Ask Teferi

I am Teferi of Zhalfir, Planeswalker, and master of time magic. ((An Indie mtg RP & ask Blog. OC Friendly. Multi-Fandom Friendly))

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A Hopeless Necromantic

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avillainess

    DEEP VIOLET EYES ROLLED SKYWARD upon hearing the word riddle. Jace was fond of riddles. It always made her seethe when he knew something she didn’t, so she learned to be quite good at them. Regardless, why she didn’t get up and walk out then and there was a mystery. He was making her think of the very thing she wanted to forget. Perhaps she really did want more tea…

    She took some time to think on it, not saying a word as he finished the tea and sat across from her. She watched as he poured himself a cup, watched the ridiculous amount of sugar he added with a slight look of disgust on her face and finally, she decided to pour herself some.

    Watching the dark liquid slowly spilling into her cup, she couldn’t help but grin at the compliment offered, but her expression quickly darkened upon mention of Belzenlok. After setting the pot back in the middle of them, she looked up to meet his gaze, having settled on the answer to his little riddle.

    “ Pride. And what could the two of us possibly have in common? ”   Or did she just answer her own question?   “ I’m ready to fight Belzenlok. I’m ready to be rid of this pact. I’ve destroyed three demons just fine so far, this one will be no different. ”

Teferi’s lip twitched as Liliana rankled. Powerful people did tend to develop a habit of taking themselves too seriously. Of all the many madness that had afflicted him when he had been a ‘Walker of old, that had fortunately never been one.

Well, there’s no need to keep making fun of her. Despite what she says, something is bothering her.

“I’m sure you are. I’m sure it’s what you’ve dreamed about from the moment you made the pact. Being free at last. But I have to observe, that you don’t really act like someone who’s about to liberate themselves from the dangling sword of fate hanging over them by a fraying thread. Rather, I confess to getting the impression that you’re afraid of something. Not just fighting the demon, but something else. Something that comes...after.”

Teferi lapsed into silence for a while and sipped his tea. He lay his spine-like staff on an empty chair next to him.

After a while, “That young man who appeared on the ship,” he said, significantly, “what was his name again? Jace Beleren?

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"Follow your desire as long as you live, and do not perform more than is ordered, do not lessen the time of following desire, for the wasting of time is an abomination to the spirit..."

11th maxim of Ptahhotep

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ofvryn

‘ interesting ’ he thought to himself.

— Mr Jace Beleren? It sounded awkward, but effectively kept his attention trained on the time mage. Brows knit at the mention of Gideon, Bolas, and the Gatewatch. Reminding him once again that he had so few to rely on now. Preparations needed to be made, and the whole plane was at war…again.

“ Just..Jace please. ” he replies curtly.

He wasn’t sure where he stood with his fellow planeswalkers. The incident with Bolas was clear as day, but they were not– too focused on saving himself, instead of helping them.

With a sharp intake of breath he moves on, gesturing to a nearby seat. “ Feel free to take a seat I guess, we’ve a lot to discuss. Since I’m confident you’ve never been to Ravnica, it’s best to run you through the essentials before something happens. ”

“Well, you’re certainly correct that I am new to the plane. It’s quite the place, such a powerful cosmopolitan spirit. Since arriving I have seen five goblins carrying a large mechanical device into an abandoned building which then imploded while several people in lab coats stood around taking notes, a gang of clowns whose faces were more piercing than flesh tried to sell me tickets to comedy show, offering to let me pay in blood when they discovered I had no money, and a priest accosted me on the street with a posse of ‘Sacred Knights’ to talk to me about the salvation one finds in debt.”

It really was quite an interesting place. Teferi was excited to explore it. Another plane. He could feel the old glee boiling up inside him. He wasn’t sure yet if he’d made the right choice, accepting his spark again from Jhoira. But he had to admit, he had missed this.

But time for adventures was short. Bolas was coming.

“I overheard you speaking to Gideon and the others about Old Snake’s plans. Someone named Ajani is going around recruiting Planeswalkers? I won’t lie to you, Jace. I’ve faced Bolas before. I lasted a few minutes before he ripped my limbs off.”

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A Hopeless Necromantic

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avillainess

    AS THE BOY FLED THE ROOM, Liliana contemplated whether or not threatening to remove the soul of one of the Weatherlights crew members would get her an earful from the captain or not. Then again, what did it really matter? What was she going to do, throw her overboard? They would be arriving at the Stronghold soon and once their business with Belzenlok was complete, they would all part ways.

    Then again, a small, inconsistent part of her almost, maybe, sort of regretted being so mean to the boy. He hadn’t done anything to deserve Liliana’s wrath. This was about Jace, as it almost always was. She frowned down into her teacup and tried to remember the last time they had seen one another. He disappears for months and comes back and doesn’t want anything to do with her? Why?

    Teferi’s entrance went unnoticed until Liliana heard the creak of one of the cupboards opening. Her eyes darted over to him, her signature glare at the ready but he wasn’t looking at her. Her shoulders slumped, almost disappointed as she shifted in her seat.

    His question caught her off guard. Despite having been staring down at the empty teacup, it hadn’t properly processed in her mind that it was empty. She opened her mouth to respond but stopped herself for a moment. Why was he being nice? He surely passed Raff on his way here. But, then again, fresh tea sounded nice.

    She decided not to answer at all. His second question brought that glare back as she whipped her head back around. She was slightly taken aback to see him staring at her, but her piercing violet gaze did not waver.

    “ What’s it to you? ”

Oh dear, Teferi thought, she’s a proud one...

That was fine. Really, it was fine. His long history of antagonizing the prideful for his own amusement didn’t have to come into play here.

“Let me answer your clever deflection with a riddle...”

Oops. Too late now.

 “I have no strength, but I can lift you up. I weigh nothing, but I can bring you down. If you cannot swallow me, I will certainly swallow you. What am I?”

Teferi turned back and finished the tea with deliberate slowness. She’d declined to answer as to whether or not she wanted some, but he made plenty anyway.

When he was finished, he took the seat across from her, poured himself a cup, and then set the pot to the side within easy reach of either of them.

As he stirred an excessive amount of sugar into his tea, he stared at her the way he’d stared at  a number of interesting puzzles over the centuries.

“You have a very particular way of speaking. It leads me to believe that you and I have something in common. Well, shall I say we both look good for our age? Then you should know, right? What happens to those who go to face a demon with imperfect conviction?”

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A Hopeless Necromantic

The young mage, Raff, nearly barreled into him as he fled down one of the corridors of the Weatherlight. The boy bowed in apology and passed.

“Odd...” Teferi looked down the corridor. He had probably come from the kitchen. What could have scared him so? Well, there was no chance Teferi wasn’t going to investigate a mystery that had suddenly appeared before him.

He strode down the corridors, surrounded by the perpetual hum of the great skyship’s machinery. He reached the door of the kitchen and pulled it open.

Oh, of course...

Seated inside was the necromancer, Liliana. That certainly explained why Raff had been sent running. Since the sudden appearance and disappearance of that fourth member of the Gatewatch, Liliana had been taking turns glaring daggers at everything and everyone, and staring contemplatively into the distance.

Right now she seemed lost in thought, staring down into a teacup that had probably been empty for a while, so lost she hadn’t even noticed him. He had no doubt as soon as she realized he as there, he’d get the daggers.

Well now, what to do about this? Maybe I should mention it to Gideon. He’s known her longer.

Teferi entertained the thought for all of five seconds.Liliana seemed to take particular spiteful pleasure in antagonizing Gideon. Maybe Jhoira, she was the captain after all.

But Teferi knew he was kidding himself, he’d made the decision as soon as he’d seen Raff’s face.

My curiosity always did get the better of me. Besides, we’ll be attacking the Cabal stronghold soon. It would be good for no one if our Necromancer were too busy sulking to fight properly.

Teferi made a conspicuous entrance, but ignored her as he made his way toward the cupboards on the wall. A rustling of fabric and a creak of the chair told him she’d noticed him. He still didn’t turn, but he could imagine her face.

Teferi went about making more tea.

“Would you like some?” he asked without turning around yet. 

As he set the water to boil, he finally turned to face her. 

“So, you have something on your mind.”

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OoC: Something I noticed

((So something I noticed about the Magic Story, specifically the actual magic. Is it just me or have they made it so each member of the Gatewatch can only use like one spell?

They're really more like super powers. For example, Jace uses Telepathy and sometimes Illusions. Gideon does his invincibility thing, Chandra throws a fireball, etc, etc.

Compare that to the novels where characters could use a range of spells in their colors. Like in Agents of Artifice, Jace summons a Sphinx, some Fairies, and at one point I think he uses hydrokinesis (that last one I may be remembering wrong).

I'd say the reason they're doing is is probably to try and distinguish the characters abilities and give each of them a particular role? I'd be fine with that in a vacuum, but I'm not gonna lie, I have a little tiny beef with it because it happens in the context of the MtG universe.

Other wizards out there can and do use a whole spectrum of spells so the fact that our Gatewatch Kids never do bothers me just a little.

This is especially true of Teferi, who yes is THE time mage, but I've read pretty much every book he's been in and trust me, that guy knows more spells than that. Which makes sense, because he's literally a millennium and change old so they don't even have the 'young and inexperienced' excuse they can use with the other Gatewatchers.

Well, it's not that big a deal.))

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ofvryn

Ravnica as usual, demanded more from him than he could give. Meeting after meeting, listening to one - sided arguments and petty squabbles. Boring, tiresome activities of which he was forced to deal with as a leader, keeping his abilities at bay.

After a particularly tense conversation with a Boros official, he escaped to his sanctum for the sake of his sanity. Looking through papers, and scrolls with jotted down plans for when Bolas finally came to Ravnica. — Interrupted suddenly by a flash of light, and the familiar feeling of another walking to the plane.

Have they finished so soon?

Brows knit as he realizes the intruder is not one of his Gatewatch. Rather, one of the few he saw for mere moments on Dominiria.

“ I’m assuming one of the others sent you my way. Who are you? ”

Teferi smirked and flourished his spine-like staff as he flowed into a practiced Zhalfiran Court bow. In some distant part of his mind, he swore he felt Jhoira rolling her eyes all the way on Dominaria.

“Teferi of Zhalfir, at your service. Former-former Planeswalker, once Court Mage of Zhalfir, veteran of Nicol Bolas antagonism, and most recently a member of the ‘Gatewatch’. Which makes us, teammates of a sort?”

Teferi relaxed his stance. “And may I add that it’s my very great pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jace Beleren. What I’ve heard of you from Gideon leads me to believe we’ll get along swimmingly.”

Teferi’s grin became a mischievous smirk. “Miss Chandra Nalar had some things to say about you too. Far more...colorful comments.”

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Blue Mages

A millennium of Planeswalking and he'd never been to, never even heard of, Ravnica. A vast sprawling cityscape that dominated the whole plane.

It reminded Teferi a little of Fiora, but it was very distinctly it's own entity like nothing he'd ever seen. The extent of what he didn't know still amazed and excited him.

Teferi's spine-like staff clacked against the cobblestones as he stopped in front of the door of an unassuming building tucked at the back of a claustrophobic alley.

If he'd followed Gideon's directions correctly, this should be one of the hidden sanctums of Jace Beleren, the "Living Guildpact" and fellow Gatewatch member Teferi had not yet had the pleasure of interacting with.

Well, it was time to change that. If he was really going to join this... peculiar team, he should try to familiarize himself with it's members.

[h4mm3rm4n]

Something I drew for my brother and I encase one of us pulled Teferi and we needed an emblem.

Tldr: neither of us pulled him, but a friend did!

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The Dragon

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alwaysagreaterpower

The Dragon

alwaysagreaterpower:

The question made him think of a conversation he’d had some years ago with a wizened and ruined Liliana Vess. She had sought the reclamation of her power, but her share of the Multiverse had been a paupers copper piece compared to what he’d wielded. What he’d lost. And yet, as he stood here on this beach with the little ‘walker… he found himself smirking. A difficult thing for his reptilian maw, but doable.

“Your mind would shatter at the attempt to hold what I have. You cannot know the measure of loss that I have experienced. What the Mending took from me.“ Even now, in his reduced form, he could slay gods and shatter worlds. But it did him no good to wield this paltry power, when what he’d had before was without limit.

There were few Planeswalkers alive who had seen the multiverse before the mending. Ugin was still alive, but crippled from his defeat. The meddlesome sphinx had evidently been killed by his agent, Vraska. What his agents told him of Innistrad was magnificent. Sorin, trapped and likely to die from his wounds. Nahiri, also in danger of losing her life. So few old walkers still lived. Karn, Teferi and Ob Nixilis. None were threats, but all could be made to serve a purpose.

“I intend to reclaim my old power, little match stick. Already the stars align to my will, soon too shall all the multiverse.“

“No doubt.” The Dragon always seemed extra insistent on reminding him and others exactly how insignificant they were in comparison. Teferi might find that more comical if it weren’t also mostly true.

“But is that really all? Toregain your power...and then what? Do you truly just want power for the sake of power? You must want it for something.”

Am I any different? He wondered. He had pursued knowledge and understanding his whole life, to what end? Was knowledge for its own sake any less self-satisfying and myopic than power for its own pleasure?

Was he really so shallow? No, he had used his power to help others, tried at any rate...hadn’t he?

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The Dragon

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alwaysagreaterpower

The Dragon

“You’ve changed, little match stick,“ he mocked as his circling finally brought him to the ground. Bolas could feel the prickling sensation of Teferi’s mind magic- likely searching for a way out. A solution. The little mammal was surely not foolish enough to think he could win a battle of the mind. No living being could endure his maddening touch.

“Yes, changed indeed. Beyond the reclamation of your spark.“ He had found no need to move the pieces around Teferi in so long. Yet here he was, spark renewed and power on the mend. It was a truly pleasant surprise.

Turning away from Teferi, he motioned to the blasted wasteland of magma and stone, curious what would bring Teferi here. “Tell me, how grand it is, to once more be yourself.”

Contrary to popular belief, Nicol Bolas could be amicable. There was no plot at work here, no game or strategy. Everything was in motion. So why be hostile? He had no equal, it was true. But he could at least hold a conversation. This was Teferi’s lucky day… the Forever Serpent was in a good mood.

Was Nicol Bolas, enslaver of worlds being...amicable? No, that couldn’t be possible, could it? Teferi wasn’t that lucky. The Elder Dragon was the very incarnation of duplicitous schemes. He must be up to something.

“To be once more myself...” How did it feel? For a fraction of a second, Teferi considered deflecting, but no, why bother? It wasn’t likely the Dragon was trying to probe him for weaknesses. He could likely rip any information he wanted out of Teferi’s mind, were that the case.

And besides...there might be some things, odd as it might seem to say, that only someone like Nicol Bolas, who too had lived centuries as an Oldwalker might understand.

Teferi’s grip on his staff tightened as his gaze grew distant.

“How does it feel? It feels...like home. It’s not the same, not what it used to be. I no longer have the near infinite mana, nor the nigh-immortal thought-body...but those aren’t the things I missed. I missed the endless horizon. The true and total freedom, the...”

Teferi broke off and looked out over the vast blue waters that surrounded the little island. A strange and vibrant fish leapt suddenly out of the water and arced through the air.

Teferi inclined his head. “There are no fish like that on Dominaria.”

He bent down and grabbed a fistful of warm sand, letting it run through his fingers. The soil of another world.

“I had almost forgotten,” he said, nearly a whisper, “forgotten the truth it held for me. That all Dominaria isn’t enough. There are no limits to my craving to know, to understand. Though it be impossible, and I will certainly die trying, I once more have the chance to try and know infinity...”

He turned back to the looming form of the Dragon, a sudden burning curiosity. Despite knowing his questions would likely be the things that finally got him killed, he couldn’t help it.

“I wonder about you, Lord Bolas? You have lived years beyond counting, hold the powers of a god, and the secrets of the multiverse you posses are doubtless more numbered than the grains of sand on this here beach. So I wonder then, what continues to drive you forward beyond this?”

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((New Teferi backstory from the Planeswalker survey. The mention of his daughter being older than him is especially interesting.))

[dasebeleren]

“The wind whispers, ‘come home,’ but I cannot.”

[dasebeleren]

The world needed a gif of dad Teferi.

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The Dragon

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alwaysagreaterpower

The Dragon

Nicol Bolas had long since done away with the idea that fate guided the actions of beings. Destiny, fate. They were concepts that lesser beings used to excuse their own weakness. An Elder Dragon need not hide behind that curtain. He was the oldest and most powerful being in the Multiverse. Nothing guided his actions but his choices.

With his plans going forward, Bolas rested within a volcanic lair. The molten stone was akin to a warm bath for the dragon, allowing him to relax and focus. He had the Immortal Sun and all his enemies were crushed and shattered. Pawns in place. Soon he would move on Ravnica and claim it. Just one more step towards reclaiming his former power.

Yet as he ran simulations and calculations in his head, he felt a ripple in the fabric of the Muliverse. A spell, informing him of a planeswalker’s arrival. And it was nearby. How curious. With a wicked grin he lifted himself from the magma, stretching his wings. Why not investigate? After all, when the Muliverse gives one a new piece to add to the board, one would be a fool not to take it.

He took to the sky, knowing it would take little more than a minute to arrive at the location of the little walker. Would they flee upon sight of a dragon coming toward them, or stand their ground? It would be interesting to see.

And yet, as he came nearer Nicol Bolas was surprised to see an old, familiar, face. One he had tortured in the past, dismembered and mercifully spared. Remarkable. Bolas settled into a glide as he neared, letting his laughter fill the air as he circle the little mage.

“Teferi, my old… hm, enemy doesn’t quite meet expectations as a label, does it? That moniker would imply you were ever a danger to me.“

Teferi didn’t think much of fate. He believed in a certain congruity between action and consequence, and that many actions and consequences in life went forever unseen.

But the idea of some grand design? Unlikely. However, there were moments, moments like this, when he almost felt he could sense a gleefully malicious consciousness at work behind the events of the universe.

The voice sent a chill through him, and for a moment he flashed back several decades to his own dismemberment and decapitation. He’d been an Oldwalker then. He wouldn’t survive such a thing now.

A literal millennium of statesmanship and political experience as the court mage of Zhalfir allowed him to keep his face a neutral mask.

“Lord Nicol Bolas,” He bowed his head, crossing his spine-like staff across his body in a diplomatic greeting. “What a surprise to run across you once again, and here.”

At the same time through the effort of mental magics, he’d split his own consciousness, running scenarios for a fighting retreat with one part, while another part couldn’t help but wonder, with that same curiosity that had often been near-lethal, what the dragon could be doing in a place like this.

As far as Teferi new, this plane was particularly barren of anything that might interest a 25,000+ year old elder dragon.

Was the dragon passing through (was Teferi’s luck that bad?) Was the dragon simply here for leisurely pursuits? Or was there was something about this place that Teferi had never discovered?

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The Dragon

At last, the chaos of home. The Blind Eternities. The truest home he had left with Zhalfir lost to him forever, and Tolaria of his memories gone and rebuilt a half dozen times.

After the recent near apocalypse on Dominaria, his closest friend Jhoira had done what he thought impossible. Had healed the hole within him that he thought was there for good, so he’d never tried.

His spark was back. It was so different now, and yet so similar. The infinite energy was gone, but that had never been the important part to him. He had his freedom again. The key that would unlock infinity.

His first steps, taken like a paralyzed man learning to walk once more, were a nostalgia trip. After sacrificing his spark to play his part in the great Mending, all his connections to lands outside Dominaria had been severed. He traveled now to reestablish them.

He let himself start small, on an out of the way plane rarely visited by Planeswalkers. But as soon as he stepped out of the maddening swirl of the Blind Eternities and set feet down on the sand of another world, a shudder of alarm went through him.

Teferi’s magical senses jumped to high alert as he detected an oppressive power nearby the volcanic archipelago in which he had arrived. His eyes flashed with blue as he stretched out with his inner senses, searching for the source of the massive, and strangely familiar power.

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In the end, there is no escaping it is there? But will this be a new beginning for me, or just a return to mistakes of the past?