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- When Elves Ruled The Land
- Magic Works In Wonderous Ways
- Long Live The King
- Rowan And Will’s Heroic Quest
- Garruk’s Rebirth
- The Wild Hunt Conspiracy
- The Phyrexian Invasion Of Eldraine
Eldraine in Magic: The Gathering is a plane of mythical beasts, legendary quests, and epic heroes and villains. The story of Eldraine is filled with a hard-won peace that the heroes of the plane fiercely defend.
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There are tons of things to love about Eldraine, from the beautiful vistas, rising castles, and virtuous knights, along with a twist of horror found in forgotten fairy tales and fey magic. As one of Magic’s newest planes, the lore of Eldraine is long and storied, with plenty of room to grow.
When Elves Ruled The Land
Fabled Passage by Howard LyonBefore knights journeyed across the lands and the Kenriths kept the peace, Eldraine was ruled by Elves. A time recorded in legends and myths, when dark forests grew over the lands and dominated much of modern Eldraine. Over time, humanity rose against their Elven oppressors and in a thunderous revolt,deposedthe Elves from their seat of power.
Hundreds of years have passed since then and most of the Elves have long retreated from the realm. The wilds of Eldraine have been pushed back, creating a natural border between the lands of Humanity and the fey realms.
Ayara, First of Locthwain by Ryan PancoastNot all Elvish influence was driven out however, five relics of the Elves' control remain as a source of power for the five ruling courts of humanity. These courts, Ardenvale, Vantress, Locthwain, Embereth, and Garenbrig serve to protect the people of the realm, each one embodying a specific virtue, loyalty, knowledge, persistence, courage, and strength respectively.
The artifacts of each court hold the power to judge people based on their respective virtue with a mysterious power reminiscent of the Elves that created them. The relics are seen as infallible to the citizens of Eldraine and their judgments are absolute. From these artifacts, the five courts base their rule.
At times relations between courts can be tenuous at best, rarely do they engage in conflicts out in the open. Affairs may be settled on tournament grounds, perhaps during some tourney games, and as such, none have gone to war over their disagreements.The five courts are unified under the High Throne, where High King Algenus Kenrith ruled with compassion and fairness.
Related: Magic: The Gathering – A Brief History Of Kaldheim
Magic Works In Wonderous Ways
The Questing Beast by Igor KierylukHumanity has worked to carve a way of life out of the wilds of Eldraine, but magic and strange things can still be found in every corner of the realm. Deep in the woods live The Fair Folk, a term used by humanity to describe the wide variety of entities living outside of humanity.
Among the fair folk, you’ll encounter Elves, Mermaids, Fae, Witches, Dwarves, Giants, and more. Among the more mysterious things that live in the wilds is The Questing Beast.
This noble beast resembles a three-headed Chimera of other planes, though with feline features and a curious habit of sending chosen people off on legendary quests. Each head of The Questing Beast is individually sentient and holds a unique personality, each one different from the other two.
Long Live The King
The Kenrith Family by Ryan PancoastEldraine had been enjoying relative peace for many years before the events of the Throne of Eldraine. High King Algenus Kenrith and Queen Linden Kenrith ruled the realm together along with their children Hazel and Erec, and twins Rowan and Will Kenrith.
Rowan and Will are the progeny of Algenus, and a witch who put a spell on him to use the twins to magically extend her life. Linden rescued them all from the witch, and they lived happily together.
This peace wouldn’t last, however, as outside forces threatened to tear apart the unity of the land. Fey planeswalker and shapeshifter Oko encountered Garruk, who was currently cursed into hunting down and killing Planeswalkers through the Chain Veil. Though the cursed planeswalker Garruk hunted him relentlessly, Oko was able to ensorcel the hunter to become Oko’s bodyguard.
Oko, Thief of Crowns, by Yongjae ChoiTheir meeting was a boon for Oko, as he had plans to disrupt the peace of the realm by permanently removing High King Kenrith from the throne. To do this, Oko conspired to stir up contentions between the Crown and the Elves of the wilds.
While the Kenriths toured the realms in a caravan called the Grand Procession, Oko encountered the young twins Rowan and Will when they split from the caravan to explore the wilds against the direct command of their stepmother, Linden Kenrith.
Linden, the Steadfast Queen by Ryan PancoastWhile in the wilds, Rowan and Will were overcome by a horde of redcaps but were rescued by Oko and the enchanted Garruk. Rowan quickly took to Oko and his charms, but Will was hesitant to trust him. Recognizing his chance to get close to High King Kenrith, Oko erased the twin’s memories of their encounter and disguised himself as one of the twin's friends, hiding among the Grand Procession.
Oko commanded Garruk to kill the King’s guards and took the King hostage in the wilds. Several months passed as Oko tried to cause and deepen hostilities between Humans and Elves, targeting Queen Ayara of Castle Locthwain, the only ruling Elf left in the courts, but had to turn to other measures when those plans failed.
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Rowan And Will’s Heroic Quest
The Royal Scions by Paul Scott CanavanAll the while, King Kenrith’s oldest children had been on a quest of their own to uncover what happened to their father.
The two traveled across the realms, picking up some friends along the way and slowly unraveling the location of their father, though they do not understand at first. During their travels, they are saved by a regal-looking stag, though it would be some time before they recognize who they were saved by.
Kenrith's Transformation by Kimonas TheodossiouIn an effort to spark a war, Oko transformed King Kenrith into an elk and planned for the fey to kill Kenrith during a hunting ritual called the Wild Hunt.
His plans were once again interrupted as Rowan, Will, and friends encountered them as they sought to discover the reason for a vision they were shown in The Magic Mirror, the relic of Castle Vantress.
The two groups end up fighting, and end with Oko trapping the humans in a cage of thorns, Garruk included. The twins realize that the elk they had seen earlier, and the one Oko was escaping with, was their father under a spell but could not reach him before Oko left.
Garruk’s Rebirth
Return of the Wildspeaker by Chris RallisTrapped in the cage with Garruk and not much else to do, Will attempted to find a commonality between the planeswalker, eventually landing on their shared loss of fathers.
Will convinces his friend Cerise that the cause of Garruk’s enchantment was a hedron from Zendikar lodged in his neck, and that he would return to his senses if it was removed.
While not completely wrong, removing the hedron brought back Garruk’s memories but also brought back Liliana’s Chain Veil curse in full force, accidentally cursing another traveler’s gryphon, who Garruk puts out of its misery. Garruk destroys the branches keeping them trapped and leaves to chase down Oko.
Garruk, Cursed Huntsman by Dmitry BurmakThe Kenrith twin’s friends leave to heal and warn Queen Linden while Rowan and Will keep searching for their father. They encounter Garruk, again who was being attacked by a river fey known as an undine. Will rescues Garruk though he almost dies in the process, but unfortunately is too late to save the drowning Garruk.
Will’s persistence in saving the cursed planeswalker summons the Cauldron of Eternity, the missing relic of Locthwain. Recognizing the cause of the Cauldron’s appearance, the twins place Garruk’s body in the basin, curing his curse and restoring his life.
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The Wild Hunt Conspiracy
Outflank by Victor Adame MinguezTogether, the three explore the wilds to find and rescue King Kenrith. They come across a haunted glen with an abandoned cottage, the stag, and a well where a bucket holds a human skull whose eye socket is impaled with a sword. Despite their best efforts, and a surprise intervention of Queen Linden with a host of Ardenvale knights, King Kenrith, in Elk form, is killed by Queen Ayara.
It turns out that the Queen Ayara who shot the elk was Oko in disguise, trying to blame the Elf Queen for the High King’s death. Garruk captures Oko and is about to kill him, but Rowan stops him, convincing him to let them bring the planeswalker to justice.Unfortunately, Oko escapes in the back and forth, planeswalking away to a new world.
With the Wild Hunt complete, the elves taste the blood of the stag and leave, not understanding what they were complicit in. As it dies, the stag reverts to the form of High King Kenrith and the family grieves their loss.
Queen Linden recognizes the witch’s hut that was near them and tells the story of the twin’s birth, how their father had taken a love potion by the witch, and how they were killed after birth to create a brew that would give the witch long life.
Happily Ever After by Matt StewartQueen Linden also told how she was able to cure the High King with true love’s kiss and restore the twin’s life with the power of the sword she was given by The Questing Beast, though it meant she was not able to complete her own quest.
As it turns out, the sword in the witch’s skull was King Algenus’, also given to him by The Questing Beast, driven into the witch’s head in an act of vengeance from the king. The King’s old sword still contained magic from The Questing Beast, and Queen Linden was able to use it to revive King Kenrith.
The shock of learning the truth of her birth sparked Rowan’s planeswalker spark and the revelation that she shares a spark with her twin Will. The two disappear in a flash of light and ice, leaving the High King and Queen alone in the woods.Sometime after they recover, Garruk pledges to help find the twins and protect them if he can.
The Phyrexian Invasion Of Eldraine
Ayara, Furnace Queen by Anna PodedwornaSeveral years passed after the events of Throne of Eldraine, and the Phyrexian Invasion reaches Eldraine. The plane unites to push back invading forces, much like many other planes of the multiverse.
The Phyrexian forces successfully transform Queen Ayara into a Phyrexian through a process called compleation. Details of the invasion are scarce for now, but during the war, both High King Kenrith and Queen Linden are killed, leaving the realm in chaos.
Next: Magic: The Gathering – Who Is Teferi?
