Chronicle of Bolas: Things Unseen
Lore forum
Posted on June 27, 2018, 4:29 p.m. by TheRealSpecialK
Our Jeskai friend survives his encounter with the Ojutai dragon sent to kill him, allowing him to continue his tale about Ugin and Bolas.
Source: https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/chronicle-bolas-things-unseen-2018-06-27
TheRealSpecialK says... #3
I honestly hate the added romance scenes. They are poorly written, cliche, and not at at complimentary to to characters. I agree it will be relevant, as the twins seem to symbolize Bolas and Ugin, but that doesn't change that it is poorly done. One more vent while I'm at it - I wish they portrayed Bolas with more intellect. He seems really childish to me as opposed to the deeply layered villain we all know. I understand he's young in this, but still - he seems more driven by instinct and his raw emotions than I imagine the calculating Bolas to be.
However, I will say I am enjoying the plots of both stories - characters aside. Tarkir is one of my favorite planes and it is awesome to see more of it. I also really like lore, so I'm excited each week when we get more info on the origins of Bolas and Ugin.
June 27, 2018 7:26 p.m.
I think it's good to see Bolas as instinctive and emotional here. You have to think: Bolas is so cunning and manipulative because he doesn't want to be like a dragon. He wants to be better, he believes he is better. And maybe he comes to that conclusion by discovering for himself the faults of dragons.
This is more than just an explanation of why Ugin and Nicol have been fighting for most of their lives; this is the story of their respective battles against death.
Bolas thinks dragons are immortal by birthright. They don't deserve to die, and as long as every other living thing stays in the dirt where it belongs, they can't die. Or so he believes. That's why he's so scared and angered by Sal's death. I predict that when he experiences the fault in his logic for himself (perhaps he'll spark by way of a near-death experience, and this will change his thinking), he's going to seek out a way to be better than dragonkind. To be a God.
Ugin on the other hand understands and accepts his own mortality, but is already showing signs of fearing his own death in chapter 2 with Te Ju Ki. Not like the Ugin we know, who accepts everything as a fact of nature. I predict that Ugin will seek out a way to overcome death by succumbing to it; I think he'll elect to become a spirit dragon.
It's unclear how these things will come about. Probably they will be on opposite sides of the Elder Dragon War, as it's established that Bolas ascended as a result of winning said war with Palladia-Mors, Chromium, Aracades, and Vaevictus. Therefore, to avoid being called out for retconning, Ugin would have to be a loser of the war to have his name forgotten (and this is already foreshadowed with just such a line in this chapter). Maybe they'll end up in some kind of Brother's War-type situation where they'll be trying to outperform each other and resort to these ultimate solutions to win. Maybe the Elder Dragon War is over, or somehow involves, Lathiss. It's too hard to say, especially not knowing how their other siblings and Vaevictus fit into their conflict.
June 27, 2018 8 p.m.
I'm wondering if Lathliss is actually coming in the next story or if the romance addition is actually something that'll cause the rift. TBH I hope it isn't.
But another similarity I'm noticing between the young twins and Nicol/Ugin is also how they act and how a rift is already starting between the two. Primarily, in terms of one twin in each setting becoming jealous of abilities and knowledge the other, less impulsive twin has.
June 28, 2018 4:05 p.m.
RicketyEng says... #6
I'm not convinced that the romance will be Te Ju Ki's primary involvement. Yasova's accusation at the end that he hasn't been honest with them tells me that his true goal is to slay Ugin and put a stop to the dragon tempests. Yasova figured that out when he used ghostfire and once she saw his tattoos. And Naiva went and told him where Ugin is.
Phaetion says... #2
Damn, my sweet, pun-tastic farewell sentence failed. :P
Seriously though, I know exactly what's going to happen:
There's a parallel here: Ugin and Bolas, then Yasova's granddaughters. They're both sets of twins. The girls are falling for the wanderer, and this is exactly what's going to tear a rift between them (and the same prediction goes with Ugin and Bolas: See below).
At some point, Ugin and Bolas will meet a dragon they both love (Lathliss, Dragon Queen?), and they'll end up fighting over her. Something about that fight will cause them to break off and begin the conflict between them.
So too will Yasova's granddaughters undergo the same fate. They fall for the wanderer, they fight over him, and then there's the same consequences as Ugin vs Bolas above.
So...yeah. Add this to the ever-growing list of "Love destroys characters/friendships/everything" trope. Geez, the more I see this, the more I think of how pathetic it is (Not the trope).
June 27, 2018 5:56 p.m. Edited.