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{{Infobox plane
{{Infobox plane
| image = Obelisk of Alara.jpg
| image = Obelisk of Esper.jpg
| first = [[Shards of Alara]]
| first = [[Shards of Alara]]
| last = [[Magic Origins]]
| last = [[March of the Machine]]
| planeswalkers = [[Ajani Goldmane]], [[Sifa Grent]], [[Tezzeret]]
| planeswalkers = [[Ajani Goldmane]], [[Sifa Grent]], [[Tezzeret]]
| rabiah = 4
| rabiah = 5
| rabiah_ref = <ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/153826844168/the-rabiah-scale|title=The Rabiah Scale|November 29, 2016}}</ref>
| rabiah_ref = <ref>{{EzTumblr|https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/659176532237058048/you-recently-answered-a-question-about-returning|title=You recently answered a question about returning to Alara...|August 10, 2021}}</ref>
| status = Reunited
| status = Reunited; recovering from New Phyrexia's invasion
| demonym = Alaran
}}
}}
'''Alara''' is a [[plane]] in the [[Multiverse]]. It was once a serene plane with few internal conflicts, but the [[Sundering]] broke the world into the five [[Shard]]s: [[Bant]], [[Esper]], [[Grixis]], [[Jund]] and [[Naya]]. The event known as the [[Conflux (event)|Conflux]] reunited the shards, causing much chaos and mayhem to their respective residents.
'''Alara''' is a [[plane]] in the [[Multiverse]]. It was once a serene plane with few internal conflicts, but the [[Sundering]] broke the world into the five [[Shard]]s: [[Bant]], [[Esper]], [[Grixis]], [[Jund]] and [[Naya]]. The event known as the [[Conflux (event)|Conflux]] reunited the shards, causing much chaos and mayhem to their respective residents.


==The Sundering==
==History==
Alara was once a vast plane whose realms, including an ancient kingdom known as Vithia, flourished in an era of peace and wisdom. But many centuries ago, an unknown Planeswalker plundered Alara for its mana.<ref name="NewAge">{{DailyRef|feature/new-age-alara-2009-04-13|A New Age for Alara|[[Doug Beyer]]|April 14, 2009}}</ref> The drain on the plane's mana shattered something deep in its metaphysical structure, causing it to undergo a radical planar refraction. The plane broke into shards along mana lines, diffusing into its component parts like light refracted in a prism-and shattering Alara 's civilizations and ecologies along with it. Whatever agent caused this destruction abandoned what remained of the plane, its spell presumably finished.<ref>[[Doug Beyer]] & [[Jenna Helland]] "The Origin of Alara's Shards" ''[[A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara]]''</ref>
===Ancient Alara===
The plane of Alara was once a single, immense plane, rich in mana and natural resources.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/> It featured kingdoms, regions, and civilizations unlike the five shard-cultures that would later inhabit it.<ref>{{EzTumblr|https://dougbeyermtg.tumblr.com/post/69618038037/did-bant-esper-grixis-jund-and-naya-exist-as|title=Did Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund and Naya exist as cultural and/or political entities before Alara was split into five shards?|December 10, 2013}}</ref> The most notable, an ancient kingdom known as Vithia, flourished in an era of peace and wisdom. The archangel [[Asha]] watched over the plane, protecting its inhabitants from the forces of [[Malfegor]].<ref name="NewAge"/>
 
Ancient Alarans built enormous artifacts called obelisks across the plane which focused the five colors of mana.<ref name="Graduation">{{DailyRef|savor-flavor/graduation-day-2009-06-10|Graduation Day|[[Doug Beyer]]|June 10, 2009}}</ref> When Alara was one plane, mages channeled and filtered its rich sources of mana with these obelisks.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/> The obelisks tamed Alara's wild mana into easily manageable sources for rituals, summonings, and other spellcraft. With such powerful and reliable mana, Alara, in its early days, was one of the Multiverse’s most accommodating environments for spellcasters.
 
===The Sundering===
Millennia before the [[Great Mending|Mending]],<ref name="ALAGuide">(2008). ''[https://archive.org/details/shards-of-alara-players-guide-magic-the-gathering-2008 Shards of Alara Player's Guide].'' [[Wizards of the Coast]].</ref> in an event later known as the [[Sundering]], an unknown Planeswalker plundered Alara for its mana.<ref name="NewAge">{{DailyRef|feature/new-age-alara-2009-04-13|A New Age for Alara|[[Doug Beyer]]|April 14, 2009}}</ref> The drain on the plane's mana shattered something deep in its metaphysical structure, causing it to undergo a radical planar refraction.<ref name="AlaraGuide">[[Doug Beyer]] & [[Jenna Helland]] (2008). ''[[A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara]]'', [[Wizards of the Coast]]. ISBN-13 978-0786951246</ref> The plane broke into shards along mana lines, diffusing into its component parts like light refracted in a prism - and shattering Alara's civilizations and ecologies along with it. Whatever agent caused this destruction abandoned what remained of the plane, its spell presumably finished.
 
The shards that resulted from Alara’s refraction drifted away from each other in the Blind Eternities.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/> They were planes unto themselves, but not complete {{-}} each was cut off from two different colors of mana. As the shards' mana supplies slowly replenished themselves again, this mana imbalance dramatically altered life on each world. Environments warped to match the changed mana landscape, and life changed with it. Many species fell to extinction, while new forms of life adapted and prospered. Asha, the plane's protector, sacrificed herself in battle with the demon [[Malfegor]].<ref name="Visual Guide">[[Jay Annelli]] (2022). ''[[Magic: The Gathering - The Visual Guide]]'', [[Wikipedia:DK (publisher)|DK]]. ISBN-13 978-0744061055.</ref>
 
===Conflux===
As the shards' impending reunification approached, the [[Dominaria (plane)|Dominarian]] [[dragon]] [[planeswalker]] [[Nicol Bolas]] sought to use the energy the event would create to restore his power.<ref name="Visual Guide"/> Using agents across the plane to foment chaos and destroy the obelisks that stabilized the shards, he accelerated the process until the shards merged in an event known as the [[Conflux (event)|Conflux]].


==Conflux==
The shards reunited, a jagged fusion of now poorly-fitting pieces. As the Conflux progressed, it became not the same Alara that had once been, but a new world, a patchwork plane composed of five distinct microverses—Alara, but reborn. As the barriers between worlds dissolved and lands overlapped in chaotic incursion zones, the denizens of the five shards ventured forth, meeting their long-lost fellow Alarans for the first time. Prejudice gripped these races that were once allies, made strangers by history and fate.
The shards reunited, a jagged fusion of now poorly-fitting pieces. As the Conflux progressed, it became not the same Alara that had once been, but a new world, a patchwork plane composed of five distinct microverses—Alara, but reborn. As the barriers between worlds dissolved and lands overlapped in chaotic incursion zones, the denizens of the five shards ventured forth, meeting their long-lost fellow Alarans for the first time. Prejudice gripped these races that were once allies, made strangers by history and fate.
The rejoined plane flows with all five [[color]]s of [[mana]] once more. Waves of raw power crash across the former planar boundaries, bringing long-forgotten magics to all the shards and mingling them in unprecedented ways. As the boundaries between the shards dissolve, cultures clash and wars ensue.<ref name="NewAge"/>


The forces of Esper invade the other shards looking for [[carmot]], an element necessary to create more of their dwindling [[etherium]]. Hordes of Grixis [[undead]] mount an assault to maim, enslave, and drain the life energy from other shards. The [[warrior]]s of Jund extend their "life hunts" to the newfound game throughout Alara's vast hunting grounds. Naya's forces follow the [[elves]]' decrees and march out of the jungle, searching for answers to [[Mayael|the Anima]]'s prophetic visions. And the armies of Bant clash with the [[horror]]s swarming over their borders, defending their homeland in the name of their guardian [[angel]]s.
The rejoined plane flows with all five [[color]]s of [[mana]] once more. Waves of raw power crashed across the former planar boundaries, bringing long-forgotten magics to all the shards and mingling them in unprecedented ways. As the boundaries between the shards dissolved, cultures clashed, and wars ensued.<ref name="NewAge"/>
[[Image:Obelisk of Alara.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The combined Obelisk]]
 
The forces of Esper invaded the other shards looking for [[carmot]], an element necessary to create more of their dwindling [[etherium]]. Hordes of Grixis [[undead]] mounted an assault to maim, enslave, and drain the life energy from other shards. The [[warrior]]s of Jund extended their "life hunts" to the newfound game throughout Alara's vast hunting grounds. Naya's forces followed the [[elves]]' decrees and marched out of the jungle, searching for answers to [[Mayael|the Anima]]'s prophetic visions. And the armies of Bant clashed with the [[horror]]s swarming over their borders, defending their homeland in the name of their guardian [[angel]]s.
 
At the point where the five Shards met, a chaotic storm of [[mana]] came into existence: the [[Maelstrom]]. [[Nicol Bolas]], hoping to feed on its rich mana and, in one massive ritual, restore his lost power, was ultimately stopped from destroying all of Alara by [[Ajani Goldmane]].
 
In the years after the Conflux, travel between the former shards became normalized, and a new equilibrium was born across the plane.<ref name="Visual Guide"/> Naya's leonin join Bantian orders, Esper's artificers search Jund for resources, and the living refugees of Grixis escape to surrounding lands.
 
===Phyrexian Invasion===
Alara was targeted by [[Elesh Norn]]'s [[Machine Legion]] as part of [[New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse]].<ref name="Panel">{{YouTubeRef|-y3G-nFhN0I|First Look at March of the Machine|channel=[[Magic: The Gathering]]|date=February 19, 2023}}</ref> Not much is known about the plane's defense, as neither Alaran natives in the compleated Ajani or the traitorous Tezzeret interacted with this particular front of the invasion. The knights of former Bant such as Rafiq were amongst the defenders, but curiously the [[Maelstrom]] itself seemed to fight on behalf of Alara.<ref><c>Awaken the Maelstrom</c></ref>
 
==Inhabitants==
When the plane sundered, species that did not fit the colors of their shard slowly went extinct.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/> Humans were the only race that inhabited all five shards.
 
*[[Angel]]s ({{mana|WUBRG}}; Bant)
*[[Avatar]]s ({{mana|WUBRG}}; The Maelstrom)
*[[Bat]]s
**Plague Bats (Grixis)<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*[[Beast]]s
**Baloths<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
**Cerodons ({{mana|WR}}; Naya)
**Dreg Reavers ({{B}}; Grixis)
**Kranioceroses ({{R}}; Naya)
**Plowbeasts ({{mana|WUG}}; Naya)
**Rannets ({{mana|RG}}; Jund)
**Thoctars ({{mana|WBRG}}; Naya)
*[[Bird]]s
**Cormorants ({{mana|WU}}; Esper)
**Halcou (Bant), an alabaster bird with legendary grace and speed<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
**[[Aven]] ({{mana|WUG}}; Bant)
***Kathari ({{mana|UBR}}; Grixis)
*[[Cat]]s
**Leotau ({{mana|WG}}; Bant)
**Nacatl ({{mana|WRG}}; Naya)
**Small cats (Naya)
*[[Construct]]s ({{mana|WUB}}; Esper)
*[[Crocodile]]s ({{G}}; Jund)
*[[Demon]]s ({{mana|UBR}}; Grixis)
*[[Devil]]s ({{R}}; Grixis)
*[[Dinosaur]]s (Jund)<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*[[Dragon]]s ({{mana|UBRG}}; Grixis & Jund)
**Hellkites ({{mana|BRG}}; Jund)
*[[Drake]]s ({{mana|UBR}}; Esper & Jund)
*[[Elemental]]s ({{mana|WUBRG}}; Grixis & Jund)
*[[Elephant]]s
**Mosstodons ({{G}}; Naya)
*[[Elf|Elves]] ({{mana|WURG}}; Naya)
*[[Faerie]]s ({{U}}; Esper)
*[[Fungus|Fungi]] ({{mana|WG}}; Jund)
**Thallids ({{G}}; Jund)
*[[Gargoyle]]s ({{mana|WUB}}; Esper)
*[[Goblin]]s ({{mana|BRG}}; Jund)
*[[Golem]]s ({{mana|WUB}}; Esper & Grixis)
**Bone Golems (Grixis)<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*[[Griffin]]s ({{mana|WRG}}; Naya)
*[[Hellion]]s ({{mana|RG}}; Jund)
*[[Homunculus|Homunculi]] ({{mana|WU}}; Esper)
*[[Horror]]s ({{mana|UBR}}; Grixis)
*[[Horse]]s (Bant)
*[[Hydra]]s ({{mana|WUBRG}}; Jund & Naya)
*[[Human]]s ({{mana|WUBRG}}; All Shards)
*[[Illusion]]s ({{mana|UB}}; Esper)
*[[Insect]]s (Esper, Grixis, Jund, & Naya)
**Banewasps ({{B}}; Grixis)
**Carabids ({{mana|BR}}; Jund)
**Logger-ants (Naya)<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
**Scarlet wasps (Naya)<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
**Sludgestriders ({{mana|WUB}}; Esper)
**termites (Naya)<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*[[Jellyfish]] ({{U}}; Esper)
*[[Kraken]]s (Esper)<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*[[Leech]]es ({{mana|BG}}; Jund)
*Lemurs (Naya)<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*[[Leviathan]]s ({{mana|UB}}; Esper & Grixis)
*[[Lizard]]s ({{mana|BRG}}; Jund)
**Gharlizards<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
**Iguanars ({{mana|BRG}})
**Thrinaxes ({{R}})
*[[Minotaur]]s ({{mana|URG}}; Naya)
*[[Ogre]]s ({{mana|WUBRG}}; Grixis)
*[[Ooze]]s ({{mana|UBRG}}; Jund)
*[[Phoenix]]es ({{R}}; Jund)
*Pip fawns (Naya), fawnlike creatures about the size of a goat.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/> Cultivated by Naya's humans for meat and milk.
*[[Rat]]s ({{mana|BR}}; Grixis)
*[[Rhox]]es ({{mana|WURG}}; Bant)
*[[Saproling]]s ({{G}}; Jund)
*[[Serpent]]s ({{U}}; Esper)
**Sluice serpents
*[[Skeleton]]s ({{mana|UBR}}; Grixis)
*[[Snake]]s
**Coatls ({{mana|UG}}; Naya)
*[[Specter]]s ({{mana|UBR}}; Grixis)
*[[Sphinx]]es ({{mana|WUB}}; Esper)
*[[Spider]]s ({{mana|WG}}; Naya)
*[[Spirit]]s ({{mana|WU}}; Esper & Naya)
**Brinewraiths
**Hauntcreeps
*[[Turtle]]s ({{U}}; Bant)
*[[Vampire]]s ({{mana|UBR}}; Grixis)
*[[Vedalken]] ({{mana|WUBG}}; Esper)
*[[Viashino]] ({{mana|WUBRG}}; Jund)
*[[Wolf|Wolves]]<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*[[Worm]]s (Grixis & Jund)<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*[[Wurm]]s ({{mana|WBRG}}; Jund)
*[[Zombie]]s ({{mana|WUBRG}}; Esper & Grixis)
**Aether-liches ({{U}}; Esper)
**Dreg Reavers ({{B}}; Grixis)
**Scullers ({{mana|WB}}; Esper)


===The Maelstrom===
===Flora===
At the point where the five Shards met, a chaotic storm of [[mana]] came into existence: the [[Maelstrom]]. [[Nicol Bolas]], the ancient [[dragon]] [[Planeswalker]], planned this all along. He came to Alara to feed on its rich mana and, in one massive ritual, restore his lost power. He was ultimately stopped from destroying all of Alara by [[Ajani Goldmane]].
*Bloodthorn trees, short, bushy trees with long, poisonous thorns with a hook at the end.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/> If they remain in the skin too long they're fatal. Naya's humans have developed an immunity and sometimes build their settlements inside bloodthorn groves.
*Fig trees, tended to in the walled and organized groves of Bant.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*Lianas, thick, woody vines that can grow up to five feet in diameter and lace together Naya's canopy.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*Mushrooms, a source of food for the humans of Grixis.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*Olive trees, such as the '''Twelve Trees of Valeron'''.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*Thuja trees, massive examples of which are housed in The Sun-Dappled Court.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*Tukatongue trees, the primary food staple for Jund's humans.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/> Growing on high plateaus, the tree's supple wood and tough bark helps it survive fierce winds and a marauding dragon's fiery breath. The tree's roots can be ground into a sticky paste for an unappealing, but reliable, food source. Many stone weapons are wrapped in the spiky bark. Humans live in temporary shelters made from tuka frames and covered in lizard skin.
*Wanat Trees, the major year-round food source of Naya's elves.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/> Their nuts are high in protein and their flowers make an energy-enhancing drink.


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
* Alara is a [[Subtype|planar subtype]] for [[planes|plane cards]] in [[Planechase (variant)|Planechase]].
*Alara is a [[Subtype|planar subtype]] for [[planes|plane cards]] in [[Planechase (variant)|Planechase]].
* An [[Booster#Unique packages|''Alara'' Premium Foil Booster pack]] contained fifteen foil, black-bordered cards from ''[[Shards of Alara]]'', ''[[Conflux]]'', and ''[[Alara Reborn]]''. It was released on January 8, 2010 (MSRP: $11.99).<ref>{{DailyRef|feature/premium-foil-booster-2010-05-17|Premium Foil Booster|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|January 8th, 2010}}</ref>
*An [[Booster#Unique packages|''Alara'' Premium Foil Booster pack]] contained fifteen foil, black-bordered cards from ''[[Shards of Alara]]'', ''[[Conflux]]'', and ''[[Alara Reborn]]''. It was released on January 8, 2010 (MSRP: $11.99).<ref>{{DailyRef|feature/premium-foil-booster-2010-05-17|Premium Foil Booster|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|January 8th, 2010}}</ref>
* A return to Alara is probable but complicated by the facts that three-color focused sets are difficult to design and that the shards were more popular than the reintegrated plane.<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/182711539658/will-we-ever-return-to-alara-its-one-of-my|title=Will we ever return to Alara?|February 10, 2019}}</ref>
*A return to Alara is probable but complicated by the facts that three-color focused sets are difficult to design and that the shards were more popular than the reintegrated plane.<ref>{{EzTumblr|http://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/182711539658/will-we-ever-return-to-alara-its-one-of-my|title=Will we ever return to Alara?|February 10, 2019}}</ref>
 
==Languages==
*The five shards have mutually intelligible languages.<ref name="Unbroken">[[Doug Beyer]] (2009), "''[[Alara Unbroken]]''", [[Wizards of the Coast]]</ref>
*Nacatl
**''Vetli'' translates to "poison arrows"<ref><c>Winged Coatl</c></ref>
*The old language of Vithia
**''Grixis'' translates to "traitor"<ref name="Alive">{{DailyRef|savor-flavor/alive-and-unwell-2008-09-24|Alive and Unwell|[[Doug Beyer]]|September 24, 2008}}</ref><ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
** Angels are ''bantuthroi'' in the old tongue, which means "flesh of our volition".<ref name="Unbroken"/>
*** This implies that ''Bant'' translates as "Volition'.
**This may also be the language from which [[Thraximundar]], meaning "he who paints the earth red," derives.<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*The language spoken by Jund's Viashino
**''Challik'' translates as "toad's tongue."<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*The language spoken by Jund's Goblins
**The phrase ''plikintok agat'' translates to "wearing a garment of rock."<ref name="AlaraGuide"/>
*''Scratchforms'', a pseudo-written language and the writing system employed by the nacatl.<ref>{{DailyRef|savor-flavor/running-wild-2008-09-09|Running Wild|[[Jenna Helland]]|September 10, 2008}}</ref> Among Wild Nacatl, scratchforms are predominantly used by [[shaman]]s. The most important text set in scratchforms was the [[Coil]].
 
==Planeswalkers==
===Native===
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
*[[Ajani Goldmane]] ([[Naya]])
*[[Crucius]] ([[Esper]])
*[[Sifa Grent]] ([[Grixis]])
*[[Tezzeret]] ([[Esper]])
}}


==Planeswalker visitors==
===Visitors===
*[[Ajani Goldmane]]
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|*[[Chandra Nalaar]]<ref name="Magic 22">[[Jed MacKay]] (2023). ''[[Magic (BOOM! comic)|Magic]]''. Iss 22. Boom!</ref> (non-canon)
*[[Dack Fayden]] ([[Grixis]])
*[[Dack Fayden]] ([[Grixis]])
*[[Domri Rade]]
*[[Domri Rade]]
*[[Elspeth Tirel]]
*[[Elspeth Tirel]]
*[[Garruk]]<ref name="Magic 22">[[Jed MacKay]] (2023). ''[[Magic (BOOM! comic)|Magic]]''. Iss 22. Boom!</ref> (non-canon)
*[[Gideon Jura]] ([[Bant]])
*[[Gideon Jura]] ([[Bant]])
*[[Liliana Vess]] ([[Grixis]])
*[[Liliana Vess]] ([[Grixis]])
*[[Nicol Bolas]]
*[[Nicol Bolas]]
*[[Ral Zarek]]<ref>Ral correctly guesses that Ajani is from Alara, implying that he himself has been there.</ref>
*[[Ral Zarek]]<ref>Ral correctly guesses that Ajani is from Alara, implying that he himself has been there.</ref><ref name="Forsaken"/>
*[[Sarkhan Vol]]
*[[Sarkhan Vol]]
*[[Sifa Grent]] ([[Grixis]])
*[[Tibalt]] ([[Esper]])<ref name="Forsaken"/>
*[[Tezzeret]]
*[[The Wanderer]]<ref name="Forsaken">[[Greg Weisman]] (November 2019). "''[[War of the Spark: Forsaken]].''" Del Rey.</ref>
*[[The Unluckiest]] ([[Grixis]])
*[[Vronos]] ([[Esper]])
*[[Vronos]] ([[Esper]])
}}


==In-game references==
==In-game references==
{{in-game
{{in-game
|cards=
*<c>Bant</c>
*<c>Esper</c>
*<c>Grixis</c>
*<c>Jund</c>
*<c>Naya</c>
|associated=
|associated=
* <c>Child of Alara</c>
*<c>Child of Alara</c>
* <c>Knight of New Alara</c>
*<c>Invasion of Alara</c>
* <c>Might of Alara</c>
*<c>Knight of New Alara</c>
* <c>Obelisk of Alara</c>
*<c>Might of Alara</c>
* <c>Sovereigns of Lost Alara</c>
*<c>Obelisk of Alara</c>
|title1=Referred to
*{{card|Planar Nexus||M3C}}
|custom1=
*<c>Sovereigns of Lost Alara</c>
* {{card|Ancient Ziggurat|Conflux}}
|referred=
* <c>Blitz Hellion</c>
*{{card|Ancient Ziggurat|Conflux}}
* <c>Gorger Wurm</c>
*<c>Blitz Hellion</c>
* <c>Lavalanche</c>
*<c>Gorger Wurm</c>
* <c>Obelisk of Grixis</c>
*<c>Lavalanche</c>
* <c>Shard Convergence</c>
*<c>Obelisk of Grixis</c>
* <c>Voices from the Void</c>
*<c>Shard Convergence</c>
*<c>Sigiled Sentinel</c>
*<c>Voices from the Void</c>
}}
}}


Line 63: Line 223:
*''[http://magic.wizards.com/en/story/planes/alara Alara]'', [[magicthegathering.com]]
*''[http://magic.wizards.com/en/story/planes/alara Alara]'', [[magicthegathering.com]]
*{{DailyRef|feature/planes-existence-alara-2008-07-25|Planes of Existence: Alara|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|July 25, 2008}}
*{{DailyRef|feature/planes-existence-alara-2008-07-25|Planes of Existence: Alara|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|July 25, 2008}}
*''[[A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara]]''
*[[Doug Beyer]] & [[Jenna Helland]] (2008). ''[[A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara]]'', [[Wizards of the Coast]]. ISBN-13 978-0786951246
*''[[Alara Unbroken]]''
*[[Doug Beyer]] (2009), ''[[Alara Unbroken]]''. Wizards of the Coast.
* {{DailyRef|alara-world-broken-2008-09-08|Alara, a World Broken|[[Doug Beyer]]|September 08, 2008}}
*{{DailyRef|alara-world-broken-2008-09-08|Alara, a World Broken|[[Doug Beyer]]|September 08, 2008}}
* {{DailyRef|shards-days-night-2008-10-20|A Shards Day's Night|[[Rei Nakazawa]]|October 20, 2008}}
*{{DailyRef|shards-days-night-2008-10-20|A Shards Day's Night|[[Rei Nakazawa]]|October 20, 2008}}
*{{DailyRef|feature/ripping-world-apart-2008-09-15|Ripping a World Apart|[[Richard Whitters]]|September 15, 2008}}
*{{DailyRef|feature/five-worlds-2008-09-01|Five Worlds|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|September, 2008}}
*{{DailyRef|feature/five-worlds-2008-09-01|Five Worlds|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|September, 2008}}
*{{DailyRef|feature/life-imitates-mana-2008-09-09|Life Imitates Mana|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|September 09, 2008}}
*{{DailyRef|feature/life-imitates-mana-2008-09-09|Life Imitates Mana|[[Wizards of the Coast]]|September 09, 2008}}
Line 90: Line 251:
{{Alara|{{!}} |state=collapsed}}
{{Alara|{{!}} |state=collapsed}}
{{Planes of the Multiverse}}
{{Planes of the Multiverse}}
[[Category:Planar types]]

Latest revision as of 23:57, 30 April 2024

Alara
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Obelisk of Esper.jpg}}|250px]]
Information
First seen Shards of Alara
Last seen March of the Machine
Planeswalkers Ajani Goldmane, Sifa Grent, Tezzeret
Rabiah Scale 5[1]
Status Reunited; recovering from New Phyrexia's invasion
Demonym Alaran

Alara is a plane in the Multiverse. It was once a serene plane with few internal conflicts, but the Sundering broke the world into the five Shards: Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund and Naya. The event known as the Conflux reunited the shards, causing much chaos and mayhem to their respective residents.

History

Ancient Alara

The plane of Alara was once a single, immense plane, rich in mana and natural resources.[2] It featured kingdoms, regions, and civilizations unlike the five shard-cultures that would later inhabit it.[3] The most notable, an ancient kingdom known as Vithia, flourished in an era of peace and wisdom. The archangel Asha watched over the plane, protecting its inhabitants from the forces of Malfegor.[4]

Ancient Alarans built enormous artifacts called obelisks across the plane which focused the five colors of mana.[5] When Alara was one plane, mages channeled and filtered its rich sources of mana with these obelisks.[2] The obelisks tamed Alara's wild mana into easily manageable sources for rituals, summonings, and other spellcraft. With such powerful and reliable mana, Alara, in its early days, was one of the Multiverse’s most accommodating environments for spellcasters.

The Sundering

Millennia before the Mending,[6] in an event later known as the Sundering, an unknown Planeswalker plundered Alara for its mana.[4] The drain on the plane's mana shattered something deep in its metaphysical structure, causing it to undergo a radical planar refraction.[2] The plane broke into shards along mana lines, diffusing into its component parts like light refracted in a prism - and shattering Alara's civilizations and ecologies along with it. Whatever agent caused this destruction abandoned what remained of the plane, its spell presumably finished.

The shards that resulted from Alara’s refraction drifted away from each other in the Blind Eternities.[2] They were planes unto themselves, but not complete — each was cut off from two different colors of mana. As the shards' mana supplies slowly replenished themselves again, this mana imbalance dramatically altered life on each world. Environments warped to match the changed mana landscape, and life changed with it. Many species fell to extinction, while new forms of life adapted and prospered. Asha, the plane's protector, sacrificed herself in battle with the demon Malfegor.[7]

Conflux

As the shards' impending reunification approached, the Dominarian dragon planeswalker Nicol Bolas sought to use the energy the event would create to restore his power.[7] Using agents across the plane to foment chaos and destroy the obelisks that stabilized the shards, he accelerated the process until the shards merged in an event known as the Conflux.

The shards reunited, a jagged fusion of now poorly-fitting pieces. As the Conflux progressed, it became not the same Alara that had once been, but a new world, a patchwork plane composed of five distinct microverses—Alara, but reborn. As the barriers between worlds dissolved and lands overlapped in chaotic incursion zones, the denizens of the five shards ventured forth, meeting their long-lost fellow Alarans for the first time. Prejudice gripped these races that were once allies, made strangers by history and fate.

The rejoined plane flows with all five colors of mana once more. Waves of raw power crashed across the former planar boundaries, bringing long-forgotten magics to all the shards and mingling them in unprecedented ways. As the boundaries between the shards dissolved, cultures clashed, and wars ensued.[4]

The combined Obelisk

The forces of Esper invaded the other shards looking for carmot, an element necessary to create more of their dwindling etherium. Hordes of Grixis undead mounted an assault to maim, enslave, and drain the life energy from other shards. The warriors of Jund extended their "life hunts" to the newfound game throughout Alara's vast hunting grounds. Naya's forces followed the elves' decrees and marched out of the jungle, searching for answers to the Anima's prophetic visions. And the armies of Bant clashed with the horrors swarming over their borders, defending their homeland in the name of their guardian angels.

At the point where the five Shards met, a chaotic storm of mana came into existence: the Maelstrom. Nicol Bolas, hoping to feed on its rich mana and, in one massive ritual, restore his lost power, was ultimately stopped from destroying all of Alara by Ajani Goldmane.

In the years after the Conflux, travel between the former shards became normalized, and a new equilibrium was born across the plane.[7] Naya's leonin join Bantian orders, Esper's artificers search Jund for resources, and the living refugees of Grixis escape to surrounding lands.

Phyrexian Invasion

Alara was targeted by Elesh Norn's Machine Legion as part of New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse.[8] Not much is known about the plane's defense, as neither Alaran natives in the compleated Ajani or the traitorous Tezzeret interacted with this particular front of the invasion. The knights of former Bant such as Rafiq were amongst the defenders, but curiously the Maelstrom itself seemed to fight on behalf of Alara.[9]

Inhabitants

When the plane sundered, species that did not fit the colors of their shard slowly went extinct.[2] Humans were the only race that inhabited all five shards.

Flora

  • Bloodthorn trees, short, bushy trees with long, poisonous thorns with a hook at the end.[2] If they remain in the skin too long they're fatal. Naya's humans have developed an immunity and sometimes build their settlements inside bloodthorn groves.
  • Fig trees, tended to in the walled and organized groves of Bant.[2]
  • Lianas, thick, woody vines that can grow up to five feet in diameter and lace together Naya's canopy.[2]
  • Mushrooms, a source of food for the humans of Grixis.[2]
  • Olive trees, such as the Twelve Trees of Valeron.[2]
  • Thuja trees, massive examples of which are housed in The Sun-Dappled Court.[2]
  • Tukatongue trees, the primary food staple for Jund's humans.[2] Growing on high plateaus, the tree's supple wood and tough bark helps it survive fierce winds and a marauding dragon's fiery breath. The tree's roots can be ground into a sticky paste for an unappealing, but reliable, food source. Many stone weapons are wrapped in the spiky bark. Humans live in temporary shelters made from tuka frames and covered in lizard skin.
  • Wanat Trees, the major year-round food source of Naya's elves.[2] Their nuts are high in protein and their flowers make an energy-enhancing drink.

Trivia

Languages

  • The five shards have mutually intelligible languages.[12]
  • Nacatl
    • Vetli translates to "poison arrows"[13]
  • The old language of Vithia
    • Grixis translates to "traitor"[14][2]
    • Angels are bantuthroi in the old tongue, which means "flesh of our volition".[12]
      • This implies that Bant translates as "Volition'.
    • This may also be the language from which Thraximundar, meaning "he who paints the earth red," derives.[2]
  • The language spoken by Jund's Viashino
    • Challik translates as "toad's tongue."[2]
  • The language spoken by Jund's Goblins
    • The phrase plikintok agat translates to "wearing a garment of rock."[2]
  • Scratchforms, a pseudo-written language and the writing system employed by the nacatl.[15] Among Wild Nacatl, scratchforms are predominantly used by shamans. The most important text set in scratchforms was the Coil.

Planeswalkers

Native

Visitors

In-game references

Represented in:
Associated cards:
Referred to:

Sources

References

  1. ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 10, 2021). "You recently answered a question about returning to Alara...". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Doug Beyer & Jenna Helland (2008). A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13 978-0786951246
  3. ↑ Doug Beyer (December 10, 2013). "Did Bant, Esper, Grixis, Jund and Naya exist as cultural and/or political entities before Alara was split into five shards?". A Voice for Vorthos. Tumblr.
  4. ↑ a b c Doug Beyer (April 14, 2009). "A New Age for Alara". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. ↑ Doug Beyer (June 10, 2009). "Graduation Day". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  6. ↑ (2008). Shards of Alara Player's Guide. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. ↑ a b c Jay Annelli (2022). Magic: The Gathering - The Visual Guide, DK. ISBN-13 978-0744061055.
  8. ↑ First Look at March of the Machine (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (February 19, 2023).
  9. ↑ Awaken the Maelstrom
  10. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (January 8th, 2010). "Premium Foil Booster". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  11. ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 10, 2019). "Will we ever return to Alara?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  12. ↑ a b Doug Beyer (2009), "Alara Unbroken", Wizards of the Coast
  13. ↑ Winged Coatl
  14. ↑ Doug Beyer (September 24, 2008). "Alive and Unwell". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  15. ↑ Jenna Helland (September 10, 2008). "Running Wild". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  16. ↑ a b Jed MacKay (2023). Magic. Iss 22. Boom!
  17. ↑ Ral correctly guesses that Ajani is from Alara, implying that he himself has been there.
  18. ↑ a b c Greg Weisman (November 2019). "War of the Spark: Forsaken." Del Rey.
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