Zendikar

Ashen wastes spanned far beyond view, deafeningly silent and desolate. There was no life, no sound of song birds or hissing of jungle serpents that once resided here. Here was Bala Ged: A dead land whose silence was endless, except for the nauseating, ungodly sound of the Eldrazi. By now, the eldritch abominations were chasing the still living across the world, consuming all life they touched. Then, in the midst of the ashes, life just appeared from nowhere in the form of two women.

Belinda R. Scale appeared in a swirl of sparkling, gemstone colors. Now almost 18, she was basically done growing at five feet and six inches with a 130lbs hourglass figure. She had soft ivory skin with a light pink tint to her cheeks, magenta lips, a beauty mark on her left cheekbone, and scars marring her back and tattoos of dragons covering the ones on her right arm. The right ring finger had been cut off and her hand was scarred from where a knife had been run through the palm. Her hair was crow black with poofy bangs over her forehead and two French braids starting above her ears, meeting in the back, and woven into a larger braid down her back. She had almond-shaped eyes with thick lashes framing the amethyst irises that were catlike due to the slit pupils. She dressed in a purple tunic with a Queen Anne neckline and silver embroidery along the hems and neckline, a black leather corset with a purple satin ribbon and side panels adorned with purple steel scales, black leggings, black leather boots, bracers, and a belt with a simple pouch; and an amethyst sphere hanging on a beaded chain, each bead a different gemstone. She was armed with a beautiful scimitar of carved, elven steel from a world distant from Zendikar, a sword named Dragonbane.

Dione Desidenius appeared in a burst of crimson, midnight blue, and a deep violet. Twenty-seven years old, she was a slim woman, standing only two inches taller than her companion. She was half-Human, half-Dark Elf from the plane of Nirn, ears short with a rounded point adorned; silvery skin with a bluish tint and lilac lips and cheeks; lilac eyes, and boyishly-short, tidy, snowy colored hair. Her own scars were mostly on her fingers from years of wielding magic, archery, her failures at alchemy, and the one time she botched a job, where a lockpick had snapped back and cut her forefinger. How did that even happen?! She wore leather armor with many belts and pouches that carried potions, alchemical ingredients, her thieving tools, various kits for repairing things, a wet stone for her sword, twine, and so on. The armor itself consisted of a light grey, sleeveless vest, medium grey trousers, and dark grey boots, gloves, and everything else, including the hood. The only jewelry she wore was a stylized nightingale pendant on a silver chain. The pendant matched the guard of her sword, which was a titanium blade with a wooden, dark grey handle and gemstone pommel. It was lightweight but could slice wood with enough practice. She also had a long bow made from similar wood to that of her sword's hilt and matching arrows tipped with dark heads.

Belinda took a look around, examining their surroundings. The yellow-grey sky and the ground covered in ash. She knelt done and dug for like, but the ash was deep. No grass, no dirt, no bugs or worms, no…nothing. Even the ash felt wrong. It felt coarse like sand but it wasn't…the right size. She rubbed it between her hands. Felt like sand, just on a much smaller scale. She then thought about it, considered it heavily, knew she would regret it, and licked it. She quickly spat it out and shook her hands. Dione raised a brow at her.

"Why did you lick it then?" she asked, voice soft and smooth like honey.

"Because I have the mentality of a five-year-old sometimes," Belinda answered, cringing. Her voice was unintentionally loud and a bit childlike. "Tasted like a really bad mix of salt and ashes." She grabbed her water bottle and tried to erase the flavor from her mouth.

Dione knelt, brushing her hand across the salt? Ash? Sand? "But it's neither salt nor ash?" she questioned, taking a handful before letting it fall from her hand. There's no wind, she realized as the substance fell straight to the ground. She tilted her ears forward to hear better: Silence. A sick feeling welled in her gut and she rose. She listened closer.

Belinda then saw something by a pile of the substance and went over. She found a body. A tall, grown male with alabaster skin and white hair. Tendrils hung off his chin. He wore leathers and had a red ribbon around one arm. She knelt and checked him. Dead only a few hours. His body still contained magic. She reached pulled the threads. Lithomancy. She smiled and stored it in the howlite bead. That was a magic she had wanted in her arsenal for some time. However, something was wrong. In a place so devoid of life, why was this body still here, full of magic?

"What is he?" Dione asked, moving closer to see what her companion had found.

"Some subhuman," Belinda answered. "Hmm, assuming that this is his natural skin color and that his hair was always white…" She thought about it. She knew the name of the race. It was on the tip of her tongue. Something beginning with K? Oh! "He's a Kor!" She turned back to Dione. "They're a race native to Zendikar, though they can be found on a few other planes like Dominaria, but Dominaria has a little bit of everything thrown in there."

Dione nodded, but looking around, she noticed something else. Here was a dead body alone in a wasteland with no life or magic. So, why weren't there others? "Um, Belinda…"

"Yeah?"

"How did he die?" Dione asked.

Belinda looked down. "Huh…There's nothing obvious." She looked closely. "Bruising on the neck, but it doesn't look like he was strangled by hand. Something was wrapped around his neck."

"Why aren't there other bodies? Why is this one just right here alone?" Dione asked.

Belinda froze. Why weren't there any other bodies? Slowly and stiffly, she glanced around. "Oh crap…" she muttered. This was a trap.

What looked to have been a tree once exploded and a monstrosity came at them with long, bony arms, slithering on tendrils in blues and pinks. Its face was a blank, bony mask. It was tall as a tree. Belinda and Dione paled, and then literally ran for the hills.

"Fucky, fucky, fucky, fucky, fucky, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Belinda screamed as she ran.

"What is that?! Your favorite word or something?!" Dione asked.

"HA!" Belinda snapped. She jumped over something, probably a fallen tree. Not anymore at least. She took a glance over her shoulder as the thing followed at a surprising speed. It was dragging itself on its bony hands, and the tendrils speed to propel it, though that seem illogical considering they weren't underwater. Clearly, this monster was meant to defy logical, especially with the ungodly sounds it made. She wanted to throw up as she heard the noises. It was so loud and nauseating. But still she ran.

"What is that thing?!" Dione asked, forcing Belinda to look back to the faster woman ahead of her.

"I don't know; Lucien never described these things!" she responded.

"Then we need to Planeswalk!" Dione shouted.

"We're too stressed," Belinda called back. "If we 'walk now we'll just end up tossing ourselves around the eternities and probably to someplace worse!"

They came to a dead end: A sheer, ninety degree cliff that couldn't be climbed down. Dione knew. Her eyes were sharp and keen as she looked over the edge. There were no safe way to climb down, and the fall was too great to survive. She looked back to the charging abomination.

"Seems we're out of choices though," she pointed out. She took a deep breath and let go.

Belinda closed her eyes and fell through the ground. When she opened them, soundless wind ripped at her. Her senses heard, saw, felt, tastes, smelled, and sensed everything and nothing. The sound of dragons bellowing beside her, the crash of a wave almost knocking her down, surrounded by trees, and so much more! She pushed through something and emerged on the other side…Underwater?!

Hadroia

There was no warning, and water quickly filled her lungs. She closed her mouth and floated upward. She followed the direction she had been floating and swam hard. Her eyes stung from the salt water, her lungs burned, and felt her vision starting to go dark until…

She broke the surface, coughing up water and trying to not go back under. She saw something coming toward her through her blurred vision. She kicked her legs to stay afloat until hands grabbed her and pulled on onto the small boat. She panted, coughing more water. She flopped to the floor, groaning. Someone came and rolled her onto her back. They poured clean water in her eyes, clearing around the salt water and her vision. She blinked, and the sight of her friend and fellow Planeswalker, the Merfolk Zephyr came into view.

"Zephyr?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my home, and it seems my timing is impeccable," the Merfolk answered. He was tall and lanky, not an unusual trait for Merfolk universally, with sleek blue skin and fins on his forearms and calves as well as his long, Elf-like ears. His eyes were a perfect ocean blue and he had something not commonly seen in Merfolk across the Multiverse: Hair. He had a full head of inky black hair that fell to his waist with two strands crimped just above his rounded chin. He wore a breezy, pale blue shirt with puffy sleeves that ended just above his elbows, black trousers that fell to his knees, and brown leather bracers and gauntlets that were made to get in the way of his fins. He was good looking. "We hauled Dione in a moment ago."

Belinda turned, seeing her friend soaked and smelling like fish. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"No," Dione answered coldly. She was not amused. "Did we piss off some insane god or something today? Or is this one of those times where we really shouldn't have gotten out of bed today?"

Something hit the boat, causing it to rock.

"I'm guessing this is one of those times where we really shouldn't have gotten out of bed today," Belinda answered.

A massive creature emerged from the water, growling and glaring with yellow eyes.

"Huh, a sea dragon," Zephyr muttered. "You almost never see them this close to the surface."

The sea dragon opened its mouth and dove right at the much smaller boat. Everyone screamed and abandoned ship. Zephyr grabbed Belinda and Dione and created bubbles. He quickly plopped them over their heads and led them into the water. They narrowly evaded the dragon and swam. He took their hands and moved swiftly. They arrived at a group of trees that grew well above the surface of the water. The women wondered how they had missed that. The trees were pale underwater, with fruits that glowed to illuminate the murky green water. Fish darted around and they saw what looked like wolves swimming. Belinda stopped and stared. Seadogs? Sea wolves? This change relatively recent. They had evolved from actual wolves while maintaining their nature. It was incredible to see, especially when a fish that evolved from a deer swam by! The sea wolves gave chase. Zephyr came and towed Belinda along.

"So, this world is seventy-five percent underwater?" Belinda asked.

"More like eighty percent," Zephyr answered.

"But it wasn't always like this?" Belinda asked, watching more wildlife swim by.

"The city elder was there when the lands sank," Zephyr answered. "A thousand years ago, to World Walkers arrived here and devastated the lands. The one felt grief and warned the people to the tops of trees and mountains while he drowned most of the world save it from his quarry's damage. Life continued and grew to adapt to the new way of life. My grandmother is still an elf. I am part of the generation of elves born fully as Merfolk."

Belinda nodded. Elves evolved fast due to their long lives. They swam until they reached a village that started on the ground and wound its way above water. Zephyr led them above the surface to the houses grown from the tree. They climbed a latter onto a deck. Elves, Humans, Merfolk, and Aven looked their way as Zephyr pulled the women up and popped the bubbles around their heads.

"Can you take us some place to get fresh clothes?" Belinda asked. "The leather is wet and will get ruined…"

Zephyr nodded and led them to a nice house where an Elven woman with grey hair and blue eyes wove a basket. Another Elf who looked more like a Merfolk was working with her. Merfolk children of Elven descent played. When Zephyr walked in, the children smiled brightly.

"Zephyr!" the cheered, running over and tackle-hugging him to the ground.

"Hey brats!" he greeted with a smile.

"Tell us a story!"

"Where did you go this time?!"

"Did you see any Dragons?!"

"Angels! Tell us about the Angels!"

"How long are you staying this time?!"

"Children!" one of the women snapped. "Get off your brother and let him breathe. Besides, this is not how we behave around guests."

The children now noticed the two wet women standing in the doorway. The young woman stood and came over. "Come. Let's get you two dry and in fresh clothes." She led them to another room.

Theros

It was the next day after a good night's sleep when Belinda and Dione realized just how exhausted they really were. The leathers were dried and thankfully undamaged. Zephyr led them to them to the shipyard where they could safely Planeswalk. Now they were somewhere else not home. Dione looked around, confused.

"Um, where are we?" she asked before Hell broke loose.

Belinda was into a tree, certain she had broken her right arm. Then again, she used to her right arm taking the blunt of abuse. Dione turned and saw a giant, one larger than the ones back home. Parts of its body seemed to be made of the night sky. It turned to stomp on her and she bolted out of the way. She ran, drawing her bow once at a safe enough distance and pulled out an arrow.

"Nocturnal, guide my arrow," she whispered, and launched the arrow into the giant's face. It pierced its eye.

The giant stopped dead in its tracked, trying to remove the arrow by only embedding it further in. A strange substance leaked from its eye. It settled for closing the wounded eye and came after Dione.

"NOOOOOPE!" she shouted, running away. She stopped at the edge of a forest where folk with the upper body of Humans and the lower body of horses, well, more like cows, emerged. They were armed with bows and spears. They galloped past Dione, attacking the giant. Ce-Cen-Centaurs? That's what Lucien called them, right? Belinda came over, cradling her now-broken arm.

"So, yesterday we get nearly eaten twice and this day was supposed to be better?" she wondered. "Let's get to Ravnica and see Emmara about this."

"Right," Dione agreed.

They shimmered out of existence once again…

Kaladesh

They arrived in the middle of a busy street, almost got run over by…cars? Belinda looked around once they were safely on the sidewalk. Dione was confused. This didn't feel like Ravnica. Something compelled her to look up. The sky was so vibrant and blue, but the clouds took strange, spiral formations. It seemed to be a theme here, with beautiful brass filigree on the buildings and machines. Sharp-beaked metal things hovered through the air and machine people and animals walked among Humans, Elves, Vedalken, Aetherborn, and Dwarves, all dressed fancy and in bright colors. A lot of folk wore goggles and gloves and carried tools or scrap. Dione felt extremely plain.

"This is Kaladesh," Belinda reported. "This is where Aetherborn exists."

Dione looked and saw others like their friend Astral back home. Like Astral, there was a turquoise glow to them and favored finery. Of course, Dione's idea of finery was Kaladesh's idea is plain. This didn't help with making her feel more than plain. "Nice place but I feel underdressed," she pointed out. She looked to Belinda, who wore brighter clothes, though not by much. It was still her travel gear.

"I know right?" Belinda responded. "Kaladesh is so bright and beautiful, and here we are marring the landscape."

Dione snorted. "Should we leave?" she asked.

"Let's. After some food though. Even as Planeswalkers, 'walking is a pain in the ass," Belinda answered, stomach growling.

"But we have no currency from Kaladesh," Dione pointed out.

"We don't, but Lucien does," Belinda assured her. She reached into her belt pouch and took out a turquoise wallet with a swirling pattern on it. The pattern was carefully painted a brass color with a brass zipper. She held the wallet in her left hand and pulled the zipper open with

"Lucien has currencies for different planes?" Dione asked, raising a brow.

"He says it's important to be well off on various planes," Belinda answered, making sure they had enough for a meal. "So, let's go get some food from one of the venders." She closed the wallet and passed it to Dione so she could put together a makeshift sling for her arm.

Ravnica

Stomachs full, the two Planeswalked to Ravnica. It was large, bustling plane, never quiet with towering buildings. It was more angles than curves, and their people's idea of finery was relatively the same as Dione's. So here, they didn't quite stick out like on Kaladesh. They 'walked into the middle of an important landmark with nine pillars bearing the symbols of nine guilds. Dione was told there had been ten.

"Belinda, if there's ten guilds, why do I only see nine pillars?" Dione asked, looking around.

"That's because House Dimir is Ravnica's most poorly kept secret," Belinda answered, arm resting in a sling. "Up until the dissolution of the Guildpact, Planeswalkers couldn't come here. Lucien said he had only been here once before the Guildpact. A couple decades ago, he came back and met Emmara soon after. Though by then the guilds were starting to kind of collapse without the Guildpact. They still stayed, but were significantly weaker. The reason the Guildpact was dissolved was because House Dimir was publicly exposed and acknowledged, which found an important loophole, and long story short, Ravnica properly rejoined the Multiverse and Planeswalkers were coming and going as well as being born here."

"You mean the Guildpact prevented their birth here?" Dione asked, shocked. "A contract was that powerful that it prevented the births of something potentially stronger than it? Who the Hell had that kind of power?!"

"An Old 'Walker," Belinda answered, starting to walk toward Vitu Ghazi. "Azor I was a powerful law mage not originally from Ravnica. According to Lucien, he gave up quite a bit to cut Ravnica off from the Multiverse."

"Aether was still coming in though, right?" Dione asked.

"Somehow," Belinda answered, "though much less. Enough less so that Planeswalkers couldn't be born and made certain beings rarer and weaker."

They finally arrived at the gates of Vitu Ghazi where a snake-like being stood guard. She was female with a cobra head with a long, serpentine body. That made Belinda pause. Cobra-headed Nagas on Ravnica? Ravnica had Nagas sure, but they were in the Simic Combine and Golgari Swarm, and their bodies were thicker and their heads were more like other types of snakes. This Naga's unusual appearance on Ravnica made Belinda peer deeper, and she found a Spark. That made sense. This Naga was a Planeswalker, and likely fell in with the Selesnya Conclave because of something from home. The serpentine woman was an emerald green color with a soft white front. She wore green and white with shining armor and a tabard bearing the crest of the Selesnya Conclave.

"Welcome," the Naga Planeswalker greeted.

"Hi, we're here to see Emmara Tandris," Belinda responded.

"She is in council with Trostani," the Naga told them. "I can take you to her home here in Vitu Ghazi in a moment when my relief arrives, but first: Why do you wish to see her?"

"My arm is broken and she healed me before," Belinda answered.

"Very well. Please wait."

"Thank you," Belinda told her.

They waited a bit. The relief, a Centaur and an Elf, arrived soon after to relieve the Naga and the Human that had guarded the entrance. The Naga led them to the cottage where Emmara resided. The Naga slithered ahead of them while Belinda leaned in to whisper to Dione.

"Planeswalker," she told her companion. "She's also a Druid."

"Impressive," Dione muttered, and they soon arrived at the cottage.

"So, where are you from?" Belinda asked the Naga.

"Oh, around," she answered, blinking.

"Around Ravnica or around the Multiverse?" Belinda asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You're a Planeswalker."

"I…Don't know what…You're talking about!"

"Relax, you're among friends," Belinda assured. "I'm not Ravnican either. I'm from Earth. Yeah, I know. Stupid name, right? Which is why I nicknamed it Terrestial. Much more interesting."

"And I'm from Nirn," Dione pointed out.

"Oh. I'm from Amonkhet," the Naga told them. "I'm Vera, formerly a Druid who served Rhonas and Oketra. I left when I learned my life on Amonkhet was a lie. Then I found the Selesnya here on Ravnica, who represent the strength and solidarity I loved about my gods."

"Amonkhet? I've never heard of it," Belinda pointed out. "I should make a note to go there some time."

"You won't find the vacation spot you're hoping for," Vera warned. "Nothing but wasteland and wasted potential. Damn the God-Pharaoh, may his return never come and if he does, may someone be found worthy to strike him down." It sounded like a different form of an old mantra she had repeated to herself for years.

Belinda and Dione exchanged glances. "God-Pharaoh?" Dione asked. She was always inquisitive about new terms and learning about various worlds and customs.

"His name is Nicol Bolas," Vera answered.

"Ah, the oversized leather handbag," Belinda joked.

Old habits clearly die hard because Vera gave her the sort of look a zealot would give a heretic. Belinda burst out laughed and Dione snorted and tried to stifle her giggles. Vera relaxed a bit. She remembered she was on Ravnica and not Amonkhet. She managed a chuckle, forked tongue flicking out. She was safe from the wrath of her gods and the fanatical residents of her old home.

"But yeah, oversized leather handbag sounds just about right," Belinda pointed out.

"Vera?" called a soft, sweet voice. The woman that approached now was a tall, blond elf in a beautiful. This was Emmara Tandris.

"Miss Tandris, these visitors have come for healing," Vera responded, a bit shyly and bowing lowly. She was still unused to the customs of Ravnica and treated those of higher rank than her with utmost respect. Despite leaving everything behind, her discipline still stuck.

"Relax, Vera," Emmara said, and the Naga did so. The Elf then turned to Belinda and Dione. "Rakdos again?" she asked them, seeing Belinda's broken arm.

"Eh, Giant actually," Belinda pointed out. "I guess maybe. I didn't get much time between being kicked and hitting a wall to see if it was Boros or Gateless or worse."

Emmara sighed. "You two have a genius for trouble, you know that right?" she asked. "Anyway, come inside and we'll get your arm taken care of." She unlocked her front door, opening it. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You are friends with Lucien after all…"