The Lore of Modern Horizons 2
Howdy folks! I'm Joe Dyer, and as we often like to do here with sets such as Modern Horizons 2 we are here to talk about the lore of the various characters that have been brought back in the set. These supplemental sets love bringing back old characters, so we're going to do a bit of a lore recap on who these characters are and why they're important.
Note that this is only targeted at older characters receiving a new card. Reprints are not considered in this.
So, without further ado let's dive right in!
Dakkon Blackblade
We would be remiss if we didn't start with the big face of the set, the guy on all the packaging... Dakkon Blackblade! Dakkon originally appeared in the set Legends but his major lore was expanded upon in the ARMADA comic line "Dakkon Blackblade" released in June 1996.
Dakkon was originally a mortal man, a master blacksmith and a warrior. He was approached by the planeswalker Geyadrone Dihada, who offered him the greatest power: to become like her as a planeswalker. Her price was to have Dakkon forge the most powerful blade in existence. Dakkon agreed and under Dihada's tutelage learned to forge a "soul-drinker", a blade that could steal the energy of those it killed. This was the Blackblade. Dakkon forged the evil blade over the course of ten days, killing a slave with it each time it needed to be cooled. Once it was finished, Dakkon could not help but test the blade's power.
Dakkon slaughtered many, earning the name Dakkon Blackblade in the process. Dihada returned upon hearing these stories and made Dakkon a planeswalker. However, she then used the blade and stabbed Dakkon's shadow with it, absorbing his very soul but not his life. Dakkon wandered the plane, seeking revenge and understanding as to why Dihada would make him an enemy after granting him so much power.
Many years passed and Dakkon fell into a conflict started by Dihada on Corondor that involved the Son of Carth. The Son of Carth utilized the Amulet of Ti-Fu to bind himself to Dakkon, which temporarily stole Dakkon's planeswalking abilities. Dakkon was not thrilled with this, but could not actually harm Carth so he was forced to serve. Dihada attempted to have Sol'Kanar slay the two, but he failed. Dihada then attempted to summon the Elder Dragons Piru and Chromium Rhuell to attack Dakkon, and in the chaos Carth was able to reclaim the Blackblade for Dakkon. Dakkon used his powers and banished Chromium, and then slayed Piru with the blade.
It was revealed that Dihada had planned everything in order to absorb Piru's soul for herself. Dihada would escape but not before marking Dakkon as a servant for all eternity. Dakkon did indeed serve alongside Carth, who would later become known as Carth the Lion. After Carth died, Dakkon became one of Dihada's main warriors and was present during the Planeswalkers' War. It is currently unknown whether Dakkon survived this war, however we do know that eventually the Blackblade itself would come into the possession of an undead being named Korlash, and then even further still would come to be wielded by the Therosian Planeswalker Gideon Jura in order to attempt to kill Nicol Bolas with it.
Geyadrone Dihada
Geyadrone Dihada is an ancient demonic planeswalker, and the reason behind the corruption of Dakkon Blackblade. She took the blade after stabbing Dakkon's shadow with it and moved onto other things. She gave the Blackblade to the nature spirit Sol'Kanar, corrupting him and turning him against the kingdoms of Corondor.
Dihada was instrumental in a plot involving the Son of Carth in which she tricked the boy into summoning Dakkon in the guise of an old monk. This allowed Dihada to forcefully steal Dakkon's planeswalking and to mark him as her eternal champion. In a fight, she summoned Piru and Chromium Rhuell to attack Dakkon, using the opportunity presented to absorb Piru's soul in the process. Dakkon and her battled, but she stalled him long enough to mark him for service.
Dihada later left Dominaria and was not seen again until the Planeswalkers' War. It is unclear what outcome this had on Dihada, as she has not been seen since then.
Piru, Elder Dragon
Piru was an Elder Dragon and also the life partner of the Elder Dragon Chromium Rhuell. At some point in their life, both Piru and Chromium had become conscripted into the service of the planeswalker Geyadrone Dihada, and had been summoned by her to battle Dakkon Blackblade. Dakkon attempted to mind control Chromium into killing Piru, but the spell failed. While attacking Dakkon, Chromium was teleported away and Dakkon regained the Blackblade, using it to stab Piru and absorb her power into the soul-drinker blade. This release of energy created the Dueling Chasm of Golthonor.
Piru's energy was absorbed by Dihada, being revealed to have been her master plan all along. It is unknown how Chromium dealt with Piru's death, being his life partner.
Piru's status as an Elder Dragon was the topic of some debate, but it became very clear in the Magic ARMADA comics that Piru was indeed a true Elder Dragon. This concept was brought into canon during the events of Dominaria when the Blackblade was noted as having killed an Elder Dragon in the past.
Svyelun
Svyelun is an ancient Goddess and patron to one of Dominaria's earliest merfolk empires of Vodalia. Svyelun's tenets tend to involve concepts such as mortals being unable to approach the divine as in the moon above the sea, above the lethal desert of the land, above even the sky, and no mere merfolk can hope to reach it.
Svyelun's holy symbol is the winged moon, a full moon ringed by a gleaming halo with a bright pear of circular spots on the halo. One of her primary follower sects is the Society of the Conch, which travel the world to seek a closer understanding of Svyelun by contemplating the ways she manifests in other cultures.
Carth the Lion
Carth the Lion was at one point known as the Son of Carth or just simply Carth. He was marked by the Mark of the Elder Druid on his cheek and was the original founder of line of Carthalion. His true name was never revealed to any.
As a young man, Carth sought revenge on Geyadrone Dihada but was captured and thrown into jail. Dihada, disguised as a mad monk, tricked Carth into summoning Dakkon Blackblade in order to bind him to the plane of Dominaria. After the Blackblade-Dihada War ended in Dihada forcing Dakkon into her service, Carth and Dakkon made peace and the two traveled to Terisiare. It was there that Carth founded House Carthalion.
Tourach
Tourach was the original founder of the Order of the Ebon Hand on the continent of Sarpadia. He was also the first high priest of the Order.
He worshipped a being known as the Ebon Praetor and established his new empire in the capital of Achtep Keep, the Citadel of the Ebon Hand. Not much else is known about Tourach other than the fact that his high priests had started to worship him as a god sometime down the line.
At some point, it was believed by the Icatian zealot Oliver Farrel that the sister of Tevesh Szat known as Tymolin Loneglade was the actual reincarnation of Tourach. As such he had his followers hunt her down and kill her.
Garth One-Eye
Garth One-Eye was a very powerful planeswalker from the plane of Dominaria. He was originally born Galin, son of Culllinarn. His house was destroyed by the wizard Kuthuman, the Grand Master of the Arena of Estark. Garth was five years old at this time, and his left eye was gouged out by one of Kuthuman's servants named Zarel. Presumed dead, Garth went into exile for twenty years.
He returned to Estark and began manipulating the various houses and Zarel (the new Grand Master) in order to compete and win the tournaments so he could meet Kuthuman. Garth successfully defeated Kuthuman and even used a spell that stole the wizard's ability to planeswalk. Eventually, he retired with a Benalish woman named Norreen to the countryside of Gish. However, Garth could not leave behind his old life behind and began journeying the planes. During one of his absences, his wife and son were kidnaped and brought to Benalia.
Garth returned and rescued them, and then later fought with Gull and Greensleeves, believing them to be the kidnappers. Realizing they weren't, Garth was brought to his senses by his own wife, confronting him on his family duty. Garth gave up his spells satchel to Greensleeves and his collective knowledge of Dominaria, before returning to his family's vineyard.
Garth existed in a time of Magic where there was no such thing as a "Planeswalker's spark" as there is today, as he only appeared in prerevisionist books. In this era, any wizard with the right spells and mana could traverse the planes. This was later somewhat retconned in the Revisionist novels which mentioned the Spark as the nature of Planeswalkers. Still, it is interesting to see a character from such an incredibly early period in Magic's history.
Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar
Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar was a powerful wizard and also an amazing cook from the plane of Dominaria. During a duel, she summoned a Lord of the Pit named Vincent but became unable to feed the demon. She escaped being eaten by entering herself into the demon's service as his chef for seven years and seven days, offering to feed him a new dish every single meal so long as he didn't eat her.
Asmor was capable of surprising the demon with every dish that near the end of her service he offered her a full time job cooking for him without threat of death. Seeking to simply escape Hell, Vincent asked her to collect all her recipes for him when she left. She agreed, but on the condition that she could make copies to sell in the overworld.
Only about 20 copies of the Underworld Cookbook were made, and only two were sold in five months (one to Vincent and the other to Asmor's mother).
Disgusted with the failure of the book, Asmor attempted to have her imps incinerate the rest of the copies. However, they ended up being tossed into the overworld where they were found by people. These people began trying out the recipes, and they became all the rage in the high courts of the land. Numerous monstrous races had a huge grudge against the cook as they were now considered ingredients in her recipes.
Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar decided to get the monsters off her back by producing a cookbook with titles such as "1,001 ways to prepare Elf" and similar chapter titles.
Ragavan
This monkey lives his days wild and free, the companion of one Kari Zev on the plane of Kaladesh. Pirating and adventure are the name of the game, and Ragavan exults in all of it at his master's delight.
Wrapping Up
That's all we've got for now on Modern Horizons 2 and the Lore of characters within it! I love doing these Lore Recap articles, and if you enjoy them too please let us know! They're a lot of fun to write and research into for sure!
As always you can reach me at Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, and Patreon! In addition, I'm always around the MTGGoldfish Discord Server!
Until next time!
