Magic: the Sundering

[bury the year]

[center][font="georgia"][i][b][u][size=5]Magic: the Sundering[/size][/u][/b][/i][/font]
[url="http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/294553-magic-the-sundering/"]OOC THREAD[/url][/center]

[i]His lungs hammered in his chest, rising and falling as his legs churned. Booted feet slapped against wet pavement, and the dark woolen cloak wound around his body did little now to keep his body heat in. However, that was the least of his concerns at the minute. He was more concerned by the sight of the… [/i]thing[i] clattering down the street behind him.

Even the word “thing” was too kind. It had nary a form, merely a roiling and oozing reddish body that less walked than tumbled down the cobblestoned road. Each time the man glanced over his shoulder, he could see different shapes emerging from the body, each one incredibly unnerving to him. And that was saying something. He was in a business that demanded steely nerves.

As he ran onwards, only listening to the sucking sound of the beast swallowing up debris in its way, he briefly contemplated trying to get help, but dismissed the idea just as quickly. It was night. The doors of the Lone Bird District were closed and battened shut against any unsavory characters that may have been stalking the streets.

Thus, he ran through the sprawl, taking constant turns to try to throw the beast off his tail. Left, left, right, left again. Nothing worked. The beast echoed his every move with uncanny precision.

Suddenly, he whipped around a corner to see a most disheartening sight. A wall, made of impartial grey stone that wrapped around on all sides. An iron grate topped it, with multiple cruel spikes on top to dissuade burglars.

Still calm, with only the faintest sheen of sweat coating his brow, the mage dropped down into a pre-combat position. Legs loose, knees bent, arms outstretched. He channeled mana into his palm into a diffuse blow, hopefully one that would knock the beast back and stun it, and fired.

To no effect. He watched horrified as the blast hit the ooze like a hammer on rubber, vibrating quickly before being absorbed into its body. He fired another one, panicking, and another one again. The second and third merely had the same effect. Yes, he was inexperienced and new to his position, but he didn’t think his service would end so quickly. Not now.

He had little reason to be terrified much longer. Like a bloody wave, the ooze collapsed on him, stifling the man’s scream and wrenching his life from his body at once. His right hand, once clasped tight, now was loosened. The object within fell to the rough floor with a clatter as the rest of the mage’s body was absorbed into the mass. A rounded signet, the crest upon it bearing a single obverse eye with spider legs.[/i]

[hr]

This was not an event happening right now, of course. It had happened many years ago, on a plane that was once cloistered away but is now opened up to the multiverse’s riches. It was a ripple of a memory that bounced around the varied surfaces of reality, flitting between worlds effortlessly. It saw no obstacles, including those within the minds of men.

The ripple sought the spark of ascension, the sign of a planeswalker. It entered their brains and imbued them with a thought, one that could not just be willed away. This thought called to them, gave them a name. The name of a plane.

Ravnica.

[hr]

Please note that as per the rules I’ve established, we will have a posting cycle, which is listed below. Each roleplayer has 72 hours to respond during their turn of the cycle – if you are skipped three times or more without an excuse, you and your characters will be eliminated.

[center][b]salseethrough[/b] (Raore Disvell) -> [b]Aesirson[/b] (Garod, Hilda Re) -> [b]TheFinalFan[/b] (Chienah) -> [b].Rai (tentatively)[/b] -> [b]Rinne[/b] (???) -> [i]back around again[/i][/center]

Your first post must involve your planeswalker a) starting on a plane that is not their plane of origin, B) sensing the memory ripple, and c) planeswalking to the ripple’s point of origin. This should only take up the one post.

[Cray-Crow]

"Gatekeeper."

"Sir." The vampire on watch pulled a creaking, wooden lever and Malakir's gate's opened, the vast expanse of Zendikar coming into view. Hedrons littered the landscape, half buried in the ground and floating in the sky. In the distant mountains a red lightning storm was wreaking havoc, breaking apart a portion of the rock face.Raore looked to the left of the storm. There lied the hold of Kalastria, another tribe of vampires that occupied this plane.

Before the rise of the Eldrazi, the vampire clans were separated and very rarely saw eye to eye, but now, with a common and godlike enemy, they began to cooperate to fight for their existence. Kalastria highborns had just finished a meeting with the Malakir leaders that mostly involved the dilemma of their humans' faith. The humans, evidently, would only keep with their sacrifices to the vampire tribes in trade for protection from the Eldrazi. Obviously, the tribes, single-handedly, could not do this on their own. The meeting adjourned with the collaboration of another clan ensured. Now, Raore was to accompany the two highborns of the Kalastria and ensure their safe return to their home. In his entourage were three Nighthawks, deadly vampires with many combat skills, and two assassins from the Guul Draz tribe. Their tribe had been visited in the past and they more than agreed to lend a sharp hand.

"We're moving."

--

Three quarters of the way to the Kalastria village had gone by seemlessly. A few beasts and a few reptiles, but nothing that would even catch a glimpse of the highborns. The Nighthawks were the best warriors Raore had ever worked with, no offense to the Guul Draz. The point man of this escort presented himself to Raore and he called for the troop to come to a halt.

"What is it, Nighthawk?"

"Sir, large debris ahead. Collapsed trees, broken ground."

"A rampaging Baloth? A Wurm?"

"Seems Eldrazi. Larger than both."

Raore signaled for a stealth combat formation. "Two Nighthawks to the highborns. Guul Draz, the same. Point man, take the trees. Move cautiously." Their best approach, and their only survivable one, was to strike this monster while it unsuspected them, but to the groups misfortune, the creature had already seen them.

The canopy disappeared as the lone Eldrazi crushed a row of trees beneath its fleshy tendrils. It swiped with a massive arm towards the vampires. Raore dodged the attack, grasping one of the highborns in his arms, saving her life. The Nighthawks lifted the other to the trees, avoiding the crushing blow, but the assassins were taken and killed in the being's gargantuan palm. The point man launched himself from the sky, making a daring strike, but failed as several tentacles came into his path. He was extinguished of life in an instant. The crusher turned its faceless head at Raore's direction and launched its open palm at him and the vampire female, but Raore was a planeswalker. He raised his palm at the Eldrazi and from the sky a black blade slashed the beast from its head to its belly. Split open, it fell to the ground dead. Raore got to his feet and lifted the highborn to hers. The other was brought down from the trees unharmed, and the journey began again. The Guul Draz will be notified of their lost after they reach their destination, and they will be grieved upon.

--

"I am happy to see the highborns unharmed, Raore." The Kalastria Bloodchief, Drana, exclaimed in her suave, velvet voice. She drank from a glass of crimson as Raore approached her on her throne. She outstretched her left hand and Raore took it in his right, and kissed her blood soaked knuckles. It tasted fresh, as it always was Raore thought as he licked his lips clean. The highborns bowed in their chief's presence and retreated to their chambers.

"It wasn't peaceful, Drana. Two of the Guul Draz were killed. Be sure their village knows of this."

"Done." She snapped her blood-red fingers and a vassal left her throne room. She smiled, revealing her fangs. "You can't know how much the tribes appreciate what you've done. Ensuring ties so that we may fight the abominations of this land. You don't know [i]my [/i]appreciation."

Raore would've loved to read between Drana's lustful words but his mind wrapped itself around elsewhere. It was a memory, but what made this even more puzzling was that fact that it wasn't [i]his [/i]memory. Raore's brow furrowed. He saw a cloaked man running from a red.. [i]thing[/i] before it pulled him to his agonizing death. An amulet with a peculiar symbol fell to the ground, and with the ring of its contact with the cobblestone, rang a single word: [i]Ravnica.[/i]

"My apologies, Drana, but," Raore began. He didn't know what he had this feeling, but it could not be shaken. His mind made itself up. "I must go. Something beckons me." The Bloodchief looked him up and down with her beautiful, amber eyes. "Suit yourself, planeswalker. Only work for you."

"I'll get my pleasure." With that, Raore entered the Blind Eternities, the bursting emptiness between the planes, and planeswalked to the scene of his memory. He recognized the surrounding architecture and looked to the cobblestone.

[i]I.. remember this..[/i]

[Aesirson]

Hilda wandered through the endless desert. On this plane, as far as Hilda was aware, there was nothing but desert, and inside this desert there were no dunes, no oases, nothing but sand. There was no wind, but the plane was filled with mana, so much in fact that a mage like Hilda did not have to eat nor drink while there, as her entire lifeforce was fueled by the sheer amount of mana flowing through the air.

Sure it was lonely living on this plane, but Hilda didn't mind. This way, no one could tell her she didn't belong, as there was no one around. The only other beings that one could consider living on this plane was elementals conjured through the mana flowing through the air, but their lifespan wasn't usually longer than a few minutes to a day or two, as the overload of mana killed them.

[i]Ravnica.[/i]

Yes. Ravnica. Hilda remembered that place. Yet another place where she didn't belong due to her origins. She remembered walking the streets at night, looking over her shoulder to see if the red, ooze-like thing was still following her. Something was odd...

No. Hilda was not the one being followed. It wasn't even her memory, and yet it was as clear as if it had happened yesterday. The memory faded away with a signet of an eye with spider legs, an emblem that Hilda remembered from her time on Ravnica. She had been told to stay away from it, as she was sure to be decieved and betrayed if she ever trusted someone bearing that sign. Like if she wasn't betrayed by those who she thought she could trust anyway...

She didn't give it a second thought, but instead she immediately stepped into the Blind Eternities and in the blink of an eye she stood at the scene of the crime, now disguised as a full-blooded human. The first thing she noticed when she arrived was that she was not the only one around. Her instincts told her to quickly hide, but there was no place to do so, and there was no way that this other person had not seen her planeswalk.

"Hello there!" She said, forcing a smile, acting as if seeing people planeswalk was a common thing to do in your everyday life.

-------------------------------------

"I am really thankful for this." Garod said and looked at the food placed on the table in front of him. The three kitsune that sat among him around the table looked at him and smiled.

"It's the least we could do after you chased those bandits off!" One of them said. "Now, eat!"

Garod figured it would be rude not to, so he tried to pick up a piece of the strange food, using the sticks he had been given. The kitsune called the food "rice". Garod hadn't seen anything like it before, but he wasn't impressed when he took a bite. It was tasteless, but since it was edible he kept eating, one piece at the time with the occasional double, as he was unable to pick up more than that with each grab with the sticks. The youngest of the kitsune looked at him with amusement.

"Have you heard of a creature called Nicol Bolas?" Garod asked, not expecting the answer he wanted, but he figured he could ask anyway. The foxmen shook their heads and Garod sighed.

[i]Ravnica.[/i]

Garod thought it strange that a word of no meaning to him had suddenly popped up inside his head, but he kept eating in silence while the kitsune talked to eachother about farming rice. After a while, the thought of this word, Ravnica, started to shape into a memory of a street, an alley in a giant city. Garod walked along the alley, followed by a red ooze. Still, Garod was sure he had never been there. He remembered the panic, and the pain of being consumed by the ooze creature, and he stood up at the table. The kitsune looked at him with questioning looks.

"I apologize, but I must go." He said. "Thank you for the food, I am truly grateful." He walked towards the door, and the moment he was outside he entered the Blind Eternities and felt how the thought of Ravnica became stronger the closer he came to his destination. He landed in the same streets as Raore and Hilda, but unlike Hilda he wasn't concerned that they had seen him enter the plane.

"What in the world are you!?" Hilda expressed, obviously surprised by the appearance of a giant rhinoman.

"My name is Garod, planeswalker from the plane of Alara." Garod greeted the two others. "Pleased to meet you."

"In that case..." Hilda had become used that there was strange creatures on planes other than Innistrad (as the creatures of Innistrad were perfectly normal, in her opinion) "My name is Hilda Re, planeswalker." She nodded at Garod, but she was prepared to defend herself in case the giant, or the other person for that matter, was about to do anything against her.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

Mercadia...a plane near Dominaria, the Nexus of the Multiverse, Mercadia gained its name for the city of the same name that dominates the plane. Resting atop an inverted mountain in the middle of a massive desert, the city of Mercadia serves as a cultural and economic crossroads for many who live on the edges of the desert. The "top" of the mountain is a massive sprawl of estates and markets, while the "bottom" is filled with the poor and exiled, who subsist off of the scrap and refuse cast down from above. Here, among the heaps of garbage, a strange creature has made her home. A figure in a red cloak and possessing a bandaged body, as well as a mask-like face, she stayed in the shadows and preferred not to be seen. Instead, she stalked the dark areas of this literal underworld, finding out where she was, and what she was to do. She had managed to proliferate a few spellbooks to understand some more magic, and hoped to understand her new power. The answer to how she had traveled from the compleation chamber deep within Elesh Norn's personal annex to the strange, nonmetallic deserts near this miserable place came from a surprising source: a children's book. The book told of how a strange skyship crashed on Mercadia, and its occupants, from another world, had their mode of transportation stolen from them. The planeswalkers (seemed like a fitting name for what she was) got caught up in the complex politics of the Mercadian court, and managed to help the ones who stole their ship, the Cho-Arrim, initiate an insurrection in the city to better favor the poor. However, this ability to travel between universes intrigued her, as it had to be the only explanation for why she had arrived here. And, she found a clue in the book, the mention of "Karn". From her mother's history lessons, Karn was the creator of their plane...and the one whom the Phyrexians tried to control...She had heard rumors that he had escaped, and maybe he planeswalked out of Mirrodin, like she did. Maybe, just maybe, if she could find Karn, he could have mercy and fix one of his creations from what she had become!
However, to do this, she needed to discover the means as to leave the world she was now stranded on. She meditated in the hovel she had burrowed into a mass of metal, a egg-shaped structure made of the familiar metal she was used to. The chamber was a coping mechanism, as the world outside was alien to her, and while the metals surrounding her were dirty, tarnished, rusting, and not forged in near-organic shapes like on Mirrodin, they were at least metal. She focused on what could have triggered her travel from Mirrodin, the feeling she had the most strongly when she jumped. Even though the memories were fuzzy from the shock of being torn apart and put back together again, she finally figured it out. She wanted nothing more than to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. And whatever caused her to jump from one plane to the other obeyed her request. This was her only lead, and she concentrated on it. Then, finally, after quite some time meditating, she felt that, for a few brief seconds, she was no longer on Mercadia, but floating somewhere else, though when she opened her eyes, she was back. This confirmed her ability to planeswalk, but where to go? She only knew of Mirrodin and Mercadia, but she had no idea of the journey she took to get where she was now. Her answer came to her that night, as she attempted to sleep, like she used to when she was human. Food and drink no longer sustained her due to her compleation, but sleep at least provided some form of solace, that she was still Chienah, and not some crazed Phyrexian unlife. But her dream was so strange...
She was wrapped in a similar cloak, but she felt warm muscle and flesh as her body, not metal, like she was now. And she wasn't a she, but a he, and he was tired from running. He looked back at this massive...she couldn't really describe it, but if glistening oil turned red and translucent, and could make all sorts of shapes, and was alive, then this was a clear contender for that description. She felt her host run through alleyways made from that substance that the desert she had walked through and the mountain above were made from...the odd stuff that grew from beneath this world and broke up into the desert around Mercadia...what was it called...her host supplied the word: STONE. Such a blunt word, but she figured it was fitting for such a blunt object. He twisted and turned through the night streets, until he reached a metal barricade. The creature approached him, and she felt him charge up mana through his body, then release it as a bolt towards the monster. Unfortunately, the attack did little, and the ooze proceeded towards its target. She briefly wondered why he didn't just destroy the gate and keep running, but she figured panic was a probable cause for that, especially after he started to get devoured. Slowly, the creature enveloped him, and she could feel him disintegrate, his body melting and breaking down, until all that was left was a strange pendant with an insignia resembling the Phyrexian symbol. She then knew of the location among the chaos outside of the world she was on where he had died, as well as the name of the world. "Ravnica." She heard herself hiss, the monstrous true mouth of her new body creating that word with a raspy set of vocal chords with a metallic tone to them. Such an alien word, but probably meaning something similar to Mercadia. She focused once more, calling upon the desire to be where this man died, to not be on Mercadia, and to go to this Ravnica, this place in her head.
She felt a strange rush as she was catapulted across worlds, and landed on top of the wall, her talons gingerly spaced to avoid the iron spikes. She looked down to notice three other figures, none of them from Mirrodin. She looked down at a scarred rhino-man, his features reminding her of the noble loxodons from home, a pale man in clothing similar to what she had seen of the Mercadian nobility, and a woman who may or may not be a human, as she appears. She herself realized she was putting on a show, and dropped down to an open space near them, inadvertently showing off her Phyrexized body, with its porcelain plates, its jagged blades, and its bandaged muscular metal, in the process, as her cloak opens up. She quickly closed up her cloak once she reached the cobblestones, and curled her tail inside, so she simply appeared to be a humanoid wearing an odd mask. "I am...Chienah..." She croaked, hoping her new voice isn't as grating to the ears of what has to be other planeswalkers. Even though she was clearly a living weapon, it was obvious by her body posture that she was nervous and timid. This could be from being on an alien world to encountering other planeswalkers to simply being a newcomer to this type of living. Maybe she was even scared of herself, as the storybook she read briefly mentioned a war with another Phyrexia. Did they know of this? Were Phyrexians hated throughout the multiverse? What did they think of her, this bladed beast of a doll? Regardless, she awaited their next move, and whatever fate was in store for her.

[.Rai]

As always, a misty fog enveloped this place, thick as ice. In a way, Arkhos reminded him greatly of his native Innistrad, and of the Nebelgast. The plane shimmered in a dark glow, that of its eternal twilight. Fabias often obsessed over the sky of Arkhos, whether it had the same magic qualities of Innistrad's or not.
[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/IMG] Fabias had come to Lethe Lake to investigate its waters. A break from the errands the merfolk here were asking him to do. Apparently, the waters of the lake had powerful qualities of oblivion. It was an area that many avoided, but Fabias was not going to let that deter him. He approached the lake on the rocky ground, and looked in - murky, turbid ribbons of silt shrouded the waters, an otherwise pure dark-blue colour. He crouched down and took out a vial from his satchel, siphoning some of the water into it. Fabias proceeded to move to a rock by the lake to note down his observations.
[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/IMG] It was perhaps a few minutes before Fabias noticed a noise. Putting down his pen, he heard a pulsating hum bouncing through the air. It seemed to get louder, and some of the smaller pebbles by him seemed to be gently vibrating. It was not long until Fabias realised what it was. Standing up, Fabias looked up then around. In the opposite direction to Dagorran, he saw a silhouette of something in the air appearing throughout the fog. WIthin seconds, it came into visible range and revealed itself to be a rather strange dragon. Running to the closest cover he could find, in the form of a large boulder, he studied the approaching dragon from that distance. He recognised it in the drawings that he was given on a visit to Dagorran. They were dragons of the south. It was a rare event to see one so far north. Still, even curiosity did not overwhelm the feelings of dread here. The massive beast circled the lake a few times, before landing worryingly near to Fabias: it was a gargantuan, covered with with rough scales, a distinctive grey in colour. Fabias wasn't sure what it was doing, but it seemed like it was searching around. No chance for escape at the moment.
[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/IMG] The dragon locked onto the boulder Fabias was behind. Too late, it looked like. Within seconds, the dragon inhaled dramatically and began to breathe swathes of fire across the boulder, as it streamed around the sides, the sides of it just singing the air to an uncomfortable temperature. If Fabias didn't do anything, he was surely going to be killed.
[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/IMG] In a spontaneous move, Fabias rushed out from behind the boulder, running towards the direction of the lake. Straight away, the dragon's head moved towards Fabias, blowing a stream of flames his way. He had to dive sideways onto the rocks to avoid the flames, but he was close enough to the lake by now. Raising one of his hands in the air, a stream of water rose out of the lake, and quickly made its way towards the vicinity of the dragon. In the corner of his vision, he then saw the dragon being knocked against the boulder he was hiding behind. The fire subsided quickly, but his sleeves had ripped in the scuffle and he had burnt his arm badly at some point. Fabias walked up to the now unconscious thing. He reached out to inspect it, but felt a thrumming pain jolt through his head. He heard the voice of the ghostly remnants dwelling in him, calling him to look. Look where? Before he could react, alarmingly, the heavy, winged beast dissipated into the fog around him. His surroundings began to follow suit. For a few awful minutes, Fabias was left in total purgatory.
[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/IMG] In the mist, he saw bits and pieces as visions and memories materialised and faded right in front of him: some other man running, cold pavement, something…else. A squelching sound echoed from his left to his right ear, and saw glimpses of some sort of red ooze in the mist. Another vision appeared. The man. A dead end. This man's breathing seemed to be painfully loud for Fabias, unable to tell dream from reality. The man shot some spell at the thing, as the vision faded into haze. But it was when a signet of the Dimir tumbled out of his hand in one final disjointed scene that Fabias realised the location of all of this. Ravnica. With that, his surroundings began to come back to him, and Fabias collapsed into unconsciousness from sheer exhaustion.
[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/IMG] The Innistrad scholar woke up looking directly at the sky, and imagined for a few minutes that the Innistrad moon was there, gazing over him. It was not until he felt a wincing pain up his left arm that he snapped back to reality. A fair-haired man was dressing bandages on Fabias' arm - presumably a healer from the salves he was carrying on his person. After he finished, they departed from each other with a silent exchange of looks, and Fabias explored some of the rest of the camp to see what was happening. He quickly found out that he was rescued by a regular patrol squad near Lake Lethe, and was now at a settlement near Dagorran. Fabias went over to the leader of the camp for a brief visit, a middle-aged military woman dressed in loose armour.

"Ah, you must be the man we rescued earlier. I'm glad to see you're doing better," she stated. Her voice was quite matter-of-fact, but perhaps surprisingly sincere. It was not often that Fabias came into contact with human military groups on Arkhos, and he didn't expect to be rescued by one at first. "Citizens like you should keep away from Lake Lethe. It's extremely dangerous."

"Yes, I have my deepest thanks to you. I shall not stay for long as I have matters to deal with," Fabias responded, in a rushed tone.

[IMG]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/IMG] With that, Fabias quite simply left the camp, and headed for the nearest sheltered area. Finding a small area of woods nearby, he threw himself into the Blind Eternities and found himself strewn into a backalley of a small market street. As he walked out onto the main avenue, he thought that perhaps it was foolish impulse that had brought him here, but something was clearly occurring, and it was happening here on Ravnica. The problem was that, now he was here, what was actually happening? In the search for answers, he set off to find his old employers: the Azorius.

[bury the year]

The Kilnspire District of Ravnica wasn't busy so early in the morning. The forges were often frequented by soldiers of the Boros Legion, there to forge new and better weapons; and engineers of the Izzet League, there to forge... whatever they wanted. However, like all other places, the blacksmiths and merchants needed their sleep too, so under the eye of a restless moon the fires were reduced to smoking embers and the stalls closed up. However, that didn't mean there wasn't life in the district. Quite the contrary, to be precise.

Figures still surreptitiously roamed the streets. Each knew exactly what they were doing – some of it legal, some less so. For one of these figures, this involved stealing from alley to alley, glancing over his back with each step while hoisting up a heavy bag on his back. He knew exactly what was in the bag, of course, and it wasn’t illegal by any means. They were copper ingots, five of them. Each one could last a small family two weeks if exchanged for zinos. However, the man didn’t plan on letting a single one leave his grasp.

Suddenly pivoting, the man leapt up into the air, landing on a nearby ledge. It looked almost superhuman (which wouldn’t be terribly surprising in a land rich in mana like Ravnica), but if one had looked carefully before, they would’ve seen sparks flicker out from his heels a moment before the launch. A bit of extra magic always helped.

After a few more ascents, he landed on a narrow walkway surrounding one of the buildings, with a small entryway cut into it. The figure skulked inside, immediately starting to sweat due to the oppressive heat. A small forge and pair of bellows were left unattended there, just calling his name.

He darted over to the fireside, grinning as his hands started to pump the bellows. Air rushed over the fire and caused it to leap upwards, illuminating the previously-dark chamber as if it were high noon.

A deep exhale. “Perfect.” Yes, he wished he had mizzium, but some little nagging thought told him that Niv-Mizzet wouldn’t be terribly happy if he found his supplies missing. Heads would roll and all that melodrama. Best keep it safe. Besides, copper would work fine for his current little project.

However, he dropped the first ingot as a searing pain swept between his temples. Although it had been a while since the Guildpact was dissolved – before his birth, in fact – the plane of Ravnica hadn’t adjusted fully to being opened to the Blind Eternities yet. Thus, whenever a new being appeared from outside the dimension, it tended to warp the fabric of the plane in a way that anyone ætherically sensitive would feel in a blazing headache.

Now, try multiplying that by around six.

He hunched over, applying some cooling blue mana to his brain to prevent himself from going momentarily mad. Izzets were already unhinged enough, so their mindset was easily susceptible to these kinds of assaults. After what felt like an infinity of time, the man stood up, shaking his head to clear the pain away and gathering up his supplies once more. He had more important things to do.

“Visitors? And a lot of them? All at once?” [i]That[/i] was unusual. He tapped a bit further into the blue mana he was channeling before, lacing it with a bit of red to create a wide-reaching radar. Their locations were scattered. All but one were at the Lone Bird District, with the last heading towards New Prahv. It was even more unusual for so many ‘walkers to be at one specific location, so he might as well investigate.

Entering back into the cool early morning air, he ran off once more, scrambling over buildings towards his destination.

[Cray-Crow]

The night was dark and seemingly silent. No demons orchestrating screams, and no devils running amok, cackling about their latest feat of destruction. The moon wasn't visible from Roare's visual perspective, hidden behind the tall stone walls, but its light ever shined. He wished he could see it. Humorously enough, Innistrad came to him.

From nothing, a young human woman appeared in the alley Raore occupied. For a split-second, her eyes appeared to light up in surprise when the two had caught sight of each other, but with a large smile she greeted Raore with a rather casual 'hello'.

She wasn't purely human. Raore can tell by her smell. Obviously a planeswalker, but there was something else that was familiar, something.. vindictive; it caught Raore's intrigue. "'Hello there', to you, too." He smiled and bowed a few inches, eying the female planeswalker's stature. [i]Hm, delectable.[/i]

Before he could continue with the young woman, another had planeswalked to their exact spot in the Multiverse. This one being unlike anything Raore had ever seen. At his emergence Raore had almost unsheathed his saber, but the beast never took an offensive stance as it announced itself as Garold. The woman then introduced herself as Hilda Re.

[i]Seeing how everyone else is doing it.. [/i]"My name is Raore Disvell, planeswalker from Innistrad. Why have-" Just then, yet a fourth planewalker entered this plane, above the three. Raore looked up at the latest visitor as it leaped down from its perch. [i]This is no coincidence.[/i] As it made its landing, Raore happened to see more of the unknown. This planeswalker was made of metal. It reminded Raore of the haunted suits of armor that guarded vampire manors. It stated its name to be Chienah in an otherworldly voice and stood in an awkward position. "As I was saying, why have you come here? It's no coincidence for this many planeswalkers to come to the exact same plane, to the exact same place."

[Aesirson]

Hilda, who feared to be branded as a madwoman if she told the truth, was hesistant to answer Raore's question, but she did agree that there was no way this was a coincidence. After a short time of thinking she realized that it was probably the same thing that called the rest of the planeswalkers here, so if she was crazy so were them. She didn't manage to answer until the rhinoman took word.

"Nice to meet you all." He said and smiled. "Raore, Chiennah and Hilda?" He nodded at the people as he said their name, confirming that he had memorized what they were called. "I, for one, felt this plane beckoning, as if a voice kept chanting the plane's name to me. That is why I am here."

Hilda nodded, that was indeed why she was here too.

"I was wandering the deserts when I remembered this plane, Ravnica, but it was not my memory. I was running down these streets, chased by a red creature that, I think, ate me here." She pointed at the spot on the ground where the man from her memory had been killed. She looked to see if there was any sign of the Dimir symbol left on the ground, but instead she found a simple coin. She was disappointed, but still picked it up and put it in her pocket, then turned to the others, except for Garod. "So... You guys here because of creepy head voices and memories of 'things' too?"

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

Chienah kept to herself, watching the others as they conversed. She felt like such an outsider to these other Planeswalkers. If this was one of their first times Planeswalking, it clearly didn't show, and behind her mask, she wished she could just disappear into the wall. They saw what she was, and what she might be capable of. Finally, one of the Planeswalkers spoke up and asked if they had been summoned here by the strange dream. She looked around, and noticed that there were slight differences in the place where they had gathered that were not in the dream. She had no idea if this stone stuff broke down easily, as her own metal blades seemed to chip away at it when she struck some stone back in Mercadia, but there were signs of cracks and what had to be weathering. The dream and the present were somewhat distant from each other. It came to her, and she meekly replied. "I am from Mirrodin..." She said slowly, not knowing if they spoke her language, or could even understand her through her altered vocal chords. "There is no stone there...only metal...I had a dream...of a place I had never been to...of a man who was not me...and did not have any metal in him...He died here, where we are..." Pulling a talon from underneath her cloak, she carefully chipped away at a stone block approximately where the man's pendant had fallen, recreating the spidery symbol of the pendant. "And he left this mark behind..." She quickly pulled her clawed hand back underneath her cloak and shirked back again, positive no one wanted to see her grotesque Phyrexized figure.

[.Rai]

Fabias assumed that the foreign spasms of mana that he had felt after planeswalking here to Ravnica portended to the presence of others here. Still, Fabias was not in any position to go find them now: especially in the case of misjudging this, or generally having to be out in the Ravnican streets at this hour. The nubilous visions he saw by Lethe Lake were worrying. He had a vague idea that the area was the Lone Bird District, but the simplest way to check was to seek the Azorius.
[img]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/img] He wasn't far from New Prahv by now. He was already at the Forum of Azor, with a few loyal Selesnya and Boros recruiters still at their stalls. The early morning was restless as always. It was a change from the rather motionless atmosphere on Arkhos, and the cityscape of Ravnica was still a vivid and animated surprise for Fabias. Fabias turned to the main street that lead up to New Prahv, to be met with surprising amounts of activity. Izzet busy tinkering away at experiments without the main majority of the guildless getting in the way. A few Selesnyans passing through, and apparently a couple of Rakdos troublemakers - swiftly pacified, of course. Azorius hussars patrolled the streets, guards to the giant spires of the lawmakers' governing quarters. Fabias decided to question one of the hussars if there was any suspicious activity lately. Fabias was not surprised when the hussar replied that some of their sky patrols had sighted foreign figures in the Lone Bird District. A hunch was a hunch, and a correct one at that. Fabias was also provided information of their identities: no natives of Ravnica certainly - the description of a rhinoman among them furthered Fabias' curiosity.
[img]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/img]Now, the visions he had had. Such a beast could not be native to Ravnica, could it? A direct involvement of the Dimir was suspicious and troubling. Targeting a Dimir was stark business indeed. There were far too many questions to count, too many to answer. He would try to get an answer as he arrived at the doors to the grand towers. He had been here once on his previous visit to Ravnica as a break from Arkhos, after the original Prahv was destroyed. He entered through the grand marble arches of Azorius architecture, and was overwhelmed by the scale of it all. Hallways and paths wound through the visible areas, and more was beyond. To find an area of interest for him was most likely impossible, and even for Fabias, fairly well-versed on the streets of Ravnica, this was a challenge to anyone.
[img]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/img] Fabias assumed that the foreign spasms of mana that he had felt after planeswalking here to Ravnica portended to the presence of others here. Still, Fabias was not in any position to go find them now: especially in the case of misjudging this, or generally having to be out in the Ravnican streets at this hour. The nubilous visions he saw by Lethe Lake were worrying. He had a vague idea that the area was the Lone Bird District, but the simplest way to check was to seek the Azorius.
[img]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/img] He wasn't far from New Prahv by now. He was already at the Forum of Azor, with a few loyal Selesnya and Boros recruiters still at their stalls. The early morning was restless as always. It was a change from the rather motionless atmosphere on Arkhos, and the cityscape of Ravnica was still a vivid and animated surprise for Fabias. Fabias turned to the main street that lead up to New Prahv, to be met with surprising amounts of activity. Izzet busy tinkering away at experiments without the main majority of the guildless getting in the way. Azorius hussars patrolled the streets, guards to the giant spires of the lawmakers' governing quarters. Fabias decided to question one of the hussars if there was any suspicious activity lately. Fabias was not surprised when the hussar replied that some of their sky patrols had sighted foreign figures in the Lone Bird District. A hunch was a hunch, and a correct one at that.
[img]http://i49.tinypic.com/2wq8qkx.jpg[/img] It was luckily not long until Fabias found an escort to guide him around. He stated his previous employment, which the escort, a young male vedalken, checked in one of the many offices here. After verification, the only thing left was to ask to be directed somewhere. Perhaps out of habit, and perhaps out of paranoia, he whispered something into the vedalken's ear, who nodded quietly and took him off somewhere into the bowels of New Prahv.

[Cray-Crow]

The other three described that they were all called here, to this plane, with a memory that was not theirs. A memory that they were chased by a strange creature and killed. Again, it couldn't be a coincidence, Raore thought. "I, too, was beckoned by the same memory. Running in panic from an unsightly creature, and slayed in this spot. Before here I was in the plane Zendikar."

"Has anyone here visited this plane before, or seen that symbol?" Raore pointed to the spider-like etching that Cheinah had inscribed into the ground. "I've never been here or seen such a figure." He looked upon the rest of the planeswalkers, hoping at least one of them had the slightest of information. Anything would be useful as of now. It was foolish coming to a completely unknown plane on the faintest of whimsy, but here they stood.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

Chienah felt slightly relieved once she saw the others examining what she created. She was proving useful to the group, and they might let her tag along. Though it seemed like those chances were slim, as they were all flesh, and she was not. In fact, thanks to her, they probably thought all Mirrans were like her. Though, judging my the way the Phyrexians were running things, it soon wouldn't be far from the truth. She whispered a prayer for her fellow members of the Resistance before focusing her concentration back on the task at hand. "I have another idea..." She told the group of Planeswalkers. "We could...possibly...copy the symbol...and ask the natives what it means...They might know of its significance...After all, it is most likely a symbol of this plane...it would make sense that they would have the information we need...Or at least...maybe...give us some hint as to where we are supposed to go..."

[.Rai]

New Prahv was uncomfortable. It was too large. Too labyrinthine. Quite literally a world away from his cramped, cold tower on Innistrad. The vedalken escort by now had led him to the Azorius archives: a series of rooms in the heart of the Sova Column's tower.
Fabias eventually asked the vedalken escort to leave, and sat in a corner of one of the libraries, pondering and staring at the vast number of books here. In a moment of sudden shock, Fabias got up again and began to peer through all of the books and scrolls with great speed. He was here to find clues. Whatever clues he could find. It didn't matter. Perhaps a few hours more of searching.

______

It was morning now. Being out of New Prahv was indeed a luxury. Activity had picked up, and there were more Boros and Azorius patrollers out now: probably entirely necessary, if there were any Izzet or Rakdos about. Or worse, Dimir. There was still more to do though. At the moment, his clues were few and sparse, although he had grabbed hold of a few leads as tightly as he could grasp. The next place to go was obvious, and it wasn't to take long. At a leisurely stroll, for Fabias was not the running sort, he set off to find the rest of his planeswalking company.

[bury the year]

The mana source grew nearer as his footsteps grew heavier and his breathing more labored. Even though the mizzium leg bracers enhanced his natural running speed, it was still a long distance across alleys and rooftops to the Lone Bird District. A bit of time stretching to keep up his pace – although he was quite fit compared to other scientists, it still was difficult for any man to run like that for such a period.

The wind ruffled his short black and silver-streaked hair as he ran. The time dilation must have been stronger than he had planned on, as he had to dispel the buff and screech to a stop as the mana waves became almost overwhelming, assailing his mind. He stopped on a roof overlooking the plaza and studied the four beings popping into existence.

The first had an ashen pallor and an impeccable sense of dress, considering the long silken overcoat he wore. The second was a pale-skinned woman, diminutive with a similar sense of dress. He warranted a guess that they were from the same plane. The third, however, was most definitely not human, instead being a member of the rhox tribe; and the fourth was cloaked so well that the man couldn’t even get a good look at it. However, when it scratched a figure into the ground, he noticed that it didn’t use a hand, but rather a wicked looking metal claw.

The Izzet guildman let the group introduce themselves before he decided to join the party, jumping down from his perch above to land catlike on the cobblestones below.

“Hello, planeswalkers. Welcome to Ravnica. My name is Vaas, one of a kind machinist for the Izzet League. And, judging by the scale of my recent headache,” he continued as he surveyed the motley crew, “you guys are on a mission, right?”

His eyes caught the glint of the signet carved on the ground by Chienah, and his brow instantly furrowed in distress. “Even more worrying, why is that symbol just on the ground there?”

[Cray-Crow]

As Chienah spoke her second piece of input, Raore frowned that he hadn't come up with her idea himself. She suggested copying the symbol and investigating it, asking residents of this plane of its symbolism. It had to hold some meaning here and with that information, this random assortment of walkers can better ascertain their purpose in Ravnica. Well, the creature's intelligent. Sadly, Raore left his plume and ink pot in his home plane. Before he could openly ask the group of how they'd duplicate Chienah's etching, yet another individual fell upon them. Literally.

 

An unorthodox human he was, adorning odd attire as well as machinery. Raore assumed they were similar to what the beast, Garod, was equipped with, though completely dissimilar in appearance. He declared his name to be Vaas and his profession, as well as who was presumably his employers.

 

"Mission?" Seeing a group huddled in a dark alley could be thought suspicious from a third party, and depending on how long this Vaas had been above them, he could have seen each planeswalker enter this plane. Some sort of commonality or 'mission' could easily be suspected. When the stranger inquired about Chienah's carving though, Roare eyed him. "What is it to you?"

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

Chienah looked to the latest person to arrive, and noticed that he happened to have metal parts on his body. It was most likely that they were simply pieces of armor, but she kept her hopes up that someone might know of her home plane. "We are Raore of Innistrad..." She pointed with a serrated talon to the man who had just spoken up. "Garod of Alara..." She indicated to the rhox warrior. "Hilda of a plane she has not yet stated..." The claw shifted to indicate to the other female of the party. "And I myself am Chienah of Mirrodin." She quickly pulled her finger back beneath her cloak, though the porcelain doll-like face resembling a mask was the only part of her that was uncovered. "We received peculiar dreams that were not our own, and were beckoned to come to this plane. I presume by your statement of 'why the symbol is there' instead of 'what the symbol is' means that you recognize that symbol?" She hoped that the new human was friendly, as well as the other planeswalkers. These were the first living beings she had had contact with some her almost-compleation. She didn't want to be shunned for what she now was.