#fistfuloffortune

@dancyflammarions

you know, it’s certainly a project I’ve thought about returning to! It’s fun to imagine all the little slices of life that are both universal and yet unique to each flight.

But also I’ve been in a bit of a slump for a few months because of #stuff, so I’m not sure if I could actually do it, or probably at least not for a while.

Faction Name: No internal name. Outsiders have yet to agree on whether this faction should be considered a kingdom or a single growing, slithering being. It’s called variously “the Beast,” “Silumgar’s Hold,” “the Rotted Lands,” or simply “the Mire.”

Dragonlord: Silumgar, the Creeping Death, the Great Beast

Dragonlord’s Seat: The Palace Animate, sited in the oldest part of the Rotted Lands and the first region the dragonlord claimed, given the name “Weeping Heart” by the Sultai who watched in confusion at its transformation before it claimed them too. Silumgar’s body rests within the throne chamber on a great couch of jade, surrounded by heaps of treasure overgrown with vines and rot. His mind and will, however, are manifest everywhere within the Rotted Lands, and he is aware of everything that occurs within. Wherever an emissary of the Mire goes, Silumgar’s desires go also.

Brood Magic: Silumgar’s will creeps and corrupts, ensnaring the thoughts until his target realizes too late that their mind is no longer their own. Dragons of Silumgar’s brood have this power of mental contagion and dominance. Their breath weapon is a corrosive mist. They are masters of necromancy, curses, and poisons. The most powerful of the brood can shapeshift. Non-dragons are often imbued with temporary magic to perform various tasks, but their power is severely limited. The rakshasa groups that failed to leave in time are kept under Silumgar’s direct control and allowed to continue practicing their own demonic magic, so long as they do so in firm accordance with their dragonlord’s will.

Faction Species: Primarily human, orc, naga, vampire, and demon. Most rakshasa abandoned the Sultai before they could be subsumed, but Silumgar managed to seize a few weaker clans, Pockets of every species on Tarkir - even dragons of other broods - can be found among those ensnared by Silumgar’s will. Sibsig (zombies) are common. A number of elementals have also arisen within the Rotted Lands.

Faction Structure: The new BG Silumgar are bad news. Trust me, you don’t want to get involved. The corrupt, decadent hierarchy of the Sultai crossed with the swarm nature of the Golgari yields a bizarre half-hivemind half-dictatorship that no one enjoys except the few on top. It’s a bit like the Zerg in that individuals are subservient to a collective mind, but there are levels of control similar to a military hierarchy. Factions exist within the swarm that battle for resources and control; indeed, this competition is encouraged, as it improves the collective survival by culling the weak and forcing evolution. Imagine the ferment and constant decay/growth of a tropical rainforest, the eternal pressure of competing organisms with no concept of morality or restraint. The collective acts like The Thing from the John Carpenter movie: it has no awareness of a difference between living and dead biomass, no understanding or interest in the pre-existing organisms - it sees only resources to be utilized.

Individuals being mentally subsumed into the hive don’t appear changed at first, and even close companions may not notice the infection in their thoughts. Subtle alterations in vocal patterns, sleep habits, and eating habits are the first outward signs. Once the mental contamination has taken hold, the individual voluntarily submits to physical incorporation into the swarm, mediated by the implantation of tendrils similar to vines or roots that grow through the individual’s existing nervous system to allow direct physical control should the collective will deem it necessary to override local thought processes. When swarm individuals interact, these tendrils will emerge from their bodies and join together into a larger network for the swift exchange of nutrients, pheromone signaling, and sensory information. Later stages of incorporation, depending on the needs of the collective, may make it necessary to alter the individual, break it down entirely for parts or resources, or combine it with others to create a tool suitable for the given purpose.

Silumgar grants a select few individuals a degree of physical and mental autonomy in order to preserve useful skills. Those rakshasa who failed to leave the Sultai in time and fell under his influence are allowed physical autonomy and permitted to keep some control of their own minds so they can continue to practice the powerful demonic magic they shared with the Sultai. Wary of that power, Silumgar monitors them directly and does not hesitate to cull any who show the slightest rebellious tendency. The few subsumed dragons of the Mire also retain some level of their original thoughts and skills, but have been imbued with utter loyalty to their new dragonlord.

No member of the collective is permitted a truly individual identity; the only name ever spoken in the Rotted Lands is that of Silumgar.

Faction Goals: Live. Grow. Take. Change. Kill. Eat. Grow. Live.

Faction History: Nothing distinct remains of the Sultai’s culture, history, or most of the population. Palaces and wealthy estates have been abandoned except for the occasional expedition to extract a needed resources. Many of the original settlements remain as twisted echoes of their former selves, farms and fisheries still worked by the remnants of the inhabitants in great drone swarms. Any unnecessary items or information - scrolls or tapestries of history, for instance - were ignored by the collective and have long since crumbled back into the jungle.

Silumgar himself didn’t conquer the Sultai directly. He didn’t need to. He is called the “Creeping Death” for the nature of his own will, which spreads and corrupts those he seeks to control. Newly-born, Silumgar found the riot of growth and decay and violent symbiosis exemplified by the deep jungle greatly to his liking. He selected an area then uninhabited by the Sultai due to its unpleasant climate and tenacious jungle life, and settled himself in the heart of it, fixing his will on seizing it as his territory alone. This patch of rainforest soon began to exhibit unsettling changes: Sultai travelers and scouts reported previously-unseen beings that seemed part plant and part animal, creatures that should have been mortal enemies working together in eerie, silent harmony, and the rapid spread of unknown plant life out from the area. Sultai rulers dismissed these accounts, however, interpreting the odd behavior as some new elemental magic in the region and receiving reassurances from the rakshasa that it certainly posed no threat to them. Soon the travelers and scouts stopped reporting back at all. 

The corruption in the heart of the jungle grew, and whole estates began to disappear into its shadow as Silumgar consumed, killed, created, and grew more and more. Some Sultai, especially those farthest away from the corrupted zone now called Weeping Heart, tried to raise the alarm. But the usual indolence and callousness of the Sultai elite masked the transformation in their thoughts long enough for Silumgar to take hold. By the time anyone thought to take action, the dragonlord already controlled the bulk of Sultai territory and resources, including its combination labor force and army of undead sibsig, and any sparks of true resistance that could not be converted by thought were simply crushed by force. The entire population unlucky enough to be present in Sultai territory at that time ended up dead, subsumed into the collective, or both.

Upon realizing what was happening to him, Tasigur, khan of the Sultai at the time of the takeover, sought out the dragonlord within Weeping Heart and threw himself at Silumgar’s feet. He claimed he would order his people to submit to their new master in exchange for keeping his own mind - which Silumgar granted. Unfortunately, Tasigur forgot to ask for his own body, too. He survives - in a manner of speaking - to this day; he retains full possession of his thoughts and memories, unclouded by the dragonlord’s influence, but his body is quite firmly controlled by Silumgar’s magic and serves as his favorite emissary. For the first hundred years or so it amused the dragonlord to permit Tasigur to keep his own voice as well, and the khan’s screams and insane raving were a common sound in Weeping Heart; but Silumgar eventually grew bored and removed Tasigur’s vocal chords, leaving him mouthing silent nonsense and endless pleas for death even as his body goes about its dragonlord’s errands.

Faction Relations: The Rotted Lands might be the only thing on Tarkir the other factions can all agree on: they’d rather leave it alone. Silumgar’s influence expands as the Rotted Lands grow, and those who cross too close to his territory can’t let themselves linger long for fear that the dragonlord’s whispers will take root in their hearts and lead them to walk into the jungle of their own volition. The Undying Kingdoms chew at its edges with axes and blasts of dry, withering desert heat; the Ojutai slip in to steal threads of knowledge from the collective memory; Atarka’s clans purify what they can and try to save those seized by the tangle; the Glorious Horde swings its blades and calls down the lightning; but all these efforts never matter. The jungle only grows back stronger. The beast endures, and its territory creeps ever outward.

Other Changes: So why venture into the Rotted Lands? Because Silumgar’s territory contains the ruins of immensely wealthy Sultai palaces and pleasure gardens, and his Palace Animate holds the greatest horde of all. Despite only rarely awakening in his own body, the dragonlord seems to enjoy treasure and directs his minions to pile it around his slumbering form in great heaps. Rumors of staggering wealth left to the jungle’s hold entice those with bad judgement and nothing to lose. Most never return, but once in a very great while one of these explorers stumbles back with fistfuls of gold - and unspeakable terror in their eyes.

Faction Name: The Glorious Horde, Army of Kol, the Unceasing Wind

Dragonlord: Kolaghan, Storm’s Champion

Dragonlord’s Seat: At the head of her army.

Brood Magic: Kolaghan wields immensely powerful lightning capable of smiting foes at a great distance, and her brood considers mastery of storm magic, called kolayanga, a sacred calling. Their breath weapon is a torrent of lightning. Magically-boosted speed, agility, and strength are also common among Kolaghan’s brood. Non-dragon members of the Horde study such martial magic, some healing magic, and the simpler elements of kolayanga.

Faction Species: Human, aven, efreet, goblin. Ogres possessed of an animal level of intelligence are trained and used in battle.

Faction Structure: From the battle-scarred warkites of the vanguard to the smallest goblin child running to replenish an archer’s arrows, every member of the Horde knows their place in this single, immense army. Children are born on the march and raised into the holy war that is their world. The weak, wounded, or otherwise skilled are permitted to stay at the citadel of Stormthrone, the Horde’s only fixed settlement, built beneath the cliff where Kolaghan first raised the lightning banner and bound the Horde to their holy purpose. But all others ride with the dragons of the storm on their eternal, sacred quest to fulfill the will of Kol.

Though the Horde has a clear, hierarchical structure, those who prove themselves in combat or on the march can expect reward & advancement regardless of family or species. The only exception to this are the dragons themselves, who as holy children of Kol are of course held above all other races. Those who fight in direct melee combat, often with other dragons, are called “warkites.” Others fight magically, either directly with kolayanga or indirectly with spells that boost the others’ strength in battle. Still others serve as Kolaghan’s field commanders, generals, and messengers. The oldest or slowest dragons serve largely as transport, carrying the weight of the Horde’s supplies on the march - a distinctly un-glorious task, but one that even the Horde’s proud warriors recognize as necessary to their purpose. 

Faction Goals: Kolaghan and her army sing of the glory of the lightning and the shrieking wind, teaching the truth of Kol, lord of storms and creator of Tarkir. Kol formed the world from the chaos of the first storm, and from the god’s tempestuous breath the dragons are spawned - and the aberrations and misshapen beasts that pretend to the name. The true & perfect dragons are Kol’s children, the dragons of lightning, the four-winged kites of Kolaghan’s brood. All others are mistakes and corruptions of form. The broods of sand and snow and poison and flame are foul in Kol’s sight, and must be cleansed from Tarkir; until that day, those who have sworn themselves to Kol’s service will fight and die and be born again to carry on this holy war. The Glorious Horde rides forever beneath the wings of their leader, disciplined and well-trained and dedicated utterly to Kol’s purpose, the Unceasing Wind that will sweep Tarkir clean.

The Horde itself is constantly on the move, following whatever strategy Kolaghan and her generals have determined to be the most fruitful in terms of both resources and opportunity to ambush and/or kill the dragons of other factions. One of their most common tactics is to follow the nascent dragon-storms as they rise above Tarkir and, when it begins to spawn fledgling dragons into the world, to ambush and kill any members of other broods. Warriors of both the Undying Kingdoms and the Atarka clans often plan ambushes of their own beneath the dragon-storms, knowing the Horde’s tactics, and fight to preserve the other dragons from Kolaghan’s wrath.

Faction History: In the distant past the old Mardu clans raided others, delighting in looting and destroying, roaming lost and without purpose. But the coming of their swift-winged dragonlord put an end to their savage ways. Kolaghan told of the glory of Kol and the true purpose of her brood, to destroy the abominations of the false dragons, and raised her lightning banner atop the cliffs above Stormthrone. The clans heard these sacred truths and understood what they must do, casting aside their old standards and forging a single great army under Kolaghan’s command.

In reality the Mardu did, in fact, go more or less willingly. Kolaghan’s crusade hasn’t changed their core tenets of living on the move and prizing strength in battle. Most traditions and cultural rites of the Mardu are still there in the Glorious Horde, though usually bent in some way to accommodate the worship of Kol. Names must still be earned in battle, but individuals hold sacred the right to determine their own identity.

Faction Relationships: The Glorious Horde is quite xenophobic and isolates itself from the other factions, considering their dragonlords to be abominations and demons in dragon-form. Members of the Atarka clans, soldiers of the Undying Kingdoms, or emissaries from the Rotted Lands can expect to be killed on sight. Non-draconic Ojutai monks may be tolerated so long as they stick to singing excerpts from the Glorious Horde’s sacred histories and hymns; Ojutai mercenaries will find work with the Horde, but will never be fully trusted or promoted to positions of trust and power within the Horde itself.

Other Details: When Kolaghan raised her banner above Stormthrone, the first warrior to rally to it was the archer Sukhnum, whose name meant ”axe-bow.” They had earned this name for their fearsome prowess in battle, where their arrows mowed down enemies like a woodcutter felling trees. Kolaghan was pleased by Sukhnum’s loyalty and skill, and gave them two gifts in return: for their loyalty, Kolaghan rewarded them with the honor of riding at her side as her herald; and for their prowess as an archer, with the Iron Bow fashioned from Kolaghan’s own spines, light and indestructible and suffused with the power of the storm. Similar bows have been crafted from the spines of the Horde’s warkites, but the Iron Bow itself remains an unrivaled weapon.

When the first Sukhnum died a glorious death in battle, Kolaghan decreed that a great competition would be held that tested mastery of the twin holy arts of dakla, the way of the bow, and kolayanga, the way of the lightning, and that the name and the Iron Bow itself would be granted to the winner. The ritual tournament continues to this day. The competition for the Iron Bow is open to every member of the Horde, no matter their rank or species. Once the title is taken, the victor’s past - whether it be deeds of glory or crimes against the Horde - is erased, and they carry the name of Sukhnum and the honor of riding beneath the Champion’s wings for life (not that such a term lasts long, as Kolaghan’s herald is first into the fight). Sukhnum’s great iron arrows rain down on the Horde’s foes, spitting lightning and taking full-grown dragons from the sky, and the terrible thunder of their impact is the first sign of Kolaghan’s coming.

Are you kidding?? YES, you can totally use it! I’d love to see enemy-color Tarkir fleshed out into a full world that can support a campaign!

I did start designing a custom set called Lords of Tarkir for this alternate timeline, but, well, life got in the way as usual. I’ve also had five story outlines kicking around for ages with the intent of writing them as short Uncharted Realms-style pieces, one for each of the new factions. IIRC, they were Anafenza’s ultimate revenge (Abzan), Narset’s spark igniting (Jeskai), an expedition into Weeping Heart (Sultai), a newly-initiated shaman’s first journey into the mountain peaks to speak with Atarka (Temur), and the competition for the new Sukhnum (Mardu). But, again, life got in the way. Ugh. 

BUT. When I got this ask I started collating extra information that wasn’t in the original posts for you to use and ended up starting a series of much more detailed guides to each faction, so now I’m writing that (thanks a lot). I figured I ought to go ahead and give you permission rather than keeping you waiting on me finishing up these guides. So you can expect those in the near future!

Not late at all! Thank you so much!