Homelands (comic)

Homelands was a comic published by Armada in February 1996.

The Great War
On the world of Ulgrotha, a war is being fought between the Tolgath and the Ancients. One of the Tolgath, Ravi, is overcome by the chaos and the fighting and rings the Apocalypse Chime, which destroys pretty much everything on the plane: creatures, artifacts, planeswalkers, even the leylines of the plane itself. Only through one dimensional rift mana still enters Ulgrotha. Ravi survives, as she had locked herself into a special vault. Unfortunately for her, it doesn't open from the inside...

The Planeswalkers and the Vampire
Generations later, Ulgrotha has somewhat recovered. It is visited by the planeswalker Feroz. He meets Sandruu, a minotaur who Feroz recognizes as a potential planeswalker. The two bond, and then meet another planeswalker: Serra.

Serra and Feroz talk about how this world is broken. Once you get far enough away from the rift you just find a massive Dead Zone. They start to entertain the idea of helping the plane recover. Then they are invited for diner at Baron Sengir's place. This vampire was stranded Ulgrotha after a planeswalkers' duel and decided to claim it as his home. He'd rather not see the two planeswalkers disturb it.

Years pass. Feroz helps set up the Wizards' School, and Serra guides Aysen Abbey. Meanwhile, the two fall in love. They also teach Sandruu, who ascends and heads off to explore the Multiverse, meeting Kristina of the Woods. When he returns, he is chased by the jealous planeswalker Taysir. Although Taysir manages to banish Sandruu to a “cold world across the galaxy”, but then Feroz kills him by splitting his skull with a broadsword.

Feroz's Ban
To prevent intrusions like that ever happening again, Serra and Feroz erect Feroz's Ban, a barrier that keeps planeswalkers out of Ulgrotha. Serra and Feroz get married, and Ulgrotha starts to flourish.

Sengir's Triumph
Then disaster strikes: a simple lab accident goes wrong, and Feroz is killed by the fire elemental (powered by the new mana of Ulgrotha) he was studying. Later Serra, still in mourning, botches an attempt at rescuing a man from a runaway cart, only to be confronted by Sengir who manipulates her, talking her into leaving Ulgrotha.

Serra joins a group of wanderers in Sursi, where she is attacked by someone claiming to be a planeswalker. For a moment she fights back, but then decides she doesn't “want this contest”, letting her opponent kill her. Her passing is eased by Angus, who builds a temple in her honor: the Cathedral of Serra.

On Ulgrotha, Sengir is left behind. His home now devoid of planeswalkers, and even still protected from future visitors thanks to Feroz's Ban.

Republishing

 * The comic was republished along with both volumes of the Fallen Empires comic set as a compilation after initial initial run.