Qadir
| Qadir | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Job | Noble |
| Birth, Life & Death | |
| Birthplace | Fallaji Empire, Terisiare, Dominaria |
| Lifetime | Time of Legends-Brothers' War |
| Born | 11 AR (second Qadir) |
| Death |
c.23 AR (first Qadir) 28 AR (second Qadir) |
| Sources | |
| Antiquities War[1], The Brothers' War (novel)[2] | |
The Qadirs ("the all-powerful") were a pair of leaders of the Fallaji Empire, a father and his son who inherited the title, until the time of the Brothers' War.
Description
The elder Qadir was a massive man, thick-shouldered, thick-necked, and thick-headed. His belly spilled slightly over the belt holding his robes shut. He was a temperamental man, quick to anger and harsh with punishments.
As a child, his son, though built and dressed in the same way as his father, had a much colder, even indifferent personality, but Mishra coaxed his interest in Argivian folklore, and the youth blossomed into an eager, bold youth. But after his father was killed, and he inherited the supreme position of power over the Fallaji, the youth grew pampered and petulant, then foolhardy and foul-tempered, and finally tyrannical and violent. He grew more obese than his father had ever been and would execute anyone who rubbed him the wrong way. Mishra became known as the only person who could manage him, and even then with some delicacy.[2]
History
The eldest Qadir, whose real name is not known, was the ruler of the Fallaji Empire near the end of the Time of Legends and into the start of the Brothers' War. His Suwwardi, a militant tribe of the Fallaji, captured a man wandering through the Great Desert, lured to Koilos by the darkness in his dreams. That man was Mishra, and he carried with him the Weakstone. The Fallaji took his stone and made him a rakiq (slave), forcing him to do all sorts of menial tasks for months. He was eventually discovered by Hajar, a young Fallaji who had befriended Mishra at Tocasia's camp. Hajar convinced the Qadir to appoint Mishra as a tutor to his son, teaching him the language of Argive, though Mishra stayed rakiq. Mishra's lot improved for a few years, but the Qadir began to worry about his son. In Fallaji culture, relying on others was seen as a weakness, so the Qadir ordered Hajar to have Mishra killed after his son's first war campaign.[2]
That plan was never put into action, however, for one night, Mishra had another disturbing dream, of a mechanical parody of nature. He awoke screaming with claw marks on his arm but had no time to dwell on his dream, for a giant mechanical beast in the shape of a dragon appeared from under the sands and started rampaging, slaying the Qadir and many others. Mishra and Hajar used this confusion to retrieve the Weakstone, hoping that Mishra could weaken it, but to everyone's surprise, Mishra found he could directly control the dragon instead.[2]
The first Qadir's son, whose real name is also unknown, became the new Qadir of the Suwwardi and appointed Mishra his raki, or "wizard". Although the younger Qadir inherited the rule of his tribe, the Fallaji as a whole followed strong leaders rather than any heritage lines, so it would not have been a given thing that the boy would lead the unified Fallaji after his father's death. But the boy Qadir had Mishra, and Mishra had his mak fawa - the dragon engine. They made a point to visit each of the Fallaji tribes over the next few years, and each tribe submitted to the boy Qadir's rule. Initially refusing to submit, the Thaladin tribe attempted an ambush in the desert, but the mak fawa killed them all, saving every Suwwardi in the party. After that, the Thaladin submitted, and thus the Suwwardi tribe continued their reign over the others.[2]
When the reunification campaign reached Zegon, Mishra's mak fawa would not approach the city. In his tent, Mishra encountered Ashnod, representing the city of Zegon, though she was not from that place herself. She showed Mishra the Staff of Zegon, something she had built herself, which impressed him enough to take her on as an apprentice. Ashnod joined Mishra and the Qadir at the Peace Summit at Korlinda, and it is here that the Qadir first calls the Fallaji an "empire".[2]
The peace summit broke down over talks of the Sword Marches, which three generations earlier had been called the "Suwwardi Marches" before Yotia drove the Fallaji from that land. The Warlord and the Qadir began spitting insults and threats at one another, and when the Warlord activated the squad of ornithopters, dropping bombs on the dragon engine, everything fell into chaos. The Qadir drew his saber and stabbed the warlord in the chest, killing him. In retaliation, Urza's automaton grabbed the Qadir by the neck, choking him, but Ashnod used her Staff of Zegon to weaken it, forcing it to release the Qadir. Urza tried to strengthen it with his Mightstone, but Mishra used the Weakstone, overloading it and making it explode. The Fallaji then fled the scene, Ashnod dragging the coughing Qadir behind her.[2]
After Mishra acquired several new dragon engines, Mishra proposed a second summit. Amid the negotiations, he convinced Kayla bin-Kroog to sleep with him and steal Urza's Mightstone. After Urza discovered them and reclaimed his stone, Mishra fled the summit. Urza destroyed Mishra's dragon engine with ornithopters, declaring war. This was the start of the Brothers' War.
Urza spent the next few months attempting to hunt Mishra down, scouting the Great Desert for his camp, but Mishra had planned for this. Urza's absence left Yotia undefended, allowing Mishra to launch an all-out attack on its capital, Kroog.
After the failed Peace Talks at Kroog, Ashnod had been left a prisoner in her former palace quarters. During the Fall of Kroog, Ashnod was let free by Tawnos and given the Staff of Zegon back on the premise that she would protect the pregnant queen, Kayla bin-Kroog. Ashnod agreed to this, and while the dragon engines started attacking the palace of Kroog, killing its seneschal, Ashnod, Kayla, and Tawnos encountered a band of Fallaji led by the Qadir himself. The Qadir ordered the three of them killed, explicitly stating that Ashnod was a crutch for Mishra, and a woman besides. Ashnod then used the Staff of Zegon to knock the Qadir's guards unconscious. The Qadir himself she made sure to kill, draining his life with the staff such that he collapsed, bleeding.[2] As a consequence of this, Mishra himself became the last Qadir.[3]
Story appearances
| Title | Author | Publishing date | Set | Setting (plane) | Featuring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antiquities War #1-4 | Jerry Prosser | Nov 1995 - Feb 1996 | Antiquities | Dominaria, Phyrexia | Tocasia, Urza, Mishra, Warlord of Kroog, Kayla bin-Kroog, Rusko, Qadir, Tawnos, Ashnod, Morath (mentioned), Jarsyl (mentioned) |
| The Brothers' War | Jeff Grubb | May 1998 | Antiquities | Dominaria | Urza, Mishra, Tawnos, Ashnod, Tocasia, Loran, Bly, Ahmahl, Richlau, Havack, Rahud, Hajar, Kantar, Kayla bin-Kroog, Rusko, Warlord of Kroog, Maurik, Qadir, Gix, Sharaman, Rendall, Sanwell, Harbin, Jarin, Feldon, the Archimandrite, Drafna, Hurkyl, Martyrs of Korlis, Gwenna, Melana, Doril, Thaxus, Titania, Jarsyl |
References
- ↑ Jerry Prosser (1995). "'Antiquities War". Armada
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Jeff Grubb (1998). The Brothers' War. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Miguel Lopez (October 24, 2022). "The Brothers' War - Episode 4: The Ink of Empires". Magicthegathering.com.