Chapter 13

The Calm Before the Shadow's Storm

Domri Rade laughed with his Gruul companions as they grouped around the fire, roasting some Simic creation on a stick. Ever since the Living Guildpact came to power, their borders were now explicitly defined, and anyone who crossed them was subject to whatever passed through the miniscule attention span of a Gruul warrior. The Gruul warriors' rules for retribution were simple; if it looked edible, eat it. If it didn't, leave it alone; inedible things were usually dangerous. The Orzhov had taught them that lesson many times. Sadly, it took a while for anything to sink in.

"Boy," growled one of the heads of Ruric Thar, "You've certainly proven yourself. Causing those gateless rhinos to stamp through Simic territory? I never would have thought of that!"

You never really think of anything besides smashing it, Domri thought. Still, he kept the smile pasted on his face. Better they think he agrees with them than let them hear him speak his mind.

An hush suddenly filled the crowd gathered around the fire. Domri looked around, but beyond the flickering flames, all was darkness. Wait, there was something. Right there… walking up to the group.

A diminutive woman in white clothing approached them, not looking timid, as a potential recruit normally looked like, but walking with purpose. The Gruul warriors nearest her shied away at first, never having to face someone looking so confident against fierce warriors such as they. Even as they flinched, they growled, angry at their cowardice. She stepped fully into the firelight and stood there, crossing her arms.

"I am looking for Domri Rade," she said, "Where is he?"

The nerve of this woman! You did not call for a member of a clan until you greeted the chief. In this case, it would be Ruric Thar. This woman would pay dearly for the insult.

Ruric Thar stood up, both heads looking angry. "You do not ask for me, the chief? Leave now, before your life is ours for the taking."

The woman stood her ground. Who was she, to be so confident in the face of certain death? Domri's curiosity overcame his wounded pride. He stood up. "I am the one you ask for. Who is asking?"

"Not me, but the man for whom I work," she said, "He needs planeswalkers to aid him in a war to save the Multiverse."

Domri waved a hand dismissively. "I stopped caring about the Multiverse long ago. I am a planeswalker, yes, but all I care for is here, on Ravnica, with the Gruul clans. I have everything I want!"

She stared at him thoughtfully. Her gaze was more unnerving than her courage. "Do you truly believe that?" she asked, "I sense that you do not." Domri did not notice the shade she was using to raid his mind for information.

"What do you know of my mind, woman?" he demanded angrily, "Do as my chief says and leave, before I crush your throat myself."

The woman stood there.

Ruric Thar was evidently fed up with the conversation. He roared a battle cry and leapt forward, eight feet of hulking warrior about to crush this upstart for good.

Something dark and starry flashed in the night, and Ruric Thar crashed to the ground, the woman nimbly sidestepping his unconscious body. The warriors around the fire gasped.

Domri was now somewhat afraid of this woman. Best to get rid of her before she bested the entirety of the Burning-Tree clan's elite. He summoned red and green mana, weaving a spell to summon a stampede of massive boars.

Something of the same starry texture as what took down Ruric Thar flashed past, and Domri felt a scratch on his right arm. He laughed; whatever weapon the woman had only grazed him. He tried to finish his summoning but found that the mana had drained from him. He tried to summon more but felt no connections to the land around him.

"What…" he said, trailing off in utter bewilderment.

The woman held out her hand and snapped her fingers. Something coalesced into her hand. It was a dagger, three feet long, the blade like the night sky itself. She twirled it expertly between her hands, then snapped it into an offensive stance.

Domri breathed out in involuntary awe. The dagger was beautiful, even he had to admit that. "What manner of weapon is that?" he asked, so quiet it was almost to himself.

"What, this?" the woman asked, "This is Lathraia, and there is only one other weapon like her." She raised a hand, and suddenly, Domri's mind fell into shadow.

Thalia lowered her hand, enjoying the dumbfounded, slack-jawed looks of the other Gruul warriors. She loved it when someone underestimated her. It made her victory all the more satisfying.

The warriors regained their composure and drew their weapons, shouting as they did so. Thalia called back the two shades Julna had given her.

Get ready, she told them.

Yes, mistress.

As the warriors charged her, Thalia felt that unnatural calm that always came whenever she was about to fight someone. Her mind cleared, letting her concentrate on the task at hand. A Gruul warrior swung his sword wildly at her; she dodged it and slashed at his arm with Lathraia. Her aim was not to kill; she only did that when she had to. No, she just wanted to neutralize them so she could take Domri back to Julna. He had told her what to do if Domri didn't come willingly.

The slight scratch she landed on the man would knock him out for a good six hours. Thankfully he hadn't been a mage; his powers would have been negated, but he would still be conscious. As it was, the warrior fell face first on the ground. Thank goodness for Æther mana blades.

Her shades shot towards the other two warriors charging her. They invaded the men's minds, distracting them, making it easier for Thalia to fight them.

She heard stone being stomped on behind her. Thalia whirled around and saw a Gruul summoner, chanting and absorbing copious amounts of green mana. She threw Lathraia at him in desperation, but another warrior jumped out of the shadows and took it in the chest, saving the mage's spell. A whirling green portal opened in the ground opened, and an enormous boar rose out, squealing.

Not good, she thought. This was wasn't part of the plan. She summoned Lathraia back to her hand. A dagger would work perfectly against something so large when all she needed to do was scratch it. It had been one reason why she requested a dagger, as opposed to a sword like Shadowseer.

Still, to get Lathraia that close to the boar required getting dangerously near its tusks. She'd seen Gruul boars in action during other scouting trips looking for Rade.

Mistress, one of her shades said, allow me to help you.

It entered her mind and bolstered it, convincing her muscles to function outside their normal capacity. Julna had found that a body's supposed limits were more of a mental block than physical; her body was capable of much more than even her subconscious thought. The shade removed the block, and she easily jumped out of the way of the charging boar. Unfortunately, Lathraia had not gotten close enough to scratch it.

Time for some risks, she thought to herself.

As the boar turned its body around, preparing to charge at her again, she leapt forward and landed on the boar's back. It immediately squealed and bucked, and Thalia found it extremely hard to hang on. Still, she did, and managed to make a minuscule cut in the boar's skin. Tiny, but enough. The Æther mana-infused blade put it right to sleep.

The summoner stood stock-still, astounded. He did not move at all when Lathraia sank itself into his chest after being thrown. Thalia had to call the dagger back to her before he toppled to the ground.

She looked around at her handiwork. Her shades had knocked out the other two warriors. She therefore had two dead, two asleep, one two-headed chief dead to the world and a planeswalker she had to drag all the way back to Julna's home.

Well, not exactly drag. She hoisted Domri over one shoulder and focused on a patch of shadow flickering away from the firelight. It always took Julna less time to focus, but he was more powerful than her. After about three minutes, she and Domri sank into the shadow. With no weight to press against her, as there was no weight in shadows, Thalia set off.

Domri groaned as he slowly returned to consciousness. What had happened? He remembered raiding a Simic caravan, celebrating around the fire, and then... Nothing.

Where was he? He tried to take a look at his surroundings, but it was nighttime, and there was no outside light source. He was in a room of some kind... Blast, it was just too dark to make anything out!

He was tied down; he could feel it as he struggled to move. Coarse ropes firmly tied his hands to some kind of chair. He shook, but they did not move. All he succeeded at was chafing his wrists.

"I wouldn't recommend that," a man said from the shadows, "All you'll do is make your wrists bleed."

"Better that than just accepting my captivity," Domri spat, "Why have you brought me here?"

"I wouldn't have needed to forcefully bring you here, Domri, if you had accepted my summons willingly."

"No one summons me. I go only where I wish."

"I do believe I've just disproved that. You are here when you did not wish it."

"Only because some coward took me!"

The man chuckled. "Why do you call me a coward?" he asked.

"Because you will not face me! Are you afraid to stand in front of me?"

"Not at all. I merely thought you'd like some time alone with your thoughts." The darkness dissipated; that was the only way Domri could describe what happened. It was darkness, but suddenly light pierced it, and Domri could see that there had been multiple lanterns burning in the room. How had he not been able to see their light? Obviously, this man was able to control things like this.

Domri could get a good look at him now. He wasn't much to look at by Gruul standards; there were no charms around his neck or battle scars, but he radiated an air of quiet confidence, much like that woman had earlier.

The woman! That's what Domri hadn't been able to remember. She had walked into the camp and taken on an entire camp by herself. Either she had won and brought Domri back to her employer, or she had lost and the employer had taken Domri as a consolation prize. Either option left him in the hands of this man.

His clothing was simple and black, except for the blue cloak he wore. Domri could see faintly pulsing runes on the inside. Obviously magical. The most noticeable item this man had was the sword at his hip. It was also magical, and the bit of the blade sticking out of the ornate leather sheath looked as dark and starry as the woman's dagger had been. That must be the only other weapon like hers that she had talked about.

What was that thing beside him? At first, Domri just thought it was the darkness of the room, flickering away from the lanterns' glow, but that wasn't it at all. There was something hovering next to this man. It looked toward him, and Domri saw that from the waist up, it had the body of a shadowy, insubstantial man, with piercing blue eyes. A shade.

There's only one man who fits this description, Domri thought. However, he had thought that man had left for good.

"Julna Buras," Domri said, slightly nervous. This man's reputation was fearful, even among the Dimir agents who liaisoned with the Gruul. He had apparently single-handedly taken on both Lazav and Mirko Vosk and won.

"The one and only," Julna said.

Domri remembered what else the woman had said about this man. "You're a planeswalker!?" Domri said, incredulous. He had prided himself on identifying and avoiding other planeswalkers. Ral Zarek and Gideon Jura had been easily identified, but Domri had had no inkling that this Dimir agent was a planeswalker. "What do the Dimir know about this?"

Julna laughed. "I haven't been in contact with the Dimir for a while. The last I saw of Lazav was him cowering on the floor, attacked by my shades."

So it was true. "Wouldn't that make you the new Dimir guildmaster?"

"I never felt the need to take on that position of authority. I work much better when behind the scenes."

Domri frowned. That didn't sound normal at all. People always took power when they could.

"Anyway," Julna continued, "You're probably wondering why you're here. I believe you've already met Thalia." The woman who had attacked the camp stepped out from the shadows. Domri hissed and struggled against his bonds again.

"Now, now," Julna said, "None of this would have happened if you would have just listened to my request. The entire Multiverse is at stake."
"Like I told your woman before, I don't care one bit about what happens to the Multiverse. My life is here."
"Did you not hear me? I said that the Multiverse is at stake. In case you've forgotten, that includes Ravnica."

Domri scoffed. "What could possibly dangerous enough to threaten every plane?"

"The Eldrazi."

Domri stared at him. "And I'm supposed to know what that is…?"

Julna sighed. "The Eldrazi are impossibly powerful creatures that live in the Blind Eternities themselves; at least, they used to. A long, long time ago, Sorin Markov, Nahiri the Lithomancer, who mentored me, and Ugin the Spirit Dragon trapped all the Eldrazi on Zendikar. They have broken free of their prison, but are still trapped on Zendikar. I am gathering an army of planeswalkers to destroy them, once and for all. I need every powerful mage I can get, especially one who can summon beasts as proficiently as you can."

Domri rolled his eyes. "And what if I don't believe your story? What if I say it's a bunch of boar-"

Julna held up a hand. "Please, I have no need for your Gruul vulgarities. I see I'm going to have to show you. If you would, Falderin?"

The shade floating next to Julna nodded and swooped forward, somehow merging with Domri.
Immediately, a flood of images entered into his mind. He saw a plane ripping in half, monstrous creatures bigger than whole mountain ranges rising out of the ground and devouring everything in their path. Within five minutes he was crying out in horror at everything.

It was impossible! But no, it wasn't; Domri knew without a doubt that these images could not have been faked. Julna was telling the truth.

Domri realized he was shaking in terror. "How-" he stammered, "How can I possibly help against that?"

"I told you, I need an army of planeswalkers. Are you willing to help me?"

"Yes," Domri said, speaking so quickly the word was out before his mind had time to think.

"Good. I'm going to need you to gather with the other planeswalkers in the town of Thraben on Innistrad. Are you familiar with the plane?"

Domri nodded. He had found Innistrad by accident on his first sojourn through the Multiverse.

"Good. You may go." The ropes faded into shadow, freeing in Domri. He rubbed his wrists, trying to get the blood flowing again. Before he faded into the Eternities, he asked one last thing.

"How many will you need to beat them?"

"As many as I can get."

Julna sighed in relief once Domri left. He knew just how terrible the visions of the Eldrazi were, and he had worried that Domri would not be able to handle the terror.

"Alright, Thalia, you can come out now."

The closet door opened, and she stepped out. "Was sticking me in there really necessary?" She asked.

"You said you wanted to know how I 'interrogated' the planeswalkers who were having trouble joining our cause. Domri would not have acted favorably if he saw you in the room, however. So, I figured the best place to put you was in the closet."

She rolled her eyes. "But the closet? Really?"

"You still wanted to be in range of the conversation, right? Then the closet was the best place."

She sighed. "I guess you're right. What do we do now?"

"Well, there's only one more planeswalker on Ravnica we need, albeit the one who would be least likely to join us of his own volition."

Thalia nodded. "Ral Zarek," she said, "You never told me why he hates you so much."

"Oh, it was nothing much. I thwarted his plan to kill Jace Beleren and he's hated me ever since."

She looked at him quizzically. "Nothing much?"

"Yeah, just a normal day in the life of Julna Buras. Really, I thwart murder plots every other day."

She chuckled. "Well let's go thwart his plot to murder you."

"We will, but first I need to check in on Nahiri and Elspeth. Godsend should be nearly recreated by now."

"I want to come with you; I want to see Theros in person."

He eyed her, one eyebrow raised. "You basically did already."

"No, I saw Theros through your own fantasy. I want to see what it's really like."

"What, you don't trust me to make an accurate representation?"

"Nope. Not at all."

He rolled his eyes and kissed her. "Come on then, grab onto me."

"Where would you like me to grab you?"

Julna rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Preferably someplace less sensitive."

She laughed again and held his arm. He chanted to activate the cloak and they were whisked away to Theros.

Nahiri didn't even look up when they appeared. Julna wondered how she had gotten used to the cloak so quickly. Other planeswalkers Julna had known hadn't gotten used to it for at least a full month after he showed it to them.

"You've got impeccable timing as always," she called as they walked over to where she was working. There was a glowing pile of metal on an anvil, sitting in the middle of the plain. Nahiri found it easier to summon white mana when she was actually in the source of it.

"Is everything coming along?" he asked.

"Less than perfectly. Finding the shards was easy; actually putting them together is the hard part." she gestured at the shards behind her. "It would be easier if you actually explained the mechanics of a god weapon."

"I've explained this to you before; that knowledge is too dangerous to be spread anyone. If you want to know, you can go steal one of the gods' scrolls like I did."

Nahiri sighed. "Well, if you won't tell me, can you at least help me put it back together? It would make this a lot easier."

Of course he would; it was the least he could do after all that he did to her. They both drew in mana; she drew white and he blue, then directed the mana at Godsend, using their lithomantic prowess to reforge the sword. Julna chanted the divine language to both speed the process and to make sure it would remain a god-weapon when they were finished. The shards melted together, flowing back into the shape of the blade they were originally formed from. As the sword, hilt and all, formed, Nahiri took a golden funeral mask from a pack at her feet and broke the two jewels in the eyes off. Elspeth had most likely explained to her what Godsend looked like, as she formed two settings in the hilt for the jewels. She placed them in the settings and closed in the metal around them, locking the jewels in place.

They stopped drawing mana and looked at the sword on the anvil before them. Despite being reforged, it still looked… crude. It didn't look like a god weapon.

Ah, of course! Julna thought back to the day he created Shadowseer. He had needed to make the sword pass through Nyx to make it a true god-weapon. Elspeth needed to do the same thing.

Where was Elspeth? He asked Nahiri and she said, "She's hiding close by. Apparently the Gods want both you and her dead."

Julna sighed in annoyance. "More like one God in particular. Heliod is a fair ruler most of the time, but sometimes he can be an annoying stain on a thaumaturge's trouser leg."

Nahiri obviously didn't know whether to laugh at the silly insult or be terrified that Julna had just insulted a god. Her face kept changing between the two.

"So, do you have any idea where Elspeth's hiding?" he asked.

"Someplace called Setessa. Apparently one of the gods, Nylea, was sympathetic to her."

Julna nodded. Nylea had always liked the people Heliod didn't. "I'll be right back. There's one last thing she needs to do." He raised his cloak and found himself in Setessa.

Rather than comb the whole polis, he sent out a large group of shades to do it for him. Each one went in a different direction, but they seemed just as baffled as Julna was at the layout of Setessa. It was a polis in the middle of the forest, so the kind of organized streets found in Meletis were impossible here. Still, it was only a half-hour before they found her hiding in a previously empty treehouse.

She jumped when he walked through the door and immediately began drawing mana.

"Whoah, whoah!" Julna said, holding up his hands, "Calm down, it's just me."

She tentatively stopped the spell. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"We finished reforging Godsend, but there's still one thing we need to do, and you have to be the one to do it."

She frowned. "What is it I need to do?"

"Best to show you rather than tell you; you never know where Heliod might be listening. Grab onto my cloak; I can transport us there instantly." She grabbed on and they appeared next to Nahiri.

Elspeth jumped up and ran to Godsend. She took on look at it and frowned. "This is not the Godsend I remember," she noted.

"I told you there was still one thing we need to do. Take the sword, Elspeth, and I'll walk you through it."

She picked up Godsend and turned around to face him, holding it aloft. "What now?"

"Now, I need you to focus on Nyx. You've actually been there before, so it should be easier for you. When you can sense it clearly, give the sword to Nyx."

Thalia frowned. "Wouldn't that just return it to Heliod?"

"Not if you continue to focus on it. The purpose is not to send it to Nyx permanently; having it pass through Nyx will refine the sword back into a god-weapon."

She seemed reluctant, but thankfully trusted him enough. She closed her eyes to focus more clearly on Nyx. The sword vanished, and Nahiri gasped. "Don't worry," Julna reassured her, "She'll get it back."

Elspeth was still concentrating, and a moment later, Godsend reappeared in a sheath of pure white leather, much like Shadowseer had appeared in black. She stared at it in wonder, then drew it. "It's perfect," she said, awed, "It's just like it was when I first took it from Purphoros." She sheathed it again. "Thank you," she said to both of them.

Just then, an enormous earthquake shook the ground, and they all fell.

WHAT HAVE YOU WROUGHT?

The voice was like thunder and cannons rolled into one. It was a voice of pure fury, and Julna knew that there was only one being who would focus that much anger on the three of them.

"Heliod," Julna said, sounding much more calm than he felt. Would this turn to confrontation? Julna was fairly sure he could take on a God, but what would that do to the populace to see one of their gods defeated by a mortal? "I've just been fixing your mistakes."

I DO NOT MAKE MISTAKES, BURAS. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

Heliod appeared in all his power and majesty, his sun-spear held in his left hand, ready to be thrown and destroy them. "THAT WOMAN WAS DEAD, AND YOU USED OUR MAGIC TO BRING HER BACK. DID YOU NOT THINK THAT I KILLED HER FOR A REASON?"

"Oh, I know the reason, Heliod," Julna said, getting increasingly angry, "You killed her because you're just a paranoid little coward, aren't you? You couldn't stand the fact that another person managed to figure out the gods' secrets besides me, so you killed her. I'm simply rectifying one of the many wrongs you've committed." In his mind, he sent out his thoughts to the Infinite.

Lukarme, I might need some help here. Have you been watching?

Always, came the reply, And I agree that intervening may be necessary.

Heliod's fury was unbounded. "YOU DARE PRESUME TO THINK YOURSELF BETTER THAN THE GODS" he bellowed, causing Nahiri and Elspeth to cover their ears, "WE ARE OMNISCIENT AND ARE LIFE ITSELF."

"Actually, what you said earlier makes that statement false. If you were omniscient, wouldn't you already have known what I was doing?"

Heliod howled in rage; Julna resisted the urge to protect his eardrums. He couldn't show any sign of weakness. "ENOUGH OF THIS TALK," Heliod shouted, "YOU MUST DIE FOR YOUR INSOLENCE." He threw the sun-spear at Julna.

Julna raised Shadowseer and somehow deflected the enormous spear off course. It sank into the ground twenty feet away.

Heliod was dumbstruck. He stared at the sword in Julna's hands. "THAT SWORD MUST NOT BE. YOU DARE TO CREATE A GOD WEAPON?"

"Uh, that would be 'dared'," Julna said, waggling his fingerst at Heliod, "Past tense. Besides, it's not just a god weapon. It's much more than that; I assume that even the gods don't know what etherium is. With that and the power of Nyx, this sword is one of the greatest weapons ever created. Care to try and fight against it?"

Heliod growled and held up a hand. This spear returned to him. He hefted it, said "SO BE IT", and pointed it at the sun. With a flash, a horde of starry warriors appeared, marching determinedly towards Julna. Despite their form, they were not human; each was composed entirely of Nyxian energy.

Julna grimly tightened his grip on Shadowseer. "Very well," he said, and thrust the sword into the ground. A wave of darkness poured out, forming into his army of shades. They reared up out of the ground in neat rows; Julna had trained them well. They formed a wall of black blocking Heliod's army from view.

"Fight for me!" Julna commanded, "What you see before you is no god. He is nothing but a paranoid dog, good for nothing but to be put down."

The shades flew forward to connect with Heliod's horde. As they fought, Heliod appeared in the sky overhead, hefting his spear for another throw. In a split-second, Julna merged with Niredlaf, regaining his lithomantic power. He raised himself up on a pillar of stone to meet Heliod eye to eye.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Heliod?" Julna asked, "I have more power than you can possibly imagine."

"You think I can just allow your blasphemy?" Heliod snapped, "Despite your claims, I am a god, and no God will allow someone to raise themselves higher than their deity." He stabbed with the sun spear. Julna caught it with a downward sweep and immediately struck with a counter stroke. Heliod dodged it, which gave him time to ready the spear again. Somehow, Julna was evenly matched with Heliod, even though Heliod was still many times larger in size.

They sparred back and forth in the air. Julna needed more room to maneuver and raised an entire sparring field of rock into the sky. It rose into the air, unconnected to the ground was a floating arena of stone, much like the round theater stages in Meletis.

Heliod was breathing heavily; Julna could tell that he was using up his power to maintain his size. It wouldn't hold much longer.

Just as he predicted, Heliod became a pillar of sunlight. It shrank down in size and dissipated, revealing a human-sized Heliod. He held his spear grimly, his stance defensive. "Let it continue," he said, lowering the spear-point towards Julna. He charged, but the maneuver was sloppy, and Julna easily knocked the spear awry, jumping forward with a thrust. Heliod somehow managed to pull the shaft of his spear back, blocking the sword. They exchanged a quick flurry of blows, each perfectly executed, yet seamlessly blocked by the other. Julna delved deep into his mind as he fought, trying to remember all the forms Thalia had taught him. An advantage of his etherium body was that it gained muscle memory incredibly quickly; he had practiced the forms only a handful of times, but his body already knew what to do. As Heliod's spear swiped in from the side, he blocked it and at the same time, shoved Shadowseer's hilt at Heliod, giving him a hard blow to the side of his head. Heliod grunted in pain and stumbled backward.

This was all the opening Julna needed. He once again lunged forward and stabbed with Shadowseer, but Heliod desperately lurched to one side. He didn't dodge the sword entirely, but it only stabbed his side, not the fatal blow Julna had been trying to land.

Heliod gave a very un-godly yelp and disappeared, reappearing on the ground far below. Growling in frustration, Julna lowered the platform on top of where Heliod was standing. The god once again became a pillar of sunlight which quickly dodged the descending piece of stone and reappeared behind Julna. Heliod dove forward, pinning Julna to the ground. He couldn't lift Shadowseer high enough to touch Heliod, let alone fight him.

"You… cannot win… Buras!" Heliod growled.

Julna, Lukarme said, Swing Shadowseer at the air in front of you.

Julna complied, swinging his sword horizontally along the horizon line.

A rent appeared in the air, beyond which was an immense blackness with faint glowing areas in the distance.

The Infinite.

A tentacle launched out of the rent and grabbed onto Heliod's arm, keeping it from slamming the spear into Julna. Heliod howled at the pain. He dropped the spear, but Lukarme did not release his grip. A second tentacle appeared and grabbed Heliod around the waist, pulling him backward and flinging him across the ground. Julna got up, gasping as he did so. As he looked, bewildered, at the rip in the air, the tentacles gave a kind of salute and retracted. The rift closed.

Heliod groaned. Julna turned to behold the god. Obviously Lukarme's tentacle had done more than just grab him; it must have drained Heliod's energy as well. The stars of Nyx on his skin were barely visible, and his body no longer radiated power. Julna summoned Falderin and sent him to restrain Heliod's shadow, which kept the god in place as well. He put Shadowseer to Heliod's neck, but did not move it.

"Do it," Heliod spat, "You planeswalkers are all the same. Elspeth killed Xenagos, you'll kill me. Where will it end?"

Julna frowned. "You know what we are?"

"Kruphix does, and he shared his insights with us. Just because you can travel between planes, it does not mean you know what is best. So kill me, and prove what I say."

Julna laughed. "I never meant to kill you, Heliod. What would that do to the people of Theros to learn that their God was killed? No, I will let you go. You can scurry back to Nyx and tell everyone that you were defeated by someone you thought yourself better than." He sheathed Shadowseer and walked away, leaving Heliod to dissolve into stars, so faint they were nearly invisible.

Nahiri and Elspeth were staring at him in shock. "I've never seen such power," Nahuri breathed, "You defeated a god in open combat."

"It wasn't easy," Julna replied, "I exhausted both my etherium body and my mana sources. I can't even draw enough mana to use my cloak. I'm going to need some help if we're to get to Thraeben. Elspeth, are you happy with Godsend?"

"Absolutely. Thank you."

"No need to thank me; I was merely fixing some of the injustices in your life. Now, I need your help with something."

"What could you possibly need my help with?"

"Well, you see, there's a certain planeswalker that would very much like to know that you are alive..."

Ajani Goldmane strode through the small village on Innistrad. He had heard rumors that there was a large gathering of planeswalkers here, and he desperately needed something to distract him from his grief.

Elspeth was gone, dead, killed by the very being she was trying to save. If ever Ajani had felt a need to revert back to his vengeful state, it was now. Months later, and the pain of her departure was as fresh as the day they departed Nyx. He wore her white cloak on his back to remember her, but sometimes it only served to remind him what he'd lost.

There seemed to be a gathering of the planeswalkers in what looked like a chapel. He peered in through the window and saw some familiar faces: Jace Beleren, Kiora Atua, and even Ashiok were there. There were also many planeswalkers Ajani had never met.

An angelic woman saw him staring and came outside. "Are you a planeswalker?" she asked.

"I am," Ajani replied, "But I am not sure I want any part of what is going on in there."

"Well, isn't that a shame," said another voice from the doorway. A man stood there, dressed all in black except for the blue cloak draped around his shoulders. "I was so hoping you'd be able to help us."

"If the help you need is with some sort of desperate attempt to save a plane, I do not care," Ajani said wearily, "I have given up on the Multiverse; it holds no wonder for me anymore. My love of it was lost months ago."

"Let me guess," the man said, "On the day Elspeth Tirel was killed by Heliod?"

Ajani roared. "How dare you speak of her!" he bellowed, "You have no right!"

"On the contrary, I have every right."

"And what makes you think that?"

The man moved his eyes to look at something behind Ajani. Infuriated, Ajani spun to see what the man was looking at.

She was walking serenely up the path to the cathedral, looking just as beautiful as she had on that day, months ago. There was nothing, no sign to indicate that she had been stabbed by her own weapon and left to die. There was the weapon, even, once again a sword hanging at her hip.

Elspeth Tirel walked right up to Ajani, smiling warmly.

"It has been too long, my friend," she said, putting a hand on his cheek.

Ajani broke down and wept, but these were not tears of sorrow, or despair, or even relief.

These were tears of one who felt the purest kind of joy ever to be found in any universe.

"Well," Julna said to Avacyn as the two planeswalkers, arm in arm, went into the cathedral, "That certainly went as well as I'd hoped."

"I won't pretend to know what it was you were planning, Buras," Avacyn said, "But I will always love the reunion of two friends, especially if one of those friends was raised from the dead."

Julna laughed. "Come, let's go inside. I have an announcement to make."

They entered the cathedral again. The rest of the planeswalkers were all watching Ajani and Elspeth, who were sitting together, staring at each others' faces. They didn't say a word; they just sat there.

"Please tell me if my relationship with Thalia ever gets that nauseous," Julna whispered to Thalia.

Avacyn chuckled. "It isn't that kind of relationship, Buras. I can tell. Ajani simply cannot believe that his dearest friend is here with him."

"Well, that certainly makes me feel better."

Julna walked down the center aisle of the cathedral to the podium at the front. The others all fell silent as he ascended the steps. He cleared his throat and said, "Thank you all for coming here. As you can see, two of our number are reunited once again.

"As happy as this is, I cannot let it overshadow what is to come. I have already told most of you why I am recruiting planeswalkers, but for those who don't know, or don't remember, I will quickly recap. The Eldrazi, the most dangerous beings in the Multiverse, locked away millenia ago by Ugin, Sorin, and Nahiri, are nearly free. They are still tied to the plane of Zendikar, but this bond will not stand for long. Thanks to a friend, I know a way to get rid of this scourge once and for all.

"The reason the three planeswalkers were not able to vanquish the Eldrazi is because their power wasn't enough. I plan to try again, but this time with many more planeswalkers. Beyond that, each of you have your own special skills that will greatly help to put down these monsters.

"Do not misunderstand me and think that this will be easy. Even with our combined might, the Eldrazi will still be the hardest foe any of us have faced. But together, I believe we have a real chance at putting them down for good!"

He had expected a cheer, or applause, or something, but the planeswalkers all were silent. At first, Julna thought it was he had not inspired them. It wasn't until he looked at their faces that he understood.

They knew the consequences, they knew the stakes; they weren't responding to his speech with joy, but with determination. He could see it in their expressions.

"When I send my shades out to call for battle, you must each respond and come to Zendikar to help. May you prepare well for when that call comes."

Each planeswalker, in turn, nodded and faded into the Blind Eternities until Julna was left standing in an empty cathedral with Avacyn and Thalia.

"That went well, I think," Thalia said, jumping up from her pew, "What next?"

"Well," Julna replied, "We still haven't gathered everyone." He sighed. "I'd hoped I'd never have to face him again. This will be a chore."

"Who are we talking about?"

"Ral Zarek. I'll need his powers, but he is not going to be happy to see me."

In the Infinite, Lukarme watched Julna speak to the planeswalkers.

Yes, he thought, it is happening just as I'd hoped.

The problem was, there was still no telling whether Julna would know what to do when the time came. Lukarme couldn't tell him.

Remember Emrakul, Julna, he said, mostly to himself, Remember, or all is lost.