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Tempest - The Rath Cycle

New Features of Tempest

Tempest introduces the following new features. These add new flexibility to the way you play Magic, and are explained on the cards themselves.

Buyback

Instants, interrupts, and sorceries normally go to your graveyard after they resolve. Buyback is a new option that allows you to use these types of spells over and over again by returning them to your hand when they resolve. Each such spell has a "buyback cost" in addition to the casting cost.

If you pay the buyback cost when you play the spell, the nthe spell is returned to your hand when it resolves, rather than going to your graveyard. You have to pay the buyback cost when you play the spell if you are going to pay it at all.

Returning the card to your hand is part of the spell's effect, so it won't occur if the spell is countered or fizzles agiant all of its targets. Instead, the card is put into your graveyard.

Licids

Licids are a type of creature. Licids can become creature enchantments, reside on other creatures for a while, and then revert back to begin creatures. When a licid becomes a creature enchantment, it loses the lived ability and gains whatever ability is isted in the card text. It also stops being a creature and becomes al ocal enchantment instead. It retains all of its other characteristics, including its name, colour, and so on. You still control the licid while it is an enchantment.

Unlike many abilites that move an enchantment onto another permanent, the licid ability targets the creatures to be enchanted. If it fizzles against that creature, it will not take effect, so the licid itself will be uncharged.

Generally, the cost of using a licid's ability includes tapping it. This means that when it moves onto the creature, it will be a tapped local enchantment. The enchantment's ability will work normally, though, and thecard will untap during your untap phase.

Shadow
Shadow is a new standard creature ability. It is both an evasion and a blocking restriction. Creatures with shadow cannot block creatures without that ability, but can't be blocked by those creatures either. In this erspect they are like ceratures that have flying but can't block without flying.

The Storm Breaks

Welcome to Rath

Tempest takes the Weatherlight on the first leg of its journey to rescue Sisay from the diabolical Volrath, ruler of the shadow plane Rath. This story will appear in greater detail on books, magazines, and comics, but the basics of it are here to help you explore Rath through the cards in Tempest. This is a summary of the odyssey across the plane.

Arrival in Rath

The hum of the Weatherlight engine drops an octave as the flying ship emerges from the aether between worlds. Dominaria slips pst its hull like water running down glass, and in its place the churning sky Rath appears. Boiling clouds of blue and violet swirl and break, and lightning jumps in jagged to meet the twisted earth below, as if trying violently to reunite. The Weatherlight dives sharply to acoid these masses of destructive energy.

Gerrard, captain of the Weatherlight, calls his core crew to the deck, and together they take in the land of their enemy. Somewhere before them stands Volrath's stronghold and within, Sisay. Gerrard knows he must free her from Volrath at any colst. Mirri, the cat warrior, asks Gerrard if he has a plan for finding and rescuing Sisay and for dealing with Volrath once they reach the stonghold. Gerrard admits that he does not. He suspects that Sisay is the bait to draw him in, but his loyalty to her demands that he continue. Mirri doesn't respond, but he secretly wishes that someone felt such loyalty to her.

Starke, a native of Rath and the Weatherlight's guide in Volrath's realm, says they'll be lucky simply to reach the stronghold. Hanna, the ship's navigator, is les cynical about their odds than Starke, but shes details for Gerrard why navigation will be difficult at best. She points to the barred horizon, which is nearly indistinguishable from the sky, and notes that the ground below is so chaotic that it is nearly void of landmarks. She also observes that Rath's sun is far too weak to provide guidance. Gerrard listens to his crew's doubts and then assures them that they'll find the stronghold; his conviction heartens them. Grinning, he gives the order to set sail.

The Weatherlight glides over the choppy seacoast, searching for a landmark that Starke might recognize. Trees below thicken that into dense canopy of balckened forest. Tangarth the minotaur suddenly bellows a warning and points to the skies above just as a massive, clas-like warship dives from the think cloudbanks overhead. It is the Preadator, of Volraths flying ship, commanded by Greven il-Vec, the evincar's magically mutated enforcer. Greven is a hulking mismatch of meatl plates, body parts, and protruding spikes. He burns with ambition and with his desire to destroy Volrath, who controls him through a horrific implanted spine. Today, Gerrard and his crew suffer his rafe: the Preadator opens fire on the unprepared Weatherlight. Bulwarks shudder. Gerrard braces himself at the foredeck railings, his sword drawn, watching Greven il-Vec preapare to storm the Weatherlight. As the Preadators nears, the cannons ease in preparation for the raid. The Weatherlight's three dozen crewmembers spread over the deck and preapare for battle.

Along the Preadator's bow, a cluster of moggs, and especially nasy and ugly subrace of goblins, wait for the flight; Starke shouts to Gerrard that moggs are drawn to the auras of artifacts. Once abroad the Weatherlight, he says, they will sniff out pieces of the Legacy for their master, Volrath. Gerrard tightens his grip on his sword and readies for battle.

The Preadator Attacks

The two ships slam into each other; the screeching of their collisions barley precedes the clash of swords and abrupt cries of pain. Everyone is soon spattered with the blood of moggs and humans alike. Tahngarth and Greven serve as towering landmarks for their allies, each clearing away with wide sweeps. Orim, the Weatherlight Samite healer, defends herself from attacks while desperately tending the crew's wounds. the Predator cannons open fire again, this time targeting the Weatherlight's masts and crew.

As the battle rages across decks and railings, thenobleman Crovax finally glimpses Selenia, the angel who once pretected his manor, as she dives in and out of the combat. His face freezes as he realizes the truth - Selenia now serves Volrath. The sword that defended his family now slays his allies. Crovax desperately tries to reach her, but they are kept apart by the frenzy of the battle. he does not know that Selenia, whose very creation equipped her with an emphatic link to Crovax, sensed his approach and led the Predator to this bloodship. Selenia despises Greven and Volrath and would choose to be with Crovax if she could, but she cannot question Volrath's commands: destroy his enemies and seize the Legacy.

Terrified of his mogg cousins and certain that he will be dead in moments, Squee, the Weatherlight's boglin cabin hand, flees the battle. He scrambles below deck to hide and to secure the artifact "toy" he scrounged from thecargo hold days ago. He wraps himself around the warm, misshapen ball, listening to the moggs ransack the hold. The moggs grunt and mutter as they tromp through the Weatherlight's bays, sniffing the airin search of elements of the Legacy. The mogg nearest Squee's hiding place suddenly smell and turns away - Sqee's own stench protects him and his toy from the sensitive sniffing of the moggs. Shaken but relieved, Squee reminds himself to explain the advantages of not bathing to Gerrard.

Karn, the sliver golem whose pacifism prevents him from slaying the raiders, is identified as a Legacy artifact by the moggs. When they grab him, he lashes out to protect himself. His fierce blow kills the mogg he sends sprawling, and he is paralyzed with conscience - he offers no further resisteance. Dozens of moggs swarm him, tip him over, and heave him back to the Predator. Ertai tries to protect the Golem, but the moggs' affinity for the Legacy seems to give them resistence to his magic. They chitter and gesture to each other, snarling at Ertai as they shove past him and return to the Predator with Karn and many other Legacy treasures. They are reluctant to leave the Tharn crystal in the ship's engine but cannot knock it loose. In the end, they crack the crystal with hammers but fall to dislodge it.

The Duel

While the moggs loot the Weatherlight, Gerrard and Greven il-Vec hack their way through the battle to reach each other. Gerrard is the more agile fighter, but Greven is brutal and tireless. Greven draws blood first with a gash across Gerrard's lip - a sign of Greven's likely victory. but even as the two circle and exchange blows, back aboard the Predator, Greven's first mate Vhatil il-Dal gives the order to fire. He clearly intends to archieve two goals: Greven's goal of conquering the Weatherlight, and his own covert goal - killing Greven. Chati knows that command of the Predator is within his reach, if only the malformed Greven were to die in the blast. The roar of the mogg cannons is deafening and the impact rocks both ships. As the Weatherlight suddenly lists, Gerrard tumbles over the railing. Hanna lunges for him but cannot reach him in time. Shes watches helplessly as Gerrard plummets toward the tangle of forest below.

Tahngarth's Rage

Greven il-Vec reagins his footing and orders a withdrawl - they have the Legacy and Gerrard is surely dead. Moggs squeal and snort as they return to the Predator victoriously. Greven who realizes that his first mate intended to kill him strides agead of his raiders. Tahngarth, enraged, refuses to let the Predator escape with Karn and then other artifacts. He cannot allow his hono and Gerrard's treasure to be taken so easily. as the dark warship rises, the minotaur leaps up and grips a thick blade and bulwark. The Weatherlight disappears beneath him and Tahngarth pulls himself aboard the Predator and searches for ahiding place.

The Predator heads back to Volrath's stronghold, its mission completed in a single raid. While seraching for Vhati, Greven takes stock of his situation: The Legacy is secured in the ship's hold and moggs swarm its pieces like insects; the Weatherlight remains intact, as Volrath instructed; but thanks to Vhati, Gerrard is probably dead instead of captured. Greven reaches Vhati just as his fury focuses. Vhati cowers, knowing that he fired without orders and that his scheme to kill Greven has been revealed. Greven grabs his first mate and metes out his discipline: he picks up Vhati and tosses him overboard to his death.

Selenia, the dark angel, rejoins the Predator as Vhati falls. Her encounter with Gerrard moments ago enables her to smile at the irony of Vhati's manner of death as he plunges past her. She rushes to tell Greven of Gerrard's fate.

Gerrard's Escape

Gerrard, stunned, plummets toward the forest's ceiling. As he nears the trees, a shadow passes over him and he is suddenly snagged from above. He looks up to see Selenia, the dark angel. She smiles victoriously as she stops his fall and prepares to deliver him to the Predator. Gerrard decides he would rather take his chances below. He struggles wildly, breaks free, and finishes the fall, plunging first into the trees and then to the forest floor and into the water. Overhead, the angel cries out in surprise and frustration; shes dips into the treetops in search of him, but Gerrard scrambles away and hides. Shes knows that Gerrard survivded, but shes cannot navigate the dense forest. She abandons her search and Gerrard watches as shes glides away.

Just as Gerrard catches his breath, a group of savage fish begins - Rootwater merfolk - burst from between the roots. Their features are so feral that Gerrard is surprised when they use some kind of language to cry out each other. He darts out of their reach just as a huge rootbreaker wurm tears a path through his wake, attracted to the splashing of the merfolk. In an instant, Gerrards's would-be attackers are devoured. He trudges away into the dark wood. This is Skyshroud, a sprawling forest that sits upon water. Its tangled roots form a floor below, and everything beneath the awning is virtually untouched by sunlight. To those who live underneath the trees, it is called Rootwater.

In the distance, Gerrard spies a large band of humans and decides to approach them. They are the Vec, a tribe of semi-nomadic humans who have faithfully followed their Oracle into the deep woods. The Oracle en-Vec addresses Gerrard and explains that she has the gift of prophecy; it is her duty to sustain her people during volrath's reign. She then turns to her followers and proclaims that the Korvecdal has arrived! Gerrard stands perplexed as the crowd of humans cheers.

Descent to Skyshroud

After scanning the treetops for some time, the Weatherlight crew finds no evidence that Gerrard survived his fall. The ship slowly descends - the damamge from the Predators attack has forced a landing. Hanna concludes that the engine will need extensive work to repair the moggs' damage. The Thran crystal, their only way to planeshift, has been all but shatterd. The Weatherlight cricles downward toward the conopy below, which is so thick that it looks like solid ground. As the Weatherlight nears Skyshroud's follage, the crew hacks vainly at nearby branches to aid the ship's descent. Then, with a peal of scrapes and cracks, theship tears a hold in the forest.

When the Weatherlight comes to rest on the watery floor, huge tree limbs and debris litter the deck. Crovax oversees the cleanup and hull repairs while Orim tends the wounded and tallies their losses, both in cargo and crew. Both Hanna and Mirri are unwilling to give up on Gerrard, so they hike into the forest to search for their captain - Mirri out of loyalty to her best friend, Hanna out of resurgence of love.

Deep in the forest, they encoutner an unstabel shapeshifter, a horrific thing that attempts to take both forms at once. Together they defeat the shapeshifter, and the victory is a moment of revelation for Mirri: she discovers she can count on someone besides Gerrard to be an ally and friend. As they recover from the fight, they are suddenly surrounded by a band of hostile Rathi elves. Pale and clad in snakeskin, the elves approach with weapons drawn to take the two prisoners.

The Uniter

Meanwhile, Gerrard, bewildered by the Vec's excitement, asks the Oracle to explain her proclamation. She says she foresaw Gerrard's coming, because he is the Korvecdal - the Uniter. She tells him that the Vec have been separated from the two other tribes of humans in Rath, and alludes to Gerrard's role as a cosmic unknown. The Oracle claims that Gerrard will change the fate of Rath and its ruler. She then asks him to join the Vec on their way to meet the elves of Skyshroud, with whom they hope to join in challenging Volrath.

Though confused by the Oracle's revelations, Gerrard readily agrees to join the Vec in meeting the Skyshroud elves - he hopes that they can help find him the Weatherlight and reach Volrath's stronghold. Once they reach the village, Gerrard finds Hanna and Mirri, now prisonners of the Skyshroud elves. The elves' leader, Eladamri, Lord of the Leaves, has already staged an attack on the Weatherlight; he knows nothing of a Korvecdal. Elves armed for war have orders to sweep the Weatherlight clean of life.

The Reunion

There is little time for diplomancy; Gerrard explains to the elves that the Weatherlight crew is here to challenge volrath and, if need be, to kill him. Their primary goal is to free Sisay, but if volrath chooses to fight, Gerrard will certainly oblige. The Oracle en-Vec quietly explains to Eladamri the prophecies about the Korvecdal as she ponts to Gerrard, and says that he will unite the human tribes against the evincar. Though he secretly scoffs at the human legend, Eladamri sees the potential of an alliance with the humans and reluctantly agrees to free Gerrard's friends. Hanna and Mirri are both ecstatic to see Gerrard alive, though Hanna resists showing too much emotion: she is not ready to forget Gerrad's abandonment of her and the Weatherlight years ago. Despite her reserve, though, she hugs him. They gaze at each other. Hesitantly at first, the two share a long kiss. After a silence, Mirri quietly clears her throat. Shes breaks the news of the battle to Gerrard: the stolen Legacy, including Karn: the damaged engine; Tahngarth's leap to the Predator. As they speak and plan, Gerradr and Hanna's eyes keep meeting. Things have changed them.

Eladamri says he will lead them back to the Weatherlight and command his forces to stand down. Meanwhile, Crovax, Ertai, and Orim bury their fallen crewmates in the forest. As they reboard the ship, the surrounding brush stirs. Crovax drws his blade; a patrol of elves step out from the trees, swords and bows drawn. The crew prepares to be attacked for a second time, arming themselves and preparing for the worst. Suddenly, an elvish spellcaster commands Skyshroud's roots to creep up the sides of the vessel, pinning the Weatherlight to the watery forest floor.

A strange horn sound from within the forest - a signal to the elvish patrols to attack. Gerrard and company arrive with no time to spare. Eladamri orders his troops to withdraw, and Gerrard is able to calm his crew. Once the scene has settled, Eladamri recommends returning to the elves' village to convene a council. as the others from the ship prepare to dismbark, Starke feels eyes on his back. He turns and faces the Oracle; she studies his face. Instanly, Starke surmises that the Oracel recognizes him. He clenches his teeth - not now, when he's this close to success! Starke begins to plot. He has many secrets of his own, and he suspects that the Oracle en-Vec knows one of them: Starke, like Greven, is il-Vec, octracized from Vec society.

The War Council

Once back at the elves' village, Gerrard explains to Eladamri that the Weatherlight is damaged and cannot leave Rath. He asks if the elves could reapir the Thran crystal. The Lord of Leaves says they cannot, because their spellcasting is limited to nature magic. But he tells Gerrard of another way out of Rath - a portal - though no one knows where it leads. Stories say it goes only to places worse than Rath (though Eladamri doubts that such place exist), but those desperate to escape volrath have used it before. Eladamri describes the canyon locked. Gerrard says they'll have to open it - it is their only way to escape.

That newly formed council of elves and Vec is impassioned by Gerrard's ambition, and Eladamri calles for a siege of Volrath's mountain stronghold. Both groups have suffered the evincar's torment for so long that the chance to finally fight is overwhelming; they know that Volrath's downfall will strengthen the future of their people - those in Rath and elsewhere. Gerrard flatly states that he's now here to defeat Volrath but to rescue Sisay. He doesn't want the elves and Vec to risk their lives on what may be a futile effort and he insists they no persue this plan. Eladamri contends that if Volrath is ever to be challenged, now is the time. He plans to lead the elves and Vec directly to the entrance while the Weatherlight enters the mountain through a series of ventilation tubes on the opposite face. Starke, who knows of thes vents, encourages Gerrard to take the mdespite their dangers. Gerrard once again impolres the council to reconsider the assault - at least until Sisay is free. Eladamri agrees to postpone the attack, but as they head back to the Weatherlight, Gerrard is not certain that the elvish lord's pateince will hold.

Go back to Spider's Web
Tempest - The Rath Cycle page 2

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