Valley of the Spirit Dragon
| The Valley of the Spirit Dragon | |
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| Information | |
| Plane | Tarkir |
| Colors |
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| Part of | Qal Sisma |
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The Valley of the Spirit Dragon is a long ravine in the Qal Sisma mountains of Tarkir. The place holds deep spiritual significance for the Temur, who revere it as a sacred site connected to the magic of dragonkind and the ghostly spirits of the afterlife.
Description
The Valley of the Spirit Dragon is a deep canyon filled with the shattered remnants of the great hedron cocoon that once encased Ugin. After Ugin’s awakening, the base of the valley is littered with fine dust and rune-etched rubble from the collapsed hedrons, as well as intact hedrons that hover in the air, defying gravity. Spirit guardians linger in the ravine, projecting images of Tarkir’s dragons and long-fallen clans onto the canyon walls — a living tapestry of the plane’s shifting fate. Those who enter the valley sometimes witness visions of Ojutai’s monks, Kolaghan’s riders, or the primal shapes of antlered dragons soaring overhead. It remains a place where the boundary between the physical world and the spirit realm is thin, and where echoes of Ugin’s magic still linger in the very stones.
Since Ugin’s essence mingled with Tarkir’s soul during his slumber, the valley resonates with the plane’s draconic energy, acting as a cradle for dragonstorms. After the Stormnexus Ritual, the Valley became a focal point for new dragon tempests and spirit dragon manifestations, drawing those who wish to commune with the spirits or witness the forging of new dragons firsthand.[1]
History
The Valley of the Spirit Dragon was created in 3279 AR, when Ugin, the spirit dragon, fell there after his titanic battle with his twin brother, Nicol Bolas. Defeated and mortally wounded, Ugin’s impact shattered the tundra, carving a massive chasm in the Qal Sisma mountains. Witnessing Ugin’s fall, the Temur khan Yasova Dragonclaw and the time-lost planeswalker Sarkhan Vol stood at the heart of this fateful moment.[2]
To preserve Ugin’s life and restore Tarkir’s draconic essence, Sarkhan defied Yasova’s attempt to stop him. Using a fragment of a hedron from the Eye of Ugin on Zendikar, he wove a powerful restorative spell. Sarkhan’s magic unfolded the hedron into an immense cocoon, encasing Ugin’s broken body in a self-repairing chrysalis of suspended energy and runes — the crucible from which Tarkir’s dragons would be reborn. Sarkhan’s act reshaped the plane’s future, creating the temporal nexus that would one day guide him to return and fulfill his destiny.[2]
For 1,280 years, Ugin lay dormant in the cocoon, while the valley’s chasm became a spiritual sanctuary for the Temur and the focal point of the plane’s draconic resurgence. In 4559 AR, the vampire planeswalker Sorin Markov discovered the cocoon and performed a ritual that sundered the hedrons, freeing Ugin from his long slumber. At the heart of the valley, surrounded by spirit guardians projecting visions of Tarkir’s dragons and clans, Ugin and Sarkhan reunited. There, Ugin confronted Sarkhan about the time-bending events that had shaped both his survival and Tarkir’s fate. Sarkhan explained how Bolas had manipulated him to unlock the Eye of Ugin and how, guided by Ugin’s lingering voice, he had journeyed through time to change Tarkir’s history — reviving the dragons and unseating the khans. Ugin, in turn, revealed that the ghostly presence Sarkhan had heard was not exactly him, but an echo bound up in the tangled magic of the Eye and Tarkir’s fractured timelines. This moment cemented Sarkhan’s new identity and confirmed Tarkir’s rebirth as a plane of living dragons.[3]
In the Omenpath Era, the Valley became the focus of the Stormnexus Ritual, a rebellion led by Narset to break the dragonlords’ oppressive rule. The ritual unleashed a massive dragonstorm in the valley, summoning new spirit dragons that clashed with the elder broods in a cataclysmic battle. The dragonlords fell, freeing Tarkir’s clans but leaving the valley infused with raw draconic energy that continues to fuel wild dragonstorms and spirit manifestations to this day.[1]
Gallery
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The valley served as Ugin's tomb in the original timeline. -
For 1,280 years, the valley held the crucible of hedrons. -
Sorin's Restoration released Ugin, and the valley became a haven for spirits. -
During the Stormnexus Ritual, a massive dragonstorm engulfed the valley.
In-game references
- Represented in:
- Crucible of the Spirit Dragon (from the new timeline, before Sorin's Restoration)
- Haven of the Spirit Dragon (during Sorin's Restoration)
- Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon (during Tarkir: Dragonstorm)
- Tomb of the Spirit Dragon (from the original timeline)
- Associated cards:
- Depicted in:
References
- ↑ a b Lauren Bond & DK Billins (February 21, 2025). "Planeswalker's Guide to Tarkir: Dragonstorm, Part 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ a b Doug Beyer (2015-01-21). "The Reforged Chain". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Kelly Digges (April 22, 2015). "Unbroken and Unbowed". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
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