Sol'Kanar
| Sol'Kanar | |
|---|---|
|
The Swamp King The Demon King | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Colors |
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| Species | Demon Maro-Sorcerer |
| Birth, Life & Death | |
| Birthplace | Khone, the Great Salt Marshes of Western Golthonor, Golthonor, Corondor, Dominaria |
| Lifetime | The Time of Legends - present |
| Sources | |
| Dakkon Blackblade (comic) | |
Sol'Kanar, called The Swamp King and the Demon King of Corondor, was a Force of Nature from Dominaria, which was corrupted by Geyadrone Dihada.
History
Sivitri's War
The planeswalker Sivitri raided southeastern Corondor with her horde of dragons on several occasions. Refugees, mostly farmers, began to band together to battle them, but their weapons were useless. Eventually, a healer found a new species of poppy created by the elemental guardian Sol'Kanar that, when mulched into a potion, became a contact poison that could kill the Scarzam Dragons. Before Sivitri, astride the last and largest Scarzam Dragon, dozens of creatures were killed, leaving Dominaria for other planar conquests.[1]
Minion
Originally a benevolent nature spirit of the forests of Khone, Sol'Kanar was twisted into a minion of the planeswalker Dihada after her arrival on Dominaria. She turned Khone into a large swamp, corrupting in and enabling her to assert her will over him. Sol'Kanar waged war on the countries of Corondor in her name and constructed her Unholy Citadel, a giant castle walking on spidery limbs, out of the bones of the dead. He was given the Black Blade Dakkon had forged for Dihada. During the Blackblade–Dihada War, Sol'Kanar served as Dihada's champion. He was defeated by Dakkon, however, whom Dihada later tricked into becoming her new champion. She then discarded Sol'Kanar, leaving on his own as she started to wander the planes again.
King
After that, Sol'Kanar moved south to Sulgh, occasionally appeared to the tribes to spread the belief that he was a god, and became the undisputed leader of the land. The Date of Tribute was an annual ritual he perpetuated in this period. He would emerge from the side of the only road between the kingdoms of Khone and Shikar on each side of Sulgh, proclaiming that the swamp now belonged to him, and submerging the road into the bog. He told the people of both nations that they should provide him with food, slaves, material goods, and knowledge. After an untold years of this, Sol'Kanar discovered that centuries earlier Sivitri Scarzam had led the Scarzam Dragons against Corondor and left one alive outside the bounds of the plane. Hoping to usurp the power of the last Scarzam Dragon, said to be able to level mountains, Sol'Kanar changed the tribute to one spellcaster of each kingdom.
The Dragon War
With Chondeah of Shikar and Gydolien Mor of Khone, Sol'Kanar began to weave magic powerful enough to summon the beasts.[2]
After years of effort, they were indeed successful in summoning a Scarzam Dragon, but surprisingly, the dragon was mounted by Sivitri Scarzam herself. Sivitri recognized Sol'Kanar as the source of the poppies that had slain her dragons and attacked him. Gydolien forced the dragon and its rider back through the portal it had come from, but Sol'Kanar, not realizing that it was the Khoneian who had saved him, destroyed the kingdom of Khone in a rage. In its absence, Shikari grew into a glorious kingdom while Gydolien plotted her revenge against Chondaeh.
Planeswalker War
In the unpublished comic Prelude to War, Freyalise and the Lord of House Khone summoned Sol'Kanar and bound him to them. In the unpublished comic Planeswalkers War, Sol'Kanar was working for Ravidel.
Present day
Legend says that Sol'Kanar will be restored to his original form upon Geyadrone Dihada's death, and still rules as a demon king in Corondor to this day.[3][4][5]
In other media
Dungeons & Dragons
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Non-canon “Reality has exiled me. I am no longer bound by its laws.”
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Sol'Kanar is a primordial demon and former nature spirit from the island of Corondor.[6] Once a benevolent nature spirit, he mingled with the island's other forces of nature — sometimes in conflict, sometimes in harmony — but always with the overall health and well-being of Corondor in mind. When a great multiversal war came to Corondor, the forces of nature fled deeper into Corondor, but a demon planeswalker singled out Sol'Kanar and tore him from the land to use as a living weapon. When the planeswalker left to pursue her wrath elsewhere, Sol'Kanar was left to rot in his home world.
Sol'Kanar's spirit did not die, but was taken deep into the soul of Corondor, where the remaining forces of nature formed a confluence of Corondor's energies.[6] Determining that the island still needed a champion, they decided that he was to be brought back to life. The mountain spirits of the Spine offered up a sacred stone known as the Heart of the Mountain, and both the river spirits and those of the great swamp poured their elemental power into it. Through their combined efforts, Sol'Kanar was reborn with a burning desire to defend Corondor and destroy any who would dare defile it.
With tar-like liquid and brackish water seeping from his feet, giant mosquito creatures that emanate from him and infest the world, and tentacle-like vines, a swamp will manifest around Sol'Kanar if he stands in one place long enough.[6] His chest holds the Heart of the Mountain, and should it be removed he would turn into a thick, bubbling mass of demonic ichor or become a rampaging servant of the Abyss. Sol'Kanar's club, known as the Jawbone of Yawgmoth, was torn from an avatar of Yawgmoth in a battle to reclaim Corondor. The bone is seething with demonic life, and growls and gibbers, gnashing its fangs and glaring with soulless eyes.
Trivia
- Sol'Kanar was based on a character with the same name from Steve Conard's Dungeons & Dragons campaign in a setting called Austra, where he was a notorious pit brawler in the arena world known as the Milestone.[6] He was eventually killed by the player character Boone Bladeswinger.
Story appearances
In-game references
- Represented in:
- Quoted or referred to:
References
- ↑ Jack C. Harris & Alexander Glass. (1996). The Dragon War: a legend of Sol'kanar the swamp king. Dakkon Blackblade. Armada
- ↑ April King (March 29, 2018). "The Tale of Shikar". Pokeinthe.io. Excerpt from Battlemage
- ↑ Ethan Fleischer (June 10, 2021). "The Returning Legends of Modern Horizons 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Brian Evenson (August 15, 2022). "The Education of Ulf". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Roy Graham (September 1, 2022). "The Legends You'll Find in Dominaria United". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b c d Adam Lee (September 15, 2021). "Sol'Kanar the Swamp King". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.