Magic: The Gathering stories transport us to a brand new multiverse with the release of the first fiction episodes surrounding the new Reality Fracture expansion. This adventure will conclude the Metronome arc, which began almost three years ago. But before we delve into the detailed summaries of the first two episodes, let's put the events into context.
The Origin of the Echoverse
It all begins with Jace Beleren, who, traumatized by the Phyrexian invasion, concluded that the original Multiverse was a failure doomed to suffering. A belated realization, certainly, but also a rather fatalistic one. Taking the name The Theorist, he uses the star map of the little Loot to create his own artificial reality, unofficially known as the Echoverse.
But he didn't just create a copy of the multiverse. Since he anticipated bearing the weight of the multiverse, he decided to prevent his human side, endowed with empathy, doubt, and moral conscience, from harming him, thus favoring his rationality.
He therefore succeeded in creating a near-perfect, or perhaps utopian, copy of the multiverse. The only exceptions are that nothing bad ever happens there, and consequently, each individual possesses a sanitized double of themselves. At the heart of this Echoverse stands Hexhaven Academy on the plane of Arcavios, where he resides. Similarly, the magic taught there is diametrically opposed to that of the original multiverse. Instead of Lorehold, Quandrix, Silverquill, Prismari, and Witherbloom, we now speak of Fatehold, Theorix, Stingerquill, Konstrari, and Vigorbloom.
There's just one small hitch in this whole scheme that's holding Jace back: he needs to understand Arcavios's birth to definitively anchor this universe and permanently replace the real Multiverse. To do this, he must follow the soul of the oracle Jadzi when she dies, because her soul will return to the moment the plan was created, allowing Jace to travel back in time with her.
Things aren't easy! Now that you're caught up, let's dive into the heart of the matter with the first two episodes, which have just been released.
Summary of the first two episodes
Episode 1: Tam, Alive
The episode opens with the birth of Tamira, an artificial being created by Jace, designed in the image of what his daughter with Vraska could have been. Tam shows great potential, having unwittingly inherited all the human traits Jace desperately sought to shed, as well as his own consciousness, which sparks a deep interest in her creator's work.
Tam grows up as a student at Theorix College in Hexhaven. Although she lives in an artificially perfect world, she feels increasingly uneasy, noticing inconsistencies in how her reality works. In a conversation with Professor Opal (the bright and surprisingly positive alternate version of Liliana Vess who saved her brother in this reality), Tam expresses her unease about a reality that is too perfect and her guilt at having betrayed her friend Jadzi to Jace so he could further his plans.
In the background, Jace coldly plots Jadzi's death to execute his time jump, ready to sacrifice the oracle's life so that his artificial reality can prevail over the original.
Episode 2: Purge Yourself of Doubt
The story takes a dramatic turn in the depths of Hexhaven. The real Liliana is being held prisoner in an anti-necromancy cell, completely devoid of any emanation of life or death. For Liliana, this deprivation of her magic is unbearable physical and psychological torture.
Her alternate self, Professor Opal, eventually pays her a visit. The dialogue is tense due to their diametrically opposed ways of thinking. Opal, filled with a disturbing compassion, explains the fate that awaits them: when Jacec completes his plan, the current Multiverse will completely replace the original, destroying everything Liliana knows, including herself. But as Opal reveals these facts, Liliana realizes that Jace's magic is faltering and that the Echoverse is more unstable than she has been led to believe.
When Tam visits him, she analyzes his nature and quickly understands what she must do. Jace has locked his humanity and sense of morality inside Tam, leaving him like a cold, impenetrable shell. Tam will have to bring him back to his senses to stop the destruction of the Multiverse. The question is, how?
What do you think of Jace's transformation into a tragic antagonist? Will Tam succeed in restoring his humanity before he erases the Multiverse? Come discuss it at the counter this week over a game!