Certain cards in 'Magic: The Gathering'(TM) contain special 'flavor text', that is, text placed to make the card more interesting, but otherwise not intended to influence how the card is played. Taken as a whole, the flavor text desribes the history of the Magic: The Gathering world. This encyclopedia is an attempt to collate those texts (and other information released by Wizards of the Coast) and present a cohesive history of the M:TG world.

No. There are occasions where a person is mentioned only once in all the cards. There are also occasions where a person is quoted several times, but we know very little about the person making the quote. Ideally, this text makes a good reference if you're reading the flavor text and want to know more about the person or place mentioned. If you don't find it here, assume that there isn't any more information available. For example, "Halina, Dwarven Trader" makes many comments about other people and places, but we know nothing about Halina besides the fact that s/he is a trader.

This text is maintained by saintly@innocent.com (Steve Zeck). I appreciate any input or suggestions, especially if you have more information about a character or place and wish to contribute it. If you think I left out someone important, let me know.

Ailis Connaut (Female Scout) - Scout for the Icatian city of Montford. She bravely risked her life to scout the positions of raiding orcs and goblins.

Amiqat (Port city in Jamuraa) - Overseen by the vizier Qhattib, this city conducted extensive trading. It's harbor is guarded by a fearsome beast that collects toll money from incoming ships.

Anaba (Country in Ulgrotha) - Home to the minotaurs. Deifies an ancient hero named Feroz, a minotaur mage, who is said to have delivered them from their oppressors. Home to many powerful shamans and warriors.

Argoth (Forest/Country in Terisiare) - The forest suffered terrible damage from artifacts during the Brother's war. It later became a strong opponent of machines and anyone who used them. Before the war, it was home to the Citanul Druids. Following the massive destruction of the forest, the druids were to go mad and leave the forest to battle their foes.

Ashnod (Female General) - An effective, but evil general feared by opponents and her own subjects alike. She had no qualms about using torture, sacrifices or hideous devices that turned her own subjects into machines. Her ruling city was Zegon. She was Mishra's lieutenant.

Askari - The elite warriors of Zhalfir. There are two divisions of Askari; Burning Shield Askari and Searing Spear Askari, representing defense and offense.

Autumn Willow - The sentient tree. Ruler of the forest and the faeries in Ulgrotha. She is a strong force for life and nature, and hates Sengir and his evil minions. She often works with heroes of Serra.

Aysen (City of Serra) - The ruling city of Serra. Home to Aysen Abbey, left behind by Serra. A strong force for righteousness, if a bit bureaucratic. Aysen imported stones taken from Aliban's towers and used the stones to make roads. Gulsen is the current matron of Aysen Abbey.

Balduvia (Country in Terisiare) - A frozen land neighboring Kjeldor. Fought a bitter war against Kjeldor's General Varchild, then became an ally of Kjeldor. Home to the Order of Stormgald. When Balduvians judge one of their citizens guilty of a particularly heinous crime, they brand the criminal a special 'brand of Ill Omen', causing that person to be shunned by other Balduvians. Compared to the Kjeldorans, the Balduvians are relatively primitive. They live in tribes, each goverened by a chieftain. The leading Chieftain in the battles against Varchild was Louisa Coldeyes. A prominent Balduvian shaman was Steinar Icefist.

Baron Sengir (Male Ruler) - Ruler of Sengir. He has a dwarven daughter named Irini and a living mother. He is lord of the vampires, and werewolves are his lieutenants.

Benalia (Country in the Domains) - The people of this land have a strange and complex caste system that changes with the lunar cycle. The Hero caste is the only one that cannot be gained automatically, and must be earned.

Brother's War - The war between Mishra and Urza. The war would ultimately end with Mishra dead and the continent of Terisiare laid waste. Both brothers created and used terrible machines against each other's armies. Many of these machines are still operative and are usable as Artifacts. During the war, many independant mages and cities tried to resist the brothers, most were destroyed. Contributing to the demise of the brothers was the uncontrollable power of the planar gates, relics of the ancient Thran empire.

College of Lat-Nam - A school of magic and wizardry founded by Drafna. During the brother's war, many of it's mages were killed or eliminated as threats. Surviving members took the secrets of the school with them and formed the College of the Unseen.

Council of Elves - Rules the elves of Fyndhorn. One of the council members is an elf named Liana, the speaker of the Council is Ailheen. The council of elves allied with the druids of the Juniper Order and occasionally the Order of the White Shield.

Death Speaker - Not all who live in Serra are cheerful, happy people. Although the Death Speakers fight for the forces of white, they see the darker side of things and present the wisdom of the dead and dying. Generally thought of as morbid and dark, they have crossed paths with the Inquisitors several times. The most outspoken death speaker is Murat.

Disa the Restless (Explorer) - Set out on many expeditions to chart and explore the frozen wastes of the ice age. Died of the plague in the Kjeldoran city of Krov.

Domains (Continent group) - Home to several empires, including Benalia, Llanowar, Savea, Shanodin, Hurloon, Kush, Foriys, Mirtiin and Stahaan, Verdura, Orvada, Keld, Parma, Scarwood, Bogardan, Barbary, Scarwood and Avenant.

Dominia (Multiverse) - The universe, made up of all the planes and the gates between them. Some of it's planes are Dominaria, Ulgrotha and the Arabian Nights' planes of Rabiah.

Dominaria (Plane) - The world made up of the continents Jamuraa, Terisiare, The Domains, Shiv, Sarpadia, Phyrexia and Corondor. Dominaria is similar to Earth in climate and gravity. It's mass, however, is almost two and a half times that of earth. It's year is 420 days long, most civilized cultures divide this into twelve 35-day months. It has enormous oceans, with trails of small islands connecting the known continents. It has two moons, one artificial made by persons unknown. The artificial moon is believed to have existed long before Urza and Mishra.

Elves - A proud race of skilled archers, scouts and rangers. Elves are very familiar with the land and adept at camoflauging themselves. Although most elves are aligned with the forces of light, some heretical elves were cast out. Exiled, evil elves are the Elves of Deep Shadow. Elves usually prefer to live in forests and in harmony with nature.

Endrek Sahr (Master Breeder) - Created the Thrulls for the Order of the Ebon Hand. He was executed after his invention of the Derelor Thrulls, which were deemed to costly to maintain.

Farrel, Oliver (Male Priest) - Disgusted by Icatia's lack of action against the order of the Ebon Hand, he left the country. Later his priests and warriors fought both the Icatians and the evil order many times.

Femeref (Country in Jamuraa) - One of the three countries to ally against Kaervek. Formerly ruled by the Council of Voices, led by the Holy Avenger Asmira. Femeref originally seceded from Zhalfir during a religious dispute.

Goblins - Allied with the Orcs to raid the empires of Sarpadia. Goblins are short, and have low intelligence. They are a cowardly and weak race. Only through numbers were they able to overcome the other nations. Each Goblin King became King by assasinating the previous one. Goblins bred underground, their numbers hidden from the enemy until they attacked.

Havenwood (Country in Sarpadia) - The Elvish empire. It was ultimately destroyed by the raiders and a race of semi-intelligent fungi called Thallids.

Homarids - A race of aquatic creatures that was a minor nuisance to the nation of Vodalia before the climate grew cold. They thrived in the cold climate and ultimately overwhelmed the nation of merfolk. Weak in Magic, but strong and numerous.

Icatia (Country in Sarpadia) - Last and greatest of the Sarpadian empires. It was ultimately destroyed by Orcish and Goblin raids. By the time the empire fell, the once-peaceful towns had been reduced to military camps. Prior to the raids, it had conflicts with the evil Order of the Ebon Hand. Icatia's strength on the battlefield came partly from it's Combat Medics, healers who retrieved and healed wounded soldiers. Icatia's main religion, Lietbur, bore strong resemblence to many teachings of the Order of the Ebon Hand.

Ihsan (Male Paladin) - Ihsan was once a proud member of the Serra Paladins. He was corrupted by the Baron Sengir, and now lives an undead life as a Shade. He longs to fix the mistakes of his past and to achieve his eternal rest.

Ivra Jursdotter (Female General) - A mercenary leader. She led bands of goblins and orcs against the nations of Sarpadia. Her company was hired by the Ebon Hand.

Jabari (Male Sidar) - An adventurer who made many excursions into Jamuraa's Mwonvuli jungle. He joined with Rashida Scalebane and Holy Avenger Asmira to free Mangara from Kaervek.

Jarkeld (Male General) - Called the "Arctic Fox", this leader of a band of mercenaries was an excellent combatant and led many successful campaigns. He allied with the elves in a cooperative effort. Elves trained his healers, and he defended the elves from the orcs.

Jherana Rure (Female General) - The Order of the Ebon Hand's counter-insurgency commander. She led the fight against the Thrulls in the Thrull Rebellion. She was killed by a Necrite thrull.

Jolrael (Female Warrior) - Explored the Mwonvuli jungle and lived in a lost paradise deep within it. She temporarily joined with Kaervek, but turned on him when she saw the horrors he unleashed.

Juniper Order - An order of druids who forsook the cities of Kjeldor to live in the forests of Fyndhorn. They follow the diety Freyalise, as do the elves of the Elvish Council who allied with the druids. Led by the High Honored druid Kolbjorn and Elder Druid Kaysa. The position of Elder Druid is filled each generation by a child born with a special birthmark. Jaeuhl Carthalion served as an Advocate of the Order.

Kaervek (Male General) - Mage of the Burning Isles. He launched a massive campaign to conquer other countries. He successfully conquered Quiran and Zhalfir and killed the ruler of Femeref.

Kjeldor (Country in Terisiare) - Founded by the warrior Kjeld, ruled by King Darien. The country found itself facing the enchanter Zur and the necromancer Lim Dul. Kjeldor also allied with the Elves. The druids of the Juniper Order emigrated from Kjeldor to the forests of Fyndhorn. Zur the enchanter was a Kjeldoran who was exiled for his insane attempts to achieve eternal life. Halvor Arenson is a Kjeldoran priest. Gustha Ebbasdotter is the Royal Mage, and has fought Zur on occasion. The northwestern provinces of Kjeldor border Balduvia.

Kroog (City in Terisiare) - Became an ally to Urza during the brother's war. During a period when most of it's warriors were fighting in Urza's army elsewhere, Mishra destroyed the city. Following the fall of Kroog, Urza swore that his allies would not have to fear for their defense, and created the Yoatian Soldier in response.

Krov (City in Kjeldor) - Home to many mages and elementalists. This city was afflicted by the plague that killed the explorer Disa. The city had frequent run-ins with the enchanter Zur.

Lim Dul (Male Necromancer) - An evil general who served the deity Leshrac, Walker of Night. His empire was called Tesserhorn. In Lim Dul's absence, Tesserhorn was defended by the warrior Chaeska and Lim Dul's High Guard.

Mairsil (Male wizard) - Called the Pretender. The wizard longed for power and sought ways to reach it across the boundaries of the planes. He imprisoned the adventuring wizard Barl (Lord Ith) in a cage for twelve years.

Mangara (Male ruler) - Ruler of the Quiran, he was imprisoned when Kaervek conquered her land. He was freed by the Holy Avenger Asmira, who died in the endeavor. After he was freed, he transported to Kaervek's location (Kaervek was severely drained after his attack on Teferi's isle) and destroyed the evil mage.

Marit Lage (Female Conjurer) - A legendary wizard with strong ties to the sea. Presumed dead, her legacies and curses still affect the world. Some speculate that she is not really dead, but lies sleeping and will rise again at some point in the future.

Merfolk - A race of aquatic humanoids. When Terisiare flooded, they found themselves confronted again by their ancient enemy, the Viscerids. They sent out the Benthic explorers to chart and explore the new sea floor. Humans speculate that merfolk are atlantean humans that adapted to the ocean, merfolk speculate that humans are merfolk that have adapted to live on land.

Mishra (Male General) - Brother of Urza. Mishra, like his brother, was apprenticed to Tocasia, a master artificer. Later, Mishra was to fight his brother in the massive Brother's War. Mishra was also a master of designing and using machines.

Montford (City in Icatia) - A border Icatian town that was one of the first to be attacked by the raiding goblins and orcs. It successfully repelled the raids many times in the early stages of the war.

Order of the Ebon Hand - Founded by the mage Tourach, the order was an evil society of mercenaries. They are most famous for creating and breeding Thrulls, a race of creatures bred to be destroyed to power or enhance the abilities of other creatures. The order created intelligent Thrulls to help with the sacrifices. Ultimately the intelligent Thrulls led the Thrull Rebellion against their masters and destroyed the Order. The order plagued the nation of Icatia during it's existence.

Order of Lietbur - Followers of Lietbur in Kjeldor opposed the Order of the Ebon Hand. Due to similarities between the two orders, scholars speculate that they shared a common history at one time.

Order of Stormgald - A band of knights gathered to defend Balduvia from the General Varchild. It was dispersed by her attacks and became an underground revolutionary band inside Varchild's own army. The Order was led by Avram Garrison.

Purraj of Urborg (Male Necromancer) - Necromancer of Urborg, obsessed with staying alive. Demands the lives and life forces of others in payment for services.

Rashida Scalebane (Dragon Slayer) - Dedicated his life to slaying dragons after having been terrorized in childhood by one. Fought with Asmira and Jabari to rescue Mangara.

Sarpadia (World) - The countries of Sarpadia were ultimately destroyed by the Goblin and Orcish raiders. The greatest of them was Icatia, but the dwarven empire of walled cities also fought valiantly against the orcs as well. In the midst of the raids, the climate of Sarpadia was growing steadily colder.

Sengir (Country in Ulgrotha) - A transylvania-like country ruled by the Baron Sengir. Home to vampires, werewolves and many other creatures of the night. Sengir conquered and destroyed the An-Zerrin race.

Serra (Country in Ulgrotha) - Founded by the warrior Serra, its capital city is Aysen. An enemy of Sengir, home to many forces of light, including the Aysen crusaders and the Beastwalkers. Also home to the Samite priests and healers.

Shiv (Continent) - Home to the Shivans and Vishivans. A hot, volcanic and generally inhospitable continent northeast of Jamuraa. Only Jamuraa's Viashino lizards know the coastal waters of this continent, much to the annoyance of the Shiv.

Skyknights - An independant order of Knights fighting to defend the folk of Balduvia and Kjeldor. They ride the winged Aesthir, and their mortal enemies are the Centaur archers. Skyknights are led by SkyCaptains, of which Arna Kennerud is one. Sky Mages bring magic to the order.

Soldevi (Country in Terisiare) - A country of expert machinists who loved to work with artifacts. One Soldevian, Sorine Relicbane, was outspoken against the use of the machines, fearing a repeat of the Brother's War. He was branded a Heretic for his efforts. Soldevi's greatest Artificer, Arcum Dagsson was the chief proponent for the machines. Ultimately, it was his machines that destroyed Soldevi when they escaped control.

Tawnos (Male Artificer) - Urza's famous apprentice. He quickly learned the secrets of making the complex machines. After he developed the Clay Statue, Urza rewarded his talents by promoting him to Master machinist.

Teferi (Male Wizard) - A master of manipulating Time. He was the royal wizard in ancient Zhalfir. He unified the various guilds to strengthen Zhalfir. Ultimately, his experiments and attempts to control time went awry, damaging the time stream and created 'phased' creatures that slipped in and out of space uncontrollably.

Teferi's Isle (Island in Jamuraa) - The island where Teferi worked his experiments. One experiment, designed to repair the time stream, phased all animal and plant life on the island out of time for 200 years. When they returned, the island was attacked by Kaervek. The attack was easily repulsed by Teferi and left Kaervek severely drained.

Terisiare (Continent) - A vast, cold world containing many frozen lands including Ardarkar, Uurserk, Kjeldor and Balduvia. Home to the Brother's War.

Thallids - Semi-intelligent fungi who destroyed the elvish empire of Havenwood. Some speculate that they were the accidental creation of elves trying to cultivate larger and more beautiful plants.

Thelonites - Elvish followers of Thelon in Havenwood. Some turned to fertilizing the forests of Havenwood in a desparate attempt to keep it alive and growing.

Thrulls, Thrull Rebellion - Thrulls were a race of creatures bred by the Order of the Ebon Hand for sacrifice. They were to ultimately turn on their creators and destroy them. Thrulls were created using a mixture of necromantic magic and alchemy.

Tocasia (Female Artificer) - A master machinist, she taught the young Urza and Mishra how to build machines, and led them on trips to explore the sacred cavern of Koiros.

Trokair (City in Icatia) - After this city was conquered by the raiding Orcs and Goblins, Farrel formally broke his ties with Icatia. Trokair's mayor was Lydia Wynforth.

Urza (Male General) - Brother of Mishra. During his childhood, both he and Mishra were Tocasia's apprentices. Later, he fought with Mishra for control over Dominaria in the massive Brother's War. His most famous apprentice was Tawnos. One of his first allies in the war was the city of Kroog. Urza was a master of creating machines and he used them extensively.

Varchild (Female General) - The uncontrollable general of the armies of Kjeldor. She was to ruthlessly fight to expand the borders of Kjeldor despite the wishes of the ruler of her country. Her main opponent was the nation of Balduvia.

Viscerids - A race of aquatic creatures. Not nearly as intelligent as the merfolk, but savage and ruthless. They helped increase the flooding of Terisiare and flooded many places that might not otherwise have been reached. Ancient enemies of the merfolk. Dead viscerids are worn by other viscerids as armor.

Vodalia (Country in Sarpadia) - A vast, underwater country of Mer-folk and sea creatures. It was to later be destroyed by raiding creatures called Homarids. Early Vodalians worshipped Svyelun, the goddess of the Pearl moon.

Zhalfir (Country in Jamuraa) - Allied with Suq'Ata and Femeref to defend against the warrior Kaervek. Zhalfir was ultimately conquered. One Zhalfirin city was Tefemburu. Zhalfirin warriors tattooed themselves with the Triangle of War, it's points symbolizing Might, Faith and Guile. The elite Zhalfirin warriors are the Askari.

Zur (Male Enchanter) - A former Kjeldoran who was exiled for his insane attempts to achieve eternal life. He was later to assemble a formidable array of mages and soldiers and attack his former homeland.

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