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"CHOOSE YOUR OWN SAGA" CONTEST 2019
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Anyway thanks for an amazing contest.
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/legionnaires-oath-2?list=set&set=37575
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/preclusive-hibernarch?list=set&set=37575
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/shosea-wayside-maiden?list=set&set=37575
...
The dark man advanced in the town's main street, where only the gush of the evening breeze could be heard. The townsfolk looked on, faces grim and dissaproving. Grayvan stopped and turned to face a more richly dressed individual, standing arms crossed in front of what appeared as the town hall. A name sprung in his mind, "Jobor".
"Mayor Jobor" called out Grayvan.
"Aye", the man answered. "And what would you want of me and my fellow citizens ? We do not want your sort around here." His frown deepened, and his droppy mustache quivered. The man was afraid, Klenn could feel it, almost smell it, like a heavy, syrupy aroma.
"And that is precisely why I'm here. Someone warned you of my arrival." Jobor shuddered; Grayvan smirked. "I need you to tell me where she is. Now" To make his point, he marched towards the now sweating mayor, towering over him. His unflinching gaze searched the smaller man's eyes for any sort of hint, of hidden knowledge.
"I don't know anything", Jobor managed to say after an uncomfortable swallow.
"I think you do". Grayvan's hand moved ostentatiously to his axe's handle. The message was clear. "You're not a stupid man, mayor Jobor. Work with me. This town doesn't need another calamity." Klenn knew that the town had been the victim of horrendous vampire assaults, and that the trembling magistrate was deeply concerned by his people's wellbeing.
The man straightened, in an attempt at bravado. "Fine then. I know. But I will not betray Jenna. She has done so much for Kuppelburg." He crossed his arms. "You will have nothing from us".
Grayvan smiled, a hellish grin that melted away Jobor's confidence in an instant, like a fragile snowflake under a desert sun. "Ah, she has a name then. That's a start." Quick as a snake, he grabbed the man's collar and lifted him effortlessly from the ground. "But you will have to do better". Dark plumes of smoke slowly emerged from Klenn's fingertips, creeping towards Jobor's face. He screamed, legs flailing and hands desperatly pulling at Grayvan's merciless grip.
"She went to the Circlestones ! Please, let go of Jobor. He is only trying to protect us."
Grayvan dropped the mayor, who crumpled on the ground, and turned to face the speaker. "Tobor", the voice in his mind whispered. "Well thank you Tobor, you concern for your brother has saved you all." Jobor glared at Tobor, who lowered his eyes in shame. "I'm sorry", he managed. Jobor spat.
Grayvan turned and started walking away, towards the path that led to the forest on the other side of Kuppelburg. He always had this peculiar feeling when he took the right direction; he felt it now, stronger than ever. The Circlestones weren't very far, a few miles at best. "Wait !", called out Tobor. He had followed him. "What will you do to her ?"
Klenn took a deep breath. "If she doesn't get in the way, nothing. But I can't promise she will go unharmed if she puts herself between me and my prize". He left a trembling Tobor, and as the sun was swallowed by the horizon, entered the darkening woods.
...
The Circlestones appeared before him in the gloomy moonlight, a dozen huge pale monoliths arranged in a rough oval in the middle of an opening in the forest. Grayvan crouched, and scanned the area. And then he saw what he was searching for. In the middle of the raised menhir, a woman cloaked in a dirty red cape sat on the mossy forest ground. A few feet in front of her was Grayvan's prize: a dark violet crystal of sorts, two feet roughly in lenght and glistening with malovelent energies. Jenna, the sorceress, was mumbling incoherently and the fragment's facets glimmered in response, as if the two were ... talking.
Grayvan grabbed a hard piece of dried wood that laid near his feet, and moved across the open space without making a sound, as if he were wearing an armor made of thin air instead of black steel. The woman had her back turned on him, and appeared completly oblivious to him. Klenn prepared himself to knock her out cold, and pounced. He crashed against an invisible obstacle, and the air shimmered whith the arcane. Grayvan fell backwards on the forest floor, all stealth evaporated. A sharp pain on his face told him he had most probably broken his nose on the inside of his helm. He grunted as the cartilage put itself back into place with a crack.
Jenna laughed as she turned around, breaking the silence.
"What a fool you are, to think me unprepared ! I don't know who you are, or why you want this so much, but you will certainly not have it." She pointed at the dark crystal behind her, as Grayvan slowly went up into a crouched position. "If only you knew what promise resides in it ... the power to make this wretched plane inhabitable, free of monsters like you !"
"That isn't very nice, you know, calling people monsters without knowing them"
"It told me you were a threat. Since I discovered it, it told me so much !" Her eyes glistened with a spark of madness. "But you will no longer bother me. Prepare to die !"
She pushed her cape back, and raised a crooked staff. The air hummed with power, and a wall of flames appeared, consuming the fallen leaves scattered around. Klenn backed away from the roaring inferno, cursing and drawing his axe. Jenna had clearly chosen to stand her ground; he would have to destroy her.
With a manic cackle, Jenna summoned a ball of lightning in the palm of her hand, and propelled it towards Klenn. Quick as a cat, he leaped aside, avoiding the magical blast by a hair's breadth. He then ran to hide behind one of the stone monoliths, and readied himself for an assault.
"Come out ! Face the truth ! A new age will come, and you won't be part of it !", Jenna screamed. The stone shook as another bolt blasted its top half into rubble. Grayvan ducked, than ran to the next stone.
"You can't run forever !" This time, a fireball soared above Klenn's hiding place. He rolled over, then sprinted towards the sorceress, hoping, she would not have the time to attack again. The projectile exploded behind him, but Grayvan paid no attention. The flames danced before him; he jumped into the air, soaring above the infernal obstacle. The fire licked his boots, singeing them.
He crashed next to the woman, and swung his ax. Her staff intercepted the blow, but was snapped in half in the process. She screeched in rage: "No ! The truth must come to be ! You won't stop me !" And before Grayvan could attack again, Jenna grabbed the nearby crystal, and smashed on a stone. The crystal exploded in a defeaning detonation, thowing Grayvan to the ground. He blinked, and the horror unfurled.
Grayvan stood up, panting, as the corrupted Jenna lurched towards him. His maimed arm was limp and unresponsive. He didn't have time to regenerate; "It wouldn't matter", he thought. He could feel it: she was too powerful for him to fight. "For this human form to fight", he corrected himself. He sighed. It would seem that tonight, he would have to fight fire with fire.
Grayvan dropped his ax, and threw down his helm. His head thrown back, he closed his eyes, and reached deep inside him. He searched for the cold, dark core of himself, that he tried to not think about too much. The same one that whispered in his mind while he slept, reminding him of his duty. He freed it, abandoning himself to it.
Grayvan’s skin split open across his body, as his true form beneath grew larger, tearing his clothes to shreds and snapping the straps of his armor, causing the black plating to fall to the forest floor. He grew still, thick black chitin covering him, as four additional arms sprouted from his thorax. Massive claws emerged at the tip of each of his eight segmented limbs, and his face disappeared under eight eyes black as ink and jaws equipped with fearsome mandibles. His mind emptied itself all all its warmth and what little humanity he had made for himself, only to be replaced by the cold psyche of an otherworldly killer eons old.
The two creatures faced each other for a second, then charged, meeting in a crash, and started tearing at each other in a shared frenzy.
…
Except this time, he wasn’t alone. As he sat on a great chair in the main room of the virtual fortress, he heard a soft whimpering. He rose to explore the nearby corridor, and discovered none other than Jenna, curled up against a wall, sobbing in her arms. He sat softly next to her, and gently touched her shoulder. Her face snapped up, startled, and she cringed back.
“Don’t worry. Here, nothing can hurt you.” He smiled, in an attempt to calm her. “My name is Grayvan Klenn. You tried to kill me out there, you know ?”
“It wasn’t me. I’ve been here for days.” She wiped her cheeks, almost with rage. “Since I’ve discovered the artifact, actually. It trapped me here, and then ...” She trailed off.
Grayvan pondered the facts, frowning. “Do you know why it awoke like that ? The Eldrazi are gone. It should be inert.”
“Beats me. The thing is, its alive and kicking, and it stole my body. If I can even call it that way now.”
Klenn crossed his legs, setting himself in a thinking position. Crystal beacons, activating for no reason, and leaking Eldrazi life forms into Innistrad. It could be a random event. It could be some devious plan from the Imprisoned Titan herself. But how so ? She willingly let herself be trapped in the moon, without expressing the will to come out until, to quote, “the time was right”. Or something. Saugr’s report had been cryptic. “Karveen would know. Knowledge is, after all, his realm of power,” muttered Grayvan.
“Karveen ? “ Asked Jenna, a quizzical look on her face.
“My boss. He’s a God.” Klenn answered.
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
Grayvan cleared his throat.
“What do we do now ?” asked Jenna.
“We wait. The two outside will fight until one dies. If my alternate self comes out victorious, I’ll be alive for another day. If not … well, we will instantly die, of course.” He grinned.
“Let’s forget this option, Grayvan. What will become of me ?”
“Well, somehow you found your way here. It’s a safe place, you can stay even if your body is destroyed. I’ll find a way to revive you. My lord is quite proficient in that domain.”
“Thanks, I guess.” Jenna attempted a smile, but it expressed only despair.
A tremor shook the foundations of the fictitious castle. Grayvan felt something pulling him upwards. “Looks like things have moved on. Don’t panic, I’ll be back.”
He found himself back in the forest, inside the anthropomorphic spider abomination that was his current body. He had control over his true form. With his eight eyes, he scanned the clearing. Bits of Eldrazi flesh were scattered around, slowly melting in a foul ooze. His foe’s corpse lay almost completely dismembered, torn in multiple pieces, apparently dead. He was missing three arms himself, and deep lacerations and punctures covered his body. Black ichor waas dripping to the ground from his wounds. With a guttural groan, he returned to a more human appearance, his over-sized body constricting inside Grayvan Klenn’s tan skin. He sighed with relief.
…
Having recovered his ruined gear, Grayvan discovered that the crystal had reformed, and pulsed slowly. He carefully picked it up with a forked stick he had found. “It is done, my lord.” He was answered by a familiar sound, the shriek of a gust of icy air rushing through an opening door. Turning around, he watched as a dark fissure opened on the face of one of the remaining stones, until it was man-sized. Beyond the portal, utter darkness beckoned.
“Goodbye, Innistrad” said Grayvan Klenn, as he stepped through the fissure into the Pit.
The opening closed with a crack, and the morning sun rose to shine on an empty clearing.
Rather, Theros had been Io's home while he was alive and corporeal. Spending countless days in the Starfield of Nyx had robbed much of the joy and familiarity from the plane. Each time the globe rotated beneath him, he felt more distant from the places, the people and the plunder beneath him. The edges of what vision he had felt less concrete day by day. Glowing abstractions floated behind his pupils, distorting the cityscapes of Meletis and Akros.
He was fading.
Io hatched a plan – only as dangerous as any other he’d concocted previously – to return to the storehouse of the gods. It was one the same side of the starry veil as he was, ever under watchful eye but full of numerous treasures. One of them was bound to offer escape or, at the very least, respite from the torture of not mattering. To be forgotten was a fate worse than being remembered badly. So, if the choice was to wither away in the sky in obscurity or to risk annihilation by a jealous deity over ownership of their celestial treasure…
He now stood (in as much as one can ‘stand’ in a place that isn’t bound by physical space) overlooking the vast cosmic storehouse, weighing the best routes inside. He drew to mind the intricate labyrinthine hallways that lay within, recalling the routes he had taken during his previous excursion. Entrance would be much more difficult this time around with the heightened security his last theft caused. Peculiar beasts constellated with iridescent patterns flew lazy paths over the structure and prowled in its depths, watching for intruders.
Io’s ethereal eyes narrowed – he’d have to be much more careful this time. Get in, get the Chalice of Herodias and get out. Then everything could finally be restored.
Task: Create a card that will enable you to gain control of at least one or more 'things' in the game that you do not own.
__________________________________________
Exile. That’s what Ephara had called it anyway. After much deliberation, the gathered members of the pantheon had decided to wash their hands of the now twice-shamed thief rather than destroy him. Since he was already incorporeal (and far from all-powerful) it seemed best to relegate him to some other realm; to let him be someone else’s problem as it were.
Kruphix in his indelible patience had advocated for this solution, as the others were generally eager to wipe him from existence. The proposal was to use the gods combined strengths as channeled by the Chalice of Herodias to release Io from the planar bounds of Theros. This served as a double opportunity, Kruphix argued: be rid of Io’s guile and test the tenability of utilizing the Chalice for such an odd purpose. This would allow them to better discern the overlap between immortality and dimensional travel.
As he floated in the Blind Eternities, Io wondered if nonexistence was the preferable option. The experiment was executed as planned. The Chalice had hummed and buzzed as the energy of a pantheon radiated through it, bright light and numbing pain rattled through Io’s consciousness, then all was quiet. Now he simply drifted, severed from the plane that had been his home.
Days had passed – perhaps anyway, it was hard to tell without the routine needs of hunger or exhaustion offering reference – and Io’s only company was the soft humming echoing through his mind. It buzzed gently, occasionally oscillating between rising fervor and relaxed murmurs. While not conversational, it was constant, which was a surprising comfort in the multifaceted emptiness of the Blind Eternities. Io found himself thinking towards it, lamenting his mistakes in Nyx, chiding the gods for their grand indifference and mulling over options for how to escape his new, somehow worse predicament.
How nice it would be, he thought to the hum, to end up somewhere where I’m needed rather than hated. Surely some world needs a charming thief with the experience afforded by dealings with deities. He’d swoop in from the stars, right whatever wrongs needed addressing then enjoy the incidental celebrity and luxury that comes from heroism.
As soon as the thought echoed through his conscience the humming became more intense. It sounded agitated, troubled. The sound began to pulse, mumbling an incoherent staccato that escalated with each wave. It passed the point of being uncomfortable and began to painfully drum against Io’s psyche. Io clawed at his intangible ears as the buzzing rose to a fever pitch. The roar drowned out his other senses and he shouted as the Blind Eternities faded around him.
__________________________________________
The sensation of hard earth beneath him was startling. A dull pain arced through his arms. Physical feeling was unpleasant, but a welcome change after so long without it. Soft earth crunched beneath him as Io pushed himself up from the ground. No, not soil, he thought as he sifted it through his fingers. Ash. His sight began to return, slowly at first. Blurred outlines sharpened until the scene before him became grotesquely clear.
The charred skeletons of building and beast alike dotted a snowy mountainside. Io lay in the middle of a smoldering crater in the middle of the encampment, dark streaks of flame and smoke spiraling out from its epicenter. The acrid burning smells of wood and flesh whipped about on the crisp, frigid air of the blustery mountain. His eyes watered at the blistering wind and stench. He looked down at the rivulets of blood that rolled down his scraped fingers. Where was he and how was he tangible again?
38 next, please!
meanwhile, I need a recap of what numbers haven't been given out. @DomriKade I see you requested 38. I have to go get my notebook with all the info written out in it. Ill brb.
First Phase of "Choose Your Own Saga! Contest 2019"
1 - Vardrus
2 - IronCrusher
3 - BorosPaladin
4 - murkletins
5 - dibbydubsdubs
6 - TemurGideon
7 - LostinStatic
8 - KanekiDemon
9 - DoctorFro
10 - Beastakles
11 - ASubtleGhost
12 - DomriKade
13 - ASubtleGhost
14 - Vardrus
15 - BorosPaladin
16 - pjbear2005
17 - beastakles
18 - Revan
19 - IronCrusher
20 - kandra127
21 - pjbear2005
22 - Derfaulehelmut
23 - spookoops
24 - dechujoh64
25 - Fallen Lord Vulganos
Second Phase of "Choose Your Own Saga! Contest 2019"
26 - ASubtleGhost
27
28
29 - Koslen2
30
31 - Beastakles
32
33 - Vardrus
34
35 - BorosPaladin
36
37
38 - DomriKade
39
40 - Vardrus
41
42 - Revan
43
44 - LostinStatic
45 - Beastakles (dropped)
46 - IronCrusher
47
48 - TemurGideon
49
50
Final phase of "Choose Your Own Saga! Contest 2019"
51- Kandra127
52
53
54 - ASubtleGhost
55
56
57 - Beastakles
58
59 - ASubtleGhost
60 - IronCrusher
61
62
63 - Beastakles
64
65
66 - Derfaulehelmut
67
68
69
70
71
72 - LostinStatic
73
74
75 - Revan
Feel free to pick from any of these numbers at this time as well guys. At the time of this posting, there was only 2 numbers left to choose from in the first 25 numbers.
Your creature ran into a creature!
The two creatures "fight" (deal damage equal to their power to each other.) It appears your creature survived the fight!
Your task: Create an artifact equipment which pumps your creature's power and toughness up and grants only one keyword ability.
There is no lore, please continue with your story with your creature's confrontation of the above creature mentioned in the ongoing lore! (if you don't want to its not required since the contest is ending soon, this is purely for fun!)
Your task: Create a global sorcery spell that effects the battlefield in some way.
There is no lore provided, please continue with your provided lore if you wish!
Your task: Create a creature that would work well with your main character.
There is no lore provided here as well, DomriKade if you wish to provide more lore to the lore you already provided, feel free!
You have unlocked
"Seize all actions!"
Oh no! The azorius police have detained a contestants entry of your choice. Whatever entry you don't want judged can be "detained" which means it wont be judged at the end of the contest. If you want to use this item just state what card and cardsmith your using this on. Only good once so make it count! (It can only be used on an entry that is considered a permanent card though.)
Your task: Create a white and blue permanent card.
There is no lore here, please continue your already provided lore if you wish! (at this point I'm going to add now, its only really for fun if you don't want to add lore you dont have to seeing as how the contest is wrapping up soon. remember im reading this off of the notebook i wrote it in at the beginning of the contest!)
A long time ago, a gypsy woman named Otila was the courier for the last Gypsy queen Insela (pronounced in-shay-la). Otila was the best negotiator a queen could ask for, the perfect person to coerce politicians and commoners alike to do her covert bidding. But after years of employment, Insela began to fear Otila's powers of persuasion, worrying that her servant would rally enough support behind her to take the throne. As a preemptive strike, Insela sent Otila on a final courier mission to a city whose main source of entertainment is gladiatorial fights. Whatever was written on that letter Otila delivered she would never know, only that she was then forced to fight in the arena thereafter. Surviving by the skin of her teeth and what skills she had with daggers, Otila won her first match. She grew into a hardened veteran of the arena, and soon caught the eye of a younger Aldren, who inquired as to her backstory. Learning of Insela's betrayal, Aldren made a deal promising Otila's freedom and revenge against the queen in exchange for the occasional services of the Gypsy Nations' assassins and informants. Otila agreed, and once free of slavery she slew Insela to become the new queen of the gypsies. Now, after years of friendship, Aldren has ventured to Cupra Las (Bura Sam's capital) to collect on his favor. He knows the gypsies have captured a Gnoll beyond the borders of Qaen and are holding it prisoner within the city; Aldren wants to interrogate the creature for its knowledge of pyromancy and answers as to the source of Mila's power. Even though Mila is invited to tag along, she has no idea of Aldren's motives, believing that this is merely a diplomatic reinforcement of peace treaty agreements.
Your character gains more knowledge!
Please add this card to your main character's continuing lore somehow. What is Aldren searching for?
There is no lore provided here as well. Continue with this card included in the lore somehow! (Think of it as a story spotlight card in your particular characters lore.)
Ok @Beastakles ill go get my notebook but give me a min.
Keleth was betrayed, the Necromancer afraid of the betrayer's growing power over the dead. Keleth had expected this. What he hadn't expected, however, was the preternaturally intense blizzard that had snowed his forces into an icy tomb. They escaped, however, changed by the cold and the hate that had been infused into them.
You have unlocked
"Crowd Favorite"
If you wish to use this, you can only use this once just specify it when your using it. This item will give your creature a +3/+3 boost to its power and toughness if it is in a fight with another creature or entry in this contest! It can be used any time, so specify what creature your using it for when using it. (*contest host note* co test is coming to an end soon so it may not have much effect now tbis late in the contest.)
Your task: Create a creature with discard capability.
No lore added, continue with your lore if you wish please!
Oh no! You've unlocked:
"Explosions?!"
Each permanent entry target contestant entered with converted mana cost equal to the last card you entered is destroyed. You must choose a contestant, otherwise, your permanent entries with the same cmc are destroyed instead. (Just means they wont be judged at the end of the contest.)
This one is crappy! There is one way to stop this bomb from going off and saving everyones entries. You must create 2 permanent cards this deadline one costing 1 less than the last entry you submitted, and the other costing 1 more than your last entry submitted. The permanents can be anything you choose if you decide to meet this requirement to stop the bomb. Good luck diffusing!
Your task: create a planeswalker of your most recent main character thus far in the contest.
Apparently your creature has experienced a great ordeal powerful enough to cause it to gain the spark of a planeswalker! Can you please add this to your lore already provided? (*contest hosts note* its optional at this point being so late in the contest but you can provide the lore still if you wish!)