The Vanishing
- For the keyword ability, see Vanishing.
| The Vanishing | |||||
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| The Sun's Toll | |||||
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| Information | |||||
| Era | Rift Era | ||||
| Date | c. 4405 AR | ||||
| Location | Mirrodin | ||||
| Sets | Fifth Dawn | ||||
| Characters | Bruenna, Dwugget, Glissa, Karn, Lyese, Memnarch, Raksha Golden Cub, Slobad, Ushanti and countless others | ||||
| Outcome | |||||
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| Timeline | |||||
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The Vanishing was an event on the plane of Mirrodin during the Rift Era.[1][2][3]
Description
The Vanishing marked the sudden disappearance of many Mirrodin denizens — individuals whose races, unknown to most, were not native to the artificial plane, but had been abducted over decades by the insane artifact being Memnarch using soul traps. Corrupted by exposure to glistening oil, he grew increasingly erratic and obsessed with seeding the plane with organic life. Over time, he devised the soul traps — arcane machines designed to pluck beings from other planes and relocate them to Mirrodin. These abductees became the ancestors of many of Mirrodin’s so-called “native” peoples.
The Vanishing occurred almost immediately after Memnarch's defeat, when the latent energies of the soul traps were sent into the goblin Slobad. As the sole remaining life form on Mirrodin, Slobad encountered the planeswalker Karn, who offered to take him on as his mentor. Slobad, however, wished to undo Memnarch's works and was eager to sacrifice the spark he had been granted from Glissa to return the plane's denizens to life. After some discussion, Karn relented and let Slobad give up the spark, returning Glissa, Geth, and most people on the surface from oblivion. However, some of the plane's souls fled the plane entirely. The souls of the eldest transplanted beings were wrenched from Mirrodin and returned to their planes of origin, though for most, this meant places they had never seen, having been born on Mirrodin. The Vanishing was catastrophic in scope, as entire communities found themselves missing half their population overnight. Elves, humans, goblins, and trolls were among the most affected. Nearly all trolls disappeared, while half of the Sylvok and a third of the human population vanished. Moriok society, already ravaged by the Leveler War and nim onslaught, was devastated. Many notable individuals — including Raksha Golden Cub, Bruenna, Lyese, Dwugget, and the seer Ushanti — were among the Vanished. These individuals ended up on the same unnamed plane, founding the cities of Lume and Jilad.[1][4][5]
Among those left behind, the Vanishing was a source of myth and mourning. Without knowledge of the soul traps or Memnarch’s manipulations, cultures devised their explanations — divine punishment, magical catastrophe, or natural planar imbalance. The Leonin believed it a spiritual reckoning, calling it "The Sun's Toll", while others interpreted it as a cosmic realignment following Memnarch’s fall. The long-term effects of the Vanishing reshaped Mirrodin’s cultural and political landscape. The thinning of tribes and bloodlines left scars, both psychological and societal. It also left the plane vulnerable, creating a power vacuum that would, in time, pave the way for future conflicts, including the plane’s dark transformation into New Phyrexia.
In-game references
- Referred to:
References
- ↑ a b Cory J. Herndon (2004) - The Fifth Dawn, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13 0-7869-3205-8.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (December 08, 2010). "The Nonhuman Cultures of Mirrodin". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2017-11-23.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (September 22, 2010). "The Terms of Engagement". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (September 1, 2010). "Moreover: Doing Sequels Right". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on April 29, 2021.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (November 17, 2010). "The Human Cultures of Mirrodin". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on May 1, 2021.
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