Hello there, I am BookDevourer42 and I welcome all of you readers to my first fanfic, though I did work on it with my beta reader Magical-Tear till I felt it was ready to submitted, and (hopefully) free of grammar and spelling mistakes. This is a Digimon and Magic: the Gathering crossover fic, though as it mostly only uses concepts from MtG lore, I decided to place it here in the Digimon part of Fanfiction so people could actually see it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now on with the show!
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon and Magic: The Gathering. The only things I own are my OCs.
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The Multiverse: A vast existence of separate universes known as planes. These planes can be governed by any conceivable set of rules and natural laws, or even inconceivable ones. Each plane is as unique as one person is to the next. While most planes are known to have one central populated planet after which the plane is named, there could be other populated worlds that remain unrecorded as each plane is infinitely big on the inside. Binding all these planes together is the space known to those few who can travel between these worlds as the Blind Eternities. The Blind Eternities is filled with chaotic energies, mainly the Æther but also mana and temporal energy. Only a small number of beings can enter it and survive its rough environment.
A small number of those beings are godlike entities such as the Eldrazi, mysterious beings born from the Blind Eternities themselves. The rest are the Planeswalkers. Planeswalkers are those mortals born with a latent power known as the Spark. Very few souls are born with this Spark and fewer still happen to awaken it and become Planeswalkers. Most creatures born with the Spark live and die without ever knowing about it. Those who awaken it visit worlds and gain knowledge from their travels that they would have never even dreamed of. However, the Spark does not come without a cost. The Spark is most often awakened by extreme stress, often a near death experience in which it triggers to protect the individual. Most Walkers spend their lives alone, wandering from plane to plane, rarely making friends. For some, this is because they fear the conflicts that would arise over trying to control their knowledge and power if their secret ever leaked. For others, this is because they simply see non-Planeswalkers as inferior.
In days long gone, Planeswalkers were immortal, nearly infinitely powerful beings, who could create their own planes. This all ended after an event known as The Mending, in which many Planeswalkers gave up their Spark and power in order to heal a torn multiverse. This event also changed the nature of the Spark forever, making them mortal and taking away most of the additional magical power they had.
This story, one of millions about the lives of the Planeswalkers, is about Drake Vyrnsin and it starts on the plane of Quaradon just before his Spark awakens.
…
Drake stood alone in his laboratory, positioned near a small circular container. He was about to test a new invention, one that should be able to duplicate matter. The machine used a suspended cloning spell to modify magic that was entered into it to duplicate any object perfectly. This was a solution so simple and complex that only a 15 year old who had spent approximately half his life studying matters arcane and technological and how to combine them could come up with it. Eager to start the test, Drake pulled his lab goggles over his head, placed an apple in the container, and hurried over to the mana absorber. Drawing mana from the limited locations he had bonded with, Drake emptied blue, white and red mana - his specialty - into the device. As soon as Drake did, electrical energy built up in the air and made his brown hair stand on end. Mystic energies stirred the air in the building, making the end of Drake's lab coat flutter. As soon as the indicator showed that enough magical energy had been built up, Drake pressed the button that would activate the machine.
"Beep. Beep. Beep. A fatal error has occurred. Energy backup in cable X3-4 has been detected," a mechanical voice whirred.
Disappointed at the failure of the test, Drake started to take a step towards the named cable when the meaning of the error message fully sank in. His heart skipped a beat as he remembered what an energy backup meant: an explosion would occur in a few seconds. Moments later, a bright white light filled the room as the cables could no longer contain the magical pressure and the energy exploded outward. However, just as the explosion reached him, Drake felt a sudden succession of pain as he blacked out and his Spark activated, transporting him to a new plane infinitely far from his lab.
…
On another plane, a pocket plane reachable only from the apocalyptic wasteland that was once Dominaria, the ancient dragon Nicol Bolas was deep in thought. The elder dragon Planeswalker, whose lifespan surpassed that of several planes, meditated on his slow fall into insanity, and how to prevent it and restore himself to how he was before the mending.
Then, Nicol Bolas felt it. A new soul was being torn into the multiverse. One of hatred and contempt for all life and growth. Instantly, his various sub-minds began to process this information. When they were done, nearly all of them had the same thought: "I can use this."
Nico Bolas spread his ancient wings and, after internally wincing at the various pops and cracks the motion produced, took off into the Blind Eternities to find this new soul.
…
Ajani felt it before he saw the unconscious body of the boy appear a foot in the air and fall. A small twinge in the Æther of the Blind Eternities made the white Leonin realize that this boy was a Planeswalker who had just made his first walk. Ajani looked closer and saw that the boy was around 15 years of age and mostly unharmed, except for a few superficial burns. Using a small healing spell, Ajani called upon the pockets of white mana from the different planes he had travelled to, and casted the spell upon the teen. Ajani watched with satisfaction as the burned flesh turned the soft pink color of new skin. Grabbing the boy, Ajani hoisted him over his shoulder and headed back to his campsite.
…
Drake regained consciousness in a panic, the last few moments he remembered replaying in his head. He instinctively attempted to flail around but his body would not listen to his mental commands and just sat there like a sack of stones. Attempting to do something, anything, Drake found he was still able to move his eyes. As he looked around his limited view range, Drake noticed a large amount of white stuff at the edge of his vision. Attempting to move his vocal cords in an effort to form a question, a soft "wuh" exited his mouth.
Next to him, Drake saw the white stuff move slightly and from it came a rumbling voice that said, "Oh, you've awoken! I imagine you have a lot of questions, like where you are, and possibly, how you are still alive. However, now is not the time for that. While you may now be physically healed, your first Planeswalk seems to have taken a lot out of you. I suggest you sleep a bit longer."
The statements from the voice just created more confusion in Drake's mind. "What does he mean by 'possibly'? How I am still alive is a definite question, I mean I was in a huge explosion. Also what does he mean by Planeswalk?" Drake attempted to vocalize these new questions when a wave of exhaustion overcame him and he once again fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
…
Some time later, Drake once again awoke. This time, however, Drake felt much more energetic and soon realized that his body would now respond to him. Sitting up, Drake quickly lay back down as a wave of dizziness passed over him as he sat up too fast. After it passed, Drake once again sat up, this time slower and more cautiously. Looking around, he saw no sign of his mysterious rescuer, instead he saw what appeared to be a typical campsite with a large bag that clearly held a lot of stuff and a large fire pit a short distance away. The one thing that seemed out of place was the lack of obvious shelter or bedding besides the furs in which Drake was currently tucked in.
After getting used to his surroundings, Drake slowly stood up. He winced a bit as his muscles protested, and surveyed the camp's surroundings. Looking around, a large outcropping of bedrock entered his vision and beyond that some towering cliffs. Between the bedrock and the cliffs lay a pile of bones and fur, likely the remains of previous meals by the owner of the campsite. On the opposite side lay a vast plain with trees dotted here and there. Drake looked out along the plain as he searched the horizon for a figure, guessing that his rescuer might have gone out to get some food. After a few minutes of searching, Drake spotted a slowly growing silhouette. Sitting down cross-legged, Drake decided to wait for the figure to approach.
Once the figure got closer Drake started to call out to it, but as he got a better look at it the words caught in his throat. Walking towards him was a large, white, bipedal lion. Drake immediately scrambled up and attempted to run in the opposite direction, his heart racing. Unfortunately, as Drake started, he managed to trip and fall. As Drake attempted to get back up, he heard the lion yell out to him and it made him freeze.
"Wait, don't be afraid."
It was the same voice from earlier. Drake stopped, stunned at the similarity, then slowly turned around and sat down, coming to the conclusion that if this was the same being then he was safe, and if not there was little he could do anyway.
Soon after, the lion walked up to where Drake was and spoke. "Thank you for stopping. Now before we get to answering the probably numerous questions that you have right now, please let me set this up to cook."
After that, while the white lion busied himself with making a fire and taking the meat out of the animal carcass he had arrived with - a process Drake had to look away from - Drake focused on getting comfortable on the pile of furs he had woken up in. Finally as the meat was starting to cook, the lion turned around and introduced himself.
"My name is Ajani Goldmane, a Nacatl leonin, from the area on the plane of Alara formerly known as the shard of Naya, and like you, I am a Planeswalker."
"A planeswhat?" Drake asked, startled that Ajani was calling him something that he did not know about.
"A Planeswalker," Ajani responded.
"And what is that?" Drake wondered.
"Well it's … Hm. How to explain it?" Ajani thought out loud. After thinking for a little bit, Ajani started up again, "Well …" Ajani said before launching into a description of what a Planeswalker was that Drake barely managed to follow.
"So you are saying that the explosion I was in caused me to awaken as a Planeswalker." He paused, looking at Ajani for confirmation. "And that because I am a Planeswalker then I can walk between different universes which are known as planes."
"Sounds like you got the gist of it," said Ajani happily.
"Well then, let me properly introduce myself. My name is Drake Vyrnsin from the plane of Quaradon. I am a user of red, blue and white magic1, and a scientist. Now that you have answered my question of what happened to me, I have two more questions. Where are we and how can I get home?"
"I will answer your second question later, when you are better rested and able to do it," Ajani responded wondering what Drake meant by 'red, blue and white magic'. "As for where we are, I am not sure. This is just one of many planes I have traveled to while searching for my friend."
"Judging by the fact that you're looking for them by walking, I can only assume they are also a Planeswalker. Is that correct?" Drake asked, intrigued.
"Yes, her name is Elspeth. I met her after my second walk on my home plane of Alara, back when it was split into five shards." Ajani seemed to sadden slightly as he recalled the events he was talking about.
"Wait, what do you mean five shards?" Drake queried, even more interested and intent on learning more about his rescuer's past.
And so, Ajani started talking about himself. About his life on Naya, where he was tormented by the other leonin of his tribe and hunted by humans due to his white pelt, how the evil Planeswalker Nicol Bolas took advantage of the conflux of the shards of Alara, five planes that had once been one, so he could absorb the energy caused by the union and regain his godlike powers of old.
And so Ajani continued. As he talked, he told Drake about the other Planeswalkers he had met besides Elspeth: the fierce master of beasts, Garruk Wildspeaker, and the free spirited pyromaster, Chandra Nalaar. They talked throughout the night, and the next few days, stopping only to sleep, and get food, till Ajani decided that Drake was well enough to go home.
...
After about 3 days of resting and talking, Ajani finally decided that Drake was ready to begin his journey home.
"Before I tell you how to walk I must warn you: Every Planeswalker experiences loneliness. The loneliness that comes from being completely unique from almost everyone you know. Some go mad, others tell people their secret and knowledge, hoping to gain fame and power. However, that path often leads to even more loneliness as others attempt to use you for your power. Many carry the loneliness and sadness within themselves as they travel. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you good luck," Ajani cautioned.
Drake looked down for a moment, thinking on what could happen to him. Looking up and forcing those sad thoughts out of his mind, Drake said, "Thank you for that warning, Ajani. I hope one day we meet again. Now, please tell me how to get home."
"Every Planeswalker's experience with walking between planes is different, so I can't exactly tell you how to do it. However, most Planeswalker's find walking an instinctual part of their being. Therefore, the best advice I can give you is to focus in on yourself."
"I'll try," Drake said. Closing his eyes, Drake waited for something to happen. Soon Drake saw a small light that started lighting up the dark space inside his mind. Focusing on it Drake felt himself drawn into it. As quickly as it grew, the light then receded. He opened his eyes as soon as it receded fully, eager to see the Blind Eternities for himself.
…
An endless, chaotic landscape stretched out before him. Mountains and valleys formed only to quickly dissipate, and through it all ran the five colors of mana. White, blue, black, red and green lines ran everywhere like some frenzied kid's drawing. Here and there the lines pooled and joined at what Drake assumed were the representations of worlds in this place. A strong wind from some unknown source buffeted him. Looking upon this landscape of impossibility, only three words occurred to him. "What the fuck!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, Drake felt a tug pulling him in one direction. Hoping it was the pull of his home plane, Drake let it take him where it would. And so Drake walked, up the hills of impossibility and through the valleys of improbability, till he reached the conflux of mana lines he was being pulled towards. Steeling himself for a second, Drake walked forward and into what he hoped was his world.
...
Drake felt tears come to his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings. Drake had landed where he had left. His lab was almost nothing but piles of twisted metal and ashes. So many prototypes and plans destroyed in a single instant. Picking a path through the rubble, Drake eventually stumbled up to a large blast proof safe where the smaller and complete inventions were kept.
After making sure that the safe had not been damaged by the explosion, Drake unlocked it and reached in. After a few seconds of rummaging around, Drake pulled out what looked like a bar of metal. This bar was one of a few of Drake's special possessions that he felt he might need while traveling. Made from a metal native to his country, this bar was lightweight and extremely strong. Along with that it also had another property that made it extremely useful: By channeling mana into it, the channeler could change its shape at will.
Drake stood up, holding the bar in one hand and locking the safe with the other. He then headed over to another blast proof door and opened it. Walking down a small corridor and down a small flight of stairs, Drake entered his living quarters. Rummaging through the large amount of stuff he had, Drake eventually pulled out some camping supplies and a backpack. After packing everything Drake thought he might need, he hoisted the backpack onto his shoulders and planeswalked away, eager to begin his journey.
…
3 Years Later (by Drake's personal time)
A dark figure stood in the air, looking over a burning suburb, and grinned to itself as it surveyed its work. People ran here and there like ants from an upturned ant hill. Once proud, if not strikingly similar, homes were now smoldering piles of ruin or giant bonfires. A strange movement among the chaos caught the figure's eyes and it looked down to see a line of armed men below. The figure heard the command to fire and casually outstretched a hand, bringing to life a barrier that flashed red, blue, and black between it and the bullets. Next the figure raised the same hand over it's head. The air above stretched and ripped in several places, revealing the chaos that existed beyond the skin of the world. The chaos solidified and took shape, extending from the rips and forming burning balls of metal. As the rips behind the balls closed, the figure lowered it's arm quickly, sending the fiery balls of metal flying in all directions. The figure took one last moment to watch the impacts before the skin of the world once again ripped and folded around the figure, allowing it to leave the earth burning beneath.
…
Drake smiled to himself as he walked through the Blind Eternities towards Quaradon. He was finally returning home after his long period of exploration and learning in other planes. He was very different from the young man who had left his home 3 years ago. Instead of lab goggles, a pair of goggles with mizzium (the extremely durable and fireproof metal utilized by the scientist guild of the Izzet) frames were perched atop his head, and he had traded out his lab coat for a heavier and more protective trench coat. He had also formed many bonds with a wide variety of locations across the multiverse, and expanded his magical repertoire considerably.
He soon reached the conflux of mana lines that represented his home plane in the Blind Eternities. Drake focussed on an image of his parents' house, and walked forward and onto Quaradon.
A surprising sight greeted Drake's eyes when he opened them. He found himself in the midst of a smoldering, ruined building. He quickly recognized the building as his parents' house due to the few remaining items left untouched by whatever had happened here. As the acrid smell of smoke made its way into his nose and the reality of the situation sank in, he became worried and started to wonder what had happened here. Wanting to find out, Drake started forward to the remains of the front door.
Drake became alarmed as he stepped out. All around him were giant piles of rubble where there had once been houses. Drake looked around at the people making their way along the street towards various piles. Yelling out to the closest person, Drake asked "Hey, what happened here?"
The man looked up, his expression curious, and Drake recognized his father, John, whose expression shifted from curious to one of recognition, and then one of utter fury.
"You!" he shouted, face and voice contorted with absolute rage, "What are you doing here? Come to gloat over the destruction you caused? And what's with this 'What happened here?', you know exactly what happened! After all, you did it!" he rushed towards Drake, along with several people who had looked up and towards the commotion.
Drake, stunned by the words and actions of his father, took a small step back and said with a quavering voice: "Wait, what are you talking about? I only just got here. Please tell me what is going on." These words, however only seemed to enrage John more. Running up to Drake, John punched him hard in the gut, making Drake fall over. John quickly followed up by stomping on Drake, who had quickly curled up to protect his head. More feet soon joined the cascade on Drake's back.
As each blow fell upon Drake, he whimpered. As his body, strengthened by his journey, started to reach the breaking point he searched his mind for a spell to stop the rain of feet. Out of the depths of his mind he saw an image of a man wrapped in a mantle of flames and dragon scales. Pulling mana from the mountains of the various planes he had visited, he attempted to cast a small spell that would emulate the fiery mantle from the image in his mind, one that would wrap his body in a cloak of flames and protect him. However, due to the stress of the moment and the shock of being attacked by those he had trusted, he quickly lost control of the spell. Soon the small cloak of flames grew to become a raging pillar of fire. This pillar forced back his attackers as intended, however it burned many of them severely.
As the flames flickered and died, Drake looked up in fear at what had just happened. He was shocked by the damage he had just caused and the looks on the faces of those who, until a moment ago, had been the most important people to him. Drake looked into their eyes and saw nothing but hatred, fear and shock. As he looked at them and they looked back at him, only one thought entered his mind: "I have to get out of here." Drake quickly focussed on his spark and, after drawing mana to power up the Planeswalking spell, quickly left the plane of Quaradon behind.
…
Through the chaotic nothingness of the Blind Drake wandered through the Blind Eternities with his head bowed. He no longer cared where he was going or even if he reached another plane at all. He walked on, thinking only about what had just happened to him. His excited return to Quaradon had quickly turned into a nightmarish series of events. His arrival in a ruined building, the attack on him by his family and friends, and his own attempt to stop the attack going horribly wrong. Those stares that were a mixture of hatred, fear, and shock. Those stares were constantly on his mind and because of them he did not care if he wandered till he died, till his spark went out and the strong winds of probability tore his body apart in a matter of seconds after his death.
Drake walked on.
Suddenly, he felt an immense pain as his astral form accidentally brushed against a plane and was sucked, bit by bit, into the plane. He yelled for a brief second then blacks out.
End of Chapter 1.
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1Drake's home plane of Quaradon would have analyzed magic scientifically, as it is more technologically inclined than most other planes that also have mana in them. This would have led them to discovering the fact that the different types of magic can be split into 5 distinct groups, each one seemingly associated with a color. Most other planes, not having the right combination of an adequate level of technology, and enough natural mana that Quaradon has would not have discovered this.
So there you go, chapter 1 is done yet not a digimon in sight. Don't worry though, they'll show up next chapter. Also, can anyone who knows MtG guess exactly what spell that Drake is remembering at the end before it went haywire? I'll give a few hints: its a red enchantment from Theros, and it's name has two words both of which are in the description I gave. Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter to the end. Now on the subject of update timing I can not promise anything. My time available to write changes greatly each day, which will probably end up with long pauses between chapters unless I'm on a break from school. If you enjoyed this please leave a review telling me, and if you didn't (or even if you did) I would love to have some constructive criticism from readers. Finally I want to thank my Beta Reader, without whom this fic would be much worse: Magical-Tear.
