Lat-Nam
| Lat-Nam | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Plane | Dominaria |
| Type | Island |
| Status | Present |
| Part of | Terisian Isles |
| Formerly part of | Terisiare |
| Scryfall Statistics | |
Lat-Nam is one of the five main Terisian Isles on the plane Dominaria.[1]
Description
The long island of Lat-Nam lies in the Ilesemare Sea[2], west of Almaaz. Long gone is the Great Glacier of the Ice Age, as the island now hosts a warm, almost tropical, climate. An enchanting landscape stretches across the isle, filled with trees with shining leaves, gurgling torrents and birds singing. The central part of the island is covered with a thick, verdant forest that eventually gives way to the sapphire blue expanse around it. A gentle sea breeze accompanies the bright sunlight glinting off rocky bays, and black-and-white striped dolphins leap out of the water. White stone cliffs soar some thirty feet above sea level, and on a mountain on the island lies the Duler Sanctum, home of the Duler Angels. West of the forest is a savannah of tall grasses, fit for feeding livestock. In the distance, in the ocean, whales spurt and fish leap above limpid waves, and other islands with lush vegetation can be seen.[3]
History
College of Lat-Nam
Lat-Nam was once the largest of several islands west of ancient Terisiare. The island is best known for the College of Lat-Nam which was founded there before the Brothers' War. At the time of the Brothers, the college was a collection of scholars from all over Terisiare and Dominaria. Its co-founders Hurkyl and Drafna would help to establish the Third Path and became some of the first people on Terisiare for centuries to tap into magic. The college was destroyed in the Fall of the College of Lat-Nam and the land was poisoned[2], but its scholars would not be deterred.[4]
City of Shadows
When the Brothers' War ended, the surviving Third Path scholars including Drafna left the main island of Lat-Nam, crossing the Lat-Nam Straits. Drafna kept the philosophy of the College of Lat-Nam alive and was in contact with Feldon through letters during this time.[5]. Drafna and the sages of Lat-Nam came upon the City of Shadows hidden in an unnamed mountain range near the western shore of mainland Terisiare. There, they settled down to create a hidden sanctuary for mages and scholars. They took great pains for the new school to stay undetected, hiding it in many ways from prying eyes.[4]
Originally, the island of Lat-Nam lay west of the mainland of Terisiare, across the Lat-Nam Straits.[6] During the Dark Age, the Lat-Nam straits grew narrower due to decreasing temperatures and sea levels, with large amounts of water being locked into the growing glaciers of the north.
Some time into the Dark Age, a party led by Vervamon the Elder, following a rumor of the Tomb of the Seven Martyrs, spent a night in the outer part of the City of Shadows. The city appeared dark and foreboding, entirely deserted and made of glossy black stone that seemed to warp the light around it, casting everything into deep shadows. During their sleep, almost the entire party had horrific nightmares that left several of them quivering on the edge of insanity, and they quickly abandoned the city the following day. This experience may have been part of the school's magical defenses at the time.[2]
School of the Unseen
The college in the City of Shadows was already called a School of the Unseen during the Dark Age. Staying hidden and repelling any would-be invaders proved to be a beneficial effort, as the Church of Tal, strongly opposed to magic throughout the period, might well have raised an army against the school as it did against the rivaling Conclave of Mages in northern Terisiare. Instead, the School of the Unseen survived undetected into the Ice Age, when it had to abandon the City of Shadows due to a massive encroaching glacier spreading south across the former Lat-Nam Straits.[4][6]
As the ice from the Great Glacier crawled south, the straits of Lat-Nam dried up, allowing access to the former island without the use of boats. Although the old land of Lat-Nam was still poisoned from the Brothers' War, poison-free areas had appeared from beneath the sea. As more ocean water became bound in the ice, the water levels sank, revealing new terrain south and west of the original island. Thus, Lat-Nam's magical legacy could continue. Eventually cut off from the rest of the mainland Terisiare by a wall of ice, Lat-Nam was partially buried beneath the glaciers during the Ice Age.[7][6]
The School of the Unseen was the training ground for many of the world's mages over the next two and a half thousand years. After the Thaw had started, however, the sea was slowly reclaiming the land the school stood on. Before the mages could relocate once again though, the school was attacked by Soldevi Steam Beasts and destroyed. For the first time in thousands of years, Lat-Nam was left without a school of magic. Survivors of the attack abandoned Lat-Nam, traveling across the sea to the Institute of Arcane Study.[8][9]
Battle of Lat-Nam
In 4077 AR, Greensleeves and her party traveled to Lat-Nam to uncover the secrets of the Stone Brain, created by the long-lost Sages of Lat-Nam. The once-frozen land had become a poisoned glass desert and was fiercely guarded by Duler angels and the merfolk of the Copper Conch. After a battle, Greensleeves befriended the guardians and led an excavation, unearthing a Dragon Engine and deadly traps before discovering that most of the College of Lat-Nam lay submerged. Taken beneath the waves by the Lord of Atlantis, Greensleeves communed with the skull of a Sage, learning the Stone Brain’s secrets. Meanwhile, enemy wizards led by Towser attacked her forces. When Haakon struck her brother with a fireball, Greensleeves, in a fit of grief and rage, killed Haakon, trapped the wizards in the desert, and summoned a Force of Nature, absorbing its vast power. Ascending to a godlike state, she nearly lost herself — until Kwam restored her sanity. Realizing her brothers had survived, Greensleeves channeled all her mana into Lat-Nam, purging its corruption and turning the wasteland into a lush paradise. This act cost her planeswalker powers[10], but secured her victory, earning her the allegiance of the surviving wizards. Thus, the Battle of Lat-Nam marked the rise of Greensleeves as High Wizard of the Domains.[11]
Age of Renewal
In the modern era, the island houses a campus of the Tolarian Academy.[12]
Dominaria United
Part of the second Phyrexian Invasion included the Tolarian Academy at Lat-Nam. At some point, Geyadrone Dihada disposed of the Academy's archmage and took his place.[13] After his resurrection, Ertai and the Society of Mishra took control, and the Academy at Lat-Nam became a haven for dark research.[14][15]
Gallery
In-game references
- Associated cards:
- Referred to:
Notes and references
- ↑ Martha Wells (March 21, 2018). "Return to Dominaria, Episode 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c Robert E. Vardeman (1996) - Dark Legacy, HarperPrism
- ↑ Clayton Emery (1995) - Final Sacrifice, HarperPrism.
- ↑ a b c The Gathering Dark
- ↑ Jeff Grubb (October 27, 2014). "Loran's Smile". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2017-10-07.
- ↑ a b c Ethan Fleischer (April 20, 2018). "Dominarian Cartography". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ The Eternal Ice
- ↑ The Eternal Ice
- ↑ The Shattered Alliance
- ↑ Jay Annelli (December 22, 2023). "My thread on desparked planeswalkers.". Twitter.
- ↑ Clayton Emery (1995) - Final Sacrifice, Harper Prism.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (March 26, 2018). "Dominaria Card of the Day: Wizard's Lightning and Retort". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2018-03-27.
- ↑ Brian Evenson (August 15, 2022). "The Education of Ulf". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (August 29, 2022). "Dominaria United States of Design, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Flavor text for Academy Wall