Trostani
| Trostani | |
|---|---|
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[[File:{{#setmainimage:Trostani.jpg}}|250px]] | |
| Details | |
| Race | Dryad |
| Birthplace | Ravnica |
| Lifetime | Mending Era |
| Colors | |
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Trostani is the nominal guildmaster of the Selesnya Conclave on Ravnica, and speaker for Mat'Selesnya.
Description
Trostani is a fusion of three dryads. She appears as three women, seemingly human from the waist up, sinuously bending branches from the waist down.[1] Each of the three heads represent a Selesnyan value: Order, Life, and Harmony.[2] Though Trostani is composed of three individuals, she is not three separate beings, but three aspects of the same being, a single entity that moves according to the world spirit's desires.[3] She is unable to separate from Vitu-Ghazi while the tree is healing, but the central dryad can assume control of the tree.[4]
The three sisters
Before becoming Trostani, the three dryads had separate names and personalities.
- Oba, the dryad of Life, was wild and full of life. Her hair was tangled with leaves and vines. Her eyes shift with her moods, from green-like flecks of emerald and jade to smoky brown.
- Ses, the dryad of Order, was ordered in manner and speech. Her hair was held in place by a headpiece made of goldenwood and fell to her shoulders in a cascade of auburn.
- Cim, the dryad of Harmony, was the eldest and the bridge between the other two sisters. Despite being a small, slight dryad, everyone within the Selesnya Conclave could feel the power within her. She would always find a way to balance the needs of one with the other.
History
Creation of Trostani
The Selesnya Conclave was in disarray because they gradually lost their connection to Mat'Selesnya, the World Tree. The three Dryad sisters went into a deep trance to try and connect with Mat'Selesnya. During their trance, they were aided by Suniel, who bound them to an old oak tree. Upon connecting with Mat'Selesnya, this old Parun fused the three dryads with the World Tree, creating Trostani.[5]
War of the Spark
During the civil unrest before the War of the Spark, the three heads of Trostani were in discord.[2] While Harmony remained mysteriously and utterly silent, Order argued in favor of a peace treaty with the other guilds. At the same time, Life wanted to focus on building the strength of the Conclave.[3][6] The fact that the dryads were divided meant that Trostani was virtually paralyzed and faded into the background of events. During the War, Emmara Tandris stepped forward to fill the void in leadership.
Trostani was initially still in her discordant state but was convinced by Kaya's party to join the fight against Bolas and became concordant again.[7][8] They survived the War, and afterward resumed their duty as the guildmaster of Selesnya.
Phyrexian invasion and its aftermath
No being was more damaged by the Phyrexian Invasion than Trostani, who act as the emissaries of all living things on Ravnica.[9][10] Specifically, Oba, unbeknownst to her sisters, singlehandedly embodied Vitu-Ghazi and lent her strength to the tree so that it would not be corrupted by Realmbreaker's tendrils.[4] Her senses spread throughout the plane, and as a result, she felt the suffering of each person slain or compleated by the Phyrexian forces, but worse, saw the actions of Ravnican citizens who used the invasion to their advantage. She came to believe that Ravnica needed to be cleansed of these profiteers, and hatched a plan to do so.
Murders at Karlov Manor
Needing to recover its strength, Vitu-Ghazi was replanted in a Selesnya park, and Trostani moved along with it.[1] After their replanting, the dryads changed position, with Cim and Ses on the left and right, respectively, and Oba replacing Cim at the center position. A year and some months after the invasion, Oba put her plan into motion.[4] She would use Vitu-Ghazi's roots, which reached throughout the city, to sprout magically cultivated flowers that would create a burst of pollen, then wither away. When someone inhaled this pollen, they would enter a fugue state which would not end until they completed certain instructions that Oba provided. She used this on regular Ravnican citizens, transforming them into lethal weapons with which to slay her targets anonymously. She killed several people this way, all figures out of the public eye that didn't attract any attention. However, when she brainwashed Etrata into killing Zegana, the case began to attract media attention, and the master detective Alquist Proft began to investigate.[11]
Even with the investigation ongoing, Oba managed to get away with the murder of Teysa Karlov and accidentally killed Kylox. Still, Proft eventually solved the case, assembling major guild figures to Vitu-Ghazi to reveal the truth. Proft revealed that Trostani — specifically Oba — was responsible for organizing the murders in retribution for those she considered traitors to the plane during the Invasion:[11] Zegana, for experimenting with Phyrexian oil; Teysa Karlov, for appearing to collaborate in her role as a double agent; and Krenko, for profiting from the conflict.[9][4] Aurelia threatened to arrest Oba for the murders, but Oba resisted, taking control of Trostani's full power and rendering her sisters unconscious. She animated Vitu-Ghazi and attacked the guild leaders, seriously injuring Etrata. However, Kaya Cassir fought back, phasing through the vines of Vitu-Ghazi and, with the help of Etrata, trapping Oba within barrier wards, giving her sisters time to render her unconscious.[12]
Oba's sisters were embarrassed for her wrongdoing and entered a period of meditation to try to understand and help bring Oba back in line with a desire for harmony, leaving Emmara Tandris to lead the guild.[12] Lavinia took to analyzing the Guildpact to see if there was any rationale for arresting her, with little luck. Kaya regretted not killing her in the heat of the fight, but Teysa's ghost reassured her that she would submit the Selesnya to a lawsuit so punishing they would wish Oba had died.
Gallery
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Magic: The Gathering Arena avatar.
Story appearances
In-game references
- Represented in:
- Associated cards:
- Depicted in:
- Quoted or referred to:
- ^† Scryfall does not record flavor text for digital cards. See Alchemy: Karlov Manor/Flavor text
References
- ↑ a b Seanan McGuire (January 11, 2024). "Murders at Karlov Manor - Episode 5: Chains of Expectation". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Chas Andres (October 3, 2018). "A Flavorful Guide to the Guilds of Ravnica". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Django Wexler (July 3, 2019), The Gathering Storm, Chapter Five.
- ↑ a b c d Seanan McGuire (January 17, 2024). "Episode 9: Beauty in Destruction". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Adam Lee (October 23, 2012). "The Great Concourse". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ James Wyatt (January 2019). "The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Ravnica". Wizards of the Coast
- ↑ Greg Weisman (April 2019). "War of the Spark: Ravnica". Del Rey
- ↑ Greg Weisman (May 29, 2019). "War of the Spark: Ravnica – Desperate Operatives". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Blake Rasmussen (January 16, 2024). "Track the Clues. Crack the Case. (Video)". Magic: The Gathering. YouTube.
- ↑ Emily Teng (February 6, 2024). "The Legends (and characters) of Murders at Karlov Manor". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Seanan McGuire (January 16, 2024). "Episode 8: Gods of Chaos". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Seanan McGuire (January 18, 2024). "Episode 10: Roots of Decay". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
