Ondu

Ondu
Information
Plane	Zendikar
Formerly part of	Makindi Empire

Ondu is one of the seven continents of Zendikar, only a short distance away from Akoum.

General

Ondu is located in the southwestern quadrant of Zendikar and juts into the Silundi Sea. The region of Ondu is composed of one central landmass and three major islands off its coast.

The geography of Ondu is dominated by a sense of sweeping verticality. The precarious Makindi Trenches, the skyscraping trees of the Turntimber, and the depths of the Crypt of Agadeem all contribute to the strange sensation that travel in Ondu occurs up and down rather than east and west.

History

The great capital city of Makindi, which gave its name to an ancient Kor empire, was located in Ondu. During a civil war tore the empire in half; the Ondu Skyclave turned against the capital. Makindi was destroyed (and its lands transformed into the trenches), and the Skyclave fell onto Jwar Isle.

Notable locations

• The Makindi Trenches, a maze of high-walled canyons crisscrossing the mainland. Birds, reptiles, goblins and kor make their homes on the trenches' sheer surfaces. Fast-moving whitewater rivers course through many branches of the Trenches.
  • Throughout the canyons and plateaus of Makindi are famous boulders perched in unlikely, precarious, gravity-defying positions. They're called the Teetering Peaks.
  • The Prison of Omnath, a site on a high mesa where supposedly the deity Omnath was trapped. Religious pilgrims from across Zendikar travel here on a twice-yearly basis to perform the Ritual of Lights, a ceremony designed to protect the world from the release of Omnath.
• Turntimber, a vast temperate forest with enormous trees, supporting many dangerous creatures like baloths and snakes.
  • Mosscrack, home tree of the Tajuru Nation.
  • Graypelt, a small settlement of druids, hunters, and trailblazers on the outer edges of Turntimber.
• Agadeem, the large, southernmost island. Littered by broken hedrons. The laws of nature warp strangely around these hedron fields, causing bizarre and unpredictable thaumaturgical and gravitational phenomena.
  • Kabira, a community of humans and other races encamped near the hedron fields.
    • Kabira Conservatory, a small academy which sponsors research of the hedron ruins.
  • The Crypt of Agadeem, a natural cavern converted into a heavily trapped burial site.
• Beyeen, a smaller, temperate island. The island consists of several small volcanic landmasses connected by bridges of clinging vegetation. The kor call the small range the Crown of Talib, after their god of the earth.
  • Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, largest and most active peak of the Crown range.
  • The Piston Mountains
  • Zulaport, a community on the coast, consisting of mages, explorers, and artisans, of mixed races and origins.
  • Boilbasin, a group of massive hot tide pools that stair-step down the mountainous slope toward the sea.
• Jwar, the tiny, sea-swept Isle of Secrets that lies near the southern coast of Ondu. Huge granite heads known as the Faduun loom half-buried in the earth, and a beam of pure blue light can be seen shooting straight up out of the island. But no explorer has yet uncovered the source of the light.
• Cliffhaven (location uncertain)

In-game references

Associated cards:

• Ondu Champion
• Ondu Cleric
• Ondu Giant
• Ondu Greathorn
• Ondu Rising
• Ondu War Cleric

Quoted or referred to:

• Aether Tradewinds
• All Is Dust
• Beast Hunt
• Desecrated Earth
• Expedition Map
• Ogre Sentry
• Prairie Stream (Battle for Zendikar)
• Puncturing Light (Rise of the Eldrazi)
• Shoreline Salvager
• Shrivel (Rise of the Eldrazi)

Sources

• Magic Creative Team (November 11, 2009). "A Planeswalker's Guide to Zendikar: Ondu". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.