Wilds of Eldraine as Told by Flavor Text

The curse of Redtooth Keep could only be broken by a mystical rose that blooms in moonlight.

A winged dawn dispels the terrors of night.

They help ensure that the forges of the dwarves are always squeaky clean.

"You are no monster to me, my love."

As Hylda watched Ruby drag Kellan's unconscious form through the cold, Hylda felt something she hadn't felt in a long time: compassion.

"Get back here, vile rodent! I was almost done cursing that ring!"

"Cold iron's all you need to hold a faerie. The charms are mostly decorative." ~ Eulyn, Edgewall peddler

It was the first and last time anyone attempted to levy a tax on the witches of Dunbarrow.

She stayed by her master's side, leaving only to hunt. She would guard him until he woke, however long it took.

Ranks of sleeping Ardenvale knights filled Eriette's throne room, ready to defend their witch-queen with unthinking devotion.

When a redcap raid threatened the Grand Ball at Delverhaugh, Goddric had no choice but to reveal his true identity and douse the invaders in dragonfire.

The sentry watched impassively, its spear unmoving. One by one, the would-be adventurers stumbled and fell, frostbitten, to the ground.

"Time for your just desserts, redcap scum!"

While Neva's mind wandered the realm of dreams, her body lay protected as mages worked frantically to find a cure for the Wicked Slumber.

Kellan struck out on pure instinct, and his conjured blades cleaved through the icy guardians as though they were nothing but air.

So many birds, yet the air was still and empty of song. Part of Syr Damon knew something wasn't right, but it was a far-off worry, unimportant and soon forgotten.

Hardened by the Phyrexian invasion, Will's knights starved the nightmares of the thing they craved most: fear.

High King Kenrith's armies followed him into the afterlife, ready to charge at his command.

When Hylda froze Loch Larent to create her palace, some merfolk dove deep enough underwater to escape the chill. Others weren't so lucky.

"It's entirely peaceful, as long as you don't try to pet it, pen it, take its food, take its hide, sit on its grass, or dress it up in colorful garb for human holidays." ~ Sturwynn, Boundary Lands ranger

Attracted by the quiet of Hylda's realm, reindeer herds moved in and made themselves at home near the palace of ice.

Even lost in slumber, the citizens of Ardenvale dream of a tireless protector standing guard over their homes.

Dreams of a realm united gave him strength even in sleep.

"What? I'm saving it for later."

The assembled partygoers fell silent and stared. As the helmet came to a clattering stop, the only sound was Ash's distant footsteps.

With every retelling of Agatha's demise, Kellan got taller and Ruby got stronger. But the core story stayed the same, and people remembered what happens to those who prey on the weak.

"Weary traveler, follow me. The night is a cage, and my light is the key."

"The archmage Valya? Why yes, I do believe I've heard of her."

"Fascinating. It says here that dragons cannot read."

"And what makes you think Lady Grandsquall wants to see *you*, little one?"

"...so the knight stabbed the troll, the troll threw the knight off the bridge, and they both forgot about the sword."

In retrospect, using storm magic against a storm giant was not the wisest strategy.

"I'm getting the sense we shouldn't expect a warm welcome." ~ Kellan

Hylda built an ice statuary from all those who couldn't understand "go away."

Kellan stepped from his village into a strange world where trees bore jeweled fruit. A regal, inhuman voice rang in his ears: "Tell me, brave hero, are you true of heart?"

"Just ... stay in there ... for one ... second!"

"Wooden swords rot. Steel axes rust. But coral only grows."

Yarvis was almost certain he'd seen the same tree an hour ago, but then again, didn't all trees look alike? He shelved his doubts and followed the friendly, twinkling motes deeper into the forest.

"Look at me, everyone! I'm a High Fae! Watch me do important High Fae things!"

Obyra's devoted servants shrieked as their sleeping mistress slashed at them, unseeing.

You can't cage mischief.

At first, Johann was annoyed that the library had decided to reorganize itself. But he had to admit that storing the cookbooks in the cauldron made a certain kind of sense.

The farmer was amazed to see the penny vanish into thin air, but the goose knew he'd just slipped it to the faerie.

"You are but learning to walk in a world where I fly, mortal."

To the giants, it was one little gem among thousands. But to Kylene, it was a haul that would feed her family for years.

"I've never known cold like it. It burned like fire and bit like an adder's fangs. Call me a coward if you wish, but I won't go back there." ~ Syr Lydel, knight of Vantress

"The Kindly Lord does not issue invitations to their court lightly. I suggest you accept."

"An intact volume of *Tales of the Fae*? The king will be pleased."

"My orders were to capture you alive. They didn't specify in what form."

Luckily for the plummeting Johann, the hydroloft spell was one he had actually mastered.

Neva's dreams were haunted by memories of the invasio ~ oil-black tendrils grasping at her through the mist. Or . . . was this something new?

"The difference between mischief and malice? Numbers."

"Don't you mean 'poisonous'? There's no such thing as a venomous—AGGHHH!"

She wasn't much for self-reflection.

The Wicked Slumber saved Eldraine from Phyrexia's grasp, but instead of fading when the invasion ended, it continued to spread.

"You've wasted your life. Let's see if I can do any better with it."

Even in the grip of the Wicked Slumber, the High Fae princess Obyra is a blademaster of unrivaled skill.

Kellan heard Agatha howl when he slammed into her, heard her scream as she fell into the cauldron, but couldn't afford to think about the implications just yet.

In their rotting minds, they still quest for virtue and glory.

If the sugary abominations of Sweettooth Village were ever under someone's control, that time is long past.

The louder they scream, the harder he laughs.

"Hold this for me." ~ Totentanz, swarm piper

Too much sugar is bad for your health.

"Who'll never amount to anything now, Father?"

"I smell frosting. Ready your weapons!" ~ Greta, Scourge of Sweettooth

"Try some pie! Your brother helped make it, and he really poured his heart into it."

Dying in your sleep is never peaceful when Ashiok is involved.

Clawing for scraps and driven mad by hunger, the individual rats became a writhing mass.

Lord Skitter promised the starving rats of Edgewall that they would never go hungry again.

For every rat she kills, ten more take its place.

Amalgamations of many childhood nightmares stalked the realm of dreams, feeding on the collective terror of all those trapped in the Wicked Slumber.

You can't give an ogre the runaround.

"You only find out who was hunting who when one of you is dead."

The mayor sent hounds to root out Lord Skitter, but their loyalty was easily bought with a handful of bones.

"From here, hit the antique gong, ricochet off the suit of armor, and get Gunrudd on the nose? Is that all?"

With no time to gather weapons, the dwarves fought the redcaps with anything within reach.

Johann's conjecture about draconic fire dispelling rainwater elementals proved to be correct. Now he just needed a way to dispel draconic fire.

Totentanz's song had no lyrics, but the rats understood it nonetheless. "You own this land," it said. "You deserve to feast."

It takes a lot to pull a master blacksmith from their work, but Maurice couldn't pass up an invitation to a lavish Delverhaugh feast.

"Why're you vermin so daft? This is a warehouse full of bricks. BRICKS! You can't eat bricks."

"The realm needs a ruler, not a boy playing king."

Even in the grip of Hylda's unnatural cold, something in Kellan felt bright as spring, something that poured into the empty hilts he'd been given by Talion and formed thorn-sharp blades of light.

Mines that once rang with the strikes of pickaxes now echo with shouts of reckless glee.

"My, what big paws y—" ~ Thomas the woodsman, last words

"Where do they keep coming from?!"

"Shiny is best. Then sharp. Sharp is good. Anything else is basically trash."

One way or another, dwarven meals end up in someone's stomach.

Townsfolk tapped their feet and hummed along, unwittingly amplifying the tune that would summon their doom.

"What's that, Snappers? Yes, you're right! It *was* very rude of the innkeeper to throw us out!"

"I point, you club!"

An autonomous, self-loading catapult had seemed like such a good idea.

The witchstalkers circled the armored figure, drawn to the corrupting stink of dark magic. Kellan and Ruby fled to the sound of savage howls and snapping jaws.

When Beluna's pets escape Stormkeld, villages fall and new Everstalks rise.

"There is a fierce joy in losing yourself to savagery, and a bitter pain in regaining your senses afterward. You could never understand."

Agatha befriended the beasts of the wilds, and under her influence they grew bolder ... and more savage. Some herbivores developed a taste for flesh.

Each night, the elves of Redtooth Keep transform into feral, monstrous beasts.

The fauns of the Tanglespan are adept at using the precarious environment against larger opponents.

"I have to hand it to you, Yorvo. Since your pet showed up, not a single smallfolk has even made it to the door of my vault." ~ Beluna Grandsquall

Witchstalkers have extremely powerful legs—all the better to reach you with.

Some family trees are thornier than others.

"I'm just as deadly during the day."

"Human feet aren't inferior to hooves for climbing. It's their plodding, mistrustful personalities that hold them back."

"Stay your blades, peasants."

Cloud eaters, heaven tillers, beanstalk wurms—he favors prey worthy of a giant's appetite.

To the giant spiders of Dunbarrow, there's little difference between fly and faerie.

He rides like thunder and strikes like lightning.

"The trolls have your scent, traveler. Hurry on, and let me take care of them."

"Looks like you need a bigger net, mister fae-catcher."

Where an ouphe makes its home, the land blooms with color and joy.

Heavy is the head that wears the vase.

"It's not so bad. All you have to do is keep from looking down." ~ Troyan, to Kellan and Ruby

Some knights who survived the invasion have forsaken what remains of their courts. The newly formed Verdant Order has sworn to defend the last untouched parts of the wilds.

"Get up and dance! Let your feet thunder like forgehammers!"

"Hush now. I need your beauty sleep."

"Okay. First I'll calm the elementals. Then I'll put out the fire. Then I'll unflood the basement. Then I'll do the chores *myself*."

Obyra sleepwalks through the wilds, hunting for worthy opponents.

"No more days withering at a negotiating table with my brother. I will rebuild Eldraine myself—the old way, with power."

Neither the sharpest thorns nor the foulest beasts would stop her from finding her brother.

Among the rats, he found the acceptance the human world never gave him.

"The streets of Ravnica were stifling. Eldraine is an endless adventure paved in gold."

"It's easy to cry 'For glory!' and charge those who disagree with you. But it takes finesse to turn enemies into allies rather than corpses."

"My people are both bloom and thorn."

"The fire of Embereth will never be doused!"

She can drive off any threat, from owl to hunter to Phyrexian monster.

Giggles of delight may be the last thing you hear.

"We spin and spin to keep us busy, but somehow you're the one who's dizzy."

He left knighthood behind to heal the scars of the invasion.

"Look! Another one! Who cares what Mother said? We'll be home before she gets back." ~ Daniela, Edgewall youth

Beluna makes a habit of "liberating" valuables from the world below, from priceless artifacts to historic buildings.

Sometimes, "as fast as you can" isn't quite fast enough.

With each day she wore the crown, her icy kingdom spread, and her heart grew ever colder.

"Most dreams reveal but fragments of what you could be. Only nightmares can show you who you truly are." ~ Ashiok

"You're doing a splendid job, my noble stitched friend. Not a single bird has attacked us!" ~ Troyan

What little light filters down through frost and fathoms is refracted into a million rainbow shards.

"The wilds are unpredictable. Rivers change course, trees shuffle and bend, rocks split and scurry. But mark my words, traveler—the main thing that'll change out there is *you*." ~ Sturwynn, Boundary Lands ranger

In their rotting minds, they still quest for virtue and glory.

"Busy as a bumblesheep" ~ Faerie expression meaning "asleep"

They dash—then dine.

"Stolen treasures can be reclaimed, but stolen knowledge is yours forever." ~ Alela

After the royal nanny had finished his dull, droning recital of the prince and princess's bedtime story, their secret friend emerged and the real story began.

"Was there a fearsome witch around here? Or was it a cruel dragon? The tales were confu—oh no." ~ Osval, adventurer

"Soon the rats are gonna run this town, so I'm gonna run with them!"

"Not bad. If only you had branches."