The Introduction
This is where we first meet Mike. We learn he's not particularly well-liked in high school (except as the guy to pick on). We are introduced to a couple of mysterious voices who seem to be keeping tabs on Mike. They make mention of a latent power within Mike. We move forward and meet Tammy, Mike's sister. Through a conversation between the siblings, it becomes clear that Mike is not really sure what to do after high school. We also meet Mike's parents. After another run-in with the mysterious voices, Mike's mom acts as a catalyst to move into the next storyline by asking Mike to clean his room.
Into the Closet
As Mike is cleaning out his closet he notices a very large wooden door on the back wall. Curious, he enters the door and finds himself in a large hallway. He bumps into a very large, very scary looking creature who turns out to be a very non-threatening creature named Francis. Although he's very nice, Francis is loyal to his master, and so ties up Mike and takes him to his master's study.
Fitzpot
Francis' master turns out to be a wizard named Fitzpot Fizzlebottom. Fitzpot is intrigued by Mike's presence in his world, and theorizes that the doorway is a tear in the dimensional fabric between the two worlds. Mike finds out that Fitzpot is a professor at Bardsworth University, a college that teaches magic. He persuades Fitzpot to put in a good word for him at the college, telling the wizard that it feels right to be going to Bardsworth.
A New World
Mike takes advantage of his parents being out of the house and slips back into Fitzpot's world. Fitzpot, intrigued with the idea of comparing the creatures and plants of the two worlds, takes Mike outside. They travel into the woods and encounter a wood sprite, who takes interest in Mike. Though the wood sprite doesn't speak aloud, it realizes that there is great magic inside of Mike. Fitzpot, who seems to be able to communicate with the sprite (though Mike doesn't know it), conveys that Mike needs to discover it on his own.
The Fib
At a loss for how to approach the subject of Bardsworth with his parents, Mike concocts a not-so-good fib about the school being in another country called "Closetania." He persuades a reluctant Fitzpot to help him out and takes him through the doorway into his world. However, Mike's parents are a little too perceptive, and Mike and Fitzpot turn out to be terrible liars. The truth comes out, and though the Cosleys don't swallow it at first, the random appearance of Francis cements the story. Mike's parents, after learning that it will cost nothing to send Mike to Bardsworth, give Mike the okay.
He's In!
Francis comes calling in the middle of the night, scaring Mike to death. Francis explains that he couldn't wait and had to give Mike the good news - that Mike was accepted into Bardsworth University. The following day, Tammy calls and says that she heard from their parents that Mike was accepted to school, but that Mike had to explain to her where it was. Mike, this time without the aid of Fitzpot or Francis, tries to tell Tammy the truth regardless of how crazy it sounds. After the conversation, Tammy admits to herself that Mike has never been able to tell a lie, but that the story was still unbelievable. After she comes home for the summer, though, she learns that Mike was telling the truth.
On the Road
Mike is finally on his way to Bardsworth University, traveling by horse and wagon. On the way, Fitzpot gives Mike a quick history of the school. Fitzpot also warns Mike not to mention where he's really from. Out of nowhere, a fairy named Fawn appears and befriends Mike. Fitzpot warns Mike that she won't leave, but Mike is unconcerned, happy to have a new friend. The ride ends at the top of a hill where they see a fantastic view of...
>Welcome to Bardsworth
...the campus of Bardsworth University. Mike is rather impressed, but is unaware of being watched by a shadowy figure. Mike reaches his new residence, which happens to be quite a few flights of stairs in the upward direction. Upon arriving to his room, he meets his roommate, who happens to be a rather quiet and studious young man named Kris. Kris's calm expression only breaks when he hears that Mike is friends with Fitzpot. He reveals to Mike that Fitzpot is one of the most powerful and skilled wizards around. Mike takes a break from unpacking and heads out to the courtyard with Fawn. After getting to know her a little better, he heads back to his room, whereupon he finds a delivery from everyone's favorite demon. Finally, as the boys settle in for the night, Mike learns another thing about Kris - he snores. Loudly.
The Dream Bridge
After Mike falls asleep, he finds himself in a strange dream - or is it? Fitzpot appears and explains that they are in a Dream Bridge, a mental connection that can be established between people when they are asleep or meditating. After a little fun, Mike settles down and listens to what Fitzpot has to say, and doesn't like it. Fitzpot tells Mike that the classes he will be taking require some knowledge in magic. After Mike freaks out a bit, Fitzpot explains that he will use the Dream Bridge to tutor Mike and answer his questions.
The First Day
Mike awakes to his first day at Bardsworth University. After parting ways with Fawn and Kris, he runs smack into an invisible wall. Mike's luck shifts, however, when a beautiful elf girl named Crystal helps him gather his books. It turns out that Crystal's brother, Danyel, likes to pull pranks on the freshmen. In another stroke of good luck, Crystal is heading for the same class Mike is and leads him to the classroom. After the class the two part ways, and it's obvious Mike is smitten with the elf girl. Mike runs into Kris in his next class, and afterwards realizes that his next and last class of the day is Bardic Theory.
Interlude
Fitzpot is sitting at his desk working when someone unwelcome comes up behind him. We meet Rayner, a dark and mysterious figure that Fitzpot is quick to turn his anger on. Rayner goads Fitzpot on, making enigmatic comments. Eventually Francis steps in, encouraging Rayner to leave hastily.
The First Day - Continued
Now we're back to Mike, who finds himself in the class that he's been dreading - Bardic Theory. Professor Durnham, who insists that everyone call him Charlie and is full of more energy than a professor should legally be allowed to have, has the folks in class pair up for a get-to-know-you assignment. Mike is literally pounced upon by the overly-bubbly and overly-talkative Keira. We cut to Fawn and Kris in the dorm room, who hear a frightened Mike screaming for help. After crawling out of his hiding spot under his bed, Mike explains to Kris that he was running from Keira. Kris makes a joke at Mike and Fawn's expense, and Fawn shows Kris that it's never good to piss off a fairy. Later on, they decide to head to the dining hall for some dinner. Kris calls Mike on his bad eating habits and explains that a wizard needs to eat healthy in order to maintain healthy energy for spellcasting. Keira appears out of nowhere, pouncing on Mike once again. After some chit-chat, Keira takes off and the group returns to the dorm room. Later, Mike expresses his disappointment in not seeing Crystal at dinner. Kris points out that her room is probably on the second or third floor of the dorm tower, and Mike is off like a race horse. While Mike once again makes himself look silly in front of Crystal, Fawn once again reminds Kris not to piss off a fairy. Mike returns, lovestruck, and Kris warns him not to get too emotionally involved in a girl because a wizard needs to be in control of his emotions. Mike, frustrated by this point, insults Kris, but is quick to apologize. After some prodding from Kris, Mike explains his reasons in attending Bardsworth, and goes on to divulge the truth behind where he's from.
Back to the Dream Bridge
After falling asleep, Mike finds himself once again in the Dream Bridge with Fitzpot, who, out of the kindness of his heart and in an effort keep Mike's attention, has provided a plate of cookies. Mike tells Fitzpot about revealing the truth to Kris and about his first day of classes. Fitzpot decides to actually teach Mike a levitation spell, and Mike learns that casting a spell is not as easy as waving a wand and saying "abracadabra". In the end, Mike ends up blowing up the cookie rather than levitating it, causing him some mental anguish. Fitzpot gives Mike a simple explanation, but after he leaves the Dream Bridge and talks with Francis, it becomes clear that there might be more to the incident than he let on. Fitzpot reveals his suspicions that Mike is a trimagus, a person who is more powerful than a normal wizard.
Back to the Dream Bridge - The Aftermath
Mike is woken up by Fawn, who indicates that there is a slight problem - Kris is floating about five feet about his bed, still asleep. Mike attempts to end the spell causing, which ends up in Kris crashing downwards and waking up in the wreckage of his bed, wondering what happened.
Day Two
Mike gets the brilliant idea to have Francis fix Kris's bed while the two of them head to their practicum class. On the way there, Mike freaks out at the thought of having to perform magic in front of people. Kris manages to calm him down, but it doesn't last - Keira comes bounding out of nowhere and tackles Mike. After a bit of chatter, Mike and Kris make it to class. We are introduced to Professor Merrit, who Mike seems to have the hots for. Mike jokes his way through class, which upsets Kris, but the two make up after all is said and done. While the two of them are at lunch, Fawn swoops in and shares a secret with Mike which has both of them laughing. When all three return to their room, Kris finds out that Francis's handiwork is a little too handy. Once Mike is finished laughing at his friend, he is horrified to discover that his bed has been redone as well. Francis is called in to set things back to normal... or as normal as a demon fixing a bed can be.
Something to Write Home About
Francis tiptoes into the Cosley household and leaves a letter from Mike to his parents. Mr. and Mrs. Cosley read the letter and discover what their son has been up to his first week of college.
Out and About
After asking a question that Kris obviously didn't want to answer, Mike feels awkward and leaves the room. Fawn suggests that they spend the day with her family (which consists of thirty sisters), so the two of them head off into the woods. While waiting for Fawn to warn her siblings, a mysterious figure approaches Mike and gives him some enigmatic advice before disappearing as Fawn arrives. Fawn leads Mike to her fairy village where they are greeted by Fawn's soulshare, Joy. Fawn explains that soulshares are assigned at birth and that they are responsible for taking care of each other. She goes on to explain to Mike that fairies are born of magic and don't really have parents like humans do. Out of nowhere, Fawn and Joy's other soulshare, Raven, introduces herself, and makes it clear that she doesn't think much of Mike. Later, as Mike is entertaining the other fairies, Fawn and Joy have a little chat. Joy discovers that Fawn is keeping a secret from Mike regarding something called a spirit bond. After scolding Fawn, Joy urges Fawn to tell Mike the truth. Fawn and Mike leave the village and head back to school, and while Fawn knows she should tell Mike the truth, she doesn't.
Out and About - Epilogue
Mike returns to his room, and Kris apologizes for his earlier response. Later on, in the Dream Bridge, Mike describes the mysterious figure he met to Fitzpot. Fitzpot recognizes the man as Rayner, and he reveals that Rayner was actually a pupil of his. Meanwhile, while Mike sleeps, Raven watches him from the window briefly before taking off into the night.
Randomness
These five strips are standalone gags and have no set continuity.
The Truth Hurts
Mike runs into Danyel, prankster extraordinaire. While Mike is less than happy to see the elf, Danyel tries to assure Mike that he's a good guy, and offers to cast a spell that will grant Mike luck (note that he doesn't say "good" luck). Mike agrees to it, thinking that maybe it'll help his chances with Crystal - which it doesn't. in a span of less than two minutes Mike nearly makes a complete fool of himself by saying things that he doesn't mean to - although they are completely true - and runs away before he can do anymore damage. Thinking he's safe for the moment, our favorite crazy bard major tackles him and forces another interesting truth out of him - this time a compliment (although Mike realizes too late that now she'll never leave him alone). After reasoning things through, Mike realizes that the spell was some sort of truth enchantment that causes him to speak truths when someone asks a question, and the answer doesn't always have to do with the question. Unable to do anything about it, he reluctantly heads to his bardic studies class where, by an actual stroke of (ironic) good luck, the exercise is to tell lies to each other. Forced to tell his unbelievable truthful story, the other students think he's just going along with the exercise. After class, Mike meets up with Fawn to ask for her help. Unfortunately, she can't help with the enchantment, but offers to ask her sisters for help. She suggests in the meantime that Mike can ask Fitzpot for help in the Dream Bridge. After Fawn leaves and Mike returns to his room, he inadvertantly insults Kris, who is able to determine what's going on based on that. He offers to help as well (but doesn't find anything useful). Fawn returns without any helpful information as well, and so Mike is left with only the Dream Bridge as an option - which proves useless. In the morning Mike wakes up and realizes that Fitzpot didn't use a Dream Bridge. Even worse, he realizes that he has class with Professor Merrit that day. Kris sends Fawn out to find Fitzpot and he tries to calm Mike down. After an initial run-in with Professor Merrit, nothing bad happens and Mike does calm down - until she calls on him for to answer a question. His answer? That she is the most beautiful teacher in the world. The class erupts into laughter, but Merrit plays the incident off by saying she cast a ventriliquism spell as a demonstration, and asks Mike to stay after class so she can remove the enchantment. True to her word, she removes the enchantment and Mike finds out she knew about it the moment he walked in the door - she was getting revenge for an inappropriate drawing of her in his notes.
The Truth Hurts - Epilogue
Professor Merrit asks Mike to tell her who cast the enchantment on him, as that person would need to be punished. Mike is on the verge of telling her, but realizes that Danyel is Crystal's brother and decides not to. On his way out of the classroom, Mike bumps into Crystal, who returns his books that he left when he ran out of class. He explains to her what Danyel did and she assures him that she'll talk to her brother about it (and has a little fun at Mike's expense). Meanwhile, Fawn gives Danyel what's coming to him. Afterwards, she visits Mike and he expresses worry about Fitzpot - there was no Dream Bridge and Fawn wasn't able to track him down. Where did he go?
Compromise
Fitzpot and Francis approach Rayner's house. Fitzpot explains that he wants to confront Rayner about his interference with Mike. At the door, Fitzpot is harrassed by Penny, a fairy who apparently revels in getting the old man riled up. Rayner greets Fitzpot, being very cordial, but Fitzpot has none of that. After some discussion, Fitzpot asks Rayner, politely, to leave Mike alone, but Rayner refuses, saying that Mike may be the key to his research. However, Rayner offers a compromise - he will leave Mike alone for a time while he receives his schooling, and then he will approach Mike forcing him to "choose his destiny". Reluctant, Fitzpot accepts. Rayner comments on how a spirit bond is forming between Mike and Fawn, and that makes Rayner confident about Mike's decision. Fitzpot dismisses the thought, and Rayner angers Fitzpot with harsh words about the Wizards Court. On his way out, Fitzpot offers Rayner the chance to be accepted back by him, but Rayner turns him down politely, revealing in his farewell that Fitzpot is his father.
Randomness II
First we have a mini story arc with Mike and Fawn playing in the snow, and then several standalone strips with no continuity.
Revelations - Prologue
Mike, after having time to think about the repurcussions of the truth enchantment, decides he wants to tell Crystal the truth of where he's from. Kris tries to argue with Mike about the decision, but Mike counters him by saying that Kris hasn't been totally truthful with him. After a few heated words, Mike apologizes and Kris agrees to talk about his past at some point. Before Mike leaves to see Crystal, he points out that Kris seems a bit more jokey than usual, and Kris admits that he had been thinking about what Mike said to him when Mike was under the truth enchantment.
Revelations
When Mike arrives at Crystal's door, she teases him into such a flustered state that she suspects something is up. Mike finally manages to tell his story, and is surprised when Crystal says she believes him. Meanwhile, Fawn shows up in Mike and Kris's room and mentions that Crystal is an elf, something that Kris didn't know. Kris explains that elves of noble lineage can only marry other elves of noble lineage because of tradition, and since Crystal is attending Bardsworth University the chances of her being noble are very likely. Fawn becomes concerned for Mike, but Kris explains that Mike is stubborn and that they probably wouldn't be able to change his mind in the event that Crystal would go out with him. Back in Crystal's room, Mike learns about Crystal's life and finds out that she is indeed of noble birth, but that she rejects it and doesn't want anything to do with it. Then, in a fumbled attempt at asking Crystal out, she takes the initiative and kisses Mike. She explains that because of who she is her parents probably won't like Mike, but that she would go out with him anyway. Mike then learns - the hard way - who Crystal's roommate is. Keira tackles Mike in her trademark fashion. She finds out that Mike and Crystal are an item now and pushes Mike out of the room so the girls can talk. Once Mike is gone, Keira confronts Crystal on the nobility issue and Crystal explains that everything will be all right.
Revelations - Epilogue
Mike returns to his room happy beyond belief. Fawn confronts him on what Kris told her, but he assures her that Crystal already talked to him about it and that things would be all right. Later, Keira greets Mike in the hallway and he is surprised that she didn't tackle him. She explains that she thought it would be be manners to tackle her roommate's boyfriend every time he was around. She leaves a confused Mike and goes to class.
Hitting the Books
Mike studies for his upcoming final exams.
Confession Time
In the midst of studying, Mike decides to take a break and go for a walk. He invites Fawn, who gives a sarcastic answer that he misses but Kris catches. On their way outside the school grounds, Mike explains that he couldn't focus because of a feeling of unhappiness he had. Fawn acts strangely, but again, Mike doesn't notice. When he asks her to come home with him when he gets his month off from school and tells her she's his best friend, Fawn breaks down crying. She explains that she and Mike have a Spirit Bond, a magic bond between a fairy and someone who accepts them as a friend. She confesses that she was supposed to tell him about it right away so he could pull away from the bond if he wanted to, but that she kept it a secret. She tells Mike that her sister, Raven, once had a Spirit Bond with a girl named Leah, but Leah fell in love with someone and the Spirit Bond was torn and left Raven less cheerful than she used to be. Fawn admits that she was scared to tell Mike about the Spirit Bond because she didn't want him to pull away, and she had been more unhappy lately because Mike had fallen in love with someone - and her unhappiness was what Mike had been feeling through the Spirit Bond. Mike assures Fawn that he's not mad at her and that she really is his best friend, relieving and cheering her up immensely.
Confession Time - Epilogue
First we see Raven watching Mike and Fawn, and she thinks to herself that although Mike seems okay, she will still keep an eye on him. Then we see Rayner and Penny watching Mike and Fawn at the same time. Penny asks if Rayner thinks that his father will try to break Mike and Fawn's Spirit Bond, but Rayner says no, as Mike would never forgive him for it, and that he (Rayner) never did. Finally, Mike introduces Fawn to Crystal and the two hit it off without a hitch.
Peer Pressure
Mike is caught in the hallway by Lazlo, Keira, and Cheri (whose name is not mentioned in the storyline). The three of them coerce Mike into taking yet another Bard class the next semester, and Mike - who really has no choice in the matter - reluctantly agrees.
Teacher to Teacher
An explosion rocks the school and the we see that it's Mike's fault, with Professor Merrit mentioning that she'll be taking points away from his grade for it. We shift to Professor Merrit knocking on Fitzpot's door and he invites her in to chat. It becomes apparent that the two are a little more familiar with each other than just the standard teacher-to-teacher relationship. Professor Merrit, whose first name we learn is Aleana, confronts Fitzpot on his decision to allow Mike into the school. Fitzpot steers Aleana into realizing that Mike is a possible trimagus. Francis pops in at this point and we see that Aleana has a friendly relationship with him as well. Once Francis walks off to get some tea, it's revealed to us that Francis is a runaway demon prince, but no more is said about it. Aleana learns that Rayner is involved, and is concerned, but reveals a softer emotion regarding Rayner. Fitzpot continues explaining his tenuous position. On the one hand he is hiding Mike from the Wizards Court, as he isn't sure what they'll do to Mike if they find out he could be a trimagus. On the other hand, he doesn't want Rayner to get a hold of Mike. Fitzpot gets Aleana to agree to help him guide Mike, but Aleana holds her ground on taking points away from Mike's grade. We shift briefly to Mike and Kris, and Mike reluctantly admits that he caused the explosion when trying to do a precipitation spell, which Kris finds absolutely hysterical.
Winter Break
Current storyline...
