Ixalan (continent)

For other uses, see Ixalan (disambiguation).

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Ixalan
Information
Plane	Ixalan
Type	Island

Map of the continent of Ixalan

Ixalan is a great western continent which has given its name to the plane as a whole. A land of deep jungles, roaring rivers, and colossal dinosaurs, Ixalan is the cradle of the Sun Empire, the elusive River Heralds, the encroaching Legion of Dusk, and the freewheeling Brazen Coalition. From hidden ruins to vast golden cities reclaimed from myth, Ixalan remains one of the plane's greatest sources of secrets, power, and conflict.

Description

Ixalan is the great crescent-shaped continent that gives the plane its name — a tropical land covered in lush rainforest, lofty plains, soaring mountains, and winding rivers that enfold the Inner Sea at its heart. The waterways braid through thick jungle wilderness, connecting hidden coves and ancient ruins like Azcanta — once a thriving Sun Empire city swallowed by the ocean during a war with the River Heralds.

The history of Ixalan has been shaped by the balance and conflict between the Sun Empire and the River Heralds. Once living in harmony, the Sun Empire maintained stewardship over the Immortal Sun until its abuse of the artifact’s power fractured that balance, pushing the empire toward the coasts while the River Heralds reclaimed much of the interior jungle. There, living relics like the Deeproot Tree and the Great River are sheltered, fed by the sacred Primal Wellspring.

The jungle conceals many ancient cities and temples of the Sun Empire, including Orazca, the golden city now restored as the empire’s new capital, alongside shrines like Icalaquiampa and Tonalixco. Inland mountains rise steeply, home to sacred sites like Itlimoc and the ominous Temple of Aclazotz, with its labyrinthine underworld guarded by the ancient bat god's devoted followers.

Along the coasts, pirate towns like Sunray Bay — once bustling, now corrupted by the Mycotyrant's spreading fungus — stand beside fortified Legion of Dusk strongholds like Miraldanor and Adanto. The Sun Empire still claims fertile plains and long stretches of coastline, though once-great cities such as Pachatupa and Atzocan now lie ruined in the wake of the Phyrexian Invasion.

Throughout Ixalan, the wilds echo with the roars of domesticated dinosaurs — armored beasts of burden, war, and farming. Merfolk of the River Heralds guard the waterways and hidden shrines, determined to keep the plane’s oldest secrets from all intruders.

Locations

• Inner Sea
  • Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin - a thriving population center until a prolonged conflict with the River Heralds caused it to sink into the waters.
  • Hidden coves - small bays that hold pirate treasures stowed by captains long forgotten.
    • Treasure Cove
  • Tonalixco - temple of the eastern sun
• Jungle Region
  • The Deeproot Tree - a remnant of an ancient Merfolk city built into a 400-foot-tall mangrove stand. Destroyed in the New Phyrexian invasion.
  • The Great River
    • The Nine Tributaries - Tishana, Kumena, Pashona, Vuhana, Mitica, Notana, Falani, Tuvasa, and Kopala.
  • Icalaquiampa - the temple of sunset. The focus of a religious sect that tried to replace the emperor with a high priest and establish a theocratic rule.
  • Lost cities - ancient ruins from the Sun Empire's heyday can now be found, overgrown and half-buried, in the depths of the jungle.
    • Pecatli - known for its grand temple of the Threefold Sun.
    • Quetzatl - once the home of a self-proclaimed king who challenged the authority of the emperor.
    • Tanaztac - a fortress city marking the former western edge of the empire.
    • Techepec - a former retreat for the emperor and the imperial family.
• Mountain region
  • Itlimoc, Cradle of the Sun - a sacred forest for both merfolk and humans.
  • Lost Vale - pirates ventured into the interior for treasure, but found something better.
  • The Primal Wellspring - the sacred source of the Great River. Infused with magical power.
  • Temple of Aclazotz - a ruined temple dedicated to Aclazotz, containing a broad, deep cenote. Curved stairs are carved into its sides, leading to a series of catacombs followed by a large, circular room filled with candelabras, an obsidian altar, and a golden door that opened when a sacrifice was offered. Through this door is a massive underground desert that instantly swallows up travelers on the wrong path. At the far end of the cavern is a pathway subtly marked with carved bat wings. This pathway leads to another huge cavern crisscrossed with arching natural bridges over thunderous cascading lava, bright enough to light the entire space. On some of the rocky outcroppings, stone buildings rise, while others are carved directly into large stalactites.
  • Unclaimed Territory - a foggy mountain rainforest, with tall trees and foliage alive with movement, where macaws and parrots sing a cacophonous tune.
• Queen's Bay - a large bay on the southern side of the continent.
  • Miraldanor - an island stronghold of the Legion of Dusk. An imposing fortress on a barrier island at the mouth of the Bay, it is named after Queen Miralda.
    • Adanto, the First Fort - the first and oldest fort established by the Legion of Dusk on Ixalan, built on a small island in Queen's Bay where the vampires first landed. Named after Adrian Adanto, the fort remains the Legion's primary stronghold and is frequently besieged by the pirates of the Brazen Coalition.
    • Conqueror's Foothold - a fortified prison and outpost of the Legion of Dusk, where captives are kept and ritually executed to sustain the vampires' thirst for blood. The fortress is overseen by Vona de Iedo, who uses it as a base for her ruthless ambitions.
    • Durron, the Fort of Faith - a stronghold on an island and home to the armada of the Legion of Dusk. The bastioned fortress has a looming presence's is made even more ominous by the Dusk Legion dreadnought moored at its stone pier.
    • Fort Leor, the Edge of Exile - the middle of the three fortresses of Queen's Bay, situated by a river that runs from the northern mountains and into the sea. After the Sun Empire took Orazca and pushed the Legion of Dusk to the sea, Leor held for months but fell before the end of the year. The Sun Empire reverse-engineered its fleet of blue-water frigates to begin its invasion of Torrezon.
• The Sun Empire
  • Atzocan - a city-state located on the low coastal plain. Destroyed by the Phyrexians.
  • Little Pocatli - an inland city that was destroyed by the Phyrexians.
  • Orazca - the lost city of gold. Now, once again, the capital of the Sun Empire.
    • Arch of Orazca
    • Atzal, Cave of Eternity
    • Gold-Forge Garrison
    • Metzali, Tower of Triumph
    • The ritual district
      • The Winged Temple of Orazca
        • The priests' chambers
        • The Three Hundred Steps
        • The recitation chamber
    • The Sanctum of the Sun
    • The Spires of Orazca
    • The Threefold Temple
    • The Tomb of the Dusk Rose
    • The Vault of Catlacan
  • Otepec, a vast city of temples built in reverence to the Threefold Sun, located in a high alpine forest at the western edge of the Sun Empire's lands. Destroyed by the Phyrexians.
  • Pachatupa, the former capital. Standing where the coastal plains rise into the high mountains. The river bordering Pachatupa feeds the city with freshwater from vast inland mountain ranges, plunging from Itlimoc through heavily irrigated floodplains. After the Invasion, the capital was moved to Orazca.
    • The Riverside districts
    • The Temple of the Wakening Sun
    • The Temple of the Burning Sun
    • The Temple of the Verdant Sun
    • Tocatli, the emperor's palace at the heart of Pachatupa. During the Phyrexian Invasion, ash blanketed the citadel. The imperial throne room sits high atop the palace, but was converted to an imperial war room in preparation for the invasion of Torrezon. It is dominated by a scale map of Ixalan, Torrezon, and the Stormwreck Sea.
  • Quetzatl - an inland state with no cities, only holding small towns and maize, squash, and bean farms.
  • Sun Coast, the eastern coast.
• Sunray Bay - a large Brazen Coalition town on the northern coast of Ixalan. It was left deserted after its population was taken over by the Mycotyrant in 5 Dawn Era.
  • Downtown - the largest and most productive mine in the Brazen Coalition, and responsible for a significant part of the Coalition's economy. The entire town was taken over by mycoid infection in 5 Dawn Era.

History

Ixalan's ancient history is intertwined with the rise of the Sun Empire, whose dominion once stretched from the coastal plains of Pachatupa to the hidden golden city of Orazca. Conflicts with the River Heralds and rogue kings like those of Quetzatl shaped the borders and balance of power on the continent.

Centuries later, the Legion of Dusk — a vampiric empire from Torrezon — crossed the seas in search of the Immortal Sun and the fabled city of gold. Establishing forts like Miraldanor and Adanto, they clashed with the Sun Empire and the River Heralds while contending with the pirate bands of the Brazen Coalition. The Brazen Coalition itself carved out havens such as Sunray Bay to escape imperial rule.

During the New Phyrexian invasion, Ixalan suffered deeply. Cities like Otepec and Atzocan fell, sacred sites like the Deeproot Tree withered, and ancient temples were corrupted. In the aftermath, the Sun Empire moved its capital back to Orazca, consolidating power and beginning a campaign to push the Legion of Dusk back across the sea, reverse-engineering its ships to launch an invasion of Torrezon.

Meanwhile, dark powers linger in Ixalan's underworld — remnants of Aclazotz's cult and subterranean labyrinths continue to lure explorers to their doom, while the Mycotyrant's fungus spreads silently, devouring entire settlements like Downtown and Sunray Bay.