Wednesday, June 28, 2017

The Hours of Devastation Arrive

Magic is about to show us the defeat of the Gatewatch, and so the Hour of Devastation comes nigh!

If you haven't seen the stories, you can find them all in the Amonkhet world article, found here.

The prophesies of Amonkhet tell of 4 hours, and each is winding up to be a Magic card of large power and explosive strength! Each week we've seen a story progressing through them as we approach prerelease. Want to be the expert on what they were said to be, and what they brought?  Here's a basic summary for you to quote the prophesy.


This can be your guide to discussing the prophesied hours!

The Accounting of Hours:
"When the Second Sun rests between the horns on the horizon, so begins the Hour of Revelation. Then the Hour of Glory, the Hour of Promise, and finally the Hour of Eternity."
—The Accounting of Hours (Throne of the God-Pharaoh)

"And thus the sun reached its zenith behind the horns of the God-Pharaoh, and the promised Hours began. And the last of the people of Amonkhet fell to their knees, and there was much gnashing of teeth for fear of what was coming in the world, and wailing from babes and children, and the gods did mark the moment with solemnity, all as foretold."

The Hour of Revelation
"All questions will be answered during the Hour of Revelation." (Naga Oracle, blue)


"And so the Hour of Revelation broke upon the land, and the promised time arrived when all questions would be answered. And lo, the Gate to the Afterlife opened, and from behind its gleaming walls, the true visage of the coming tide poured forth."
-From the story, Feast.


What actually happened:  The people and gods gather at the Luxa river, where the Gate to the Afterlife opens.  Only Razaketh the demon arrives, and he casts a spell that turns the Luxa to blood and begins to dry.  The Gatewatch gang up on him, and with Liliana's animated animals, tear him apart.

Analysis: So this prediction was a flat out lie.  No questions were answered, other than the Razaketh revealing himself.  The "coming tide" is definitely shown, though- devastation. 



The Hour of Glory
"In the Hour of Glory, the gods and the untested will prove their worth before the God-Pharaoh."

—The Accounting of Hours (Nimble-Blade Khenra, Red)

Beginning of the article:
"And as the Luxa, the lifeblood of Naktamun, turned to the foul blood of the great shadow Razaketh, the Hours turned to that of Glory—the promised time when the gods themselves would prove their worth before the God-Pharaoh."

What actually happened: The three missing gods appear, as the Scorpion God, the Locust God, and the Scarab God.  The Scorpion God approaches and attacks Rhonas.  He defeats it several times, but it surprises and overwhelms him, killing him with its sting. 

Analysis:  The gods were tested, or at least, Rhonas was, their strongest and best fighter.  He lost, and an immortal was killed on the plane- meaning, perhaps, that the world's leylines can reform gods.  Amonkhet's leylines and heart is damaged and killed, as we learned from Nissa, however, so there may be no returning gods after this set. 



Hour of Promise

"When the Hour of Promise arrives, the God-Pharaoh will tear down the Hekma, for its protection will be needed no longer." —The Accounting of Hours (Winged Shepherd, White)

Beginning of the article:
"And lo, the three dark divinities returned, and as they felled the gods, the Hour of Promise arrived. And so the great locust god fulfilled the great promise, and thus the Hekma was torn asunder, its protections cast aside before the return of the God-Pharaoh."

What actually happened:  Kefnet and Oketra fall to the might of the recurring Scorpion God.  Hapatra and others physically feel the death of their gods.  The Locust God released his locust summoning spell, and the locusts tore and ate the magical barrier protecting Naktamun apart, allowing zombies and horrors into the city.

Analysis:  Two other gods fought the Scorpion god, and died.  Their goal was the prevent the Hekma from being destroyed at this point by the Locust god, but failed.  The prophesy was correct, and the gods failed to stop it. 





The Hour of Eternity
"When all doubts have melted away, the worthy will meet the Hour of Eternity and earn a place at the God-Pharaoh's side." —The Accounting of Hours  (Dissenter's Deliverance, Green)

What will the Hour of Eternity bring?  That comes next week on July 2nd, 2017, and this blog will update thereafter.

What we expect:  The Scarab god will create or bring forth the eternals, zombified and lazotep covered minions to be controlled by Bolas.   Bontu and Hazoret are the two remaining Naktamun gods, and they will either fight each other (as some spoilers suggest) or stand against the Insect Gods.  Bolas may finally appear, and we may see a battle with the Gatewatch.  The hour is called eternity, so we definitely should see the Eternals (zombies) arrive at very least. 



Some fun speculation at this point- there are only 4 hours listed in the "Accounting of the Hours", and the set's name is Hour of Devastation.  There have also been 4 cards revealed with the hours' names, so I would now fully expect an "Hour of Devastation" card in Red (the color missing). 

Also interesting, each of these quotes of the Hours (listing what actually happens instead of the prophesy) are written in past tense.  So someone must survive these hours, and live on Amonkhet beyond this story.  Perhaps we'll see a survival of desert-folk in the future.

Update:  As expected.  There is an Hour of Devastation.  And Bolas meets the Gatewatch!


Monday, June 5, 2017

Magic Story, where to start?

A question players often come to, when regarding the magic storyline, is where to start? 

Magic: the Gathering has a rich history of 24 years, and with it comes a lot of lore, from books, articles, stories, and Q&As.  There are ebooks and hard to find novels, short stories, and AR games.  Compilations gave some insight, and podcasts now add more. 

But where to start, you ask?

This article is here to help be a guide for where in time, and where in the multiverse, are good places to begin reading.  There is a very long timeline for magic's events for the card game, so there are, of course, a variety of options. 


New 2015 Story:
Magic Origins is the best place to start for any new magic lore-seekers.  If you want to read about your new favorite planeswalkers, start here!


Let me repeat that.  THIS IS THE BEST PLACE FOR NEW READERS TO BEGIN READING MAGIC STORY.

These stories of planeswalkers (aka: neowalkers)include Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, Nissa Revane, Liliana Vess (alternate comic origin story), and Gideon Jura.  This begins the neowalker storyline, and introduces us to planeswalkers after the mending has occurred, a shift in the magic in the multiverse, and making the main characters much more relatable. 

From there, read the novel: Agents of Artifice, by Ari Marmel, which is the beginning of interaction between Jace, Liliana, and Tezzeret. 

Other important early stories:  Ajani's Spark igniting



Old:Long before Jace and the Gatewatch, Magic was a story of discovery.  It began with the tale of two brothers, and their eventual war with each other.



The Brother's War by Jeff Grubb

Most people who play Magic have heard of Urza, and sometimes of his brother, Mishra.  This is the story of how the brothers grew up, and found to hate each other, leading to war across the entire world of Dominaria.  This is a good story starting point for those who want the old stories- from Revised era sets, with Ice Age, Mirage, and Tempest being relevant to this starting era. 

or

The Thran by J. Robert King

Thousands of years befor Urza and Mishra, there were a race of people, a country, known as the Thran.  They possessed amazing artifacts and countless wonderful machines- but there was a sickness spreading among them.  They call upon an exiled surgeon, Yawgmoth, to cure the disease, and this tale shows the slow downfall of their civilization.

This is a prequel to the Brother's war, and tell the story of a race far before Urza or Mishra.  You'd want to start with this book if you plan on reading the entire sage of Urza, the Tempest block novels, all the way to Invasion. 




Old-ish:

Rath and Storm, edited by Peter Archer. 

This story begins with the Rath cycle, the tales of Gerrard Capashen, Sisay, Squee, and Mirri, among the rest of the crew of the Weatherlight flying ship, on the journey against the evincar Volrath. 

While this is a middle ground starting point for story, it allows the reader to find a good set of characters to go with, and then delve deeper with Urza, or the Thran, and lead up to the Invasion.  Readers can then go back in time and see how Urza or the Thran began, or continue from there, following the crew of the Weatherlight. 




The neowalker plot is described further with articles and stories, books and lore pages, which are mostly summarized here

The more structured Gatewatch story starts with Battle for Zendikar, directly after Origins, which you can find here

No matter where you begin in these tales, there are many books, articles, and stories from there on out.  Please comment for further information, if you're curious for more. 



Saturday, May 27, 2017

Ancient Kamigawa Secrets

There are many "lost" tales from the world of Kamigawa, which are reposted here for ease of access. 


These tales are all owned by Wizards of the Coast, and were published around 2005.  A full snynopsis of the events of Kamigawa will soon be posted below. 


Contents:
Mountain Secret (Kumano)
Duty Bound (Takeno)
Everything (Azami)
Eight and a Half Tales
Security (Horobi, Death's Wail)
The Dragon's Errand (Kiki Jiki)
Thankless Child (Iname)
Bonds of Ice and Fire (Brother's Yamazaki)  This story takes place many years after the Kami war in "Champions of Kamigawa".
The Dragon Shield (Jugan)
Told in Whispers (The Unspeakable)
A Servant's Mission (Ink Eyes)
Patron of the Akki (Patron of the Akki)
Personal Battles (Iwamori)
Redemption Smiles (Kentaro)
The Sound of Crickets (Higure, the Still Wind)
War's Wage (Kataki)
The Face behind the Mask (Sakashima, the Imposter)
The Meeting
Iizuka the Ruthless
The Last Visitor (Ayumi, the Last Visitor)  This story takes place 6 years after The Dragon's Errand. 


All these can be found on the "wayback machine", of the archived Wizards Magic site: http://web.archive.org/web/20080314191532/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/kamigawa/vignettes

(Warning, that mess is pretty awful looking due to the archiving)

Wednesday, March 29, 2017

The Sands of Amonkhet

Welcome to the Plane of Amonkhet.




A plane of sand, and death.  A plane ruled by Nicol Bolas.  A plane for building monuments, striving through challenges, and a plane, of Gods.


The Gatewatch has arrived here to attempt to strike back at the dragon planeswalker they see as their enemy, Nicol Bolas.  He had meddled with Chandra's home world of Kaladesh, and so the Gatewatch is attempting to catch Bolas by surprise.

Trailer

The Player's guide, with lore behind the 5 gods and a basic "planeswalker's guide" to Amonkhet and the cards in the set.  Released as a .pdf.

Plane Shift: Amonkhet; The DnD adaptation to play in the world of Amonkhet.

Amonkhet Stories:


The Gatewatch arrives with some impact.

With some struggles, the Gatewatch finds the city, and realize there are strange elements afoot.  Will they decide to trust these new gods?

Nissa and Chandra find some writing on the wall

Jace and Liliana discover much about servants in Naktamun.  And "someone" notices Liliana's presence. 

Having interpreted the hieroglyphs, Nissa goes to Kefnet for advice, and finds a trial instead

Gideon finds the five trials more Brazen than he thought.

There is some history of Trespass for Samut. 

The Gatewatch discovers Samut, and they decide to help her plan to receive judgment.  The hours are nigh!


Hour of Devastation


The hours of have begun.  The second sun is between the two horns of Amonkhet. 

Trailer

"When the Second Sun rests between the horns on the horizon, so begins the Hour of Revelation. Then the Hour of Glory, the Hour of Promise, and finally the Hour of Eternity."
—The Accounting of Hours (Throne of the God-Phaeroh)

The Hour of Revelation
"All questions will be answered during the Hour of Revelation." (Naga Oracle)

The feast.
"And so the Hour of Revelation broke upon the land, and the promised time arrived when all questions would be answered. And lo, the Gate to the Afterlife opened, and from behind its gleaming walls, the true visage of the coming tide poured forth."


The Hour of Glory
"In the Hour of Glory, the gods and the untested will prove their worth before the God-Pharaoh."
—The Accounting of Hours (Nimble-Blade Khenra)



The Hour of Promise
"When the Hour of Promise arrives, the God-Pharaoh will tear down the Hekma, for its protection will be needed no longer."
—The Accounting of Hours (Winged Shepherd)

Some desire the Favor of the God-Pharaoh.

The Hour of Eternity
"When all doubts have melted away, the worthy will meet the Hour of Eternity and earn a place at the God-Pharaoh's side."
—The Accounting of Hours  (Dissenter's Deliverance)

The God-Pharaoh has returned, and the [four] Hours have arrived as foretold. The Hours of Revelation, Glory, and Promise unleashed disaster upon Naktamun, and now the Hour of Eternity brings an unimaginably personal terror to the city's denizens.


The people of Amonkhet must somehow Endure.


The Hour of Devastation 

"The world crumbled beneath the heel of the mighty God-Pharaoh, and an unnamed hour dawned as the blood red sun drowned the land in crimson. And thus, the Hour of Devastation reigned, and, the God-Pharaoh completed his great plan, leaving behind ruin while darkness consumed and unmade the entirety of the city."

Notes:

From the Magic Story Podcast:

  • Mother's don't raise their children on Amonkhet- the mummies do.  A person who is pregnant can still train throughout their pregnancy; there is time within the trials to have kids; there are several years training up to Rhonas' trial of strength. 

    Kids have no basic sound of language around them, raised by mummies, and only formal education.  This was stated as not originally natural to the plane.
  • The gods were the ones to confirm the Gatewatch is ok.  Curiosity isn't a valued train on Amonkhet, because there is "no where else" beyond Naktamun.  The city is all there is, so if the Gods say these strange looking people are fine, then it must be so. 

From the Amonkhet art book:

Bolas' plans to release the Eldrazi were made in order to determine if there would be a planeswalker response to such an interplanar threat- which the gatewatch was.  It was in order to test the abilities of neowalkers working together, in order to be ready with his Amonkhet army. 

Story page for Amonkhet

Story page for Hour of Devastation. 
More lore and tales will be added as it is released.  Come back to find more built towards the dual suns' light. 

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

A Metroid Fan Game-enabled Theory

So there's a theory posted on reddit about Samus in Metroid: Other M being a clone.  The basis is: Is the samus we play in Metroid: Other M the same Samus in other games?  Other M doesn't have a numbered title in the series, nor is it part of the prime series.  
With the introduction of AM2R and Rogue Dawn, I’d like to throw a new suggestion in.  


Spoilers ahead:  
*
*
*
The main character is Dawn Aran, apparently a kidnapped sister of Samus from K-2L, trained to become a Rogue agent of the Space Pirates.  
At the end of Rogue Dawn, we see Dawn Aran leave the pirates.   She says that the federation will never leave the space pirates alone if they have metroids; however, she herself took a metroid.  So we have an unknown element now for the future.  What if, the federation tracked down and captured Dawn Aran.  


In response to the Clone theory's points, in order:
1. As stated in the clone theory, at the start of Other M, we find Samus waking up for a weapons test.  In Rogue Dawn, Dawn gains control of many Chozo relics and power ups, the same as Samus.  What if, captured, the federation brainwashed Dawn to believe she’s Samus.  Implanted memories of Samus’ exploits, and feelings of loss from the baby.  Maybe even programmed with memories of Adam?  And using newer technology from that of the federation force times?

2.       I completely agree with the point made in the theory. The federation would want to keep tabs on her.   Further- in Rogue Dawn, we see that Dawn can use Chozo power ups without the power suit.  The federation, through Adam would be testing Dawn’s abilities, and the ability to control her. 

3.       This could still be valid.  Further so to complete the brainwashing, to make Dawn feel for Adam, and loyal to the federation.

4.       Dawn would technically have similar memories.  Her backstory would include the same attack from Ridley on their colony.  Added to this point- She betrayed and abandoned the pirates.  That would cause some fear in their chasing after her.  A revenge plot, perhaps?   She wouldn’t remember Prime, because she never experienced it.

5.       Dawn being submissive to Adam and the federation would also make sense.  With confusion and loyalty memories implanted.  Samus acts different, because she isn’t Dawn. 

6.      Not applicable to tie the two theories together. 
Other thoughts:

7.       Adam and team get to the bottle ship almost immediately after Samus.  Seems like a perfect mission briefing to have a squad watch a new prototype soldier.

8.       Another concern.  “The deleter”.  We never really find out who it is, though it’s implied.  What if, instead, it is Dawn/Samus herself.  She would then perhaps not remember it afterwards, as a brainwashed subject wouldn't necessarily.  

9.       Brainwashing could work better with the traumatic ptsd moment around ridley.  Faking Adam’s death could also add to it.  That would further add loyalty to the subject to the federation.

10.   The other point to be made is that Anthony would likely not aware that this was actually the mission, nor any of the other federation solders, only Adam may be.  His helmet was left behind, and  Dawn/Samus heads back at the end of the game to retrieve it.  Would this be part of the brainwashing method, to continue to relate to Adam?
 
11.   Also to note- The federation in “Federation Force” is reverse engineering the power suit- with weapons and energy.  Wouldn’t be too much more of a stretch, like in the clone theory, to have a new power suit for Dawn. 

What could this imply, for the fan community? 

A future game where Samus would have to face off with Dawn, the sister she never knew.  Using technology that is the same as her pre-Fusion suit weapons. 
 

Saturday, December 31, 2016

My 2016 reading list

I have mentioned previously that this year I took part in a reading competition.  The main goal of the challenge was the simply read more books, and to do so well, I felt the need to share some of the highs and lows of my reading this year.  If you're interested in the blog- you can find the contest at:
http://supercleartape.blogspot.com/p/the-great-read-thon-book-bonanza.html

This year, I read mostly fantasy/Scifi novels, with a few historical and non-fiction books interspersed.  I read three books in German, and two children's novels.  I read two books that involved a merry-go-round that changed the age of the person riding it.  One series I read showed a world flooded by demons, both monstrous and of man.  And I explored further into the worlds of the Kingkiller, as well as Harry Potter. 

That said, let me recommend some highlights!

The Warded Man, by Peter V. Brett, starts the series following three children living in a world in which humans are pushed to the brink of extinction by demons that rise from the earth every night.  Brett crafts a deeply human story of growth, determination, and survival, and continues through several more novels.  His series is yet to be complete- following the journey of the characters to see if the Warded Man is indeed the savior the world wants him to be, or if humanity is indeed doomed.  I especially enjoyed the varied perspectives in each chapter of Leesha Paper, Rojer Inn, and Arlen Barnes- and their hopes and dream while surviving their world.



Enchantment, by Orsen Scott Card, retells both Russian fairy tales, as well as the sleeping beauty story, but in a more gritty, realistic modern setting.  Without spoiling anything, I would easily say this was my favorite book I read this year.



Rogues, a compilation of short stories including some from Patrick Rothfuss and George R.R. Martin had a great many more interesting characters and tales that I expected.  I picked up the book primarily to read of Bast- the mysterious Fae character from the tales of Kvothe.  There are some beautiful tales there    

Now the lows:  Codex, by Lev Grossman, was an utter disappointment.  I had high hopes after reading The Magicians, and it basically has no ending.

The Exile of Time. This book I tried because it sounded interesting and I wanted to try an eBook.  It was free. I basically got what I paid for. Wasn't very impressiveness at all.





Reading List   


1.   Der Golan-Marathon by Yassin Nasri Jan 5th 2016 
2.     Murder List - Julie Garwood - Jan 6th 2016 
3.     The Method- Juli Zeh - Jan 11th 2016 
4.     The Lurker at the Threshold - HP Lovecraft with August Derleth - Jan 24, 2016 
5.     Absteig vom Zauberberg- Jens Walther- Jan 31, 2016 
6.     The Alloy of Law- Brandon Sanderson- Feb 6, 2016 
7.     Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury- Feb 10, 2016 
8.     The Book Thief- Markus Zusak- Feb 15, 2016 
9.     Asian American Dreams- Helen Zia Mar 15, 2016 
10.  The Shadow over Innsmouth- H.P. Lovecraft. Mar 27, 2016 
11.  The Thief Lord- Cornelia Funke April 18th 2016 
12.  Dragon of the Lost Sea - Lawrence Yep, April 20th 2016 
13.  Dragon Steel- Lawrence Yep, April 21, 2016 
14.  Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii- edited by A. Grove Day, April 27, 2016 
15.  Rogues- edited by George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois - May 14, 2016 
16.  The Warded Man- Peter V. Brett - May 23, 2016 
17.  Fahrenheit 451- Ray Bradbury May 31, 2016 
18.  The Desert Spear- Peter V. Brett - June 21, 2016 
19.  The Daylight War - Peter V. Brett - July 3rd 2016 
20.  The Bad Beginning- A series of Unfortunate Events- Lemony Snicket - July 18th 2016 
21.  A Wizard of Earthsea -Ursula K. LeGuin - July 20, 2016 
22.  The Exile of Time- Ray Cummings- July 28th 2016 
23.  Enchantment- Orsen Scott Card- Aug 1, 2016 
24.  Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke Aug 19 2016 
25.  The Magicians - Lev Grossman Sept 11, 2016 
26.  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K.Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorn Sept 14th 2016 
27.  The Fortunate Fall- Raphael Carter Sept 29th 2016 
28.  The Magician's Nephew - C. S. Lewis - Oct 9, 2016 
29.  Codex- Lev Grossman- Oct 26th, 2016 
30.  Elantris- Brandon Sanderson - Nov 2nd 2016 
31.  The Aquiliad - S.P. Somtow - Nov 13th 2016
32.  Die Schriften von Accra - Paulo Coelho - Nov 19th 2016 
33.  The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus: exploring and conserving our natural world. - Jacques Cousteau and Susan Schienfelbein - Nov 28th 2016
34. Hyperion - Dan Simmons - Dec 14th 2016
35. Bared Blade - Kelly McCullough - Dec 19th, 2016
36. I Am the Messenger - Markus Zusak - Dec 24th, 2016
37. The Magician's King - Lev Grossman - Dec 30th, 2016

 


The rest, you may choose to explore on your own.  I would also recommend The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus by Jacques Cousteau, Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii, and The Method, by Juli Zeh.