The Purifying Fire
- For the magical phenomenon described in the novel, see Purifying Fire.
| The Purifying Fire | |||||
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| Publishing Information | |||||
| Author(s) | Laura Resnick | ||||
| First printing | July 2009 | ||||
| ISBN-13 | 978-0786952984 | ||||
| A Planeswalker Novel | |||||
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| Publication chronology | |||||
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The Purifying Fire is the second book in the "A Planeswalker Novel" series, this time focusing on Chandra Nalaar. It is written by Laura Resnick. It was published in July 2009.
Overview
| Title | Author | Publishing date | Set | Setting (plane) | Featuring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Purifying Fire | Laura Resnick | July 2009 | Magic 2010 | Regatha, Kephalai, Diraden | Brannon, Chandra Nalaar, Jace Beleren, Sergil, Luti, Samir Mia Kauldi, Heliud (mentioned), Zin (mentioned), Gideon Jura, Dirk, Jurl, Falia, Velrav, Gelidor, Walbert III |
Featured characters, events, and cards
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Blurb
Fresh off an encounter in which the young pyromancer was able to show off some of her more enlightening talents, Chandra Nalaar has earned a place in a loose association of fire mages. But she still has a lot to prove...
Especially to the Order of Heliud, a sect of mages bent on imposing their draconian law across the land. The Order's ever-increasing influence is an affront to all Chandra holds sacred: freedom, individuality, the right to self-determination, and most of all, the right to blow things up.
A great pyromancer once said that destruction is best left to professionals, and Chandra is proving to be world-class in the art of boom. Unfortunately, that notoriety is about to cause her a whole lot of trouble ...
Plot summary
This book tells the origin story of Chandra Nalaar, a young fire mage with a temper and limited self-control.
Chandra has a brief run-in with a blue mage, known to be Jace Beleren as shown in Fuel for the Fire, then we follow Chandra as she goes to Kephalai to steal back the Dragon Scroll. This ends very badly as she destroys Aretopolis's Sanctum of Stars by accidental overuse of power. While there, she meets Gideon Jura, who has followed Chandra to Kephalai, where he quickly finds her, due to her cataclysmic theft of the Dragon Scroll. Her theft has led to the destruction of Sanctum of Stars in Aretopolis, and Gideon tracks Chandra down in the streets, and in an attempt to save innocent lives, he incapacitates Chandra and turns her in to the Prelate's officers. Eventually, he also returns the scroll, having kept it in hopes that Chandra would not be executed until it was found. After she escapes her captors, he finds no reason to keep it.
Gideon once again tracks Chandra, this time landing on the plane of Diraden in her footsteps, much to the pyromancer's immense disbelief and fury. He quickly calms her and suggests that they would accomplish more to escape the plane together. However, Diraden is dominated by black mana and endless night, ruled by an immortal prince, and his shroud of night prevents them from planeswalking. Chandra's last remaining ally, a goblin named Jurl, chooses that moment to attack them, and Gideon quickly subdues the being. With Jurl as their guide, Gideon and Chandra find their way to a village to speak with their wise woman, the menarch Falia. Falia appears to be a child, but through the use of Blood Magic, she has gained her wisdom from her mother, as well as slowed her aging considerably. Falia is instantly smitten by Gideon's good looks and secretly plots to separate Chandra from her accomplice. She sends Gideon on a hunting expedition and summons the Fog Riders to abduct Chandra. Gideon shows up at an opportune moment and slays one of the Fog Riders before both he and Chandra are incapacitated and abducted.
While the ageless necromancer Pince Velrav treats Chandra in his bedchambers, Gideon is handled with more ostentation for his part in the death of the Fog Rider. Gideon is tied to stakes in the courtyard with the understanding that any who wishes it is encouraged to bleed him and feed on him. When Chandra awakens, she parleys with Velrav to treat Gideon with more mercy, which results in the planeswalker being moved into the dungeons below. Unfortunately, as part of the price paid to have Gideon moved, Chandra had to tell Velrav of planeswalkers, and Velrav now believes he can harness Gideon's essence to become a planeswalker himself. Striking a deal with King Gelidor, Velrav's father, Chandra and Gideon plan to have Gideon and the king switch bodies to fool Velrav into breaking his curse. They are found out, however, and Gideon and the king are brought to Chandra to complete Velrav's ritual. Only the king's blood donation to Chandra allows her to interfere in the ritual. Finally able to draw mana again, Chandra creates a sword of fire and beheads the prince. Gelidor willfully impales himself on the sword as well, and with his death, the spell preventing Chandra and Gideon from planeswalking is lifted.
The pair returns to Regatha and seeks the help of Chandra's woodland friend Samir Mia Kauldi. To Chandra's shock, Samir reveals that he has already met Gideon at the headquarters of the Order. Feeling betrayed by Gideon's lies, she leaves him to fend for himself and storms back to Keral Keep. Discovering her return, the Order lays siege to the Keep, though with the simple ultimatum to hand over Chandra. When Chandra surrenders, Gideon is sent to escort her to the Order of Heliud's leader Walbert III. When the walkers reach Walbert, he reveals that he has planned to offer Chandra to the Purifying Fire, hoping she will be cleansed of her fire magic and left powerless as an example to any who would oppose him. Gideon feels immense guilt over this, not having known of Walbert's intentions, and seeks some way to help Chandra escape her fate. Finally, he finds passages stating that if a person goes into the fire with no regrets, they may survive unharmed. Chandra confesses to Gideon the accidental part she played in the death of her village and her parents, and how it had haunted her ever since.
Sending Gideon away before the ritual, Chandra walks into the Purifying Fire. As it searches her soul, it finds nothing to purify and leaves Chandra not only unharmed but greatly bolstered in strength. With great relish, Chandra destroyed Walbert and his guards, cracking the foundations of the Fire's cavern and crumbling the temple above with the renewed power of her fire magic. Gideon is the first to venture forth into the ruin and finds Chandra passed out from a falling rock. He is aghast at what she has done, but swears he will cover for her and announce her death in the structural collapse if she leaves and never returns. Chandra revealed then that the soldiers who had killed her parents had the same ideals as the Order of Heliud, and that it would be in Gideon's best interest to consider his allegiances closely, stating that anyone who exemplified the Order's ideals was to be her enemy, even Gideon. Gideon simply responded that they would meet again. Chandra held her promise and left then for the plane of Zendikar, the origin of the Dragon Scroll.
Manga version
On February 27, 2010, the Japanese magazine Dengeki-Maoh published a manga-version of The Purifying Fire, drawn by Yoshino Himori.[1][2]
References
- ↑ Magic Arcana (March 02, 2010). "Magic Manga". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2018-12-08.
- ↑ Monty Ashley (June 28, 2010). "Jace vs. Chandra Go Japanese". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2019-06-10.
External links
- Laura Resnick (May 19, 2009). "The Purifying Fire Blurb". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12.
- Laura Resnick (May 19, 2009). "The Purifying Fire Sample Chapter". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.
- Laura Resnick (April 18, 2010). "The Purifying Fire e-Book". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2021-04-29.