Ravnica (plane)
From MTG Salvation Wiki
- This article is about the plane. For the set, see Ravnica: City of Guilds.
Ravnica is a plane whose main planet is covered in large cities. This plane has been governed by the Guildpact and ten guilds for more than ten millennia.
The City of Ravnica is the primary metropolis of the city-covered plane.
The Center of Ravnica, the hub of the great city and the entire plane, is one of the only exposed areas of Ravnica’s original surface of any significant size. Because of this, the walkways of street level are not allowed to come between it and the sky. This site is the top of a mountain, with its base in the Undercity where Rakdos mining has changed it over the millennia into a giant column. Within this column is the Hellhole. At street level, it is flat, solid ground where many important halls and monuments are located.
Ravnica is the setting of the Ravnica: City of Guilds, Guildpact, and Dissension expansions.
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[edit] The Guildpact
Ten thousand years before the events of Ravnica, City of Guilds, the plane of Ravnica boasted untold violence and brutality, with ten factions constantly waging war against one or more of the others. Realizing that this neverending war would ultimately destroy everything, a council between all ten factions was held, where the leader Azor suggested establishing a living, breathing enchantment that would end the violence and ensure the survival of all the factions. While some of the order-phobic factions had initial disagreements, the other nine leaders eventually concurred that such a pact was the best chance of survival. Each of the ten factions signed the Guildpact, and over time, these factions became the ten guilds of Ravnica.
The power of the Guildpact is subtle; it prevents any guild from dabbling into the business of any other guild or disturbing the stable power balance among the ten by twisting circumstance and coincidence to nullify the disruptive guild's actions. While the Guildpact is credited with bringing relative peace and prosperity to the plane, sporadic clashes between guilds do still occur. Despite any conflicts between the guilds at a particular time though, the anniversary of the Guildpact's signing is celebrated every year with a day-long festival, where all the people lay down their weapons and make merry. This celebration is called The Festival of the Guildpact.
Not all of Ravnica's citizens are a member of a guild; the vast majority have no attachment. However, the guilds are a required part of daily life, and their presence is felt everywhere on Ravnica.
As a plane, Ravnica seems to be isolated from the rest of the Multiverse, in a seal similar to the Shard of the Twelve Worlds, but with Ravnica as the only plane. On the surface of this 'micro-shard' is a blister, a piece of folded Æther that traps all Ravnican souls upon death, forcing them to become spirits and ghosts that manifest themselves on Ravnica's physical plane. This phenomenon might also improve the lifespan of it's inhabitants, for example Agrus Kos is a normal human, who is over 120 years old, an age likely roughly equivalent to 45-50 years in Earth.
[edit] Guilds
- The Azorius Senate is the legislative and judicial body of Ravnica bureaucracy.
- The Boros Legion is a standing army that protects the Guildpact and contains the League of Wojek, the official peacekeepers of the City of Ravnica.
- The Cult of Rakdos, considered a necessary evil by some, the thrill-killers provide the heavy labor force of the plane.
- The Golgari Swarm which manages food production and organic waste disposal.
- The Gruul Clans have fallen from their former glory as the keepers of Ravnica’s wilds and now are nothing but a loose affiliation of anarchist berserker clans.
- House Dimir is the shadowy and manipulative guild that most believe no longer exists.
- The Izzet League responsible for the civil engineering works and new magical developments.
- The Orzhov Syndicate that regulates trade and banking, among others.
- The Selesnya Conclave who promotes the strongest religion and it's ledev guards which patrol the rural areas.
- The Simic Combine which provides medical assistance and the biological research.
[edit] Future
As revealed in the novel Agents of Artifice, in the future the guild rule system of the plane was officially disbanded. There are however, remainders of the guilds present.
