Chandra Nalaar

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Chandra Nalaar is a planeswalker who is adept at using spells of red mana. She is a member of the Gatewatch.

Characterization

Chandra is particularly good with fire and uses it to resolve whatever situation she might be in. She values ingenuity and improvisation with her magic. She is passionate, impulsive, and doesn't much like authority, as typifies characters tightly bound to red mana. Even though Chandra is proud of her independent nature, she also recognizes the volatile nature of her inner fire.

History

Origins

Concept art for Magic Origins

Chandra was born on Kaladesh, with a "mother who was strict, father who was gentle, two sisters who [she] hated, and an older brother who she adored" in her own words. Her brother was killed in a war at some point. As she grew older, Chandra began to practice and play with her fire abilities, which came to her as naturally as breathing, more and more. However, on her home plane, fire magic was strictly banned, and her parents pursued many ends in an attempt to "cure" their daughter of her wild streak. Believing that "a husband and children would do her good," they planned to marry her to one of the local boys. In an attempt to scare off both her parents and her prospective husband, she set off a huge blast of fire that caught several of the village huts on fire, and then ran to the mountains. In her absence, the police of a temple on her plane rounded up the village, believing the people of the village to be a group of fire magic practicing rebels, as they did not believe that one person could cause such destruction. They placed the villagers into the burning huts where they were to be burned to death. Chandra returned in time to see her family burned, her mother crying for her daughters to be released, and fought against the soldiers until the entire village had burned to death, at which point she surrendered. She was forced onto her knees, head held back, and a blade swung to her throat, her punishment immediate execution. The threat ignited her planeswalker spark sending her to Regatha.

Revised Origin

However, the story Chandra told Gideon was not the entire truth.[1] In truth, her parents were inventors who secretly trafficked a controlled substance, the mystical Æther, to those who needed it. The fire in the village wasn't lit by Chandra, but by the soldiers of the Consuls, who were prosecuting her. She wasn't punished at the village, but taken to the City of Ghirapur, to be executed in an arena. The bladebearer turned out to be Baral, an officer who secretly had (anti-fire) magic of his own.[2]

Fuel for the Fire

Quite some time after the events in her past, Chandra journeyed to Aretopolis on the plane of Kephalai. There, Chandra stole a scroll known as the Dragon Scroll from the Sanctum of Stars. She was pursued by a Watch Commander, his men, and a pair of gargoyles. They attempted to execute her but she managed to get away using a large fire spell. Since no body was found, they considered the matter closed, but later investigations re-opened it.

The magistrate turned to the Infinite Consortium to retrieve the scroll, and Jace Beleren was assigned to track the thief, and erase the memories of anyone who had read it. He managed to find Chandra on Regatha where she was studying at Keral Keep. Jace confronted her and a fight broke out. Jace gained the upper hand, and left after completing his mission. However, Chandra had given the scroll to the scribes in the monastery who were making copies of it before Jace arrived.

The battle between Chandra and Jace is also covered in the first chapter of The Purifying Fire.

The Purifying Fire

Chandra cosplay reference

Chandra, at some point after her first planeswalk, has come to live on a plane named Regatha, where she has been studying at the Keral Keep monastery in an attempt to learn better self control and mastery of her powers. The monastery was founded ages ago around the beliefs of another fire wielding planeswalker, Jaya Ballard. Her quotes and teachings are the core of the Keep's beliefs, championing personal freedom and individual choice over all other things, as long as one was not infringing on another's rights.

Chandra became entangled in the politics of Regatha when the Order of Heliud begins a series of events put into place that had begun to enforce its rule over the lands of Regatha, starting with the plains, then moving to the forests, and ideally to the mountains where Keral Keep rests. The Order declared that fire magic was to be punished by death in the cities, and creature summoning, traditionally a way to resolve disputes in the Western Woods, was illegal as well. With that in mind, the allies of Keral Keep in the woods sought to consult the monastery.

After attempting to chase away a specter that served the Order, she set fire to a large portion of the forest, and angered a tribe of ouphes who put a price on Chandra's head. The leader of the Order, Walbert, used this event, and an attack on his soldiers, as an opportunity to order Chandra's capture. Mother Luti, head of the Keral Keep mages, decided that because of the attention drawn to her, it would be a good time for Chandra to "disappear" for a while, and sent her on a quest to retrieve the scroll that Jace had retaken, stating that the true meaning of its words might not be in the words, but in some sort of physical attribute of the scroll itself. Heeding Mother Luti's request, Chandra once more 'walked to Kephalai.

Her attempt to retake the scroll failed, and her attack on a group of soldiers caused the entire Sanctum of Stars, a museum of artifacts and rarities of great power and value, to be completely destroyed, killing all those inside. During her flight, she encountered a man named Gideon, who seemed at first to want to help her, but turned her over to the soldiers of Kephalai. After her captors tried to torture the location of the scroll, which she had lost during her flight, from her, she managed to escape from the dungeons of Kelaphai, blindly 'walking to a plane ruled by a vampire and shrouded in eternal night. Much to her surprise, none other than Gideon arrived shortly after her. Eventually enlisting the help of Gideon himself, she sought to find a way off of Diraden, whose only source of mana was black. During this time, Gideon reveals that the plane of origin of the scroll is none other than the mysterious plane of Zendikar, where he claims that mana and magic act in powerful, but erratic ways. Unfortunately for the pair, the inhabitants, though malnourished and horribly mistreated, had grown treacherous after years of exposure to the mana and they were both captured by the ruler himself, Prince Velrav. Chandra awoke in the Prince's private chambers, and she was shown the torture Gideon was undergoing. Eventually, she concocted a plan of escape with Gideon that culminated in the death of Velrav, freeing the plane from its eternal night and restoring the flow of mana. Together, they returned to Regatha.

Her return was not met with good news, though, as the plane had fallen further under the rule of the Order. Gideon revealed that he was an agent for the Order, which was a multiplanar organization, promising to bring "peace, order, and law" to the multiverse. After leaving him and getting to Keral Keep with the aid of allies from the forest, the Keep was laid under siege with the condition that she had to be surrendered to them, which not a single one of the free-thinking fire mages were willing to do. The entirety of the Keep valued the idea of individual freedom to the point that they would not dare infringe on Chandra's even if it meant their own deaths. She eventually decided to turn herself over, expecting to encounter an execution.

What awaited her was far, far worse. Planning to use the Purifying Fire, an ancient artifact that "cleanses" a person's soul of their sins and imperfections, Walbert planned to strip Chandra of her fire magic, leaving her powerless, as an example to any who would dare stand against the Order. To Chandra, this fate was worse than death, and she asked Gideon to kill her rather than have her "humiliated and put on display." Before she was brought to the Fire, Gideon speaks with her, and claims that she may be able to keep her power if the Fire accepted her, if she entered it with a "clean soul." She tells him of her history and how her actions led to the death of her family in a painful fire and the destruction of her entire village, something she had been running from and that had been causing her nightmares ever since.

She declared that she doesn't know "what clean is, but I do feel better" after her confession. Walbert, on the way to the Fire, explains that he has seen Chandra in his visions, that she is a cataclysm that will bring an era of lawless madness to Regatha, which is why he aims to stop her, and secure his rule, believing that when a planeswalking fire mage is stripped of her power, the rest of the Keep will fall into place.

The Fire, however, accepts her as she enters it with a clean soul, removing all the wards and shields placed around her by Walbert. She faces her past, her mistakes and victories, her successes and failures, taking them all for what they are and nothing more, no longer running. When she emerged from the Fire, she feels infused with more focus than ever, and decimates the Order's forces around her, burning Walbert and many others to death and cracking the very foundations of the cavern. She is knocked out when the chamber around the Fire collapses.

Gideon wakes her up, harshly chastising her for leading to the deaths of all the members of the Order, yet she feels no remorse for taking down what they believed in. She decides to leave the plane of Regatha forever, and seek out the mystically powerful plane of Zendikar. Before she leaves, though, she tells Gideon a part of her story that she had held back the night before: that the soldiers that so brutally ordered the death of her village at the slightest false provocation belonged to an order that promised to bring "harmony, protection, and law," leaving him to ponder the revelation of his allegiances and what the Order he belongs to has done. She tells him that should anyone proclaiming the virtues of the Order (and by extension white magic) cross her path, she would treat them as her enemies without remorse. With that, she leaves, seeking Zendikar.

Journey to the Eye

Chandra arrived on Zendikar, at roughly three years since her quest began, and sought out a guide to the region of Akoum in the area of Affa Town. Her exact goal was to seek the assistance of the ruin sage Anowon, hoping that he could shed some light on finding the Eye of Ugin. After repeated failures on the part of her guides, and more than a few gold coins, she finally managed to track down the League of Anowon's current campsite high in the mountains. She confronted Anowon there and after a brief and tense exchange, Anowon agreed to lead her.

Unfortunately, Anowon proved to be a backstabbing traitor. He attempted to kill her in her sleep, but she rebuffed his initial assault. Anowon ranted at Chandra and claimed that she has no right to the scroll he wanted and continued his attack as her magic gave out. Luckily for Chandra, Sarkhan Vol ambushed Anowon, rendering him unconscious with a swift strike to the head.

Awakenings

Though Sarkhan had saved Chandra, he threatened her for intruding into the Eye of Ugin. Chandra then attempted to cast a spell, which backfired but was sufficient to impress Sarkhan. He lead her further into the Eye and began to explain to her the nature of what she was searching for. It was not what she was expecting, and as she attempted to leave Sarkhan wheeled upon her, changing fully into a dragon. Left without her usual magic, she received assistance from the unexpected source of Jace Beleren. With his encouragement, she cast a fire spell that could not be seen. It was enough to down Sarkhan, and as a side effect, Jace as well.

She momentarily considered killing Jace simply because he continued to show up, but she instead woke him up. They had a brief exchange in which Jace questioned the motives of the mysterious individual who had told Chandra of the scroll to begin with. She ignored him and walked away, planning to exact some measure of vengeance on the person who had gotten her involved with the scroll.

Tracking Ramaz

After leaving Jace behind, Chandra bounced from plane to plane searching for clues to who Ramaz actually was. He was the one who had manipulated her in stealing the Dragon Scroll and she was intent to seek her vengeance. Knowing just enough about her target, she tracked his progress across multiple planes, often retreading old grounds that she had visited in the past. Her final goal was finally met on the plane of Kaldheim where she confronted the insane shaman. After a skirmish, he escaped, revealing that he had only been a minion in a yet greater scheme, subservient to the mysterious dragon whose voice he followed.

Abbot of Keral Keep

Chandra returned to Regatha and studied pyromancy at Keral Keep for a considerable time. After her mentor died, she was elected to become the new abbot. However, the ceremony was interrupted by Jace Beleren and Gideon Jura. Both men attempted to convince her to follow them to help in the fight on Zendikar, but a frustrated Chandra who was angry at continuously being compared to Jaya Ballard chose to stay. She knew that Jaya would have helped them but she was sick and tired of being compared to her. After rejecting Jace and Gideon who were disappointed with her choice, they told her to come to Sea Gate on Zendikar if she changed her mind. Choice made, Chandra returned to her meeting to reluctantly become the newest head abbot.[3] While she tried her best to settle down, vivid memories of Zendikar's grand landscapes and the bitterness of her manipulation at the hands of Nicol Bolas still burned brightly in her mind.[4]

The Gatewatch

After a period of time, Chandra couldn't resist peeking at what her friends on Zendikar were up to. She arrived just in time to witness the failed attempt to imprison Ulamog and the return of Kozilek.[5] She followed the demon planeswalker Ob Nixilis who had taken Gideon, Jace and Nissa prisoner. She managed to free them, and through a concerted attack they finally scared the demon away from the plane.[6]

The four planeswalkers realized that they were helpless against large threats on their own, but that they could stand against just about any force in the Multiverse by working together. Thus they swore an oath to stand together and the Gatewatch was created. [7] Seeing that he could not keep his promise to Ugin to neither harm the Eldrazi nor allowing them to escape from Zendikar, Jace decided to slay the Titans with the Gatewatch's and Kiora's help. After consulting with Nissa, he described the Ley Line pattern to her that would bind Kozilek and Ulamog to Zendikar, drawing the bulk of the Titans into the plane so that their energy could be dispersed into Zendikar, killing them in the process. To attract them, the remaining forces of Zendikar's defenders would pose as a bait.[8]

While the plan worked at first, with Gideon keeping the Eldrazi swarms away from the army, Kiora clearing out any other swarms and Chandra supporting them, once the Eldrazi titans were anchored to Zendikar, their destructive essence threatened to assimilate Zendikar into themselves. Afraid, Kiora tried to persuade Nissa to release the Titans and allow them to flee, but Jace objected. Chandra offered to burn the Titans instead and after preventing Kiora from attacking Nissa, Jace agreed. The pyromancer then connected with the animist, allowing her to channel her pyromantic magic through Zendikar's Ley Lines directly into the titans. In one brilliant blaze of flame, Ulamog and Kozilek were incinerated and destroyed, leaving only ashes raining from Zendikar's sky.[9]

After the defeat of the Eldrazi titans, Chandra stayed a while on Zendikar to recover from the physical onslaught caused by her massive spell on her body. [10]

Eldritch Moon

Chandra arrived with the rest of the Gatewatch on Innistrad after Jace alerted them of the presence of Emrakul on the plane. During the battle of Thraben, they attempted to duplicate the feat they accomplished on Zendikar, but failed due to the unfamiliarity of Nissa with the plane's ley lines and Emrakul's potent hold over large numbers of them. While battling Emrakuls hordes, they were saved by Liliana Vess.[11] During the battle, Chandra was overwhelmed by Emrakul's psychic powers, forcing her to relive her spark's ignition on Kaladesh again. When it became clear that they could not destroy Emrakul, Chandra joined Gideon in defending the other member's of the Gatewatch while they conducted the sealing ritual.[12]

Return to Kaladesh

Weeks later, Chandra was on Ravnica at the newly founded headquarters of the Gatewatch, when a Vedalken planeswalker from her home plane arrived and tried to engage the Gatewatch to defend the Inventors' Fair. Greatly upset, Chandra stormed off, at first trying to seek solace from Nissa, but eventually finding herself in the company of Liliana. Together with the older planeswalker, she returned to Kaladesh.[13] Arriving in Ghirapur, the two began to search for renegades. Their search was interrupted when Liliana accosted a Vedalken guard. The pair hid in an alleyway, where Chandra discovered a mosaic of her deceased father. Liliana used the opportunity to incite Chandra to take her revenge on Baral. During their continued search, they became witnesses of an unrest where aether had been drawn from Ghirapur's systems. The blackout was apparently caused by a rogue artificer referred to as "Renegade Prime" by a man with silver-grey lockes and a metallic arm by the name of "Tezzeret", referred to as the Head Judge. Chandra recognized Renegade Prime as her presumed dead mother, Pia.[14] Struggling to reach her mother against Consulate constructs, she could not avert her mother's renewed captivity. Liliana persuaded her to retreat along with the recently arrived Nissa. The trio found themselves in an alley, where Liliana and Nissa argued and the necromancer left to deal with things on her own. Chandra and Nissa were found by an old friend of the Nalaars, the lifecrafter Oviya Pashiri. Pashiri comforted Chandra and told her that they were going to rescue her mother.[15]

Along with Nissa and Pashiri, they visited the party of the Aetherborn Yahenni. While Yahenni was at first unable to aid them, a Consulate officer hunting for a criminal Aetherborn at her party allowed her to learn that the prison where Pia Nalaar was held in was the Dhund. Pashiri told Chandra that Baral was still stationed there.[16] The trio searched in the tunnels beneath the night market after the rumored position of the Dhund. With Nissa's aid, they managed to locate the aether pipelines that connected the prison to the rest of the city's infrastructure and found the hidden prison. When they entered it, however, Baral already awaited them, having been warned by Dovin Baan. Baral lured the group into an airtight, enchanted Deadlock Trap, intending to turn Chandra's pyromancy against them by using up the air faster while filling the trap with poisonous gas. Not even the combined power of the two planeswalkers managed to crack the prison. Chandra then explained what she saw in the Gatewatch - a family that would remain with her regardless of the plane she was. Thanking Nissa for coming to Kaladesh, she urged her to planeswalk away, while she would remain with Pashiri. [17] They were freed by the leonin planeswalker Ajani, who had come in search of Oviya Pashiri.[18]

After being freed, the other members of the Gatewatch arrived, having been alerted by Liliana. Public announcements that told of the execution of Renegade Prime during the grand finale of the Inventors' Fair caused the group to mix with the crowd. Chandra watched, barely restrained by Jace, as her mother and the Head Judge battled each other. When finally confronting him, Tezzeret mocked Chandra, reminding her that this was the same arena where she had been once sentenced to death. When her planeswalker allies revealed themselves and fought against his constructs, the Head Judge quickly fled the scene. Discovering that their presence had been used as a distraction to confiscate the inventions displayed at the Fair and to take the inventors prisoner, the Gatewatch swore to uncover what Tezzeret had planned. Chandra and her mother finally reunited.[19]

Chandra then cooperated with the Renegades, fighting at their side against Consulate troops. Her aggressive style drew the attention of Gideon, who reminded her that most Consulate troops were regular people who only did what they were told. Chandra countered that it didn't matter and that Tezzeret and the Consulate were one and the same. Gideon reminded her that the purpose of the Gatewatch was not traveling from plane to plane to impose their judgement on the world's inhabitants. Otherwise, they would be no better than tyrants. Being reminded of her oath, Chandra promised that she would try to avoid collateral damage, but that her loyalties were not only to the Gatewatch, but also to her family.[20] Together with her mother, they visited Gonti, who promised aid in taking the central Aether hub of the city in exchange for services rendered later. The personel of the hub yielded when faced with the superior numbers of Renegades.[21] In a counter attack, Baral provoked Chandra almost to the point of self imploding by taunting her with her fathers death. She was saved by Nissa and Ajani.[22]

Following the destruction of the Skysovereign, the Renegade's flagship Heart of Kiran prepared to attack the Aether Spire where Tezzeret had constructed a Planar portal. The Renegades had prepared a special thopter equipped with an aetheric disruptor to destroy the portal and rob Tezzeret of his powers. Chandra was assigned to stay on the Heart of Kiran and protect it against Consulate attacks together with Saheeli and Gideon. However, Dovin Baan had managed to pierce their defenses and infiltrate their freight room to sabotage the thopter. Chandra attacked him, but only managed to damage the Heart of Kiran further. As Baan planeswalked away, the remaining planeswalkers had to improvise. Chandra volunteered to enter the thopter and use her fire magic as a detonator instead. Gideon decided to accompain her, shielding her with his magic from the following explosion.[23] Their plan was successful in destroying the planar bridge, but Tezzeret managed to escape.[24]

In the following days, the Consulate was restored, with Pia becoming the new Consul of Allocation and Baral being imprisoned in the Dhund. Chandra was present when Ajani took the oath to join the Gatewatch and the group planned to strike against Tezzeret's master, the Elder dragon Nicol Bolas. Chandra, confident in her group's success after the destruction of the Eldrazi Titans, advised for striking directly against the dragon's powerbase. After saying goodbye to her mother, Chandra again tried to meditate with Nissa to find calm, but only fell asleep.[25]

Amonkhet

On Amonkhet, the Gatewatch discovered that Bolas had been creating an army of Eternals; highly trained fighting specialists which had been zombified while keeping their skills intact. When they confronted the dragon, they were soundly defeated. Chandra was severely wounded and had to abandon her friends by planeswalking away.[26]

In-game references

Represented in:

Chandra as she appears with her hair down, in a rare calm moment.

Depicted in:

Associated cards:

Referred to:

In-game quotes

Name Title Source Quotation
Chandra Nalaar Act on Impulse (Magic 2015) You don't want to know what happens after I put on the goggles.
Chandra's Fury (Magic 2013) I asked if they wanted to do things the easy way. I meant easy for me.
Chandra's Fury (Magic Origins) They started it.
Chandra's Spitfire (Magic 2011) I've lit most everything on fire—trees, rocks, even the water. Now it's time to burn the clouds.
Fiery Impulse (Magic Origins) Well, this got out of hand.
Incinerate (Duel Decks: Jace vs. Chandra) Who said there are no assurances in life? I assure you this is going to hurt.
Oath of Chandra (Oath of the Gatewatch) If it means that people can live in freedom, yeah, I'll keep watch.
Chandra Nalaar Alchemist's Greeting (Eldritch Moon) Impressive.
Chandra's Magmutt Is it purebred? No, but it's pure fire.
Circle of Flame (Magic 2012) Which do you think is a better deterrent: a moat of water or one of fire?
Craterize (Magic 2013) 'Utterly' is my favorite way to destroy something.
Disappearing Act Baral took my family from me back then. I'd do anything to face him now.
Faith of the Devoted The more I see of this place, the less I want to.
Flames of the Firebrand (Magic 2013) You're in luck. I brought enough to share.
Incinerate (Magic 2012) Spontaneous combustion is a myth. If you burst into flame, someone wanted you to.
Inferno Elemental (Magic 2010) Those who wish to invade our monastery, please take it up with my servant.
Magma Rift (Zendikar) Lighting a fire needs kindling and heat. You be the kindling. I'll bring the heat.
Pyroclasm (Magic 2010) Who'd want to ignite things one at a time?
Pyroclastic Elemental Whoever thought of making mobile volcanoes was a genius.
Pyromancer's Goggles (Magic Origins) I hope to meet Jaya Ballard someday. I think we'd get along.
Rumbling Aftershocks (Worldwake) I like it here. You always get a little more for your mana.
Seismic Shudder (Zendikar) The land here seems go out of its way to kill you.
Spreading Flames (Eldritch Moon) Hang on. I'm just tidying up.
Teferi's Ageless Insight Fine, you know more than me. But do you have to be such a show-off about it?
Wildfire Elemental Fire is always dancing, leaping and whirling, seeking more fuel. It never rests, so why should I?

References

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External links

 
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