Attack on Fiyero by Enchanted Antlers

The Attack on Fiyero by Enchanted Antlers is a pivotal event during a life sciences lecture at Shiz University, where a demonstration of Doctor Nikidik's 'Extract of Biological Intention' goes awry, causing a set of mounted antlers to animate and violently attack Fiyero, a newly arrived Vinkus student. This scene marks Fiyero's first appearance in the narrative and serves as a dramatic, public introduction of the volatile intersection between science, sorcery, and political tension in Oz.

Background and the Demonstration

The event occurs during a lecture by Doctor Nikidik, who has taken over the life sciences course following the murder of Doctor Dillamond. Nikidik is attempting to demonstrate his 'Extract of Biological Intention,' a substance he claims can animate inert matter. He uncorks a smoky bottle, releasing a plume of dust that he directs through the air currents toward a set of mounted antlers on the wall, intending to animate the portraits of the founding fathers of Ozma Towers. The demonstration is disrupted when a door to the side of the stage opens, disturbing the air currents. A new student, Fiyero, enters late, dressed in suede leggings and a white cotton shirt, with blue diamond tattoos on his dark skin. He is a Winkle, a student from the Vinkus, and his unexpected entrance diverts the magical plume.

The Attack

The diverted plume of 'Extract of Biological Intention' cloaks the rack of antlers instead of the intended portraits. The antlers convulse, wrench themselves from the oaken paneling, and shatter to the floor. They then right themselves and skitter across the stage like a fighting cock. The antlers attack Fiyero, pinning him against the locked door. One wing of the rack catches him by the neck, shackling him in its V yoke, while the other rears back to stab him in the face. Fiyero shrieks in a foreign tongue, terrified. The students rise in a common scream.

Rescue and Aftermath

Two students, Crope and Tibbett, rush to the stage and wrestle the antlers to the ground. They succeed in breaking off the driving tines, and the pieces fall to the stage floor, still twitching. Fiyero slumps down, weeping behind his blue-diamonded hands. The event provokes gossip and speculation among the students. In a subsequent sorcery class, Glinda asks Miss Greyling to explain how Nikidik's extract could behave like a master spell, questioning the difference between science and sorcery. The attack on Fiyero serves as his dramatic introduction to the student body and foreshadows the dangerous and unstable nature of the political and magical forces at play in Oz.