Theros as Told by Flavor Text

"I could heal a snakebite. Looks like you got bitten by a constellation." —Aescalos, healer of Pharika

"The gods gave us no wings to fly, but they gave us an even greater gift: imagination." —Daxos of Meletis

"You're just like me: ruthless, cunning, and ambitious. Obviously you're a threat." —Basarios the Blade

Some seers read bones or entrails. Others just like to break things.

"Early olive buds? A good omen. Flock of crows? Not so good. Mountain exploding? Bad. Very, very bad." —Hira, street oracle

They lived in different nations and fought in different eras, but as the Returned, they link arms as one.

The Champion and the philosopher Olexa returned from the opposing camp at dusk. Behind them, the enemy raised sail and departed, breaking the siege. When asked what the two had done, the Champion replied, "We spoke to them." —The Theriad

It's hard to shout "Shields up!" with a javelin in your chest.

Beware the gifts of an ill-tempered forge god.

"Your god teaches you only how to kill. Karametra teaches me to defend what I hold dear. That is why I will prevail."

Honor the gods of Theros, and they will return the favor.

"What has neither mouth nor throat, yet swallows captain, crew, and boat?" —Sphinx's riddle

"None can own the land's bounty. The gods made this world for all to share its riches. And I'm not just saying that because you caught me stealing your fruit."

When the sea god Thassa wishes to speak with a mortal, she does not issue a summons or grant a vision requesting a visit. The sea simply brings her guest before her.

"The people of Akros must learn from our leonin adversaries. If we match their staunch ferocity with our superior faith, we cannot fail." —Cymede, queen of Akros

"You can tell something's really valuable by the sound it makes when you slam your staff into it."

Philosophers say those lost at sea ascended to a more perfect realm. Sailors say they drowned.

More disturbing than the unknown is a distortion of the familiar.

"I hear the gods' voices in my dreams each night, and I offer bloody trophies on their altars each day."

Akros's greatest heroes are also its royalty.

"Thassa has blessed me with power and insight. I am careful not to disappoint her."

"When fire is shackled to candle and torch, subjected to insignificance, it finds a way to lash out at its masters." —Vala, disciple of Purphoros

"The wilds are a garden tended by divine hands."

Keranos is a fickle god, delivering punishment as readily as prophecy.

The left head keeps the right head starved as motivation to track new prey.

Another imminent battle subsided in busy snuffling and carefree rooting.

"You are breathing borrowed air."

The wills of mortals shift as the tide ebbs and flows.

A cyclops has two moods: angry and asleep.

"Mists are carefree. They drift where they will, unencumbered by rocks and river beds." —Thrasios, triton hero

At sunrise, the Champion and her companions awoke to find their supplies gone and Brygus, their sentry, dead. Carefully arranged piles of ornamental shells gave a clear warning: go no further. —The Theriad

Attending a satyr revel requires a high tolerance for pain.

Thaumaturges remain silent around chimeras, lest their words conjure even stranger beasts.

"You thought only the gods could stop you?"

"Training and studies aid a soldier in meager amounts. The gods do the rest." —Brigone, soldier of Meletis

Trust is the only bridle a pegasus will accept.

"The direst venom becomes a panacea under Pharika's guidance. I bring it to the worthy, clinging at the edge of the abyss."

It was in fields of grain, not fields of battle, that the Champion learned to bear the yoke of duty to the gods. She worked the land long before she was called on to defend it. —The Theriad

On the fourth day they passed through a forest of immense stacked stones. Althemone, youngest of the companions, called these pillars the work of a god, but the Champion knew better. She quickened her pace. —The Theriad

Most griffins must be caught and broken into the service of the polis. Not so in Setessa, where they volunteer.

Destiny exalts a chosen few, but even heroes break.

"Are the gods angry at our discontent with what they give us, or jealous that we made a thing they cannot?" —Kleon the Iron-Booted

The awards and medals of polis-dwellers mean nothing to griffins, but they repay acts of generosity.

An Akroan soldier's worth is measured by the number of swords raised by his battle cry.

The Returned have no memory of the Underworld or of their former lives. The golden masks they wear are the last gifts of the selves they left behind.

Khestes the Adamant, the Champion's closest ally among the centaurs, took one stone to his shoulder and another to his flank. He held his stride and his aim, and let fly the arrow that killed the giant Grinthax. —The Theriad

"Some fates you can see coming for you, plain as day, and there's nothing you can do about them." —Callaphe the mariner

"Why pray to the gods, who feed on your worship? Dissolve your illusions and see the true nature of things." —Xenagos, the Reveler

The Iroan Games award no medals. Athletes vie for a visit from Iroas, god of victory.

"It used to be a lair. Now it's just a tunnel."

All the world is Purphoros's anvil.

He calls upon both the currents in the sea and the current in the clouds.

"Fair fight? How could it be a fair fight? We're Akroans. They're not."

As soon as she faces a monster, she begins composing its epitaph.

His soldiers etch his words on the insides of their shields, their inspiration always in sight during battle.

"The temple has been rededicated. It belongs to Mogis now." —Rastos, disciple of Mogis

"A herd is only as strong as its weakest. Our weakest just killed his third minotaur raider—today." —Braulios of Pheres Band

Conspirators poisoned the oracle not because her visions were wrong, but because they were right.

"The best lessons are not the ones I teach. They are the ones the pupils realize for themselves."

Formerly oppressed by the polis of Meletis, leonin occasionally "mistake" their old enemies for game.

"I thought its back was turned!" "A centaur has two backs!"

There was no reason to pray. This was already an act of the gods.

The histories speak of two feuding rulers whose deaths were celebrated and whose monuments symbolized the end of their wars. In truth they were peaceful lovers, their story lost to the ages.

"You. Poet. Be sure to write this down."

"No matter who their fickle hearts worship, all mortals belong to one god in the end." —Iadorna, death priest of Erebos

Purphoros once loved Nylea, the god of the hunt. His passion inspired his most astounding works of art.

"Let each challenge make you a better warrior." —Anthousa of Setessa

"Even my last breath will be a blow struck for Iroas."

Acolytes of Purphoros hammer the world until they see the sparks of change.

Forged by divine hands to wander mortal realms.

She paints pictures with words, though not all pictures show the truth.

The price of prophecy is a vacant eye socket.

The defenders said not a word. Their shields, spears, and stances were warning enough.

Those who enter the copse never leave. They find peace there and take root, becoming part of the ever-growing grove.

"The youths prattle on about heroic deeds, but avoiding the noose is a feat more daring than their entire careers." —Basarios the Blade

It's never good to walk into an ambush, but with the right spell you might walk out again.

Even those who leave the labyrinth never escape it, forever dreaming of their time trapped within.

There is no gift more precious or more perilous than fire.

He killed out of hate, so now only hate sustains him. He sought immortality, so the gods gave it to him.

"Knowledge is such a burden. Release it. Release all your fears to me." —Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver

"Time is fluid as a dance, and truth as fleeting."

Don't try to ride this steed unless you've got gills too.

When harpies demand a toll to cross through their territory, consider yourself lucky if they permit payment in coin.

"Death is not a certainty. Erebos determines when a mortal's time is up." —Iadorna, death priest of Erebos

Driven away by his living kin, he wanders mourning through the wilderness, seeking the dead city of Asphodel.

The last thing to go through the cyclops's mind was a twelve-ton block of marble.

It's not the two heads you should fear. It's the four fangs.

"The hand of Keranos can be seen in every rumbling storm cloud. Best not to stand where he points." —Rakleia of Shrine Peak

To members of the cult of Erebos, gold-infused tattoos symbolize the inevitable grasp of the god of death.

"With a diet of hydras, giants, and massive serpents, anything would get that big." —Corisande, Setessan hunter

For the first time in many years, Elspeth asked for help.

"Poets speak of your unrivaled speed," the Champion said to the assembled centaurs, "but it is plain to see that your true strength lies in your unwavering loyalty to one another." —The Theriad

"It augments anamnesis. What is so confusing about that?" —Perisophia the philosopher

"You have led us to triumph over the forces of Mogis!" said Brygus the Brave, clapping the Champion on the back. The Champion wiped the sweat and blood from her brow. "I count eight graves," she said. "Too many to call this a victory." —The Theriad

"Our ambition drives us forward. Together we will claim what is ours, no matter who holds it."

"Was this gift cast adrift for any to find, or did Thassa guide the currents to bring it to me alone?" —Kenessos, priest of Thassa

His memories remained in the Underworld, but his cruelty crossed the Rivers with him.

"A grudge is a tattoo worn on the inside." —Setessan warrior saying

Gold coin, battered helmet, broken wrist bone—all have the same value in the eyes of a harpy.

The warriors she leads can rarely keep pace with her, and neither can the tales.

"I see a spark of pure rage. Soon that spark will spread from the depths of Kragma. Soon its fire will engulf the polis." —Hira, street oracle

With spear held high, the Champion came to meet Thyrogog of the Ashlands, who wore the old king's skin as a cloak and fed on the flesh of innocents. The foul minotaur raised the great axe called Goremaster and charged. —The Theriad

"Enemies of the wood! Your presence here is a slap in Nylea's face. Do not be surprised if she slaps back." —Telphe, druid of Nylea

"I know its lightness, for I have seen it fly. I know its weight, for I have seen it strike." —Brigone, soldier of Meletis

"Stoke a fire hot enough and you'll never run out of things to burn." —Xenagos, the Reveler

In time, all things turn to dust. Some things just take less time.

"You dryfolk must take the air for granted. You constantly insist on wasting it." —Kenessos, priest of Thassa

"It is hope, hooved and winged." —Cymede, queen of Akros

The tale of her life was already written, but that didn't mean she could predict the ending.

One offering to appease her on her arrival. Another to celebrate her departure.

"What we call magic is nothing more than hope crystallized into a destination." —Perisophia the philosopher

No foe is more hated than the former friend.

She asks pointed questions of the dead who wait for Athreos, learning of life from those who are about to leave it.

Her prophecies amaze her even as she speaks them.

When Athreos gathers the newly dead to be ferried across the Five Rivers That Ring the World, he sends skeletal griffins to fetch those who stray.

"Their only dreams are of full stomachs." —Kleon the Iron-Booted

"He outran arrows. He outran even the archers' insults." —Bayma, storyteller of Lagonna Band

"The most enlightened mages create beauty from violence." —Medomai the Ageless

Her melody melds death and beauty with such artistry that even the gods weep to hear it.

Nylea's sacred lynx guards those who honor the Nessian Wood and hunts those who don't.

"I see your future, mantled in ash."

Seeing a chimera overhead foretells good fortune, but only because seeing one any closer foretells dismemberment.

A warcaller merely brings the herd together. After that, the meat-hunger is all the encouragement they need.

The light in the woods just before dawn reveals a glimmering network of branches, roots, and spiderwebs. The acolytes of Kruphix walk this lattice unseen.

"Defeating the Meletians was not so difficult. I needed only to move a mountain." —Eocles, oracle of Purphoros

Legend speaks of the Sun Spear, the mighty weapon that can strike any point in Theros, even the depths of the Underworld.

Thakolides the MightynSlayer of minotaursnVanquisher of giantsnKilled by a scorpion ~ Inscription on an Akroan grave

When a god's will is against you, the day never ends well.

"The venom cleanses the sickness from your body, but it will not be pleasant, and you may not survive. Pharika's blessings are fickle." —Solon, acolyte of Pharika

"When you threaten the sanctity of the polis, you insult Ephara herself. If she doesn't smite you, I will."

The dead know lessons the living haven't learned.

"When I asked my commander the reward for killing that prancing nuisance, he told me, 'None! I want to kill him myself!'" —Phrogas, soldier of Akros

The Champion stood alone between the horde of the Returned and the shrine to Karametra, cutting down scores among hundreds. She would have been overcome if not for the aid of the temple guardians whom Karametra awakened. —The Theriad

A satyr is bound by nothing—not home, not family, not loyalty.

The works of one god last only as long as the patience of another.

"Every object has an echo in the Æther beyond the world. Every idea has a shadow that can be brought to light."

Philosophers speak of a place where myths wash like tides upon the shores of the real.

"Any festival you can walk away from wasn't worth attending in the first place."