“Elder dragons are titanic in stature and strength, godlike in power and intellect, and diabolical in the depths of their schemes. Some are more patient than others with humans and other mere mortals, but all of them are convinced of their sheer superiority over mortals in every measure that matters. Their magic is so great, their lives so long, and their vision so far-reaching that they can easily overlook the ephemeral existences of humans and their ilk. Their machinations can topple civilizations, erase continents, and even tear holes in the fabric of time. On Dominaria legends of an ancient Elder Dragon War describe five elder dragons as the only survivors of an ages-long conflict against others of their kind. They are said to have become the ancestors of all dragons, drakes, and wurms on their home plane and possibly beyond.” - #MTGM19 Player’s Guide.
The penultimate story for Chronicle of Bolas is here! Chronicle of Bolas: Perspectives gives us another glimpse into a Nicol-centric retelling of the history of the Elder Dragons, with some real meat on it’s bones to dive into. Yeah... I trust Ugin’s recounting of events better.
I’ve also got a note about the Let’s Talk About series going forward.
Nicol Bolas, the Arisen by Svetlin Velinov
I opened my wings to catch the air. Ugin may tell you that he and I were wrapped together like one creature, born together, falling together, minds waking together in bewilderment and curiosity. He may tell you that as we realized we were beings—minds—consciousnesses—that we unfolded together. Flew together.
But that is wrong.
I just want to quickly remind everyone that Bolas is full of crap, so he’s version of events should be taken with a grain of salt. I’m sure the events themselves happened but how they played out - and what Bolas leaves out - are highly suspect.
I beheld the majesty of the sun and the splendor of the heavens and understood the magnificence of my mind in those first instants. Then I recognized the curled-up creature falling helplessly beside me. Of course, my instinct was to help.
In case you were wondering how full of crap Bolas is, I doubt his first instinct was ever to help. Bolas is merely re-framing events to diminish Ugin and make himself look superior.
"Six?" Naiva asked. "Weren't there eight of you? Didn't two fall without waking? Didn't their bodies shatter atop the mountain?"
One of his foreclaws swatted down next to her, the impact shaking her off her feet. Her knees hit the ground hard. Pain stabbed tears into her eyes.
"Do not interrupt me again!" he thundered.
Lol, I think Bolas might be a wee insecure.
At last, I alone had the courage, and the hunger, to dare fold my wings and set my claws upon the ground. Of course, that momentous decision presaged all that was and is to come: my wings span the heavens, and my presence, my weight, my size, my claws, all these give me dominion over the earth and all that lives on the earth. So, I named our home Dominaria, because I claimed its song for myself.
Dominaria is actually named after Dominia, the old name of the multiverse (not typically called that anymore). Dominaria is the song of Dominia.
Again. Bolas. Crap. But hilariously in line with his character. I genuinely loved his retelling.
RAGE
How dare he have what I had not!
A white-hot spark kindled deep in my chest with a flash of such sunlit brightness that it blinded me. Impenetrable blackness filled my vision. Tumbling, I fell, totally disoriented, until with a gut-wrenching twist I righted myself.
This is very much Bolas. His spark ignited through anger, avarice and jealousy.
Notice the inconsistency in his story, though? He claims Ugin wasn’t a planeswalker until later... so why was he jealous of Ugin?
Only to find myself no longer atop the birth mountain but gliding over a boundless stretch of oceanic waters as flat and still as a mirror. I was the only thing in motion, my wings shadowing the sea's surface. There was no sun in this peculiar place, only the water and many craggy islets and a constant shushing whisper of secrets just out of my reach. By a faint humming vibration deep in my bones, I suspected this was not a plane but some manner of artificial construct, built by an unknown agent that had left neither claw nor footprint to mark its authorship. Who, or what, possessed so much power? And why had it been abandoned?
This is a cool lore tidbit! By now, my theory has borne out, this is the Meditation Realm (described as such later). But Bolas notes that it’s an artificial realm, not unlike Rath or Serra’s Realm.
Bubbles floated peaceably in the sky, drifting downward until they touched my scales and popped
With each pop, a sweet vista sprang open before me for a breathtaking moment before it vanished: other lands, other worlds, other planes.
This is new. I mean, we saw some of this with Naiva’s visions last time, but this is probably how Te Ju Ki knew of other planes, she’d reached the Meditation Realm through Meditation!
What wonders lay beyond the meager treasures of Dominaria! A hundred worlds I visited, and then a hundred more. Yet in all that time I found no trace of any other creature who could walk between worlds. I was the first among all sapient creatures to discover the possibility of traveling between planes. No wonder eternity and infinity welcomed me, having sojourned alone for so long!
Sure you were, Bolas. Sure you were. What’s interesting is he doesn’t think to describe what he does to those worlds.
There I found the wars between the elder dragons over long since. A tenuous peace had taken hold throughout much of the land. Of all the elder dragons and their children, only Chromium Rhuell, Arcades Sabboth, Palladia-Mors, and that vexatious beast Vaevictis Asmadi had survived.
If we take Bolas at his word, this is probably during the time of Legends, as Piru is unmentioned. Piru would probably be unmentioned regardless, or beneath Bolas’s notice, but if we’re taking it literally this is somewhere between -5,000 AR and 0 AR.
This also brings up some timing issues. If the Dominaria timeline is to be believed, we’ve skipped right over the Primevals, the Numena, and Bolas dueling the Demonic Leviathan (which should have happened shortly after Bolas became a planeswalker). I assume Bolas is editing his story for relevance, but it’s improtna
He regarded me with his usual patronizing superiority. "The battle you fled from, abandoning your troops? I gathered them under my wings. They were grateful for my protection, I assure you."
"Did you not see him, flying between our armies?" I demanded, utterly astonished by his obliviousness.
"You were not yourself that day, Bolas. No doubt you were seeing illusory things. You have always felt shame about Ugin's death, haven't you? Did you blame yourself for not protecting him? Or did you stand aside and allow him to be killed by some venomous sorcery? I've always wondered. I've always suspected you envied him because he was cleverer and wiser than you."
THIS is interesting. Why wouldn’t Arcades have seen Ugin? Even in Nicol Bolas’s story?
Is this Bolas attempting to diminish Arcades? Hmmm. Bears more thinking about.
But I was bigger than that. Much, much bigger. I was a Planeswalker, first and only one of my kind. To rule in Dominaria was all very well for a small-minded despot like Arcades, while I had grown as far beyond him as he was beyond pathetic, weak, short-lived humans.
I love that Bolas is unironically looking at Arcades like Ugin looked at him.
Also, I hope Arcades didn’t turn on his people. He’s the only one of the five to never get any characterization and that would be such a tragedy. More so than how they all die, anyway.
So, you may imagine my shock and my joy when I walked out of the blind eternities into the place I had come to call my Meditation Realm only to find Ugin there! He was floating atop the waters staring at himself as if he could imagine nothing better than to look at his own reflection.
HERE IS THE CONFIRMATION OF THE MEDITATION REALM!
He attacked, viciously and without warning, all raw fury and malignant resentment. I had no choice but to defend myself. First above the wide waters of the Meditation Realm and then on a wild pummeling path through the planes, we struggled for days, years, generations.
Okay, so obviously this is bullshit because this is not Ugin. The question is, what drove Ugin to this? Did he see the destruction his brother wrought across the Multiverse?
In the end, by diverse paths, we returned to the Meditation Realm. There, purely in self-defense, I killed him.
With a mighty splash, he fell into the still waters. The impact resounded like thunder. Monstrous waves rose from the displacement and swept across the craggy islets, crashing and destroying as they went. The waves ran on and on, washing far beyond the bounds of the Meditation Realm into the web of connection that links the planes themselves and maybe even into the blind eternities whose depths even dragons cannot plumb. The waves spilled out of the Meditation Realm as if Ugin's death had, like a weight dropped upon a ceramic bowl, broken cracks in the vessel itself.
The violence of the waves swept me out of the Meditation Realm. Like a cast spear, I was flung through ten or twenty or a hundred planes before I fell hard back into Dominaria, onto the island chain of Madara at a time when the memory of the Elder Dragon Wars had faded into legend. Bruised and stunned, I struggled to recover my strength, but recover it I did. Many battles lay before me, and I met them with ease.
Okay, so some questions here.
Did Bolas actually kill Ugin here? Was Ugin revived like Bolas was?
Did Ugin’s death collapse the Meditation Realm? When Bolas was killed in the Meditation Realm in the Legends II cycle, it did. And Bolas is spat back out on Madara. And if it did collapse, was it later restored for Legends II?
Is this before the Demonic Leviathan battle? Because we used to think that was the first planeswalker duel, but it might have just been the first one on Dominaria itself. Why did it spit Bolas back out on Madara? Was it because of the rift from the Demonic Leviathan battle?
I have so many questions about this battle that I really hope we get answers to next week.
Yet when she thought of the young ghostfire warrior, of his courage and sacrifice, a shudder passed through her frame and ripped a gash in her certainty. What would Tae Jin say when he learned she had handed over the great Yasova Dragonclaw to Nicol Bolas?
"Little Naiva, you mustn't believe I want to hurt Yasova. I want to help. That's all. Now go." His voice hardened. A pressure built in her head until she thought her skull would burst. "Now."
Kneeling, she pulled aside the fragment of broken hedron and crawled in. There, in the dim, stuffy confines of the space, Baishya lay as if asleep, breathing evenly. Grandmother sat cross-legged in mediation, eyes closed, left hand resting open on a thigh while her right hand grasped Baishya's bare fingers with an affectionate clasp. The gesture ate a hole of envy right through Naiva's heart. Grandmother had always preferred Baishya. She loved her more than she loved Naiva.
She would have to bodily haul Grandmother outside. But that could wait. Pulling her knife from its sheath, she pressed the blade against Baishya's vulnerable throat.
Where is Tae Jin in all of this? I wonder if the ghostfire warrior saves the day, shocking Naiva back to her senses.
Finally, I wanted to say that I’m going to be putting “Let’s Talk About” on indefinite hiatus following the conclusion of Chronicle of Bolas. “Indefinite” does not mean ‘cancelled’ in this context, just that I don’t know when I’m going to have time for it again.
I really appreciate everyone who has been a faithful reader, but I can’t sustain the amount of time and energy I put into it - almost as much as one of my biweekly articles! I’m moving next month and I genuinely don’t know if my new work situation will allow me the leeway to get these out every week around lunchtime. So overall, things are just up in the air.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop talking about the story week by week! Please continue to send me asks and I’ll try to clarify lore or give background whenever possible. It may just be in a much shorter format than this or as ask responses.
