Kal

Kal
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Clan Defiance.jpg}}|250px]] A Gruul shaman
Details
Race	Human
Birthplace	Ravnica
Lifetime	Mending Era
Sources

Kal is an ambitious and inquisitive Gruul shaman and member of the Zhur-Taa clan on Ravnica. In addition to his shamanic magic, he is also trained as a hunter, able to move silently and stalk attentive prey.

History

Kal was assigned a job by Nikya of the Old Ways to spy on the Izzet and learn their doings near the Rubblebelt. Every morning, he would climb a ruined spire of a long-abandoned Orzhov cathedral so he could gaze into the recently acquired Izzet industrial zone. Kal had no idea what they were researching but he found it fascinating. He watched the Izzet chemisters and guildmages summon huge weirds to bore holes and power machines, as well as occasionally flash-boiling hapless goblins who wandered too close. Kal could sense the strange magic of the Izzet, its frenetic, crackling, and unpredictable energy was something he could feel as if he were immersed in it.

One day a Zhur-Taa scout named Durri told Kal about the Rakdos massacre of Cecilee's Selesnyan vernadi. Later that day, Nikya declared war on the Rakdos, swearing revenge over the perceived killing of the Gruul infant Zi. None of the Gruul knew that Zi had survived the massacre, and was in the care of his uncle Ruzi.

Nikya did not bid Kal to be part of the war party, but Kal's friend Durri did get included. When they left, Kal tracked them from a distance. If he was found out, it could mean banishment or death. But every time Kal started to turn back, he thought about Durri rushing toward a horde of Rakdos spikers and it made him push onward. He could not abandon his friend.

Despite his stealth, Kal was discovered by a warrior named Janik, but before there could be consequences, a battle broke out nearby. They both ran to join the fray. Rakdos were everywhere, pouring out from the cracks and holes of the rubble like ants, but his clan looked to have the upper hand. Kal then spotted a Rakdos bloodwitch lurking in a nearby derelict building. Kal had no idea why a bloodwitch would be here, but he knew it was more than Nikya had accounted for, with the full power of Rix Maadi in their grasp. He saw the bloodwitch crushing nearby Gruul goblins with foul magics.

Just as demons joined the fray, a Rakdos flailer ogre caught Kal's leg and sent him sprawling to the ground, bleeding from an open gash in his thigh. He heard Durri shouting his name, and a flash of insight occurred to him. The hours of watching the Izzet wield magic - the way they allowed electricity to scatter and arc. He could feel rage and desperation burning within him like a fire, like the Izzet lightning.

With a blast of fire, Kal incinerated the grinning flailer. The ogre's arms and legs flew apart, leaving spiraling trails of smoke in the air. But that was not the end. Arcs of bounding energy flew from Kal and plowed into the demons like a blazing hammer that turned them into shrieking plumes of fire, then overflowed across the earth. Bolts of flame reduced the rest of the Rakdos to bone and ash in a blinding flash. Kal passed out.

When he awoke, he was face to face with Nikya and Durri, surrounded by Rakdos corpses and charred earth. Nikya told him that Massacre Girl had escaped, but that the Rakdos bloodwitch had been killed by Kal's spell. Nikya produced the witch's head, and Kal admitted he had learned the spell from watching the Izzet at work. Despite the fear that he might be killed or banished for using magic from outside the guild, he was instead rewarded with a smile from Durri, exclaiming that the supposedly Izzet magic sure felt like Gruul to her.

Story appearances

Title	Author	Publishing date	Set	Setting (plane)	Featuring
Gruul Ingenuity	Adam Lee	2013-01-02	Gatecrash	Ravnica	Kal, Durri, Nikya, Janik, Massacre Girl