#4thcoming

(Context: The Fourthcoming is the Dimir newspaper local to the Fourth district for which my fanwalker, Anedia Kosel, works. After her file on the War of the Spark, she got another weekly column writing about planeswalkers and other planes. As she keeps her status as a planeswalker herself secret, they’re written with the help of “reliable planeswalker sources” that also help her check facts that she “couldn’t” verify herself. One of the parts of her column is, each week, an interview of a planeswalker, anonymous or not, that I might put up here. The first one I’ll publish here is an interview of a planeswalker that preferred to have their identity omitted from the interview itself, but is @land-ofthebooty‘s Medea. If you want your own fanwalker to be featured in one such interview, you can always contact me via tumblr or discord.)

Where are you from? How would you describe your home world? My home is called Theros. And hmmm...I would call it divine, something from a storybook. It is a place of gods, monsters, and heroes. Where the boundaries between the waking world and sleeping world are but a thin line.

What do you mean by that? Do people fall asleep easily? Dreams and beliefs have quite an influence on the physical world, to put it simply without going into too many details. It is a special quality to my home that I have never seen anywhere else yet.

Should they be a planeswalker themself, what would be one tip you would give to someone visiting Theros for the first time? I think the best thing is to not anger the gods… And not announce your presence too loudly. Theros has a harsh relationship with planeswalkers.

Care to tell us more about that? A few of the gods know about planeswalkers and are not too welcoming of them. [The interviewee mimed a throat being slit] They are powerful and easily displeased.

And why would they not like them? Is there anything our readers should know? Some planeswalkers cause a lot of trouble, and Theros has experienced a few in the last decade. I'm sure after a few centuries things might calm down.

I think after what happened in the Tenth, most of our readers can relate to that. How much of your time do you spend on Ravnica? I might stay for just a few days, while other times I've been here for years at a time. It depends on if any business requires me off-plane. The longest I've stayed is a little over ten years, and the shortest is ten minutes.

Ten minutes? What happened, you arrived in the middle of a rakdos party? Well, unless that'd be something you would enjoy. Honestly, it was my own fault. I had left in a hurry heading to Ravnica to see a friend… But I realized I had forgotten the gift I had planned to give them. I had to go back home to fetch it.

Haha, well, being a planeswalker doesn't absolve you from day to day life troubles! It is very true!

Would you say you're spending more time on Ravnica than other planes? Yes, I would say I do. I take a bit of time on other planes, but Ravnica is like a second home to me. I enjoy it quite a lot.

So why here rather than stay at home? Is it because of those gods disliking planeswalkers on Theros? Oh no. It’s nothing like that. I find it to be a wonderful experience...living a normal mundane life. On Ravnica, no one bats an eye or pays mind to me or what I'm doing. It’s freeing.

A mundane life? Are you someone of great importance back home? I wouldn't say great importance. I'd rather say I have a lot of responsibilities that I must tend to. My name or deeds are not well known, so nothing like that.

So you're avoiding your responsibilities by living in another world? I'd like to tell our readers that despite them being anonymous, our guest today is NOT our former Living Guildpact, Jace Beleren. [Laugh] It is true. I am not a young male human planeswalker with a fancy for the color blue.

Aren't you worried that you have those responsibilities for a reason, and that by living here there could be problems because of your absence? I would get more sleep if I did slack my responsibilities, but sadly no. I always finish in a timely matter what has been asked of me. I take pride in honoring my promises. It’s not quite that I am running from them. I just enjoy the feeling of no expectations and having a space separate from them. If that makes sense?

That’s for our readers to decide. So you have a life here. Friends, maybe even family. How many of them know of your other life? No. None of my associates are aware of my planeswalking. I prefer to be private about that.

What made you pick Ravnica specifically? I'm sure there were other worlds where you could have been anonymous on. Ravnica sort of grew on me. I've passed through many times, and found myself enjoying it every time I came. That's when I ended up getting an apartment, since I was passing through more often.

Anything specific about our city? The diversity. So much in such a concentrated space. I have never seen a world structured like this. The guilds are quite unique. Also... I enjoy the fictional books.

You're not the first one to remark on our world's uniqueness in this column. It's apparently the only city around and I, and many of our readers, still have a hard time imagining what else there could be. Would you care to show us what Theros looks like? If one ever has the chance to visit Theros, the Seasonal Nexus of Setessa is quite the sight to see.

(Art by Adam Paquette)

And now thousands of Ravnicans will get the chance to experience a fragment of it. There is so much out there. So many great unknowns to discover. I hope the people Ravnica ponder on this mystery.

They're certainly gonna have more to talk about! Is there another world beside Ravnica you particularly like? I would say a place called Lorwyn is another place of interest. I also find that I appreciate a plane called Valla as well. I think I have a preference for strange places. [Laughs]

Strange? How so? Would you put Ravnica in this category? Perhaps strange is the wrong word. Extraordinary maybe? Lorwyn has no humans, which is something that you don't see very often. And Valla? I... [The interviewee hesitated and stopped to think.] I actually don't know how to explain it. It is almost like trying to explain a color that you cannot see. It is difficult to describe.

Maybe we can have someone familiar with Valla as well in a future interview. How long have you been a planeswalker for? Yes, that is probably for the best. At this point? I would say I have been walking the planes for 30 years. Still quite young comparatively to others.

How did it start? It started with an ordeal, and blossomed from that revelation. I won't say more. I still have my secrets. NDR: In case newer readers don’t know, most planeswalkers discovered they were one through a great trauma, which is why we prefer to not push them further on the subject

What's something you learned about planeswalkers you didn't expect, or that our readers might not know? I would say that not all planeswalkers “walk” the same way. It seems when we travel to and from a place, it appears differently for different planeswalkers. I have seen some that fade away, others might teleport in a flash, while others might glow brightly before disappearing.

Do you want to share what happens to you? I am wrapped in a blanket of nyx (NDR: Nyx describes a sort of glimmering night sky) and fall into the blackened grasp of the blind eternities. If I had to describe it in a poetic way.

And in a more approachable way, how does it feel? Like you are falling, or flying. It is akin to both.

Last question... A planeswalker was responsible for the disaster only a few weeks back, and all to get back at other planeswalkers. Many here feel like planeswalkers are responsible and dangerous. What would you want to say to those people? The Multiverse... life is full of so many uncertainties. So many things that can cause pain and suffering, so many things that can do wrong. What happened to Ravnica is horrific and a tragedy. However, a truth was learned. And all the people of Ravnica have grown in a way that would have never been possible before. I see a united Ravnica, and one that has stepped forward like no other plane I've seen before. You have all uncovered and experienced a great mystery of existence itself. The people of Ravnica, you are strong, and you have so much life in you. You fought alongside each other, with those that came from other worlds. You all banded together to protect what is most precious. And that is truly beautiful.

So I ask of you, do not fear the unknown. Do not fear the unforeseen. Do not fear what you do not understand. Planeswalking is a force not of good or evil, but simply of what you make of it. Make it into something special, and use it to continue growing as a plane and as a people.