Eldraine

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Eldraine
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Eldraine.png}}|250px]]
Information
First seen Throne of Eldraine
Last seen Wilds of Eldraine
Planeswalkers Rowan Kenrith (former), Will Kenrith (former)
Rabiah Scale 4[1]
Status Recovering from the Phyrexian Invasion and Wicked Slumber
Demonym Eldrainian
For the set, see Throne of Eldraine.

Eldraine (pronounced EL-drain[2]) is a plane introduced in the Throne of Eldraine set[3] and described in Kate Elliott's The Wildered Quest.[4] It is a world inspired by Arthurian legend and European fairy tales.

Description

Eldraine is a medieval world filled with knights, castles, and magical creatures. Wild magic is woven through the heart of the plane and two opposing but intertwined sides battle over it, impossible to untangle one from the other.

The Realm used to be ruled by High King Algenus Kenrith. It was split into five courts that came to be after mankind rose and overthrew the Elven Lords that had enslaved them. These are Ardenvale, Vantress, Locthwain, Embereth, and Garenbrig. Here anyone, male, female or otherwise, might be knighted and become a "Syr."[5] Two individuals are chosen each generation by the Questing Beast to possibly become High King and High Queen, both having to make a High Quest throughout the courts and become knighted in each to receive the honor.

Outside of the Realm lie the Wilds, a place of untamed magic where the fair folk roams.

Locations

The Realm

The Realm was an orderly society consisting of five courts, each of which was aligned with a color, exemplifies a virtue, and had a sacred relic. These relics are mysterious objects with immense magical power and sentience that lie just beyond mortal understanding. They are the physical embodiment of one of five virtues and possess the power to judge those virtues within individuals.

Each court had its ruler under the High King and considered its associated virtue to be paramount, though not to the complete exclusion of the other four. After New Phyrexia's Invasion of Eldraine, the High King was killed and the courts fell, plunging the Realm into chaos. It has since achieved an uneasy peace under acting king Will Kenrith.

  • Ardenvale – Currently abandoned. Formerly ruled by High King Algenus Kenrith and Queen Linden, and later the Ardent Queen Eriette. White-aligned Ardenvale exemplified the virtue of Loyalty and is home to the Circle of Loyalty. A knight must step into the circle, which is made of a brilliant white flame, to prove their loyalty. Ardenvale's symbol is a circle-bound flame.
    • The highlands of Arden
      • Castle Ardenvale
        • The Archer's Tower
      • Wealdrum[4][6]
      • Trekell[4]
      • Wesling[4]
      • The Choking Drum, a mountainous ridge running between Giant's Jaw Hill and the distant Crown Crag.[4]
    • the lowlands of Ardenvale proper.[4]
  • Vantress – Seat of acting king Will Kenrith. Led by Gadwick, although he is seldom seen. Blue-aligned Vantress exemplifies the virtue of Knowledge. Before it was moved to Stormkled, Beluna Grandsquall's castle, Vantress previously housed the relic Indrelon, The Magic Mirror; one may tell Indrelon a secret that it doesn't already know to have a single question answered. The symbol of Vantress is a keyhole.
  • Caervelin, a tower and the residence of Gadwick and his apprentice Johann.[9] Accidentally burned down c. 4563.
  • Locthwain – Ruled by Queen Ayara, an elf. Black-aligned Locthwain exemplifies the virtue of Persistence and was home to the Cauldron of Eternity before it vanished. The Cauldron of Eternity can return those who die back to life if it deems them worthy. Locthwain's symbol is a goblet.
    • Castle Locthwain
  • Embereth – Ruled by a council, red-aligned Embereth exemplifies the virtue of Courage and is home to the Irencrag, which can empower magical weapons such as the sword Embercleave. It is also the location of a great knight tournament. Embereth's symbol is a triplet of spearheads.
    • The Burning Yard
    • Castle Embereth
    • The Irencrag
  • Garenbrig – Ruled by King Yorvo, a giant. Green-aligned Garenbrig exemplifies the virtue of Strength and is home to the Great Henge, which can be used to travel between locations on the plane. The symbol of Garenbrig is a pair of hammers.
    • Castle Garenbrig
    • Edgewall Keep, a hovel situated in the lands between the Realm and the Wilds.[10] Lord Skitter rules the sewers below the village.
      • The Three Pigs Butcher Shop[11]
    • The Great Henge

The countryside around the main castles is dotted with villages and towns, and there are way-stations constructed along the roads for questing knights, stocked with firewood and supplies.

  • Stormcutter Mountain, a mountain carved with a massive rift by Rowan Kenrith's lightning.[12]

The Boundary Lands

The boundary lands are a nebulous region between the Realm and the Wilds traversed by a cart road.[11] Both humans and fae folk frequent these lands, trading with each other for coin.

  • Hero's Rock'[11]
  • Orrinshire, a village that lies at a remote edge of the Realm.[12] Yearly visits from a single traveling merchant serve as a holiday on their own. The village avoided both the Phyrexian Invasion and the Wicked Slumber.[10] Orrinshire is best known for its wool, and there are at least five times as many sheep in the village as people.[12] A homogeneous community, its human villagers avoid the fae and those associated with them.[7]
  • Tanglespan, a giant chasm between the Realm and the Wilds.[13] Created outside Locthwain during New Phyrexia's Invasion of Eldraine to trap the invaders, it is crossed by a network of bridges and beanstalks.[14] It is inhabited by fauns and trolls.
  • Undertaker's Corner, a perilous section of road that looks out over an idyllic grange hundreds of feet below. Carts have been known to fly off the cliff instead of successfully making the sharp right turn to follow switchbacks down into the valley.[11]

The Wilds

The Wilds by Chris Seaman.

The Wilds are an enchanted environment with shifting borders, where distance, direction, time, and the seasons all seem to be distorted and where both monsters and curses abound. The inhabitants of the Wilds are called the fair folk by the people of the Realm and include faeries, elves, merfolk known as undines, redcap goblins, reclusive human witches who practice dark magic against those they deem deserving, and those dwarves and giants who choose not to live in the Realm. The closest thing the Wilds have to a ruling body is a Council of Druids, elves who wish to return the plane to the days of elvish rule. Though mostly composed of vast woodland, the Wilds are dotted with crumbling forts and overgrown castles.[13] At some point, the Wilds meet the ocean, though no other information about these shores is known.

  • The heart land, with the ruins of the old crown city of the lost elven dominion.
    • Four pyramids guarding its perimeter, each with a pair of obelisks on top.
    • The Jade Bridge and the Obsidian Bridge, crossing the river that surrounds the heart realm. The Obsidian Bridge houses a deadly guardian.
    • An amphitheater made out of the remains of a petrified dragon, where the Council of Druids meets.
    • The Well of Ghosts
    • The Bridge of Regrets
  • Ashvale
  • Bramblefort
  • The forest on the Choking Drum[4]
  • Delirium Swamp, infested by brain-eating fungus.
  • Dunbarrow, a misty marsh of twisted trees near Edgewall, near which Agatha's cabin was.[13][15] It is home to witches and giant spiders.[16]
    • Loch Larent, a popular lake for fishing in the farthest reaches of Dunbarrow, a week's journey from Edgewall.[6][9][10] Home to merfolk led by Sharae, it was frozen when the witch Hylda built her palace above it.[17] Eerie blue lights bob and weave beneath the frozen surface of the lake. It likely melted after Hylda's power waned.
    • Winter's Home, Hylda's ice castle.[6] The main tower stands on a rocky cliff overlooking the loch.[10] The road to the castle is paved with glittering crystal gravel, and a pile of bodies at the outermost drawbridge marks the point most adventurers fell. A series of five portcullises lead to successive fortresses with seemingly never-ending walls and drawbridges leading to nowhere. After Hylda relinquished her crown, the castle began to melt.
  • Dynnistan, a castle in the remote outer wilds far from the Realm, ruled by the Shadow Queen.
  • Faeburrow
  • The haunted glade at the fringe of the Wilds. Where the Kenrith twins were born and sacrificed.
  • Malice Rocks
  • Maraleaf Forest
  • Mistford
  • Mosswood
  • Oakhame, an elven settlement
  • Ogre's Pass
  • Red Fell, home of Torbran
  • Redtooth Keep, one of the last evlen citadels.[13] Home to elves that were cursed to become werefoxes. The curse was later broken by Syr Armont.
  • Sweettooth Village, an abandoned village overrun with Food horrors.[18]
  • Tuinvale, the home of the High Fae deep within the wilds.[9] Talion's court is a palace of hewed stone.[12] Its ground is covered in cool moss and silver grass. The mind-bending structures of the court shift and glimmer as if translucent, and vary from thatched houses the size of mountains to miniature castles populated by miniature knights. Atop a staircase, Talion's glittering throne room within smells of perfume, while the throne itself is shrouded in shadow. Its twisted trees bear jeweled fruit. Adventurers are invited to speak to a High Fae by the appearance of an archway made of ethereal, translucent stone.
  • Wintermoor
  • The Wildwood

The Kingdom of Storms

Concept art of the Kingdom of Storms.

The Kingdom of Storms is a kingdom of storm giants situated above the Wilds. A land of cottages, keeps, and towers spread across islands of magical cloud, it can only be reached by climbing massive beanstalks known as Everstalks.[13] Besides its ruling storm giants, its inhabitants include other giant creatures such as geese, oxen, and elemental elk known as tempest harts.

  • Stormkeld, a massive marble castle in the clouds.[6] Home to the Giant Beluna and current location of Indrelon. When Beluna's pet Beanstalk Wurms escape the castle and plant themselves in the ground below, they are known to destroy villages, forming new Everstalks.

History

Long ago, the elves ruled the Realm. According to the humans, they were proud, arrogant, vain, and cruel, and they allowed any sort of magic to flourish unchecked. The elves asserted that those who were too weak to defend themselves should bend the knee to those more powerful in exchange for protection. Eight or nine generations before the Wildered Quest, mankind took a stand on the mesa that would become Castle Ardenvale and overthrew the Elven Lords that had enslaved them.[19] They pushed the elves into the forests, cleared large swaths of land to free them from fae magic, and founded five knightly courts. Each court was established around a relic of tremendous magical power and unknown origin.[13] Some elves remained at Locthwain rather than withdraw with their brethren into the Wilds after the elven courts lost their hold on the Realm.

Generations before the Kenriths' High Quest, the rulers of Castle Ardenvale turned their magic to petty, selfish, wicked purposes and betrayed the virtues they purported to uphold. Many spurs of the Wilds were able to grow back into the countryside where they’d been eradicated long ago. Unsavory magic was left unchecked. Ogres and dragons rampaged and destroyed as they pleased because no two towns could agree to a joint effort to fend them off. Witches roamed wherever they wished and cursed people with evil gifts and terrible afflictions. The Wild Hunt rode through the Wilds.

The High Quest

After a two-generation-long interregnum, the Questing Beast chose the humble Algenus Kenrith and Linden to quest for the high rulership and gave each a sword as the mark of its favor. While Algenus completed the High Quest and became High King, Linden had to interrupt hers to save the lives of his children, Rowan and Will. After she married Algenus, she took them in as her children.

The Realm became far more peaceful and orderly now that a High King ruled. Once he'd achieved the high rulership, Algenus hung up the gilded sword gifted to him by the Questing Beast and settled down to the less glamorous but more difficult task of ruling. The courts cooperated because there was a single ruler to coordinate and administrate, but Ardenvale was still fighting to recover what was lost. Queen Linden had been working to improve relations between the five courts but noticed increasing activity and hostility in the Wilds.

The Wildered Quest

It turned out that a malevolent planeswalker was stirring the non-humans up. After the High King was abducted by Oko, the fey, around 4561 AR and turned into a stag, Queen Linden struggled to hold the courts together. The Wilds were getting bolder, but with Algenus gone, the courts weren't coordinating their efforts to fight the rising tide of attacks. Meanwhile, Queen Ayara took another route and sent an envoy into the Wilds to negotiate with the Council of Druids. When the royal twins turned eighteen, they set out on a quest to find their father.

The confrontation between the Realm and the Wilds culminated during the Wild Hunt at the location of the witch's cottage where the twins had been born and briefly killed by their birth mother. At the cottage, the stag was killed and the Wild Hunt was brought to its ritual end. As the dead stag returned to the form of Algenus Kenrith, his wife was able to return him to life with the aid of his magical sword which at that time had been hidden in the well. Learning the truth of their past, the Kenrith twins' shared Planeswalker's spark ignited, sending them across the Blind Eternities to a new plane.

Phyrexian invasion

Eldraine was part of New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse. Within days of the Invasion, the courts of the Realm had fallen, the Kenriths were dead, and Ayara had been compleated, along with her guards. Yorvo was able to escape his court's devastation.[6] Many of Embereth's and nearly all of Locthwain's knights were killed.[20] Much of the surviving populace of the courts fled into the Wilds.[13] While Eldraine's resistance opened a massive chasm outside Locthwain, Torbran was tasked with luring the Phyrexians into the trap.[11] Rankle inadvertently brought the plan to fruition just as the Phyrexians fell under the Wicked Slumber.

The Wicked Slumber

Main article: Wicked Slumber

Talion, the fae Lord of the Wilds, along with the three witch sisters Agatha, Eriette, and Hylda, had cast the Wicked Slumber on the plane to halt the Invasion.[11][21] However, the curse did not lift after the Invasion's conclusion, but instead began to spread to the plane's living inhabitants.[22][23] Ashiok took advantage of this slumber to use the inhabitants' nightmares against those still awake, while the Kenrith twins, having lost their shared spark, pursued differing methods in reuniting the realms. Will Kenrith took up his father's crown, declaring himself High King of the Realm, while Rowan sought magical power to regain control. The half-Fae Kellan was quested by Fae Lord Talion to defeat the three witches and lift the curse.[12]

Kellan, with the help of Ruby, succeeded in killing Agatha and defeating Hylda.[15][10] Rowan was coerced by Eriette, whose powers had grown through the meddling of the planeswalker Ashiok.[6] Kellan, along with Will, who was able to unite knights from across the realm, defeated the villains and captured Eriette, ending the curse and reawakening the realm.[24]

Some knights who survived the invasion have forsaken what remains of their courts. Knights from all five courts joined to form the Verdant Order, renouncing their former oaths and swearing to defend the last untouched parts of the wilds.[25][13] To that end, they patrol the forests along the Boundary Lands, turning back loggers and hunters. Though they've renounced their former oaths, the knights of the Verdant Order retain their focus on the five virtues of the courts.

Many of Locthwain's survivors now operate as mercenaries or knights errant and no longer feel bound to their chivalric code.[26] It is rumored that those seeking out the Cauldron of Eternity now do so to reverse the devastation suffered during the Invasion.

Inhabitants

Sentient races
Other
Omenpath visitors
Flora

Planeswalkers

Native

Visitors

Non-planeswalker visitors

Gallery

  • Concept art of Eldraine's Wilds.

    Concept art of Eldraine's Wilds.

  • Concept art of the Fae World under the Wicked Slumber.

    Concept art of the Fae World under the Wicked Slumber.

  • Concept art of Sweettooth Village.

    Concept art of Sweettooth Village.

  • Concept art of Delverhaugh.

    Concept art of Delverhaugh.

  • Sweettooth in the Wilds of Eldraine trailer.

    Sweettooth in the Wilds of Eldraine trailer.

In-game references

Represented in:
Associated cards:
Referred to:

References

  1. ↑ Mark Rosewater (2024-05-13). "The Rabiah Scale, Part 3". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  2. ↑ Mark Rosewater (July 18, 2019). "How do you pronounce Eldraine?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  3. ↑ Mark Rosewater (July 18, 2019). "Is Eldraine the name of the plane?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Kate Elliott (2019), Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest, Penguin Random House
  5. ↑ Mark Rosewater (September 08, 2019). "Shouldn't the female version of Sir be Lady (or Dame)?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
  6. ↑ a b c d e f K. Arsenault Rivera (August 10, 2023). "Wilds of Eldraine - Episode 3: Two Great Banquets". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  7. ↑ a b Harless Snyder and Natalie Kreider (November 13, 2018). "Magic Story Podcast Live: Storytelling in Eldraine (Video)". Magic: The Gathering. YouTube.
  8. ↑ Expel the Interlopers (Wilds of Eldraine, #13) and Raid Bombardment (Enchanting Tales)
  9. ↑ a b c Mark Rosewater (September 25, 2023). "Ten Stories Tall". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  10. ↑ a b c d e K. Arsenault Rivera (August 11, 2023). "Wilds of Eldraine - Episode 4: Ruby and the Frozen Heart". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  11. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Jenna Helland (March 22, 2023). "March of the Machine - Eldraine: The Adventures of Rankle, Master of Love". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  12. ↑ a b c d e f g K. Arsenault Rivera (August 8, 2023). "Wilds of Eldraine - Episode 1: Pure of Heart". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g h James Wyatt et al. (2023). "D&D Monstrous Compendium: Vol. 4: Eldraine Creatures". Wizards of the Coast.
  14. ↑ Roy Graham (August 25, 2023). "MtG Discord Wilds of Eldraine Q&A". Magic: The Gathering Official Discord. Archived from the original on August 28, 2023.
  15. ↑ a b c d e f K. Arsenault Rivera (August 9, 2023). "Wilds of Eldraine - Episode 2: Wandering Knight, Budding Hero". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  16. ↑ Cursed Courtier and Spider Food
  17. ↑ Plunge into Winter
  18. ↑ Roy Graham (August 25, 2023). "MtG Discord Wilds of Eldraine Q&A". Magic: The Gathering Official Discord. Archived from the original on August 28, 2023.
  19. ↑ Jay Annelli (2022). Magic: The Gathering - The Visual Guide, DK. ISBN-13 978-0744061055.
  20. ↑ Goblin Lore Podcast (August 23, 2023). "Walking the Wilds with [[K. Arsenault Rivera|Kyra]]". Zencastr.
  21. ↑ The Preview Panel at MagicCon: Barcelona (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (July 28, 2023).
  22. ↑ The Preview Panel at MagicCon Minneapolis (Video). Magic: The Gathering. YouTube (May 5, 2023).
  23. ↑ Jubilee Finnegan (July 28, 2023). "A First Look at Wilds of Eldraine". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  24. ↑ a b c d e f g K. Arsenault Rivera (August 14, 2023). "Wilds of Eldraine - Episode 5: Broken Oaths". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  25. ↑ Flavor text for Verdant Outrider
  26. ↑ Roy Graham (August 25, 2023). "MtG Discord Wilds of Eldraine Q&A". Magic: The Gathering Official Discord. Archived from the original on August 28, 2023.
  27. ↑ Bramblefort Fink
  28. ↑ Food Coma
  29. ↑ Seanan McGuire (2022). Magic: Ajani Goldmane. Wizards of the Coast.
  30. ↑ Alison Lührs (April 2, 2024). "Outlaws of Thunder Junction Epilogue 2: Bring the End, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
  31. ↑ Jeremy Wilson (April 14, 2023). "Easter Eggs". Twitter.
  32. ↑ Seanan McGuire (2022). Magic: Nahiri the Lithomancer. Wizards of the Coast.
  33. ↑ Gavin Verhey (September 27, 2023). "Fans Made Magic Playtest Cards! The 34 Unknown Cards of MagicCon Las Vegas (Video)". Good Morning Magic. YouTube.

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