Theros Beyond Death as Told by Flavor Text

"Dawn-kissed, he nourishes the golden grain." ~ Psemilla, Meletian poet

"The archon fell like a star from the sky, meeting the rising sun at the horizon's edge." ~ *The Cosmogony*

The Champion reached for a stone, and Heliod placed the sun into her hand. ~ The Theriad

"Gazing at the unicorn, I felt closer to the majesty of Nyx than I ever had before." ~ Oineus, traveling merchant

"In every one of you I see a hero's heart."

Is there a greater promise than the glory of the sunrise?

Those whose lives were uninspired are doomed to the wretched tedium of Phylias in death.

Death turned admirable conviction into pointless intransigence.

"The promise of victory fills my heart. There is no room for fear."

An infinite journey in an infinitesimal time.

"We are the bearers of the ancient light, keepers of sun-crowned Heliod's blessings. Fight, and the light will protect you!"

"I bring a dawn that no night can follow."

Leonin fight for neither god nor polis; their loyalty is to their pride.

To tame a griffin is to ride into legend.

"You are loved, child."

"Charge bravely. Fight selflessly. Act honorably. Iroas will watch over you." —Verenis, priest of Iroas

"Our stories are full of ancient wisdom; they tell us who we are."

Leonin band together in the Underworld, taking solace in their strength until, at last, both pride and self are forgotten.

"Storms drove them westward to Ketaphos; wide plains shimmered in starlight.nCentaurs greeted them, offering gold-hued apples and grain-cakes." ~ *The Callapheia*

"My time will come, when every soul will bask in my glory and obey my law."

Every soldier has a place to stand and a role to play.

Every footstep is a prayer, every road a temple.

"Zeal is the sharpest blade, and piety the strongest shield."

"The time has come for us to throw off the chains of tyrannical gods and antiquated superstitions." ~ Tikaia, disciple of Uremides

"To provoke the mountain is to invite the avalanche." ~ Perisophia the philosopher

When the gods go to war, mortals pay the highest price.

Chosen by Heliod, Daxos approached the pegasus without fear, and rode it without saddle or reins.

"I like to think Kytheon keeps watch over all of us."

"The first griffins were made by the gods to capture the falling stars; they were given the keenest eyes and the swiftest wings, and sent to keep watch above the clouds." ~ The Cosmogony

Not even death can quench a hero's inner fire.

"Why would I ever want to look away?"

The oracles of Meletis foresaw neither its rise from the depths nor the destruction it would leave in its wake.

Those who do not learn from their mistakes are bound to relive them.

"A great wave crashed, and a mighty wind blew out the stars." ~ The Cosmogony

"And what did Erekastos teach us is the nature of the soul?"

The greatest minds in Meletis study under the masters at the Dekatia, a renowned school of magic and philosophy.

"Freedom lies in accepting a single path." —Nyklos, Meletian philosopher

Tycthis's military career was a flop.

Alythos sat and stared blankly out over the glassy oceans of Nerono, trying in vain to remember what he knew he had forgotten.

"Wave-borne, he watches over secrets of the shore." ~ Psemilla, Meletian poet

"Storm-tossed and broken, Callaphe cried out to deep-dwelling Thassa.nTritons came swiftly to save her, bringing her north to the Lindus." ~ The Callapheia

"My time will come, when the rising tide will surge above the tallest mountain."

"Once you see past the veil we call 'reality,' altering your own shape is elementary."

"As the storm waves crushed my sailors, I cried out to Thassa. The next time I saw them, hard shells encased them, and they swam away to safety." ~ Siona, captain of the Pyleas

"I see destruction, suffering, and one tormented glimmer of hope."

Instead of performing their daily devotions, Heliod's acolytes spent the morning picking strands of kelp off the altar.

It swims upon the winds and soars through the waves.

It eats the things that eats the things that are drawn to the light.

Normally, a cerberus sleeps one head at a time.

Cities offer tribute to Ephara and carve her image into their walls, imploring her to protect them from the dangers of the wild.

Starfish are its favorite prey.

"I bring a flood that nothing can withstand."

A sip of recollection, an ocean of regrets.

Even in their mountain fortresses, the Akroans have learned not to anger Thassa.

Thassa's favor followed him to the Underworld. Even the waves of Nerono obeyed his will.

"You can no more stop me than you can halt the tide."

"May the skies be clear of gales and gulls." ~ Meletian prayer

Tritons search for omens in its wake.

"No, no, and ... no."

"As the future slips its way into the present, it ceases to be my concern."

The sharp memory of Daxos's death stabbed into Elspeth's soul.

"Sing, beauty. Sing for death, and for the dead." —Ashiok

"Some aspire to be mighty like the lion or the hydra. I am the parasite that feeds on them all."

Whenever it walks, famine follows behind.

In bleak Tizerus, all hope crumbles in your grasp.

The death of the party.

The more you struggle against death, the tighter its grip becomes.

"Kroxa devours what he may—not for sustenance or pleasure, but because it is his nature. He is unending hunger given form." ~ Klothys, god of destiny

"Evil flourishes where ignorance thrives." ~ Perisophia the philosopher

"I bring a death none can escape."

The Underworld erodes memory, identity, and eventually the physical form, leaving only crumbling statues called misera—hollow monuments to mortal futility.

One spiny tree with bitter fruit grows in the realm of Tizerus, outside the palace of Erebos.

Funerary masks help the newly dead resist the erosion of memory and identity in the Underworld.

The Returned retain no memory of their identities, but sometimes they mindlessly attempt familiar tasks.

From the echoes of a violent life, a terrible foe is born.

"How many more will die before you accept your fate?" ~ Erebos, god of the dead

"Grief-struck, she weeps for each mortal's final death." ~ Psemilla, Meletian poet

As a mortal, Phenax was the first to escape the Underworld. As a god, he brings his pawns along the same dark path.

Caught between life and death, between land and sea, between thought and oblivion.

Those caught attempting to escape the Underworld spend the rest of their existence trapped in the Mire of Punishment.

Rage-crowned Mogis swiftly rewards the virtue of brutality.

"Callaphe guided them into thendarkness of Hetos, the bleak mire;nBlood-horned minotaurs circled them, axes aglimmer in shadow." ~ *The Callapheia*

"My time will come, when life's frantic striving will fade into the boundless quiet of death."

"If you will not pour your drink out for me, I shall pour mine out for you."

The fury of the slaughter god Mogis burns within him.

Desecrating the dead is a convenient way for harpies to expand their foul collections.

"We offer Mogis the blood of the weak, and in return he makes us strong."

"I don't know if the gods watch over their temples, but I figure it's best to be stealthy just in case."

Phenax is generous with gifts and unforgiving of debts.

Dreams are just one more form of torment.

"Many have sought snake-twined Pharika's panacea. Do you wish to share their fate?"

"It's not enough to surprise your opponent. You have to delight the crowd as well."

It's a small step from revel to bloodbath.

"Renata was mesmerized by the satyr's dance of gleeful indifference, of reckless grace and bright disaster." ~ Luphea of Setessa, Histories

Magic is the true artist's medium.

Purphoros forged the manticore's tail from bronze, its teeth from silver, and its heart from hate.

"not even death can catch me now!"

"Everything will be put back in its proper place." ~ Klothys, god of destiny

Those who fought without honor in life are taken to Agonas and doomed to fight forever in its arenas.

"A cyclops thinks slowly but strikes quickly. Try to keep it thinking." ~ Brigone, soldier of Meletis

Klothys set out to mend the destiny of Theros, her fury guiding every stitch.

Winners of the Iroan Games are forever remembered as heroes of their people.

Brashness is close enough to bravery.

"Feast, for your next meal may be your last!"

The flamespeakers of Akros live passionately, devoted to Purphoros and the cycle of destructive creation.

"Renata launched a dozen arrows into the minotaur's thick hide, but the monster didn't slow its charge. The fury of Mogis was upon it." ~ Luphea of Setessa, *Histories*

The blessing is not the strength itself, but the knowledge of how to use it.

To some satyrs, only blasphemy is sacred.

"One-eyed and frightful, the cyclopsnlifted a boulder and hurled itnseaward from cliff's edge, shatteringnmasts and scattering sailors." ~ *The Callapheia*

"My time will come, when all of the world will be reforged in the fires of my invention."

"Flame-wrapped, she dances a burning swath amid the clouds." ~ Psemilla, Meletian poet

Mogis can fan a small flame of resentment into an inferno of madness.

"I bring a fire to recast all the world."

It's hard to keep a satyr down, even in the Underworld.

The minotaur polis of Skophos boasts grand temples to the god of slaughter.

To a satyr, a stampede is just another kind of revelry.

Distant thunder rumbled, a dread forewarning of Keranos's displeasure.

"Right now, in these first moments of creation, it is simultaneously nothing and everything."

The Underworld is anything but a resting place.

Bright flames quell the darkest nightmares.

Her webs, spun from her own hair, reach from Nyx to the mortal world and even into the Underworld.

The Nessian Wood is never without defenders.

The scouts of Hyrax Tower keep watch at the edge of Setessan territory, protecting the polis from inhuman monsters and enemy armies.

Those who die as heroes are permitted to dwell in Ilysia, a protected realm of the Underworld as tranquil and vibrant as the rest is bleak.

Nylea appeared amid the howl of a hundred beasts.

The god of destiny grants her followers vision deeper than sight.

"I see... elk? And lion? And... teeth! A lot of teeth!" ~ Teraklos of Meletis

"Be fearless, for a furious rebirth awaits you." ~ Nylea, god of the hunt

Nylea watches over all the creatures of the forest except the snakes. Blessed by Pharika, they can take care of themselves.

"No power is too great to be undone." ~ Karametra, god of harvests

Renata led the best hunters in all of Theros on a quest to bring down the terror of the Setessan wilds.

"The first rule of politics can be learned from a lowly hornbettle: it is wise to cultivate powerful friends." ~ Pythamon, sage of Meletis

The Summer Nexus is a holy grove in Setessa where the starfields of Nyx glitter in the shadows.

Where its feet tread, the thunder of many others will follow.

Nature is stillness and savagery in equal measure.

"I bring a wilderness no law can tame."

"A piercing call, bright as the stars, rang out across the valley, calling the Pheres band to war, to blood and savagery." ~ Luphea of Setessa, *Histories*

Ancient yet ever-young, it is wise and subtle—and cruel and reckless as the spring itself.

"Tree-tall giants confronted her, fiercely demanding her tribute;nFox-cunning Callaphe's slippery speaking entangled their senses..." ~ The Callapheia

"My time will come, when no road will divide the endless verdure of the trees."

An arrow from Nylea's bow never fails to find its mark.

Calix was patient, steadily following Elspeth until their destined confrontation.

"Far-seeing Kruphix glimpsed the end: Heliod's spear cast down and broken." ~ *The Cosmogony*

"A blessing is not a gift. It is a duty."

"Cypress leaves for family, larkspur for protection, amaranth for a bountiful harvest."

Bassara, the tower of the fox, houses the elite skirmishers who guard the Nessian Wood against trespassers.

In the heart of Setessa, the warriors of Leina Tower defend the polis and train its daughters.

"From the ashes of last night's revel, I bring the dawn on new growth."

A typhon's escape from the Underworld makes armies flee and kingdoms fall.

The best healers are intimately familiar with death.

The light of hope blinded Pantor to the ills of the world.

His imagination soars from the depths of the sea to the heights of the heavens.

It slips silently through the still waters of the Labyrinth of Memories to feed.

Nylea speaks to her in the windblown leaves; Thassa in the rushing tides.

"There's no success like excess!"

"Many have sought my weakness. All have failed."

Heroic deeds inspire new heroes.

Three sharp barks announce an attempt to escape the Underworld. Three sharp bites end it.

Some curiosities are best left alone.

A hero dies, and a legend arises.

"Mogis is pleased by this offering. Bring him more!"

"Only cowards flee from the truth." ~ Perisophia the philosopher

"Strength, skill, rage—all have their limits, but patience can be infinite."

Every strike of the smith's hammer infuses a sword with the determination of its creator.

Its strings are wayward threads of fate.

A weapon of darkness for a warrior of light.

Meletian mages can't claim the title of thaumaturge until they have received a gift or omen from the gods. Ephara likes to give tangible tokens of her favor.

In times of conflict, the philosophers of Meletis trade their podiums for conveyances of war.

A vision of home, and a glimpse of hope.

Dalakos's invention worked . . . until it didn't.

For centuries, the minotaur polis of Skophos was unknown to humans. It remains unexplored.

"Callaphe gazed on the coastline, certain her destiny called hernhere, where the mist-shrouded rocks sang, promising glories undreamed of." ~ *The Callapheia*

Mirinthes thought death was seconds away when the giant's fist closed around him. Two days later, he was praying for death's release.

Her paean is the clash of spears, her prayer a battle cry.

Riddles draw you in, paradoxes hold you fast, and answers shatter your perception.

"Gleams like moonlight on water drew us through the storm and toward our doom." ~ Siona, captain of the *Pyleas*

Hatred is a potent ally, but an insatiable master.

Deathless soldiers called phylaskia guard the borders of the Underworld.

Deathbellow Canyon echoes with the roars of minotaurs calling each other to battle.

The forge of Purphoros burns in the heart of Mount Velus, attracting dragons with blistering heat.

"Put down your bows, you fools! Arrows only make it angry!" ~ Callia, Hyrax Tower scout

The wisdom of the past is written on the bones of ancients.

"Agios was felled by a minotaur's blade, but I swear I have seen him since—in the midst of battle, wherever help is needed most." ~ Phrokos, soldier of Akros

"For her, I would gladly die again."

"Even in her absence, the light Elspeth kindled in our hearts never faltered."

Ashiok's minions plumb the depths of the ocean and the psyche.

Harpies are among the most detested creatures in all of Theros... and they thoroughly deserve it.

"Every dream is a doorway."