Bant

Bant
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Bant.jpg}}|250px]]
General Information
First seen	Shards of Alara
Last seen	Conflux
Status	Merged with the other Shards
Game Information
Colors
Mechanics	Exalted

Bant is one of the five shards of Alara. It is primarily white-aligned with green and blue as secondary colors. It is inhabited by humans, aven, rhoxes, the semi-intelligent leotau mounts, and the angels that watch over the plane.

Description

Bant is a haven of order, honor, and community. Traditions have thrived, and are protected by innumerable knightly orders, warrior angels, and a caste system designed to support the good of the many over the good of the few. Without the magic of death and chaos there to threaten convention and stability, and with angels flying as tireless symbols of peace and justice, its community traditions have become codified into law. Its' monks study the words of ancient prayers. Its mages and clerics practice magic of healing, prevention, protection, and growth. Its druids and laborers care for the rolling fields, bringing nourishment to the population, and its orchards, which are some of its most important sources of mana. And its knights practice the codes and forms of martial perfection, weighed down by the medallions of honor and patronage known as sigils. Angels rule the realm with benevolence and grace. Humans and the aven resolve their conflicts with ritualized combat. Duty and honor are the bedrock of this kingdom of light.

Bant is a land of towering castles and leotau-riding knights, angels, and high castles on rolling meadows. It is a world that loves order and values the group. The ruling establishment is noble and righteous, and society is well-ordered with a strong sense of right and wrong. Even for those who do break the law, the worst punishment is temporary banishment to the savannahs of Topa.

There are still battles held on this shard, but they are battles of a noble cause. The fighting isn't just for the sake of fighting, but as a means to find a resolution. When two factions disagreed, they structured combat to resolve the issue. Rather than risk the health of entire armies, each group picks one champion and sends him or her as their representative. Knights wear bulky, ceremonial armor designed to signal the angels by catching the sun and to show off the knight's sigils rather than to protect them - even wearing no armor on their backs, as striking an opponent from behind is considered dishonorable.

Geography

Bant is a land of high castles on rolling meadows. There are five nations on Bant:

• The Inner Three on the savannah.
  • Akrasa
  • Eos
  • Topa
• Valeron, the coastal nation.
• Jhess, the island nation.

Notable locations

• The Sun-Dappled Court, containing the Twelve Trees of Valeron under which the Sword of Asha was buried.
• The Cathedral of Bliss is a vast temple of glowing marble and light that floats in the sky. It is ruled by the angels of Asha.
• Serul Cove, where rogues peddle stolen sigils.

Society

Caste system

Bant has a strict caste system, everyone has a specific role in society. One's caste is determined by birth, but it is possible to rise through sigils. Paragons are individual heroes who embody pure ideals, including honor, truth, duty, justice, and order. Paragons are respected regardless of caste, and anyone in Bant can aspire to become a paragon.

• The Blessed are the nobles of Bant, who are allowed to interact with the Angels.
• Clerics and monks make up the caste of the Sighted. They have to obey orders from the Blessed, but otherwise, they do not have to answer to anyone.
• The Sigiled knights are measured by the number of Sigils they gained through their actions.
• The Mortar make up the bulk of Bant's population. They have to follow orders from the three castes above them but may rise to the Sigiled caste.
• The Unbeholden are thieves and rogues. Some of them reject the caste system; others are forced to become what they are by circumstance. Jhess is the nation with the most Unbeholden.

Sigils

Acts of extraordinary nobility and courage are rewarded with sigils, coinlike magical medallions bestowed upon worthy souls by Bant's serene, graceful angels. They signify the support of the group or, on occasion, the individual that gave it to the wearer. A sigil is both a prize of honor and a bond of duty. The one who bears it may be called to fulfill that charge at any moment. Some sigils can be bought, and stories tell of tainted "dark sigils" that disappeared from the shard when the demons were cast out. In-game, they appear both as artifacts and as auras.

Known sigils include:

• Mark of Asylum
• Sigil of Asha, given to Rafiq when he was Knight-General. One was also built into the crossguard of the Sword of Asha.
• Sigil of Distinction
• Sigil of the Empty Throne, marking the champion of the archangel Asha. Given to Rafiq.
• Sigil of the Grand Laurel, awarded to Rafiq.
• Sigil of the Nayan Gods, created after the Conflux brought Bant's knights to Naya.
• Sigil of the New Dawn
• The sigil of the Order of the Skyward Eye
• Sigil of the Salted Wind, a Jhessian sigil awarded to Rafiq for resolving a dispute between the ship patrols and the island aven by defeating Mubin in the arena.
• Sigil of Valor, awarded to Gideon Jura.
• Sigil of the White Orchid, given by the Order of the White Orchid for unwavering commitment and unflinching strength.
• A sigil of patronage from Eos bearing Rafiq's likeness

The Grand Caravan

The Grand Caravan, the world's greatest convoy of leotau-pulled trade carts and carriages, ranges all over Bant's five nations. It is led by Gwafa Hazid.

Angels

Long ago, a council of archmages put a complex enchantment on Bant, allowing mortals who died on the shard to reform as angels. As long as any mortal conformed tightly to Bant's ideals, the light of their soul would transubstantiate into an angelic state, joining with what are called "meta-sigils" that are described as physical manifestations of the land and sky. These angels, mortal themselves, lend guidance to other mortals, but otherwise, they do not directly interfere with their lives. Some Mortar-caste believe Bant's aven are related to the angels, and the aven themselves believe they are creations of the angels, though no angel confirms this.

The ruler of Bant once was the supreme queen of the angels, the archangel Asha, who gave her life fighting the demon Malfegor long ago. No angel has assumed her title since her demise. Among angels, there is a hierarchy with four different ranks:

• The Asura are the highest-ranked angels. There are only seven of them, which make up the Court of Orderly Contemplation.
• The Amesha represent ideals, such as honor or justice.
• The Mahra carry out the orders of the Asura and the Amesha.
• Celebrants, as the lowest ranking angels, are responsible for protecting the lives and ideals of mortals.

History

Conflux

During the Conflux, red mana from Naya and black mana from Esper flooded into Bant, creating havoc. The Order of the Skyward Eye created mistrust in Bant, resulting in panic. The armies were disrupted, and the communities fell apart. The angels no longer could keep Bant under firm control, as strange creatures and plants spread across Bant, and even creatures from Grixis and Jund appeared, slaughtering entire settlements with ease.

Although the army of Bant fought the invaders, it was clear that the opposing beasts and fighters were weakening Bant. Bant would no longer be as powerful as it was. Its borders merged more and more with the other shards until it became part of New Alara. Following the invasions, the once shining castles of their lands lay in ruin, dangerous places to venture to. Society as a whole had been shattered, and isolated pockets of settlements still fall prey to roving bandits and worse.

Notable inhabitants

• Elspeth Tirel
• Lisha of the Azure
• Rafiq of the Many
• Gwafa Hazid

Planeswalker visitors

• Ajani Goldmane
• Elspeth Tirel
• Gideon Jura
• Nicol Bolas

Trivia

• Bant was concepted as "Camelot in the savannah."

In-game references

Represented in:

• Bant

Associated cards:

• Bant Battlemage
• Bant Charm
• Bant Panorama
• Bant Sojourners
• Bant Sureblade
• Obelisk of Bant

Quoted or referred to:

• Akrasan Squire
• Asha's Favor
• Call to Heel
• Constricting Tendrils
• Exotic Orchard
• Filigree Fracture
• Hindering Light
• Ignite Disorder (Conflux)
• Invincible Hymn
• Kiss of the Amesha
• Knight of the Reliquary
• Knight of the Skyward Eye
• Knight-Captain of Eos
• Martial Coup
• Mirror-Sigil Sergeant
• Nacatl Outlander
• Offering to Asha
• Parasitic Strix
• Patron of the Valiant
• Sigil of the Empty Throne
• Singe-Mind Ogre
• Skyward Eye Prophets
• Standing Troops (Duel Decks: Elspeth vs. Kiora)
• Topan Ascetic
• Valiant Guard
• Wargate

Source

• A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara

External links

• Magic Arcana (August 12, 2008). "Shard Preview: Bant". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.