Mishra (Magic: The Gathering)

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In the trading card game Magic: The Gathering, Mishra is the brother of Urza. A cruel and ruthless Argivian artificer, controlling western half of Terisiare (i.e. Zegon). Unlike his brother he focused his mind on a single goal. Mishra was able to confederate various Fallaji tribes of the Western Desert under his command. He and Urza fought a long and bloody war. Unlike his brother, he did not become a Planeswalker.

Contents 1 Early Years 2 Apprenticeship to Tocasia 3 Fallaji Rakiq 4 Raki to the Qadir 5 Artifice Qadir 6 Pawn of Gix 7 Final Punishment 8 Mishra's Legacy

[edit] Early Years

Mishra was born on the last day of the year 0 AR (or 912 PF) to one of the Noble Families of Argive, one of the three coastal Kingdoms of Terisiare. His older brother Urza was born on the first day of the same year.

A number of years after the Brothers' birth, their mother died, and their father married another member of the aristocracy; this woman ignored the boys at best, and showed them contempt at worst. In 10 AR, their father fell ill, and he arranged for them to travel to the excavation sites of Tocasia, to whom he had done a favour some years earlier. They were apprenticed to her, and unlike other children sent to her camps, they remained with her.

[edit] Apprenticeship to Tocasia

Tocasia's camp was located in the desert, and was populated by the more modern of the desert tribesmen, called the Fallaji, and by young nobles who were sent there by their parents. Through the years, Mishra grew to be the polar opposite of his brother, for his brother was cold and favored the artifacts they excavated. Mishra instead enjoyed interacting with the people at the dig sites and participated in almost all of the digs, and eventually came to oversee all of the digs done at Tocasia's camp.

While studying the Thran, an ancient race whose machines were the main reason for Tocasia's camp, Urza discovered that all of the sites where large amounts of Thran devices were found seemed to circle around a central point. Tocasia, Urza, and Mishra flew to this place in an Ornithopter, a Thran flying machine found by Mishra and his brother. Once there they found a large Thran City, which Urza named Koilos, the Argivian word for "secret". They landed and wandered among the ruins of the city, and when they finally got to the center of the city they found a great machine powered by a Thran power stone. While inspecting the machine there was an explosion, when they awoke from the aftermath each brother was holding one half of the great stone in his hand.

After the explosion, each brother became increasingly hostile towards one another. The stones had odd effects on both living and non-living things; Urza's stone, which he named the Mightstone, seemed to make things stronger than normally possible, while Mishra's stone sapped the strength from both artifacts and living creatures; Urza named this the Weakstone. One night after much drinking, Mishra went to confront Urza, and tried to take the stone from him. The fight was heard around the camp, and when Tocasia tried to stop the brothers, she was caught between the power surging from the two stones, and died. Mishra, ashamed at what he had caused, fled into the desert during the confusion that followed.

[edit] Fallaji Rakiq

Captured by the Fallaji and his Weakstone taken away from him, Mishra was reduced to digging ditches with other slaves, until the qadir discovered Mishra's intellect and ordered him to tutor his young son. Mishra quickly gained the trust and friendship of his charge. One night, Mishra dreamt of a mak fawa, an evil spirit imprisoned deep under the desert. Awaking to an earthquake, he found his dreams come to life, as a dragon made of artifice began attacking the qadir's encampment. Quickly seizing the opportunity, Mishra obtained his Weakstone, and gained control of the dragon engine. As the old qadir died in the assault, the new qadir made Mishra his personal wizard. With the power of the dragon engine, the Fallaji began conquest of their ancestral lands. From Zegon came a fiery-haired woman Ashnod, who became Mishra's apprentice after she impressed him with her neural-scrambling staff. All went well, until Mishra met his brother again at a peace treaty.

[edit] Raki to the Qadir

After Mishra ran away, Urza became Chief Artificer to the warlord of Kroog. At a peace conference between the nations of Terisiare, the brothers were surprised to see each other. They would have forgiven the past, if not for the breakdown of the peace conference. Since then, hatred escalated, culminating in Mishra seducing Urza's wife and destroying his city. Striving to keep up with his brother's artifact machines, Mishra obtained more dragon engines from Phyrexia, transmogrants from his apprentice Ashnod, and plundered much books from conquered cities. Among the Fallaji, Mishra is proving more popular than the qadir. When the qadir died in an attack, Mishra assumed position as leader of the Fallaji.

[edit] Artifice Qadir

To be written

[edit] Pawn of Gix

Since stealing several dragon engines from Phyrexia, Mishra earned the attention of the demon Gix, who commanded his brotherhood of humans to spy on all sides of the war. As the brotherhood is banished from the court of Urza, they set their sights on the younger brother; unable to face the might of the Mightstone, they sought to subvert the weakness of the Weakstone. The brotherhood eventually maneuvered Ashnod to exile, and continued to gain influence in Mishra's eyes. When old age sets in, Mishra turned to the brotherhood, who used artifice to increase his strength and vitality. They were also instrumental in infiltrating the ivory towers' scholars, finally bringing down the towers' impenetrable defenses for Mishra's invading forces. By Gix's orders, they also informed Mishra of the discovery of a continent rich with resources to turn the tide of the war.

[edit] Final Punishment

In the battle of Argoth, Mishra faced his brother once more, and nearly prevailed when a blast from the Mightstone knocked him backwards. He returned with a dragon engine, intent on finally claiming the other half of his Weakstone. He was slain when Urza used magic and an artifact of the Thran, the Golgothian Sylex, to annihilate everything on the island of Argoth.

Nearly four thousand years later, as Urza, now a planeswalker, descended into the Seventh Circle of Phyrexia, he discovered Mishra, tortured on a flesh-grinder and denied death, as punishment from the Ineffable. Mishra begged his brother to walk them away, but Urza, thinking that it was a test of faith from the Ineffable, turned his back on his brother and chose to worship the Lord of Phyrexia.

[edit] Mishra's Legacy

Mishra left a number of artifacts to the card game itself, which include an Ankh and a War Machine. Oddly enough, he appears as himself in the Time Spiral expansion, which happens over 4500 years after his death. This is because time is falling apart at the seams causing people places and things from the past to appear along with other affects.[1]