I wasn’t sure I was going to talk about today’s story, Pride of the Kraul, by Alison Luhrs, but it turns out, it’s super important to understanding what’s happening back on Ravnica. AND I HAVE QUESTIONS.
Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest by Matthias Kollros
Sobeslav, assistant to Guildmaster Jarad, sat cushioned in the comfort of the Guildhall. His desk attached to that of Jarad vod Savo, who could usually be found wandering the maze outside, avoiding the gaze of the public. Liches were not the social type.
Jarad is a major character in the original Ravnica cycle. He helps overthrow the former leaders of the Golgari, and has a quarter-human son, Myc, who last we saw decided to live with his lich dad. The reason Jarad is a lich? He sacrificed his life for his son. Don’t you ever disrepect good dad Jarad. Oh, and that quarter-human piece? The boy’s grandfather was Agrus Kos’ partner before Feather.
He’s one of the few relatively major Ravnica cycle characters who hasn’t seen a card yet, along with Feather and Pivlic. He’d be perfect for an elf tribal commander, given his parentage would put him in White-Green-Black.
HINT HINT WIZARDS, HINT HINT. Print a Myc, plz.
The kraul are an insectoid race loyal to the Golgari of Ravnica. They declared allegiance only recently after centuries of living unguilded on the outskirts of the Undercity.
IN YOUR FACE @sarpadianempiresvol-viii... although not really for long.
Gruul riots. Shuttering of communication between the Orzhov and the Azorius. It was for the best that the Golgari stayed below—unfortunate happenings were afoot now that the Guildpact could walk and talk and just up and leave.
Gosh, Jace. I wonder what would happen if the guilds suddenly became aware you just went off somewhere and were out of reach. If only someone could have warned you of the catastrophe brewing because of what you’re doing.
If only we had a story hook for Magic’s most popular plane to reappear for next year’s 25th Anniversary, perhaps following Dominaria.
Simple magic could be used to interpret location across these ecosystems of fungus and slime, and nearly all Golgari recognized the intent when gifted an unfamiliar mushroom.
This is a really cool world-building detail.
On the far end of the room, a massive carved slab loomed in front of the group of Golgari elves. Glittering quartz freckled the slab, and careful carvings framed the stone on two sides. Were this stone found Above, one would have mistaken it for part of an oligarch's manor, but here, below the surface, it spoke of a distant and forgotten past.
At the top of the slab, a single sentence, carved deep into the glistening black rock, lined the stonework.
This pretty much screams Orzhov. I wonder what the single sentence is. Perhaps it’s what Mazirek speaks later, the name of the Mausolem? Or is it something else. Something they won’t reveal until later because of it’s importance.
Vraska dropped a spoonful of sugar into her cup
VRASKA. Damn it, I should have known. Of course this is a re-introduction of Vraska, as she’s slated to appear in Ixalan.
Mazirek had first encountered the gorgon once several years ago while consulting the assassins of the Ochran. Mazirek had provided blessings and enchantments to those assassins who asked, and Vraska was the only one who engaged in conversation after. The two began meeting regularly afterward to discuss theology and politics, and their friendship had proven enriching through the years.
Vraska is to sipping tea and chatting, huh? More on that in a moment. We already known she’s corrupted a Boros agent named Javy way back in In the Shadows of Prahv. After her confrontation with Jace, it’s pretty clear she’s working to destroy the guildpact.
Vraska's chamber was cozy, above all else. It was a curiosity cabinet-turned-flat, with every inch of the walls covered in exquisite trinkets and objects beyond all familiarity. The colors and variety were always overwhelming for his compound eyes, but the effect wore off eventually. This was a welcoming place, a traveler's den. Above her kitchen was a dark violet banner. A clay pot with black waves painted along the rim sat on the bookcase. Dozens of little folded paper birds mingled with the ribbons that spanned her ceiling. The effect was calming and captivating; enjoying tea in Vraska's chamber was like sitting in the vaults of a museum.
So Vraska’s home has some interesting knick-knacks. Here’s what we see:
A dark violet banner. This could be one of a couple things. The first, for anyone who immediately googled all the magic cards with ‘banner’ in the title, is this:
Sultai Banner by Daniel Ljunggren
Vraska having some involvement with the Sultai makes some sense, except that they haven’t existed for over a thousand years. Silumgar, however, also has Naga and has kept the purple color scheme.
Another possible, and probably far more likely option, is that this is the banner of the faction to which she belongs on Ixalan. ‘Rivals’ indicates factions, and I’ve already said I strongly suspect pirates. It could be her pirate banner.
A clay pot with black waves painted along the rim. This could be another hint to the pirate theme. I haven’t had time to comb through a whole bunch of old art yet, but I’m pretty sure something like this doesn’t already exist. If you find it, let me know ASAP. I’ve heard some theories for this already, but it’s either an Ixalan piece, or a reference to Theros (given she IS a gorgon).
Dozens of little folded paper birds mingled with ribbons that spanned her ceiling. This is interesting. If you described Vraska’s home to me, I would say Tamiyo, and put Vraska very far back on the list. This is obviously origami, and something she values.
Black Tea adds another interesting wrinkle. I’m not sure how common it is on Ravnica, but tea exists there. You know who sips tea like that?
The story-circle. In Tamiyo’s home. And this intellectual take on Vraska offers up a whole new avenue.
We know Vraska is on Ixalan. We know Ajani is going to Ixalan to recruit someone. I’ve speculated that maybe, because of the story-circle connection, it’s Narset or Sarkhan or even Ugin. But what if it isn’t.
We know Vraska has visited a place where Origami exists. We know she drinks black tea (although that might be a meaningless detail). We know Ajani is going to recruit people against Bolas... and the only other known planeswalker on Ixalan is Vraska.
What if Ajani is going to recruit Vraska? Is she really any worse that Liliana? Or Chandra, for that matter?
Can you imagine the drama when Ajani brings Vraska to a meeting with Jace?
In front of them was a cavern so large they could not sense its walls, and placed like soldiers in formation across the grid of the mausoleum floor were hundreds of stone coffins. The ceiling was stately and ornate, gilded and painted to trick the eye into perceiving it as sky above. Everything about the space spoke of deep, ancient wealth and power.
As he stepped into the mausoleum a current of magic vibrated over the stones. Mazirek sensed he had triggered an ancient spell, and watched with delight as every single coffin began to loosen itself.
Delicate hands draped with lace and beautiful rings removed the lids of their own coffins, and the undead began to rise of their own accord, just as Vraska had told him they would.
This is DEFINITELY an Orzhov Vault. Perhaps this is the Orzhov threat hinted at in Nissa’s vision from The Hand that Moves? Remember, a sigil that sounds an awful lot like the Orzhov symbol destroyed the tablet that sounded an awful lot like the tablet of the guilds.
Mazirek stood to his full height, staff sweeping in grand gesture over the rising army before him. "Behold, child: Umerilek, Mausoleum of the Erstwhile, the salvation of the kraul and the key to the creation of the Golgari empire."
I don’t believe this is something that has been referenced before. Mausoleum of the Erstwhile is an amusing name, because it sounds fancy but it really just means tomb of the former. Doesn’t tell us much, as we already know it’s old and hidden.
But the Golgari empire piece? It sounds like Ravnica 3 might be able a civil war within the guilds. We have plenty of fracture lines for it already. Perhaps we might even see a return to the open warfare for dominion over the plane that was ended by the original Guildpact.
