Solid second chapter. The end felt a bit rushed/fast (as was the case with the first story), but I guess that's how it's going to be with the time and space restrictions placed on the author. I don't really mind as long as the rest is alright.
Also, I've already posted this in the Rumor Mill, but one more time for this thread:
I've been wondering about the Opt art since the Spanish promos were spoiled. Could it be that Teferi's planeswalker version is actually going to be "old him"? Maybe he'll have to choose (or rather, opt) whether he wants to stay eternally young or get his spark back, but age?
Why would you choose NOT to look like Eddie Murphy?
Seriously though, this sounds feasible. It'll be interesting to hear how Jhoira makes it happen. She's rad.
Had a though that much like Ksrn, the Weatherlight contained a Spark after the Legacy was completed(Karn receiving Urza's and the ship inheriting Glacian's spark preserved in the Might and Weak Stones.)
Timeline doesn't let Bolas be the Raven Man. Lillina sparked in the 4300s, when Bolas was a ghost trapped in the Madaran Rift, only able to project as a phantom in Madara near the Talo Gates.
"She had never known what the Raven Man was, or why he was so determined to interfere in her life. He could be anything from a powerful Planeswalker to an elder dragon in human form."
Justthis one mention but as soon as I read it my heart sank. I really hope its nothing and both of you are right but it just sickens me as to why even put that line in there, why wotc. And they are so on the Bolas train right now. I mean I thought Bolas was going after Ravnica and wouldnt even be barely mentioned in this set/story but an afterthought but there he is in a story spotlight.
Hopefully just unnecessary panic on my part. I want Lim Dul
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Been a member here for over a dozen years. Playing since '95 just got lost in the twitch shuffle.
"She had never known what the Raven Man was, or why he was so determined to interfere in her life. He could be anything from a powerful Planeswalker to an elder dragon in human form."
Justthis one mention but as soon as I read it my heart sank. I really hope its nothing and both of you are right but it just sickens me as to why even put that line in there, why wotc. And they are so on the Bolas train right now. I mean I thought Bolas was going after Ravnica and wouldnt even be barely mentioned in this set/story but an afterthought but there he is in a story spotlight.
Hopefully just unnecessary panic on my part. I want Lim Dul
I'd be very surprised if it weren't Lim-Dul. I reread that story in order to bring myself up to speed with your line of thought. I don't think it plays out anyway. As steammage says it doesn't work logistically, and what I think you saw at the confrontation on Amonkhet was more of an authorial characterization than anything else; Lili is very insecure. She feels a tremendous amount of guilt for the fate of Josu, doubt as to who the Raven Man is, and a load of fear for being too close to Bolas. These seem to gnaw away at her and despite having a thorny exterior, she struggles with all of those things. While it wasn't explicit or perfectly written, I think that's what the author was trying to portray, not any particular indication of the identity of the Raven Man. The author sort of did the same for each of them - identifying all of their weaknesses and having Bolas unravel them one by one for his own pleasure.
I am hoping it was authorial description and not a WOTC storyline hint directive.
The logistics dont lne up either but sometomes that doesnt stop WOTC....(well he could project to her because he sensed her power or some junk)
I agree most previous hints seem to be LimDul and i would be surprised (Dissapointed) if that wasnt the case
I've been wondering about the Opt art since the Spanish promos were spoiled. Could it be that Teferi's planeswalker version is actually going to be "old him"? Maybe he'll have to choose (or rather, opt) whether he wants to stay eternally young or get his spark back, but age?
I think its the opposite, he'll somehow regain his youth once a walker again, from the stream today where the card was officially spoiled, they mention the art is contrasting Teferi at his prime as a walker (in the statue) and now him as a mortal. Maybe once a walker he can have the mana to de-age himself some since he uses time magic.
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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"
If you haven't read my piece, here's a simple Raven Man candidate reasoning: if it's an existing character, both The Raven's Eye Part 3 and The Veil of Deceit would need The Raven Man to have a connection to Shandalar. That's a short list.
These stories have left me pretty happy and fist-poundy.
I love Gideon, and I have grown to better understand Liliana, but Gideon has to be getting close to Elspeth and Sorin level in my favorites book.
I love how even though he knows he's being used, he still does it because it's not only the right thing, but can also lead to tactical advantages, something the Gatewatch needs now more than ever.
Is it a long-shot that a Demon-free Liliana would be willing to help the team kill Bolas? Sure, but what else does the man have as far as possibilities go? Ugin? I love Ugin, but I wouldn't be too eager to parley with him after dancing with one Elder Dragon already.
Gideon is THE man, and I have no shame in saying that I as gay dude I'd totally date the guy. Or guys like him.
Tactical, kind and likes to get scrappy. What's not to like?!? I wanna wrestle him to floor haha!
(sorrynotsorry)
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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
If you haven't read my piece, here's a simple Raven Man candidate reasoning: if it's an existing character, both The Raven's Eye Part 3 and The Veil of Deceit would need The Raven Man to have a connection to Shandalar. That's a short list.
I loved this article Jay. It was really well written and made a ton of sense.
Let's be real, 5 of your couldn't wrestle Gideon to the floor, he's a monster.
Stories are great though, very excited about where this is all going.
True, but Gids would be kind enough to let you take him down.
On topic, the pacing IS fast, but I'll attribute that to the format. I'm really enjoying the exploration of Liliana's character.
Edit: So, are we going back to weekly updates after this (Only getting two stories this week cause they held back last week's)? Or is it continuing on an irregular schedule?
I am beginning to get worried the Raven Man is Bolas. That would be dissapointing. I wanted him to be a new character or LimDul or even just a subconsious projection of Lily herself. It seems anticlimactic to me for it to just be "another" Bolas maachination. Please dont be him......but there is already some foreshadowing hints and usually WOTC is obvious with these "twists" and it seems to be playing out.
. I was thinking the Raven man is a figment of her imagination and she is actually insane
[quote from="toctheyounger77
Care to elaborate? I'm still pretty on board with Lim-Dul, I haven't seen anything really ominous leaning me towards Bolas.
Timeline doesn't let Bolas be the Raven Man. Lillina sparked in the 4300s, when Bolas was a ghost trapped in the Madaran Rift, only able to project as a phantom in Madara near the Talo Gates.
"She had never known what the Raven Man was, or why he was so determined to interfere in her life. He could be anything from a powerful Planeswalker to an elder dragon in human form."
Justthis one mention but as soon as I read it my heart sank. I really hope its nothing and both of you are right but it just sickens me as to why even put that line in there, why wotc. And they are so on the Bolas train right now. I mean I thought Bolas was going after Ravnica and wouldnt even be barely mentioned in this set/story but an afterthought but there he is in a story spotlight.
Hopefully just unnecessary panic on my part. I want Lim Dul
[/quote]
I am beginning to get worried the Raven Man is Bolas. That would be dissapointing. I wanted him to be a new character or LimDul or even just a subconsious projection of Lily herself. It seems anticlimactic to me for it to just be "another" Bolas maachination. Please dont be him......but there is already some foreshadowing hints and usually WOTC is obvious with these "twists" and it seems to be playing out.
. I was thinking the Raven man is a figment of her imagination and she is actually insane
What's really interesting is that during the Shadows of Innistrad story, Jace actually saw the Raven Man as well, but he was also not in his right mind at the time.
Just my two cents but it seems kinda weird that they'd conclude Liliana's arc with "the Raven Man" and it not be Lim-dul since at the exact same time they're reintroducing Jodah and Jaya to the story. Those two were not only his archenemies but he also managed to preserve his spirit in Mairsil's ring and use it to possess Jaya. If it is him, this is an exact parallel to what he's doing with the Chain Veil and Liliana.
Also, if supplemental products mean anything, they just printed Mairsil in last year's commander product. I can imagine them doing that on purpose, not necesaarily because of the lore implications, but just because it was a good opportunity to give an old character a card that also "happened to have" some connections to Lim-Dul.
I think its the opposite, he'll somehow regain his youth once a walker again, from the stream today where the card was officially spoiled, they mention the art is contrasting Teferi at his prime as a walker (in the statue) and now him as a mortal. Maybe once a walker he can have the mana to de-age himself some since he uses time magic.
Yeah, you're probably right. After all, his younger form is all over the promo material while Opt is the only time we've seen him as a grandpa so far. Personally I'd like to see an aged Teferi with a spark ... but I guess Jaya already fills the "elderly walker" slot in this set.
Jodah's art is sweet, although he's been de-aged somewhat (but then Jaya looked nothing like her novel cover appearances, either). I'm guessing they're making him flat-out ageless instead of severely slowly aged.
Re: Opt - I wonder if that's a powerstone? Besides the Immortal Sun, they're the only things we know can hold sparks.
Jodah's art is sweet, although he's been de-aged somewhat (but then Jaya looked nothing like her novel cover appearances, either). I'm guessing they're making him flat-out ageless instead of severely slowly aged.
Re: Opt - I wonder if that's a powerstone? Besides the Immortal Sun, they're the only things we know can hold sparks.
Oh hey the twist about Josu was a double twist. Groovy.
Good story, actually great story as I didn't hate Liliana through the entire thing.
Operation: Make the Gatewatch More Likable is proceeding as planned.
Yeah, I've been rooting for the Raven Man to take over Liliana for so long, it was weird and refreshing to root for her instead.
Oddly enough, in the process of making Liliana more likable, they're somehow making Gideon more likable too IMO. He's actually being extremely pragmatic and strategic about his choices here, while still helping out his (for the time being, at least) ally. I'm not going to say I ship them, but Gideon and Liliana do work well together.
Also, the prospect of Gideon wielding Blackblade as a replacement for his sural is pretty intriguing to me.
"She had never known what the Raven Man was, or why he was so determined to interfere in her life. He could be anything from a powerful Planeswalker to an elder dragon in human form."
Justthis one mention but as soon as I read it my heart sank. I really hope its nothing and both of you are right but it just sickens me as to why even put that line in there, why wotc. And they are so on the Bolas train right now. I mean I thought Bolas was going after Ravnica and wouldnt even be barely mentioned in this set/story but an afterthought but there he is in a story spotlight.
Hopefully just unnecessary panic on my part. I want Lim Dul
I'd be very surprised if it weren't Lim-Dul. I reread that story in order to bring myself up to speed with your line of thought. I don't think it plays out anyway. As steammage says it doesn't work logistically, and what I think you saw at the confrontation on Amonkhet was more of an authorial characterization than anything else; Lili is very insecure. She feels a tremendous amount of guilt for the fate of Josu, doubt as to who the Raven Man is, and a load of fear for being too close to Bolas. These seem to gnaw away at her and despite having a thorny exterior, she struggles with all of those things. While it wasn't explicit or perfectly written, I think that's what the author was trying to portray, not any particular indication of the identity of the Raven Man. The author sort of did the same for each of them - identifying all of their weaknesses and having Bolas unravel them one by one for his own pleasure.
I am hoping it was authorial description and not a WOTC storyline hint directive.
The logistics dont lne up either but sometomes that doesnt stop WOTC....(well he could project to her because he sensed her power or some junk)
I agree most previous hints seem to be LimDul and i would be surprised (Dissapointed) if that wasnt the case
I think its the opposite, he'll somehow regain his youth once a walker again, from the stream today where the card was officially spoiled, they mention the art is contrasting Teferi at his prime as a walker (in the statue) and now him as a mortal. Maybe once a walker he can have the mana to de-age himself some since he uses time magic.
"You can tell how dumb someone is by how they use Mary Sue"
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
I love Gideon, and I have grown to better understand Liliana, but Gideon has to be getting close to Elspeth and Sorin level in my favorites book.
I love how even though he knows he's being used, he still does it because it's not only the right thing, but can also lead to tactical advantages, something the Gatewatch needs now more than ever.
Is it a long-shot that a Demon-free Liliana would be willing to help the team kill Bolas? Sure, but what else does the man have as far as possibilities go? Ugin? I love Ugin, but I wouldn't be too eager to parley with him after dancing with one Elder Dragon already.
Gideon is THE man, and I have no shame in saying that I as gay dude I'd totally date the guy. Or guys like him.
Tactical, kind and likes to get scrappy. What's not to like?!? I wanna wrestle him to floor haha!
(sorrynotsorry)
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
Stories are great though, very excited about where this is all going.
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UBRGLegacy StormGRBU
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I loved this article Jay. It was really well written and made a ton of sense.
True, but Gids would be kind enough to let you take him down.
On topic, the pacing IS fast, but I'll attribute that to the format. I'm really enjoying the exploration of Liliana's character.
Edit: So, are we going back to weekly updates after this (Only getting two stories this week cause they held back last week's)? Or is it continuing on an irregular schedule?
Oh yeah, there'd be no way I could wrastle him down if it weren't consensual! Man! I need me a Gids!
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
Getting two in the same week got me confused.
Art student, EDH lover and a strong believer that Delver has the best design in all of MTG.
Good story, actually great story as I didn't hate Liliana through the entire thing.
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
Operation: Make the Gatewatch More Likable is proceeding as planned.
"She had never known what the Raven Man was, or why he was so determined to interfere in her life. He could be anything from a powerful Planeswalker to an elder dragon in human form."
Justthis one mention but as soon as I read it my heart sank. I really hope its nothing and both of you are right but it just sickens me as to why even put that line in there, why wotc. And they are so on the Bolas train right now. I mean I thought Bolas was going after Ravnica and wouldnt even be barely mentioned in this set/story but an afterthought but there he is in a story spotlight.
Hopefully just unnecessary panic on my part. I want Lim Dul
[/quote]
Maybe a red herring
What's really interesting is that during the Shadows of Innistrad story, Jace actually saw the Raven Man as well, but he was also not in his right mind at the time.
Considering where Jace and Lili started that is a -real- low goal. Sort of like "Make a better card than Chimney imp"
Dragons of Legend, Lead by Scion of the UR-Dragon
The Gitrog Monster
Gonti, Lord of Luxury
Shogun Saskia
Hive World
Atraxa hates fun
Abzan
Yeah, you're probably right. After all, his younger form is all over the promo material while Opt is the only time we've seen him as a grandpa so far. Personally I'd like to see an aged Teferi with a spark ... but I guess Jaya already fills the "elderly walker" slot in this set.
Jodah.
Belzenlok.
Karn.
Opt.
Squee (with his toy).
Divebombing kitten.
Also, Opt says a lot...Jhoira gives Teferi an orb with the power of HIS SPARK. Somehow.
And Cast Down mentions Chainer's true name. ;-) The flavortext is not an actual quote from the book, though..
Also, loving how Zhalfirin Void references visually Teferi's Protection. Some good planning here...
Let this great clan rest in peace (2001-2011)
Re: Opt - I wonder if that's a powerstone? Besides the Immortal Sun, they're the only things we know can hold sparks.
Yeah, I've been rooting for the Raven Man to take over Liliana for so long, it was weird and refreshing to root for her instead.
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
Oddly enough, in the process of making Liliana more likable, they're somehow making Gideon more likable too IMO. He's actually being extremely pragmatic and strategic about his choices here, while still helping out his (for the time being, at least) ally. I'm not going to say I ship them, but Gideon and Liliana do work well together.
Also, the prospect of Gideon wielding Blackblade as a replacement for his sural is pretty intriguing to me.
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
Gideon Blackblade does have a nice ring to it. Also, having him wield a sword that took the lives of a thousand slaves to be made,is amusing to me.
“I once had an entire race killed just to listen to the rattling of their dried bones as I waded through them.”
—Volrath