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Author's note: this is a fanfiction based from the lore of Magic: The Gathering. Of course you'd encounter information that would only make sense if you knew the game, but I do my best to introduce them with the unfamiliar readers in mind 
Also, for the next few chapters, the first part of the prologue might not make so much sense. But soon it will. For future reference, Xierxe is pronounced /zirk-see/
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Xierxe found himself in a very strange condition that morning. He woke up in chains, and he had a blindfold on. He tried to remember what happened the night before, but he couldn't remember anything. He tried remembering what happened the night before that, and the one before, and the one before, but his memory was too blurry for him to come to anything.
Finding that his memory would serve no use, he tried to collect information on his surroundings instead. He was sitting down on cement, his back against a wooden column. He was wearing a silk tunic under a leather vest, with simple cotton pants for leggings. He took note that he was not wearing any shoes, which he found peculiar (not as so as being tied to a pillar). Confirming that he at least had some sort of protection, he put his attention next to the things that he might be able to hear and smell. He heard faint sounds of breathing or sighing, almost like he was being watched by an audience; and he picked up the smell of petrichor, mud, and bread. But not just any bread: newly baked ones, such that their aroma was carried by the smoke produced by their heat. He could only be in one place: he was somewhere in the main city, on the road, tied to a column of wood. And he remembered something very important that moment: in the city of Ravnica, there is only one place where such conditions can exist: the Executioner's Pillar, a few blocks from the church of the Orzhov syndicate.
“Would it be of any use to ask why I'm here?” Xierxe inquired, half-hoping that no one was there to here him.
He waited for a response.
“Hello?” He asked again, and again, each time louder and louder, until he shouted the word. That moment he heard his voice echo. He also noticed that the sell of baked bread disappear, along with the smell of rain and mud and dirt. Everything's seem to gone silent.
I must be dead, he thought to himself. He thought about his current situation, how he would die chained to a wooden pillar, and how he' die without even knowing why he was there in the first place. And then it struck him. It was true, he couldn't remember why he was there, or what he did the day before, or the day after that, ore really, any day at all; he didn't just lose his memory of the previous days, he's lost memory of everything completely: his past, his family, and more importantly, who he was.
I am a Planeswalker, one of the special few who can look beyond the horizon of his home plane and gaze upon the Blind Eternities, and to be able to use it to travel to the other Planes of Existence.
I was currently in Tarkir, the land filled with dragons and dragon-warriors. I was sent by Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, to scout the plane and the activities of all the dragon-clans. The Izzet is ruled by the dracogenius, and only the ones who rise up through the ranks and commune with Niv-Mizzet through a special link called the Firemind; and it so happens, that I have it.
The deserts of the Dromoka clan are barren, and would often seem lifeless if you don't know where to look. At some point in the wide sands, a fortress stands, grand in its scope, and more larger and stronger-fortified than the Akros fortress in Theros. The dragonlord isn't always with his clan, kind of like the Firemind's absence in the guild headquarters. There wasn't much cover for me to hide in, so the only way of scouting the fortress was to observe it from a distance, with a little sorcery to help me remain invisible.
Desert scouts walked in and out of the citadel, some going as far as to where I was (fortunately they could not see me) and some just went around and around the perimeter of the fortress. I didn't know what I was supposed to be looking for: he gave me orders to watch the Dromoka fortress, but he didn't specifically tell me what to look out for. So I spent minutes maybe hours just staring into the white-washed walls of the citadel, in the middle of the blazing sun.
You might be thinking: why would I cast Invisibility and be so far away from the citadel? Precaution. Though the clan is known for its resilience and high-rate of surviving, it still has a way with spells. It is true that most of them are focused on battle enhancement and defense, but some of them can dispel other spells or disrupt channeling abilities, for example, invisibility.
I sensed a barrier that stretched out 100 meters from the main wall, alerting the guards of any intruder that comes within, and beyond that a series of underground traps. It shouldn't be too long before I can create a telepathic map of the ground and make a safe path from where I am to as close as the barrier is, but beyond that, I can only hope that I've cast enough layers of magic to hide myself from their sentry.
It took me about 30 minutes, but I was able to do it. There was about 100 hidden explosive mines, armed spikes, and some hidden sandpits here and there. Whoever made the traps were smart, at least for me, since any Dromokan does not trigger the trap, but anything or anyone that is threatening enough will trigger them: that's why the scouts could walk straight across the desert without triggering any of them.
Following my own secret pathway, I made it to a spot to the east of the great fortress. I was kneeling on a depression along a series of dunes, so that even if I wasn't invisible, I could still hide behind the slopes if I crouched or laid down. From there I could see the clan's banner, at the highest point of the citadel, from what seems to be some sort of temple or altar.
I could not go any further, since I wasn't battle ready and since I might trigger the inner alarms thanks to the barrier. I was stuck. Of course, I could have gone back to HQ, or make a report to the Firemind then, but what should have I said? That, 'All seems to be fine, guild master. They are doing their daily activities as usual.'? I don't think so. He never does something just for what it seems. He sent me here for a reason, and I had to find out what it is.
Let's see... the Dromoka clan is focused on endurance, honor, and family. Their ranks form a 4-tier hierarchy, from the scalelords to the Foremost. Their spells focus on survival magic, hardening their armors and sharpening their weapons, and forbidden magic, which was outlawed by the dragonlord. What would interest Niv-Mizzet here? Maybe it was their structures, the clan's architecture.
I looked closer. Using a deeper sorcery, I enhanced my sight with three times it's normal vision, allowing me to see closer to the fortress. The banner, the dragon scale banner, wasn't on an altar nor temple, but was one of four on each side of an inverted pyramid: an aerie. It's top was open to the sky to let dragons enter, and its bottom was where, I guess, troops go in and out. Also, on closer inspection, I found that what I thought were spikes along the fortified wall were actually soldiers, scaleguards they were called, holding their scale-shaped shields in one hand, and their sharpened spears with the other. Now that I was nearer, I was able to comprehend the largeness of the desert fortress. It spanned about 1,000 meters in area, with the walls about half as high. If I tried to scale that, I would be dead before I reached the top. I tried looking even closer and that's when I messed up.
I didn't notice that I had passed through the barrier, immediately sending a mana wave to the wizards inside. I counted, and it took about three seconds before the nearest guards were alerted to my presence. One thing distance and the heat does to your eyes: it makes you miscount how many soldiers were out to kill you: and in this case, I counted less, which was far from reality.
I tried to outrun them, but I wasn't built nor trained for running in the sand, and the scouts were more fit to fight in the desert. So geographically speaking, I was at a lethal disadvantage. Not only that, but the archers atop the wall had started shooting arrows. I thought that the sun in their eyes would at least blur their accuracy to my favor, but I was wrong. If I wasn't moving at all, I would have been hit right at the middle of eyes. Turns out the barrier dispels any form of unknown wizardry, so if any spell were cast that weren't Dromokan, it would be countered (unless the spell was crafted in such a way that it could not be countered), There was only one thing left for me to do: run out of the barrier's scope and cast Invisibility again. So I did.
The spell requires some amount of blue mana. But since I was in the middle of the desert, blue mana was scarce, and I was not able to wield white mana efficiently enough to cast some sort of protection, but I was able to do it. Once I did, the guards stopped chasing and the arrows stopped coming down, and I thought I was free to go. Planeswalk back to Ravnica. I was wrong.
See, Planeswalking requires two things: a substantial amount of mana, and some time to channel. Channeling would dispel all active buffs, so any attempt to Planeswalk would dispel Invisibility. That's good if I was a good deal of distance away from the fortress, but again, I was not able to. In my desperate attempt to outrun the guards and the arrows, I forgot about the path I made that avoids the hidden traps. Thankfully I didn't trigger a spike or a hidden scorpion, but I did fall inside a pit, about 10 meters below the ground.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before they noticed that a trap has been triggered, and not long scaleguards have appeared near the hole. I was close, actually, to teleporting to the Blind Eternities, when they called in a mage, and canceled the channel. At that point I was both tired and drained, then the guards descended down the pit and escorted me back to the fortress in very heavy chains.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Also, for the next few chapters, the first part of the prologue might not make so much sense. But soon it will. For future reference, Xierxe is pronounced /zirk-see/
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Prologue
Xierxe found himself in a very strange condition that morning. He woke up in chains, and he had a blindfold on. He tried to remember what happened the night before, but he couldn't remember anything. He tried remembering what happened the night before that, and the one before, and the one before, but his memory was too blurry for him to come to anything.
Finding that his memory would serve no use, he tried to collect information on his surroundings instead. He was sitting down on cement, his back against a wooden column. He was wearing a silk tunic under a leather vest, with simple cotton pants for leggings. He took note that he was not wearing any shoes, which he found peculiar (not as so as being tied to a pillar). Confirming that he at least had some sort of protection, he put his attention next to the things that he might be able to hear and smell. He heard faint sounds of breathing or sighing, almost like he was being watched by an audience; and he picked up the smell of petrichor, mud, and bread. But not just any bread: newly baked ones, such that their aroma was carried by the smoke produced by their heat. He could only be in one place: he was somewhere in the main city, on the road, tied to a column of wood. And he remembered something very important that moment: in the city of Ravnica, there is only one place where such conditions can exist: the Executioner's Pillar, a few blocks from the church of the Orzhov syndicate.
“Would it be of any use to ask why I'm here?” Xierxe inquired, half-hoping that no one was there to here him.
He waited for a response.
“Hello?” He asked again, and again, each time louder and louder, until he shouted the word. That moment he heard his voice echo. He also noticed that the sell of baked bread disappear, along with the smell of rain and mud and dirt. Everything's seem to gone silent.
I must be dead, he thought to himself. He thought about his current situation, how he would die chained to a wooden pillar, and how he' die without even knowing why he was there in the first place. And then it struck him. It was true, he couldn't remember why he was there, or what he did the day before, or the day after that, ore really, any day at all; he didn't just lose his memory of the previous days, he's lost memory of everything completely: his past, his family, and more importantly, who he was.
I am a Planeswalker, one of the special few who can look beyond the horizon of his home plane and gaze upon the Blind Eternities, and to be able to use it to travel to the other Planes of Existence.
I was currently in Tarkir, the land filled with dragons and dragon-warriors. I was sent by Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, to scout the plane and the activities of all the dragon-clans. The Izzet is ruled by the dracogenius, and only the ones who rise up through the ranks and commune with Niv-Mizzet through a special link called the Firemind; and it so happens, that I have it.
The deserts of the Dromoka clan are barren, and would often seem lifeless if you don't know where to look. At some point in the wide sands, a fortress stands, grand in its scope, and more larger and stronger-fortified than the Akros fortress in Theros. The dragonlord isn't always with his clan, kind of like the Firemind's absence in the guild headquarters. There wasn't much cover for me to hide in, so the only way of scouting the fortress was to observe it from a distance, with a little sorcery to help me remain invisible.
Desert scouts walked in and out of the citadel, some going as far as to where I was (fortunately they could not see me) and some just went around and around the perimeter of the fortress. I didn't know what I was supposed to be looking for: he gave me orders to watch the Dromoka fortress, but he didn't specifically tell me what to look out for. So I spent minutes maybe hours just staring into the white-washed walls of the citadel, in the middle of the blazing sun.
You might be thinking: why would I cast Invisibility and be so far away from the citadel? Precaution. Though the clan is known for its resilience and high-rate of surviving, it still has a way with spells. It is true that most of them are focused on battle enhancement and defense, but some of them can dispel other spells or disrupt channeling abilities, for example, invisibility.
I sensed a barrier that stretched out 100 meters from the main wall, alerting the guards of any intruder that comes within, and beyond that a series of underground traps. It shouldn't be too long before I can create a telepathic map of the ground and make a safe path from where I am to as close as the barrier is, but beyond that, I can only hope that I've cast enough layers of magic to hide myself from their sentry.
It took me about 30 minutes, but I was able to do it. There was about 100 hidden explosive mines, armed spikes, and some hidden sandpits here and there. Whoever made the traps were smart, at least for me, since any Dromokan does not trigger the trap, but anything or anyone that is threatening enough will trigger them: that's why the scouts could walk straight across the desert without triggering any of them.
Following my own secret pathway, I made it to a spot to the east of the great fortress. I was kneeling on a depression along a series of dunes, so that even if I wasn't invisible, I could still hide behind the slopes if I crouched or laid down. From there I could see the clan's banner, at the highest point of the citadel, from what seems to be some sort of temple or altar.
I could not go any further, since I wasn't battle ready and since I might trigger the inner alarms thanks to the barrier. I was stuck. Of course, I could have gone back to HQ, or make a report to the Firemind then, but what should have I said? That, 'All seems to be fine, guild master. They are doing their daily activities as usual.'? I don't think so. He never does something just for what it seems. He sent me here for a reason, and I had to find out what it is.
Let's see... the Dromoka clan is focused on endurance, honor, and family. Their ranks form a 4-tier hierarchy, from the scalelords to the Foremost. Their spells focus on survival magic, hardening their armors and sharpening their weapons, and forbidden magic, which was outlawed by the dragonlord. What would interest Niv-Mizzet here? Maybe it was their structures, the clan's architecture.
I looked closer. Using a deeper sorcery, I enhanced my sight with three times it's normal vision, allowing me to see closer to the fortress. The banner, the dragon scale banner, wasn't on an altar nor temple, but was one of four on each side of an inverted pyramid: an aerie. It's top was open to the sky to let dragons enter, and its bottom was where, I guess, troops go in and out. Also, on closer inspection, I found that what I thought were spikes along the fortified wall were actually soldiers, scaleguards they were called, holding their scale-shaped shields in one hand, and their sharpened spears with the other. Now that I was nearer, I was able to comprehend the largeness of the desert fortress. It spanned about 1,000 meters in area, with the walls about half as high. If I tried to scale that, I would be dead before I reached the top. I tried looking even closer and that's when I messed up.
I didn't notice that I had passed through the barrier, immediately sending a mana wave to the wizards inside. I counted, and it took about three seconds before the nearest guards were alerted to my presence. One thing distance and the heat does to your eyes: it makes you miscount how many soldiers were out to kill you: and in this case, I counted less, which was far from reality.
I tried to outrun them, but I wasn't built nor trained for running in the sand, and the scouts were more fit to fight in the desert. So geographically speaking, I was at a lethal disadvantage. Not only that, but the archers atop the wall had started shooting arrows. I thought that the sun in their eyes would at least blur their accuracy to my favor, but I was wrong. If I wasn't moving at all, I would have been hit right at the middle of eyes. Turns out the barrier dispels any form of unknown wizardry, so if any spell were cast that weren't Dromokan, it would be countered (unless the spell was crafted in such a way that it could not be countered), There was only one thing left for me to do: run out of the barrier's scope and cast Invisibility again. So I did.
The spell requires some amount of blue mana. But since I was in the middle of the desert, blue mana was scarce, and I was not able to wield white mana efficiently enough to cast some sort of protection, but I was able to do it. Once I did, the guards stopped chasing and the arrows stopped coming down, and I thought I was free to go. Planeswalk back to Ravnica. I was wrong.
See, Planeswalking requires two things: a substantial amount of mana, and some time to channel. Channeling would dispel all active buffs, so any attempt to Planeswalk would dispel Invisibility. That's good if I was a good deal of distance away from the fortress, but again, I was not able to. In my desperate attempt to outrun the guards and the arrows, I forgot about the path I made that avoids the hidden traps. Thankfully I didn't trigger a spike or a hidden scorpion, but I did fall inside a pit, about 10 meters below the ground.
Of course, it was only a matter of time before they noticed that a trap has been triggered, and not long scaleguards have appeared near the hole. I was close, actually, to teleporting to the Blind Eternities, when they called in a mage, and canceled the channel. At that point I was both tired and drained, then the guards descended down the pit and escorted me back to the fortress in very heavy chains.
Chapter 1
The Firemind Burns
Dragons, are frightening. I don't mean it in the sense that they can kill you on sight, with fires so hot you won't even feel it, and claws so sharp they can slice through steel like it's made of cheese. It's the complete and utter loss of hope. A dragon's skin is the hardest thing there is. No weapon can pierce it, no spell can break it. The only way to beat a dragon is through brute force, and it has been a thousand years since anyone has been able to do that. And most unfortunately, I'm facing one right now.
'Well, well, what do we have here?' Asked a man in shining, green robes. He was standing on a platform, in front of a huge window, so the light that came in shone on the gems embedded in his robe and reflected greatly like mirrors. The dais was above a hundred (or so I've counted) steps, so it felt like I was in the presence of a king.
I was bound in chains, with two guards beside me. As far as I was concerned, the hall was filled with them. Floors upon floors stacked up from where I was, like an open tower; and with each layer was about a hundred scaleguards, and at the bottom, where the man was, the scalelords resided, and at the farthest corner of the hall, was a Dromokan dragon: huge, fat, and most certainly asleep.
I couldn't think properly, with such a beast in the room. It was different from the presence of the dracogenius, almost like more cardinal, more... primal.
I didn't notice I was staring.
'It won't hurt you, not unless we want it too.' One of the scalelords said, then the other ones chuckled.
“I am no threat to your lands, your highness.” I answered, bowing my head as far as I could. I was not about to die in some foreign land.
' “Your highness”?' He bellowed, to the annoyance of my ears. 'I haven't been called your highness in, well, never.' The man started walking down the steps. As he got closer, I could make out details about what he looked like. He had no hair, yet he wasn't old either. He looked like he was in his prime, he had a tall lean build, his robe was indeed embedded with gems, but as they escaped the light of the sun they started to look, less brighter.
'We are busy, do you know that?' he clapped his hands together. The guards tightened their hold on both ends of the chain. 'Here in the fortress, we value our family, hour honor, our dignity. The wars of course, are a threat to that, and so we are preparing for defensive measures. Very defensive measures. We have no time to trial trespassers such as yourself.'
'No, listen to me-'
'So let us do this quickly. We'll just ask you a simple set of questions. Answer honestly, and you may go with your life. If you don't, then, well, it won't matter any more to you now, wouldn't it?
I gazed upon him. His eyes were yellow, which wasn't that unusual, as a many people have eyes of varying colors, but his; his was glowing, and his gaze can pierce through the soul, as if he can know what you'll think before you can think it.
'I am no threat to you or your people or, dragons. I am simply scouting.' I told them. Though now it strikes me, I could have used a better wording, now that I think about it.
'That makes things that much easier.' One of the lords said and grinned, like how a psychopath smiles before he kills his victim. 'We can't have spies inside our perimeters and let them live, most especially with the impending war.'
'Guards, eliminate him.' As he said the order, he turned around, and went out through one of the two doors on either side of the dais. The dragon snored.
At that moment, the guards let go of the chain. But instead of both ends falling to the ground, it hung in the air, as if it was stuck, as if it was frozen. Slowly I felt the chains tightening around me. Little scales started creeping from the ends to the main body. The scalelords started exiting out of the hall one by one, along with the two guards that were by me. Though my torso was wrapped in chains along with my arms, my legs were free.
I stood up, and the guards didn't seem to mind. I started running towards the nearest door. Again, I misjudged the distance. Somehow from where I was it was closer, but once I got up it was actually a few more meters than I expected. By the time I reached the door, all the scalelords have gone out, and it was locked from the outside.
The chains started to get tighter, and I breathing was starting to get rather voluntary. Obviously breaking the bonds was out of the question. I had to think of something else. I tried kicking the door, for some reason, but that made no help. It just made noise. Noise that started to wake up the sleeping dragon.
Five minutes in and I was motionless on the floor. I couldn't move, or more likely, I shouldn't move. I put all my energy and attention only within the space that was my body, redirecting all the mana I had left to try and stop that chains from squeezing me to death.
It was a little funny, actually. An Izzet Walker in his prime, killed by chain. How pathetic.
“Think, damn you.” A voice spoke in my head. It was old and ancient, and sounded wise and intelligent. Draconic in its root, fiery in its sound. There is only one being in the whole of the Multiverse that can do this: none other than the dracogenius: the Firemind.
'Think? I've been doing it ever since the chains started pulling the life out of me. I am out of mana, and I am out of time.' I thought back, whispering even. 'The only thing that can possibly have any change is that dra-' My eyes opened wide with surprise. Or maybe that was the chain's doing I'm not sure. 'No-no-no-no-no... no.'
I thought I heard Niv-Mizzet laugh, like a scientist would with an experiment. 'I chose you for a reason, and I hope you know why.' Then, his presence in my mind faded out. Time slowed down after that. Normally, even if the link has been made between the dragon and a member, a test must first be passed before on can communicate with Niv-Mizzet. But in this case, he initiated it. Something was amiss.
But at that time I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to figure out what was going on in the infinitely vast thoughts of my guild leader. The chains weren't stopping, but I was about to. The hall and the floors above it were devoid of furniture, only the stairs and the dais exist between the white walls and the white floor, and the light that shone through the ceiling above and the windows that surrounded the room. Only two things were breathing in that hall: me, and a beastly dragon. And the former was slowly losing his life.
'D-dra-dragon!' I cried, hoping to catch the attention of the beast. I figured I only had about three minutes left of air left, and I had to use it the best I could, if I ever wanted to use it again.
From where I was, I could run to where it was and either kick until it was mad or I bumped my head against its head. If its behavior was like the barrier, then it would react immediately to my presence. I had to try. If I die, I die trying.
Tsk. I thought to myself.
I ran with all the speed and force I could muster, and slammed my body straight into the dragon's hide. And after that, I smiled like it was my last day on Tarkir. Two things happened after I crashed: one, the hard scales broke the chain, I guess that's dragon magic to dragon magic. And two, I woke up the sleeping dragon.
I backed up slowly, then ran to the back of the hall as est I could. I heard the dragon roar several times. Every step it took shook the room like it was a hammer striking a nail.
When I made it back as far as I could, I was against the wall. Any other direction that wasn't forward wouldn't have gotten me anywhere, and going forward would mean facing the dragon myself. So I sat down on the floor, closed my eyes, and waited patiently.
In the last moments of my life, I thought I saw my life ride past by me, my past replay in my head. And I was surprised: because I saw nothing.
I found it very queer that I couldn't remember what happened the previous year, or who my parents were, if I had siblings or cousins, where I had lived before or where I was born, also what my name was. My head was blank, excluding my time in Ravnica, of course, and every event after that.
Preparing for unbearable amounts of pain was the next logical thing to do. I calmed myself down, knowing that there is no way out of this. I was thinking that the dragon would either eat or claw me up, or toast me fried with its fiery breath. But even though my eyes was closed, I saw this very, very bright light, as if I was staring at the sun. I tried to open my eyes, but the slightest opening blinded me. Maybe the dragon was going to explode?
At that time, I wished I was right, and now I'm thankful that I wasn't.
Dromokan dragons don't breathe fire. They shoot out lasers of light, strong enough to go through anything, intense enough to burn. Patience, I thought. The dragon moved slowly, and it was annoyed that its sleep was disturbed. Once things got hot enough, I rolled out of the way, and the beam went straight through the stone wall, carving out a hole big enough for even it to got through.
Once the blinding light was gone, I opened my eyes. The dragon slugged its way back into the far corner to go back to sleep, probably thought that it has killed the enemy. Thankfully it was dumb enough to think that.
Apparently no one was near enough to hear the dragon, either that or their too slow in sounding some sort of alert signal. Either way, I had enough time to charge mana and Planeswalk back to the city.
'And that's what happened.' I told the guild guards. 'Fellows, I'm a member of the League. I have the Firemind for the almighty love of-'
The guards pointed their spear at me. 'You may not pass'.
It is a good time to tell you that the Izzet have never had guards by their gate. They are terrified by the spontaneity of the guild's experiments. Spontaneous combustion was a thing, especially if you wore the uniform, which all guards were required to.
'Okay, okay. Have it your way.' I turned around. I breathed deep, turned around, and sent a few bolts of lightning towards the guards. Coincidentally, I also tore open the locked metal gates.
During the day, the Izzet headquarters look like the average building/skyscraper, if it weren't riddled with pipes and tubes on the outside that climb the skies and dig the earth, and not to mention the orbs of mana that are stationed beside the gate that generate large amounts of blue and red mana, channeling them all through out the structure.
During the night, well, it glows magnificently. The fluid that flows through the translucent tubes and pipes glow bright in the absence of daylight, and the natural colors of blue and red mana make it more beautifully so. But this time was different.
From the two great orbs, only the one for red mana was on. The guild halls, which was normally filled with notes and broken vials and busy scientists and magi, were all empty. Like the guild has been wiped clean. I knelt down and put the palm of my hand against the floor. It's a tracking spell that all advanced magi know, where one uses his mana to send a wave across a distance, getting useful information when the wave bounces back. But information was absent in the halls tonight. There were nothing but abandoned shelves, tables, rooms, like it was never used before.
I decided that I'd go to Nivix, the aerie of the Firemind. I cast a tracer, got the same results. I tried connecting to the dracogenius, but he seems to have closed any incoming signals from any chosen Fireminds.
In the guild's pseudo-garden, I lay in the grass, observing the crescent moon float in the dark sky. When I heard something in the distance. I got up quickly, and looked around.
At the top of the aerie was a cloaked figure, too far to make out fine details, but I was sure that it was human. He didn't seem to have been doing anything at first, he seemed standing at the top most tower observing the busy city beyond the guild walls. In the decade I've spent with the League, I've never seen anyone that stood atop the aerie. Because anyone foolish enough to try, would be burned by the Firemind's immense mana, unless he was granted permission.
I couldn't this out on my own. Why Niv-Mizzet talked to me when I was in the Dromokan court, or why the guild halls were devoid of both life and magiscience. Or why there were guards by the gate, or why I couldn't remember anything that happened before I joined the guild, or who the mysterious figure was atop Nivix. But he might know something.
'Hey there!' I shouted at the top of my lungs. 'Are you from the Izzet? Do you know what happened here?' I cried again. But from where I was, I doubt anyone would be able to here what I was saying if they were at such a high point.
The guild HQ was teeming with red mana, for some reason, so when I attempted to cast a flare to catch his attention, a fireball shot out of my hand instead, up to the sky, and it exploded like a firework, It was unintentionally loud (which was already to be expected when you're an Izzet), but it did a good job at catching the figure's attention.
He looked at where I was. And for a brief moment, I saw his eyes. Or rather, her eyes. The wind undid her hood, revealing burning red hair below the light the moon. Her eyes were glowing, one as white as the sun, the other as red as blood. I was shocked. She squatted down, as if preparing to jump, then a great pair of wings sprouted forth from her back, then she flew away almost in the same instant. A Boros angel, I thought.
I ran out of the guild hall, and into the busy streets of Ravnica. I had to find out what happened during the time I was in Tarkir. And if I'm right and this is the result of a crime or some greater force, then there is only two places I can go. The first one is the center of the plane's law and order: the Azorius Senate.
Dragons, are frightening. I don't mean it in the sense that they can kill you on sight, with fires so hot you won't even feel it, and claws so sharp they can slice through steel like it's made of cheese. It's the complete and utter loss of hope. A dragon's skin is the hardest thing there is. No weapon can pierce it, no spell can break it. The only way to beat a dragon is through brute force, and it has been a thousand years since anyone has been able to do that. And most unfortunately, I'm facing one right now.
'Well, well, what do we have here?' Asked a man in shining, green robes. He was standing on a platform, in front of a huge window, so the light that came in shone on the gems embedded in his robe and reflected greatly like mirrors. The dais was above a hundred (or so I've counted) steps, so it felt like I was in the presence of a king.
I was bound in chains, with two guards beside me. As far as I was concerned, the hall was filled with them. Floors upon floors stacked up from where I was, like an open tower; and with each layer was about a hundred scaleguards, and at the bottom, where the man was, the scalelords resided, and at the farthest corner of the hall, was a Dromokan dragon: huge, fat, and most certainly asleep.
I couldn't think properly, with such a beast in the room. It was different from the presence of the dracogenius, almost like more cardinal, more... primal.
I didn't notice I was staring.
'It won't hurt you, not unless we want it too.' One of the scalelords said, then the other ones chuckled.
“I am no threat to your lands, your highness.” I answered, bowing my head as far as I could. I was not about to die in some foreign land.
' “Your highness”?' He bellowed, to the annoyance of my ears. 'I haven't been called your highness in, well, never.' The man started walking down the steps. As he got closer, I could make out details about what he looked like. He had no hair, yet he wasn't old either. He looked like he was in his prime, he had a tall lean build, his robe was indeed embedded with gems, but as they escaped the light of the sun they started to look, less brighter.
'We are busy, do you know that?' he clapped his hands together. The guards tightened their hold on both ends of the chain. 'Here in the fortress, we value our family, hour honor, our dignity. The wars of course, are a threat to that, and so we are preparing for defensive measures. Very defensive measures. We have no time to trial trespassers such as yourself.'
'No, listen to me-'
'So let us do this quickly. We'll just ask you a simple set of questions. Answer honestly, and you may go with your life. If you don't, then, well, it won't matter any more to you now, wouldn't it?
I gazed upon him. His eyes were yellow, which wasn't that unusual, as a many people have eyes of varying colors, but his; his was glowing, and his gaze can pierce through the soul, as if he can know what you'll think before you can think it.
'I am no threat to you or your people or, dragons. I am simply scouting.' I told them. Though now it strikes me, I could have used a better wording, now that I think about it.
'That makes things that much easier.' One of the lords said and grinned, like how a psychopath smiles before he kills his victim. 'We can't have spies inside our perimeters and let them live, most especially with the impending war.'
'Guards, eliminate him.' As he said the order, he turned around, and went out through one of the two doors on either side of the dais. The dragon snored.
At that moment, the guards let go of the chain. But instead of both ends falling to the ground, it hung in the air, as if it was stuck, as if it was frozen. Slowly I felt the chains tightening around me. Little scales started creeping from the ends to the main body. The scalelords started exiting out of the hall one by one, along with the two guards that were by me. Though my torso was wrapped in chains along with my arms, my legs were free.
I stood up, and the guards didn't seem to mind. I started running towards the nearest door. Again, I misjudged the distance. Somehow from where I was it was closer, but once I got up it was actually a few more meters than I expected. By the time I reached the door, all the scalelords have gone out, and it was locked from the outside.
The chains started to get tighter, and I breathing was starting to get rather voluntary. Obviously breaking the bonds was out of the question. I had to think of something else. I tried kicking the door, for some reason, but that made no help. It just made noise. Noise that started to wake up the sleeping dragon.
Five minutes in and I was motionless on the floor. I couldn't move, or more likely, I shouldn't move. I put all my energy and attention only within the space that was my body, redirecting all the mana I had left to try and stop that chains from squeezing me to death.
It was a little funny, actually. An Izzet Walker in his prime, killed by chain. How pathetic.
“Think, damn you.” A voice spoke in my head. It was old and ancient, and sounded wise and intelligent. Draconic in its root, fiery in its sound. There is only one being in the whole of the Multiverse that can do this: none other than the dracogenius: the Firemind.
'Think? I've been doing it ever since the chains started pulling the life out of me. I am out of mana, and I am out of time.' I thought back, whispering even. 'The only thing that can possibly have any change is that dra-' My eyes opened wide with surprise. Or maybe that was the chain's doing I'm not sure. 'No-no-no-no-no... no.'
I thought I heard Niv-Mizzet laugh, like a scientist would with an experiment. 'I chose you for a reason, and I hope you know why.' Then, his presence in my mind faded out. Time slowed down after that. Normally, even if the link has been made between the dragon and a member, a test must first be passed before on can communicate with Niv-Mizzet. But in this case, he initiated it. Something was amiss.
But at that time I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted to figure out what was going on in the infinitely vast thoughts of my guild leader. The chains weren't stopping, but I was about to. The hall and the floors above it were devoid of furniture, only the stairs and the dais exist between the white walls and the white floor, and the light that shone through the ceiling above and the windows that surrounded the room. Only two things were breathing in that hall: me, and a beastly dragon. And the former was slowly losing his life.
'D-dra-dragon!' I cried, hoping to catch the attention of the beast. I figured I only had about three minutes left of air left, and I had to use it the best I could, if I ever wanted to use it again.
From where I was, I could run to where it was and either kick until it was mad or I bumped my head against its head. If its behavior was like the barrier, then it would react immediately to my presence. I had to try. If I die, I die trying.
Tsk. I thought to myself.
I ran with all the speed and force I could muster, and slammed my body straight into the dragon's hide. And after that, I smiled like it was my last day on Tarkir. Two things happened after I crashed: one, the hard scales broke the chain, I guess that's dragon magic to dragon magic. And two, I woke up the sleeping dragon.
I backed up slowly, then ran to the back of the hall as est I could. I heard the dragon roar several times. Every step it took shook the room like it was a hammer striking a nail.
When I made it back as far as I could, I was against the wall. Any other direction that wasn't forward wouldn't have gotten me anywhere, and going forward would mean facing the dragon myself. So I sat down on the floor, closed my eyes, and waited patiently.
In the last moments of my life, I thought I saw my life ride past by me, my past replay in my head. And I was surprised: because I saw nothing.
I found it very queer that I couldn't remember what happened the previous year, or who my parents were, if I had siblings or cousins, where I had lived before or where I was born, also what my name was. My head was blank, excluding my time in Ravnica, of course, and every event after that.
Preparing for unbearable amounts of pain was the next logical thing to do. I calmed myself down, knowing that there is no way out of this. I was thinking that the dragon would either eat or claw me up, or toast me fried with its fiery breath. But even though my eyes was closed, I saw this very, very bright light, as if I was staring at the sun. I tried to open my eyes, but the slightest opening blinded me. Maybe the dragon was going to explode?
At that time, I wished I was right, and now I'm thankful that I wasn't.
Dromokan dragons don't breathe fire. They shoot out lasers of light, strong enough to go through anything, intense enough to burn. Patience, I thought. The dragon moved slowly, and it was annoyed that its sleep was disturbed. Once things got hot enough, I rolled out of the way, and the beam went straight through the stone wall, carving out a hole big enough for even it to got through.
Once the blinding light was gone, I opened my eyes. The dragon slugged its way back into the far corner to go back to sleep, probably thought that it has killed the enemy. Thankfully it was dumb enough to think that.
Apparently no one was near enough to hear the dragon, either that or their too slow in sounding some sort of alert signal. Either way, I had enough time to charge mana and Planeswalk back to the city.
'And that's what happened.' I told the guild guards. 'Fellows, I'm a member of the League. I have the Firemind for the almighty love of-'
The guards pointed their spear at me. 'You may not pass'.
It is a good time to tell you that the Izzet have never had guards by their gate. They are terrified by the spontaneity of the guild's experiments. Spontaneous combustion was a thing, especially if you wore the uniform, which all guards were required to.
'Okay, okay. Have it your way.' I turned around. I breathed deep, turned around, and sent a few bolts of lightning towards the guards. Coincidentally, I also tore open the locked metal gates.
During the day, the Izzet headquarters look like the average building/skyscraper, if it weren't riddled with pipes and tubes on the outside that climb the skies and dig the earth, and not to mention the orbs of mana that are stationed beside the gate that generate large amounts of blue and red mana, channeling them all through out the structure.
During the night, well, it glows magnificently. The fluid that flows through the translucent tubes and pipes glow bright in the absence of daylight, and the natural colors of blue and red mana make it more beautifully so. But this time was different.
From the two great orbs, only the one for red mana was on. The guild halls, which was normally filled with notes and broken vials and busy scientists and magi, were all empty. Like the guild has been wiped clean. I knelt down and put the palm of my hand against the floor. It's a tracking spell that all advanced magi know, where one uses his mana to send a wave across a distance, getting useful information when the wave bounces back. But information was absent in the halls tonight. There were nothing but abandoned shelves, tables, rooms, like it was never used before.
I decided that I'd go to Nivix, the aerie of the Firemind. I cast a tracer, got the same results. I tried connecting to the dracogenius, but he seems to have closed any incoming signals from any chosen Fireminds.
In the guild's pseudo-garden, I lay in the grass, observing the crescent moon float in the dark sky. When I heard something in the distance. I got up quickly, and looked around.
At the top of the aerie was a cloaked figure, too far to make out fine details, but I was sure that it was human. He didn't seem to have been doing anything at first, he seemed standing at the top most tower observing the busy city beyond the guild walls. In the decade I've spent with the League, I've never seen anyone that stood atop the aerie. Because anyone foolish enough to try, would be burned by the Firemind's immense mana, unless he was granted permission.
I couldn't this out on my own. Why Niv-Mizzet talked to me when I was in the Dromokan court, or why the guild halls were devoid of both life and magiscience. Or why there were guards by the gate, or why I couldn't remember anything that happened before I joined the guild, or who the mysterious figure was atop Nivix. But he might know something.
'Hey there!' I shouted at the top of my lungs. 'Are you from the Izzet? Do you know what happened here?' I cried again. But from where I was, I doubt anyone would be able to here what I was saying if they were at such a high point.
The guild HQ was teeming with red mana, for some reason, so when I attempted to cast a flare to catch his attention, a fireball shot out of my hand instead, up to the sky, and it exploded like a firework, It was unintentionally loud (which was already to be expected when you're an Izzet), but it did a good job at catching the figure's attention.
He looked at where I was. And for a brief moment, I saw his eyes. Or rather, her eyes. The wind undid her hood, revealing burning red hair below the light the moon. Her eyes were glowing, one as white as the sun, the other as red as blood. I was shocked. She squatted down, as if preparing to jump, then a great pair of wings sprouted forth from her back, then she flew away almost in the same instant. A Boros angel, I thought.
I ran out of the guild hall, and into the busy streets of Ravnica. I had to find out what happened during the time I was in Tarkir. And if I'm right and this is the result of a crime or some greater force, then there is only two places I can go. The first one is the center of the plane's law and order: the Azorius Senate.
Chapter 2
The Ghosts of Ravnica
New Prahv is an austere and immaculate building; elegant but without ornaments. White marble, alabaster, and steel are its predominant materials. Wide and curvilinear corridors lead to big halls, each one with a collection of smaller rooms and offices. As halls and rooms have nothing to differentiate them from the other rooms, people who visit New Prahv without escort inevitably get lost. Though not many people like entering the Senate's halls, regardless of whether their entrance has anything do with the law.
On my way there that night, I saw more Boros and Azorius soldiers than usual, patrolling the city, randomly asking and interrogating the citizens. One of them almost got to me if I hadn't hurried inside. One of them had soulless eyes. One of them looked dead. I don't know if I was the only one that noticed.
Anyways, the main lobby was circular in size, which had a pretty huge diameter. It was filled with Azorius guildmagi going here and there, getting scrolls from one shelf to the other, while some of the scribes went up a hundred steps on the ladders in the distance just to get scrolls from a seemingly arbitrary location.
Everything was silent. Kind of. On a usual day, the Senate would not be heard talking with one another, at least not in a public room like the main reception. All I heard there were pages being turned, leather boots walking on the ground, and the occasional movement of wheeled ladders across the floor.
I've never been to the Azorius Senate, to tell you the truth; or at least, that's what I remember. For the past 10 years, guild activities have been heavy and labor-intensive, I barely had anytime to explore the next block. Once, I saw Jace Beleren visit the halls, it was only for a minute, he entered the gate, looked around, then left again. I did not really see it but if you are as proficient with Magic as Jace is, it only takes seconds to send a tracer across the guild hall, which would have taken me a minute or two usually. Jace is a Planeswalker, and one of the very few that can talk to Niv-Mizzet without the Firemind.
I found myself at the center of the business. As far as I could see, I was the only one there that wasn't an Azorius member. Since I've never been there, I didn't know where to start.
I approached the nearest person that didn't seem to be as busy. She had her hair hidden beneath a hood that was wrapped around her forehead by a silver chain. Beneath her white cloak was silver steel armor, the general plating for Azorius soldiers. She approached the exit from the door north, I think she was planning to exit the hall.
'Uh, excuse me-'
'No.'
She ignored me coldly.
I followed her steps briskly. 'If I can just ask where to report missing-'
She stopped for a second. Looked at me like she was inspecting newly delivered weapons, and said 'No, the Senate is not accepting outside concerns at the moment.' She started to the gate. 'Good day.' Even though it was the middle of the night.
'Well, that was helpful.'
I kept asking around the area. Every Senate member closed themselves off. Doing the only logical thing I could think of, I explored the areas that I could. Prahv's internal design was simple. Too simple. Every room had practically the same design, same layout for the furniture, same marble walls, columns, carpets, size of the windows, doors, everything. It was like a house of mirrors. I exited one room, I entered another one just like it. Only things that changed were the number of people inside them and the number of scrolls that filled the shelves.
After about ten minutes of going in and out of different (or so I hope), I found myself back at the main lobby. But once I did, everyone looked at my direction, like I was some sort of a mutation in their perfect system. Strange, as they didn't seem to notice me earlier. That kept on until I was out of the building and was back on the streets.
The sun was now rising up the sky. I could have swore that it was around 1 AM when I entered the Senate. Has so much time passed since then? I didn't feel tired nor sleepy either. Something happened while I was inside New Prahv. Something is definitely out of place.
I went to the docks, get some fresh seawater breeze. Sailors were busy loading and unloading ships with crates of food, wine, weapons, cloth, and other things that got imported and exported from Ravnica to who knows where.
I sat on the edge of a rock cliff that overlooked the ocean. From there I could see up to the horizon, and a good part of the city if I looked the opposite direction. I laid down, looking upon the lightening blue sky. I breathed deeply, then I realized how much has happened today. My guild has suddenly disappeared, the others don't seem to be affected by it, the Azorius and the boros are acting like mindless drones, and my memory of my early life has mysteriously vanished. I couldn't wrap my head around all of that and I drifted away to sleep, slowly and uneasy, but very tired.
I dreamed of the sea. I was standing on the water, somehow. There was only the water and the sky, I couldn't see any signs of land nor life. The sky was cloudy and dark, as if it was going to rain. I tried to walk, but any other spot I land my feet on instantly turns into 'normal' water, so I could only stay in one place.
As the wind grew stronger, so did the moving tides. Soon I found myself inside a storm, the water around me churning, with waves crashing into other waves. I struggled to keep my balance. But I could only keep up. The element was relentless. It kept growing and growing, until a hundred-meter tall wave of water brought itself upon me, and I sank deep and fast into the ocean.
That's when I saw her. Or should I say it? She was humanoid and feminine in features, but that's as close as she got to being human. Her skin was blue, and her eyes glowed green against the dark blue depths. Her hair was made out of tentacles, moving fluidly with the tossing waters. She wore a battle armor, mostly for the torso and the legs.
She stared at me intently, as if I was an abnormality. That reminded me of the Azorius soldiers. The thought made me squirm and stressful, and I realized I was running out of air.
'It is fine, my warrior.' She spoke, but she did not open her mouth. Like her thoughts were being spoken into mine.
I was skeptical for a second, but I was desperate. I took a deep breath, and everything calmed down.
'Who- who are you?' I asked, trying to keep myself from returning to the surface or sinking deeper.
'You will know, in time. I can only keep this conversation so long. Travel to the plane of Theros. Seek me in the seas of Meletis. You will find your answers there.' Then she vanished, and in the point where she was, a vacuum appeared, and started sucking the surrounding water violently. Not so long I was also included in the stream, then I awoke.
I sat up and observed the horizon. There was the ocean, calm and peaceful. Ships sailed here and there. The sun was setting now, which means I slept through the whole day. Dreams do take more time than you think they do.
When I tried to stand up, my head hurt. Very much. I kept getting this blurry flashes of memory that I didn't know were real, made-up, or distorted from the past. I saw a pale-white giant with a huge dark cleaver in one flash, a field of blades in another. I staggered away from the docks, and back to the closest town.
The townsfolk in Ravnica are a little different from what you might expect. Most of them are guildless, and don't like to be concerned with the affairs of the guilds (except some encounters with the Azorius and the Orzhov) most especially between 'minor' disputes. I say minor because it is not plane-threateningly devastating like the all-out guild war almost two decades ago, and that these are caused and participated in by more or less three guilds, mostly because one interrupted the other, or a conflict in philosophy lingers around too long. These happen almost once a week, therefore making the commoners gain a special hate towards the guilds and its members, but they cannot really do anything about it, as the Ten are responsible for the fate of Ravnica.
But that doesn't mean they can't show signs of it. As an Izzet member, I have to wear the signet at all times. It can be sown to your clothes, or the uniform, or tattooed on the back of either of the hands. I chose the latter. I joined the Izzet when I was young, and little did I know how much effect the mark would have on my interaction with the town's people.
When the vendors see the mark of a guild, they become instantly disrespectful, often releasing an aura of murderous intent. There are also the carpenters, the sellswords, the rogue soldiers, and the other commoners.
After an hour of walking through the town, I reached the Tavern. It's named The Tavern, for some reason. I went to my room upstairs, grabbed a bag of supplies, then I disappeared from Ravnica. I thought to myself, no, I promised myself (and my potentially dead or alive guild members) that I will find out what happened.
New Prahv is an austere and immaculate building; elegant but without ornaments. White marble, alabaster, and steel are its predominant materials. Wide and curvilinear corridors lead to big halls, each one with a collection of smaller rooms and offices. As halls and rooms have nothing to differentiate them from the other rooms, people who visit New Prahv without escort inevitably get lost. Though not many people like entering the Senate's halls, regardless of whether their entrance has anything do with the law.
On my way there that night, I saw more Boros and Azorius soldiers than usual, patrolling the city, randomly asking and interrogating the citizens. One of them almost got to me if I hadn't hurried inside. One of them had soulless eyes. One of them looked dead. I don't know if I was the only one that noticed.
Anyways, the main lobby was circular in size, which had a pretty huge diameter. It was filled with Azorius guildmagi going here and there, getting scrolls from one shelf to the other, while some of the scribes went up a hundred steps on the ladders in the distance just to get scrolls from a seemingly arbitrary location.
Everything was silent. Kind of. On a usual day, the Senate would not be heard talking with one another, at least not in a public room like the main reception. All I heard there were pages being turned, leather boots walking on the ground, and the occasional movement of wheeled ladders across the floor.
I've never been to the Azorius Senate, to tell you the truth; or at least, that's what I remember. For the past 10 years, guild activities have been heavy and labor-intensive, I barely had anytime to explore the next block. Once, I saw Jace Beleren visit the halls, it was only for a minute, he entered the gate, looked around, then left again. I did not really see it but if you are as proficient with Magic as Jace is, it only takes seconds to send a tracer across the guild hall, which would have taken me a minute or two usually. Jace is a Planeswalker, and one of the very few that can talk to Niv-Mizzet without the Firemind.
I found myself at the center of the business. As far as I could see, I was the only one there that wasn't an Azorius member. Since I've never been there, I didn't know where to start.
I approached the nearest person that didn't seem to be as busy. She had her hair hidden beneath a hood that was wrapped around her forehead by a silver chain. Beneath her white cloak was silver steel armor, the general plating for Azorius soldiers. She approached the exit from the door north, I think she was planning to exit the hall.
'Uh, excuse me-'
'No.'
She ignored me coldly.
I followed her steps briskly. 'If I can just ask where to report missing-'
She stopped for a second. Looked at me like she was inspecting newly delivered weapons, and said 'No, the Senate is not accepting outside concerns at the moment.' She started to the gate. 'Good day.' Even though it was the middle of the night.
'Well, that was helpful.'
I kept asking around the area. Every Senate member closed themselves off. Doing the only logical thing I could think of, I explored the areas that I could. Prahv's internal design was simple. Too simple. Every room had practically the same design, same layout for the furniture, same marble walls, columns, carpets, size of the windows, doors, everything. It was like a house of mirrors. I exited one room, I entered another one just like it. Only things that changed were the number of people inside them and the number of scrolls that filled the shelves.
After about ten minutes of going in and out of different (or so I hope), I found myself back at the main lobby. But once I did, everyone looked at my direction, like I was some sort of a mutation in their perfect system. Strange, as they didn't seem to notice me earlier. That kept on until I was out of the building and was back on the streets.
The sun was now rising up the sky. I could have swore that it was around 1 AM when I entered the Senate. Has so much time passed since then? I didn't feel tired nor sleepy either. Something happened while I was inside New Prahv. Something is definitely out of place.
I went to the docks, get some fresh seawater breeze. Sailors were busy loading and unloading ships with crates of food, wine, weapons, cloth, and other things that got imported and exported from Ravnica to who knows where.
I sat on the edge of a rock cliff that overlooked the ocean. From there I could see up to the horizon, and a good part of the city if I looked the opposite direction. I laid down, looking upon the lightening blue sky. I breathed deeply, then I realized how much has happened today. My guild has suddenly disappeared, the others don't seem to be affected by it, the Azorius and the boros are acting like mindless drones, and my memory of my early life has mysteriously vanished. I couldn't wrap my head around all of that and I drifted away to sleep, slowly and uneasy, but very tired.
I dreamed of the sea. I was standing on the water, somehow. There was only the water and the sky, I couldn't see any signs of land nor life. The sky was cloudy and dark, as if it was going to rain. I tried to walk, but any other spot I land my feet on instantly turns into 'normal' water, so I could only stay in one place.
As the wind grew stronger, so did the moving tides. Soon I found myself inside a storm, the water around me churning, with waves crashing into other waves. I struggled to keep my balance. But I could only keep up. The element was relentless. It kept growing and growing, until a hundred-meter tall wave of water brought itself upon me, and I sank deep and fast into the ocean.
That's when I saw her. Or should I say it? She was humanoid and feminine in features, but that's as close as she got to being human. Her skin was blue, and her eyes glowed green against the dark blue depths. Her hair was made out of tentacles, moving fluidly with the tossing waters. She wore a battle armor, mostly for the torso and the legs.
She stared at me intently, as if I was an abnormality. That reminded me of the Azorius soldiers. The thought made me squirm and stressful, and I realized I was running out of air.
'It is fine, my warrior.' She spoke, but she did not open her mouth. Like her thoughts were being spoken into mine.
I was skeptical for a second, but I was desperate. I took a deep breath, and everything calmed down.
'Who- who are you?' I asked, trying to keep myself from returning to the surface or sinking deeper.
'You will know, in time. I can only keep this conversation so long. Travel to the plane of Theros. Seek me in the seas of Meletis. You will find your answers there.' Then she vanished, and in the point where she was, a vacuum appeared, and started sucking the surrounding water violently. Not so long I was also included in the stream, then I awoke.
I sat up and observed the horizon. There was the ocean, calm and peaceful. Ships sailed here and there. The sun was setting now, which means I slept through the whole day. Dreams do take more time than you think they do.
When I tried to stand up, my head hurt. Very much. I kept getting this blurry flashes of memory that I didn't know were real, made-up, or distorted from the past. I saw a pale-white giant with a huge dark cleaver in one flash, a field of blades in another. I staggered away from the docks, and back to the closest town.
The townsfolk in Ravnica are a little different from what you might expect. Most of them are guildless, and don't like to be concerned with the affairs of the guilds (except some encounters with the Azorius and the Orzhov) most especially between 'minor' disputes. I say minor because it is not plane-threateningly devastating like the all-out guild war almost two decades ago, and that these are caused and participated in by more or less three guilds, mostly because one interrupted the other, or a conflict in philosophy lingers around too long. These happen almost once a week, therefore making the commoners gain a special hate towards the guilds and its members, but they cannot really do anything about it, as the Ten are responsible for the fate of Ravnica.
But that doesn't mean they can't show signs of it. As an Izzet member, I have to wear the signet at all times. It can be sown to your clothes, or the uniform, or tattooed on the back of either of the hands. I chose the latter. I joined the Izzet when I was young, and little did I know how much effect the mark would have on my interaction with the town's people.
When the vendors see the mark of a guild, they become instantly disrespectful, often releasing an aura of murderous intent. There are also the carpenters, the sellswords, the rogue soldiers, and the other commoners.
After an hour of walking through the town, I reached the Tavern. It's named The Tavern, for some reason. I went to my room upstairs, grabbed a bag of supplies, then I disappeared from Ravnica. I thought to myself, no, I promised myself (and my potentially dead or alive guild members) that I will find out what happened.
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