Nephalia
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| Plane | Innistrad |
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Nephalia is one of the four main provinces of Innistrad, known for its rugged coastline, misty inlets, and thriving port towns. As Innistrad's primary center of trade and seafaring, Nephalia is a place where merchant caravans and fishing vessels share the same fog-shrouded shores as smugglers, necromancers, and secret cults. Its three principal port cities — Havengul, Selhoff, and Drunau — are hubs of commerce that connect the other provinces through river routes and coastal trade. Beneath the perpetual sea mists called the Nebelgast, spirits from countless shipwrecks wander the shores and docks, while in hidden cellars and remote manors, unscrupulous alchemists and skaab stitchers ply their dark trades away from the eyes of Avacyn's church. Despite the province's air of polite civility and bustling markets, Nephalia's coastline conceals secrets as deep as its seas.
Description
Nephalia is the coastal province of Innistrad. People drawn to trade are attracted by its many small to medium-sized port towns, most of which sit at the mouths of rivers that lead further inland.
Beneath an ever-present shroud of fog rolling in from the sea, the people of Nephalia maintain a semblance of normalcy, buying and selling goods from across Innistrad in busy markets, setting out to sea in small fishing boats, or tilling the soggy earth in waterlogged fields. The three major port towns — Havengul, Drunau, and Selhoff — form the heart of Innistrad's commerce, buying goods from other provinces, trading them among themselves, and shipping them back out again. To speak openly of the horrors of the night and the terrors that lurk in the perpetual fog is an affront to polite society, as if giving voice to such fears might grant them power. But hidden in basements, abandoned warehouses, or amid twisted cryptoliths on rocky bluffs overlooking the churning sea, the depraved do more than whisper of these horrors — they invoke them. They offer sacrifices to the monsters of the seas and lakes, harvest the energy of fog-dwelling spirits, or create new life from the bodies of the slain. And when a Lunarch Inquisitor comes near, they point fingers at innocent neighbors to deflect suspicion from themselves.[1]
Nephalia is defined by water. Its long coastline — though marked by bluffs and rocky promontories — provides ready access to the ocean, which fuels the prosperity of its port towns. Abundant rainfall and natural springs in the highlands feed creeks and rushing streams that merge into the three great navigable rivers of Nephalia. Lakes and marshes form wherever the flow of water slows or pools. The rocky ground, largely cleared of forest, is carved into canyons and caves by the relentless force of rivers and crashing ocean waves. The persistent shroud of fog — called the Nebelgast, or "Breath of the Sleepless" — leaves everything along the coast cloaked in a constant film of chill moisture. Though many smaller villages dot the ocean coast, riverbanks, and lakeshores, the three port towns hold most of Nephalia's population.[1]
Nephalia's sloughs, sea mists, and mysteries conceal its commerce and its crimes. It is populated mainly by humans, geists, and vampires, all drawn by business, secrets, or solitude. The province's silver sand beaches, broken by rocky headlands and sea caves, provide easy access to its fog-shrouded waters.
Merchant caravans fill the trade routes between Nephalia's cities, while unscrupulous alchemists and necromancers traffic in sinister goods through its underground body market. Many coastal towns are veiled by the Nebelgast, the salty mist that rises and falls with the tide, leading hosts of geists from countless wrecks ashore.
In Nephalia, skaab stitchers and deadcallers work in remote places where they can practice their dark arts with little interference from wary citizens or Avacyn's authorities. They must remain hidden, for their craft is feared by the living. Yet Stromkirk vampires and Nephalian merchants see only profit in such forbidden trades, so these sinister services are tolerated — so long as they remain rumor.
A human cult in Nephalia is known to worship the monstrous, kraken-like Kralmar.
Skiltfolk
A band of mercenary warriors and shield-bearers known as the Skiltfolk hire out their services to merchants and travelers who wish to cross Nephalia without using the Erdwal or who wish to reach places off the beaten path.
Geography
Nephalia is located southeast of Thraben.[2]
Locations
- The Alrun River – Originates in the highlands where the Ulvenwald of Kessig meets Gavony's Moorlands, cutting a canyon through rocky terrain before reaching the sea at Drunau.[1]
- Drunau - a small port town known for its skilled artisans, bustling trade, and secretive vampire presence. Overlooked by Stromkirk Keep, the town balances commerce and the undead under the watch of its corrupt mayor and the shadow of the Stromkirk bloodline.[1]
- Stromkirk Keep
– A heavily guarded fortress perched high on the cliffs above Drunau, serving as the Stromkirk vampires' military outpost and base of operations outside Stensia.[1] - Stromkirk Manor – The ancestral seat and private estate of Runo Stromkirk, hidden deeper within the cliffs and guarded by his most loyal followers.[1]
- Stromkirk Keep
- Drunau
- Cecani Manor - the ruined ancestral home of House Cecani.
- The Drownyard - the cryptolith temple built by Nahiri to call Emrakul to the plane sits on a stone-shaped ring in a cove riddled with shipwrecks.[1]
- The Erdwal, the Ditch - a vast network of underground trenches and passageways connecting Nephalia’s major cities, now home to brigands, vampire hunters, and a thriving black market. Originally built for defense against zombies and werewolves, it has become a hidden artery for smuggling, illicit trade, and refuge for outcasts and monsters alike.[3][1]
- Lake Zhava - a deep, foreboding highland lake near Gavony, said to harbor the Gitrog monster — a vast, ravenous horror that devours livestock and fishing boats alike. With no aid from the church of Avacyn, the desperate villagers have resorted to worshipping and sacrificing to the beast to stave off its hunger.[1]
- The Ospid River - winds through the lowlands of Nephalia and forms the fertile delta where Selhoff stands. Its waters feed the Bay of Vustrow and the surrounding swamps, making it central to the region’s eerie, geist-haunted landscape.[1]
- Morkrut - a vast, fog-choked swamp surrounding Selhoff and the Ospid delta, notorious as a dumping ground for corpses and a haunt for vampires, banshees, and restless geists. Ghoulcallers, necromancers like Jadar, and witches such as Odila lurk in its mists, drawn to its grim secrets and abundant dead.[1]
- Sarka Manor - an estate, home to the Ospid Horror, a monstrous corruption running in the family and creating a hideous, inhuman creature every other generation until it was killed by Eberhart and his cathars.[1]
- Selhoff
- a fog-shrouded port town in Nephalia where the spirit-mist known as the Nebelgast is thickest, drawing restless geists and necro-alchemists who exploit their energy through sinister experiments. Its skyline of distinctive towers and spires houses wealthy merchants, occult scientists, and oracular cults, making Selhoff a place of eerie intrigue and supernatural peril.[1]
- The Bay of Vustrow - the cold, misty body of water into which the Ospid River empties, bordering Selhoff’s haunted port. Its tides help shape the Nebelgast’s flow, drawing restless spirits inland to prowl the coastal town.[1]
- The Bay of Vustrow
- Morkrut
- Rivstalt - a remote coastal village haunted by tales of the Kralmar, a monstrous sea creature appeased by blood sacrifices in a nearby cave linked to the Erdwal. Under the fervent leadership of Ramag, the village’s cultists offer blood — and sometimes captives — to keep their boats and homes safe from the beast’s hunger.[1]
- The Silburlind River - this river has its source in the Moorland of Gavony.[1]
- Havengul - the largest and most industrialized port city in Nephalia, standing at the mouth of the Silburlind River. Known for its bustling trade, shipyards, and thriving black market, it is a hub for merchants, grave robbers, necromancers, and the hidden dealings of the undead.[1]
- Elgaud Grounds - a fortified training center outside Havengul where cathars were once taught to defend the faithful and spread Avacyn’s word, but it has since become a grim hub of the Lunarch Inquisition’s trials, executions, and tortures.[1]
- Engelturm - the former home of the angels of Flight of Goldnight, is a towering fortress with lower levels turned into prison cells and torture chambers, serving as the stronghold from which the angels and their agents enforced a ruthless purge of sin and heresy across the land. Later the residence of Gisa Cecani.[1]
- Jeleva's Mansion - an opulent estate near Havengul, serving as both Jeleva's lair and a vantage point for hunting among the city’s bustling streets. From its lavish halls, she travels out to play cruel psychic games with her victims, feeding on the secrets and blood of mages while remaining untouched by the madness that plagues Innistrad.[1]
- Ludevic's Laboratory - a mad scientist's alchemical lab, overseen by Geralf Cecani when Ludevic himself is away.[4]
- Elgaud Grounds
- Havengul
- The Silver Beach - Nephalia's coastline with sands rich in granular silver. It stretches countless miles, interrupted by rocks, sea caves, and occasional large promontories.
- Ulm - a small, isolated village near the borders of Kessig and Gavony, notorious as the home and haven of Ludevic, a reclusive necro-alchemist and skaberen whose grotesque experiments have attracted other stitchers and necromancers. With the city's cathars drawn away to other concerns, Ulm has become a safe refuge for horrific innovations in necromancy, aided by Ludevic’s infamous collaborations with Geralf of Gavony.[1]
History
During the Travails, all the evil and madness of Innistrad seemed unable to halt the gears of commerce in Nephalia at first, but business certainly slowed. Caravans that used to come weekly from the other provinces started coming every month or not at all. Villagers who flocked to the market squares went missing in the fog, falling prey to necromancers, skaberen, or blood-crazed cultists. Horrible monsters rose from the churning ocean waters to devour fishing vessels and their crews. Restless spirits, racked with madness, howled through the fog and drove farmers from their fields. And Avacyn's church turned against the people of Nephalia, dragging away those who were accused of giving offense to the angels and executing them in the blood-soaked Elgaud Grounds. And somehow, despite all this, the Nephalians performed their daily routines, pantomiming a normal life.[1]
Gallery
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Nephalia concepts by Daarken (left) and Steve Prescott (right). -
Erdwal concept by Adam Paquette. -
In-game references
- Associated cards:
- Referred to:
References
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v James Wyatt 2016, "The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Innistrad".
- ↑ Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014
- ↑ Ryan Miller, Jenna Helland, Matt Tabak, Bruce Cordell, and Josh Brauer (October 24, 2011). "The Cursed Blade". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-13.
- ↑ Seanan McGuire (March 22, 2023). "March of the Machine - Innistrad: Family Game Night". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
External links
- Magic Creative Team (October 19, 2011). "A Planeswalker's Guide to Innistrad: Nephalia and the Undead". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021.