Are the both of you ready to go home?'

It had taken months of mental training and experimentation with their mutual bond, but they had both taught themselves to conceal their feelings from each other to respect each other's privacy. That Jon could feel the slight nervousness leaking behind their mental link raised his suspicions. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Is everything all right Jon?" Liliana asked.

"Niv just contacted me. I think he got into trouble... again. Please give me a moment." Jon answered her as he got ready to contact his familiar.

'What happened this time?' Jon projected with his mind.

'Just because I'm asking if you're ready to go home, doesn't mean that something has happened!' Nivaeron mentally retorted.

Jon silently waited for his familiar to prove him wrong. Soon enough, however, Nivaeron's resolve broke down and the truth gushed from his mind. 'Alright, so something did happen, but it was totally justified!'

'What did you do?' Jon demanded through their bond.

[Flashback]

"That is why they call it the 'High City of Paliano'." Liliana declared while pointing at the titanic structure.

Nivaeron marveled at the massive bowl-like platform of earth and stone supported by multiple giant pillars around its perimeter. How did they manage to pull off such a feat of architecture?! He could feel from his bond that his brother was similarly impressed. As Lili began to explain how they were going to take the elevators below the earthen platform to reach its surface, his focus shifted instead to the primitive looking construct that flew over them towards the city above.

"Is that a drone?" Nivaeron murmured to himself.

"They are called ornithopters here in Fiora." Liliana answered the distracted dragon. "So, it is that time again."

"Is there some special event going on?" Jon asked as he looked towards the vanishing ornithopter.

"Once a year, the artificer Muzzio sends out his flying machines in search of pupils for the academy of Paliano. Most of them focus on the city itself, but he still sends a few down to the Lowlands, just in case." Liliana responded.

Nivaeron's interest was suddenly piqued as he unconsciously got his wings ready. "An academy of artificers!? Can i go see them instead?"

Jon was quick to grab onto him after his question. "Oh no you don't, Niv. Have you forgotten about Towashi? Because I haven't."

Nivaeron huffed in indignation at the unfair accusation. "Do you think i'm stupid, Jon? I've learned my lesson from that day, watch." He cast his most powerful spell from the branch of magic he researched after that catastrophe, and slowly vanished from sight. "As long as they can't find me, i have nothing to fear."

Jon smacked his forehead as Liliana tried to stifle her laughter. He slowly dragged his hands down his face before speaking once more. "You know what? Fine! Go ahead Niv, me and mother will go around the markets while you check out the academy. Let's see if you can avoid getting into trouble."

"Oh, have a little faith in him Jon. He has learned from his previous experience and taken the necessary precautions." Liliana sided with him, making his camouflaged chest swell with pride.

"Thank you, Lili. Your great wisdom is the reason i trust you as our alpha. I'll come meet you guys when i'm done." Nivaeron declared before flexing his wings and taking off.

Choosing to maintain his camouflage spell, even if it was a bit taxing on his mana reserves, Nivaeron flew over Paliano unopposed. He quickly homed in on the closest ornithopter and followed after it, taking in the view of the beautiful city from up above. After a few minutes, he reached the central hub where all the constructs were entering and leaving a group of white-domed edifices clustered together. Taking a moment to examine the buildings, he noticed one of them had a very large room open to the outside that he could easily fly into, and more importantly, full of various artifices of various shapes and sizes. Loathe to miss an opportunity like this, he quickly dove, landed amongst the bronze-colored constructs and after checking that he would not be seen, dropped his draining illusion spell.

Nivaeron lost track of time roaming the room as he unhurriedly examined all the constructs at his leisure. Compared to the 'origami' Kamigawan design philosophy, these artifacts seemed outdated in comparison, but no less impressive in their own way. All of these machines had a universal 'clockwork' design of cogs and gears, mostly of a bronze-like metal, which contributed to the aesthetics of the constructs. It was as he admired a well crafted humanoid automaton that the wide doors, the only means of entry to the spacious room, unlocked with an audible click.

'Oh, no!' Nivaeron inwardly exclaimed as he swung his head towards the slowly opening doors. At that moment of panic it felt like the world slowed down as his mind rushed to find a solution to his predicament. His camouflage spell would take too long to hide his presence from the unexpected intruders, and he was exposed in the middle of the room, with no place to hide. In a stroke of inspiration, he instinctively acted upon the first idea that came to mind, using his quickest illusion spell, and placed himself between two large constructs.

"The moment of truth is finally here, class. Today your projects will be judged, and we will see if you have earned the coveted right to be called an elite member of this academy." A scrawny looking man wearing an elaborate white robe with gold trimmings and a matching hat declared as he entered the room, followed by nervous students wearing similar clothes. "This room has been under lockdown since last night, so none of you will be able to claim that your creations have been tampered with. Now, stand by your final project and wait to be judged." Nivaeron silently panicked as all students took their places besides their constructs, leaving him the center of attention for the professor.

"Whose cogwork is this?" The professor asked as he moved towards a bronze dragon construct in the middle of the room. With its head held high, wings slightly unfurled and a fore claw raised, it looked as if it was poised to strike at any moment. The superb craftsmanship of the artifact, with no exposed gears or cogs at all, felt like it could come alive at any moment. "This is very well-made, i can't see where the metal was worked on and the scales seem like they would move seamlessly. Unfortunately, that's the only good thing about it. With the weight of the body, i doubt those metal wings are flight capable. The frilled mane serves no practical purpose and combined with its short snout makes it look ridiculous. Also, the tail is so thin i doubt there are many joints inside of it, making the excessive length useless. Clearly whoever tried to recreate this artificial dragon didn't pay attention in class."

Nivaeron barely succeeded in holding himself immobile, remembering that he was currently impersonating a cogwork as he mentally counseled himself. 'Keep it together Niv, you are a true dragon. Ignore the opinion of this bleating sheep.'

"All right, time to find out if this contraption is more than a glorified statue." The little slag heap announced as he pulled out a large rod from inside his robes in front of him. Nivaeron could see that the rod had many short, pointy protrusions sticking out in random directions. "Hmm, i wonder where the control slot is located?" He questioned while slowly walking around him, searching for something as he slid from his view. Nivaeron silently wished for the nuisance to lose interest and leave without touching him, since his illusion would fail if that were to happen. Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed and the worst happened. "Aha! Here it is." The living rust stain blurted out as he grabbed and lifted his tail.

At that moment, several things happened at once. The illusion that held up Nivaeron's façade as a cogwork quickly faded away, like smoke in the wind. All the students in the room sucked in their breaths in shock as the dragon construct in the middle of the room became a living red dragon. The professor froze as the metal tail he grasped felt warm to the touch and not at all like metal. Nivaeron turned his muzzle to look behind him and found the sorry excuse of a teacher, who had just insulted him to his face, lifting his tail with one hand while the other held the rod pointed towards him. They met each other's gaze and suddenly it clicked in his mind exactly what the walking dead man was trying to do. Nivaeron saw red as fury filled him as fast as fear consumed the scrawny thing.

'I defended my honor!' Nivaeron resolutely projected. 'Sadly, the waste of space who offended me managed to escape Draconic Justice.'

'What exactly do you mean by that?!' Jon demanded through their bond.

'It means... that i caused... a bit of collateral damage in the academy.' Nivaeron guiltily transmitted back.

'How much collateral?' Jon asked with his mind, desperately holding back his irritation.

'About... half a building?' Nivaeron sheepishly answered over their bond.

Jon took a deep breath to calm himself down. 'We will continue this talk when we reach Arcavios.' Then, having finished the mental conversation with his familiar, he turned to Liliana. "Mother, looks like we're finished here."

Liliana called the waiter to pay their bill. "Dare i ask?"

"Do you want to be here when you find out?" Jon answered back with a slight smirk.

Liliana, for once in her life, enjoyed having her words thrown back at her. As both of them made their along the city to meet Nivaeron, after leaving the restaurant, Liliana privately contemplated the events of the day. All her plans to manipulate Jon that she had come up with over the years, from motivating him into gaining enough power to be useful to convincing him into helping her kill her demonic overlords, had just become obsolete. Though she did omit a few key details to make her seem better, she could hardly believe that all it took was her telling him the truth. However, considering how upstanding Jon could be, maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised. Jon now knew the truth about her origins, and instead of judging her as she expected, his first response was swearing to help her gain her freedom. As all three of them planeswalked back to Arcavios, the last thought that she had on Fiora was that things were finally going her way and that perhaps freedom was closer than she expected.

Author's Note: Oof! Jon, you do NOT point out to your mother that she is eating too much. Rookie mistake.

So, as you can see, Liliana is a master at manipulating people into doing what she wants. Technically, she didn't lie to Jon at all! For those who don't know the MTG lore, when she mentioned meeting the Nicol Bolas, she tried to imply that their meeting was a coincidence instead of her looking for him. When she mentioned Jace being captured by the Emporium, she failed to mention that she ratted him out. The circumstances that led to their relationship ending was Jace finding out how she betrayed him. When Bolas brokered the deal between Liliana and the demons, she knew exactly what she was making a deal with but tried to imply otherwise when she said she first saw the demon. She said that over the years she has come to regret her current state, not because she values her soul but because she is being forced to obey. And the reason she hammered into them to be careful when making deals is so that her pawns don't become compromised. In fact, the only part of her story told without any intent of manipulation behind it was how her spark ignited, which was the part that convinced Jon, in a twist of unexpected irony.

Nivaeron's obsession with the kid's show was borne from a random question that popped into my head. If Kamigawa is basically Magical Japan, would they have Magical Super Sentai?

Time for some Q&A

airistal: Wow, what are the odds? You're welcome.

BeetleRUs: This is actually one of the points that i chose to 'change from canon' in this crossover. I explained in the author's note at the end of chapter 6 (the one where Jon is about to choose a college), Ancient Ravnican Dragons (ARD) and Hypersonic Dragons (HD) are actually the same species. The difference is that, as you pointed out, ARD are born with knowledge and HD 'start fresh'. If you want a more detailed explanation, check out the chapter.

In canon, Niv-Mizzet is the only ARD left. Something that i interpreted from the material available implies that Niv-Mizzet is personally responsible for this. One of the plot points of the first Ravnica block was that there was a scientist trying to clone Niv-Mizzet, so that the dragons would face off against him.

Friendship? Bah! Adventure? Too busy with experiments. Infinite knowledge, though? Omniscience is Niv-Mizzet's ultimate life goal. Now that you brought it up, IF Mizzy ever learns of Niv, he will definitely see him as a rival...

Archangel Xireon Chaos God: Huh, that's a good point. The arrogance came from the fact that she's a Silverquill, but i guess vampirism made her extra arrogant.

charly22salazar: Glad you enjoyed it.

kazikamikaze24: Thank you!

Beleriond: Yeah, there was definitely room for improvement, but i'm not all that great with poems and verse. I actually spent close to two weeks looking those up and it didn't turn out well, so i opted to leave it out, otherwise i would have taken twice as long to post the chapter. The enchanted paper idea sounds more like what a Lorehold student would use, but i think the idea has potential if i ever write a Silverquill again.

The big difference between the two, i believe, is their purpose. For Silverquill, song and poetry would be a means to an end while for Prismari the means IS the end, putting emphasis on the creation rather than the product. So Silverquill tends to get to the point as quick as possible (WB) while Prismari takes their time, putting more energy in their work (UR). I think that's why their colors don't match, even though, as you said, they have some surprising overlap.

Agreed, you have the right to your opinion, and to be fair, you had some good points.

Valyrio: I know you didn't mean anything by it, but that comparison hurt me in a way i wasn't expecting, and that's taking into account that the second review i ever received said my work was terrible.

Like i said after the end of the last chapter, Jon is pretty much a bender capable of manipulating multiple elements. I googled all the Prismari associated cards and if you take a look at the art, quite a few of them show students 'mid-bending'. Prismari Apprentice and Expressive Iteration are perfect example of what i'm talking about, the artwork is very dynamic on those cards, and since this isn't an Avatar (Aang & Korra) crossover, i couldn't exacly use their terminology for Jon's magic. At first, Jon will need the flamboyant dancing style of Prismari but as he becomes familiar with his spells and magic he will become subtler and need less gesturing, until he is able to manipulate elements at will with minimal movement, but that will take a few years and it won't be the only magic Jon will learn.

TheCreepyBastard: That's going to be a bit in the future. Don't have those details fixed yet, like how Jon's true bloodline is revealed, but any regret will be of her own making...