Neurok
| Neurok | |
|---|---|
|
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Neurok.jpg}}|150px]] | |
| History | |
| Founded on | Mirrodin |
| Status | Functionally extinct. Individuals may survive on Zhalfir. |
| Membership | |
| Leader | Bruenna |
| Notable members | Kara Vrist, Lafarius, Vy Covalt |
| Races | Humans |
| Associated Colors | |
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The Neurok were a blue-aligned human ethnic group who lived in crude settlements of tin on the shores of the Quicksilver Sea of Mirrodin.[1]
Description
Shorter and more slender than other humans of Mirrodin, the Neurok had pale skin that ranged from light pink to faint gray. They had less metal (tin or silver, probably) studding their bodies than other Mirrodin humans. Their hair was brown or red but was rarely seen beneath the elaborate multi-eyed headdresses many of their kind wore. Neurok favored elaborate dresses such as form-fitting silver armor, flowing blue robes, and headdresses or goggles.
As a people, the Neurok highly valued knowledge, and like the Vedalken were in constant pursuit of it; many sought out blinkmoth serum for its mind-expanding properties. Many of these folk trained as wizards, spies, thieves, and other professions that afforded them a chance to glean hidden truths.
History
Many Neuroks used to live in a state of subservience to the Vedalken Empire, who used them as guards, lab assistants, couriers, and laborers, as well as scouts and explorers throughout Mirrodin — due to their inherent paranoia, the vedalken trusted their Neurok slaves far more than they did their kind.
Medev was a prominent Neurok settlement until its destruction by the planar caretaker Memnarch.
After the fall of Memnarch and The Vanishing, the Vedalken, and their brain trust known as the Synod, solidified their power over the Quicksilver Sea and its surrounding realms — leaving the Neurok as second-class citizens.[1] As the blinkmoth populations plummeted and serum became more precious, the Synod claimed all the serum on the plane. Without access to serum, some Neurok saw themselves destined to become a class of slaves. They began to form secret sects to undermine the Vedalken. These sects of assassins, thieves, and other rogues became known simply as "networks." The most powerful of the networks were the Covalt network (led by Vy Covalt) and the Vrist network (led by Kara Vrist). The networks became masters of pilfering and producing illegal serum, stealing from Vedalken archives, and even assassinating Synod members. The more clever networks also procured Vedalken Synod secrets and used the information for blackmail purposes.
The networks soon learned that older vedalken libraries filled with small vials of a magical liquid metal known as quicksilver were less well guarded.[1] Thieves soon learned that when these vials were emptied onto a flat surface, the quicksilver formed symbols—and together, they formed whole libraries of knowledge. Through the Litera Phials, as they were called, the Neurok gained a competitive advantage over the vedalken, even learning the secret to destroy a key vedalken weapon — their drones.
At the Battle of the Synod, the Neurok struck a massive blow to the Vedalken of Lumengrid, issuing a code that powered down the hoverguards and wanderguards — the vedalken's floating, magically constructed enforcer drones. The Synod was defeated, but hundreds died on both sides. Leaders between the Neurok and the Vedalken reached an uneasy truce. They agreed that the Neurok would share a small amount of their captured serum with the Vedalken, while the Vedalken would share fragmented pieces of their knowledge from the mysterious Knowledge Pool. Their continuing rivalry may have contributed to the increased rate of compleation of the Vedalken during the rise of New Phyrexia.
Few Neurok were mentioned after the full domination of New Phyrexia over Mirrodin's defenses; while spies and scouts had passing reference, it is unclear if they were Neurok in heritage. Like the other Mirrans, the remaining refugees numbered fewer than twenty in total, nearly guaranteeing the genocide of the Neurok.
Notable Neurok
Gallery
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Compleated Neurok concept.
References
- ↑ a b c Doug Beyer (November 17, 2010). "The Human Cultures of Mirrodin". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021.
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