This content was originally included in an issue of Duelist magazine. The original article can be accessed via Internet Archive here.

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Main Magazine Page: The Duelist #26

By Pete Venters

Will we ever know what happened on Ulgrotha? Everything was ripe for open warfare between the different factions. Will Baron Sengir show his ugly head in any other plane (via the Planar Gate)?

I believe it was the intention of the authors of Homelands to leave players wondering about the fate of Ulgrotha, and to possibly revisit the story later. As Magic sets are presently enmeshed in the Weatherlight saga, that doesn’t seem likely in the foreseeable future. Personally, I’d like to see the Baron back. I painted him and I’ve always wished we could have done more with him.

Apart from being Taysir’s stepdaughter, what was the role of Daria during the Ice Age?

Taysir, an ancient planeswalker, didn’t actually meet Daria until long after the Ice Age. Taysir was killed by Feroz, another planeswalker, but his spirit was held by the ghostly ancestors of the Anaba Minotaurs until they were satisfied that he had regained the humanity he lost in his millennia-long life span. Upon his release in the recent past, Taysir was a withered shadow of his former mighty self, trapped on Ulgrotha by Feroz’s Ban. It was during this exile that he met Daria, a young girl cast out of her community because she had exhibited a powerful and uncontrolled magical talent. Taysir surmised that she was a planeswalker in the making and took her as his apprentice. After the Ban collapsed, Taysir and Daria headed off to explore the planes together. Their current whereabouts are a mystery. There is no truth to the rumor that she came to this world and snagged a series on MTV…

Touched by an Archangel

What do archangels have to do with the war with Kaervek? They were printed in the Visions expansion, but there was no mention of them in any of the other cards’ flavor text.

Not all cards in an expansion are linked to the set’s story. Some are just a part of the environment within which the story takes place. It is likely that archangels were summoned by Femeref mages to battle Kaervek’s legions, but no singular incident has been recorded.

I would like to see more maps (like the ones in the wall calendars), especially a map of Sarpadia.

I agree that there are a lot of characters and places worth visiting. I have working maps of Sarpadia and Terisiare which haven’t been seen yet. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for a Magic RPG, as it could be the best place to discover these lands and their secrets.

How did the “legends” die? Such as Johan, Dakkon Blackblade, etc.

Legends are famous and potentially mythological beings taken from several thousand years of Dominaria history. Every legend has an individual story, and they are too numerous to mention here, but Johan died at the hands of another legend (Jedit Ojanen) and Dakkon Blackblade is ageless and walks Dominaria to this day.

Is it correct that the Benthic Merfolk are survivors of the Vodalian Empire who moved to Terisiare? What then is the correct name of their state? How does the Benthic Djinn fit in? And what is their relationship with Atlantis?

Yes, the Benthic Explorers are part of the Vodalian Empire (most merfolk of Dominaria trace their ancestry to this nation). They were residents of Etlan Shiis (Atlantis) who were sent to track the movements of the Homarids and the Viscerids. Currently, Etlan Shiis is once again ruled by the ancient empress Galina III, who fought millennia ago at the battles described in Fallen Empires. For more info on this check out the Merfolk stories on the Duelist Online website at <www.wizards.com/Duelist_Online/>.

The word “benthic,” however, does not refer to a state. It is an English word, an adjective that refers to things from the bottom of the sea (like the Djinn and the Explorers). It is worth mentioning that Etlan Shiis is not too far from Jamuraa and so it is not implausible to suggest the Vodalians have encountered the deep-sea Djinn.