So the Uncharted Realm's "The Believers' Pilgrimage" gave a quick snapshot of some Eldrazi Cultists:
"Welcome, offerings, to the sanctuary," said Ayli, raising her arms. "The presence of the god Mangeni, whose second name is Ula, whose voice sings the Song of Devouring, will be your final sanctuary."
Jace turned to retreat, but he and Jori were surrounded. A dozen other priests stood between them and the gap in the chasm. They were all dressed alike, painted with dark, greasy streaks like Ayli, and they all bore weapons. Two of them held lengths of thick iron chain.
"We are the Eternal Pilgrims," Ayli intoned. "We shall forever roam!"
"WE SHALL FOREVER ROAM!" chanted the other priests.
"We present these world-gifts in Ula's name!"
"IN ULA'S NAME!"
So some Kor and Merfolk worshipped deities that are now known/revealed to be archetypes based on the Eldrazi and the legends that surrounded them. But it seems like some haven't stopped worshipping their Gods and continue on, but not serving the Eldrazi.
The Uncharted Realms story "Memories of Blood" gives a view of the history of the Zendikari vampires that they once served the Eldrazi. But is there any sense of what an Eldrazi cultist is getting out of this relationship? The last to die? Are they just that delusional? A belief that by being consumed by the Eldrazi their being will merge and they will be immortal, to forever roam?
I wonder if this will be developed more ...
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----- "I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
At least about the Kor and Merfolk cusltists, my best guess would be that they are quite similar in nature to those Lovecraftian cultists who wish to bring about the end of the world by summoning Cthulhu, Azathoth, what-have-you.
As for how the cults formed in the first place, I'm just curious whether there really is such a cult from the beginning of time (starting from when Eldrazi came into Zendikar), or they only come about recently as a result of people going mad from the revelation...
We haven't seen anything to suggest that the Eldrazi interact with their worshipers in any way.
Except when they enslave vampires and hold on to their shoulderhooks....
Yeah I really want to know more of this. Was this after being locked up the first time, but still having enough of a presence on Zendikar to influence the vampires? Then why the shoulderhooks? Was that for the scions/spawn?
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----- "I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
We haven't seen anything to suggest that the Eldrazi interact with their worshipers in any way.
Except when they enslave vampires and hold on to their shoulderhooks....
That's not exactly a worshiper kind of thing, though. In the original block, they say it's because vampires act as distillers for the mana in creature's bodies, so they latch on and drain the mana from the vampires.
Yeah I really want to know more of this. Was this after being locked up the first time, but still having enough of a presence on Zendikar to influence the vampires? Then why the shoulderhooks? Was that for the scions/spawn?
The latest Drana story explains this somewhat. Vampires didn't exist on Zendikar prior to the Eldrazi being locked up. The implication from the Drana story is that at least the Bloodchiefs were former humanoid Ulamog brood lineage that, while Ulamog himself was imprisoned, gained sentience and created vampires as we know them today on Zendikar.
Yeah I really want to know more of this. Was this after being locked up the first time, but still having enough of a presence on Zendikar to influence the vampires? Then why the shoulderhooks? Was that for the scions/spawn?
The latest Drana story explains this somewhat. Vampires didn't exist on Zendikar prior to the Eldrazi being locked up. The implication from the Drana story is that at least the Bloodchiefs were former humanoid Ulamog brood lineage that, while Ulamog himself was imprisoned, gained sentience and created vampires as we know them today on Zendikar.
Do we know the vampired were sired by the Ulamog brood though? I know, it's a bit splitting hairs, but since Emrakul is known to be the Eldrazi titan that corrupts and Ulamog the one who consumes, maybe the vampires came from Emrakul twisting Zendikar's native life, or maybe it was even a combination of both?
Do we know the vampired were sired by the Ulamog brood though? I know, it's a bit splitting hairs, but since Emrakul is known to be the Eldrazi titan that corrupts and Ulamog the one who consumes, maybe the vampires came from Emrakul twisting Zendikar's native life, or maybe it was even a combination of both?
Yeah, it's explicitly stated that it was Ulamog.
Consciousness, a sense of me separate from the hunger, took years. Perhaps hundreds of years, though how could I know? The realization of consciousness came in waves, descending streaks of insight separating me from my hunger, me from my master. I was no longer an extension of it, of the consuming force named Ulamog. I was me. Drana.
But before separation, there had been an . . . unease. An unease that was part of her because there was no her, only the totality of Ulamog in many different forms. An unease that only later, in those dawn moments between being Eldrazi and being Drana, before she forgot it utterly, she understood a glimpse of a facet of a dream.
Yeah I really want to know more of this. Was this after being locked up the first time, but still having enough of a presence on Zendikar to influence the vampires? Then why the shoulderhooks? Was that for the scions/spawn?
The latest Drana story explains this somewhat. Vampires didn't exist on Zendikar prior to the Eldrazi being locked up. The implication from the Drana story is that at least the Bloodchiefs were former humanoid Ulamog brood lineage that, while Ulamog himself was imprisoned, gained sentience and created vampires as we know them today on Zendikar. [/quote]
Careful! There's a troll lurking around the forums who is very, very aggressive in attacking people who make this claim. I think it's clearly a plausible interpretation of the story, but some folks get really riled up about it.
It does make it confusion. If the Bloodchiefs were humanoid Ulamog brood lineage that became vampires, and then created the rest of the vampires, why the shoulderhooks? Since most vampires were post-Eldrazi. Unless the shoulderhooks were originally created so the humanoid Ulamog brood lineages could drain mana from the vampires they created, but over time these brood lineages too lost their Eldrazi-ness and became more vampire.
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----- "I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
Do we know the vampired were sired by the Ulamog brood though? I know, it's a bit splitting hairs, but since Emrakul is known to be the Eldrazi titan that corrupts and Ulamog the one who consumes, maybe the vampires came from Emrakul twisting Zendikar's native life, or maybe it was even a combination of both?
Yeah, it's explicitly stated that it was Ulamog.
*snip*
Ah, that's what I get for not memorizing the URs word for word.
Yeah I really want to know more of this. Was this after being locked up the first time, but still having enough of a presence on Zendikar to influence the vampires? Then why the shoulderhooks? Was that for the scions/spawn?
The latest Drana story explains this somewhat. Vampires didn't exist on Zendikar prior to the Eldrazi being locked up. The implication from the Drana story is that at least the Bloodchiefs were former humanoid Ulamog brood lineage that, while Ulamog himself was imprisoned, gained sentience and created vampires as we know them today on Zendikar.
Do we know the vampired were sired by the Ulamog brood though? I know, it's a bit splitting hairs, but since Emrakul is known to be the Eldrazi titan that corrupts and Ulamog the one who consumes, maybe the vampires came from Emrakul twisting Zendikar's native life, or maybe it was even a combination of both?
It seems possible that all three Titans can Consume, Corrupt and Distort, but each has its own specialty. In fact, it would be a bit weird if they were all only able to do one thing, because then after locking Ulamog, who is said to be the Titan of Consumption, the threat Emrakul and Kozilek would pose on other planes would greatly diminish (since being turned into a monster and going crazy are probably still a ton better than getting nomed and seem like things that could be potentially fixed afterwards).
So some Kor and Merfolk worshipped deities that are now known/revealed to be archetypes based on the Eldrazi and the legends that surrounded them. But it seems like some haven't stopped worshipping their Gods and continue on, but not serving the Eldrazi.
The Uncharted Realms story "Memories of Blood" gives a view of the history of the Zendikari vampires that they once served the Eldrazi. But is there any sense of what an Eldrazi cultist is getting out of this relationship? The last to die? Are they just that delusional? A belief that by being consumed by the Eldrazi their being will merge and they will be immortal, to forever roam?
I wonder if this will be developed more ...
"I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
As for how the cults formed in the first place, I'm just curious whether there really is such a cult from the beginning of time (starting from when Eldrazi came into Zendikar), or they only come about recently as a result of people going mad from the revelation...
Yeah I really want to know more of this. Was this after being locked up the first time, but still having enough of a presence on Zendikar to influence the vampires? Then why the shoulderhooks? Was that for the scions/spawn?
"I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
The latest Drana story explains this somewhat. Vampires didn't exist on Zendikar prior to the Eldrazi being locked up. The implication from the Drana story is that at least the Bloodchiefs were former humanoid Ulamog brood lineage that, while Ulamog himself was imprisoned, gained sentience and created vampires as we know them today on Zendikar.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Do we know the vampired were sired by the Ulamog brood though? I know, it's a bit splitting hairs, but since Emrakul is known to be the Eldrazi titan that corrupts and Ulamog the one who consumes, maybe the vampires came from Emrakul twisting Zendikar's native life, or maybe it was even a combination of both?
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Careful! There's a troll lurking around the forums who is very, very aggressive in attacking people who make this claim. I think it's clearly a plausible interpretation of the story, but some folks get really riled up about it.
It does make it confusion. If the Bloodchiefs were humanoid Ulamog brood lineage that became vampires, and then created the rest of the vampires, why the shoulderhooks? Since most vampires were post-Eldrazi. Unless the shoulderhooks were originally created so the humanoid Ulamog brood lineages could drain mana from the vampires they created, but over time these brood lineages too lost their Eldrazi-ness and became more vampire.
"I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
Ah, that's what I get for not memorizing the URs word for word.
It seems possible that all three Titans can Consume, Corrupt and Distort, but each has its own specialty. In fact, it would be a bit weird if they were all only able to do one thing, because then after locking Ulamog, who is said to be the Titan of Consumption, the threat Emrakul and Kozilek would pose on other planes would greatly diminish (since being turned into a monster and going crazy are probably still a ton better than getting nomed and seem like things that could be potentially fixed afterwards).
"I cannot tune a harp or play a lyre, but I know how to make a small city great." - Themistocles
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
@_kaburi_ on Twitter
Special thanks to Serrot_29 for Catbug'mrakul!