Unconfirmed spoilers aside, we still know that Nahiri is on Innistrad and is freaking PISSED. The main "mystery" seems to be what her purpose is and why is she doing it. We've seen her destruction of the Markov manor, but now the flavor text of Warped Landscape implies she's drawing ley lines or something, trying to draw in a lot of mana in an attempt to do something HUGE.
who knows what this might be, she might be attempting to summon Emrakul, but I think whatever she's doing involves the moon. I don't think wizards would hide Emrakul's involvement in a block and I think they're saving Emrakul to fight for another day. Could Nahiri be attempting to crash the moon Majora's mask style??? Is she gonna blow it up? Is there something inside (no emrakul is probably not in the moon) there? Only time will tell I guess.
@Downdala:
Your post implies that Nahiri is in Innistrad for noble causes, which, based on the few cards we've seen featuring her or her comments, is definitely NOT the case. Unless, of course, that Helvault really was her creation and she first made it for less-than-noble cause, which, considering her, um, I know this is not quite the right word, 'youthful optimism' (in eons gone by) compared to Sorin and Ugin, seems rather unlikely.
What we can surmise before SOI is that something in Nahiri broke thanks to the her immortality, Eldrazi in Zendikar, and that mistaken religion problem. It's only now that I realize that what Nahiri could be doing in Innistrad seems to mirror her displeasure at the state of Zendikar. See:
* She may have known that Avacyn is Sorin's creation.
* She is bitter than the ELdrazi end up being worshiped as gods in Zendikar, despite her efforts in eons past to educate Zendikari about their threats.
* So it may be possible that in a fit of, um, envious? Vengeful? Something rage, she decides to use the cryptoliths to do something to corrupt the angels to destroy Avacynian religion to basically ask Sorin: "Do you LIKE this?"
Oh, and if you think Nahiri can't be that evil, do be reminded that among old planeswalkers (Urza's gang, for example), going insane or unpleasant from their predicament is quite a possibility, if not an all-out common occurrence. I mean, Bolas gets super-power-hungry, Lili becomes a *****, Ob is pure evil, and even Ugin and Sorin are very detached at best.
There are several ways to see it, the simplest in my opinion would be:
-she built the hellvault with some of the moon to lock a certain menace.
-hellvault broke, menace is free.
This seems unlikely given that Sorin wouldn't abandon Innistrad to such a threat after the Helvault broke, unless Nahiri built it without Sorin's involvement and he didn't know about its original purpose.
I think she is there because the hellvault has been destroyed.
She could very well be the one that built the hellvault initially, since it fits her lithomancy. The reasons remain to be known, but she might be back because the threat she was afraid of when building it is about to resurge or something like that.
There are several ways to see it, the simplest in my opinion would be:
-she built the hellvault with some of the moon to lock a certain menace.
-hellvault broke, menace is free.
-she is able to know her construct broke for reasons implied by her lithomancy.
-she is back to rebuild a Hellvault to emprison said menace once again.
-she needs cryptoliths and everything to harness the moon and extract some of it to practice her lithomancy on moon rocks again.
Nahiri wants revenge on Sorin. She wants to make Innistrad suffer as some sort of revenge plot. This has been made clear from the very first spoilers.
Just one more thing I want to chime in: Based on the current lore (some retcon was noted by some of us), Nahiri was not at all aware that there were vampires in Zendikar (and that she's not pleased when she found out). I suspect this is another factor on why she's wreaking havoc in Innistrad, considering that Sorin is a vampire from Innistrad, which is a place full of vampires.
Why is Nahiri angry with Sorin though? He had nothing to do with the release of the Eldrazi and Nahiri wasn't there to fight the Eldrazi, so how can she blame someone else? It's Sarkhan, Chandra and Jace she should hunt down, and maybe even Nissa...
Why is Nahiri angry with Sorin though? He had nothing to do with the release of the Eldrazi and Nahiri wasn't there to fight the Eldrazi, so how can she blame someone else? It's Sarkhan, Chandra and Jace she should hunt down, and maybe even Nissa...
My guess it's a combo of the following from this story.
When the Eldrazi almost broke out thousands of years ago Nahari called Sorin and Ugin for help but neither showed up. She expected more from Sorin and was hurt from him not coming.
She found vampires on Zendikar when se woke up from a long slumber. Though the story doesn't have her blaming Sorin for them, I wouldn't be surprised if the retcon it in.
Why is Nahiri angry with Sorin though? He had nothing to do with the release of the Eldrazi and Nahiri wasn't there to fight the Eldrazi, so how can she blame someone else? It's Sarkhan, Chandra and Jace she should hunt down, and maybe even Nissa...
He was, however, responsible for bringing them to Zendikar in the first place and was supposed to show up if anything went wrong, which he didn't.
I have hard time to believe that Nahiri did the Hellvault, simple because it doesn't resemble anything crafted, nor either of her other works we know (hedrons, stoneforge equipments).
For me it seems more likly she came for vendetta. Sorin did not come for help that one time 1,000 years ago. The timing seems somewhat confusing though. Why would she come now of all times, neglecting the second breakup of the Eldrazi on her homeplane completely. Or maybe she was there and seen that Sorin was not there yet again? But then she would have met Ugin at least, and it didn't appear to be the case.
Seems likely that Nahiri showed up between Sorin leaving after the Eldrazi are free and before Ugin came back after Dragons of Tarkir, was furious about the fact that Zendikar is being annihilated, and decided to lead the Eldrazi off of Zendikar and to Innstrad, reasoning that it's Sorin's turn to deal with this *****. I wouldn't be completely surprised if she doesn't even know Kozilek and Ulamog are dead.
I think it's worth considering, also, that whatever her plan is may not actually be what happens. I think she's going to try to summon Emrakul, probably by means of the Moon, and that all the corruption points towards that. I think that's not what's actually going to happen, though.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Cyme we inne frið, fram the grip of deaþ to lif inne ðis smylte land.
If the spoiled Structural Distortion is legit, she did indeed come for revenge.
Flavor text:
"As Zendikar has bled, so will innistrad. As I have wept, so will Sorin."
-Nahiri
So the only thing to discuss is what shape will the revenge take. As much as I don't like it, trying to lure and possibly imprison Emrakul on Innistrad seems like the most logical possibility. After all, Nahiri knows how to do it and also how much it will screw up the plane.
But... What if Nahiri didn't come for revenge, but was corrupted by the same entity that corrupted Avacyn?
In the UR article we see a woman getting a fit of rage whrn Avacyn is near, what if something similar happened to Nahiri and twisted her quest for answers into a quest for revenge?
Actually not by luring Emrakul, but by freeing an ancient creature that dwelled on Innistrad and was imprisoned... In the moon...
So... The theory goes like this:
- An extremely powerful entity was imprisoned in Innistrad moon somehow.
- The creature managed to detach a piece of moon and throw it on Innistrad (that became the Helvault).
- With the Helvault destroyed the prison is breached (at least in part) and the entity can look for minds to corrupt/command.
- Nahiri enters the plane looking for Sorin and the mind sees that she created the Hedrons on Zendikar and by using her lithomancy, the creature sees a way to escape her prison.
-The creature twists Nahiri's mind into a murderous and vengeful rage.
- Nahiri is corrupted and starts making Cryptoliths around channeling the mana of the plane to do the creature's bidding.
- Using cryptolith network the creature manages to corrupt the minds of Avacyn and of the people on Innistrad.
So... What if Nahiri is just an unwilling victim?
Good point, it seems kinda weird that Nahiri would be driven by the childish logic of "He broke my toy, I will break his" with absolutely no regard for the inhabitants of Innistrad, and even abandoning Zendikar in the process, so it seems that something (or someone) must have pushed her in that direction. But she may consider Zendikar doomed after the full release of the Eldrazi and blame Sorin for letting it happen. If that is the case, I seriously wonder what her reaction will be when she learns what happened...
Also in the official magic lore did forshadow Nahiri adopting red mana:
Quote from from="Uncharted Relms" »
"the walls of the chamber became bleak cliffs in a desolate mountain range. She took a deep breath of unfamiliar air and stepped into this other plane, eager to find her oldest friend."
I mean, the Drownyard is just on the shore, and there's a giant circle of cryptoliths. Doesn't necessarily mean whatever's coming is from the sea, just that there's a leyline convergence there.
I still kind of think that whatever Nahiri is summoning, something else will answer.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Cyme we inne frið, fram the grip of deaþ to lif inne ðis smylte land.
You would think that being a total albino (a.k.a, a Kor, not an Innistrad native) would make her untrustable by Innistrad's general populace, but there she is, rallying the masses to spite Sorin again..... Any thoughts on this?
I know this is the next set in Magic, but what if this timeline parallels BFZ block? Sorin was told to fetch Nahiri by Ugin, and Sorin does not yet know Zendikar is saved. So all this is happening as or right before BFZ, and that's the reason Emrakul is not present in BFZ?
I know this is the next set in Magic, but what if this timeline parallels BFZ block? Sorin was told to fetch Nahiri by Ugin, and Sorin does not yet know Zendikar is saved. So all this is happening as or right before BFZ, and that's the reason Emrakul is not present in BFZ?
Jace's presence means that can't be entirely true - he has come to Innistrad directly after the events of OGW - but it's probably true that some of Nahiri's actions have been happening concurrent with BFZ / OGW though. Cryptolith construction and Markov Manor for instance. There also seemed to be a fair length of time (multiple months) passing during the UR of Avacyn's corruption, so it's likely that all began while Zendikar 2 was happening. Interesting thought that when Nahiri began her vengeance, Ulamog and Kozilek were probably still alive.
That quote doesn't necessarily show that she's in Innistrad for revenge. She could just know that something horrible is about to happen, and Sorin will feel the emotional effects of seeing his home plane ravaged by a threat.
"Just as the sun set on Europe, so too will it set on Asia. As Europeans sleep, so will Asians."
Please ignore the Earth's rotation on that one...
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
who knows what this might be, she might be attempting to summon Emrakul, but I think whatever she's doing involves the moon. I don't think wizards would hide Emrakul's involvement in a block and I think they're saving Emrakul to fight for another day. Could Nahiri be attempting to crash the moon Majora's mask style??? Is she gonna blow it up? Is there something inside (no emrakul is probably not in the moon) there? Only time will tell I guess.
Your post implies that Nahiri is in Innistrad for noble causes, which, based on the few cards we've seen featuring her or her comments, is definitely NOT the case. Unless, of course, that Helvault really was her creation and she first made it for less-than-noble cause, which, considering her, um, I know this is not quite the right word, 'youthful optimism' (in eons gone by) compared to Sorin and Ugin, seems rather unlikely.
What we can surmise before SOI is that something in Nahiri broke thanks to the her immortality, Eldrazi in Zendikar, and that mistaken religion problem. It's only now that I realize that what Nahiri could be doing in Innistrad seems to mirror her displeasure at the state of Zendikar. See:
* She may have known that Avacyn is Sorin's creation.
* She is bitter than the ELdrazi end up being worshiped as gods in Zendikar, despite her efforts in eons past to educate Zendikari about their threats.
* So it may be possible that in a fit of, um, envious? Vengeful? Something rage, she decides to use the cryptoliths to do something to corrupt the angels to destroy Avacynian religion to basically ask Sorin: "Do you LIKE this?"
Oh, and if you think Nahiri can't be that evil, do be reminded that among old planeswalkers (Urza's gang, for example), going insane or unpleasant from their predicament is quite a possibility, if not an all-out common occurrence. I mean, Bolas gets super-power-hungry, Lili becomes a *****, Ob is pure evil, and even Ugin and Sorin are very detached at best.
This seems unlikely given that Sorin wouldn't abandon Innistrad to such a threat after the Helvault broke, unless Nahiri built it without Sorin's involvement and he didn't know about its original purpose.
Nahiri wants revenge on Sorin. She wants to make Innistrad suffer as some sort of revenge plot. This has been made clear from the very first spoilers.
UR Mizzix of the Izmagnus ~~~ Build your own win-condition: Finite Spellslinging
UR Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer ~~~ We are the Borg. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own.
WUB Oloro, Ageless Ascetic ~~~ A Guide to dying slowly
UBR Marchesa, the Black Rose ~~~ Marchesa's undying Marionettes
RGW Mayael the Anima ~~~ All Hail the Big Chungus
GWU Chulane, Teller of Tales ~~~ Permanents Only ETB Shenanigans
BGU Sidisi, Brood Tyrant ~~~ Sidisi's Restless Servants
WUBRG The Ur-Dragon ~~~ Dragons eat your face
He was, however, responsible for bringing them to Zendikar in the first place and was supposed to show up if anything went wrong, which he didn't.
For me it seems more likly she came for vendetta. Sorin did not come for help that one time 1,000 years ago. The timing seems somewhat confusing though. Why would she come now of all times, neglecting the second breakup of the Eldrazi on her homeplane completely. Or maybe she was there and seen that Sorin was not there yet again? But then she would have met Ugin at least, and it didn't appear to be the case.
I think it's worth considering, also, that whatever her plan is may not actually be what happens. I think she's going to try to summon Emrakul, probably by means of the Moon, and that all the corruption points towards that. I think that's not what's actually going to happen, though.
Flavor text:
"As Zendikar has bled, so will innistrad. As I have wept, so will Sorin."
-Nahiri
So the only thing to discuss is what shape will the revenge take. As much as I don't like it, trying to lure and possibly imprison Emrakul on Innistrad seems like the most logical possibility. After all, Nahiri knows how to do it and also how much it will screw up the plane.
Good point, it seems kinda weird that Nahiri would be driven by the childish logic of "He broke my toy, I will break his" with absolutely no regard for the inhabitants of Innistrad, and even abandoning Zendikar in the process, so it seems that something (or someone) must have pushed her in that direction. But she may consider Zendikar doomed after the full release of the Eldrazi and blame Sorin for letting it happen. If that is the case, I seriously wonder what her reaction will be when she learns what happened...
Red is not known for its strict rationality, nor are people who want vengeance.
Well, Sorin seemed reluctant to find her when he met with Ugin, so there probably is some yet untold history between the two...
http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/stirring-slumber-2015-05-13
I still kind of think that whatever Nahiri is summoning, something else will answer.
You would think that being a total albino (a.k.a, a Kor, not an Innistrad native) would make her untrustable by Innistrad's general populace, but there she is, rallying the masses to spite Sorin again..... Any thoughts on this?
Jace's presence means that can't be entirely true - he has come to Innistrad directly after the events of OGW - but it's probably true that some of Nahiri's actions have been happening concurrent with BFZ / OGW though. Cryptolith construction and Markov Manor for instance. There also seemed to be a fair length of time (multiple months) passing during the UR of Avacyn's corruption, so it's likely that all began while Zendikar 2 was happening. Interesting thought that when Nahiri began her vengeance, Ulamog and Kozilek were probably still alive.
"Just as the sun set on Europe, so too will it set on Asia. As Europeans sleep, so will Asians."
Please ignore the Earth's rotation on that one...