The Aetherdrift Story Quick-Start Guide
This article is intended for readers who are brand new to the story side of Magic and want to begin reading with the set Aetherdrift. These are the essentials you need to know.
The Basics
The Multiverse of Magic is made up of individual worlds separated from each other, called planes. These planes have a variety of different inhabitants, environments, creatures, and magics. The planes are the settings of the stories.
Most characters don’t have the ability to leave their plane and travel to another at a moment’s notice. There are portals that appear somewhat randomly connecting worlds, called omenpaths, however these portals aren’t guaranteed to stay open nor will they deliver you exactly where you want to go if they have not been stable enough to be explored.
That is where the Planeswalker Spark comes in. Some beings in the Multiverse are born with a magical gift called a Spark which can be “ignited”—usually by a major life event—to make them into a Planeswalker. Once they are a Planeswalker, they are able to planeswalk, transporting themselves directly across the Multiverse to wherever they desire.
Recently, a number of Planeswalkers mysteriously lost their Sparks. The full cause and method by which they lost them is not known, only speculated. This leaves the desparked former Planeswalkers to be reliant on omenpaths for interplanar travel.
Aetherdrift’s Premise
The story of Aetherdrift is centered around a race being held across three planes: Avishkar, Amonkhet, and Muraganda. Avishkar is a world of invention, known for its elegant and powerful artifacts. Amonkhet is a desert world with innate planar magic that grants undeath, leading to a mix of living and undead denizens. Muraganda is a primordial world with dangerous environments and unforgiving civilizations. Omenpaths connect these three worlds.
The race itself is called the Ghirapur Grand Prix and it is being hosted by the government of the plane of Avishkar. The prize for winning the race is the Aetherspark, a captured Planeswalker Spark. This means that whoever wins the race will be able to make themselves (or whoever they choose) into a Planeswalker.
Returning Characters of Aetherdrift
Chandra Nalaar – Chandra is a pyromancer Planeswalker from the plane of Avishkar. She is around 27 years old. Chandra’s Spark ignited after she was nearly executed under the previous planar government. Her girlfriend, Nissa Revane, was formerly a Planeswalker but has since lost her Spark.
Pia Nalaar – Pia is a master artificer from Avishkar and Chandra’s mother. She stood by Chandra’s side in the previous revolt on the plane, plotting against the government who had killed her husband and unsuccessfully attempted to kill her daughter.
Daretti – Daretti is a goblin artificer and former Planeswalker from a plane called Fiora. After being betrayed, sabotaged, and nearly killed by his academic peers, Daretti took revenge on those who wronged him.
Winter – Winter is a survivor from a plane called Duskmourn. The plane is controlled in its entirety by an ancient demon, and that demon has tasked Winter with participating in the race to win the Aetherspark.
Loot – Loot is a small creature with a relatively unknown history. He has mental access to a live map of the Multiverse, including omenpaths—the portals between worlds. Loot was recently released from a vault by Jace Beleren and Vraska, but was stolen by Winter’s demonic master.
Jace Beleren and Vraska – Jace is a telepath and mind mage Planeswalker from a plane called Vryn. Vraska is a gorgon assassin and former Planeswalker from a plane called Ravnica. After seeing the horrors of a recent interplanar war, Jace and Vraska are on a quest to reshape the Multiverse to stop emerging interplanar threats that would wreak havoc.