Uncharted Realms: I. AM. AVACYN.
Lore forum
Posted on May 18, 2016, 10:37 a.m. by RussischerZar
Link: http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/magic-story/i-am-avacyn-2016-05-18
Brought to you 20 minutes early through my 1337 h4x0r skills.
My god. This has to be one of my favorite battles ever written. Though now I'm sad because Avacyn was truly unmade and she is no more.
May 18, 2016 11:04 a.m.
...and Olivia Voldaren gets to kill all the humans she wants. That sucks.
Still, I would'e liked a cliffhanger that revealed the true big bad. Alas...
May 18, 2016 11:25 a.m.
"But Avacyn... you can be destroyed."
Best line in the whole chapter. Doug Beyer is really good at writing moments with high tension.
And we are only halfway through the block? geez...
May 18, 2016 12:02 p.m.
AngryKitten says... #6
I have never felt so sorry for a vampire in my life...
May 18, 2016 12:19 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #7
wow. all the feels. goes to show why Sorin is my favorite walker and one of the best MTG characters.
May 18, 2016 12:26 p.m.
AgentGreen says... #8
The only gripe is that we never learned how Avaycn turned mad.
Now I hope we learn why and if Nahiri is responsible; Sorin will grant her a slow and painful death
May 18, 2016 12:51 p.m.
iBleedPunk says... #9
Rest in peace sweet sweet angel :(
Nahiri is soooooooooooooooo dead now lol
May 18, 2016 1:07 p.m.
This was probably my favorite of this block so far. I think doing this from Avacyn's point of view was the perfect way to go. The fight between them was awesome, and this all showed how badass Sorin really is. Telling Avacyn she could kill Jace and Tamiyo, countering spells with blood magic, delivering the chilling one liners..badass indeed.
May 18, 2016 1:36 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #12
When I first saw the title, I legitly screamed a little. This might just become my favorite UR, and I haven't even read it yet!
May 18, 2016 2:23 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #13
So... did Avacyn actually snap out of her madness by the time she fought Sorin? Cuz I think she did.
Aaaaaaah... that was so good. And the fact that we're not done with SOI, let alone Eldritch Moon, makes me really excited for the rest!
"I am not your child. I am your creation."
Finally, someone who gets it!
May 18, 2016 2:36 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #15
"Anguished Unmaking"? Sorin did not seem sad at all. I HATE Sorin now. He is tied with Jace for the number one spot on the Planeswalker execution list. I loved Avacyn and now she is gone! Nahiri HAS to kill Sorin in an awesome sword fight.
May 18, 2016 2:59 p.m.
How does Sorin not seem sad? He literally couldn't talk at a normal volume due to the emotions he was feeling. And Sorin doesn't feel emotions! Look at these excerpts:
"Jace glanced back and forth between the space that had been Avacyn and Sorin's face. The vampire was trembling slightly, fists clenched around his sword, as if trying to hold an earthquake in his chest."
"Jace watched Sorin shove his sword into his scabbard and turn away, his collar pulled up around his jaw, his shoulders hunched. The vampire glided up a staircase, his fingernails raking pits in the marble bannister."
Those are the movements of a man tormented.
May 18, 2016 3:03 p.m.
AngryKitten says... #17
Even the flavor text on Anguished Unmaking alludes to Sorin's despair.
May 18, 2016 3:20 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #18
If you don't think he was sad about having to put down his "daughter" then you didn't read the story well enough/don't understand Sorin.
May 18, 2016 4:50 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #19
What an intense story this was! I would have preferred that the first part had been told from Jace or Tamiyo's perspective, but having it be told from Avayn's perspective was nice, as well.
While the events of this story were spoiled by the cards, it still was very dramatic and emotional; now we know why Sorin could not purify Avacyn, because she was too greatly corrupted and unwilling to be redeemed. I definitely imagine that Sorin must be very tormented to have been forced to kill Avacyn, which was essentially him killing his own child.
This story could easily have been the finale of this block, but the fact that the story is not yet over means that there is still more to occur. It is very likely that the next set shall deal with the effects of Avacyn's death and also what drove her mad initially.
The fact that the story is taking a two-week break from this block is interesting, so I shall be very intrigued to see what stories there shall be during that time. Hopefully, they shall be stories that somehow relate to Eternal Masters.
May 18, 2016 5:02 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #20
I can understand the evidence pointing towards killing Avacyn. JWiley129 It was still physically possible for Sorin to talk at a normal sound. AngryKitten the flavor text on cards does not always match up with the story. Example: Deicide Elspeth never said that quote in the spectacular Godsend books by Jenna Helland. shinobigarth everyone can have their own interpretation of the story and mine, being a huge angry Avacyn fan, was that Sorin did not feel true sorrow for having to kill Avacyn. I think Avacyn was a tool Sorin made to manipulate with his powerful magic, so he would not have been sorry about killing her. Avacyn did not even remember who he was for a while, indicating how not close they are. I am entitled to have my own views on the story, and just because mine is different than yours does not necessarily mean I did not comprehend it well enough.
May 18, 2016 5:13 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #21
She was sort of a tool to him, but that doesn't mean he didn't like her. He could have created giant constructs with no emotion or personality or free will but he chose to make her the way he made her. If he didn't care about her he would have started doing the unmake ritual right away.
i doubt they talked frequently but that doesn't mean he didn't care for her. There's a lot of parents and kids who don't speak much for one reason or another. Are you gonna tell me their parents don't love them?
Sorin had to choose between her or his fellow vampires. If Avacyn was left to go around killing humans because she thought they were evil, the vamps would starve eventually. He cares about his vampire brethren more than her but that doesn't mean he doesn't care about her at all. It's called priorities.
May 18, 2016 5:34 p.m.
bennybubbles says... #23
Sorin is so badass.
"Listen to me. If you have some grievance with these two, you may kill them before we begin."
New second favourite planeswalker.
May 18, 2016 10:55 p.m.
DarkMagician says... #24
Homura_Akemi There's nothing open to interpretation here, Sorin's grief is made painfully obvious. The flavor text on Anguished Unmaking is 100% how Sorin feels and it's backed up by the story.
May 19, 2016 1:11 a.m.
It seems as if Avacyn regained some proper functionality towards the end- she realized that she was vulnerable to mental corruption and as such was a danger to the inhabitants of the plane. As per her primary objective, protection of the plane of innistrad, she sought her own death, as she had become a liability. She seemed to still be impaired, as she didn't quite get that Sorin could "reboot" her and fix the issue. Either way, Sorin is going to go annihilate whoever is responsible for Avacyn's madness (and indirectly her death). Nahiri (or whoever is behind her) is going to cease to exist. Or be transformed into a new planar guardian and bound to the plane for all eternity. Seems a suitable punishment of the sort Sorin would inflict.
May 19, 2016 11:05 a.m.
shinobigarth says... #26
kruppe perhaps have Jace wipe Nahiri's memory so she isnt mad at Sorin anymore and then condemn her to help protect Innistrad (maybe having Sigarda keep an eye on her) for all eternity making it so she can never leave the plane? haha that would be funny.
May 19, 2016 11:56 a.m.
Remembered that Ugin still wants Sorin to bring Nahiri with him when they meet again. That might become awkward. Still think Nahiri is going to end up bound to the plane in some way.
May 20, 2016 1:37 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #28
something tells me Sorin wont do that and come up with a reason why not when Ugin asks about it.
May 20, 2016 2:18 p.m.
shinobigarth - Sorin's reason will be, "I found Nahiri; she's dead."
May 20, 2016 2:35 p.m.
iBleedPunk says... #30
Yeah I think Sorin is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past the point of bringing her back to Ugin unless someone knows of some extraplanar body bag that I'm unaware of haha
May 20, 2016 2:44 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #31
Nahiri is awesome! She will totally kill Sorin in an awesome sword fight! Shame on Sorin. He was a total jerk and deserved the destruction of his plane. :)
May 20, 2016 3:22 p.m.
iBleedPunk says... #32
Homura_Akemi with that logic she must then kill Ugin as well as herself since they all had a hand (and claw) in the "destruction" of Zendikar
May 20, 2016 3:37 p.m.
Sorin was a bit of a jerk (due to his reaction to the news that the eldrazi had nearly escaped), but Nahiri WAY overreacted to him, especially for someone who had lived with him for an extended period of time, and thus knew his idiosyncrasies. She has no excuse for her actions, whereas Sorin had the excuse of being tired from having just created a being more powerful than most deities. Furthermore, when he fought Nahiri the first time he was very weak (think just above Tibalt weak). Now that he is back to his full strength, and an extremely annoyed full strength at that, he is several weight classes above Nahiri (though we haven't seen much of the new one's power levels). To come to the point, I don't see Sorin losing this one in any way beyond Avacyn's death.
May 20, 2016 7:10 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #35
DarkMagician Sorin was jerky for a few reasons. First, he selfishly abandoned Nahiri to Zendikar to guard the Eldrazi. Sorin was never willing to trap the Eldrazi on his plane, so he put that burden on Nahiri. So, you think he would have helped her out with protecting then because she pretty much risked her plane, right? Then, when the Eldrazi got loose, Ugin and Sorin did not come when Nahiri sent a signal from the Eye of Ugin. Ugin was dead at the time (or in stasis in a hedron on Tarkir in the new timeline) so he had an excuse not to go and help her. Sorin had no excuse and made Nahiri fend for herself with the Eldrazi. Lastly, Sorin was just wimpy to Nahiri when she confronted him. All of this is covered in "Promises Old and New", an SOI story, that ends on a cliffhanger. I believe that Sorin and Avacyn then imprisoned Nahiri in the Helvault (this was in the flashback part) so of course she would be angry. The timing of her plan and the Helvault breaking would work out perfectly then.
May 20, 2016 7:35 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #36
apparently the Helvault and/or Avacyn's existence blocked Nahiri's call for help, which he didn't realize would happen. its like Sorin just got his first cell phone, but didn't know how to set up his voice mail, and then left it at home on accident, and Nahiri gets mad because she tried to call him and he didn't pick up. yeah, its sorta his fault, but he also was a bit clueless about how phones work.
May 20, 2016 10:11 p.m.
Homura_AkemiHow? Just how do you think Sorin is the jerk in all this.
First zendikar was chosen by Ugin because it had the vibrant mana to attract the eldrazi. Innistrad doesn't have nearly the amount of mana needed to attract the eldrazi naturally.
Second while he could've been nicer about it he didn't "intentionally ignore nahiri" like you're claiming he literally created a god to keep balance on a plane that literally is as unbalanced as it comes along with a prison created to house untold amounts of demons and other extra planar threats. Oh and to told it all off he made said prison from silver from the moon. Not just silver silver but freaking silver from the moon. So it's understandable that in doing all this in one shot the poor guy is exhausted and he's not in peak condition. Oh and how Nahiri is mad at him for not knowing he'd block out the signal with the magic he was using how was he supposed to know? Is there a how to create divine powers instruction manual?
All literally all of this mess of Sorin vs nahiri is nahiri being upset and over reacting at all of this. Alright? If she had decided to not pull the lets overreact as much as possible card her and avacyn never would've fought and Sorin never would've had to throw her in time out.
So in conclusion Sorins attitude might need a slight adjustment but nahiri needs a bigger one and a lesson on choosing her bitchieness
May 20, 2016 10:32 p.m.
DarkMagician says... #39
Homura_Akemi The Helvault is used to trap that which can not be destroyed (ie the demons of Innistrad who eventually reform after being defeated) so no, Nahiri was never imprisoned within it.Do you have selective memory because in the story Sorin explains that he never received the signal, had he received it he would have rushed to aid Nahiri because the Eldrazi being loose constitutes a threat to every plain including his own. If you'd go back and read the lore you'd also see that there was a reason they bound the Eldrazi to Zendikar.
May 21, 2016 12:32 a.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #40
shinobigarth Thank you for telling me about Avacyn and the Helvault blocking Nahiri's signal. I am such a Boros I love Nahiri. I guess most people are Orzhov and on Sorin's side.
May 21, 2016 6:49 a.m.
shinobigarth says... #41
I don't dislike Nahiri, she's just being a tool right now, and mostly because of a misconception about Sorin not caring when he world have come immediately had he got the message.
May 21, 2016 9:57 a.m.
iBleedPunk says... #43
So you would condemn an entire plane just because someone didn't answer your call Homura_Akemi? Seems very facile
May 21, 2016 10:54 a.m.
@Homura_Akemi I am a pretty big fan of Orzhov :) In any case, it seems that both sides on this have very valid points, but Sorin's excuses actually work whereas Nahiri's don't hold water (it is unnecessary to endanger tens of thousands if not millions by undoing the Cursemute and driving the local angels and planar protector violently insane just to get back at one person).
May 21, 2016 3:03 p.m.
shinobigarth says... #46
yeah, she's being a huge douche. whether you like her or not, you can't really justify what she's doing right now, killing innocent people just cause she's upset. she knows Sorin would pwn her in a 1v1 is mainly why she's doing it this way.
May 21, 2016 3:21 p.m.
Homura_Akemi says... #47
Now that you mention it, Nahiri seems bad for putting innocents at risk instead of just fighting Sorin one on one
May 21, 2016 4:07 p.m.
im hoping jace says something stupid to sorin and sorin kills him. that will leave the void for tamiyo to fill as the default blue walker
May 21, 2016 8:06 p.m.
Maybe all of the things that are happening are a side effect and/or a distraction to keep the lord of Innistrad busy while she's setting up for something else, a grand finally of sorts.. it's shitty that she's so willing to put innocent people at risk but from her perspective (that being Sorin deliberately not answering the call for help) it could be an eye for an eye thing.. idk, probly wrong but something to consider..
JWiley129 says... #2
Well, this was something.
May 18, 2016 11:04 a.m.