Lorwyn Gazeteer v 0.01

Sources:

Doug Beyer ‐ 2007‐10‐31 http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db8

Doug Beyer ‐ 2007‐09‐13 http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db1

Doug Beyer ‐ 2007‐09‐20 http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db2

Doug Beyer ‐ 2007‐10‐03 http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db4

Doug Beyer ‐ 2007‐09‐27 http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/db3

http://mtgsalvation.gamepedia.com/Lorwyn

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Introduction real meat of Lorwyn, when it comes down to it, is its creatures. Welcome to the Lorwyn Gazeteer! Lorwyn seems out of the way to most planeswalkers, but is definitely well worth the trip. If you're willing to Travel Routes do your research, prepare adequately, and tread Planeswalking to Lorwyn is thought to be carefully, an excursion to idyllic Lorwyn can be difficult, but that reputation need not dissuade one of the most rewarding and enlightening the dedicated traveler. Lorwyn is remote from experiences of your plane‐gtravelin career. This many large, established planar hubs and is poorly Guide will take you through all the sights, sounds, documented in the parageographical literature. and spellcraft you'll encounter on your trip to Furthermore, Lorwyn does not stand out in the Lorwyn. void; it resides in a region of dream and æther Lorwyn is an idyllic world where nature thrives in that obscures it from most travelers. However, its most pristine state. The sun never drops some planeswalkers have had success traveling below the horizon, and midsummer never ends. there by first preparing spells that attune the The creatures of fable who dwell there know mind to patterns of nature. With this groundwork nothing of gloom or malice — but they are done, many planeswalkers find their spark consumed with rivalry. naturally drawn through the Blind Eternities to the edges of the plane. Lorwyn draws inspiration from the folklore and mythology of the British Isles. You'll find influences from Irish, English, Welsh, Scottish, The World of Lorwyn and Celtic stories, languages and cultures in both Lorwyn is storybook world of pastoral beauty: the look and world details of the setting.t Tha rolling, golden meadows; sunlit woodland trails, pedigree gives Lorwyn a built‐in storybook feel, sometimes trodden by a flamekin pilgrim or an even as it diverges dramatically from that source ambling treefolk; stony‐bottomed, babbling material. The result is a world that feels original brooks awash with tideshaping ; kithkin and unique to Magic, yet draws from long clachans ringed with springjack farms. The folklore traditions for an impression of rustic, weather is summery year‐round, and it doesn't well‐worn history. even have nighttime—the sun almost goes down, but then never quite manages to set. Glowy dusk It's interesting to note that the folklore from is about the closest you get to night on Lorwyn, which Lorwyn takes its inspiration makes very and then the sun climbs back up to midday. little distinction between these words: If a doughty kithkin pilot strapped you onto the , / Faerie, , Spirit, underbelly of his springjack‐hide balloon and You find described as "helpful spirits," and took you for a sightseeing flight, you'd see a described as "mischievous ." Of system of rivers branching all the way to the course, Magic makes very hard, important horizon, dominated by a central trunk called the distinctions between these terms. Because the Wanderwine River. Together these rivers and tributaries are called the Lanes, 2

waterways patrolled and controlled by Lorwyn's This is a place of powerful magic, where deep crafty merfolk, the merrows. Lorwyn has no large mysteries slumber and age‐old tensions smolder. seas or oceans, only the Lanes and some ponds and small lakes. There are some mountain ranges, but they all seem pretty far off in the Spark Awareness Status distance no matter how far you walk. and your Travel Disguise Lorwyn is a so‐called sparkblind world; the The rest of Lorwyn is verdant. With the sun never sentient populace of the plane is largely unaware going down and winter constantly held at arm's of planeswalkers or of other planes. So far, reach, Lorwyn's growing season is unending. The Lorwyn has been preserved as an unspoiled color green dominates here—in the visual sense, sanctuary, and has kept its rustic charm thanks to not the mechanical. Lorwyn is nature at its most careful visitation to the plane. Therefore, if you prevalent. are human, or simply could not pass for one of the races indigenous to Lorwyn, then it's best to Lack of Humanity disguise your identity when traveling there. Lorwyn is one of the few known places in the Luckily the mana of Lorwyn is naturally tailored multiverse where humanity has not flourished. for the creation of glamers (illusion spells), which Humans were not indigenous to Lorwyn, and are sufficient to mask your identity for the length awareness of the plane among human cultures of your stay. You will probably have the easiest across the multiverse has historically been low. time traveling across Lorwyn in the guise of an Furthermore, the perceived difficulty of finding elf—however, please note the anatomical the plane has kept travel there limited. Lorwyn differences between Lorwyn elves and those of has much to offer in the way of social interaction, other planes. Weaving a disguise of a hornless, just not with humans. Many planeswalkers offworld elf could be just as disruptive to your consider this respite from humanity to be part of trip as retaining your natural demeanor. Lorwyn's charm. If you do not possess the skills sufficient to No Humans? That’s right, there is no human generate an identity‐masking illusion, then civilization on Lorwyn. That’s a first for any plane planeswalking to Lorwyn is not recommended. in the multiverse! So there are delves, an See other planar guides for destinations that flamekin, and merrows, and treefolk, and kithkin. would better suit your needs. Also giants, boggarts, and mysterious beings known as greater . And , did I mention there were faeries? Yeah, they're a Elements of Dream major race here. Lorwyn is a place where faeries On Lorwyn, abstract entities such as hopes, fears, flit around and powerful spells are represented dreams, and nightmares are just as real as the as storms of flower petals. grass and the trees. A feeling of hope, for example, can lurk in the heart of a single kithkin, Still, there's more going on in Lorwyn than the or it can manifest into a glorious, shining happy‐go‐lucky frolicking of elves and kithkin. creature—an of hope. 3

Dreams are a commodity on Lorwyn. (You’ll hear them in Lorwyn still gives you that power‐trip of much more about this when we investigate the summoning a fiery henchman to do your bidding. faerie tribe.) Dreams can be harvested, stored, and delivered—and sometimes even stolen and rearranged. The visions of sleeping giants are especially rich currency among the fae. It’s just an example to show you what counts, on Lorwyn, as a "fundamental particle"—as an element.

So, where dreams and aspirations are elements, dream‐beings and aspiration‐monsters are the elementals. Empedocles, eat your heart out.

This has some odd implications, to say the least. Elementals only exist insofar as do the elements of which they’re composed. Sometimes elementals on Lorwyn vary in prevalence just like the abstract idea underlying them. If elves wage war on giantkind, then many‐clawed elementals of warfare and strife can be seen with greater frequency. If merrows launch an expedition to the murky Deep Meanders of their river system, then soggy elementals of the sunken unknown appear. On the other hand, if bloodshed keeps to a minimum across the plane, elementals of violent death may themselves die out—at least, until their time comes again.

Under normal circumstances, an elemental is as wild as a mustang. They’re forces of nature; nothing tames the elementals just like nothing tames grains of gravel, or grief, or gravity. But of course, planeswalkers are a different story; with enough mana and effort, they can not only call on the essences of greater elementals, but also summon the elementals themselves, along with the power they bring.

Elementals are as powerful in Lorwyn as they ever have been, on any other plane. They ooze an abstract essence come alive, and summoning

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Races of Lorwyn The indigenous wildlife of Lorwyn is dominated by eight sentient races: elves, kithkin, merrows, flamekin, boggarts, treefolk, giants, and faeries. In addition, Lorwyn supports a menagerie of animal and supernatural life, including wisents, springjacks, cervins, a semisentient race of mimics known as , and the majestic greater elementals. All of them thrive in Lorwyn's temperate environment and unending growing season, preserving the plane's character as an unspoiled natural wilderness.

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Stylin' Boggarts Boggarts Goblins are one of Magic's most flexible races. In some ways they are like Earth's dogs—sometimes Boggarts in Folklore they're wee and flat‐faced, like a Boston terrier; The Lorwyn setting draws inspiration from the sometimes they're enormous and brutish, like a folklore of the British Isles. In that source Great Dane. I'm not sure if goblins have material, a boggart is described as a mischievous particularly elastic DNA, if they're naturally well‐ household meddler, sort of a more malicious suited to diverse environments, or if they just version of an elf or . That isn't much to reproduce like Drosophila. The important point is go on, especially since those terms can mean a that they're adaptable, so they thrive just about lot of things. I've mentioned before that in the anywhere that has red mana. source mythology, terms like "spirit," "elf," "goblin," and "faerie" are often used and/or (But aren't goblins black‐aligned in this plane? translated interchangeably. Years of research Partly, yes. There are more black boggarts in have sought to determine what was meant in old Lorwyn than red ones, and they have a "it's good stories of creepy forest folk; did the author mean when you sacrifice me" mechanical identity a spirit, in the sense of a restless soul from a inspired by their partial alignment with black. But person who died? Did he mean one of the fairy boggarts definitely have a chaotically red soul.) folk, a supernatural creature of whimsy and Lorwyn's race of goblins are called boggarts. mischief? Or did he just mean a grimy, eccentric That's pronounced "BOG‐gurt"—the first syllable old human hermit, possibly with some rhymes with "hog" (and, as we'll see in a minute, unfortunate mental illness that caused him to be many of them do actually live in bogs). Now you exiled into the woods in the first place? Or did know—and knowing is half the battle. the author just not know what to call the beings responsible for running off with his four copies of Boggarts have greater diversity of morphology Wort, Boggart Auntie, and so he made up a than other planes' races and sub‐clans of goblins. description of a goblin based on his neighbor's Some of them have curving horns; some of them bratty children? (Those brats.) There are even have stubby ones or none at all. Some of them stories that muddle the distinctions between have long snouts or goatlike muzzles. Some have faeries and Christian angels—faeries as divine broad, floppy ears; some have the sharp pointies. guardian spirits. Many literary scholars have Their skin varies from green to blue to beige to found that, of course, the stories change from purple to red. town to town and teller to teller, and that the distinctions between such folklore critters were hazy at best.

In contrast, these distinctions are paramount in Magic.

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enemies, dangerous predators, poisonous plants and fungus, and the like.

Yep, although it's an idyllic, pastoral world, Lorwyn still has its dangers. And boggarts tend to find them all, due to their curious nature.

Boggart Warrens and Aunties Sensory Curiosity Boggarts are organized into warrens, which Boggarts are collectors of sensation. While they spend most of their time exploring (also known aren't particularly intelligent thinkers, they are as: trespassing on the lands of other races) or extremely perceptive, in that they perceive a lot. finding food (also known as: stealing food from Their senses are intense. Boggarts can never get the lands of other races). enough novelty, which gives rise to behavior of exploring and stealing. During their travels There's the Stinkdrinker warren, known for its through kithkin territory, if they smell delicious stockpile of stolen goods, and its boggarts' pie resting on a windowsill, they'll steal it and penchant for sneaking past even giants to steal bring it back to the warren. If they spot a shiny their prizes. There's the Squeaking Pie warren, stone in the river, they'll grab it and obsess over known for its culinary adventurousness—they it all the way back to the warren. Consequently, bake mice and other delectables into their pies, their homes can appear like junkyards, full of and will go to any lengths to find bizarre new trinkets and prizes they collected during their recipes and ingredients. There's the Mudbutton jaunts. And other races see them as mischievous warren, a particularly chaotic and loud warren thieves. But boggarts' kleptomania is largely that appreciates a good party—even if comes at accidental. They only want to get their grubby the expense of a few of their members. And fingers onto treasures, for the novelty of there's the Frogtosser warren, a group of sensation it brings. And they don't have a boggarts so emotionally changeable that the traditional concept of ownership. other warrens think them insane. About the only law in boggart culture, in fact, is Boggart warrens are led by nominal leaders the pressure to share new sensations with others called Aunties. The Auntie is usually the oldest of their kind. A boggart that refuses to share—a boggart in the warren, and is usually female hoarder—will be cast out of boggart society for (some are male, yet are still called "Auntie"). The the sin of keeping a new treasure to himself. Auntie knows many tales, like fables, that they Since boggarts are so social and convivial among tell to educate their warren, pass on crucial their own, exile is considered a terrible sentence. boggart teachings, and adjudicate disputes. The most famous Auntie fables are about Auntie Boggart Habitats Grub, a folk hero to the boggarts and probably a As boggarts are tie to black and red mana in real ancestor. Auntie Grub's tales are particularly Lorwyn, they are associated with Lorwyn's helpful for informing young boggarts about racial mountains and swamps. A swamp in Lorwyn is as flush with life as any other place in the setting, so 7

boggarts are always surrounded by creepy crawlies. When you think "swamp" here, think "marsh" or "wetland." It's a shallow, verdant, freshwater lowland that supports reeds, cattails, and pond lilies.

Boggarts make simple hovels and shacks on the hills of peat and boulders between the marshwater pools. Some are just piles of sticks leaning against a hollow in a bog‐rooted stump. Others are more elaborate hideouts built to house greater numbers of treasures. A Tar Tale The following is a short stories about a sensory experience involving the famous Auntie Grub that boggarts still talk about to this day.

Auntie Grub had caught a goat, a bleating doe that still squirmed in her arms. At the same time, her warren decided to share with her a sensory greeting of hot tar. After Auntie brushed the soot from her eyes, she discovered something wonderful: the fire had turned the goat into something that smelled delicious." Family Resemblance Boggarts are unusually greedy for sensation and surprisingly respectful of tradition, but in essence, they're goblins. Just like goblin species from other planes, they raid, they ravage, and they reproduce. As goblins have always had self‐ sacrificial tendencies, this theme shows the relation between Lorwyn boggarts and other goblin species. 

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Elves few of these in the world. Perfects can kill those of low rank with impunity. Laws of Beauty, Law of the Jungle And then... Lorwyn Lexicon cer∙vin (SER‐vin) Eyeblight. The ordinary, everyday creatures of noun Lorwyn. You and me. Or, disfigured elves. An elegant, swift, deerlike creature without antlers. Elves have horns and hooves in on this plane, Lorwyn is a world of nature. And what thrives on drawing some elements from deer and . nature‐dominated planes? Elves, of course. But Their look is imperious, severe, and sculptural. If these elves are a departure from Magic's usual, you'd look an elf in the steely eye, you'd get the upstanding nature‐lovers; the elves of Lorwyn are sense of a predator sizing you up—they're aristocratic, ruthless, and predatory. constantly comparing themselves to others, figuring out predator / prey relationships, and Elves are paragons of beauty. Their society preparing to defend their right to territory. revolves around the laws of beauty, a code that specifies how one's cunning and personal Elves hunt in packs, riding cervins into battle, attractiveness determine one's social rank. If you sometimes leading trained wolves. One of the are only moderately beautiful, you are a low‐ functions of a pack‐hunt is to search out ranking elf. If you are ugly or disfigured—or a particularly ugly or dire eyeblights—and kill non‐elf, which is by definition a truly ugly thing to them. Elves charged with culling eyeblights are be—then you are an eyeblight, a creature called winnowers. You'll find that the Lorwyn unworthy of respect or even, if it is deemed so, novel has a lot to do with these hunts, and an elf life. There are four official ranks of elves, who changes rank quite rapidly. determined by measure of beauty—plus the non‐ Speaking of hunting, what if you're an elf with rank of eyeblight for everyone else. particularly nasty prey? What if you're tracking a • Faultless. Any elf who possesses the giant, or some enormous, old‐growth treefolk? minimum threshold of beauty and grace is Even ans elf' naturally superior hunting skills only granted this basic rank. go so far. That's why some elves cultivate a white • Immaculate. Dignitaries, VIPs and higher‐ flower called moonglove, from which can be level functionaries among elves attain the derived a potent poison. This poison is deadly rank of immaculate. even in small amounts, taking down even • Exquisite. Packmasters (lords of elvish towering giants. In precisely controlled, highly hunting packs, which we'll talk about in a diluted trace amounts, its necrotizing properties moment) and important courtiers are of can be used to etch or carve living tissue—such the exquisite rank. They have the privilege as skin or bark. of being able to speak directly to perfects. See, the elves of Lorwyn have a different • Perfect. The perfect (note: not "prefect") relationship to nature than other planes' elves. are elves so beautiful and so shrewd that They regard nature as something to be improved, they rule all other elves. There are only a cultivated, and if necessary, rearranged. One 9

elvish perfect named Eidren had all of the trees of his native Gilt‐Leaf Wood uprooted and rearranged to create a pattern he found more beautiful. The elves of lorwayn also participate in vinebreeding—the practice of intermingling magical, thorny vines with living creatures, producing living works of art that can bey easil controlled like puppets. Elves use vinebred beasts and warriors to help them secure their position of power in the world.



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Flamekin Flamekin are beings of fire and mutable stone whose strong, intense passions drive them to wander the world. The flame of their bodies burns magically cool, but they can choose to burn hot at will. Flamekin bring a kind of blazing, passionate counterpoint to both the id‐driven boggarts and the pastoral plane of Lorwyn.

Other races are wary of flamekin and their fickle, fiery natures, a reputation that a group of flamekin called the Brighthearth are working to change. The Brighthearth serve as emissaries of flamekin goodwill to other races, performing useful tasks that require fire, such as smithing. On the other hand, one named Vessifrus is an upstart looking to inspire rebellion among the flamekin. One day he may lead an uprising against the tyranny of the beauty‐obsessed elves.

Flamekin have an almost spiritual connection to the more mysterious greater elementals of Lorwyn. Flamekin regard them as totems or demigods that inspire their creative impulses—or frustrate their understanding.

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Kithkin Isn't that a bit scary? Are kithkin the Borg? No, Champions of Goldmeadow thoughtweft doesn't create a hive‐mind—it isn't full‐on telepathy or mind‐speech. It's more like Lorwyn Lexicon the empathic bond between twin siblings, but with a touch of magic mixed in. It's an extremely cenn (SEN) noun accurate reading of the body language and mood A kithkin town leader, similar in role to a of other kithkin, that enables them to listen mayor. deeply to one another's souls. Kithkin are still cla∙chan (klah‐KAWN) individuals, and can "hide" thoughts from others noun A kithkin village, headed by a cenn. if they so choose. But their natural state is this jack∙herd interweaving that keeps kithkin communities noun proud and mutually supportive. A shepherd who tends herds of springjacks. spring∙jack Thoughtweft and Fightin' noun A domestic beast a bit like a cross between a Kithkin clachans like Goldmeadow, larger ones shaggy sheep and a jackrabbit, which kithkin like Burrenton and Cloverdell, or the largest of use for riding, milk, fur and mutton. all, Kinsbaile, are led by cenns, which are like The wind that ambles through Goldmeadow town mayors. Kithkin generally welcome mixes the smells of spring wheat and oiled battle‐ travelers of other races to their clachans, but may leather. Goldmeadow is one of the smaller the elementals help those who try to do harm to clachans; its few buildings are ringed with farms. these thoughtweft‐strengthened communities. But for every farmer and jack herd tending the It's said that if you pick a fight with one kithkin, fields, there's a soldier in training for the peasant you're choosing to fight them all. If you're a militia. Sometimes they're even one and the mischievous boggart looking to start some same. After all, there's not that much difference trouble in Goldmeadow, you're bound to have between threshing your wheat at harvest‐time the entire clachan coming down on you—not just and chopping at pesky boggarts out to raid your the knights and stalwarts of the militia, but the cellar pantries. jackherds, the balloonists, the armorsmiths, the powder‐mages, the archer hobbyists, the Kithkin Psychology: Thoughtweft nursemaids, the skin‐menders, the old lady who To know our kithkin, we first have to know their gathers firewood, and even the cenn of the minds, how they think and feel. The fundamental whole place. The thoughtweft is, of course, force that drives kithkin psychology is the involved here. Kithkin don't just think as a thoughtweft, an almost subliminal understanding community—they fight as a community. As you'll of the minds of other kithkin. Thoughtweft seee when th set releases, this is reflected in the naturally binds kithkin together into tightly knit kithkin mechanical identity—as a tribe they fight communities; the better you understand the best in numbers, marching into combat together. thoughts and feelings of your fellow townsfolk, the closer you feel to them. Preview Time It's no surprise that Lorwyn features kithkin cards that are chock‐full of thoughtweft flavor, and the 12

related flavor of kithkin coming to the aid of fights. Hey boggart raiding party, are you trying other kithkin. In fact, there's a tribal mechanic in to use your overwhelming numbers to break the set that, while actually showing up across all through my kithkiny defenses? Thoughtweft Trio the tribes, feels most at home, Vorthos‐wise, wants to have a word with you. No really, here among the kith. It's called "champion." Thoughtweft Trio wants to have a word with all of you, and that word is, "Five points of first Have a look. strike damage, distributed in just the right way so that enough of you die so that you can't deal five damage back to us." (When they say it, it's hyphenated.)

Then there's the champion part. Champion is a mechanic that allows a powerful creature to "overlay" a creature of the specified subtype. In this case, you play Thoughtweft Trio, choose a Kithkin in play (preferably a meaningless 1/1 that was standing around doing nothing anyway) and remove it from the game, then begin smiling proudly at your beefy 5/5 thoughtweft‐powered Kithkin Soldiers. The flavor of the mechanic is built into the way it's phrased on the card: "Champion a Kithkin." Champion here is meant in its verb sense: "To fight for, defend, or support." If that 1/1 Kithkin was feeling outclassed by all the Giants and legendary Elves and freaky slug‐ things on the board, Thoughtweft Trio comes to the rescue. They intercede on the part of that 1/1 and volunteer to take all the beatings that it Ho‐kay! Right. Note to self: Do not bother the would have suffered. leetle kithkins, for they get very, very angry. Let's look at this card part by part. If the Trio do suffer some beatings—if the elves decide to declare them an eyeblight, say, or if the First of all, let's look at the plain old stats. It's an boggarts do a little launching of their enormous 5/5 first striker, which is going to win unnecessary fodder in the direction of the Trio— almost every fight it gets into. It has vigilance, then no worries. The Trio's job is complete, and which means it's great at getting into said the championed creature returns unscathed. fights—it can wade in on the offense yet stay back and provide a near‐impenetrable fence for Note that, the way the champion mechanic is your opponent to try to crash through. And it can worded, Thoughtweft Trio doesn't necessarily block any number of creatures, which means it's have to affect a Kithkin creature. There might just even better at getting into the aforementioned be other permanents with the Kithkin subtype

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that the Trio could champion. In flavor terms, innovative builders and alchemists, using both Thoughtweft Trio can champion ("fight for, craftsmanship and magic to construct melee defend, or support") an abstract idea (a Kithkin weapons, armor of leather and bronze, bows, tribal enchantment, say) just as easily as it can a slings, traps, farming equipment, furniture, fellow Kithkin creature. Until the Trio fall in potions, powder‐bombs, healing circles, barrier battle, that idea is held safely away from rings, flight auras, and balloon‐driven air vehicles. corrupting influences, forcing your enemies to Kithkin are reverent and superstitious. They deal with the Trio before they can deal with the venerate the mysterious greater elementals of enchantment. It's a neat idea, and goes well with Lorwyn, beings that embody the abstract the flavor of a protector intervening between the concepts and dreams (and sometimes, aggressor and whatever's being protected. nightmares) of the plane. They feel that the Clachan, unite! movements and actions of the greater The Look of Thoughweft elementals represent omens for their own lives, and watch them with respectful distance. Note that Wayne Reynolds's awesome art of Thoughtweft Trio actually shows the thoughtweft This augury mingles with the kithkin propensity at work. The little glowing diamonds of magic for superstition; they propagate hundreds of odd over their foreheads and the halos of light little folk practices to protect their good fortune. around their faces are a symbolic visual cue for a For example, a kithkin might wear a bit of silver kithkin sharing‐of‐minds via the thoughtweft. on her knife hand when eating jackmutton, to prevent the rest of the herd from becoming Thoughtweft Trio art by Wayne Reynolds nervous or irritable. Most of these superstitious If you think about it, thoughtweft is a perfect practices fall somewhere between wise folk ability for soldiers acting in concert. These three medicine and utter hogwash in terms of actual are exactly in tune with one another, executing usefulness, but kithkin follow them faithfully. unrehearsed but flawless tactical positioning and Look for more superstitions in the flavor text of movements. You might overpower one of them Lorwyn cards. for a moment in a straight fight, forcing that one Kithkin celebrate Lammastide, a holiday involving to yield ground, but the other two would feel the dancing and the tying of ceremonial ribbons. weak spot and move to fill the gap. Remember Dancing is an elaborate affair among kithkin, the clever velociraptors in Jurassic Park? One serving to heighten and solidify the bonds of draws attention while the others move into thoughtweft. They also celebrate the Aurora, an flanking positions, almost by instinct. No seams, annual show of flickering lights that plays across just one tightly woven fighting force. That's why, Lorwyn's sky, usually with a gathering of multiple even in a world where giants roam, the kithkin clachans and droning cenn speeches. can hold their own. And when a boggart mob shows up to spoil More Kithkin Details things for the festival‐goers, there's almost Beyond the thoughtweft and their community always a Thoughtweft Trio ready to champion spirit, kithkin have other quirks. They're their cause. 14

Merrows Merrows have many different occupations and The fish‐tailed merfolk of Lorwyn are called avocations, and the system of terminology is very merrows. They are the couriers, intermediaries, important to them, so it's best to study up before and merchants of the plane. Given the fishlike your visit. A rudder is a merrow guide who knows anatomy of their lower half, they can't move the Lanes like the back of his scaly hand. effectively on land without strong magic. Tideshapers and aquitects are merrow mages However, they control and maintain the so‐called adept in water magic, who use their abilities to Merrow Lanes, the system of rivers that reinforce riverbanks, guide currents, or even alter crisscrosses Lorwyn and connects its furthest‐ the course of the Lanes altogether. Troutherds flung points. The Lanes extend over land via and crawherds manage schools of river trout and rivers and streams, underground via beds of crawfish, respectively. A landspanner is a subterranean tunnels, and even up into the town merrow able to leap from one waterway to centers of other races via wells. another one nearby; expert landspanners can hunt large land game this way—or patrol merrow The Dark Meanders territory for intruders—with spears and spiked The deepest parts of the subterranean rivers of nets. A fallowsage is a wise elder merrow, many the Lanes are called the Dark Meanders. Most of whom find comfort in the dappled shade of merrows steer clear of the Meanders due to the riverside willow trees. A wellgabber is an envoy lack of light and the ease with which one can get who uses a well to communicate with members lost. Experienced merrow "rudders" can guide of other races. you through these murky areas, but be aware that some have lost their possessions and even Silver‐Tongued Merrows lives while traversing these inky depths. Talkative and quick‐witted, merrows can dominate conversation. The voices of merrows Merrow Schools and Roles are steady, mellifluous, and rich with harmonics, Lorwyn Lexicon and merrows are so well‐traveled that any is sure ree∙jer∙ey (ree‐jur‐AY) to have excellent tales to tell. Be careful that you noun don't listen too long to a wellgabber, however— The leader of a school of merrows (from merrows are known to weave glamers into their Manx meaning "king" or "cavalier"). speech, which can prove quite influential to the Merrow society is organized into schools, and unsuspecting listener. Some travelers have lost each school is led by a reejerey. The schools fortunes just by stopping to gossip with the known at this writing include the Silvergill, the clever merrows. Stonybrook, the Paperfin, the Weirwinder, and the Inkfathom Schools. Of these, the Inkfathom Faeries School is the most interested in plumbing the No race on Lorwyn is more ubiquitous or Dark Meanders—seek out a member of this mysterious than its faeries. The fae lead short, school if you wish to go exploring those areas of flitting lives in pursuit of gossip, diversions, and the Lanes. amusing intrigues. Petty and vain, faeries are like petulant children at play. They love to have fun, to revel in Lorwyn's eternal midsummer, and to 15

follow their whims. But faeries can also be wander the world alone, seeking those worthy of carelessly cruel, capricious, and vindictive. The their knowledge or shelter. study of faeries can be gratifying for extraplanar Treefolk character and roles are largely travelers, but also frustrating and even determined by their plant species. Ash, birch, dangerous. oak, rowan, and black poplar all have different Oonas_Prowler Faeries travel in small groups of roles in treefolk society. Treefolk risen from three to six called cliques. Where faeries poisonous yew trees have all but vanished on originate is unknown, but they claim to serve Lorwyn, but at this writing, there is still one yew Oona, the enigmatic Queen of the Fae. Oona has treefolk remaining on the plane: an immensely never been seen, and is believed by many of the ancient and knowledgeable treefolk named races of Lorwyn to be strictly mythical. Colfenor.

Dream Harvesting Battlewand_Oak Interestingly, treefolk do not It is thought that faeries do not dream, which consider the use of wood taboo. While they would explain why they spend so much time would consider it wrong to kill a living tree, they harvesting the dreams of others. Faeries can have no qualms about crafting and using tools distill these stolen dreams into a sparkling energy made from trees that died. Furthermore, many that they carry around with them, like a bee species of tree are perfectly capable of carries pollen. The sight of a faerie reaping dream regenerating from careful harvesting of branches, energy mfro a sleeping giant is one of the most and treefolk use such wood extensively. Treefolk unique experiences a traveler can have on warriors can often be seen using armor and Lorwyn. Giants are the faeries' favorite prey, for cudgels made from tough wood, sometimes even giants dream giant dreams—a faerie laden with crafted from their own bodies. the dream‐stuff of a giant has a characteristic Planar travelers would do well to seek out the lurching flight pattern. Whether the faeries mighty treefolk. With few exceptions, their transport, store, or consume the dream‐stuff for philosophy and mystic knowledge is given their own enjoyment is unknown, but at least freely—but their wisdom comes in the form of one traveler has reported that the amount of deceptively simple aphorisms. Unwrapping a dream‐stuff harvested could represent a kernel of treefolk wisdom can take even a significant amount of magical power if collected devoted thinker decades, but it's usually well over time. worth the patience required. Treefolk have Treefolk simply seen more of Lorwyn, and for a longer time, than the humanoid races, and treasure The treefolk of Lorwyn have the longest lives and their centuries of experience as much as boggarts longest memories of any of its denizens. Treefolk treasure their hoards. Just as Lorwyn's natural are born from seeds like any other tree, but they resources have not been touched, the wisdom of gain sentience and mobility during a process its treefolk has also, so far, gone largely unmined. called the Rising. In their youths, treefolk stay in their birth‐groves, absorbing the wisdom and oral history of their elders. When they mature, they 16

Giants Some giants are renowned as oracles, trusted Giants are a race of hermits, arbiters, explorers, soothsayers who see the broadest view of all. and oracles. Some huddle in mountain caves; you They generally only lair at the very top of can spot a giant's lair by the enormous, rugged mountain peaks, reachable only by days or weeks dolmen stones built up around the entrance. of arduous climbing. Their answers can be among Others range over Lorwyn with long, loping steps. the most valuable experiences a planar traveler You can tell a giant's travel route by the man‐ could receive while on Lorwyn. sized, earth‐compressed footprints and lack of Cloudgoats and Thunderstorms vegetation. Especially wide‐ranging giant travelers keep Sunrise_Sovereign_640 enormous winged goats as pets and steeds. These trusty mounts allow them to fly to Giant Dangers Lorwyn's most distant mountain ranges, and Give giants a wide berth; they are by far the perhaps even beyond the mountains to regions strongest individual warriors on Lorwyn. Since unknown. Giants who range to the farthest giants require so much terrain to move around in, points of Lorwyn sometimes bring foul weather they can also be fiercely territorial. Note that trailing along behind them. giants tend to have one‐track minds—when they are friendly, they are magnanimously friendly to Cloudgoat_Ranger_640 all beings, buty when the are angry, their rage shakes the earth for weeks. If you're forced to Planar Attractions interact with a giant, try to maintain its eye If this is your first trip to Lorwyn, be sure to hit contact to hold its attention, lest you be ignored these essential locations. There are many more and stomped. Take a page from the kithkin, who places to see than these, but these sites converse eye‐to‐eye with giants by speaking to represent the must‐see attractions of the plane. them from a high cliff. Above all, do not question the dominion of a giant; do not try to wrest Gilt‐Leaf_Palace_640 control of a treasure, valley, or pet flamekin away from her. Your remains will be found in a five‐ Dawn's Light Palace toed grave. Gilt‐Leaf Wood is the forest deemed most beautiful by the elves, and Lys Alana is the Arbiters and Oracles greatest elvish city in Gilt‐Leaf. The centerpiece Giants are blessed with a lofty perspective— of this stronghold of elvish power is Dawn's Light literally—and many are trusted by the smaller Palace, a magnificent tiered structure buttressed races as arbiters of difficult interpersonal by elvish woodworking and magic. The palace conflicts. Even when a giant's verdict might sound rivals any artificial structure on the plane, but few illogical, his broad perception is trusted. If a giant non‐elves have seen much past the outer gates. pronounces a judgment on you, even a negative Those looking to delve deeper will need strong one, it's best to play along until you can escape subterfuge magic, lest they face the wrath of the the plane. palace guards.

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Wren's Run made to locate Glen Elendra, and although many This mazelike stretch of forest is considered to be deep valleys have been found and charted in the the finest hunting ground on Lorwyn. Elvish mountains, none match the descriptions from the packmasters stock Wren's Run with exotic prey legend. The suspicion is that powerful glamers from around the plane, and use it to ring in the protect the Glen from prying eyes; in fact, it could coming‐of‐age hunts of young exquisites and be that one of the empty valleys charted thus far perfects. actually is the Glen. Although many theories have been proposed about what lies there, and what Wanderwine River force might be working to conceal it, Glen Wanderwine_Hub All of the Merrow Lanes are Elendra's true significance is unknown. worth exploring. But if you must only see one river, visit the Wanderwine. It is the most The Murmuring Bosk merrow‐trafficked of Lorwyn's rivers, and as such Deep in the heart of Lorwyn's single largest is always teeming with conversation and aquatic contiguous forest lies the Murmuring Bosk, a commerce. Some tunnels to the Dark Meanders truly ancient grove of trees. The trees are not begin in the bed of the Wanderwine. treefolk (they haven't undergone "the Rising," as the treefolk call it), but treefolk can empathically Kinsbaile understand them as though they were speaking. The largest of kithkin clachans, Kinsbaile is the The Bosk is of particular interest to planar center of Lorwyn's tightly‐knit kithkin community. travelers seeking wisdom and information on the Visit during the Lammastide to see the complex, history of Lorwyn, as it holds thousands of years thoughtweft‐infused reels (dances) such as the of forest life. If you go seeking the Bosk, beware "three‐toad" or the "cotfolder," or attend the the archdruids, of both treefolk and elfkind, who celebration of the periodic light show known as tend to the trees; they are immensely powerful the Aurora. mages, in their nature‐focused way, and they do not take kindly to strangers. Lorwyn's Mountain Ranges The inhabited portions of Lorwyn are ringed by Amphitheater of Galanda meandering, seemingly ever‐distant mountain Feudkiller slopes. These are rough, trailless slopes, so it is Ancient_Amphitheater Foremost among giant not recommended that you hike them without arbiters, Galanda Feudkiller holds court in an proper magics. This is the realm of giants, some enormous bowl‐shaped amphitheater in Lorwyn's wanderlust‐stricken flamekin, and hostile greater mountains. This is the last court some conflicting elementals, so exercise caution. parties ever see. If Galanda decides to hear the testimony of the two sides, her judgment is swift Glen Elendra and absolute—the case winner is allowed to Secluded_Glen It's said that in the heart of leave peacefully, and the guilty party is often Lorwyn's mountains lies a mystical valley known killed for wasting the arbiter's time. Look for as Glen Elendra, and that vast treasures of magic gigantic dolmen stones that form a bowl shape, are hidden there. Several attempts have been and keep your eyes open. 18

Velis Vel Data is scarce about the grotto of Velis Vel, a subterranean cavern said to be the origin of Lorwyn's race of chameleon‐like shapeshifters, the changelings. The walls of Velis Vel are encrusted with quartz crystal, and the floor is an underground stream. Once a year, the sun passes over a hole at the top of the grotto, which causes an explosion of rays of light reflecting throughout the cavern. It is unknown what this event signifies, but behavior changes drastically during this time. Seek a merrow guide for directions to Velis Vel—if you're lucky, he or she might even know whether it's the right time for viewing the refractory event. Happy Travels! The authors and researchers who developed this Guide wish you all the best in your travels to Lorwyn. Be sure to check out the other books in the Survival Guide series for all your planeswalking needs!

Note 1: A few of the Lorwyn races are getting their own theme weeks coming up, so if you didn't hear enough about your favorite tribe, stay tuned. – Doug

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