I'm stupid...I am even commenting above on the eloquency and the fact the entity apparently seem pleased with itself...might that be Oko? It seems like General Kudro is exactly the type of ruler he'd want to "steal a crown" from.
That was my thought as well and could be part of set up for a bigger conflict later.
I've got to know, how much did Vivien egg Lukka on?
None, she was disgusted by how Lukka was forcing the monsters under control and him using them as suicide attackers and joined with the city to stop Lukka.
So Vivien aiming at Lukka on the book cover is prophetic after all. I was guessing their relationship would sour, but not quite like this.
In the meantime, is there any chance Oko IS the Ozolith? Dang shapeshifter fey he is...still leads to the topic of which plane Oko is from (due to him seeming like a Yosei, I keep speculating he's from the next Japan-inspired plane we reach).
Wouldn't have expected her to actually grow as a character. That is a welcome change from the split-personality disorder she had as either Vivien, the Ecoterroist or as Vivien Erwin, Reincarnated.
I'm stupid...I am even commenting above on the eloquency and the fact the entity apparently seem pleased with itself...might that be Oko? It seems like General Kudro is exactly the type of ruler he'd want to "steal a crown" from.
That was my thought as well and could be part of set up for a bigger conflict later.
I've got to know, how much did Vivien egg Lukka on?
None, she was disgusted by how Lukka was forcing the monsters under control and him using them as suicide attackers and joined with the city to stop Lukka.
So Vivien aiming at Lukka on the book cover is prophetic after all. I was guessing their relationship would sour, but not quite like this.
In the meantime, is there any chance Oko IS the Ozolith? Dang shapeshifter fey he is...still leads to the topic of which plane Oko is from (due to him seeming like a Yosei, I keep speculating he's from the next Japan-inspired plane we reach).
Okos a Fae though, from British myth. He doesn't seem to fit Japan.
I just finished Sundered Bond. Others have put up good short summaries so I just want to contribute a few small details.
Vivien had chased whoever was manipulating Ozolith to make monsters attack civilization more frequently. Obvious thoughts lean on Tezzeret and Ashiok due to personality and powerset. Though it could easily be a new character.
Monsters have always been on Ikoria but they are attacking more frequently due to the tampering with the Ozolith
Vivien proclaims the monsters on Ikoria as unnatural and the crystals are the link.
Boding is a new thing on Ikoria and may have started because "unknown" tampered with the Ozolith initially.
Lukka being a driven mad villain is an interesting spin that I hadn't expected. Honestly, it felt very much as though the voice in the Ozolith corrupted him.
Unless we get the hunters later the only named character to die is General Kudru
Vivien seemed like a reasonable character in this which is at odds with her other portrayals. It's a shame the most we get of Narset is some people who don't know who she is watching her buy a stack of books then she is name-dropped by Vivien at a later point as someone who would help if they were near.
A mildly annoying detail that was pointed out elsewhere, they got the color of their crystal cluster(Ozolith) wrong between the card art and the book description. Book Orange, Card Blue. Not at all important but come on this shouldn't' be hard to get right.
I have quickly skimmed through this morning. Looks fine. What I have learned by the speed read:
- Lukka ascends at the end of the book (the usual old trope "at the end of a particular book, some real **** hits the fan and target main character becomes a planeswalker
- Lukka and Jirina are engaged. Lukka goes through a traumatic experience when he loses his squad and friends, and later deserts from the Coppercoats to find answers. He meets Vivien during his trip through wilds.
- halfway through the book, Vivien tells Lukka about planes and planeswalkers
- Lukka finds out he has bonder abilities, he makes a bond with the giant flying cat. It never gets a name, though, (unlike the other bonded) before it is later executed by Kudro (after it saved Jirina and brought her back to Drannith). Seems fitting, because its card is also nonlegendary - Patagia Tiger.
- the story revolves around the Ozolith, one of the giant crystals. It is inhabited (possessed) by some unknown devious (and alien) entity that manipulates it (speaking in an eloquent, intelligent, sly way - think Ashiok/Tezzeret styke). It grants Lukka enormous power of control of the beasts - but not in the bonder way, more like a direct control, that even the bonders (and Vivien) are disgusted of. He does not learn to consider the beasts friends and partners, he sees them as tools. But it is AFTER the entity in Ozolith gives him "what he wants" - the strength to protect those who he cares about (humans and especially Jirina).
- Lukka's driven by the desire to give Drannith a strong army to defend itself, even when it should mean controlling the monsters into being the army.
- After he is imbued by the Ozolith's power (and influenced by the entity) he becomes a lot more aggressive and less rational/sensitive, to the verge of being a bad guy driven by "good" intentions.
- Kudro is an old bastard, not hesitating to use his own daughter for his purpose (even labeling her a possible traitor thanks to her connection to Lukka). But he does it because he wants to keep Drannith safe. In the end, he is killed by Lukka.
- After Lukka vanishes, Jirina, as the new leader, allows bonders and beasts into Drannith, so Lukka's idea basically halfway happens.
Well the mysterious entity of the otoliths not talking story wise but card wise
The number crunch saids there’s 2 more colorless cards so one of those might be a culprit (whatever the alien thing is)
The differing Ozolith colours could be because in the book it was altered by Nahiri whoever it was.
I don't really think Nahiri makes sense here. Her motivation for attacking Innistrad was revenge, we have no indication that that plays any role (for her if she were a participant) in this story. Beyond that, Nahiri works with stone and metal, to the best of my recollection we've never seen her manipulate crystals, and we've certainly never seen her be able to manipulate another creature's biology the way these crystals mutate living (nonhuman) things.
Yes, technically crystals are just another facet of geomancy/lithomancy so she could at least theoretically manipulate it. My point being that there's no precedent thus far of her working with crystals, and it would seem out of place for her not to be using the same or similar skills to the ones she's used for 5 thousand years.
This makes me think of Ashiok and his time on Theros. Ashiok made everybody have that curse soo it could feedoff of the nightmares from Theros.
It is a bit odd for it not be related to dreams but then again the PW guide says that the nightmare creatures are belived to not only feed from flesh but also from fears. But ye quite don't fit unless its goal was to make the humans have more fear thus making "better" "nightmare fuel" in their dreams.
(note: also nightmare-beasts of ikoria are "natural", i m not implying that because there are nightmares it is Ashiok)
But no evidence on what corrupted the crystal imo it will be a new "villain" that will work tho Lukka and we will have a slow plot development on that.
( Just don't ask me what it was )( You just don't argue anymore )(i find it nice that Lukka is a "nice" guy overall and wanted to protect jirina. Yes he was a villain but a manipulated one and with good motives in his mind, would be nice if he went RW in the future (plz not another RG))
Lukka's moments in the Ozolith reminded me of Vaarsuvius and his "I..I must succeed." moment, when closing the deal with the three fiends to save his family...
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Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
The differing Ozolith colours could be because in the book it was altered by Nahiri whoever it was.
I don't really think Nahiri makes sense here. Her motivation for attacking Innistrad was revenge, we have no indication that that plays any role (for her if she were a participant) in this story. Beyond that, Nahiri works with stone and metal, to the best of my recollection we've never seen her manipulate crystals, and we've certainly never seen her be able to manipulate another creature's biology the way these crystals mutate living (nonhuman) things.
Yes, technically crystals are just another facet of geomancy/lithomancy so she could at least theoretically manipulate it. My point being that there's no precedent thus far of her working with crystals, and it would seem out of place for her not to be using the same or similar skills to the ones she's used for 5 thousand years.
She worked with crystals on Zendikar. Remember, crystals are part of lithomancy. All she would have needed to do is alter the crystals' properties and the already radioactive things would create chaos.
The differing Ozolith colours could be because in the book it was altered by Nahiri whoever it was.
I don't really think Nahiri makes sense here. Her motivation for attacking Innistrad was revenge, we have no indication that that plays any role (for her if she were a participant) in this story. Beyond that, Nahiri works with stone and metal, to the best of my recollection we've never seen her manipulate crystals, and we've certainly never seen her be able to manipulate another creature's biology the way these crystals mutate living (nonhuman) things.
Yes, technically crystals are just another facet of geomancy/lithomancy so she could at least theoretically manipulate it. My point being that there's no precedent thus far of her working with crystals, and it would seem out of place for her not to be using the same or similar skills to the ones she's used for 5 thousand years.
She worked with crystals on Zendikar. Remember, crystals are part of lithomancy. All she would have needed to do is alter the crystals' properties and the already radioactive things would create chaos.
The question is what is her motivation? Also to a lesser extent the fact that a portion of the person's mind/existence was left in the crystal doesn't seem very Nahiri.
Nahiri is currently a villan/antagonist because she is pissed at Sorin and Ugin. Maybe more people but we currently don't know if she is. So why would she be on Ikoria whispering in the heads of random monsters "Destroy civilization, eat Humans". Further why would she tempt Lukka with the power to do the same? While not directly at odds with her character due to how little we actually know about her and how much her anger has changed her. It isn't at all in line with her character.
They also several times call the corrupter a "he" which automatically counts out Nahiri and Ashiok.
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
I just realized: Why the hell is Kiora not on Ikoria?
Because she will be on Zendikar, probably.
I suspect so. I read on the Forsaken summaries that she declined returning to Theros for Gideon’s ceremony and instead returned to Zendikar. I wonder what they’ll have planned for her and zendikar’s lore down the line.
It’s possible we don’t have a named character for the Ozolith yet but I wouldn’t really know.
Nahiri as the force behind the Ozolith seems... unlikely. While probably a Planeswalker anything more specific is hard to say as there are lots of options they could take for that, including someone new.
And Kiora being on Zendikar makes sense. She wasn't just hunting big monsters for the heck of it, it was to help her Plane deal with the Eldrazi. No more Eldrazi? Hopefully you help out people on your plane for a bit.
Guys, girls and others... is the entity of the Ozolith self compiacent? Does it speak in convoluted way? Its motivations are unclear? It is a he?
It's obviously none other than Nicol Bolas himself! Change my mind!
The fact that Vivien says she is still trying to track down the walker and she believe Bolas is dead. Like in theory it could be Bolas and that was my first thought along Oko.
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
Did the book specify the entity as a walker or just a being or entity? The reason why I ask is that we now know that disembodied planar entities exist and can hide upon planes, manipulate people and sometimes even posess them. Sorta.
While I don't have enough info to say that's the case here, it would be interesting if this was a red-aligned disembodied worldsoul similar to the Black one in Dav (hereafter to be refered to by me as "Spooky") or the Green Bog Entity.
If it was a planeswalker then perhaps it was Oko or even Ramaz?
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Wizards. listen. The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
Did the book specify the entity as a walker or just a being or entity? The reason why I ask is that we now know that disembodied planar entities exist and can hide upon planes, manipulate people and sometimes even posess them. Sorta.
While I don't have enough info to say that's the case here, it would be interesting if this was a red-aligned disembodied worldsoul similar to the Black one in Dav (hereafter to be refered to by me as "Spooky") or the Green Bog Entity.
If it was a planeswalker then perhaps it was Oko or even Ramaz?
Well it was just a introduction imo. They didn't really gave more info than the voice. Could be nice if this end up being the former Worldsoul of a destroyed plane.
And about Ramaz i think it is possible but i m not even sure how canonicaly they consider hin, but again, he did manipulated chandra in the past, and it looks like he is about big monsters (in his deck in DotP, and the animation with the Wurms)
For all we know until confirmed like five years later, the inhabitant of The Ozolith could just be the worldsoul of Ikoria that is just tired of being a passive observer.
Two minor lore stuff from the story on cards I figured I found cool;
-Narset came to Ikoria to help her recover from War of the Spark since the mana on Ikoira is similar to ancient Tarkir
-The Wanderer came to Ikoria for a second then planes walked away. I hope this turns into a running gag.
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“There are no weak Jews. I am descended from those who wrestle angels and kill giants. We were chosen by God. You were chosen by a pathetic little man who can't seem to grow a full mustache"
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
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In the meantime, is there any chance Oko IS the Ozolith? Dang shapeshifter fey he is...still leads to the topic of which plane Oko is from (due to him seeming like a Yosei, I keep speculating he's from the next Japan-inspired plane we reach).
Current EDH Decks:
Dakkon Blackblade 2WUUB
Monsters have always been on Ikoria but they are attacking more frequently due to the tampering with the Ozolith
Vivien proclaims the monsters on Ikoria as unnatural and the crystals are the link.
Boding is a new thing on Ikoria and may have started because "unknown" tampered with the Ozolith initially.
Lukka being a driven mad villain is an interesting spin that I hadn't expected. Honestly, it felt very much as though the voice in the Ozolith corrupted him.
Unless we get the hunters later the only named character to die is General Kudru
Vivien seemed like a reasonable character in this which is at odds with her other portrayals. It's a shame the most we get of Narset is some people who don't know who she is watching her buy a stack of books then she is name-dropped by Vivien at a later point as someone who would help if they were near.
A mildly annoying detail that was pointed out elsewhere, they got the color of their crystal cluster(Ozolith) wrong between the card art and the book description. Book Orange, Card Blue. Not at all important but come on this shouldn't' be hard to get right.
Well the mysterious entity of the otoliths not talking story wise but card wise
The number crunch saids there’s 2 more colorless cards so one of those might be a culprit (whatever the alien thing is)
Nahiriwhoever it was.I don't really think Nahiri makes sense here. Her motivation for attacking Innistrad was revenge, we have no indication that that plays any role (for her if she were a participant) in this story. Beyond that, Nahiri works with stone and metal, to the best of my recollection we've never seen her manipulate crystals, and we've certainly never seen her be able to manipulate another creature's biology the way these crystals mutate living (nonhuman) things.
Yes, technically crystals are just another facet of geomancy/lithomancy so she could at least theoretically manipulate it. My point being that there's no precedent thus far of her working with crystals, and it would seem out of place for her not to be using the same or similar skills to the ones she's used for 5 thousand years.
It is a bit odd for it not be related to dreams but then again the PW guide says that the nightmare creatures are belived to not only feed from flesh but also from fears. But ye quite don't fit unless its goal was to make the humans have more fear thus making "better" "nightmare fuel" in their dreams.
(note: also nightmare-beasts of ikoria are "natural", i m not implying that because there are nightmares it is Ashiok)
But no evidence on what corrupted the crystal imo it will be a new "villain" that will work tho Lukka and we will have a slow plot development on that.
( Just don't ask me what it was )( You just don't argue anymore )(i find it nice that Lukka is a "nice" guy overall and wanted to protect jirina. Yes he was a villain but a manipulated one and with good motives in his mind, would be nice if he went RW in the future (plz not another RG))
Lukka's moments in the Ozolith reminded me of Vaarsuvius and his "I..I must succeed." moment, when closing the deal with the three fiends to save his family...
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Because she will be on Zendikar, probably.
She worked with crystals on Zendikar. Remember, crystals are part of lithomancy. All she would have needed to do is alter the crystals' properties and the already radioactive things would create chaos.
Nahiri is currently a villan/antagonist because she is pissed at Sorin and Ugin. Maybe more people but we currently don't know if she is. So why would she be on Ikoria whispering in the heads of random monsters "Destroy civilization, eat Humans". Further why would she tempt Lukka with the power to do the same? While not directly at odds with her character due to how little we actually know about her and how much her anger has changed her. It isn't at all in line with her character.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
It’s possible we don’t have a named character for the Ozolith yet but I wouldn’t really know.
|| UW Jace, Vyn's Prodigy UW || UG Kenessos, Priest of Thassa (feat. Arixmethes) UG ||
Cards I still want to see created:
|| Olantin, Lost City || Pavios and Thanasis || Choryu ||
It's obviously none other than Nicol Bolas himself! Change my mind!
I mean...
And Kiora being on Zendikar makes sense. She wasn't just hunting big monsters for the heck of it, it was to help her Plane deal with the Eldrazi. No more Eldrazi? Hopefully you help out people on your plane for a bit.
Damn... Otrimi is not the larval form of Brokkos, it's the larval form of Bolas!
The fact that Vivien says she is still trying to track down the walker and she believe Bolas is dead. Like in theory it could be Bolas and that was my first thought along Oko.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
While I don't have enough info to say that's the case here, it would be interesting if this was a red-aligned disembodied worldsoul similar to the Black one in Dav (hereafter to be refered to by me as "Spooky") or the Green Bog Entity.
If it was a planeswalker then perhaps it was Oko or even Ramaz?
The Vorthos community will await the consequences of the Eldrazi Titans' deaths/sealing. We will keep the watch.
“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”
— Teferi
Well it was just a introduction imo. They didn't really gave more info than the voice. Could be nice if this end up being the former Worldsoul of a destroyed plane.
And about Ramaz i think it is possible but i m not even sure how canonicaly they consider hin, but again, he did manipulated chandra in the past, and it looks like he is about big monsters (in his deck in DotP, and the animation with the Wurms)
-Narset came to Ikoria to help her recover from War of the Spark since the mana on Ikoira is similar to ancient Tarkir
-The Wanderer came to Ikoria for a second then planes walked away. I hope this turns into a running gag.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"