#nyrhen

Mother's day isn't for another few weeks.

-Dancing-Hands's mother was, in her younger years, an imperial guard as they were investigating the Kami rifts during the Era of Enlightenment with the Jukai's help. After the creation of the Merge gates, she married a kitsune of the Jukai she had worked with, who later became Dancing-Hands' father. She was the one to initially introduce Dancing-Hands to origami, but their relationship didn't fare too well along the years. His parents had very little authority on Dancing-Hands come his forties, and she regrets what happened to him. They've met again since and she knows he's alive, but it's been tough to rebuild things.

-Arnoss didn't have a singular "mother", that's not how the Family's typically raises children, he was under the care of all the adult Beldruns. As far as biological parents, he's never met his mother (at least he doesn't think so), his egg was bought from another family that couldn't support any more Ghavaleks. This is also not uncommon in the Family between caravans that trust each other.

-Nyrhen's mother was incredibly proud of her boy, even if he didn't do anything particularly glamorous or important. He was always Perfect to her eyes. Also she was a Lorwyn elf, so, y'know, the baggage that comes with that. Weapon-carver, some of which were deemed worthy of being used by Perfects.

-Farell's mom is Lady Leana Javori, born Bassola. She's cunning, positive, and confident. She's well-versed in politics and etiquette. She uses them as she needs to, but isn't fond of what comes with it, so she sometimes ignores convention when she thinks they're wrong.

Her birth name is an old, powerful and respected one on Fiora, and she very much married under her station when she did a newly ennobled merchant and had to give up her name for his when she did. She further mudded her name by carrying to term a bastard child from a shapeshifter who tricked her, and giving him her birth name. Despite the events of that night, she loves Farell just as much as she does her human children. She encouraged Farell into finding his own way, to be proud and keep his head high. The aristocracy may see him as lesser, but it's their loss if they underestimate her eldest son.

-Vaalin's mother was killed during the current phyrexian invasion, so he's still processing that, especially considering he had to keep working after learning of her death, alone in his head for long periods of time. She was a Vodalian merfolk from the Volshe caste, a mathematician, who had briefly studied at Tolaria (of the Depths). She joined a diplomatic mission to the surface world and met Vaalin's father, a human, there. She laid Vaalin's egg not too long after coming back from that year-long expedition. Knowing the xenophobic caste system underlying Vodalian society would be very harsh on a half-human, she sought refuge for her and her child in Tolaria's waters, where minds were more progressive.

Arnoss: Was on Ocaelum prepared to defend it from an invasion that never came. Now feels bad he did "nothing to help" during it.

Zarunpel: Worked alongside her sisters to keep her home and land safe even after the courts fell. The Alernis territory has the advantage of being closer to the Wilds and their influence, which the Phyrexians had a very hard time dealing with. It doesn't always make sense to Phyrexians which tend to be very scientific about things. Also, with the help of a couple of her sisters and borrowing her mother's sword, she fought @socialpoison's Traenor in his compleated arm and armor, and subsequently cut.

Ysara: She defended the Kaladesh village her home was nearby from. She died in the process, and left to her apprentice/assistant to clean up her skull and bring it to where she was from.

Farell: Heard about the troubles in Paliano, and couldn't resist coming to help Celin, the woman he loves. She was fine, though there was a lot destroyed. Also them being in contact again has led to exchanges about Farell's brother's death that makes everybody involved very sad, because they're living a tragedy.

Dolores: Thankfully her home on New Capenna was in the Mezzio, not on Park Heights. Her partner, @astrisjanus's Inza, stayed back on Capenna to fight the Phyrexians while Dolores herself took advantage of the chaos to go back to her home plane of Ferely. She was aiming to enact a vengeance there unnoticed. She was noticed.

Lhur: Recently consolidated his position on power and prepared his troops when he heard of what may be coming. When it happened, he saw no choice but to climb on his father's throne of shadows to coordinate actions and defense all across his country while channeling his own magic to limit the appearance of branches and portals over it. He emerged from the invasion exhausted, and then came the weeks more of exhausting work to manage the aftermath.

Jaspar: He was on Ikoria, in Indatha, trying to both survive and learn what he could of Nethroi and the Whispers. He fought how he could during the invasion and capped it off by using his magic through his Elderfang and spread over Indatha by Nethroi's whispers to call upon the echoes of Indath and essentially end Phyrexian (and some non Phyrexian) life in the area. He came back to Kaldheim to news of the death of his deity, Koma, and of the very foundation of Kaldheim. He doesn't yet fully accept the truth of that.

Alamir and Nksdv: They had been on New Phyrexia for intel and action for months by the time of the Invasion. Their last contribution to hinder the phyrexians was to remove their anti-planeswalker defense that scattered the assault team, before the Invasion even begun. It turned out to be a compleated planeswalker linked to Realmbreaker, @socialpoison's Ellidus. Alamir removed them and carried them away from the Tree, trying to reason with them and break through Norn's programming. Alamir knew what it was to be made and treated as a weapon and empathized with them. Seeing the planar instability before the end of the planar swap, Nksdv took them back to the Haven, and left Alamir to choose for themselves if they wanted to see the end of their world.

Sezashi: The orochi was fighting on Kamigawa, grown to oppose a compleated mech, and got stabbed by a branch of Realmbreaker in the back. He survived, and Norn's death rendered the oil inert before he could be compleated, though he might have a more metallic scar in his back now. While he was out, he received visions and ideas from the Myojin of Cryptic Dreams, but the Myojin is aptly-named, and he hasn't fully understood them yet.

Nyrhen: Fighting on another plane, then as soon as he got wind of the fact the attack was on every plane, went back to Eldraine to defend his Sanctuary in the Wilds. He killed a lot of Phyrexians that "happened" to find their way towards it.

The Cursetamer: She lost a lot of her collection of Apostates from Ferely on Innistrad and most of her planeswalking agents to compleation, and even she and her wife had trouble getting things under control after that. Her people actually helped her for once instead of the other way around, even if their home gave to Realmbreaker. Her latest Mana Core prototype was also lost, but that one self-destroyed before it could be compleated. Due to its nature, it had more safety features and contingencies than actual functions.

Kinahel: She was on Winrovah, fighting in a corner more desolate than average, in case she needed to use the Worldslayer or lose it into Void and hope for the best. Anything better than letting Phyrexians get their hands on it, even if she had no idea of the potential consequences. She burned herself out fighting and died as soon as she stopped (this is fine, she's a phoenix).

Something I’ve found very fun to do with my fanwalkers is giving them “reprints” of fitting, existing cards flavored around them. Some are easier to find than others, but overall it works pretty well!

Dancing-Hands wields a few different kinds of magic.

First, his innate magic, the one he was born with and considers a gift from the Kami is a powerful form of telekinesis. It has its limits though, it can't directly affect living things and its range is very limited, basically becoming useless at around an arm's length from his body. Near contact, it can exert incredible forces though capable of bending metals. Dancing-Hands recently re-learned that he can use it to affect less physical things, like magic and spells, though it takes more concentration from him. It is invisible, though it's effects are visible and sometimes will create a shimmer when heavily used. He doesn't need anything besides being conscious to use it.

Secondly, he's learned old Kamigawan kanji magic, or at least a subset of it focused on animation and transfer of properties. By drawing kanjis in ink on his paper origami and channeling mana into it, he can animate them into what they represent, or give the paper properties of other materials. It typically looks like black glyphs drawn and moving on his paper origami, and requires the surface and material used to draw them, as well as some time to do so. Although assisted by his telekinesis, the whole process can be surprisingly fast.

Finally, and more minorly, he was trained among the Ojutai, but what he learned from their martial arts was tainted by his telekinesis. He knows the forms and moves, but the effects resulting from it are generally as limited as his telekinesis, affecting only nonliving things and at short range. He hasn't been able to surpass that yet.

This is a very entertaining array of characters to ask that question to considering most aren't capable (physically or not) of blushing.

Sezashi is an Orochi, he's covered in scales and cold-blooded.

Dancing-Hands is covered in fur, his skin isn't visible for that to happen. (He's also a rather stoic monk, so likely to be able to control himself there, albeit I'm sure his partners could find something there.)

Nyrhen does not feel shame nor embarrassment. At least, he hasn't in upwards of fifty years. Getting him to blush would require him to be in company of other people he values the opinion of, and I'm not sure even Lorwyn elves would get that from him anymore.

Alright, let’s say a few words on the core cast.

Anedia would likely take traits after her spellbugs upon compleation. Sleep doesn't transfer well through a species that doesn't do that, but I would imagine she'd be a spy or informant of some sort, skittering at speeds on walls and ceilings, maybe even equipped with wings if needed.

Arnoss would be a tank of some sort, or a living armor. Simple, assigned to more important phyrexians so that they can wear him or keep him near them from protection when they don’t want to bother with getting their limbs dirty. Bigger than he currently is, scales replaced by metal, and mostly hollow.

Dancing-Hands would have an engine installed to harness the power of his telekinesis inside him to generate a lot of energy and fuel his body and all the weapons and shields that would be integrated into it. He would be a weapon, sent alone to a settlement or a battlefield when whoever controls him wants it razed or depopulated.

Dolores wouldn’t change that much compared to the others. She’d be an ambitious phyrexians and try to climb the ranks wherever she’d be. Her augmentations would mostly be integrating her tools and improving her body’s performances overall, but Azras like her were already engineered to be efficient soldiers.

Farell wouldn’t be changed at all. Compleated, them? Noooo. They don’t look like it. Although they’re a shapeshifter... But they’re one of the good ones, they’d tell us, right? Unless...

Compleated Icalia is the one I have alternate for her. She’d have accentuated bird of prey features, but would still be about balance... And it tipping one way or another. She’d lead a Phyrexian Arena, handling judments by oil and by weapon as well as providing spectacle and entertainment to those that earn it.

Ivegard does not feature flesh nor metal and burns any oil that’d touch her. She cannot be compleated.

Lhur would be compleated towards something not so important for him right now, but would be much more valuable for Phyrexia, and that’s amplifying ideas and desires. As powerful and efficient as Phyrexia is, they tend to have an issue innovating and testing new concepts, which he’d help bring up. In New Phyrexia, he’d probably be plated in the Orthodoxy’s porcelain.

Nyrhen’s magic allows him to resist compleation and possibly even cure phyresis, and his beliefs are completely incompatible with voluntary compleation, he’d not be the same character at all if he was compleated. However, if it somehow happened, he’d be very oriented towards survival of the fittest. Survive until the day of your compleation and you may have earned it. And survive his hand as well.

Nyrhen is very much still a lorwyn elf, and he acutely dislikes artificial changes and manipulation of life the Simic are all about. He sees them and their work as marginally more horrifying and despicable as the rest of Ravnica, but that ain't saying much, everything on Ravnica is artificial.