#vulshok

[socialpoison]

Did an art for New Capenna Koth!

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Vulshok Gauntlets

Artist: Richard Sardinha TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[almostlookedhuman]

[markrosewater]

Please continue printing colored equipment at various different power levels, just keep filling out the library of colored equipment, so that I have more options for cubes. (Even really simple ones.) It's useful to me to be able to put equipment, or an equipment theme, in specific colors, and for me to be able to tune the power level a lot. Perhaps we could get "just Vulshok Morningstar, but in some color or other", eventually?

I assume we’ll get more clean, simple stuff over time.

[littjara-mirrorlake]

Plane Shift: New Phyrexia - Human Subraces

For the past 2-3 years, I've been working on a homebrew D&D 5e supplement for New Phyrexia, and it occurred to me that I could publish/share it in installments here on Tumblr! Today, I'll put up human subraces. Core-born Phyrexians and playable myr (among other things) to come! PS:NP was written to take place during Scars of Mirrodin block or earlier, since that's when my campaign is, but its contents--including these subraces--are forward compatible with other points in the timeline.

--

Like their relatives on other planes, the humans of Mirrodin are ingenious, ambitious folk who strive to leave their mark on the world. They are divided into five distinct ethnic groups: the Auriok of the Razor Fields, the Neurok of the Quicksilver Sea, the Moriok of the Mephidross, the Vulshok of the Oxidda Chain, and the Sylvok of the Tangle. Your Mirran human character has the following traits.

Type. You are a Humanoid. You are also considered a human for any prerequisite or effect that requires you to be a human.

Ability Score Increase. One ability score of your choice increases by 2, and another increases by 1.

Age. Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live about a century.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice (except  Phyrexian).

Size. Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Ethnic group. Choose one of the five Mirran human ethnic groups for your character to belong to.

Auriok

The Auriok are a nomadic people, specializing as warriors, spellcasters, and diplomats who form alliances between tribes and with the other races of the Razor Fields. Each Auriok tribe is led by a champion who is responsible for their people's well-being. Auriok skin is bronze-colored and embedded with gold, and their hair is bleached white by the constant light of the suns.

Auriok Combat Training. You are proficient with the longsword and shortsword.

Diplomatic. You have proficiency with Insight and Persuasion.

Neurok

Having thrown off the yoke of slavery under vedalken masters, the Neurok have risen to a dominant position in the chrome-spire settlements on the Quicksilver Sea, based in their capital at Lumengrid. They are scientists and inventors, among the first to notice and study the increasing amounts of glistening oil on Mirrodin's surface. Silvery, chrome-like metal adorns Neurok skin, and their hair, often hidden under elaborate, multi-eyed headdresses, is brown, red, or blond.

Breadth of Knowledge. You gain proficiency with any combination of three skills or tools of your choice.

Cantrip. You know one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it (choose when you select this race).

Moriok

Carving out a living in the inhospitable swamp of the Mephidross, the Moriok endure constant exposure to its necrogen gas and battle the harsh urges its fell magic draws out. Lead-like metal emerges from underneath their skin, often forming visors over their eyes. They are tall and pale, decorating their bodies with dark leather and ornaments of tooth and bone.

Inured to Necrogen. You are resistant to poison damage, and you have advantage on saving throws against being poisoned.

Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can choose to drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Vulshok

Renowned blacksmiths, warriors, and geomancers, the Vulshok people create armor and weapons of the best quality that can be found on Mirrodin. They are divided into six tribes based on their smithing specialization: Anvil, Blade, Hammer, Helm, Shield, and Spear. The iron spikes on their skin afford them a degree of natural armor. Vulshok are heavyset and sturdily built, and ember cores are embedded in their chests, glowing red-hot in moments of strong emotion.

Expertise of the Forge. You have proficiency with smith's tools.

Heart of Flame. You have resistance to fire damage. In addition, you know the produce flame cantrip. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it (choose when you select this race).

Iron Skin. You gain a +1 bonus to your AC when you aren't wearing heavy armor.

Sylvok

The most insular of Mirrodin's humans, the Sylvok are druidic hunter-gatherers who place emphasis on tradition, nature, and harmony. Unlike the canopy-dwelling elves, Sylvok inhabit the undergrowth of the Tangle, subsisting off gelfruit and the meat they hunt. They view artifice as a form of worship, using their skills to venerate the natural world through imitation. Their skin is decorated with intricate patterns of copper that imitate the look of plant growth.

Expert Navigator. A lifetime spent in the twisted growths of the Tangle has made you sure-footed and adept in tough travelling conditions. You ignore nonmagical difficult terrain.

Sylvok Magic. You know the druidcraft cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the animal friendship spell once per day; you must finish a long rest in order to cast the spell again using this trait. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells (choose when you select this race).

Tangle's Lore. You gain proficiency in a skill of your choice from among Animal Handling, History, Nature, Religion, and Survival.

[ask-the-praetors]

Dear Urabrask,

To what extent does the Autonomous Furnace interact with Mirrans? Does "Let them be" mean "refuse to interact with them" or "coexist with them", or does it lie somewhere between the two?

(He grunts.) A dangerous question. One I would be put to death for answering, were Norn to seek even more reasons to want my head. It's a good thing I am long past the point of caring about that.

Let them be means let them be. I say what I mean, outsider. The denizens of the Furnace have long been free to interpret that as they wish. Now, of course, circumstance drives us and the Mirrans together. The same spark must ignite both of our peoples. For that to happen, my Phyrexians cannot force perfection upon them like Norn's brutes.

For coexistence, tolerance must be reciprocal. There are few, Mirran or Phyrexian, I trust to do that. The Vulshok Koth seems receptive enough to cooperate, but there is no telling what shall happen if this conflict ever ends.

Either way, that is not a concern for our near future.

-U

[danco110]

“Thank you,” Koth sighed.

“Always.”

Elspeth took flight on radiant wings, away from her Vulshok friend. Soon she was hovering high above the Zhalfirin village, anxiously clapping a hand across her face as she berated herself.

“‘Always’? I couldn’t say anything…actually friendly to him? ‘You’re welcome, Koth,’ perhaps? Or maybe, just maybe, ‘Goodbye’? Argh, what is wrong with me!”

Elspeth glared over her shoulder at her new feathered appendages. “Is it…an angel thing? I know most every angel I’ve met has been rather…cold. But still, there’s, er…Lyra…Tariel, technically…there were Bruna and Gisela…And besides, I wasn’t born an angel! Doesn’t seem fair I should have to act so…distant.”

Elspeth uselessly clenched her fists, trying and failing to ignore the sound of wingbeats behind her. She hung her head to gaze sullenly at the village below.

“I just wish I could say goodbye to you, Koth…”

Elspeth noticed some movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking up, she saw another angel floating beside her. The new arrival’s wings beat in time with Elspeth’s as she offered the planeswalker a small, patronizing smirk.

“First time?”

Elspeth’s expression crumpled into a mix of angst and confusion, as though she were unsure how to react to this other angel.

“Huh?”

“I’m ascended too,” shrugged the seraph. “And yes, sorry to say, but the wings affect how you talk. Or, rather, being an angel affects how you talk…to mortals. But hey! At least you’ll be able to protect them a lot better now!”

Elspeth buried her head in her hands, a gesture made somewhat awkward by nature of her remaining upright in the air.

“What a relief,” she groaned into her palms.

[While I think angels just inherently speaking like they do has more interesting implications, and while it would explain Elspeth’s sudden change in speech and behavior…I kinda feel like, if you’re socialized and taught from ‘birth’ that you are a deity, savior, and leader to those literally and figuratively beneath you, that might lead to some minor variation in speech patterns…at the very least.]

[werewolfoverlord12]

Addendum Post Fall 8

@littjara-compleated-sage

Several hours before

Urabrask sighed, "And that's... pretty much all of it."

Slobad blinked several times, "You dreamed about a mutant Yawgmoth trying to kill you... and you woke up with the power to do this?" He motioned to the augemented limbs he now had.

"Yeah. Can't exactly say it wasn't at least a little real since i couldn't do that this morning."

Slobad chuckled, "-I- was a planeswalker for a bit. I believe anything is possible now."

As Urabrask laughed, an emergency alarm began to sound,

"Attention" Watcher said, "Attention. Sleeper Agent detected in transport room three. All available collection personnel please report immediately."

"Sleeper Agent?" Slobad asked, "You told me this place was secure?"

"It is. From the outside... I'll be back. Make sure if anybody who shouldn't be here shows up, you show them how to use those fists of yours, huh?" Urabrask said.

He got up and ran out of the room, and down the hall.

Transport Room Three was clear across the Sanctuary complex, and as he headed towards it, Urabrask was met with several crowds of Refugees heading back towards the safety of their rooms.

Sighing in annoyance, Urabrask glanced up and a thought occurred to him. Jumping up onto the ceiling, the familiar sensation of his claws digging into solid stone brought back many memories of his time in the Quiet Furnace. Jumping from column to ceiling to wall, he made it through to the other side in record time.

As he approached, he found Jazal and a medical team waiting outside the room.

"What's happening?"

Jazal shook his head, "Don't ask me. One of the sensors went off and then the man did. Alistair was able to keep him from hurting anyone, but otherwise, we're just waiting for an outcome."

Urabrask leapt up onto the ceiling again, and crawled into the room as quietly as he could, before taking a position at the top of one of the support columns and looking around the side.

One of the Vulshok males was standing in the center of the room, black cables and wires bursting from inside his back and one arm. His glazed over eyes were focused with unrelenting malice on Alistair, who stood in front of him.

The leonin was in his Crystal form, blood red crystal making up most of his massive body, while paler white crystal made up his claws and teeth. Despite his menacing visage, Alistair was speaking in a calm, level voice.

"Malok was is? You're with friends. No matter what those whispers are telling you--"

"YOU DESTROYED NEW PHYREXIA! YOU DESERVE NOTHING BUT DEATH!" The man shouted.

Urabrask then noticed the large, glowing hexgold blade in the man's hands. Alistair's crystal was strong enough to withstand it, but there were still other innocents trapped in the back of the room. They wouldn't kill this man; he wasn't in control of himself. But they didn't know how much damage he could do to people he cared about before they could subdue him.

As he debated what to do, the image of the man's soul drowning in freezing oil appeared in Urabrask's mind. He made his decision, and used his tail to pull a small copper block from his vest, before holding it out beyond the pillar so Alistair could see it, and dropped it.

Alistair and the man both glanced over at the sound of clanging metal; Alistair noticed two things: the block and the tail that was slithering back behind the top of a pillar.

"You're clear!" Alistair shouted.

Urabrask dropped from behind the pillar and drew the Vulshok's attention.

"Phyrexia is close to death, parasite. A few more months, and you'll be nothing more than a bad memory." Urubrask said.

The vulshok snarled, "TRAITOR!"

He lunged towards Urabrask, and Alistair drew the knock out dart gun from his belt. Urabrask reached into the charging man's mind and held out a hand.

"Do you want me to help you?" he asked.

"Yes but... they're smarter now. They'll kill me before you can Deprocess me." the man said.

"...well... i have a solution to that too."

Urabrask rushed forward, and tackled the man to the ground, tail flashing as his drove the stinger into the man's chest. Glowing golden veins grew out from the injection site and the phyrexian began to thrash and seize.

"Dammit. Jazal! Get in here!" Alistair shouted.

Jazal rushed into the room just as Urabrask removed the stinger; the glowing golden veins continued to spread and he felt the Phyrexian lash out at the host. The man coughed up black, oily blood and Jazal switched into his Crystal form as well, verdant green crystal making up the majority of his body.

He knelt beside the man with an emergency kit and defibrillator;

"We haven't finished testing that oil, Urabrask! We don't know what it could do to a sleeper agent since they have more mechanics in their body."

"The phyrexian was going to kill him regardless." Urabrask said, taking the man's hand, "at least now he has a chance."

Jazal grunted, "If that's the case, then maybe another shot will help?"

Urabrask glanced over to where Jazal was pointing; dark bruises covered the man's one side and were growing larger. Whipping his tail around, he drove the stinger into the man's body a second time, and watched the gold veins burst across the man's body twice as fast as the first.

"They know." Urabrask said.

"Good. I'll try to keep that thing from eating his brain." Jazal held his hands over the man's forehead and a soft, green glow enveloped the man's skull. The seizing stopped and two of the largest golden veins rushed up the man's neck, and spread out across his face and head.

"Geeze," Jazal whispered, "it's... screaming. They're tearing it apart."

Urabrask glanced at the man, "Now we just have find out who did this to him. Before it happens again."

****

Urabrask felt time slow; Glissa's eyes looked like those of a predator staring at prey while the unhinged smile across Ezuri's face told me he enjoyed the unhinged things the Praetor's had made him do.

They moved to jump down.

Instinct took over.

Urabrask leapt backwards, landing a foot or so away from the control console and smashed through the glass protecting the emergency lock down button on the top ridge.

The door slammed shut, the console went dark, and the four large holding tanks drew back into crevices in the walls before large, heavily fortified shields closed down around the four Praetors.

All before the two fallen heroes had landed.

Urabrask glared at them, "I was wondering how a sleeper agent got through our security again. The scanners they installed after the first attack made it likely someone had created another inside our base."

Ezuri made a bow at the waist, "My master let me learn a few tricks, and we had plenty of raw material to work with."

Urabrask scowled; some of the quarantined phyrexian's were complaining of injuries and damage when they woke up. One had recently been found dead, but the security cameras showed no guards entering or exiting the area.

"You were using the others for parts?" Urabrask snarled.

"That's what the weak are for." Glissa said.

"Alright. Time to knock some sense into the both of you." Urubrask said.

[mtgbirthdays]

Happy birthday to Vulshok Morningstar (DDI), who's turning 12 years old today! I always thought Leonin Scimitar, Vulshok Morningstar, and Vulshok Battlegear made a satisfying trio.

[renaissancewoodsman]

Dungeon Master's Library 011: Vulshok Battlegear

An ongoing series where we use random magic cards as inspiration for 5e homebrew. You can browse the entire Dungeon Master's Library here.

After a string of relatively weird entries, here's an extremely straightforward one: some magic armor. The card's effect isn't much, so I've used the art as the biggest inspiration.

Get the PDF Version

[socialpoison]

going insane about my New Phyrexia dnd character Torra. Her struggle with doing what's right in the face of other obstacles. Death, defeat, practicality. But the last one she faced was when doing what you believe is right conflicts with the choices of other people, people you want to love and respect.

She didn't even want to be compleated, but the party did so to save her, as she was dying. And that sounds like it should be a point for rightness > agency, but Torra decided that this would be the first of many things she'd give up, in the name of respecting the choices of others. As though her own choice had ceased mattering.

Her goal had shifted towards radical love and acceptance, for everyone but herself

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Vulshok Refugee

"I will carve my people's vengeance on the face of Phyrexia."

Artist: Wayne Reynolds TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[storycircle]

Name: Axel Brighthand

Species: Vulshok/Elemental

Plane of Origin: Mirrodin

First Planeswalk: Lorwyn

Colors: R/G

Abilities: pyromancy, geomancy (only on himself), summons elementals, Champion Forme (can grow to Ultraman Size to fight bigger monsters, the ability only lasts for 30 minutes before he reverts back to his normal form, can only be recharged under the sun for an hour)

This is Axel Brighthand, the Champion of Lorwyn and the Strongest Elemental of the plane.

his story wasn’t a happy one, he started as a Vulshok child of Mirrodin during the Phyrexian Invasion and the shock of killing his already infected family ignited his spark and sent him to the peaceful world of Lorwyn, there a old Elemental named Broz Brighthand took him in and made him a part of his family with his son Crenshaw Brighthand (now Ashmouth if anyone follows me and @poison-stripes story) he lived a happy life, discovering everything the world offered, and a month before the rite of age ceremony for all young elementals, Broz decided to let Axel take the ritual, to which the Flame of Brightheart found Axels contained potential and made him into a fusion of both Elemental and Vulshok, it was afterwards that Broz explained how Axel got here and he learned that he was a Planeswalker, now with a fire in his heart and a sense of adventure he traveled to different planes and made many new friends, even gaining a new form and power in Amonkhet (which you see right now)

[planar-echoes]

Human Cultures of Mirrodin (Mirrodin) By Doug Beyer (11/17/10)

Mirrodin simmers with conflict. More of the foul Phyrexians emerge every day, boiling out of the hidden spaces of the world, gathering their forces for a major offensive that will carve their unequivocal mark on the surface of the plane. Mirrodin teeters on the brink of a history-scarring battle; scant hours separating it from the impact of a full-scale Mirran-Phyrexian war.

Today, as the shadow of war threatens to blot out the suns, we take a moment to observe some of the Mirran cultures—the five cultures of humans on Mirrodin. Think of this as a museum exhibit of humanity, a collection of artifacts and anecdotes meant to capture and document a people's existence at one crucial moment in time. In the coming weeks, as Phyrexia's full might comes to bear on the plane, no experience will be spared. No account of history will remain unchanged. No life will fail to bear a scar.

Take a moment to read through these esoteric facts, documents, and observations about each of the five human peoples of Mirrodin. Much of this text is taken directly from the Scars of Mirrodin style guide, the document used to create the storyline and flavor aspects of the card set. Many Bothans died—I mean, many world-building writers toiled—to bring you this information. I hope you enjoy.

 The Auriok

The Auriok are the white-aligned humans of the Razor Fields, a resourceful, persistent, and resilient people. Auriok skin is naturally deep bronze, flecked with glimmering, deep golden and silvery metal. This is then reinforced with gold panels and jagged plates. Their white hair bleaches to help reflect the almost permanent sunlight that falls across the Razor Fields.

The Accorders. The Auriok are not a unified nation; each settlement is essentially its own tiny city-state, with rules and governance largely unto itself. In lieu of a grand military force, Auriok settlements are protected by the Accorders—a troop of traveling Auriok soldiers and spellcasters that move from community to community as needed. The Accorders enforce Auriok law impartially, following the principles of the Accord of Equity, a sort of statement of rights for the Auriok people.

Banesaints. If an Auriok ever calls you their banesaint, take offense. Each young Auriok chooses a reviled figure from Mirrodin's history, their banesaint, to serve as an exemplar of evil, a cautionary tale of choices to learn from and not to follow. The Auriok studies the life and mistakes of the banesaint, shouldering some responsibility not only to avoid the evil values that their banesaint represented, but also to ease and correct some of the harm caused by the banesaint's actions. Sometimes an Auriok's banesaint is related to him or her by blood, such as an ancestor who brought shame to the family; taking on a familial banesaint is considered especially conscientious. It's traditional to adopt only dead figures as banesaints; when the term is applied to a living person, it's to be taken as a slur or curse. Banesaints need not be human; any sentient being with a history of wrongdoing can serve as one's banesaint. Some especially notorious villains have been taken as banesaints by many Auriok; other Auriok choose more obscure figures, helping to warn their generation against lesser-known wickedness.

Bladehold. The largest Auriok settlement is Bladehold, a center of commerce and artisanship built on a mesa above a huge swath of particularly tall and sharp razorgrass. The most celebrated Auriok fighters train in the dense razorgrass. Bladehold soldiers invented a technique called mirroring, in which one uses one's reflection in the surrounding blades of razorgrass to confuse an enemy and gain positional advantage.

 The Neurok

The blue-aligned Neurok have found themselves in an impossible position on Mirrodin. After the fall of the planar caretaker Memnarch, the Vedalken, and their brain trust known as the Synod, solidified their power over the Quicksilver Sea and its surrounding realms—leaving the Neurok as second-class citizens. For years the Neurok have relied on the thought-expanding power of the serum, a liquid extracted from Mirrodin's blinkmoths. But as the blinkmoth populations have plummeted and serum becomes more precious, the Synod laid claim to all the serum on the plane.

Quicksilver Spires. Curving, forking spires of chrome rise out of the Quicksilver Sea, some reaching hundreds of meters tall. Metal catwalks and bridges connect many of these spires, and the spires themselves are filled with chambers, balconies, and staircases formed from the metal that comprises them. These spires are used as dwellings by vedalken and Neurok alike.

Neurok Networks. Without access to serum, some Neurok saw themselves destined to become a class of slaves. The Neurok began to form secret sects to undermine the vedalken. These sects of assassins, thieves, and other rogues became known simply as "networks." The most powerful of the networks were the Covalt network (led by Vy Covalt) and the Vrist network (led by Kala Vrist). The networks became masters of pilfering and producing illegal serum, stealing from vedalken archives and even assassinating Synod members. The more clever networks also procured vedalken Synod secrets and used the information for blackmail purposes.

Litera Phials. The Neurok networks soon learned that older vedalken libraries were less well guarded. These libraries were not filled with books or scrolls but small vials of a magical liquid metal known as quicksilver. Thieves soon learned that when these vials were emptied onto a flat surface, the quicksilver formed symbols—and together, they formed whole libraries of knowledge. Through the Litera Phials, as they were called, the Neurok gained a competitive advantage over the vedalken, even learning the secret to destroy a key vedalken weapon.

The Battle of the Synod. The Neurok struck a blow to the vedalken, issuing a code that powered down the hoverguards and wanderguards—the vedalken's floating, magically constructed enforcer drones. This led to a massive battle between the Synod and the Neurok. The Synod was defeated, but hundreds died on both sides—and vedalken leaders moved quickly and secretly to fill the vacuum of power left by the Synod.

Uneasy Truce. Leaders between the Neurok and the vedalken reached an uneasy truce. They agreed that the Neurok would share a small amount of their captured serum with the vedalken, while the vedalken would share fragmented pieces of their knowledge from the mysterious Knowledge Pool. It has become common to see Neurok merchants haggling for bits of information from vedalken sages in the halls of Lumengrid, the capital of the Quicksilver Sea. Today vedalken primarily inhabit the upper portions of Lumengrid, and the lower, broader portion of the city is populated by Neurok. Some Neurok leaders wonder now whether their efforts were worth the cost.

 The Moriok

The Moriok are humans who have adapted to life in the Mephidross. As they remain in or near the Mephidross, their skin grows pallid, and eventually patches of lead-like metal emerge from beneath the skin. They now live in scattered tribes in the tainted landscapes at the edge of the Mephidross. Few roam deeper into the fen, unless they seek some old secret or wish to face the vampire warlords who vie for power within. The only exceptions are the Disciples of Geth, who live in Ish Sah, the Vault of Whispers.

Smaller Tribes Within the Moriok.

Ghost Maw clan. This tribe of Moriok follows the edicts of ghostly leaders trapped within reliquaries created by vampires known as the Bleak Coven.

Black Blood clan. Members of the Black Blood tribe ingest sludge from the Glistening Dunes, believing it will inhibit the effects of necrogen. Unfortunately it has the side effect of driving the tribe's members mad with hunger.

Veiled Eye clan. Many Moriok are blinded by the necrogen gas, but the members of the Veiled Eye tribe intentionally blind themselves to gain "greater vision." Some gain gifts of precognition and clairvoyance through these eldritch blinding rituals, and those who don't become their acolytes.

Gray Ladies clan. The warrior-women known as the Gray Ladies trade the sons born among them as currency with undead that feed on the living or with the living who need living subjects for their necromantic magic.

Even for a culture that lives in the necrogen-choked Mephidross Swamp, the Moriok have had to endure more than their fair share of death and pain. The undead of the Mephidross have wreaked great harm on the Moriok of late. Here is one account of the Nim Onslaught, which occurred after the Vanishing, the event in which the elder generations of Mirrans disappeared.

 *****

"When the Vanishing wracked Mirrodin and ended the Leveler War, the machines stopped lifeless in an instant. The levelers ground to a halt as one. It was as if each of our fathers and mothers took a dozen—nay a hundred!—of the spirits of the machines when they fell. If only those sacrifices had ended the conflict.

When the Leveler War ended, the Nim Onslaught began.

The machines stopped, and the nim stopped as well. They dropped to the earth, lifeless as their rotted flesh should be. Those quick of wit and strong of spirit didn't hesitate to take advantage and cut down as many nim and machines as their exhausted bodies and minds could bear. Most of us stood dumbly staring about or cowered in cover from the falling machines.

The machines never awoke, and their corroding hulks still lie scattered across the landscape. But the nim—the nim merely slept. I have often wondered what their rotten minds comprehended in those moments. Did they hear their brethren's bodies being hacked apart? Did they see us weep in fear and confusion? Did our weakness make them hate us, or were they simply hungry for our lives?

Eventually, even the stoutest hearts tired of the butchery. Even the most war-madden or grief-enraged warrior dropped his sword and sought comfort among those who survived. And it was then that the nim awoke.

In the darkness of the setting suns, they came at us—first as single slaughterers but then in vast waves. Our leaders killed or vanished, more than three-quarters of our number dead or gone—order had gone with them. None were prepared.

The history of the Nim Onslaught cannot be carved into the Great Stone as a series of glorious battles. No generals marshaled ranks in the field. The Massacre was countless struggles for survival. Thousands of desperate individuals or small groups fighting just to live long enough to see the next sun drift above the horizon."

—The Moriok known as Xanafar, from his Journal of the Dawn Age

*****

 The Vulshok

The humans of the Oxidda Chain have undergone a more dramatic transformation than Mirrodin's other humans— Vulshok hands, feet, and heads are covered in heavy, angular, mutable iron, and their internal temperatures can spike hot enough to melt or ignite many other materials (besides their own flesh). The Vulshok have adapted greater muscle mass and bone density to compensate.

Among the Goblins. Goblins have thrived in Oxidda, all but squeezing out the Vulshok with rapid procreation and expansion. Although the goblins take great pride in their dominance of the region, the Vulshok have maintained a small but stable population and have avoided getting embroiled in some of the plane's larger conflicts. The Vulshok tribes are isolationist and scattered, separated from each other by terrain as well as areas of goblin control.

Content with Less. Although Vulshok are mercurial and have extreme emotional responses, they are neither ambitious nor competitive. As a result their population and tribal structures have remained constant for many decades. They have not made significant gains in territory or in artifice, and that suits them just fine.

Heart of the Forge. As Vulshok social groups stabilized, permanence and endurance were increasingly valued, and the forge became the primary symbol of those values. Vulshok smiths take great pride in their craft, and Vulshok "fruit of the forge" is judged by its weight, durability, and the honesty of its manufacture. This valuation of permanence comes through in how Vulshok deal with outsiders, too: If a Vulshok surmises that a relationship is temporary or circumstantial, they will be gruff and detached. Why bother with something so transient? Lasting relationships, like lasting weapons, take time and care to forge.

Alloyed, Allied. Because the Vulshok value stability and craft, over time each tribe has developed specializations in their smithing, and Vulshok smiths avoid directly competing with one another. This division of duties also encourages the tribes to depend on each other and to mutually visit when items are needed. In fact, over time the tribes discarded their family identities in favor of their smithing ones.

Forge-Tribes. Six so-called "forge-tribes" exist in the Oxidda Chain, although the Vulshok are insular enough that this structure isn't at all clear to outsiders, nor are the Vulshok inclined to explain it.

Spear. This highland tribe creates weapons and tools with points, spurs, or piercing function. They are quick to act and quick to anger. Their shamans tend to wield lightning magic.

Hammer. This lowland tribe specializes in blunt instruments and armaments. They are natural wielders of earth-magic. Also are able to use the metal of the mountains themselves as a weapon.

Blade. Smiths of the Blade tribe are experts at creating edged tools and weapons. Although others think of the highland-dwelling Blades as arrogant, their ability with fire magic is unmatched and unquestioned.

Shield. The Shields are semi-nomadic, moving from region to region to serve the other tribes. They are builders of houses, walls, shields, and other protective elements. Their magic tends to bolster endurance and resolve.

Helm. The forges of this lowland tribe produce armor but also finer instruments—things that require care. Members of the Helm also conduct intertribal unions, both social and nuptial. Helm mages wield emotions as weapons, able to cause fits of rage or fear.

Anvil. The Anvil tribe occupies the deep valleys and ravines of Oxidda, and they refine and supply metals and smithing goods for all the other tribes. The Anvil tribe also resolves conflicts and disputes. Their shamans are valued for their battle magic.

The Anvil Cracks. After years of relative peace between the forge-tribes, the ingots forged by the Anvil tribe turned brittle and inconsistent. Something was wrong with the molten metal of Oxidda, all of which passed through Kuldotha itself. The tribes, deprived of their work and their meaning, turned on each other. For the first time in generations, there was open war among the Vulshok.

Enter Koth. A young leader emerged, not from the Helm or Anvil tribes, as was the custom, but from the Hammer tribe. The young man was a savant of earth magic and believed he could purify the ore, even if it was only one day's worth at a time. He approached the Anvil and offered his help. With the solidity of the metal restored, the skirmishes between tribes slowed. It took all of Koth's ability to purify enough ore to meet the renewed demand, and the fighting that persisted was often over which tribe should be supplied next.

 The Sylvok

The Fifth Dawn era propelled the humans of the forest-like Tangle, the Sylvok, in a new cultural direction. While some of their leaders were involved with Glissa and the battles against Memnarch, these individuals disappeared in the Vanishing, leaving the Sylvok with little information about the cause of the new sun or what was going on in the rest of Mirrodin. During the leveler attacks, and later during a bitter conflict between the vedalken and elves, the Sylvok were exposed to forms of artifice they'd never seen before. Instead of hating or fearing artifacts like the elves, they co-opted them into their belief system about the natural world. The Sylvok began to try to find "perfect" representations of the natural world as a form of worship.

Post-Dawn Radix. In the aftermath of the Fifth Dawn, the Sylvok built a shrine around the green lacuna that was once known as the Radix. They called it the Araneas Altar, an eight-sided construct to honor Lord Araneas, a mythological spider-lord from Tangle folklore. Crafted from found metal, the Araneas Altar resembles a giant metal spider when viewed from above. The "heart" of the spider is the giant hole that was formerly the Radix. The elves also consider the Radix a sacred place, particularly because of the lamina, which are strange, metallo-organic growths that sprout up like foliage from inside the planar core.

Druidic Rule. The humans of the Tangle are potent shamans and druids who prefer to fight with spells rather than weapons. The Sylvok adopted a hierarchical system of rule based on a chosen group of druids, much like the Tel-Jilad Chosen. Powerful druids are revered and have the most power in Sylvok society.

Animal Worship. Half the Sylvok population disappeared in the Vanishing, and almost all of the most powerful druids disappeared. One of the few remaining skilled druids, a young man named Benzir, became the de facto leader. Using the poison of a needle-snake, Benzir embarked on a vision quest in an attempt to find the Vanished. In his vision, he saw a woman take the form of a copper-plated wolf with the horns of a stag. Based on this, Benzir told his tribe that spirits of the Vanished had been housed in animal bodies. He believed they had "ascended" to a higher form in the natural world. This has led to a culture of animal worship among the Sylvok; to the Sylvok, every creature is potentially the current form of a missing elder.

The Times to Come

That's the state of the human cultures during the first appearances of Phyrexia on the plane. Now these five proud, durable cultures face the ravages of infectious, oil-blooded nightmares that crawl from the pits and shadows of their world. As is our custom, the next set, Mirrodin Besieged, will crank up the stakes and the conflict, and with them, the potential for both tragedy and hope. It will be a true test of what it means to be Mirran—and a horrifying test of what it takes to remain human.

[marsnolias]

kinda messed up when you consider both planes based off African nations (Mirrodin and Amonkhet) were both almost completely destroyed and their populations decimated

[vivifrage]

Sooooo I made a House of Light colorwork chart! It ain't exactly small, at 39 stitches across and 103 stitches tall. But hey, if you want to make some arm warmers or a cowl or scarf or something to go with the Season of the Splicer stuff...

(Huge thanks to Vulshok, who did the Achilles Weaves a Cocoon banner on Ishtar Collective. I would not have been able to sort out this pattern without it.)