So, I want to talk about Nahiri – the Lithomancer, the Harbinger, and in many people’s eyes, the vilest character to ever appear in Magic the Gathering’s lore. She’s been called a villain by many, beyond redemption by some, and some fairly horrible epithets by others. But is that fair? I don’t think so. To understand Nahiri, you have to take a holistic look at her story, and acknowledge that it didn’t start with Shadows over Innistrad. Nahiri was part of “The Three”, powerful planeswalkers who, millennia ago, bound the three Eldrazi Titans to the plane of Zendikar. Nahiri was joined by Sorin, Lord of Innistrad and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. In the beginning of their campaign against the Eldrazi, Nahiri was hopeful, caring, and compassionate. She tried to save the population of the planes they ravaged, but Sorin…being Sorin, mocked her for that and told her, essentially, that these innocents had to be sacrificed as they worked against the titans for the “sake of the Multiverse”. The meeting place for their work was Zendikar, and the story explicitly states that “Sorin hadn’t offered Innistrad as a rendezvous. Probably worried that the monstrosities would follow.” At that time, Nahiri dismissed it as caution due to age and experience. We all know…we all knew, even then, that was a lie. Ugin on the other hand was cold and calculating. Nahiri chastised him for viewing the destruction of an entire plane as a “research project”. Nahiri sought to stop the Eldrazi, Ugin told her they could only be imprisoned (“That which cannot be destroyed must be contained”…apparently Sorin took more than rudimentary Lithomancy away from his time with Ugin and Nahiri) on a plane that would then be sacrificed. Conveniently, this decision was made on Zendikar, a plane that also conveniently met all of Ugin’s arbitrary requirements for a plane to bind the Eldrazi to. You’ll also note that both Sorin and Ugin got away with simply dismissing Innistrad and Tarkir as suitable for their needs…they also knew each other, and Ugin states that he “needs” Nahiri’s skills. Basically, Nahiri was bullied into allowing Ugin to use Zendikar for his “research project” and that she was “allowed” to help, essentially as a tool. And with the statement that Ugin’s plan was “very thorough”, one has to wonder how much of this “plan” was concocted on Zendikar at that moment and how much of it was formulated by Sorin and Ugin behind Nahiri’s back. Then let’s flash forward to the first time the Eldrazi broke free…when only Nahiri was able to stop the broods that ravaged Zendikar. The disruption of the Hedron network was caused by vampires – a race which Nahiri recognized (after all, she spent a long time with Sorin), but noted that they weren’t native to Zendikar. So how did they get there? Again, the story doesn’t explicitly state anything, but what we do know is that Sorin, a vampire, had been on Zendikar back when they worked to contain the Eldrazi. Vampire Planeswalker visits a plane without vampires, then all of a sudden, there are vampires on that plane. But as that’s subjection, I digress…Nahiri single-handedly repels the Eldrazi, and then goes in search of Sorin – NOT to chastise him for not answering her call for help, but because he’s her friend, and she cares for him. At this point, most people know the rest of the story, as it’s fresh in their minds. Did Nahiri overreact to Sorin’s dismissal of her concerns? Maybe…MAYBE. To you and me, sure, it may seem like an overreaction, but we’re normal, mortal people. We fight with our friends with words and fists and blow up over small grievances that sometimes end those friendships. We are not imbued with God-like powers, so saying with certainty that someone who is “overreacted” isn’t objective. Nahiri reacted in anger, and lashed out with the tools at her disposal. And Sorin responded in kind. Even when Avacyn joined the battle, even when Nahiri was outnumbered and subdued, Sorin kept fighting. He man-splained his excuses to her, never once stopping to apologize – sincerely apologize for creating not one, but two tools to safeguard his plane against threats like the ones he asked her to sacrifice hers to that he knew (or suspected) would block her calls for help. “Nahiri, please, stop. I’m sorry, I truly am. It’s been millennia. After all this time, I thought it was safe. I waited six thousand years to create these barriers…perhaps I should have waited six thousand more.” He could have been lying through his pointy teeth, but at least he would have tried. Instead, he battled her, insulted her, and belittled her…all before imprisoning her. And to say Sorin imprisoned Nahiri for 1000 years is also a lie. He imprisoned her indefinitely and eternally. Her sentence was accidentally commuted due to the actions of Liliana Vess (more on her in part 2). Sorin shoved her away into the Helavault and walked away. Did he ever think of Nahiri until Thalia destroyed the Helavault and Sorin realized “Huh, I may have to deal with that past little oopsie?” Who knows… But regardless, for 1000 years, Nahiri had no distractions from her anger. Even if she had been able to momentarily play little games inside her head, every time she came back to ‘reality’ she was faced with the fact that she had no body, had no hands, no ground beneath her feet, so air to breath in or sun to warm her face, all because Sorin locked her away in an other-dimensional prison. Anger grows because it has time to fester…people let go of grudges because their lives move on. Sorin left Nahiri with an eternity of the former, and none of the latter. And before anyone comes back with “yeah, but…”, remember why the Helavault was created: to contain threats to INNISTRAD and/or its populace that could not otherwise be destroyed. Even if you see her actions as overreactions, never once did Nahiri threaten Innistrad or its people…only Sorin, who decided that she deserved a fate worse than death for being angry at him. So, to wrap this up, let’s recap: • Nahiri was bullied into sacrificing Zendikar • Nahiri was treated as nothing more than a tool in Ugin’s plan • Nahiri was abandoned • Zendikar was threatened due to the mysterious emergence of a race that was not native to the plane • Nahiri was ignored • Nahiri was concerned for her friend • Nahiri was met with indifference and dismissal • Nahiri was chastised, man-splained to, and belittled • Nahiri was given an eternal sentence for not bowing down and kissing Sorin’s feet • Nahiri had a full thousand years with only her own mind and anger to keep her company I feel like that’s a good start. Part two is going to tackle the claims that Nahiri is “nonredeemable” by looking at some of the absolutely terrible Magic characters that are now embraced by players and fans. @wizardsmagic
