Battle for Zendikar Block
Project Overview
As Wizards of the Coast continues to release their weekly Magic Story updates, it is our goal on the Voice of All podcast to bring these stories to life through audio.
With the new year, it's time for a new project; a grand undertaking on top of the regular work. Within 2017, we will produce the entirety of the Battle for Zendikar block, totaling 30 stories between the two sets and several prologue stories. And we need your voices to do it!
If you're interested in hearing our past works, you can listen to all of them here:
https://soundcloud.com/voiceofallmtg
We can also be found on iTunes and Google Play! As this is outside the normal scope of the work, we can take our time a bit more than otherwise. Once cast, I will send you your lines and we can work together to find what schedule works best for you to get them to me.
When you are logged in, you can comment, add submissions, create projects, upvote, search open roles, and way more. Login here.
A Tajuru elf, warden of their lands. She is very stern and not particularly welcoming of the pair, Mina and Denn.
Lines in 1 Story
"I am Warden Tenru, one of the many guardians of these Tajuru lands. It seems you've both strayed far from your village...?"
"Watch your tone, Mul Daya—this is my home. I grieve for your loss, but never asked your help. We have no intention of succumbing to your same fate."
Drana is the bloodchief of the Kalastria, the wealthiest and most powerful of the vampire families of Malakir on Zendikar.
When Kalitas of the Ghet family seized holdings outside of Malakir and threatened to turn all of the vampires of Malakir into thralls of the Eldrazi, Drana struck back, retaking control of Malakir and driving Kalitas and his traitors away from the city. However, Drana's victory was short-lived, as she and her remaining people were driven from the city by ever-growing hordes of Eldrazi. When Bala Ged was near total destruction, she decided to join forces with the troops of Gideon Jura on Tazeem.
She is powerful, confident, and eager for battle. She thinks herself better than the “mortals” of the plane, but begrudgingly works with them as the threat of the Eldrazi is worse.
Lines in 3 Stories
"Being a child seems no more protection against death than being a parent. This is war. In my experience, wars are usually very effective at killing children. Perhaps that's the point of war, to kill children."
I am the hunter. I am the predator. Everything is prey. Everything is mine.
I belong to no one . . . but they belong to me.
One of the Shattergang Brothers, a group of three goblin siblings on Ravnica. One of his brothers was slain, so they have gone on a killing spree, seeking revenge for his death - by way of making half the district explode.
Lines in 1 Story
"Quite arrogant, you Boros. You pick up Krenko and try to deny us satisfaction."
"Krenko will be ours, only now the district will burn for –"
The leader of a group of kor kitesailers, who have flown out to meet Drana’s army and invite them to join Gideon to take Sea Gate. He agrees to help them defeat their current threat before they go to meet Gideon. He is extremely moral and condemns Drana’s actions in her army, even though he knows they have no choice.
Lines in 1 Story
"Win. We can win. Many of you are still strong. We know what you can do in battle. Join us."
"Do you actually use them to fight? How evil are you? They are. . ." [upset that Drana has chidren fighting in her army]
"May your death be painful and long. May your death bring neither peace nor redemption."
A Captain of the Boros legion on Ravnica, the peacekeeping force that keeps the city safe.
Lines in 1 Story
"A goblin gang war's a messy thing, Jura. This is the first reprisal of many, and the gutters'll carry away more than just rain water in the coming days, you mark my words."
"You shouldn't have gone alone. But I have to admit that I'm impressed, and that doesn't happen very often."
"Secure the area! I want answers!"
One of the merfolk tricksters who follows Kiora. He is very skeptical and keen to take the power of Thassa’s bident should Kiora fail.
Lines in 1 Story
"Why call to him, if Ulamog is so close? What good does power do us if it's an ocean away?"
"It's important enough to turn Kiora away from Ulamog. That's good enough for me."
A member of Tazri’s band of caravan protectors from her youth. He is very nervous and cautious.
"Tazri, we have to go back, right? Tazri!"
"Tazri? Killing an angel is bad. Don't do it. It's a curse. Everyone knows that. Tazri, we have to go. We have to leave her."
An angel who was attacked by a pack of vampires. She begs for Tazri to kill her before the other vampires can find and further torture her. Her death haunts Tazri for decades.
Lines in 1 Story
"The vampires...coming back. There are more. They have healers. They will keep me...alive, a...long time. Please. Help me. End. Me." [slowly bleeding to death]
"Tazri, you have suffered for an eternity. You have suffered enough. You are forgiven."
"You will not remember much from your interlude here. You cannot and still remain whole. But remember this. You can win. You will win. There is no other option."
A goblin woman, who finds Jace and saves him from an Eldrazi attack. She’s a bit crazy, probably from grinding up and eating hedrons and other magical rocks, but it has been extremely effective at keeping her alive and powerful. She tells Jace a lot about the properties of hedrons as she leads him to the Eye of Ugin.
Lines in 1 Story
"The size of 'em doesn't tell you much," said Zada. "Every hedron's like a deep, dark hole. Could be filled with good stuff. Could be empty. Only way to know for sure is to dive in."
"He's dead! Stone dead, you might say." [laughing at her own joke]
"When we find hedrons and other magic rocks, we grind 'em up and eat 'em. Makes us stronger. Tuktuk had us doing it. But then I figured, Tuktuk was the most magic rock of all . . ."
Jori En is a female merfolk from Bala Ged on Zendikar. After Bala Ged was overrun by the Eldrazi Jori En fled with her human friend Kendrin to Tazeem. Kendrin was on the brink of a discovery, she called the 'puzzle of leylines'. She suspected that the hedrons and the Eldrazi were connected and wanted to travel to Sea Gate to see the Lighthouse's records on the Eye of Ugin, but she died before she could accomplish that.
When Gideon Jura heard Jori En's tale, he went to recruit the biggest expert on leylines, Jace Beleren. He told Jori En to join Commander Vorik's refugees, so that he could find her when he returned. When he actually returned with Jace, Gideon found out that Jori En was still trapped at Sea Gate. He rescued her again and brought her to Jace hoping that together they might be able to link Zendikar's leylines with the hedrons in order to find a way to stop the Eldrazi. After Jace and Jori En figured out that they had to travel to the Eye of Ugin in Akoum, Gideon stayed behind to organize the refugees.
On their way to Akoum, the two were ambushed by the Eternal Pilgrims, a group of Kor who worshipped Mangeni Ula, their name for Ulamog. Barely escaping the titan itself, Jace and Jori En realized that Ulamog was heading for Sea Gate. They then decided to split up, Jace continuing to Akoum and Jori En heading back to alert Gideon of the coming disaster. After the attack of Ulamog, the rise of Kozilek and the destruction of Sea Gate, Jori En found herself in the sea surrounded by dead sea creatures. She found the wounded Kiora, and helped her retrieve her bident.
Lines in 6 Stories
"Listen, I know we're in a bit of a rough place right now, but I need you to stay with me here. That's the only way we're going to get out of this alive. Are you listening?" [calmly, trying to keep an injured Nissa focused on getting to safety]
"Keep your eyes on me, Kiora. We're going to get to the other side of the tunnel. We'll get through this."
"Ulamog is coming!" [panting as she brings important news to the general]
Kiora is a powerful merfolk planeswalker from Zendikar. She holds her home plane and her owner power above all others and is single-mindedly focused on saving Zendikar. To gain the power to save her home, she travelled to the plane of Theros and stole the bident of the sea goddess Thassa, which allows her mastery over the sea and its denizens. She is brash and haughty, her single goal of killing the titans leading her to rash action frequently.
Lines in 7 Stories
As Kiora is a planeswalker, she is likely to appear in many stories in the future. Should you take this role, you may be asked to reprise it.
"What tales have you been spinning about me, little fish?" [cheekily, to her sister]
"I'm not going to wait around in some hole, or risk my life on a trek across the sea, while the Eldrazi devour the world. I'm going to Sea Gate. I'm going to stand and fight."
"If you won't end this, Beleren, then I will." [determined. literally about to drop an ocean's worth of water on someone to stop them casting a spell]
A goblin who recently joined Munda’s squad in Gideon’s army. Much of her group was lost trying to reach Sea Gate and she is desperate to get them back, especially her love, Leek. She is heartbroken to find him dead.
Lines in 1 Story
"They said he was gone... But I knew he went to the safe place. I knew.,, I should have been faster." [Very sad. She found her loved one dead]
The monsters will pay for making him run. They will pay!"
Kiora’s sister. A young merfolk woman, excited to see her sibling’s return. She is travelling with a group of merfolk as far away from Ulamog and his destruction as they can get.
Lines in 1 Story
"I told them my sister's been to places they've never even heard of, and she brings me treasures. And no matter how long she's been gone, she always comes back, even the time I saw her get eaten by a serpent with my own eyes."
"They overran the place. I was lucky to get away. Not . . . not everyone did. I joined up with this group to try to get home. On our way out of Sea Gate, we saw Ulamog in the distance."
A kor hookmaster in Gideon’s army, who helps him to supply water to the camp.
Lines in 1 Story
"Ready when you are!"
"Hold it there! I'm going to turn it around."
"Thank you, Gideon. We're lucky to have you here."
The abbot of Keral Keep, a monastery for the fire monks of Regatha. He is old and near death, but still focused on his teaching of the other monks, focusing their passions toward learning pyromancy.
Lines in 1 Story
"Chandra, please chant with us,"
"You have talents that remind me of the one who inspired the founding of this Keep,"
"Try harder. These are my final days. Show an old monk what he wants to see."
Chandra Nalaar’s father. In this story, a hallucination of him appears, haunting his daughter and calling her a failure. In truth the man loved his daughter and wanted only to see her learn and succeed. While Kiran is dead, the character does appear in other stories. Should you be cast for this role, you may be asked to reprise it on several occasions.
Lines in 1 Story
"Give up, my Chandra."
"You've done enough. Lie down. Lie down on the ground."
“You are the World’s Finest, my Chandra. The finest any mother or father could ask for. No matter what happens.”
A goblin crimelord on the plane of Ravnica. Smart and smug and an excellent thief.
Lines in 1 Story
"It's a fine garrison, soldiers. No Sunhome, to be sure, but it'll do." [grinning, even in handcuffs]
"You see, Jura! The Boros won't turn me in to the Shattergang Brothers. What now?" [smug]
Ob Nixilis was a human warlord, now a demon planeswalker. Upon his ascension, he began conquering world after world, eventually reaching his demonic state. When he arrived on Zendikar, the planeswalker Nahiri, to protect her world, defeated him and embedded a hedron in his body, disabling his spark. He has spent thousands of years on Zendikar, plotting and searching for a way to regain his planeswalker status. And the arrival of the Eldrazi has provided him with the means to do so…
Ob Nixilis is cruel, cold, and calculating. He was a planeswalker before the Mending, and though he no longer has those powers, he is still extremely strong, with more experience than every non-Eldrazi on the plane combined.
Lines in 6 Stories, narrating one and half of another
As Ob Nixilis is a planeswalker, he is likely to appear in many stories in the future. Should you take this role, you may be asked to reprise it.
"Don't be naive. Power belongs to those who take it. I took it. So it's mine."
"Ob Nixilis. A pleasure. Now, I would ask you to kindly step aside and walk home. You have the look of a general about you, so you must know this war is lost. Was the defense here your doing? Very impressive. I'd love a rematch some time. You pick the world and the terms. But for now..." [introducing himself and trying to put off fighting Gideon]
"This is Zendikar! The suffering and the waste and the filth! This is Zendikar!" [said while drowning Gideon, shoving his face in a puddle]
The maître d' of one of the finest restaurants on Ravnica, Milena’s. Described as “efficient and ratlike”, he is quite snobby and expects anyone to meet his standards before entering his restaurant.
Lines in 1 Story
"Sir, whatever your business, your attire is entirely unacceptable. I must insist—"
"That will make it exceedingly difficult to bring you your dinner."
A young kor child in Drana’s army. She is, perhaps, Drana’s favorite mortal, the leader of the self-named Orphan’s Brigade.
Lines in 1 Story
"No. We're soldiers. We're a brigade, you said. We're the Orphans' Brigade. You said we got to name ourselves, and we did."
"You said. We get to choose. We're the Orphans' Brigade." [slightly pouty]
One of Drana’s personal overseers of her vampire army. He is generally stoic.
Lines in 1 Story
"Welcome or kill?"
"We can retake Guul Draz." [excited, for once]
A male kor healer who was trapped in the city of Sea Gate when the Eldrazi attacked.
Lines in 1 Story
"Take the rope. Tie the merfolk to it,"
"We were the last group. We thought the rest of you gave up on us."
Tazri is the general of the allied forces on Zendikar, and a trusted advisor to Commander Gideon Jura. She wears a halo around her neck. She was instrumental in the recapture of Sea Gate from the Eldrazi titan Ulamog's brood. For much of the story she is dour and lacks confidence, due to a curse inflicted on her after killing an angel out of mercy. Over the course of the story, she breaks her curse and becomes a strong, confident leader.
Lines in 8 Stories
"Have you gone mad? You have two dozen people here who can barely walk, and you expect them to climb ropes and perch on hedrons?"
We are Zendikari, Planeswalker. Every person here grew up in a world that seemed determined to kill us all, even before the Eldrazi came. Every race and culture of our world has come up with ways to fight, ways to deal with whatever threats the world throws at us. And few of them involve headlong charges into annihilation!"
Why did you leave me? Was I not a good soldier? We had won. Where are you now? Do you miss me? [depressed]
Vorik was a human captain of the Sea Gate militia on Zendikar who became the commander-general of the Zendikari troops after the Rise of the Eldrazi. He was a strongly built man with deep brown skin and curly gray hair cropped short.
During the final assault on Sea Gate, Commander Vorik had established a camp there. It was sheltered in a narrow ravine that's mouth was almost blocked by a huge fallen hedron but was overwhelmed by Eldrazi nonetheless. Vorik led the survivors out of the ravine and Gideon Jura helped the injured commander to bring the suvivors to Sky Rock, a floating hedron. Finally established, it turned out that Vorik had been wounded by spawn of Ulamog and the corruption spread through his body.
Lines in 3 Stories
"Gideon Jura, the savior of Fort Keff! Perhaps now we'll call you the defender of Vorik's gully." [hoarse due to an infection in his lungs]
"As it happens, I like soldiers who don't talk much. And I understand soldiers who need time to work through things. We all do, Tazri. I could use a fighter like you. And a leader like you. I know what you can be. Can you be that leader again, Tazri?"
A kor sentry in Gideon’s army. He is proud to be part of the army and good at sensing the tension in a room.
Lines in 1 Story
"I think I found something you've been looking for, Commander-General."
"I'll be going back to my post then."
Leader of the Eternal Pilgrims, a group of cultist who worship Ulamog as a god and bring it sacrifices. She tricks Jace and Jori En and bring them to her cult.
Lines in 1 Story
"Come with me! Hurry! They'll eat the animal first." [sternly, leading Jace and Jori En to "safety"]
"Welcome, offerings, to the sanctuary, The presence of the god Mangeni, whose second name is Ula, whose voice sings the Song of Devouring, will be your final sanctuary."
An elven scout in Gideon’s army. She rides a giant sky manta on her scouting patrols.
Lines in 3 Stories
"There's a party coming in from the south. And they're being tailed by an Eldrazi."
"I think they're more refugees. They looked pretty beaten up, from what I saw."
A gruff, older merfolk from Sejiri, a northern merfolk village where the climate is cold. He is the leader of the band of merfolk that Turi has joined and is trying to lead them to safety. He is stern and no-nonsense, accusing Kiora of blasphemy, despite their knowing that the gods were not real.
Lines in 1 Story
"Our plan hasn't changed. We're heading down the coast, away from the worst of the swarm. Away from Ulamog."
"Blasphemy and mockery! Turi, you didn't mention that your sister was a trickster. It would have saved us some misspent hope."
A merfolk elder from Kiora and Turi’s past she tells the children stories about the gods and their antics.
Lines in 1 Story
"Long ago, but in our very own sea, the great god Ula was preparing for a hunt."
"Ula was furious at the dolphins, whose frolicking he took as an insult to his dignity. And so he planned to hunt one of them, as an example to the others. But dolphins are tricksters, and beloved of Cosi, the greatest trickster of all."
A Mul Daya elf and brother of Mina. He is the calm, collected, stern one of the pair and tends to be their voice when Mina has trouble speaking. Their entire tribe was wiped out, so they search the wastes for the Tajuru elves, in hopes of joining them.
Lines in 1 Story
"When we stood before the Speaker, I valued our blood over my word. I followed you when no others would, an entire continent away. I was ready to join the rest of our kin in the ground, our ground. And here, we've come so far, haven't we? From one plagued village to watching this one wither and perish...an entire world away".
"Mina? Slow down, you're bleeding, we need to move—"
A Mul Daya elf and sister of Denn. She is a greenweaver, a druid with a close affinity to her Mul Dayan ancestors. She is not very good with words, or speaking in general, but she does her best. Very energetic and excitable. Their entire tribe was wiped out, so they search the wastes for the Tajuru elves, in hopes of joining them.
Lines in 1 Story
"I had...a vision as I slept near our dead. A vision of the destruction of Bala Ged. I took my brother during the night to seek audience from the Elven Nations. To ask them for aid, guidance."
"Denn! They're here! The Ancestors are still with us! There's land under the Blight here!"
Leader of the Tajuru elves with long, pale hair. She greets Mina and Denn warmly and invites them to join the Tajuru in their alliance with General Tazri’s army.
Lines in 1 Story
"We welcome you as all our elven kind. Let distance and generations not separate us. What news do you bring from your kin?"
"Today we march to join them. Our leader is called 'Tazri,' a human from a city set on the coast of the Halimar. The city of Sea Gate."
Munda is a Kor from Zendikar, known as "The Spider" for his skill with ropes for trapping and immobilizing enemies. Munda was appointed by Gideon Jura as a squad leader of the Zendikari allied forces. He is headstrong and honorable and enjoys the thrill of battle.
Lines in 5 Stories
"Careful now, people. A Gideon prowls these lands, and it looks to be guarding its kill." [sarcasticly]
"I warned her. How many times do you have to tell a goblin to take it slow in order to get it through its thick skull?" [exasperated]
"We need every single man, woman, and child this world has to offer if we hope to stand a chance. That's one of the reasons I'm tracking down this goblin. Pili's a fighter. Obvious by her spirit. We especially need the fighters. We all have to band together. It's now or never. As one, we'll reclaim Sea Gate. And from there, we'll take back Zendikar."
A merfolk roilmage, a sorcerer who coaxes Zendikar’s reality-defying storms into forming and fighting the Eldrazi. He is very eccentric and extremely sarcastic.
Lines in 3 Stories
"They're invisible. It's hard to remain an elite fighting force when just anyone can see them." [sarcastic]
The Eldrazi are an irritant to the world. The Roil built up over time as a natural defense against the presence of the Eldrazi. Prior to the Eldrazi's arrival, those of us who called ourselves lullmages spent years trying to perfect the craft of quieting the Roil. As if we were a healer soothing a fever. [as if explaining to a child]
Ugin is a spirit dragon planeswalker from the plane of Tarkir, rival of the evil Nicol Bolas. With the help of Nahiri and Sorin, he was the one to design the hedron network that originally trapped the Eldrazi. He has returned to Zendikar to trap them again. Though wise and generally benevolent, he is still a dragon with a dragon’s temper.
Lines in 2 Stories
As Ugin is a planeswalker, he is likely to appear in many stories in the future. Should you take this role, you may be asked to reprise it.
"Do not assume that you know anything of the minds of the Eldrazi. Ulamog goes where he does and does what he must."
"Do not lecture me about what is worth saving. There is more than this world at stake—certainly more than the people who happen to be alive here at the moment. You come to me speaking of the threat of Ulamog. But do not forget: They came as three. With the Eldrazi at large, the entire Multiverse is at risk. That is what I am here to save, Beleren. The Multiverse, in all its vastness of time and space. Not the people you shared a cookfire with."
"Goodbye, titan-slayers. May we meet again under more harmonious circumstances—or not at all. Either would suit me."
Comments
Public Submissions
