Rhys
| Rhys | |
|---|---|
|
Taer Rhys Daen Rhys of the Fourth Gilt-Leaf Pack Mr. Big Elf (Lorwyn) Second Safewright Rhys (Shadowmoor) | |
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| Information | |
| Colors |
 (Lorwyn) (Shadowmoor) |
| Species | Elf |
| Job | Warrior |
| Birth, Life & Death | |
| Birthplace | Lorwyn-Shadowmoor |
| Lifetime | Mending Era, c. 4520 AR |
| Sources | |
| Lorwyn, Morningtide, Eventide | |
Rhys is a Gilt-Leaf elf on plane of Lorwyn-Shadowmoor. He was a former commander of the Hemlock pack of hunters who found himself humbled by his own actions and subsequently banished from his tribe. Forced to abandon his life amongst the elves, Rhys would band together with a group of unlikely heroes from across the other races to stabilize their plane's two conflicting halves.
Description
On Lorwyn, where the measure of an elf's beauty determines their placement in society, Rhys belonged to the immaculate caste. His Lorwyn self was a model representative of Gilt-Leaf ideals. He lived as a hunter and upheld the strict values of his elvish fiefdom, placing beauty, cunning, and duty above all else. An accident that he caused destroyed his horns, however, and his left horn was broken off into a jagged, irregular spike two inches above his forehead, while his right became a charred, blackened stump ending halfway up its height.[1] His disfigurement caused an immediate crisis of identity, and Rhys considered himself cursed by his own hand and unworthy to call himself a leader, hunter, or even an elf any longer.
Across both Lorwyn and Shadowmoor, Rhys appears to be left-handed.[2]
Lorwyn
In his youth, he was sent to the Murmuring Bosk like many promising young elves who displayed the potential to become a shaman. Despite his desires, he ended up as an apprentice of the red yew sage Colfenor. Colfenor taught Rhys the secrets of poisonous yew magic and the wisdom of the yew, wishing for him to become a seedguide: elf druid-mages who served as ambassadors to treefolk tribes.[1] After some time, their ways parted naturally, and Rhys instead chose the path of a hunter, though still with a kind of telepathic connection with his mentor. His past as a treefolk's pupil was often the subject of contempt and disagreement among both his superiors and his friends.
Demotion
In 4520 AR, Rhys was tasked with eliminating a boggart party that raided Elvish territory. His carefully laid trap was ruined by a young archer named Yelm, who loosed an arrow before the signal came. As the fight devolved into a chaotic melee unbecoming of elvish elegance, Rhys had to initiate his backup plan— two giant brothers named Brion and Kiel— to ensure that few of the boggarts escaped. However, employing eyeblights such as giants was strongly criticized by his superior, taercenn Nath. Nath also killed the archer who ruined the ambush, overriding Rhys's authority. For his failures, Rhys was subsequently demoted, and command of the Hemlock pack was handed over to his friend Gryffid.[1]
Later, Nath ordered the elimination of a boggart gathering in the Porringer Valley. Rhys was a wary participant, fearing the provocation of the valley's treefolk. He asked to perform reconnaissance first, to which Nath begrudgingly agreed. In doing so, Rhys identified the gathering as the Feast of Footbottom, which was merely a peaceful festival and cultural exchange for the boggarts. Rhys informed Nath of his discovery, pointing out the presence of a pacifist boggart matron, Auntie Thumb, and the general placid behavior of the assembled creatures. Nath, with a cold smile, ordered to attack anyway, revealing that he planned from the very beginning to abuse the unsuspecting boggarts' annual gathering for their obliteration.[1]
Exile
Reluctantly, Rhys obeyed and fought despite the continued telepathic forbiddance from his mentor Colfenor. Rhys felt no glory in the hunt, seeing himself as a mere butcher as he killed indiscriminately and with growing shame. The combined might of the assembled hunting packs proved superior to the frantic and disorganized hoards of defenseless creatures. Then something went wrong, and the boggarts fell into a state of feral frenzy, starting to kill and devour fallen elves. The elves were unprepared for foes as savage and numerous as these altered boggarts and were becoming dangerously overwhelmed. Battle-mad and beaten, Gryffid called upon Rhys to use his treefolk magic, and when Rhys hesitated, he cursed him. In a desperate bid to save his friend, himself, and anyone else that he could, Rhys invoked Colfenor's magic. His mentor heeded the request— the result was a ruinous blast of poison that eradicated the forest and killed everyone except Rhys, Gryffid, and Nath.[1]
Rhys awoke to find himself alone in the desolate wasteland he had created, suffering visions of his mentor's disappointment in him. Shortly thereafter, a peculiar elvish woman appeared and introduced herself as Maralen of the Mornsong tribe and the victim of an unrelated massacre. Rhys was suspicious of the woman, but she appealed to his sense of elvish decorum and convinced him to take her to Lys Alana to alert the Gilt-leaf of her own slain tribemates. More pressing, Rhys realized that the blast had destroyed his horns, making him an eyeblight. The two then encountered a vengeful greater elemental who banished them from the ruined woods.[1]
Now cut off from his tribe, he was unaware that he was soon to be branded "kin-slayer", traitor, and outlaw by Nath and Gryffid for what he had wrought in the valley.
Last Task
After meeting the elemental, Rhys and Maralen were found by a strange party consisting of female flamekin Ashling, kithkin archer Brigid Baeli, and a trio of fae, the Vendilion Clique. Surprised, he found that the flamekin carried a message for him, from none other than Colfenor, who was waiting for him in Kinsbaile.
When Rhys arrived at Kinsbaile during the Festival of Tales, he met Colfenor once more. The red yew asked him for a service, for the old times' sake, and Rhys agreed, in exchange for answers to his questions upon his return. Colfenor asked him to go to Murmuring Bosk and plant his cone there, to ensure that the yew line would not die out. Rhys and his companions set out on the journey. A merrow ferryman named Sygg, an old acquaintance of Ashling, brought them to Bosk through the Dark Meanders. During the journey, Maralen and the fae vanished.
Upon arrival, Rhys found the Bosk destroyed. Trees were systematically uprooted, hacked, and burned. The sacred treefolk grove was no more. Despite the desolation, some black poplar seedlings were slowly growing, symbolizing that the damage could be regrown in some decades. Rhys decided to plant the Colfenor's cone and performed rituals to ensure its growth.
When Rhys returned to the ferry, he found Brigid wounded, and no sign of Ashling or Sygg. The kithkin claimed that Ashling went mad, killed Sygg, and she managed to douse Ashling in the water at the price of her injuries. Rhys knew Brigid was lying, but helped her to heal. After she was healed, Brigid hit Rhys with a stone. Sygg rose from the water with Ashling's quenched body. The kithkin took Ashling, trapped both Rhys and Sygg in a net, and flew away to Kinsbaile with the help of her wing bow. Thanks to Sygg's ability to produce acid, the pair were freed from the net and reunited with Maralen and the strangely silent fae. The fae then provided them with a way of transport to Kinsbaile - young kin who would carry them.
When the party descended on Kinsbaile, the carrier fae was vaporized by battle-druids' elvish magic. Nath and Gryffid ambushed Rhys in Kinsbaile, and after a short hunt, Nath offered him a sword and challenged him to a duel. Rhys taunted him, doubting his ability to hunt by himself. Shortly after the beginning, Rhys tossed the borrowed sword towards Nath and escaped to the river. However, Nath found him, and the taercenn and the outlaw battled. Nath wounded Rhys very seriously, but in the end, Rhys grabbed the taercenn's horns and twisted his head until his neck snapped. The rest of the elves did not attempt to stop him when he was leaving.
When Rhys returned to Kinsbaile, he witnessed the rekindling of Ashling by the greater elemental and the fiery demise of Colfenor. The red yew burned bright, his madly spoken prophecy of world that is going to change, and that he will ensure to be a part of the new world, being the last that rang in Rhys' ears.
Rhys and the party wandered once more to Murmuring Bosk to check the progress of Colfenor's offspring. Surprisingly, they found a young but mature treefolk, who freshly rose from the ground and spoke to them (a process that would normally take decades), greeting them in the name of her seedfather.
Oona's defeat
Once the Great Aurora occurred and transformed the plane into Shadowmoor, its inhabitants transformed with it. Rhys' Shadowmoor self had never suffered disfigurement, and living in the benevolent society of the Wilt-Leaf had allowed him to reach heights that were ever out of reach for his Lorwyn self. He had been made whole again, and his honor had been restored without him knowing he had lost it to begin with.[3]
The Great Aurora's controller - the queen and mother of all faeries, Oona - was defeated by the coalition of Maralen, Rhys, Brigid, Sygg, Ashling, and the treefolk sapling that was now named Colfenor. Though Oona was defeated and her body was destroyed, her consciousness remains hidden, slowly recovering strength in secret while she searches for the means to reclaim her throne. Following the end of her reign, the plane began to fuse, triggering the start of the Pendulum Year. Maralen took on the mantle of queen of the fae and bound herself to Rhys with a death pact. If there is ever a sign that Oona might return, Rhys is to kill Maralen. Until that day, he can never die.[4]
Lorwyn Eclipsed
Rhys continues his vigil over the new queen of the fae and former travel companion, Maralen. Due to his unnaturally long lifespan, Rhys is the only elf with living memory of the elves' cruel supremacy over Lorwyn's other races before the collapse of their empire that was precipitated by the downfall of Oona and the Phyrexian invasion.[4]
Gallery
Story appearances
In-game references
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References
- ↑ a b c d e f Cory J. Herndon and Scott McGough (2007), "Lorwyn", Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Jay Annelli (February 5, 2024). "Rhys". Twitter.
- ↑ Rei Nakazawa (March 31, 2008). "The Deepening Shadowmoor". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25.
- ↑ a b Neale LaPlante Johnson, DK Billins, Laurel Pratt (September 26, 2025). "Planeswalker's Guide to Lorwyn Eclipsed". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.