Kessig

Kessig
[[File:{{#setmainimage:Kessig1.jpg}}]] Kessig's coat of arms
Information
Plane	Innistrad

Kessig is a province in the interior of Innistrad. It consists of rolling farmlands surrounded by dense, dark woods.

Description

Kessig is a province in perpetual autumn. The deep forests influence daily life heavily. The small human communities in agricultural villages, trappers, and hunters groups live at risk in these woods, trying to make a living. Between the isolation and constant danger, most townsfolk here are wary of outsiders.

Bordering Stensia, it was the last settled of the continent's four provinces.

Kessig is heavily inhabited by werewolves — it has been perhaps hyperbolically stated that in Kessig, the werewolves outnumber the priests.

Locations

• The thick Ulvenwald Forest, also known as the "Misty Wood" isolates Kessig from neighboring provinces.
  • The Natterknolls, rocky ridges and cliffs that flank the wooded valleys. Inhabited by gibbering hermits and wicked witches.
    • Traublassen, a small village known for its pelt and fur trade.
  • The Celestus, a large astronomical device that was used in the ritual of the Harvesttide festival.
• Gatstaf, a remote village near the forest on the lip of a deep crevasse. Known for coal mining and skilled leather workers.
  • Gatstaf Grotto, location of a famous natural spring and an Avacynian altar. With the arrival of Emrakul, the grotto became host to a horror that devoured anyone who dared enter. The so-called 'Thing in the Grotto' was a monstrous many-headed creature that resembled both wurms and maggots, with characteristics of Eldrazi spawn as well.
• Karo, another small village.
• The Breakneck Ride, the main paths that lead into Kessig from the other provinces. Each crossway is fraught with peril, leading travelers through the Ulvenwald and over treacherous slopes, so those who make the journey do so at as brisk a pace as possible.
  • Hairpin Road, winding down from Getander Pass in Stensia. Watched by Falkenrath vampires.
  • Bower Passage, from Gavony straight into the heart of the Ulvenwald. Dryads and nature spirits are said to haunt the passage.
  • Briar Bridge, from Nephalia. A thicket of thistles flanks the road. The road intersects a river, the path crosses over a covered wooden bridge.
• Lambholt. A farming village. The pastures near the town were once mingled with woods but the villagers chopped down all but a few trees to clear room for their farms. Werewolves continually terrorize livestock and humans.
• Avabruck. Kessig's former provincial seat, now a ruin of wood and brick referred to as Hollowhenge.
  • The Temple of Saint Raban, Avabruck's central cathedral. Shattered by the werewolves.
• Devils' Breach, a fissure that has opened in the earth. Far from the towns.
• The Approaches, an isolated region that has resisted Avacynian worship.
  • The Bog, a swamp where a primordial trans-planar entity resided.
  • Hremeg's Bridge, a small town
  • Verlasen, the largest of the three towns in The Approaches.
    • The Priory, a center of the church where the Seelenstone resided.
    • The Manor, a great house formerly owned by a Markov vampire that has since been taken over by Davriel Cane.

In-game references

Represented in:

• Kessig

Associated cards:

• Alena, Kessig Trapper
• Briarbridge Tracker
• Halana, Kessig Ranger
• Kessig Cagebreakers
• Kessig Dire Swine
• Kessig Flamebreather
• Kessig Forgemaster
• Kessig Malcontents
• Kessig Naturalist / Lord of the Ulvenwald
• Kessig Prowler
• Kessig Recluse
• Kessig Wolf
• Kessig Wolf Run
• Kessig Wolfrider
• Gatstaf Arsonists / Gatstaf Ravagers
• Gatstaf Shepherd / Gatstaf Howler
• Village Watch / Village Reavers

Referred to:

• Alchemist's Refuge
• Apprentice Sharpshooter
• Backwoods Survivalists
• Borderland Ranger
• Bounding Wolf
• Bower Passage
• Brazen Wolves
• Breakneck Rider
• Contortionist Troupe
• Doomed Dissenter (Innistrad: Crimson Vow)
• Dual Shot
• Equestrian Skill
• Fetid Gargantua
• Flame-Blessed Bolt
• Gnarlwood Dryad
• Hedgewitch's Mask
• Kindercatch
• Ranger's Guile (Innistrad)
• Raze the Effigy
• Rockfall Vale
• Silverchase Fox
• Snarling Wolf
• Solitary Hunter
• Stoic Builder
• Timberland Guide
• Ulvenwald Bear
• Village Reavers
• Wildwood Geist
• Winged Portent
• Witch Enchanter
• Woodcutter's Grit
• Wreath of Geists

Quoted by Alena, trapper of Kessig:

• Briarpack Alpha (Dark Ascension)
• Emrakul's Evangel
• Flowering Lumberknot
• Grounded
• Hunger of the Howlpack
• Loam Dryad
• Shrill Howler
• Thornhide Wolves
• Ulvenwald Behemoth

Quoted by Halana, Kessig ranger:

• Aim for the Head
• Fibrous Entangler
• Moldgraf Scavenger
• Tangleclaw Werewolf
• Ulvenwald Oddity

Quoted by Raf Gyel of the Quiver of Kessig:

• Deranged Whelp
• Erupting Dreadwolf
• Smoldering Werewolf
• Quilled Wolf

Gallery

• 

  Kessig concepts by Vincent Proce (top), Daarken (right), and Jung Park (bottom).

• 

  Kessig town concepts by Steven Belledin.

• 

External links

• Magic Creative Team (October 05, 2011). "A Planeswalker's Guide to Innistrad: Kessig and Werewolves". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.