Seekers of Carmot
| Seekers of Carmot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| History | |
| Founded on | Esper |
| Status | Extinct |
| Membership | |
| Leader | Amalex Pannet and another unnamed Hieresiarch |
| Members | Silas Renn, Tezzeret |
| Information | |
| Colors |
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The Seekers of Carmot were an elite cabal of mages on the shard of Esper whose relentless pursuit of arcane knowledge and power ultimately drew the attention of the elder dragon Nicol Bolas. The Elder Dragon manipulated them into an obsession with discovering the mythical substance known as carmot, believed to be essential for creating new etherium. Among those they scorned was Tezzeret, a gifted artificer from Tidehollow, who later returned to annihilate the sect in vengeance.
Description
The Seekers of Carmot were a secretive and ambitious sect of mages based on the shard of Esper, devoted to uncovering the lost alchemical secret to creating new etherium, the magical alloy that underpinned Esperite civilization. Their primary objective was the rediscovery of the mythical substance known as carmot, believed to be the essential component required to synthesize etherium, which had otherwise become a finite and jealously guarded resource.[1][2][3] Believing carmot to be the key to an unlimited supply of etherium and, by extension, the future of Esper, the Seekers operated with fanatical zeal and intellectual elitism. They became one of several factions across the plane of Alara whose secretive goals and ambitions made them vulnerable to manipulation by the ancient dragon Nicol Bolas.[4][5]
Based in the Vectis City Academy, also known as the Seekers' Sanctum, the sect was led by a powerful figure known as the Hieresiarch, who presided over its inner circle of senior members called the Fellows of the Arcane Council. Despite their arcane knowledge, the Seekers were rigidly hierarchical and dismissive of those outside their ranks, particularly individuals from lower social castes or backgrounds. One such outsider was Tezzeret, an ambitious artificer from the impoverished district of Tidehollow, whose applications for membership were scornfully rejected after being initially admitted for showing promise. The Seekers viewed him as unworthy, refusing to recognize the talent and intellect he claimed to possess. When Hiersearch Amalex Pannet dismissed Tezzeret from the Academy, Tezzeret responded by killing him. Though the murder was discovered, it was not pinned on Tezzeret, and he continued his training unabated. He later accessed the Vault of the Seekers of Carmot via the Great Stair, where he discovered that the Codex Etherium was a fraud, and was assaulted by Seekers guards. In an attempt at killing him, though, they triggered his planeswalker spark, and Tezzeret disappeared.[6]
In time, Tezzeret rose to prominence through other means, eventually attracting the interest of Nicol Bolas and being inducted into the Elder Dragon's covert organization, the Infinite Consortium. Tezzeret staged a takeover of the organization, and once empowered and with Bolas's attention diverted elsewhere, Tezzeret returned to the Seekers not as a supplicant, but as an executioner. In a single, brutal act of revenge, he murdered the entire sect, eliminating the new Hieresiarch and the whole Arcane Council. Only one member of the group, the seeker-adept Silas Renn, managed to survive Tezzeret's massacre, simply by not being present for the events at the Academy. Tezzeret then took over the whole structure and made it his new fortress.[7]
Unknown to Tezzeret, the true secret to forging etherium was later found by the younger artificer Breya, who successfully discovered that sangrite, crystalline dragon's blood from Jund, could be used in place of carmot to forge new etherium.[8]
In-game references
- Associated cards:
- Referred to:
References
- ↑ Doug Beyer & Jenna Helland (2008). A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13 978-0786951246
- ↑ Doug Beyer (March 04, 2009). "An Etherium Tale". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-18.
- ↑ Jenna Helland (2009), "The Seeker's Fall", Wizards of the Coast
- ↑ (2009). Conflux Player's Guide. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (2009), "Alara Unbroken", Wizards of the Coast
- ↑ Jenna Helland (January 20, 2009). "The Seeker's Fall, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2019-08-13.
- ↑ Greg Weisman (November 2019). "War of the Spark: Forsaken". Del Rey.
- ↑ Jay Annelli (2022). Magic: The Gathering - The Visual Guide, DK. ISBN-13 978-0744061055.
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