Part 3: Zendikar

Chapter 11

Shadow Terrain

"Alright," Julna said, holding up the rock once more, "Try it again."

Thalia huffed. "I just can't get it! I'm trying as hard as I can! Remember, I'm not as strong as you."

"I agree, but that doesn't mean you're a weakling either. The first time I used my shadow to move things, I moved a solid stone door. This rock should take the same amount of effort. What's important is gathering your concentration to reach for the mana."

Thalia shuddered. "It feels… evil, somehow. Black mana just doesn't feel right."

"Nothing is evil unless someone makes it so. Sorin used his magic with me to trap the Eldrazi, remember?"

She sighed. "I guess…"

"Then just keep telling yourself that."

She drew a breath. "Okay, here goes nothing." Julna felt her drawing black mana from the sources he had shown her. Her shadow detached from her feet and streaked across the distance between them. It stopped, hesitating as it reached out to grab the stone's shadow, which was clearly defined under the afternoon sun. It made contact with the stone and tried to pull it upward; it wobbled, rose an inch, and then shot towards Thalia. She caught it as it flew, looking thrilled.

"I did it!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Yes, yes you did," Julna responded, smiling, "And about time too. Now that you learned how to focus enough, I wonder if you'll be able to detach other shadows soon..."

She stopped and said, looking curious, "What does that do?"

"Well, once you have some magical object, you can create shades. Other than that, the detached shadow allows you to draw on stores of Æther mana that are released when you take it. The mana will help you fight ethereal beings, and hopefully the Eldrazi as well."

Thalia looked eager as she said, "Can I try now?"

He thought for a moment. "Why not? I can spare a few more minutes."

She frowned at this. "Where are you going?"

"To Zendikar; I want to scout out the place to figure out where would be the best area to attack the Eldrazi, and, of course, to see how the Æther mana works on them."

"And I can't come with you?"

"You're only just learning how to use your umbreomancy; it's too dangerous. Now, what can you do with that shadow right there?" He pointed at the shadow her house created as it blocked the sun.

Thalia approached it and reached down. She frowned and said, "I don't feel anything."

"Concentrate. The black mana will help your hands know the difference between the simple absence of light and the shadow itself."

"There's a difference?"

"The shadow that you see is nothing but the absence of light. What I have discovered is that within it is the dark aspect of the structure itself, which has power you can exploit."

She nodded and tried to grab it again. This time, she manged to pull on it, detaching what looked like magical smoke from the dark patch of ground. She looked triumphant as she watched it. Julna stepped forward and swiped Urza's cloak through the shadow, drawing on mana as he did so. He whipped the cloak around, and a shade settled itself. It opened its eyes and said, to Julna, "What do you wish of me, master?"

"I am not your master," Julna replied, and pointed to Thalia, "She is."

The shade looked at Thalia and nodded.

Thalia looked confused. "What do I do with it?" She asked tentatively.

"You can hide it in your shadow until you need it. As for its purpose, what have you seen me do with Falderin? Shades are useful things to have. They can control minds, act as scouts, and even sense enemy magic, among other things."

She nodded and told the shade, "Hide in my shadow until I call you."

"As you wish, mistress," it said, and sank into the ground at her feet.

She looked alarmed. "I can feel its mind."

"It's fine," Julna said calmly, "It's so it knows what you need, and so you can call it back out."

She glared at him. "Not that I'll need to, because someone won't let me help them."

Julna sighed. "You have no idea of the dangers of Zendikar. The Eldrazi are unlike anything you have ever seen. They are more powerful than Griselbrand, Avacyn, or Lukarme, possibly all of them combined."

"Maybe I'd begin to know the dangers if you brought me along on a scouting trip. Lukarme told us that I'd be in this fight, so don't think you can keep me out of it. Besides," she said, much quieter, "What do you think would happen to me if you never came back?"

Julna sighed again, this time in defeat. "Alright, I'll take you with me. But remember for the future that what you just said is how I feel about your safety as well."

She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll never forget it."

He smiled and kissed her back. "Good."

They went to the cathedral to tell Sorin and Avacyn that they were sitting off. As Julna expected, Sorin wasn't happy.

"You're taking her to the plane where Eldrazi are running rampant!?" He shouted, "Are you absolutely insane?"

"She's as much a part of this as me, so Lukarme says," Julna reminded him, "And would you rather have her first to to Zendikar when she's to do battle with them? This way, she can get to know the terrain without having a god-like being intent on destroying her."

Avacyn looked worried as well. "I do not feel that this is a good idea, Julna; something tells me so. Still, I know better than to fight against Thalia's decision. You wish to go with him?" She said, to Thalia.

Thalia nodded and stayed silent. Sorin scoffed. "We're supposed to be thinking of a way to defeat the Eldrazi, not die at their hands."

"Sorin, it's only a scouting trip. I don't intend to get any closer to the Eldrazi than a mile."

Sorin stood there, thinking of a counter-argument. When he couldn't think of any, he threw up his hands and said, "Fine, on your own heads be it!" He stormed out of the cathedral.

Avacyn watched him go, then turned back to Thalia and said, "Please be careful."

"We will," Thalia replied.

"Then go, before Sorin changes his mind."

Thalia nodded and turned to Julna. "Have you figured out how to take multiple people yet?"

"I think so," he said, "The words I normally say tell the cloak to only take me, but if I change the wording to include you, it should work."

"Well, no time like the present."

At that point, Sorin came back in, but he didn't seem as if he were about to argue again.

"Yes?" Julna said innocently, "Did you want something else?"

"No," Sorin said, "But I needed you to know something. You're scouting out Zendikar; I, on the other hand, am off to a plane called Tarkir."

Julna frowned. "I've planeswalked across many planes, but I've never heard of it."

"Neither had I, until I followed Sarkhan Vol from Zendikar. It's his home plane."

"The one where all dragons are extinct?"

"Exactly."

"Why would you want to go there?" Julna asked incredulously.

"Because Sarkhan is there, and not only does he have experience with the Eldrazi, but he has the lone surviving piece of the Eye of Ugin."

Julna was astonished, while Thalia and Avacyn were understandably confused.

"What's the Eye of Ugin?" Thalia asked.

"Back when I was a lithomancer," Julna explained, "Sorin, Ugin, and I worked together to destroy the Eldrazi. It didn't work, so we took a different tactic. I fashioned thousands of stone hedrons to trap them in. Ugin breathed magic and his own special mana into a central hedron to hold the prison together. The Eldrazi were released when three planeswalkers, Jace Beleren, Chandra Nalaar, and Sarkhan Vol all gathered in the chamber where the Eye was hidden. Under the pressure of magic and three planeswalker sparks, the Eye was destroyed, and I didn't think any of the pieces survived."

"Well," Sorin said matter-of-factly, "One piece survived. Sarkhan took it to Tarkir. I'm hoping to find him and convince him to help us."

"And why did you need to tell me this?" Julna asked.

"To let you know that I won't be around to help for a while. Sarkhan was completely insane on Zendikar and was trying to kill all planeswalkers there. Which reminds me, there's someone else you need to watch out for."

"Who?"

"Nissa Revane."

Julna frowned. "The elf that destroyed the hedrons?"

"Exactly. The vampires on Zendikar apparently made her believe that I am evil, and she now has a vendetta against me. It would not be a good idea to mention me to her, or she might not let you live."

"I'll keep that in mind."

They looked at each other in total silence for a moment. Then, simultaneously, they stepped forward and shook hands.

"Good luck on Zendikar, Julna," Sorin said.

"And you on Tarkir, old friend."

Sorin faded into the Blind Eternities. Normally, he wouldn't do it in front of Thalia or Avacyn, but they both knew about the Multiverse. Julna had to explain it to them for them to understand Lukarme's message.

Julna turned to Thalia and said, "We should probably be going to."

She nodded. "So what happens? Do you chant some magical spell over me?"

"I've been thinking about it, and I think I know how it works. The spell I use to activate the cloak requires me to dictate that it will take me instead of just itself. If I tell it to take both of us, and you're touching the cloak, it should work."

Thalia gripped the cloak, her white knuckles betraying her nervousness. Avacyn watched, intrigued, as Julna began the spell. He chanted in Dominarian, the only language the cloak would recognize. Having never been to Dominaria, Julna should not have known how to speak it. Then again, he shouldn't have had the cloak either. Both the cloak and the linguistic ability were gifts given to him when he had happened upon a hole in the Multiverse.

It had been quite a surprise when, after planeswalking home from Ravnica, he had stumbled upon a strange anomaly. Something that wasn't a plane, but existed outside the Blind Eternities, had caught his attention. He heard whispering coming from it, and entered it, not fully prepared for what he would find. Inside was an impossibility disguised as a miniscule pile of dust. The remains of the Mightstone, which held a portion of Urza's spirit. It spoke to Julna, telling him of an artifact hidden in the Underworld of Theros. It was something that Urza had never told anyone about, something that only a planeswalker could use. His cloak. Urza told Julna to acquire the cloak and return to the mini-plane.

Julna, after three years of preparation, managed to sneak into the Underworld and take the cloak from so deep underground that not even Erebos knew where it was. He returned to Urza, and learned of what it could do and how to activate it. Urza showed him how to work the Cloak and implanted the entire Dominarian language in Julna's mind.

Now, with that lexicon, he told the cloak to take him and Thalia to Zendikar. The runes in the cloth flashed, and the two vanished. As they disappeared, Julna could just make out Avacyn's face staring in shock at them.

At least he knew it worked. As soon as they materialized on a high mountain, Julna looked around and confirmed that they had arrived on Zendikar; the literally rolling hills below were a dead giveaway. Thalia wasn't taking it so calmly. The sensation of travelling by the cloak was disconcerting; it felt like you were being crushed on all sides as you travelled, and it took some getting used to. She was gasping for air and staring at the valley in shock, but Julna couldn't tell whether it was at the journey or Zendikar itself. Never before had a non-planeswalker travelled outside their native plane.

Thalia seemed to calm down and just looked in awe instead of terror. "Incredible," she whispered, "I've never seen so strange a landscape. And to think you get to see them all on a regular basis..."

"If you're impressed by this," Julna responded, smiling, "You should see Meletis, or Ravnica. Oh, and remind me to introduce you to Thassa sometime."

She looked confused. "Who's that?"

"Oh, just my patron goddess."

Before she could respond, a rumbling started that sounded different from the normal rumbling of the land. Julna thought he recognized it. He grabbed Thalia and pulled her behind a rocky outcropping. "Get down!" He hissed.

"Why?" She asked, frightened at how serious he was.

"There's an Eldrazi near us."

Her eyes widened and ducked her head, trying to hide. Julna, meanwhile, poked his head out to see.

There it was.

From this distance, he couldn't tell if it was a follower of Emrakul or Kozilek. From what Lukarme had said, Ulamog was dead at Julna's hands, which would have killed his spawn. Whatever the case, it was nowhere near as powerful as the Eldrazi Titans. Julna was pretty sure that he, Thalia, and Shadowseer could kill it. He was about to tell Thalia to grab the cloak so he could take them closer when the Eldrazi cried out. Julna looked back at it and saw three gigantic elementals rising from the hills below. They began to punch and crush the Eldraziwith their fists. Julna had never seen this type of elemental on Zendikar before.

"Falderin," he said, calling his shades, "Niredlaf, take some of your troops and find out who's causing this." He stabbed Shadowseer into the ground and released the bonds keeping his shade army inside, allowing some to escape. He waited while they snuck down the mountain to see what was going on.

Julna closed his eyes and linked his minds with the shades. Suddenly, instead of seeing the Eldrazi and elementals from a distant mountain, he was moving rapidly toward them. Falderin led the shades onward, hiding under the trees' shadows so nothing could see them. They slid up the top of the trees until they could get a clear view of the battle.

The elementals were even larger up close; three easily defeated the Eldrazi. Behind them, almost camouflaged by the tall grass, was an elf woman.

Julna had only set eyes on her once, when he had been following her and Sorin to the Eye before the Eldrazi were released, but he would have recognized her on sight even if Sorin's warning hadn't brought her face to the forefront of Julna's mind.

Nissa Revane.

The Eldrazi gave one last howl of rage, and Nissa looked on in contempt as it died. She waved her hands, and Julna could sense the mana being reclaimed from the elementals. They crumbled without a sound, once again becoming hills, albeit looking as if they were freshly plowed by some monstrously large farmer.

Nissa suddenly turned, looking directly where the shades were hiding. Her eyes narrowed, and suddenly, the trees' branches moved. Impossibly, they snared the shades in their branches, trapping them in place.

Nissa laughed contemptuously. "You think I have not heard the stories?" She said, "Of the umbreomancer who forges etherium swords and discovers a sixth mana? You may not know it, but Timdis Vulshok has been telling stories of you, so obviously I had to prepare. Take this message back to your master: Why are you here? Doesn't Zendikar have enough problems without a vampire-loving planeswalker in the mix?"

"If you are referring to Sorin Markov," Julna said, through Falderin, "He is not the reason I'm here. He has gone after Sarkhan Vol and the Eye of Ugin; I am here of my own accord."

Her eyes narrowed even more. "And why should I believe an intermediary. Face me yourself, or these shades die."

"Elementalists don't have the means to kill ethereal beings."
"Do you really want to take that chance?"

He didn't. He exited Falderin's mind. Thalia noticed his worried look. "What happened? Who created those elementals?"

"The very woman Sorin warned us to stay away from. Nissa Revane," Julna replied.

Thalia looked worried as well. "What are you going to do?"
"She has Falderin, Niredlaf, and the rest of the shades I sent. She told me to come down there or let them die."
"I'm coming with you."

"No!" Julna said forcefully. She jumped. "I want you to stay here; no one knows I have an apprentice, so I want you to be a wild card if something goes wrong down there. Send your shade out for reconnaissance, but be careful!" He took Urza's cloak and chanted.

In a flash, he was right in front of Nissa.

She laughed. "So, this is the famous umbreomancer," she said.

"My name," Julna growled, "Is Julna Buras, and I would appreciate it if you don't threaten my shades. You really don't want to see me when I'm angry."

"What will you do if I refuse to humour you?"

In response, he summoned a ball of Æther mana and shot it at her. She dodged easily, as if she were expecting it.

"As you recall, I've heard of this strange mana that mutes magical powers," she told him piously, "So I also know that it's quite easy to counteract; just dodge."

"You seem to be remarkably well-informed about me."

"I told you, deeds like yours travel fast through the Multiverse."

"What do you want?"

"I want what I've always wanted since that vampire left: justice. Bring Sorin Markov to me, and I will free your shades. All of them."
Julna's eyebrows rose. "Well, here we are then."

"What?"

"You seem to be under the delusion that you have captured all my shades. It is true you have some, but not nearly all."

"I'll have you know that those trees behind you are filled with elven magic; they can sense every single shade in your shadow, and you have no more."

Julna smirked. "Just shows how uninformed you are. The only shades I keep in my shadow are my consuls; my army is kept elsewhere." With that, he drew Shadowseer and broke every bond keeping the shades inside.

As it did in Nephalia, the entire vicinity went black as a horde of shades flooded out from the sword. They immediately went to work neutralizing the elf and releasing the others. In a matter of seconds, Nissa's shadow was bound, leaving her helpless, and Falderin and Niredlaf were back at Julna's side, eyeing the elf with distrust and anger.

What shall we do with her? asked Falderin, Kill her?

"No," Julna said, "We will not kill her. In fact, I think I'll give her what she wants. You say you want Sorin, do you? Well, I'll tell you where he's gone. You will find him on Sarkhan's home plane of Tarkir, hunting down the dragon planeswalker. If you hurry, you might catch up to him." He commanded the shades to release her and charged every one to reenter Shadowseer.

She stood there, looking significantly more frightened than she had before. "Why…" she said, trailing off, "Why are you helping me now?"

Julna thought for a moment. "I guess it's so I can keep tabs on both you and Sorin at the same time. Now go, before I change my mind."

She faded back into the Blind Eternities without further ado.

Julna gripped the cloak, chanted, and found himself back on the mountainside with Thalia.

"Well," she said, a bit frustrated, "You didn't seem to need my help, did you?"

Before Julna could answer, a deafening cracking sound resounded out of nowhere. It wasn't just coming from the mountain; Julna heard it coming across the entire plane. The land itself began to rumble with more intensity than even the Eldrazi could muster. Fumbling for Thalia's hand, Julna grabbed the cloak and took them back to Innistrad before Nissa could ambush them.

Except it wasn't Nissa. Innistrad was quaking as well, with as much intensity as ever. They were in the cathedral, and Avacyn was hanging on to the altar for dear life.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" she screamed at them.

Letting go of Thalia, Julna faded into the Blind Eternities to see if his suspicions were confirmed.

They were. The entire Multiverse was quaking. Something that had never happened before was happening. Julna wished he knew what it was. The faint auras indicating other planes were pulsating with different colors, and off in the distance, one was blindingly white.

Julna returned to Innistrad to find Thalia and Avacyn still hanging on for dear life. He stabbed Shadowseer deep into the stone floor and gripped it as tightly as he could.

All of a sudden, the rumbling ceased.

Julna got up and shook his head in bewilderment. Avacyn's wings unfolded as she tentatively stood.

"What was that? What did you do?" she asked, glaring accusingly at Julna.

"It wasn't him, Lady Avacyn," Thalia told her reassuringly.

"I haven't the faintest idea what caused that," Julna said,

I do, a new voice said. Julna and Thalia both recognized it.

"Lukarme?" They said simultaneously, both amazed. He said they wouldn't be able to contact him again until the Eldrazi were defeated.

Yes, Julna, Thalia, it is me. The cataclysm broke down the rift between the Multiverse and Infinite. I can now speak to you for a time.

"This voice is the Old One?" Avacyn asked, incredulous.

I am no longer the Old One, Avacyn, Lukarme told her, And I shall tell you what has happened.

When you two left for Zendikar, I foresaw that no harm would come to you, so I turned my gaze elsewhere. My sight followed Sorin Markov to Tarkir. There, I watched as he sought Sarkhan Vol and discovered a burial site. The grave of Ugin.

Julna gasped. Neither Sorin nor Julna knew what had happened to Ugin, but they had suspected Nicol Bolas had had a hand in Ugin's disappearance.

Yes, Julna, Ugin was killed by the Elder Dragon Nicol Bolas and his bones interred on Tarkir, where dragons are revered beyond all others.

I was not able to see all that happened on Tarkir before the cataclysm, but I do know the important part: a new outlet of the Multiverse has been created, and Sorin is inside it.

"What!?" Julna exclaimed, "What does that mean?"

Somehow, Sorin and the plane of Tarkir have travelled back in time and changed the course of history.

Julna's face went white. "But... Wouldn't that mean that we would cease to exist in this timeline?"

Magical scholars across the Multiverse have theorized time travel, but they invariably get it wrong because of their ignorance of the Infinite. It is an accepted fact that nothing can be truly created or destroyed, yes?

A conclusion of various Izzet scholars, as far as Julna knew. "Yes."

The same is true for timelines. The past has already happened and cannot change. When someone succeeds in travelling back in time and changing something, that timeline will not cease to exist. Instead, the changed timeline will break off from the original and form a new outlet entirely.

"So Sorin and Tarkir..."

Have vanished from this outlet entirely. There is a second Multiverse now, where the changes Sorin made in the past have led to a different future.

Julna cursed by all the gods of Theros. "This changes everything," he growled.

"What does it change, Julna?" Thalia asked worriedly.

"Sorin and I are two of the most powerful planeswalkers in the Multiverse. Even with Ugin, a powerful dragon, we didn't manage to destroy Emrakul and his species. Now Sorin is gone; where am I going to find that much power again?"

You have travelled far, Lukarme said, Surely you can find others willing to help.

"There's no one! I'm sure of-"

But wait, there were. Julna remembered an event almost an eternity ago, when he was running through the city of Ravnica in search of a guildgate. He remembered a biting pain in his leg, from a weapon called a Sural...

Gideon Jura...

"That's it!" He exclaimed.

"What?" Thalia and Avacyn asked, intrigued,

"This time, to fight the Eldrazi, I need an army."

"But you have one."

"I don't need an army of shades, I need an army of planeswalkers. Remember how I told you you needed to see Ravnica? Well, you're about to."

"What will we do there?"

"I'm going to call in a few favors."

Jace Beleren, the living Guildpact of Ravnica, say in the Hall of the Pact, waiting for his next appointment. It had been difficult, adjusting to life as the arbiter of all ten guilds of Ravnica. A small part of him was still shocked at having so great a station. He had hardly found time to planeswalk anymore; ten guilds created an awful lot of problems to solve.

The Azorius bailiff floated in, looking frightened. That was odd; the bailiff was never frightened by anything, even the Orzhov ghasts or the Rakdos' parties.

"Sir?" he said, tentatively, "There's someone here to see you."

"Yes, I gathered that," he responded, "Who is it? The Obzedat again?"

The bailiff shook his head. "I have no idea who he is, and he won't give his name. He travels with a woman, and says that you know him."

Jace was intrigued. "Well, send him in."

The bailiff opened the door.

In walked someone Jace never expected to see again. He looked different, yes; he walked more confidently, if that was possible, and a sparkling magical sword. Jace could hear thousands of ethereal voices, and had to lower the radius of his telepathic abilities to shut out the noise. No, Jace did not recognize the woman walking beside him, but he knew this man.

"Julna Buras."

Julna smiled. "Yes, Jace," he said, "It's me. I need your help."

"With what?"

"I believe you've heard of the Eldrazi."
Jace's eyes widened.