Magic: the Gathering
Chronicles, Volume 34
Viktor figured that only Chandra Nalaar would be the fiery, impatient type among the Planswalkers, but he was in for a surprise as soon as his party exited the Castle and strode across the front grounds.
"Do you test our patience, child?" Nissa Revane scolded him as he came close to the elf Planeswalker, hands in his pockets. Nissa had apparently arrived on Bant on her own, as an envoy to greet Viktor's party before they warped to Jund to confront Elena.
"Wh-what's wrong?" Viktor sputtered, not expecting this welcome. He and his friends couldn't teleport in or out of the Castle because of its protective magic, so they had to teleport outside.
Nissa held her staff in one hand and jabbed a thin finger into Viktor's chest. "The storm gathers, child, and you are dawdling? Do you know how long ago I would have perished if not for my alertness and swiftness? Try living on Zendikar for a while. Then you'd know."
"I'm sorry, Nissa, we're ready right now," Ashley placated the elf Planeswalker. "Really. Is everyone else already on Dominaria?"
Nissa cooled down a bit, turning her back and starting to walk away. "Yes, and they await us," she said. "Epsilon brought his Azorius army at our command, and his troops will be quite an asset against the Defiled One's Enslaved army."
Viktor couldn't help asking. "Do you trust Epsilon and his intentions, Nissa?"
The elf stopped, her long ears twitching at the question. "I do not believe that I will consider him a friend," she said without turning around. "I would not want him as a expedition companion in the wilds of Zendikar, but my fellow Planeswalkers demand my cooperation with him. However, I do trust you five children to lend us your power and make victory possible. That said, follow me to Dominaria. Now."
Nissa walked forward again, vanishing from sight as she Planeswalked to Dominaria. Seeing that there was nothing else for it, Viktor took out his Thorn Elemental card and offered it to his four friends, and they touched their Key Creature cards to his. In short order, they found themselves on a plain on Dominaria, where hundreds of Planeswalkers and thousands of Epsilon's Azorius troops waited for them. When they were ready, the massive party warped as one to Jund.
*o*o*o*o*
At least one person enjoyed the setting for the Multiverse's most decisive battle: Chandra.
"I forgot how much I love this place," the fiery woman grinned wildly, leaping from the ground and onto the jagged slope of a smoldering volcano. All around, the air was thick with hot volcanic ash and the rot of the jungle, and the sky was also dull red and black from volcanic activity. Chandra scurried further up the volcanic slope, and yelped in surprise and delight when a sudden gush of hot magma burst from the rock and nearly fried her. She laughed and rode the outburst, flipping through the air and landing on the rock slope, scurrying around with wild abandon.
Viktor was part of a very large group, and he knew that pretty everyone else was just as annoyed as he was.
"Chandra, get your worthless hide back here! We can't waste any more time," Sarkhan Vol shouted up at her, his eyes blazing with irritation. Viktor was aware that Sarkhan was corrupted by Nicol Bolas' power in Zendikar under normal circumstances, but Elena's presence altered many of the things he knew about the Magic world. We're here to help set things straight!
"But I can scout from up here!" Chandra shouted down to the mob of Planeswalkers, with flames starting to creep up her skin as she got more excited about being on Jund. "Right? I can find where the Defiled One and her armies are and give us an advantage."
It was easy to see the general direction of where Elena would be, at least. Far ahead and high in the sky, the black-white Maelstrom raged as Grixis and Bant collided with each other, and Viktor could see Esper and Naya hanging back like spectators. Without a doubt, the Planeswalkers would only need to go forward to reach the tip of Jund, where Elena would be. Still, Chandra's offer stood, and Jace, who acted as the leader of the group, consented.
"Very well. But take this with you," Jace called up to Chandra, and he tossed her his petite Homunculus servant. Chandra caught it, and promptly hugged it like a small child.
"What a nice little pet you are!" Chandra literally glowed, her skin's flames glowing brighter. She looked down at Jace. "Can I keep him? Say that I can keep him!"
"You may not," Jace countered, and Chandra's hair surged with flame in her defiant rage. Luckily, the Homunculus' barrier protected it from Chandra's hot fire, but the small blue being squinted its eyes in disapproval of the woman who held it. "Use its detection magic for scouting purposes, and report back when you are done. This group will advance slowly, in order to get closer to our goal but not draw too much attention to ourselves."
"Good enough," Chandra relented. "I didn't like being trapped in a cave on Zendikar with that ridiculous Sigma Hunter watching over me. You have my thanks, Viktor and Makoto, for helping me."
"Nothing to it," Viktor shouted up.
"She does not thank me. But then again, I am a Hunter, too," Epsilon muttered, fiddling with the handle of his sheathed ivory sword. "Jace. Will we advance now?"
"Correct. Follow, everyone," Jace told the massive group, and Chandra darted on ahead as the Planeswalker troop advanced. Viktor recognized almost every Planeswalker from the cards in this group, from Ajani to Tezzeret to Garruk to Gideon Jura. There were many others he didn't recognize, however, such as a young Oriental woman who clearly hailed from Kamigawa. That Planeswalker was garbed in blue-green robes, and had a long, silvery bone sticking through her hair bun. She carried herself regally, her eyes closed and her mouth drawn in a slight smile as she walked astride the other Planeswalkers.
"She is Kiyoko Michuda, the grand-daughter of a famed mage who fought against the Kami on Kamigawa," Elspeth explained to Viktor when he asked. "Her grandfather angered many of the Kami as he led the samurai to countless victories against them, so the Kami tried to take his granddaughter's life in revenge. He was there to defend her, but was mortally wounded in the process. Just as the Kami were about to devour her, Kiyoko's Planeswalker spark activated and she slew every Kami in the room."
"That's... really cool," Viktor had to admit, and Elspeth smiled slightly at his enthusiasm. "Yes. I've never been to Kamigawa before, but Kiyoko has visited Bant and I found her to be quite a pleasant person to know. It's too bad she hasn't chosen to adopt Bant as her new home, however. She has been offered a position among the archmages under King Teramont, but she always politely refuses. She sometimes stops by, however, to visit."
"What's that bone in her hair?" Viktor asked, unable to resist asking.
"The bone of a shape-shifting Kami," Elspeth answered. "One of the Kami that attacked her had assumed the form of her grandfather, but as soon as her spark activated she was able to see through its deception. The Kami had tried to tear out Kiyoko's heart, but she broke its arm and removed its bone. Then, after the battle, Kiyoko found that her real grandfather's arm had been crushed, and she had healed it with her magic. She kept the Kami's arm bone to remind her of her ferocity toward her enemies and her kindness toward her friends."
"That's so touching," Ashley glowed, clasping a hand to her heart. "I didn't know you had such a great friend, Elspeth."
Hell, a few months ago I didn't even know Elspeth was a real person! Viktor thought, but he kept that thought to himself. Gerbie, meanwhile, poked out again to contribute to the conversation. "Hey, Devin."
"What?" he asked nervously.
Gerbie motioned toward Kiyoko. "You didn't have much chance with Rho back on Dominaria, but that girl..." he started, until Ashley silenced him.
"Now's not the time. Devin's not interested in that kind of thing," she sternly told the Simic gerbil pet, then turned to Devin. "Right?"
Devin had been ogling at Kiyoko, until he snapped his attention back at Ashley. "O-of course not! I was, well... nothing," he shrugged with his only arm, making Ashley purse her lips and put her hands on her hips in annoyance.
"He's never gonna score," Ike commented, emerging from Viktor's own pocket. "I'm telling you, man."
"Give him a chance, would you?" Viktor encouraged his pet, pushing Ike back into his pocket. "Get back to sleep."
"Sure. Wake me when the Multiverse is safe again," Ike requested, then fell into slumber. That gave Viktor an idea.
"Hey, Ash," he asked Ashley, moving over to her.
"Huh?" she responded.
"Our cards don't work on Earth, but our Simic gerbils can live there, right?" he said. "So, when this is all over, and we're done with the Multiverse... are we going to keep Gerbie and Ike on Earth?"
"I, well... of course!" Ashley smiled. "We'll just have to keep the talking-gerbil part a secret from our families, but I don't want to go without Gerbie. He can be my little reminder of the Multiverse."
"You know it, babe," Gerbie said with a cool-guy attitude, prompting her to zip up her Gerbie pocket except for one little air hole. Viktor allowed himself a grin, but couldn't get distracted from the importance of what was going on. Any second now, a horde of Enslaved creatures could show up, causing calamity. No doubt that Elena would react violently to this intrusion. Something else was on Viktor's mind – there was one Planeswalker conspicuously absent from this assembly.
"Elspeth," he asked her, "I know Nicol Bolas isn't exactly you guys' best friend, but doesn't he want to take Elena down, too? Why hasn't he at least contacted us?"
Elspeth frowned. "It's not easy to say," she admitted. "Nicol Bolas is far older, wiser, and more powerful than any of us, Viktor. Still, I agree that he would at least send us envoys stating his intentions, but the last I knew was that Bolas retreated to Grixis. I know not why Bant and Grixis are colliding and the other Shards are staying back, though. Could it be related to Bolas?"
Viktor knew that Nicol Bolas wouldn't let on about his plan with the Maelstrom, but he already knew about it from the story excerpts he had read on Earth. He relayed them to Elspeth, and understanding dawned on her face.
"He wants to re-energize from a five-Shard Maelstrom, but the Defiled One is holding it back as blackmail for his cooperation?" Elspeth summarized. "And Bolas is nearly powerless for now due to his starvation of mana? This is more dire than I expected! Who knows how this will affect the outcome of our endeavor?"
Not surprisingly, Jace was quick to pounce on the news, finding his way to Elspeth and Viktor. "Bolas is most likely to take our side as long as Elena lives, and only that long," he offered. "He'll act out of self-interest, of course."
"Is Elena just going to keep Bolas that way?" Viktor frowned. "Or give him his complete Maelstrom if he promises to fight for her?"
"No such thing. Bolas will turn on her instantly if she gave him his power source," Jace shook his head. "He shows no gratitude or loyalty to anyone. Expect him to be a temporary ally if such a thing happens, and then an extreme danger right after that. If the Defiled One never completes the Maelstrom, we will just have to play it by ear."
"Yeah, okay," Viktor conceded. "Dragons don't change their scales, huh?"
Elspeth smiled in mirth. "No, good child. We will depend on you and the others for your Key Creatures to help see us through. Are your cards prepared?"
Viktor and the other four checked and confirmed that they were in good shape. In fact, they were glowing. Thorn Elemental pulsated bright green, Kuro, Pitlord was dark purple, Ryusei, the Falling Star was cherry red like a sword out of a forge, Isperia the Inscrutable was sky blue, and Konda, lord of Eiganjo was bright white.
"Whoa! Glow-in-the-dark cards!" Devin said gleefully, earning him a hit on the head from Kelly.
"No, Devin," she argued, eying her glowing Kuro, Pitlord card. "I think that the Key Creature cards and reacting to the Planeswalkers' combined presence. This proves that the Key Creatures are going to work with the Planeswalkers to bring about Elena's downfall."
"Agreed. We're going to need these," Jace said, snatching Kelly's card out of her hands to examine, making her yelp in surprise. Jace's sharp, deep eyes looked over the glowing card and then he handed it back to a reproachful Kelly. "When the time is right, we'll combine our power and execute the plan we've already outlined. Not before. Alpha and the Enslaved horde will be waiting for us, but Epsilon's troops will handle that army. Along with any Planeswalkers who volunteer."
Viktor saw thousands of Epsilon's Azorius troopers struggling through the tar pits, rock slides, and steamy jungles of Jund and hoped that they were up to the task. Well, at least Epsilon says they can handle it. I'll just have to trust him to get the job done.
The Maelstrom drew closer, and Viktor could hear the humming and crackling of Bant's white mana and Grixis' black mana clashing and mixing, and the hairs on his arms started to rise as though a charged balloon was held over them. He nudged the others, and they agreed – they were close to the heart of the storm now. Devin tried to say that it was the eye of the storm, but Kelly rebuked that.
"The eye of a hurricane is the calmest part, even though it's in the center," she explained patiently. "People are wrong when they use that term to refer to the most dangerous or chaotic part of a situation. At least, I think so. Heart of the storm."
"Or belly of the beast," Ashley added cheerily. "I like that one, too."
Gerbie emerged again. "The belly of this beast is hungry!" he complained. "Food now?"
"When we're done, okay? No pit stops on Jund," Ashley told her gerbil, who sank back into his pocket shelter, grumbling about lack of commodities on the most savage of the Shards of Alara.
The very air seemed harder to breathe to Viktor, as though it had become thicker... or charged with bizarre mana. He took a deeper breath, filling his lungs with hot, humid Jund air fevered with Maelstrom mana. Not much longer! He warned himself. Then, he looked up and saw a flicker of red darting along a mountain range that separated the Planeswalker troop from the Maelstrom, and he recognized it as Chandra coming back from her scouting. She surfed toward the Planeswalkers on a gout of self-created fire and landed, still holding Jace's Homunculus like a small child.
"I found her," Chandra reported breathlessly, her chest heaving and fire restless. She adjusted the goggles on her forehead. "I found her! The Defiled One is on the very tip of Jund, right on the precipice overlooking the Maelstrom! She's got Nicol Bolas with her too, who's fast asleep and looks very worn out. The Hunter Alpha is with her too, just standing guard. Nothing else of interest was there, except for a small scrying pool that was near Alpha's feet. The Homunculus didn't detect anything else, no enchantments or traps."
Jace nodded, and the nearby Planeswalkers heard it too. Jace wiggled his left hand's fingers in a complex pattern, and then his hand glowed bright blue for just a second. "I told the other Planeswalkers the news," he said. "We're all getting ready." He extended his arm. "Now, give back my Homunculus, Chandra."
Once again, Chandra held the Homunculus close to her like a dear firstborn, shielding it from Jace. "No! He's mine! I want him," the pyromancer bit back.
Jace breathed out hard through his nose, losing patience. "Give it back, Chandra. I use him in combat. You don't."
"But..." Chandra argued weakly, loosening her grip. Jace took back the Homunculus, which looked back at Chandra and stuck its tongue out at her.
Viktor was amazed by the emptiness of what was waiting for him: just a flat expanse of sun-baked dirt strewn with small rocks, without even any trees. This areas was visible at the top of the mountain range, but from here Viktor could see that the battle ground was pointed, almost shaped like a wedge because this was the very tip of Jund. More importantly, the Maelstrom raged huge in the sky, like a sun that had fallen into orbit. Even more important than that, Viktor could see the gigantic form of the slumbering Nicol Bolas far below, and Elena and Alpha standing not foo far from him. His stomach tightened. This is it! Now we take back the Multiverse's freedom. He could hear the other Planeswalkers prepare for battle, and heard Epsilon bark orders to his Azorius troops to prepare them.
And then the Planeswalker-Azorius trooper army poured down the other side of the mountain and began the battle.