The Vorthos Guide to Magic: The Gathering
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Welcome back to Archive Trap, the unofficial story column for all things Magic: The Gathering! Today we return once more to Innistrad, the subject of our most popular article to date! Sorin Markov, Innistrad's self-proclaimed protector, realized the need for greater defenses on his plane that he didn't have before. Around 1,000 years ago, he created both Avacyn and the Helvault, but in doing so welshed on his promise to Nahiri to defend Zendikar. When she arrived to discover he'd been too busy to help defend her plane, things went… poorly. Now, Sorin's past has come back to haunt him, and two oldwalkers go to war on Innistrad. You can read about the events of the original Innistrad in The World of Innistrad.
In hindsight, that mystery face over Jace's shoulder is obviously Nahiri.
Shadows Over Innistrad Key Art
Re-Setting the Stage
Please note, this summary will contain spoilers for Eldritch Moon's big reveal, as it is impossible to give appropriate background for the set without discussing the reveal. Innistrad has not changed quite as dramatically as Zendikar did between blocks, so I will not need to go into too much detail on geography and politics. We did learn a bit more about the nature of the plane and political divisions that have occurred, so I will cover the changes to the plane in more detail. If you are interested in more general worldbuilding for Innistrad, make sure to check out The World of Innistrad.
The plot of Shadows Over Innistrad revolves around Nahiri's plan to get revenge on Sorin for what happened to Zendikar. Her plan? To summon the Eldrazi titan Emrakul to the plane and lay waste to everything he loves. This is pretty critical information going in, and while it seems pretty obvious in hindsight, it was not clear until all the clues in Shadows Over Innistrad were put next to one another. Disappointingly, Nahiri's scheme is not all that complex, and nearly everything in the plot happens by coincidence. In fact, the Nahiri versus Sorin plot and the Gatewatch plot are almost entirely unconnected. The Gatewatch just happens to stumble upon what is happening on Innistrad and stop it. Nahiri has turned into a pure villain, rather than take the obvious route of using Innistrad's moon to seal Emrakul (something that she knew was possible, given that she spent 1,000 years in a sliver of the moon), she just took down Innistrad's defenses and brought in Emrakul to lay waste.
Geography Redux
So my overall theory of Innistrad's layout hasn't changed, but there are some locations that I either did not mention last time or have changed (read: been wiped off the map) since then. In Stensia, little has changed but the destruction of Markov Manor. Gavony has remained largely the same, although I should mention that both Estwald and Hanweir are no more by the time of Eldritch Moon. Estwald was destroyed by a roving Malignus while Hanweir... well I'll explain Hanweir later. In the Moorlands, Trostad also remains empty, largely due to Geralf taking up residence following the Innistrad block. The prison known as Rider's Lock is a location I failed to mention the first time around, also located in the Moorlands.
There are additional locations of note in Nephalia: Lake Zhava, which is on the border with Gavony and is home to The Gitrog Monster, and the Elgaud Grounds, which lays along the sea and is the primary training ground for Cathar Inquisitors. Kessig hasn't changed much, as it is far away enough from the rest of Innistrad's locales that outside of Werewolves there is not much to threaten the region. We did learn that Kessig was settled only recently, within the last few hundred years.
Politics
During the events of Shadows Over Innistrad, the Archangel Avacyn goes mad, believing her people are corrupted and dedicating herself to wiping out that corruption. The root of this madness lay with Nahiri's cryptoliths, warping the angels (who are beings of pure mana) as well as with the touch of Emrakul upon the plane. The church and the people are, naturally, split on what to do about this. With the death of Mikaeus (and his successor), leadership of the church falls to the Lunarch Council (which is organized in part by Odric).
Unfortunately, the Lunarch Council is hopelessly corrupt from the start. The survivors of the Skirsdag, led by Bishop Jerren, rally under Ormendahl after the fall of Griselbrand and Bishop Volpaig. They hold great sway on the council — some being members of the council themselves! Their corruption, along with the growing madness of the plane, leads to the Lunarch Inquisition. With the purported reasoning that sinplagued walk among humanity, they begin ‘aiding' Avacyn's work by slaughtering people themselves.
Reactions to the Inquisition are mixed. Common folk take up arms in their own defense, including against the church. Many Cathar and branches of the church go rogue — especially those far from the church's centers of power. The largest and most powerful of these groups ally themselves with the Geist of Saint Traft and come together under Thalia's leadership. The Township of Hanweir declares their independence from Gavony. In the real world, the blog Hanweir Chronicle depicts the tale of the town's descent into madness. Thalia goes rogue and forms the Order of Saint Traft, with Traft himself (in geist form) lending her his power. She takes the Gryff for her sigil and fights back against the church's corruption, and later Emrakul.
The angels of Innistrad largely fall under Avacyn's sway, all except the Flight of Herons, led by Sigarda, who stays free from Avacyn's madness. After Avacyn's betrayal and destruction, worship would turn to Sigarda, the one angel who stayed true to humanity. She would ally herself with the Order of Saint Traft to help humanity fight the Eldrazi threat.
The cultists of Innistrad would all find common ground in the coming of Emrakul. United by Nahiri to aid her work, they can be found across the plane (although primarily in Nephalia). Runo Stromkirk and his lineage would join these cultists, alongside many others in being the first to feel Emrakul's effects on the plane.
Bestiary
The Vampires of Innistrad were split roughly in half. The Markovs were dealt a huge blow by the destruction of Markov Manor and the hundreds of Vampires therein, and it's unclear whether or not Edgar Markov survived. Both the Stromkirk and Falkenrath have fallen under the sway of Emrakul's corruption, which has led to the Voldaren's ascendant as the strongest Vampire family on Innistrad. By the end of the story, Olivia Voldaren is now the most powerful vampire (politically) on Innistrad.
Zombies and Geists have remained most unaffected by Emrakul's corruption, largely because she can only affect living matter (however some geists do show signs of at least mimicking Emrakul's corruption). With the loss of Avacyn and most of the angels, benevolent geists step into the role of the protectors of humanity by the end of the block. Interestingly, allowing oneself to be possessed by a geist protects the possessed from Emrakul's warping.
Among the Werewolves, both the Leeraugh and Mondronen are wiped out in purges following Avacyn's restoration. In their place rise the Vilden, a pack made up of murderers led by a woman named Rahilda. The Krallenhorde remain strong, led by Ulrich, and a smaller pack led by Arlinn Kord has been trying to do good in fighting Emrakul's corruption. Not all werewolves have remained pure, and a group known as the Dronepack has emerged as a threat greater than werewolves alone. With the failing of the Cursemute, many werewolves that were formerly cured have begun to revert back to their old ways, and few wolfir remain. Those that do are called the Silverfur.
Nahiri is downright scary, when you think about it.
Art by Udon
Planeswalkers
Arlinn Kord is a werewolf planeswalker native to Innistrad. When she was young, the howls of the Mondronen howlpack awakened her to her own werewolf nature. She tries to contain it through wards, then she becomes a cathar and then an Archmage of Goldnight, hoping Avacyn's magic will defeat the curse. Just after her initiation as an Archmage, she heads to a devil attack on Havengul. During the battle, she loses control while being overwhelmed by the devils, and transforms, attacking friend and foe alike. Her mentor, Rembert, snaps her out of it and tries to slay her, but her spark ignites and she planeswalks away. It takes her a long time, but she comes to terms with what she is and finds, upon returning to Innistrad, that she is in control of her wolf form now. She doesn't have a huge impact on Shadows Over Innistrad, appearing only in Under the Silver Moon and The Archmage of Goldnight.
Jace Beleren has come to Innistrad as a member of the newly-formed Gatewatch. I've done so many Jace summaries at this point that if you don't know who he is yet, I can't help you. He came to Innistrad to ask Liliana Vess, his ex-lover, for aid in tracking down Sorin Markov, their only lead following the Gatewatch's pyrric victory on Zendikar. He proceeds to do exactly what Liliana tells him not to do, stumbling (by complete coincidence) onto Nahiri's plot. He nearly loses his mind in the process, but ends up returning with the whole Gatewatch to save the day.
Liliana Vess is a 200-year-old necromancer native to Dominaria, and definite bad news. She and Jace have a complicated history, where during the events of Agents of Artifice, she tried to have most of his friends killed while playing the part of the doting lover. Essentially, she was pushing him to take down Tezzeret, the leader of the Infinite Consortium at the time, to turn it back over to its original owner, Nicol Bolas. Bolas, who helped engineer her deals with four demons, would then help her get out of that deal. She failed, and ended up turning to the dangerous Chain Veil for help. After being rejected when she asked Jace for help, she left for her adopted home of Innistrad where she conducts experiments with a well known geistmage to remove the Veil's curse.
Nahiri was the youngest of the three Planeswalkers involved in sealing the Eldrazi, but the most vital… and the most naive. She was convinced by two ancient beings that her plane was the only one suitable to seal the Eldrazi, and so she spent 5,000 years as the warden of the Eldrazi's prison. When the Eldrazi came close to escaping, Nahiri went to find her old mentor Sorin. What she found shocked her. He simply did not care that his actions could jeopardize Zendikar, and in the ensuing fight she was sealed into the Helvault. Freed following the events of the original Innistrad, she now seeks vengeance for her home, believing it to be lost and unaware of the Gatewatch's victory over the Titans.
Sorin Markov is over 7,000 years old, a vampire planeswalker native to Innistrad. His spark ignited during a blood sacrifice ritual that changed him into one of the plane's first vampires. He first appeared in the original Zendikar block as one of the three planeswalkers responsible for the sealing of the Eldrazi. During the events of the novel In the Teeth of Akoum, he acts like he does not know what happened to the others, but this block reveals the truth. After he failed to aid Nahiri the first time the Eldrazi tried to break free, she was the first being imprisoned in the Helvault. Their spat results in the near-destruction of Innistrad.
Tamiyo is a Soratami Moonfolk native to Kamigawa. She is likely very old and holds the same kind of long-view perspective typical of planeswalkers from before the Mending. Tamiyo spends her time doing research across the multiverse and collecting stories, which she records in scrolls. These scrolls then fuel her magical abilities and are the focus of her spellcasting, with magic related to the story told in the scroll. She is well traveled and has scrolls telling stories from familiar planes. Tamiyo travels with three scrolls she has vowed never to use, at least one of them telling the tale of the destruction of Serra's Realm. What the other two contain we can only speculate.
All Hail The Gitrog Toad! I'm really going for an overused joke hat trick here.
The Gitrog Monster by Jason Kang
Legends
Archangel Avacyn was created 1,000 years ago by Sorin to be the defense for his home. During that time she kept the balance between humanity and the forces of darkness, unaware of the truth of her creation. She began trapping demons in the Helvault until one day, when a deadly trick imprisoned her in the vault as well. Liliana Vess released Avacyn from the Helvault during the original Innistrad block, and returned light to the world. That is, until Nahiri's machinations sparked madness in the angel.
Bruna and Gisela were once Sigarda's sisters, but fell under the sway of Avacyn's madness. When Emrakul emerged in full onto the plane, they merged to create the abomination Brisela, Voice of Nightmares. They were finally slain by Thalia, with the aid of Sigarda and Saint Traft.
Emrakul, the Promised End was revealed to be Nahiri's endgame. While initially ambiguous, Shadows Over Innistrad provided an overwhelming number of clues pointed in her direction. She was lured to Innistrad by Nahiri in an eye-for-an-eye vengeance scheme. The fan base was somewhat split, as many didn't want to see the return of the Eldrazi so soon, and there was much theorizing over alternate villains. Emrakul had recovered the fastest of the titans and was thus the fastest to leave Zendikar, escaping the fate of Ulamog and Kozilek (although whether the Gatewatch could have won if she was present is debatable). On Innistrad, Emrakul is sealed into the Moon.
Gisa and Geralf are scions of the Cecani family that included such affluent members as Mikaeus. The siblings are both necromancers, although in different ways. Gisa is a Ghoulcaller, exclusively using magic to raise the dead, while her brother Geralf is a stitcher, using alchemy, surgery and a dose of mad science (and a little magic) to reanimate corpses. Their mother, Gretchen Cecani, was friends with Ludevic of Ulm, foremost Necroalchemist of Innistrad. After the twins assaulted Thraben in the original Innistrad, Gisa was captured and put into Rider's Lock. Geralf engineered her escape, and the two renewed their rivalry. Geralf, however, considers himself above their earlier ‘games' and is now mentored by Ludevic himself.
Hanweir, the Writhing Township's story is told in the Hanweir Chronicle, a mysterious Tumblr that gave cryptic hints over time. It's now become clear that the town fell under the sway of Emrakul early, and in their madness built up the walls around the town, declared their independence from Thraben, and slowly started merging until the physical town and its populace were one.
Olivia Voldaren has remained uncorrupted by Emrakul's influence on Innistrad. After being a non-entity in the previous block, she's a major character this time around. When Sorin realizes what Nahiri is on Innistrad to do, and his own house in shambles, he turns to Olivia to support his fight with Nahiri. Olivia is also a patron of humans, apparently ‘owning' the geistmage Dierk, and ‘lending' him to her friend Liliana Vess.
Odric was leader of the Gavony Riders until after the Lunarch's death. In order to pull the church together, he helped form the Lunarch's Council, only to find what remained of the church was rotten to the core. Thalia convinced him to leave, but his faith was broken and he remains despondent.
Sigarda is last remaining uncorrupted Archangel of the original four. It's unclear exactly what has made her immune to Emrakul's corruption and Avacyn's madness, but the Flight of Herons are associated with purity and protecting humanity in life, which likely aided her. She also never felt connected to Avacyn, especially after the death of a fourth, unnamed sister. In the end, she allies herself with the Order of Saint Traft to protect humanity.
Thalia was the de facto Guardian of Thraben during Gisa and Geralf's siege in the original Innistrad block. She was hired by Lothar to be his second command, and took charge of the defense of Thraben following his death. After successfully fending off the zombie hordes, she chose the lives of her men over the Helvault, allowing Liliana Vess to destroy it. After, she discovered the corruption in the Lunarch's Council and stumbled across a shrine to Saint Traft, forming the Order of Saint Traft and using benevolent Geists to aid humanity.
The Gitrog Monster is a giant toad living in the waters of Lake Zhava, and is the real star of Sacrifice. One fall, for reasons unknown, it begins to appear to the fishermen of the small, unnamed village on the lake's shore. It's a rumor at first, but as the season progresses more and more strange things begin to happen, until the villagers form a cult to sacrifice to it, hoping it will appease the monster. The following spring, it becomes clear that much of the village has been devoured by the creature, and the rest are under its thrall.
Minor Characters
- Dierk - A geistmage in the employ of Olivia Voldaren.
- Hal and Alena - Stars of Under the Silver Moon, they're partners who work as Kessig trackers, as well as being a lesbian couple.
- Ishkanah, Grafwidow - There is currently no lore on Ishkanah.
- Jenrik - An astronomer who worked with Tamiyo and was killed in Nahiri's attack on Markov Manor.
- Kralmar - A sea monster worshipped by cults in Nephalia.
- Ludevic of Ulm - The Dr. Frankenstein of Innistrad, who has become Geralf's mentor.
- Grete - Odric's Executive Officer in the Gavony Riders, turned Thalia's Lieutenant.
- Maeli - A young boy present at Avacyn's initial turn to madness. He's also just fine! I'm not crying, you're crying.
- Ormendahl - The demon who took over the Skirsdag cult from Griselbrand. Escaped Avacyn's purge by hiding.
- Rembert - Arlinn Kord's Mentor and an Archmage of Goldnight.
- Rem Karolus - A cathar who turned his skills to fighting Avacyn's mad angels and then Emrakul's abominations.
- Saint Traft - The geist of a renowned cathar, who can bestow his power on an ‘Heir' through possession.
- Ulrich - Alpha of the Krallenhorde Howlpack
Shadows Over Innistrad Story
Apparently Sorin has magic moon powers?
Art by Kieran Yanner
Ancient History
- SOI Episode 07: Promises Old and New (Flashback Sequence)
1,000 years ago, following the events of Stirring from Slumber (check out The World of Zendikar Part II for more), Nahiri leaves for Innistrad to discover Sorin's fate. When she arrives however, she is surprised to find him alive and well (although somewhat weakened due to his work creating Avacyn). Sorin, for his part, becomes aware of how Nahiri's power has grown since he saw her last, possibly rivaling his own in his weakened state. Nahiri's joy at her friend and former mentor's survival is short-lived, as she begins to wonder why he did not come to her aid. The conversation quickly goes south; Sorin's casual attitude towards his own plane's protections preventing him from becoming aware of Zendikar's plight angers Nahiri. Sorin only makes things worse with his irritated reaction to her concerns.
Disgusted with Sorin, Nahiri displays the lithomantic might she has accumulated over the millenia, quickly overpowering him and demanding that he return to aid her efforts to ensure the Eldrazi prison is secure once more. Lamentably, she did not count on Avacyn's arrival. The newly formed angel duels Nahiri for a short time before Nahiri gains the upper hand once more. Sorin, worried for all the power he'd just invested into his creation, puts a stop to the fight and forces Nahiri's surrender. He then imprisons her the Helvault. For a 1,000 years, Nahiri is trapped in a lightless void.
Innistrad
This section contains some reworked material from previous articles.
A couple years before Shadows Over Innistrad, Griselbrand was enacting a scheme: to destroy Avacyn herself. Over the 1,000 years since her creation, Avacyn has imprisoned the strongest demons in the Helvault, a holy relic of the Church of Avacyn. Griselbrand duels with Avacyn in the Helvault's courtyard and tricks her into sealing herself in the Helvault alongside him.
Liliana Vess arrives just following this event, and discovers the demon she hunted, Griselbrand, has disappeared. Her search leads her to Thraben, just following a siege by the twins Gisa and Geralf. Thalia, the recently promoted guardian of Thraben, led the twin's combined forces into a trap and burned their zombie army along with the outer ring of the city. Liliana tracks down leads until she learns that Griselbrand was imprisoned in the Helvault. She storms Thraben Cathedral with an army of undead. Thalia moves to stop her, but Liliana paralyzes her soldiers and gives her an ultimatum: open the Helvault and or all her soldiers die. Thalia makes her decision, the Helvault is destroyed, releasing Avacyn and every being contained therein, including Griselbrand... and Nahiri. Liliana kills Griselbrand using the power of the Chain Veil, but begins to realize its power may come at too high a price.
Nahiri's Plan
Nahiri, now freed, planeswalks away in the chaos following the destruction of the Helvault. She returns home to Zendikar to find it ravaged by the Eldrazi Titans she had spent her life to keep imprisoned. It took the combined power of three oldwalkers 40 years to build the Hedron Network to contain them, and it is now destroyed beyond recognition. There is no rebuilding it in time to save Zendikar, so she turns toward Innistrad, and vengeance.
She begins construction of the Cryptoliths, channeling Innistrad's Leylines to a drownyard in Nephalia.
In a sequence of letters reminiscent of the original Innistrad block, Geralf and Gisa's rivalry is renewed. Geralf reaches out to Ludevic to seek his assistance as a mentor, and their partnership results in the quality of Geralf's skaabs improving greatly. He sends a number of these faster, stronger skaabs to free his sister. Upon escaping, Gisa immediately writes to him and wishes to restart their necrowarfare game, but Geralf no longer wants anything to do with what he considers his childish past. Gisa is pursued by Odric's XO, Grete, whose convoy was ambushed by Geralf's zombies.
Gisa, spurned by her brother and having returned to their family home in Nephalia, chances upon Nahiri. Nahiri recruits Gisa's ghoulcalling skills to create an army of zombie builders. Whatever magic Nahiri is using, it enhances Gisa's powers tremendously. By the time Grete tracks down Gisa, she is overwhelmed by the number of undead and forced to hide until Odric sends orders to retreat.
Thanks for reading! We have laid the groundwork for Shadows Over Innistrad. Next time: the full story of Shadows Over Innistrad and Eldritch Moon.
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments or on the forum, and we will address it in future updates. Have a suggestion for something you want to see? Let us know, and we may address it in a future column. You can also follow me on twitter @Jay13x or Archive Trap Mini on Tumblr.
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