The first episode of the Magic: The Gathering Lorwyn Eclipsed story begins from the perspective of Dina, the former Strixhaven student turned Teacher’s Assistant, leading a group of underclassmen into an off-campus area known as Harrier’s Wood.
“The Harrier’s Wood was lush and green, with a thick tree canopy filtering the sunlight so thoroughly that the glade was cast in perpetual twilight, bright enough to let the students moving between the trees see what they were doing while still dim enough to make note-taking and precise measurements difficult.”
Addressing the group, Dina instructs them to head out into the Wood to collect at least six unblemished snarlflower blossoms to be used for feeding the newest litter of Witherbloom pests. As the students disperse into the Wood, Dina slumps against the base of a tree, bored but content to be on baby-sitting duty.
Meanwhile in the Wood, a group of four students – Sanar, Kirol, Abigale, and Tamira – have met up to compare their findings. Interrupting the conversation, Sanar’s attention is drawn to movement in the trees. The others follow his gaze and observe a humanoid insect “…almost—bipedal, with long, spindly limbs covered in shining blue chitin…” staring back at them.
Before they could process what they were seeing, the being laughed mischievously, fluttered its shimmering wings, and dashed off deeper into the Wood. Fueled by curiosity, Sanar leaps to his feet and gives chase, but in his haste, grabs Tamira’s flower basket by accident. Not wanting her grade to tank, Tamira runs after Sanar, prompting Kirol and Abigale to follow suit.
“The four students ran pell-mell into the woods, each focused on their individual goals: Sanar was pursuing the strange creature; Abigale and Kirol were chasing Sanar; and Tam was chasing her sample basket, swearing under her breath every time she saw a flower get bounced loose and fall to the ground. The impact would bruise the petals, leaving them useless for grading purposes.”
Rushing through the Wood, the four students continue their pursuit, but after cresting a hill, neglect their footing and, one-by-one, trip over a large tree root and tumble down the hill into a large hole at the bottom. Falling deeper into the tunnel, the four students observe “…gleaming prismatic light that formed and reformed into impossible geometric shapes, fractals and spirals bleeding off into infinity…” before emerging seconds later on the other side in the middle of an “unfamiliar meadow, the grass growing lush and green, patterned with strange patches of wildflowers.”
Composing themselves, the group takes in their surroundings and come to the conclusion that they’re no longer on Arcavios, having accidentally fallen through an undocumented Omenpath. High above them, the alleged Omenpath is still visible, but far too high for anyone other than Abigale, who refuses to abandon the group, to reach.
Scanning the area to plan their next move, the group turns to find a massive, free-standing gate. Unlike their current surroundings, the space on the other side of the gate appeared dark as night, acting like a threshold between two worlds. Tamira, the most scholarly among the group, identifies the large structure as a “dolmen gate,” and states that they typically mark the entrance to a home or gravesite.
“The group turned. There, behind where they had landed, was a massive gateway, formed of two tall stones with a third laid across them. All three were patterned in spirals and covered in faintly glowing purple moss. Most unnervingly of all, however, the gateway was free-standing, not attached to any wall or mountain, and yet it seemed to mark a barrier between the bright, beautiful day around them and the very dead of night. Darkness stood on the other side of the gate, broken by patches of glowing fungus and swarms of glittering fireflies, but otherwise infinitely deep.”
Short on options, the group decides to venture through the gate in hopes of finding whoever might live on the other side, and upon stepping through the gate, find themselves in a massive dark cave. Around them, faintly glowing lichen clung to the cave walls, which Sanar pulls together into a floating ball, bright enough to illuminate the space around them. Equipped with their makeshift torch, the group takes in their surroundings and discover that the walls of the cave are decorated with paintings depicting two great beasts.
“The paintings, stylized and full of spirals, showed two great beasts, each with a long neck, six arms, and vast wings, circling one another. One had a sun for a head; the other, a moon. As the students continued walking, the paintings of the beasts evolved, showing them moving under skies that matched the emblems. The sun-headed creature walked in day, the moon-headed creature walked in night. Finally, they came together, the day creature laying down to sleep and the night creature standing watch. Then they traded places.”
Pressing onward, the four students find themselves standing a large, open room. There, at its center surrounded by glowing runes, they observe one of the great beasts from the paintings, seemingly fast asleep. Eager to engage with a being of legend, Sanar immediately breaks for the creature, and despite protests from the others, reaches out a hand to touch it. Much to everyone’s dismay, the sleeping creature awakens and lets out a wicked roar, sending the foursome running for their lives.
“The shadows washed over the students and rushed past them, filling the tunnel and snuffing out the glowing lichen in the same instant. Virtually solid, that darkness flowed onward, out of the tunnel, and began to pool in the sunlit meadow, which was sunlit no longer.”
Read Lorwyn Eclipsed Episode 1 in full from Wizards of the Coast.
