This is where most of the powerful Known Orbs or what passes as Orbs in the actual MtG continuity will make a (reprint) appearance.
Orbs such as the Mirarri, Icy Manipulator (Alpha), Winter Orb and even the "baubles" which i also included into the lore as "broken shards" of broken powerful orbs
And so....
….the story
continues….
1) Conflict has been the common central theme in all of the MTG
expansions, other than maybe, the Legends set, the Base sets (Alpha ~ Revised
to me is themed with the original Brothers War Storyline) and the Chronicles.
Why not have a peaceful land populated with enlightened races living
harmoniously with each other to start with. Although at peace, they still
venture on dangerous magic and artifact creation like the rest of the worlds of
Dominia. Some minor conflicts still occur but in all, it’s a pacific place.
Being a world of dreams, and as they took it upon themselves to be the
recorders of the Histories of Dominia, they become entrenched in the conflicts
of the worlds leaving their own conflicts to be just mere distractions. Even the
practitioners of the Black sorcery (the Tethian) find enlightenment and
nobility in dealing with death and corruption. (“…there needs to be a
balance in all things for the integrity of the Pattern – the actuality of Time,
Life and Change – to remain distinct in the Chaos that is the universe. A Line
ends and starts somewhere, while most will deal with Life, we study the other
end, hoping the wisdom gained, will help us in better understanding of how life
came to be. – Hammadah – Tethian Senior Prelate”). Although the rest of the
populace might disagree, the Dream Wizards knows the deeper understanding
needed to accept those ways, and they are content to let the Tethians have
their way.
2) Like the other MTG Expansions, I made the story of Romus into 3
chapters. The Story starts in the period of peace, instead of the usual ready
conflict, and as the events go, the imminent struggles begin to surface, starting
with the unusual manifestation of the Orbs magic, then eventually climaxing to
the coming of the colossal struggle that will either change or doom the world
or change it unrecognizably as the New Pattern unfolds.
3) The First Chapter is the introduction to the Dream, the land the
people and their magic. The next is the introduction of the Orbs of Power as they
resonate with the coming Change, signaling the unraveling of the Next Pattern
and with it and a struggle for existence. The culminating chapter will deal
with the manifestation of the event and the things that will occur as the
timeline of Dominia, shifts in a new direction.
In sync with the Dream, and the planar aether, the world of Romus is
the first and the last to be affected by the coming Change. The Dream Wizards
will be aware of it but they know not in what form the change will appear. They
have records of events like this happening Millennia or Eons ago, but the
garbled chapters of historical records are of no help in understanding the true
nature of the coming struggle.
Chapter 2
The Orbs of
Power
A prelude…..
After the
Brothers War, or the Great Planar Conflict as it is known in Romus
Georadicas,
under the rule of the High Chancellor of Ravhinol, answered to the call of the
Dream Wizards in providing the means to study the different Orbs of Power that
the Dreamers have accumulated across the planes. Most of the wizards, who managed
to find the artifacts did not return, trapped across the dimensional worlds
they sauntered into to find them. The nature of the orbs magic however gave it
the means to be sent across the Waylines to be received in Romus with the help
of magical machines built by the forefathers of the now Venturian race, but the
backlash of energy from sending such powerful artifacts across the dimensions proved
to be disastrous and are catastrophic in
scale. Only the timely intervention and sacrifices of the Dream Wizards of that
time helped contain what could have been a prodigious disaster, one after the
other.
The effects of
the backlash left the world of Romus more into the insoluble and unsteady state
that sent it farther from the planar reality, a state so very close to the
dreaming.
…The Orbs…
Learning from
the disasters that ensued, the Artificers of Georadicas upgraded the
contraptions and machines that receives the Orbs. Built from a rudimentary
collection of tuning artifacts, these machines were initially created to be
used as a sort of homing beacon for Dream Sliders venturing across the Dream
and the planar aether - where, in a chaos of vision and reality, even Dreamers
who are so attuned to it can still find themselves lost in the confusing
maelstrom. They were then used to transfer artifacts and other objects of power
from across the dimension to Romus before they were used for the transfer of
the Orbs. As the Artificers went with the modifications on the machines, the
Dream Wizards supplied the magic that will contain the influx of uncontrolled magic
from lashing out unchecked in the physical world. It was during this period
that the Dream Magic was eventually honed and perfected.
The rest of the
lands of Romus however did not escape the effects of the backlash entirely.
Here and there, upheavals and mutations occurred from the unlikeliest places.
Towering & un-scaleable peaks grew from the center of the oceans, tides
that withdraw inland, dead people appearing in their homes, and others things
that defy explanation. As the power of the Dreaming grew so did the wizards.
They managed to correct the imbalances and eventually restoring most of the
wrong that the backlash created.
As peace settled
across the land again for another Millennia, the arcane studies on the Orbs of
Power took off by leaps and bounds. Though never near in unifying the power of
the Orbs, the artificers and wizards learned much to understand some of the
intricacies of their magic to contain them somehow and use them for the good of
the land. Some abilities were copied and replicated into artifacts by the
artificers much to the chagrin and disapprovals of the Dream Wizards.
When a piece of
orb was found resonating with unknown magic for some reason, the orb was sent
to the Hall of the Dream Wizards in Sephatys to be investigated. As studies on
the orb ensued, more of the minor orbs came with the same predicament, manifesting
uncontrolled magic from time to time and creating imbalances in the mana flow of
the land. The Dream wizards and
artificers called on the other races to help better understand the effect that
is starting to permeate from the minor orbs of Power. The symposium of thinkers
concluded with a startling revelation of sorts. It was only with the coming of
a Tethian Prelate that a foreboding conclusion finally came to light. Too dark
for the wizards and artificers to accept but too real to take for granted. Then
the Essuros came with news…the land shifts uncontrollably and the Land speaks
to them with fear.
As the Dream
Wizards began to fathom all the events that are taking place, it all became
clear that a reality that they thought will not come has already set a foothold
in the things to come. Finally the major Orbs of Power began to glow and
resonate the same way as the minor ones. The more powerful the orb, the more slowly
they manifest the signs. Across the land
of Romus, Visions other
than the creations of the Dream Weavers are coming to life. It is then that the
Dreamers confirmed the event destined to happen. As the High Wizard and Zar of
the Dream Wizards, Oberon fral a`Suris of the Northern Peaks
finally received the confirmation of the Assemblage of the Races, he called
upon the power of the winds to impart his message throughout the land.
“People of Romus…I am your Sovereign, Oberon of the Winter Falls
in the Northern Peaks of Kronos.
It has been centuries since the last time that a voice has been
heard across the land, and that last time was a call to arms. Now is another
time, and I believe unlike the things you’ll expect me to say, I fear it’s more
than just affirmation or supplication on my part. I believe you are well aware
of the things that have happened in the past years and the recent days. There
will be no end for that soon unfortunately. The reality is… I am urging you to
be steadfast in the journey that will come, a journey that all of Romus is to
partake. I need you all to be prepared for all the things that are bound to
happen as you begin to feel the shifting of the land.
We are at odd times, times that I wish I could change with the
Dreaming, but the event to come is more than just a Dream, its more than just a
Wish. Our ancestors have told of this Millenia and Eons Ago. Now it will come.
We know this by another name, one that that has been and always is the other
side of the Dream.
It is coming.
The tides of change have already
begun, it was our vanity…, our secured and sheltered life that prevented us
from realizing early enough the signs that will herald the coming struggle. Be
brave my people, be strong, be one with our Dream. My only regret is for our
children to be born on this time, when they should have lived the life of peace,
we have of old has enjoyed and not with this life, certainly not with this
coming life. I and the wizards of Sephatys, with the aid of the Artificers of
Georadicas, the Mountain Keep, the Elfhame of Essuros, the Hands of Shier, and
the Ministers of Tethia, will be there to shelter you from the deluge of
unreality that will come. I can only pray that we will be able to shield you
all from the harm.
Let all the people know of this, let the others with you be aware of
it, for in a few more times, an hour, a year or in a heartbeat, it will come.
The ‘Nightmare’ is coming.
Be strong.”
****end of
chapter ****
1) One of the things I love in MTCG is the variety of creatures
representing almost all the facets of ancient and modern mythologies. From the
Djins of the Mid-East Asia, to the faeries, witches, sorcerers and wizards of
the Middle Ages folklore and more recently, the ‘Kami’ gods of Japanese
mythologies, the Noble Dragons of the East, the powerful Onis and shifting
Ninjas have graced the card arts. These amalgams of cultures have unified the
world of fantasy somehow, reflecting the globalization of everything else in
this small blue globe of ours. There are other fantastic creatures out there just
waiting to be discovered, and I believe that it will be only a matter of time
before they make it to the MTCG card face. (“…paging Thor and the rest of
the Norse Gods…”)
2) One other thing I always wanted to see in the tournament is the
proliferation of the “Themed” Decks. The Goblins, Knights, Rebels,
Merfolk, Minotaurs, Elves, Wizards, Clerics, Chimera, Slivers (love them),
Spikes etc. I wanted to add my own. This time the background centers on the use
of the gunpowder in the game. I was thinking of bringing a new creature type,
but then I finally settled on using the existing ones. It’s like a facelift of
sorts. So the Soldiers, the Dwarves and the Orcs gets a new lease in life. This
came up when I was in a quandary thinking of what can be the other alternative
source of defense against the onslaught of magic in the story. I remembered the
Steel against Magic kind of thing (the like of what I used in my World Building
effort for our RPG that a friend commissioned me to make for their Friday
Campaigns) - so I used the ‘gun and explosives’ ability to pump up the
critters. It will be nice to see a line of snipers and rifleman in the play
area harassing your opponents’ creatures.
THE MANTRA SPELLS
THE SCRIPTURES
...other inclusions and CARD CREATIONS that synergize with the theme and flow of the story
.....here ends PART 2
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