MTG: Lore of the Multiverse – Sarkhan Vol, the Man Who Didn’t Exist
Is it Dragons that make people mad? If so, I think MTG’s Sarkhan Vol would have fit in well with the Targaryens.
Welcome, Praetors and Planeswalkers, to our ongoing series about the people and places that help make MTG incredible. From great heroes and deadly villains to gorgeous locales, the Multiverse constantly evolves to keep the game fresh. Even if you don’t know anything about the story, all the background drives your favorite cards from place to place. You can check out all the previous MTG goodness over here.
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The Magic: the Gathering Multiverse is a terrifying place. Horrors beyond comprehension, interplanar war, and near-demigod-level warriors are a lot for a mind to handle. Sometimes, that thread snaps, and even the greatest of individuals is reduced to a misguided mess.
That is exactly the case with Sarkhan Vol, a planeswalker who wanted nothing more than a dragon worthy of worship. He ran afoul of Nicol Bolas, decimated his own army, and nearly caused a temporal rift that wiped him out of existence. However, the multiverse likely wouldn’t have survived without his intervention. Sometimes, it is in madness that we find clarity.
A Warrior of Tarkir
Sarkhan began life as a young warrior on Tarkir, serving under the Mardu khans. His prowess in battle was so great that his warlord, the notorious Zurgo Helmsmasher, quickly promoted him to general. However, he lost the taste for battle and blood. He sought a greater purpose in his life. He traveled into the mountains and joined the Whisperers, a shamanic clan that venerated the ancient dragons. Again, Sarkhan found no peace, as the idea of worshiping an extinct predator did not bring him peace.
He returned to Zurgo, requesting to join the frontlines again. Though Zurgo was furious with him for abandoning his post, he could not deny Sarkhan’s prowess. He sent him into Sultai lands with a cadre of raiders to challenge them. However, as the battle grew in intensity, a mysterious voice began to speak to Sarkhan. As he slew the enemy commander, the voice revealed itself as an ancient dragon spirit. At that moment, Sarkhan’s spark activated, and he unleashed a massive destructive spell that annihilated both the enemy and allied forces. Fearing the retribution of his clan, Sarkhan planeswalked away, searching for a dragon worthy of praise.
In the Land of Dragons
After many years, Sarkhan’s search led him to Jund, the savage Alaran Shard, where dragons reigned supreme. Finally hoping to find what he sought, Sarkhan journeyed across the plane. His search eventually led him to the cavern of the dragon Malactoth. However, rather than accept his worship, Malactoth attacked him.
It was only the timely intervention of Rakka Mar and Kresh that allowed Sarkhan to survive. However, Rakka Mar had a second secret mission, and Sarkhan and Kresh were merely pawns. As Sarkhan lost consciousness, he beheld the Obelisk of Jund, a powerful mana artifact he did not understand.
Sarkhan spent a few days in the wreckage of the cavern until Rakka Mar pulled him out. Suspecting that her intentions were not entirely pure, he left her to explore on his own. While traveling, he met a young Ajani, fresh from his own spark activating. He helped the leonin learn about his planeswalking abilities and encouraged him to utilize his rage and the red mana of his home shard of Naya to his advantage. Leaving Ajani to seek vengeance for his brother Jazal, Sarkhan set out on a revenge mission of his own against Rakka Mar.
A Worthy God
When Sarkhan finally found Rakka Mar, she bargained for her life with an opportunity: to introduce Sarkhan to her draconic master. Intrigued, Sarkhan followed her to a tall mountain infested with wild goblins. At the mountain’s peak, Sarkhan beheld the draconic Planeswalker Nicol Bolas.
Nearly brought to tears by Bolas’s majesty, he immediately swore allegiance to the elder dragon. In return for his service, Nicol Bolas infused Sarkhan with some of his blood, increasing his power a thousandfold and giving him the ability to shift into a dragon. Their pact sealed, Bolas sent Sarkhan to the Esper Shard to activate the Obelisk there.
Sarkhan returned triumphant, and Bolas rewarded him again, this time with a flight of dragons to lead. Sarkhan noted that one of the dragons with Karthus, the powerful Tyrant of Jund, would not have followed willingly. With this, Sarkhan began to doubt his allegiance, concerned that Bolas was brainwashing him as well. Still, he went forward with the next stage of the plan, to incite war between Jund and Naya. He led the Jund army and came face to face with Mayael and her behemoth army.
However, as they were fighting, he saw Bolas absorbing the power of the Maelstrom into himself. At the last moment, Ajani redirected the last of the energy to summon a Soul Twin of the dragon. The two battled in the tormented skies above Naya, but Bolas was eventually laid low. When the great dragon fell from the sky, Sarkhan’s mind snapped, and he began to become increasingly feral.
Breaking the Lock
Sarkhan was sent to Zendikar, deep into the heart of the Eye of Ugin. He spent a long time contemplating his place in Bolas’s plan and wondering if perhaps he’d failed. He wandered the halls of the chamber in an almost hallucinatory state. However, when he encountered a vampire attacking a young pyromancer, he snapped out and came to her rescue. Unfortunately, in his addled mental state, he turned on her shortly after. Thankfully, the pyromancer was able to detonate a powerful spell, and Sarkhan, always impressed with power, agreed to help her. She introduced herself as Chandra, and they traveled deeper into the Eye.
When they reached the central area, the mysterious voice that Sarkhan had been talking to gave him his instructions. He assumed his dragon form and attacked Chandra, intending to destroy her. Their battle was thwarted by the arrival of Jace, who fended off Sarkhan, believing he was simply a feral dragon. However, the presence of three Planeswalkers and the mysterious ghostfire of Ugin unlocked the Eldrazi prison, and they freed themselves. Chandra and Jace escaped, and Sarkhan was left behind unconscious.
Returning to Bolas
Sarkhan awoke alone in the chamber and made his way to the top of the mountain. When he reached the peak, he saw a desecrated dragon corpse that several spawn had burst from. Filled with rage, he incinerated the Eldrazi spawn and laid the dragon to rest. As he contemplated his part in the Eldrazi’s release, the spirit of the fallen dragon rose and began to taunt Sarkhan for failing his mission.
Unsure if the dragon was really there or simply a figment of his broken mind, Sarkhan returned to the Eye. While he was fighting Chandra, he noticed he could read the runes on the massive hedrons that imprisoned the Eldrazi. Taking it as a sign, he assumed his dragon form, annihilating the hallucinatory spirit and knocking a chunk off the hedron. Taking his prize, he returned to his master.
When Sarkhan arrived in Bolas’s meditation realm, he hid the hedron piece, not wanting the dragon to know about it. As he made his way to the center of the realm, Bolas spoke to him. He told Sarkhan that the plan had been to unleash the Eldrazi all along to draw Ugin out. Moreover, Bolas had “dealt” with Ugin, which shocked Sarkhan, who had heard the legends of the great spirit dragon. Bolas taunted Sarkhan with Tezzeret’s broken body, claiming to “always care for his minions.” He sent Sarkhan on his way with more doubts than answers.
Meeting Narset
Sarkhan returned to his home plane of Tarkir, trying to rekindle the awe that drew him to dragons in the first place. As he wandered his homeland, his mind still broken, visions of Ugin began to plague him. With no destination in sight, he found himself in the lands of the Jeskai. Their khan, Narset, found him, guided by visions of her own and the intervention of a celestial kirin.
Though Sarkhan was initially distrustful, Narset’s kind nature eventually won him over. She was able to calm his mind briefly, and he told her the secrets of the Planeswalkers and the other realms. Narset, however, did not seem surprised, as she had seen visions of the other worlds. She told him that Ugin, the dragon he spoke of, had been the soul of Tarkir and that his death had caused the plane to become unbalanced.
Narset healed his mind further and offered to accompany him to Ugin’s Tomb. As they traveled, they developed a bond of mutual respect and friendship. However, when they arrived at the tomb, they were attacked by Zurgo Helmsmasher. He sought vengeance for the death of his warriors during Sarkhan’s ascension. Narset was able to hold him off and urged Sarkhan to venture further into Ugin’s Nexus.
Unfortunately, whether out of concern, affection, or simple happenstance, Narset was momentarily distracted from her fight. Zurgo was able to land a titanic blow, and Narset was mortally wounded. With her dying breath, she urged Sarkhan onward, and as Zurgo stood over her body, Sarkhan stepped through the portal, swearing revenge on his past warlord.
Journey to the Past
Sarkhan landed in the snowy planes of the Temur lands. At first, he thought he had failed and that Narset’s death had been for naught. However, when he saw a flight of dragons fly overhead, he knew he’d landed in the past, when dragons ruled Tarkir. He quietly thanked Ugin for allowing him to see their majesty and journeyed on.
As he traveled, he encountered a Temur shaman, who was at first enraged that a Mardu warrior would intrude on her lands and disrespect her. However, when he explained his situation, she assumed he was just a wandering madman and agreed to lead him onward. She introduced herself as Yasova Dragonclaw, the Temur Khan. As they traveled, she began to carve strange symbols into the ground that Sarkhan didn’t recognize.
Using a Temur concept he’d learned in his travels, he convinced Yasova that he was from Tarkir’s future. She eagerly listened to his story and surmised that by destroying Ugin in the past, the dragon storms would stop, and the people of Tarkir would be saved. Sarkhan tried to steer the conversation away by appealing to her pride, seeing the Temur of the future were weak reflections of her without the dragons to challenge them.
Yasova was furious by his insinuation, pressing him on why cowering in fear was the better life. She shared with him a vision of her own, of the Temur people at the height of Tarkir’s hierarchy and her descendants as the High Khans.
Sarkhan was confused, as the future she showed him was not his. She told him that a mysterious force had instructed her to guide it to the Ugin’s lair, and then her vision would be realized. Sarkhan asked her who the voice belonged to, and she told him it was a great dragon with scales of gold and an orb between its horns. Sarkhan, horrified, realized her visions were coming from Bolas, and that he had come to the past to destroy Ugin. The symbol Yasova had been carving was the horns of Bolas.
Ancient Blood Feud
Sarkhan quickly assumed his dragon form and flew away from Yasova. Using the storms as his guide, he flew across the Temur lands. At the heart of the storm, he found Ugin. However, as soon as he arrived, Bolas planeswalked into the storm and attacked Ugin.
Sarkhan was still too far away to intervene but flew on regardless, hoping to turn the tide in Ugin’s favor. As he flew, Ugin unleashed the dragons on Bolas and was able to hold him back until Yasova appeared, turning the dragons against Ugin. Sarkhan felt the spell take hold in his own draconic mind, so he shed his form and plummeted to the ground.
As he crashed, broken and dying, Yasova began to heal him. She wanted to question him about this involvement, but she needed him whole. Thankfully, Sarkhan was able to get enough strength to drive her off and sought the place where Ugin had fallen. He found the dying dragon and begged him to tell him what to do.
Ugin simply said that as long as he sought guidance instead of truth, he would always fail. Desperate, Sarkhan produced the hedron piece he’d taken from Zendikar. It unfolded around Ugin’s body, protecting him and allowing him to heal. With this act, Sarkhan had made his own life impossible, and he vanished. His legend was preserved as the Sky Khan, who came from beyond time to save Ugin and then vanished. However, his story was not over…
Tarkir Reborn
Sarkhan returned to a home plane he did not recognize. Where before Tarkir had been ruled by khans and clans, now Dragonlords ruled the skies once again. Sarkhan was himself changed as well; by becoming an anomaly, he had unlocked access to Blue Mana, putting him more in line with Temur than his previous Mardu alliance. Excited to explore the new world so full of his beloved dragons, he traveled across the plane.
Sarkhan introduced himself the the Dragonlord Kolaghan, who ruled what had once been his clan. However, no one seemed to remember him or his previous station as a general. Even Zurgo, his ancient enemy, had no memory of Sarkhan. He was now a humble bellringer instead of a warrior. Hoping more of the past had changed, he sought out Narset.
However, when he reached the Jeskai lands, he found that Narset had been banished. Apparently, the very intellect that made her a master in the old timeline had made her dangerous in this one. Her Dragonlord, Ojutai, feared she would learn the secret of his power and exiled her before she could become a threat. Content to know that she lived, Sarkhan sought answers from the only being who would have been alive when the timeline shifted: Ugin.
The Impossible Dragon
Sarkhan returned to the canyon, where he had saved Ugin in the past. However, when he arrived, he was attacked by spiritual constructs that Ugin had created to protect himself. Thankfully, Ugin himself appeared and called them off. He apologized to Sarkhan for the attack but admitted that he did not remember him.
He had been studying the timeline in the carvings on the cavern wall and interrogated Sarkhan about why a Zendikar hedron was on Tarkir. Sarkhan told him everything, from the results of the old timeline to what he had done to create the new one. Ugin theorized that he had become a living paradox, as he had never actually been born to the Mardu. Content with these new events, Sarkhan left Ugin.
As he traveled, he met Narset on the wastes of Tarkir. Though he was happy to see her, he was saddened that she didn’t remember their time together. However, she had an echo of a memory of their time together, thanks perhaps to her recently activated Planeswalker spark. They decided to explore the New Tarkir together before expanding their journey out to the Multiverse.
Vengeance and Peace
Of all his many enemies, Sarkhan counted the false god Nichol Bolas as his greatest foe. When Bolas constructed the Planar Bridge and took control of Amonkhet, Sarkhan saw his chance for revenge. At the behest of Ugin, he traveled into the Meditation Realm to allow Ugin to retake it. From there, he engineered the resurrection of the dragon Niv-Mizzet, eldest of the Paruns, Guildmaster of the Izzet, and the living Guildpact.
He returned to Amonkhet and assisted the god Hazoret against Bolas’s legion in exchange for her alliance. In thanks, Hazoret gifted her spear to Sarkhan, who delivered it to Niv-Mizzet. When Bolas invaded Ravnica, Sarkhan stood with the Gatewatch and helped defeat Bolas. Vindicated at last, he returned to Tarkir with Narset.
During the events of the Phyrexian invasion, Sarkhan fought to defend his home from the Realmbreaker’s incursion. He was able to drive back the mechanical abominations thanks to his dragon form and settled in Tarkir in the aftermath. Like many of his comrades, he lost his spark during the Great Desparking in the wake of the Phyrexian war.
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