I have to say it's a big compliment that my site is still being discussed. Since it's been such a long time (around 12 years I believe) since I started working on those materials, and in fact I don't even have most of them on hand anymore, my memory could be inexact. However, I was as careful as possible to keep the work "canon." Where there were additions, they were largely in the Arabian Nights portions and those where you had some alignment of real-world mythology or related materials coming in.
In addition to what Pete and I discussed, some of the material that isn't sourced came from the authors of the original line of novels (HarperCollins) and also from some publications that I haven't seem replicated online lately. These don't just include the old Acclaim graphic books, but also the calendars--in particular, there was a 365-pg. pull-away calendar that had storyline vignettes for a lot of the prerevision expansions and characters.
As for the specific portion regarding the Elder Dragons, I remember assembling the section from discussion with Continuity, from the calendar (which covered a lot of Legends characters) and the comics themselves. The main issue of controversy back then was Piru's placement, since she was clearly marketed as the "sixth Elder Dragon" when the Dakkon Blackblade book came out (I'd like to stick her as a second generation with the Primevals, which would fit in with all of those characters having single names as opposed to the Elders...maybe the same could be said of Scarzam). In any event I think the debate on their exact natures is moot, because a) the current storyline staff probably have their own ideas on how to develop what was a very blurry backstory to begin with and b) the ED Wars storyline ran around during a period when you had a lot of inconsistencies when it came to who was on Dominia v. Dominaria, e.g. the Thran being referred to as interplanar in some cases, and we never got to see it in anything more than past references.
That having been said, it's clear that the Elders claimed omnipotence in their time, were the first of their kind, eventually came to be reduced to the point where they could be commanded by planeswalkers (regardless of what they were before), and are aware of other planes. It is also clear that the survivors were around long enough after the war to conceive of themselves as "the Five" (long before even the Brothers' War) and that, at least from Chromium's POV, the Elders were intellectual and graceful, and have been around since "the dawn of time," and are "forever." (Implying immortality...or so he claims) The calendar goes further and talks about the Elder Land Wurms being those of the Elders that were stripped of their wings during the ancient war. The rest...I won't try to wade into :), though I for one would love to see this story fleshed out in novels or future sets (albeit consistent with what has been put out there on the subject).
Thanks very much for keeping my site alive, and go Cards.
Jeff--what a pleasure to hear from you! Thank you for further clarifications. Although I know I have been around for some 9 years or so, and Eid long before me (if I'm not mistaken), and Caranthir and Squirle and others from around my time, and Gelur and urza-gc13 before me, your work is always highly referenced and cherished. It's great seeing you on here!
On another thread here, we discussed Piru and Scarzam as sub-Elders, below the Elders. The Primevals introduced in Invasion would have been either sub-Elders themselves, or the next generation.
Nicol Bolas has claimed in recent novels that he was around when time began and acts as though he is almost a creator of sorts. He seems to retain the grandeur of the Elders. We have not seen any Elder die of old age. Bolas is the only one who we know became a planeswalker. I do recall the Elder Land Wurms being those who lost the war. Your site was such a treasure trove of information!
Do stay around!
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I'm about halfway through Agents of Artifice, and I was surprised to find that I like it quite a bit. I find myself eager to keep reading and reluctant to put it down. The characters are quite well done, and they each have their flaws, making them more complex. Tezzeret (the character, not the user ;)) needs anger management therapy. Seriously. Redirect your Thanatos and control your Id better, Tezz (damn it, can't wait until my psychology class moves past Freud :rolleyes:). I'd honestly put Tezz more at black/red, or at least black/blue. However, since I believe that this takes place after the Alara block, his mono-blue card may reflect him before the events of AoA. Maybe we'll see another card that shows either a mono-black or a blue-black incarnation.
This is only my opinion, but I'd like to see Ari Marmell do more books in the series. He's done pretty well with the first book imo, and I'm sure they'll only get better as he gets more experience writing in the MTG worlds and exploring the characters.
However, I will note one thing that ticked me off. There are a freaking lot of typos and errors that should have been caught in editing. If I'm paying close attention, I'll find one or two in any other book. I've found about ten so far, and I'm only halfway through.
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The argument is that ,according to the article on MTG.com that previewed Nicol Bolas, now, when his Spark no longer prevents him from aging and when he's a corporeal being again and not just a mana-based planeswalker, he's mortal. But as we all know, he's still an elder dragon. Ergo, being an elder dragon doesn't make you immortal. I'm still sure he'll live for millenia though, he may be mortal, but who knows how long an elder dragon's lifespan is ;).
I'd always gotten the feel that, even while he was a walker, much of his power wasn't quite natural. Wasn't that the major plot behind Legends II (as well as why his card requires an upkeep cost?).
I've heard speculation that this is why he's messing with Alara as well; he plans to use the plane to reascend to his former level.
Edit: As far as portals between planes go, using stargate as an example... A portal is like using a stargate, while being a walker is like taking a spaceship. Both get you there, but one gives you free control of the journey while the other just brings you to your destination.
I would imagine that being an Elder Dragon is at least as important to Bolas as being a planeswalker. An Elder Dragon is far and away one of the most powerful "mortal" races in the multiverse, and as such his status as a (former) Elder Dragon is a status symbol for him. I mean, what other form could be more magnificent than the one he was born with?
The reason he was so powerful as a Planeswalker, taking the idea all planeswalkers are equal power-wise, is because of his age when he became a pwalker. He had mor eknowledge then say Urza who lived only a human lifetime. With a vast amount of knowledge he is more formidable then Urza would ever be. I do believe the older the planeswalker is the stronger they are since they can visit mor eplaces and learn more spells/summons/etc.
I don't recall which book they said it in, but they did say that PWs grow more powerful as they age. Further, Elder Dragon or no, any intelligent dragon has access to more spells and would be inherently better at gathering mana due to their already magical nature, over say a human.
Tezzeret is the only exception amongst the neo-walkers that we have due to his etherium arm. But as of the end of AoA I'm suspecting that Tezz isn't going to be fighting Bolas for long.
In the case of Teferi, his body remained the same because his mind perceived his body as being no different than it always was, as a normal human. A planeswalker can die from their physical body being destroyed, though this is rare because in most cases the 'walker still has the presence of mind to reform themselves.
I say that Bolas is still an Elder Dragon. When he was de-powered, he lost his ability to change his body at will, so I would imagine that his body is "stuck" as whatever it was when his spark was Mended. Naturally, this is the form of an Elder Dragon, Bolas's "natural" form. Bolas spent the majority of his time in a body (physically) identical to his "mortal" form because, well, it's an Elder Dragon. Bolas is extremely proud of this fact, and by remaining in this form he can flaunt that fact to anyone who observed him.
Actually, I think the whole essence of planeswalker is deeply connected to the body they inhabit. Urza was almost killed many times, by damaging his body. Taysir was killed by Feroz in this way. Dayfed by Yawgmoth...
In fact, I think that most of death cases ended like that, and the flavor of the Game of Magic can (oh, wait... COULD) be explained by those rare cases, where planeswalkers didn't die instantly after destruction of body.
Its not the body but the soul, spirit, and mind. All those times Urza was almost killed they were attacks that damaged his soul and mind or his powerstones. Dyfed's mind was scrambled all her spirit and soul could do was keep her alive.
Most Walkers retained their body in their ascention, while others like Urza's are merely thoughts who chose to have a form to stay sane.
Got my copy yesterday and already read a half of it....
First...with the hardcover and foiling of the upper cover, the book looks absolutely awesome. I got it for 22 USD in total (fifteen for the book and seven for shipping, that I shared with my friend, who ordered also a copy for himself).
Some observations:
The style is completely unlike any of the books before, but it is probably given by the fact that it is far longer that any MTG book before, and therefore, there is enough place for occasional descriptive/poetics excursions. If I should compare it to any former book, it would be (pun unintended), the Planeswalker.
Ravnica is indeed guild-free, there are only occasional references to the guilds and characters (Golgari, Orzhov, Izzet and Selesnya are named, the League of Wojek is mentioned many times, and in one chapter, a man is smuggling a gold statue of Razia). However, I miss Cory Herndon's terminology that was overflowing with genius references to my native language - Marmell's terms sound Ravnican (read:Slavic), but they have no meaning, as opposed to Cory's.
It was refreshing to see the characters visiting, for example, Kamigawa, namely a small nezumi village, without actually involving in any global-importance effects there. It is just there, one of the worlds that the Consortium has cells upon, lead by a half-soratami (interestingly, Marmell actually uses the original term intended for the moonfolk - tsuki-bito) agent.
The magical battles are also very nicely written, again reminding me of the oldest novels like Brothers' War, Planeswalker or Timestreams.
Bolas, although given a precious little space, is still the same character that we know and love from Legends II and Time Spiral. Really well written. I would really hate him to kick the bucket in Alara Unbroken, and because Doug Beyer is writing it, I really doubt that they intend to kill him.
The timeline is clear. This happens in the time of Alara still in the shard-state. For the definite confirmation of when and what happened, and who and how will oppose Bolas, we must wait till April. But now, I cannot imagine Tezzeret raising a finger against Bolas after this book. It is even unclear whether he is really alive in the end. He lost a good portion of his magical abilities when Jace amputated his etherium arm. What remained of him is referred as "mangled, mindless body" - the only possible existence that I can see for him now is Bolas's puppet.
One thing is clear - Bolas can now attempt to take the Consortium back, because after reading Tez's mind, he is the only one who knows about all his plans, schemes, places, artifacts, cells, etc. Jace did not want this knowledge (though he could have had it) and destroyed it along with Tezzeret's mind.
And Liliana Vess....I am almost sure that after Purifying Fire, the next novel will be hers. She has much to offer.
But he REALLY deserved it, to say the least. His character is everything but lovable.
Yeah, I loved it too. The author's wit and descriptions reminded me of my favorite author, Terry Pratchett, but this humor was woven in to a serious (as opposed to comedic) plot that kept your grip throughout. I loved the battles. All the battles, even when they were walker vs. creatures.
I found it cute that Jace's -10 ability was represented in the book.
Couple what I would judge as a boring book along with the quality of every book after Apocalypse(which I think we can agree, besides Ravnica and Kamigawa has been a downward spiral) leads me to believer that overall this book will not be as good as I was hoping for it to be.
I feel it is necessary to point out that the exceptions you stated here were the two out of the three blocks pre-mending WITHOUT planeswalkers, Odyssey being the third, and I'm not 100% sure that counts. Not a single walker in either of them (I don't count Niv Mizzet here, despite theories to the contrary).
This is why I now whole-heartedly support the decision to make the walkers mortal, and it was mentioned by WotC as the reason they made it: If it takes dropping the magical equivalent of a nuke on them for them to even break a sweat, you don't worry about or for them. When the planeswalkers are extremely powerful compared to other mages, but if you throw one of those Gruul city block creatures at them, and they feel lucky to get out alive....
The bigger the risk, the bigger the triumph. For the characters as well as the readers. I was cautiously optimistic of the change, and I'm glad it exceeded my expectations.
Tezzy had some cahones to take the Consortium from Bolas...I'd have peed myself at the prospect of attempting to take something from the big guy. Jace is probably the first blue character I really like since Barrin.
The dissolution of the guilds would make for an interesting novel. Mayhap a rabble-rousing neowalker rallied the guildless against them or something similar.
In closing, I sincerely hope Sarkhan Vol is as well written as Jace was. I like his card, and I hope I will be able to like his character as well.
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Jace was an awesome character and the neo-walkers seem like they will be a good concept given what I read in Agents of Artifice.
The book is out now, and the thread IS labeled as "Spoilers ahead". No more spoiler tags are needed.
An interesting thing I just realized....there's NOT a single mention of the Agyrem overlay on Ravnica, that happened at the end of Dissension. On the other hand, it is quite possible, that the Mending mended also this thing (that was inherently caused by the Dominarian cataclysms.
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The book is out now, and the thread IS labeled as "Spoilers ahead". No more spoiler tags are needed.
Ah, wasn't sure the policy.
Anyway, on the scale of Protagonist/Antagonist, I'm having real trouble figuring out where Liliana would be. She seems more Pro- than Ant- to me. I'd say that she could be classified as an anti-heroine, because she's driven by her own desire for freedom from the demons, and eventually her love for Jace. (Yes, she did love him. She was becoming hesitant regarding hurting him to further her goals.)
I'd also guess that she and Bolas were the ones in the Prologue.
Who I'm unsure with is Tezz. He's definitely not a good guy, but still he seems to be less evil than both Liliana and Bolas, so I'm not sure whether I should call him 'the main antagonist' or not. The another strange thing about Tezzeret is: Why is everyone afraid of him? Throughout the entire novel he didn't show a single really powerful spell, and yet no one dares to challenge him. Jace is running away from him until Liliana manipulates him to seek Bolas's advice, but he's young, unexperienced, and a bit cowardly, so I'm not that surprised here. Liliana is older and obviously very powerful, but neither she dares do confront Tezz, so she wants Jace to do it instead of her. And finally Bolas, who keeps claiming he's the most powerful planeswalker, but tolerates that the artificer stole the whole Consortium from him. If Bolas is truly so powerful, why didn't he take it back himself? Is there anything we don't know about Tezz right now?
The other walkers were afraid of that dagger, and really powerful technology, and the coldness to do what is necessary with it...
Plus, Tezz knows how to unlock the potential within others. Look at how powerful Jace was by the end. He's the drill sergeant from hell!
Regarding Tezz's coup, Tezz stole the Consortium from Bolas by killing everybody else who knew that Bolas was the leader. Tezz comes in, says "Oh well, he was a good lieutenant," promotes the second-in-command, and tells him he's the leader.
What would you say if a huge dragon came, saying that he was the real leader? Some would surrender, some would fight. Problems would occur, and too much trouble, too much bloodshed, such a waste of resources. Sure, Bolas could try to take it by force, but he kept a low profile in the inner workings of the Consortium. Brute force isn't his style; not if he could manipulate matters so that the Consortium would be handed to him on a silver platter.
I believe Liliana's an antagonist. Everything she does she does for herself or Bolas. She's helping Jace only because he's a potential ally. Bolas wanted his Consortium back, Liliana wanted to give it to him in exchange for a little favor (destroying the demon lords who made a deal with Liliana a long time ago and now want her soul), but she didn't want to confront Tezzeret directly so she used Jace, tricking him into that position instead. I'm still trying to understand why did Jace fight Tezz even after he found out that Liliana tricked him to do so. He kept doing her bidding nonetheless.
Who I'm unsure with is Tezz. He's definitely not a good guy, but still he seems to be less evil than both Liliana and Bolas, so I'm not sure whether I should call him 'the main antagonist' or not. The another strange thing about Tezzeret is: Why is everyone afraid of him? Throughout the entire novel he didn't show a single really powerful spell, and yet no one dares to challenge him. Jace is running away from him until Liliana manipulates him to seek Bolas's advice, but he's young, unexperienced, and a bit cowardly, so I'm not that surprised here. Liliana is older and obviously very powerful, but neither she dares do confront Tezz, so she wants Jace to do it instead of her. And finally Bolas, who keeps claiming he's the most powerful planeswalker, but tolerates that the artificer stole the whole Consortium from him. If Bolas is truly so powerful, why didn't he take it back himself? Is there anything we don't know about Tezz right now?
Let's look at it:
1) Why is everyone afraid of Tezzeret?
Because he's a power-hungry bastard obsessed with own ego and he is totally unscrupulous. He does not hesitate with killing anyone who interfere with his plans. He punishes any mistake or failure of even his closest coworkers (Baltrice, Jace) by brutal torture. When he overestimated both his own and Jace's abilities during the meeting with Bolas (resulting in Jace being unable to protect them from Bolas reading their minds, despite achieving a formidable feat of actually holding Bolas back for a short while), he blames it all to Jace and tortures him for it. Later, when Jace breaks from the Consortium, he orders to kill all people that in any moment helped Jace when on Ravnica. Should I continue?
2) Why Bolas does not take the Consortium back?
Because of its structure, and the fact that it was a semi-criminal organization made from separate cells (Much like House Dimir, as much as we knw about it), with plenty of indirect leadership and secrecy. Tezzeret usurped it by infiltrating it in many cells and then, in one foul strike, murdering all of Bolas's people, replacing them with his own. For a normal Consortium agent, the change was almost unnoticeable. Bolas, in fact, created his own similar network now, and does not need the Consortium any more. He does, however, hate Tezzeret for the fact that he dared to take it from him.
Vess' promise to Bolas was, in fact, give him the Consortium back to join it to his own organization, ruled by someone that Vess or Bolas can easily influence. However, when Jace obliterated Tez's mind, all the knowledge of the Consortium was lost. But because Bolas does not seem very much concerned about the fact that Jace did not fulfilled his promise to Liliana, though scorning her a bit for it, it is very well possible that he had all the knowledge anyway from reading Tez's mind before.
EDIT: Well, Sarnath'd in the very same minute by RDw:)
EDIT: Well, Sarnath'd in the very same minute by RDw:)
Yes, well you were much more thorough.
Anyhoo, People don't want to cross Tezzeret in the same way nobody (sane) would cross the Mob: They may not kill you, but they WILL destroy you if you cross them.
so after viewing the spoilers, I'm going on the notion this book is actually worth a read. removing it entirely from a magic player's perspective, does it succeede as a fantasy novel? I personally haven't read a great deal of the books, but have enjoyed the latest attempts(the short stories in Shadowmoore, The planeswalkers guide to alara, etc.).
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Jack, the story is most definitely a stand-alone. I never finished the Kamigawa books, nor read any Ravnica books, and know only the necessary knowledge from the Time Spiral trilogy. I believe you can jump right into Agents of Artifice without a problem. The Mended planeswalkers are so drastically different from our original planeswalkers that a new reader does not need any background knowledge to enjoy the novel as a high fantasy piece.
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I don't know, some basic knowledge (and I mean basic) is necessary to fully grasp what's going on, but I think my GF (whose grasp of gameplay and mechanics ranks her in the newb area (as opposed to noob; yes, there's a difference.)) would be able to read it without losing too much, story-wise or enjoyment-wise. Plus, she'll have me if she needs to ask questions like "What's a Nezumi?"
He could do it the same way as Tezz before him. Or at least destroy Tezzeret and the whole Consortium in revenge (he liked epic vengeances, didn't he?). With his mind-reading ability he was probably able to find the Consortium's agents everywhere.
I'm going to put forth the theory that timing is key here, Bolas simply didn't have time to waste to find and fight Tezzeret. From what we saw in the story its most probable that time wise this is right before Alara's shards merging and bolas's concetration is on using them to make him immortal and omipotent again. This plan is hinted to be a decade or more long plan involving delicate manipulation of agents while directly creating his own empire on Grixis. This is makes the frivilious planeswalker something to deal with later when he is all powerful again.
Tezzeret showed that he was strong enough and clever enought that bolas would have to hunt him down and either amass a sizable army or directly fight tezzeret as even though tezzeret couldn't stand to bolas the combined might of his consortorium kept bolas's minion from dealing with him.
Btw. the novel mentions Bolas started an another organization similar to the Consortium after the original one had been stolen from him by Tezz. Is it possible that it's describing his "secret agency" on Alara?
Nope. This Bolas's "agency" exist pretty much parallel to Tezzeret's consortium. His organization, that is not named, has a similar cell at Ravnica as Tez's, and probably on other worlds as well. At Alara, he has nothing similar in sense to this agency, just the "minions" mentioned to spread disorder.
Alara is mentioned exactly in one chapter, when Jace and Liliana planeswalk to Grixis to find Bolas and ask him for information leading to Tezzeret's central sanctum, and even than, it mainly describes Jace's observation of its ethereal imprint in the Blind Eternities. It is still in the form of five shards.
Malfegor is mentioned once, when Bolas instructs his minions to summon him in order to give him a task of overseeing Grixis when he's gone.
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Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I have to say it's a big compliment that my site is still being discussed. Since it's been such a long time (around 12 years I believe) since I started working on those materials, and in fact I don't even have most of them on hand anymore, my memory could be inexact. However, I was as careful as possible to keep the work "canon." Where there were additions, they were largely in the Arabian Nights portions and those where you had some alignment of real-world mythology or related materials coming in.
In addition to what Pete and I discussed, some of the material that isn't sourced came from the authors of the original line of novels (HarperCollins) and also from some publications that I haven't seem replicated online lately. These don't just include the old Acclaim graphic books, but also the calendars--in particular, there was a 365-pg. pull-away calendar that had storyline vignettes for a lot of the prerevision expansions and characters.
As for the specific portion regarding the Elder Dragons, I remember assembling the section from discussion with Continuity, from the calendar (which covered a lot of Legends characters) and the comics themselves. The main issue of controversy back then was Piru's placement, since she was clearly marketed as the "sixth Elder Dragon" when the Dakkon Blackblade book came out (I'd like to stick her as a second generation with the Primevals, which would fit in with all of those characters having single names as opposed to the Elders...maybe the same could be said of Scarzam). In any event I think the debate on their exact natures is moot, because a) the current storyline staff probably have their own ideas on how to develop what was a very blurry backstory to begin with and b) the ED Wars storyline ran around during a period when you had a lot of inconsistencies when it came to who was on Dominia v. Dominaria, e.g. the Thran being referred to as interplanar in some cases, and we never got to see it in anything more than past references.
That having been said, it's clear that the Elders claimed omnipotence in their time, were the first of their kind, eventually came to be reduced to the point where they could be commanded by planeswalkers (regardless of what they were before), and are aware of other planes. It is also clear that the survivors were around long enough after the war to conceive of themselves as "the Five" (long before even the Brothers' War) and that, at least from Chromium's POV, the Elders were intellectual and graceful, and have been around since "the dawn of time," and are "forever." (Implying immortality...or so he claims) The calendar goes further and talks about the Elder Land Wurms being those of the Elders that were stripped of their wings during the ancient war. The rest...I won't try to wade into :), though I for one would love to see this story fleshed out in novels or future sets (albeit consistent with what has been put out there on the subject).
Thanks very much for keeping my site alive, and go Cards.
Jeff
On another thread here, we discussed Piru and Scarzam as sub-Elders, below the Elders. The Primevals introduced in Invasion would have been either sub-Elders themselves, or the next generation.
Nicol Bolas has claimed in recent novels that he was around when time began and acts as though he is almost a creator of sorts. He seems to retain the grandeur of the Elders. We have not seen any Elder die of old age. Bolas is the only one who we know became a planeswalker. I do recall the Elder Land Wurms being those who lost the war. Your site was such a treasure trove of information!
Do stay around!
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This is only my opinion, but I'd like to see Ari Marmell do more books in the series. He's done pretty well with the first book imo, and I'm sure they'll only get better as he gets more experience writing in the MTG worlds and exploring the characters.
However, I will note one thing that ticked me off. There are a freaking lot of typos and errors that should have been caught in editing. If I'm paying close attention, I'll find one or two in any other book. I've found about ten so far, and I'm only halfway through.
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I'd always gotten the feel that, even while he was a walker, much of his power wasn't quite natural. Wasn't that the major plot behind Legends II (as well as why his card requires an upkeep cost?).
I've heard speculation that this is why he's messing with Alara as well; he plans to use the plane to reascend to his former level.
Edit: As far as portals between planes go, using stargate as an example... A portal is like using a stargate, while being a walker is like taking a spaceship. Both get you there, but one gives you free control of the journey while the other just brings you to your destination.
R Citizen Cane (Feldon of the Third Path)
Tezzeret is the only exception amongst the neo-walkers that we have due to his etherium arm. But as of the end of AoA I'm suspecting that Tezz isn't going to be fighting Bolas for long.
I say that Bolas is still an Elder Dragon. When he was de-powered, he lost his ability to change his body at will, so I would imagine that his body is "stuck" as whatever it was when his spark was Mended. Naturally, this is the form of an Elder Dragon, Bolas's "natural" form. Bolas spent the majority of his time in a body (physically) identical to his "mortal" form because, well, it's an Elder Dragon. Bolas is extremely proud of this fact, and by remaining in this form he can flaunt that fact to anyone who observed him.
R Citizen Cane (Feldon of the Third Path)
Its not the body but the soul, spirit, and mind. All those times Urza was almost killed they were attacks that damaged his soul and mind or his powerstones. Dyfed's mind was scrambled all her spirit and soul could do was keep her alive.
Most Walkers retained their body in their ascention, while others like Urza's are merely thoughts who chose to have a form to stay sane.
Nicol Bolas, a balance of Vorthos and PowerUBR
Nath of the Gilt LeafBG
Others
Squee, Goblin of AwesomenessR
Nekusar, the Mindblazer!UBR
Vela the NightcladUB
I used to be a world champion, but then I took a wolf to the knee. And three Galvanic Blasts to the face.
Concerning when returning to Kamigawa would be acceptable
First...with the hardcover and foiling of the upper cover, the book looks absolutely awesome. I got it for 22 USD in total (fifteen for the book and seven for shipping, that I shared with my friend, who ordered also a copy for himself).
Some observations:
The style is completely unlike any of the books before, but it is probably given by the fact that it is far longer that any MTG book before, and therefore, there is enough place for occasional descriptive/poetics excursions. If I should compare it to any former book, it would be (pun unintended), the Planeswalker.
Ravnica is indeed guild-free, there are only occasional references to the guilds and characters (Golgari, Orzhov, Izzet and Selesnya are named, the League of Wojek is mentioned many times, and in one chapter, a man is smuggling a gold statue of Razia). However, I miss Cory Herndon's terminology that was overflowing with genius references to my native language - Marmell's terms sound Ravnican (read:Slavic), but they have no meaning, as opposed to Cory's.
It was refreshing to see the characters visiting, for example, Kamigawa, namely a small nezumi village, without actually involving in any global-importance effects there. It is just there, one of the worlds that the Consortium has cells upon, lead by a half-soratami (interestingly, Marmell actually uses the original term intended for the moonfolk - tsuki-bito) agent.
The magical battles are also very nicely written, again reminding me of the oldest novels like Brothers' War, Planeswalker or Timestreams.
Bolas, although given a precious little space, is still the same character that we know and love from Legends II and Time Spiral. Really well written. I would really hate him to kick the bucket in Alara Unbroken, and because Doug Beyer is writing it, I really doubt that they intend to kill him.
The timeline is clear. This happens in the time of Alara still in the shard-state. For the definite confirmation of when and what happened, and who and how will oppose Bolas, we must wait till April. But now, I cannot imagine Tezzeret raising a finger against Bolas after this book. It is even unclear whether he is really alive in the end. He lost a good portion of his magical abilities when Jace amputated his etherium arm. What remained of him is referred as "mangled, mindless body" - the only possible existence that I can see for him now is Bolas's puppet.
One thing is clear - Bolas can now attempt to take the Consortium back, because after reading Tez's mind, he is the only one who knows about all his plans, schemes, places, artifacts, cells, etc. Jace did not want this knowledge (though he could have had it) and destroyed it along with Tezzeret's mind.
And Liliana Vess....I am almost sure that after Purifying Fire, the next novel will be hers. She has much to offer.
But he REALLY deserved it, to say the least. His character is everything but lovable.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
I found it cute that Jace's -10 ability was represented in the book.
Also, Caranthir, WOW spoilers.
I feel it is necessary to point out that the exceptions you stated here were the two out of the three blocks pre-mending WITHOUT planeswalkers, Odyssey being the third, and I'm not 100% sure that counts. Not a single walker in either of them (I don't count Niv Mizzet here, despite theories to the contrary).
This is why I now whole-heartedly support the decision to make the walkers mortal, and it was mentioned by WotC as the reason they made it: If it takes dropping the magical equivalent of a nuke on them for them to even break a sweat, you don't worry about or for them. When the planeswalkers are extremely powerful compared to other mages, but if you throw one of those Gruul city block creatures at them, and they feel lucky to get out alive....
The bigger the risk, the bigger the triumph. For the characters as well as the readers. I was cautiously optimistic of the change, and I'm glad it exceeded my expectations.
The dissolution of the guilds would make for an interesting novel. Mayhap a rabble-rousing neowalker rallied the guildless against them or something similar.
In closing, I sincerely hope Sarkhan Vol is as well written as Jace was. I like his card, and I hope I will be able to like his character as well.
The book is out now, and the thread IS labeled as "Spoilers ahead". No more spoiler tags are needed.
An interesting thing I just realized....there's NOT a single mention of the Agyrem overlay on Ravnica, that happened at the end of Dissension. On the other hand, it is quite possible, that the Mending mended also this thing (that was inherently caused by the Dominarian cataclysms.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Ah, wasn't sure the policy.
Anyway, on the scale of Protagonist/Antagonist, I'm having real trouble figuring out where Liliana would be. She seems more Pro- than Ant- to me. I'd say that she could be classified as an anti-heroine, because she's driven by her own desire for freedom from the demons, and eventually her love for Jace. (Yes, she did love him. She was becoming hesitant regarding hurting him to further her goals.)
I'd also guess that she and Bolas were the ones in the Prologue.
Plus, Tezz knows how to unlock the potential within others. Look at how powerful Jace was by the end. He's the drill sergeant from hell!
Regarding Tezz's coup, Tezz stole the Consortium from Bolas by killing everybody else who knew that Bolas was the leader. Tezz comes in, says "Oh well, he was a good lieutenant," promotes the second-in-command, and tells him he's the leader.
What would you say if a huge dragon came, saying that he was the real leader? Some would surrender, some would fight. Problems would occur, and too much trouble, too much bloodshed, such a waste of resources. Sure, Bolas could try to take it by force, but he kept a low profile in the inner workings of the Consortium. Brute force isn't his style; not if he could manipulate matters so that the Consortium would be handed to him on a silver platter.
Let's look at it:
1) Why is everyone afraid of Tezzeret?
Because he's a power-hungry bastard obsessed with own ego and he is totally unscrupulous. He does not hesitate with killing anyone who interfere with his plans. He punishes any mistake or failure of even his closest coworkers (Baltrice, Jace) by brutal torture. When he overestimated both his own and Jace's abilities during the meeting with Bolas (resulting in Jace being unable to protect them from Bolas reading their minds, despite achieving a formidable feat of actually holding Bolas back for a short while), he blames it all to Jace and tortures him for it. Later, when Jace breaks from the Consortium, he orders to kill all people that in any moment helped Jace when on Ravnica. Should I continue?
2) Why Bolas does not take the Consortium back?
Because of its structure, and the fact that it was a semi-criminal organization made from separate cells (Much like House Dimir, as much as we knw about it), with plenty of indirect leadership and secrecy. Tezzeret usurped it by infiltrating it in many cells and then, in one foul strike, murdering all of Bolas's people, replacing them with his own. For a normal Consortium agent, the change was almost unnoticeable. Bolas, in fact, created his own similar network now, and does not need the Consortium any more. He does, however, hate Tezzeret for the fact that he dared to take it from him.
Vess' promise to Bolas was, in fact, give him the Consortium back to join it to his own organization, ruled by someone that Vess or Bolas can easily influence. However, when Jace obliterated Tez's mind, all the knowledge of the Consortium was lost. But because Bolas does not seem very much concerned about the fact that Jace did not fulfilled his promise to Liliana, though scorning her a bit for it, it is very well possible that he had all the knowledge anyway from reading Tez's mind before.
EDIT: Well, Sarnath'd in the very same minute by RDw:)
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Yes, well you were much more thorough.
Anyhoo, People don't want to cross Tezzeret in the same way nobody (sane) would cross the Mob: They may not kill you, but they WILL destroy you if you cross them.
Thanks, Heroes of The Planes! You guys are great!
Actual Truth:
I'm going to put forth the theory that timing is key here, Bolas simply didn't have time to waste to find and fight Tezzeret. From what we saw in the story its most probable that time wise this is right before Alara's shards merging and bolas's concetration is on using them to make him immortal and omipotent again. This plan is hinted to be a decade or more long plan involving delicate manipulation of agents while directly creating his own empire on Grixis. This is makes the frivilious planeswalker something to deal with later when he is all powerful again.
Tezzeret showed that he was strong enough and clever enought that bolas would have to hunt him down and either amass a sizable army or directly fight tezzeret as even though tezzeret couldn't stand to bolas the combined might of his consortorium kept bolas's minion from dealing with him.
Nope. This Bolas's "agency" exist pretty much parallel to Tezzeret's consortium. His organization, that is not named, has a similar cell at Ravnica as Tez's, and probably on other worlds as well. At Alara, he has nothing similar in sense to this agency, just the "minions" mentioned to spread disorder.
Alara is mentioned exactly in one chapter, when Jace and Liliana planeswalk to Grixis to find Bolas and ask him for information leading to Tezzeret's central sanctum, and even than, it mainly describes Jace's observation of its ethereal imprint in the Blind Eternities. It is still in the form of five shards.
Malfegor is mentioned once, when Bolas instructs his minions to summon him in order to give him a task of overseeing Grixis when he's gone.
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Now that's an interesting question, isn't it?