Kaervek
| Kaervek | |
|---|---|
|
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Kaervek.jpg}}|250px]] | |
| Details | |
| Race | Human |
| Birthplace | Urborg, Dominaria |
| Lifetime | Born ~4166 AR |
| Sources | |
| Mirage, Visions | |
Kaervek (KAIR-vehk[1]) the Merciless is a black-aligned human warlock from Dominaria. He was the main antagonist of the Mirage block storyline.[2]
History
Kaervek came from one of the states of Urborg. Ambitious and talented in magic at an early age, Kaervek harbored dreams of ruling a kingdom. But in a realm as harsh as the Burning Isles, there were dozens of lords capable of thwarting his goals of rulership.
When he picked up an enormous energy surge from the Chaza Isles, he set sail to discover what caused this and, more importantly, if he could use it to his advantage. However, this energy surge had been caused by the planeswalker Teferi, when he accidentally removed himself and everything else on his island from the time stream. Thus when Kaervek arrived, he did not find anything of use, just a barren rock in the sea. He did meet with two other people who had been attracted by the energy surge though: Mangara of the White Woods and Jolrael of Mwonvuli.
The three settled in Jamuraa and Kaervek quickly allied himself with Jolrael. When they returned from a survey of the continent to find Mangara in control of the kingdom of Zhalfir, Kaervek convinced Jolrael that Mangara had but one purpose: to take over the continent. Together they planned their assault, and a war began. Kaervek managed to trap Mangara in an Amber Prison, but he manipulated Jolrael to continue the war so he could seize Jamuraa for himself.
Calling upon his allies from Urborg, the nightstalkers and the Breathstealers, and his right hand, the panther warrior Purraj, as well as the Viashino that Jolrael had allied herself with, and the dragons the lizard-men commanded, Kaervek raged a long war at Zhalfir, Femeref and Suq'Ata. When he sensed Teferi's return, Kaervek sailed his armada to attack the planeswalker's isle. His ally Jolrael, disillusioned with Kaervek, ambushed him while the fleet was in the Kukemssa Sea, injuring him greatly. After Teferi sank his fleet, Kaervek managed to escape to the Uuserk Marshes.[3] At the same time, Rashida Scalebane and Asmira managed to free Mangara. Mangara then defeated Kaervek and locked him inside the amber prison himself.
Phased out
Kaervek's amber prison, located in the prison city of Aku was removed from the timeline by Teferi along with the rest of Zhalfir. Dominaria had seemingly rid itself of Kaervek after Zhalfir was lost in the time streams due to the interference of the planeswalker Jeska. However, when Teferi discovered that Zhalfir had been preserved in a pocket plane, he found that only a decade had passed and that Kaervek's prison had been shattered, allowing him to escape.[4] Later, in the wake of New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse, Zhalfir became a self-contained plane connected to the rest of the universe by Omenpaths, and Kaervek used one to leave the plane.
Thunder Junction
Kaervek arrived on the lawless plane of Thunder Junction and was recruited by Oko to take part in a heist on Maag Taranau, the vault at the plane's center. At some point, an incident occurred between him and Satoru Umezawa that led to enmity between the two of them. Later, they were imprisoned by the Sterling Company, the plane's law-keeping body, but Eriette and Annie Flash broke them out.[5] Upon returning to their base of operations, Oko had Kaervek analyze a key to the vault that he had stolen from the Sterling Company's headquarters. He determined that its magic belonged to an ancient civilization as old as or perhaps even older than the Thran, and cautioned that opening the vault may unleash a malevolent force akin to Phyrexia on the Multiverse.[6]
Story appearances
Trivia
- According to Hakim Loreweaver, the amber prison was swallowed by a goat named Nine of Thirteen shepherded by a goatherd named Jojo. After a battle with Bwire, a shaman rumored to be a relative of Kaervek, the guildmage Fola released Kaervek from the prison to imprison a dragon in his place. Loreweaver admits that this story may not be entirely true.[7]
In-game references
- Represented in:
- Associated cards:
- Depicted in:
- Quoted or referred to:
- Aku Djinn
- Ancestral Memories (Mirage)
- Ashen Powder
- Blanket of Night
- Bone Harvest
- Desolation
- Disempower
- Divine Offering (Mirage)
- Eliminate
- Enfeeblement (Mirage)
- Feral Shadow (Mirage)
- Nekrataal (Visions)
- Phyrexian Vault
- Psychic Transfer (Mirage)
- Reign of Chaos
- Shrieking Drake
- Soul Rend
- Spirit Link (Fifth Edition)
- Tempest Drake
- Urborg Mindsucker
- Wall of Corpses
- Wicked Reward
Sources
References
- ↑ Matt Cavotta (March 22, 2007). "Speak the Word, the Word is All of Us". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017.
- ↑ Brady Dommermuth (November 13, 2006). "The Legends of Time Spiral". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Pete Venters (February 1997). "Visions Told: The Resolution of the War for Jamuraa." The Duelist #15, 63
- ↑ Miguel Lopez (January 17, 2023). "Alone". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Akemi Dawn Bowman (March 13, 2024). "Episode 2: The Jailbreak". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Akemi Dawn Bowman (March 17, 2024). "Episode 3: A Train to Prosperity". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Tales in the Sand
- ↑ Magic Arcana (November 13, 2006). "Sketch Quickies: Time Spiral Legends". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
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