Alara

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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; Esper currently besieged by New Phyrexia's Machine Legion

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

Alara was once a vast plane whose realms, including 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.[2] Ancient Alarans built obelisks across the plane which focused the five colors of mana.[3]

The Sundering

Millennia before the Mending,[4] in an event later known as the Sundering, an unknown Planeswalker plundered Alara for its mana.[2] 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.[5]

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 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.[2]

The combined Obelisk

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 warriors 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 the Anima's prophetic visions. And the armies of Bant clash with the horrors swarming over their borders, defending their homeland in the name of their guardian angels.

The Maelstrom

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.

Phyrexian Invasion

Alara was targeted by Elesh Norn's Machine Legion as part of New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse.[6] 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.[7]

Trivia

Languages Spoken

  • Nacatl [10]
  • The old language of Vithia
    • Grixis translates to "traitor"[11]

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 Doug Beyer (April 14, 2009). "A New Age for Alara". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  3. ↑ Doug Beyer (June 10, 2009). "Graduation Day". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  4. ↑ (2008). Shards of Alara Player's Guide. Wizards of the Coast.
  5. ↑ Doug Beyer & Jenna Helland "The Origin of Alara's Shards" A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara
  6. ↑ First Look at March of the Machine (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (February 19, 2023).
  7. ↑ Awaken the Maelstrom
  8. ↑ Wizards of the Coast (January 8th, 2010). "Premium Foil Booster". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  9. ↑ Mark Rosewater (February 10, 2019). "Will we ever return to Alara?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  10. ↑ Winged Coatl
  11. ↑ Doug Beyer (September 24, 2008). "Alive and Unwell". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  12. ↑ a b Jed MacKay (2023). Magic. Iss 22. Boom!
  13. ↑ Ral correctly guesses that Ajani is from Alara, implying that he himself has been there.
  14. ↑ a b c Greg Weisman (November 2019). "War of the Spark: Forsaken." Del Rey.
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