Feldon

Feldon
Details
Race	Human
Birthplace	Northern Uplands, near Ronom Glacier, Terisiare, Dominaria
Lifetime	Brothers' War-The Dark Age
Died	After 74 AR
Colors

Feldon was an important archeologist, linguist, glaciologist, and mage during the Brothers' War on Dominaria.

Description

Feldon was a broad-shouldered, bearded man, with long hair swept back without any braids. He used a cane for a walking stick to help get around. He often wore a wide-brimmed hat. Loran thought he looked like a great bear that had accidentally wandered from out of the mountains and been mistaken for a human. Feldon was fluent in several languages, including Fallaji and Sumifan.

History

Early years

Feldon grew up at the foot of the Ronom Glacier on Terisiare. As a young adult, he became an archaeologist and glaciologist, studying artifacts that were trapped or washed out from the meltwater of the glacier. In one expedition, he found a mystical cane marked with unknown runic symbols. Feldon's Cane was of unknown origin, but unlike most artifacts at the time, it was specifically not made by the Thran. In his attempts to decipher the cane's symbols, Feldon became interested in linguistics, and learned several contemporary tongues, like Fallaji and Sumifan.

The Third Path

As the Brothers' War intensified, a group of people decided not to align themselves with either of the two sides but to form the Union of the Third Path, a research group based in Terisia City who hoped to discover a way to defeat or at least withstand the Brothers. Feldon was one of the Third Path's founders, and it was here that he met the Argivian woman Loran, another founder. It was during this period, that Feldon received more relics fished out of the glacial meltwater from the Yumok tribe. These artifacts included the Golgothian Sylex and the Coral Helm. He also started learning magic from Hurkyl, eventually learning to tap into the red mana of his mountain home.

Betrayal

After ten years of the Union gathering knowledge and teaching magic, Mishra became interested in learning their secrets. He sent Hajar to besiege the city, but it stood its ground, with high walls and magical artillery shooting the dragon engines out of the sky. After months of siege, the Brotherhood of Gix betrayed the Third Path to Mishra, leading to the Fall of Terisia City. Juggernauts and dragon engines attacked and destroyed Terisia City. During the battle, Hurkyl used a magical spell to unsummon a group of artificial killing machines, showcasing the power of magic.

While Drafna was busy saving the last heap of artifacts, Feldon told Loran to grab the Golgothian Sylex and bring it to safety. With his lame leg, he would only slow her down. They made a deal to meet in the town of Ketha, at the foot of Ronom Glacier. Loran did as she was bid, but she was captured by Ashnod who tortured her to discover the secrets of the artifact and how to summon mana from the memories of the land. In this way, Ashnod learned that the sylex was triggered by the use of mana.

After the Devastation

After ten years of imprisonment, Loran escaped. Ashnod discovered this, but she let Loran go as she had learned all she needed to from the artificer. Loran tracked down Feldon in his home by the glacier, and they were married. They lived happily in a small cottage near the Ronom Glacier. Years later, the Sylex Blast was triggered, and its effects were felt even up to Ronom Glacier. Feldon and Loran realized the war was finally over.

The cooling climate and injuries she sustained from Ashnod's torture, as well as her advanced age, led to Loran's death ten years after the Sylex Blast. With grief, Feldon tried to replace her with an automaton, but after he realized the creature was not Loran, he removed its powerstone and placed it by his wife's grave as a statue.

The study of Magic

As a practitioner of the Third Path, Feldon was convinced magic could bring back his lost love. But since he only possessed red magic, he went to travel the land in search of others who could perhaps help him.

The first he found was the "Hedge Wizard", a crazy hermit living near the ruins of Sarinth. But his green magic only influenced the living, not the dead. The Hedge Wizard did give Feldon the directions to a sorceress living near Ronom Lake, but her blue magic could only create illusions of Loran, not truly bring her back to life.

The sorceress sent him to a black mage in the nearby swamps. This man promised Feldon to teach him a spell to bring back Loran in exchange for Feldon's Cane. But after Feldon had agreed, learned the spell, and cast it he discovered it had created a zombified version of her. Disgusted, Feldon unsummoned the creature before he could lay eyes on it, but by then the black mage had disappeared completely.

The last mage he visited was a white scholar. This man taught Feldon that magic could only summon magical copies of people, not bring them back to life. Feldon did use this knowledge to create a copy of his wife from memory, but after saying goodbye to her he let the summoned being go.

Saying goodbye helped Feldon get over his grief and he lived out his days in happiness. He allowed other people to learn from his library and himself as he had promised the scholar and became an important person in the early days of magical research on Terisiare.

Trivia

• After Feldon's death, during the Dark, "Feldon's Cane and Crutches!" was a mild profanity often uttered by wizards.
• Feldon is the titular character of the "Workshop Series" in Magic: The Gathering Arena, a weekly event where players duel using preconstructed decks.
• Feldon's name comes from the Antiquities card Feldon's Cane (Antiquities), which was originally named "Feldon's Ice Cone," an anagram for the name of early playtester "Don Felice Cone."

Gallery

• 

  Feldon from Founding the Third Path

Story appearances

Title	Author	Publishing date	Set	Setting (plane)	Featuring
The Brothers' War	Jeff Grubb	May 1998	Antiquities	Dominaria	Urza, Mishra, Tawnos, Ashnod, Tocasia, Loran, Bly, Ahmahl, Richlau, Havack, Rahud, Hajar, Kantar, Kayla bin-Kroog, Rusko, Warlord of Kroog, Maurik, Gix, Sharaman, Rendall, Sanwell, Harbin, Jarin, Feldon, the Archimandrite, Drafna, Hurkyl, Martyrs of Korlis, Gwenna, Melana, Doril, Thaxus, Titania, Jarsyl
The Colors of Magic	Jess Lebow and various	February 1999	N/A	Dominaria	Kotara, Sabul Hajeen, Finroy, Rothchild, Rhindle, Edgur, Temken, Gwenna, Armand Ar-Basinno, Latavino Bar-bassanti, Elkan, Groth Jonar, Crucias, Damon, Feldon, Loran, Drafna, Hurkyl (mentioned), the Archimandrite (mentioned)
Loran's Smile	Jeff Grubb	2014-10-27	N/A	Dominaria	Loran, Feldon

In-game references

Represented in:

• Feldon, Ronom Excavator
• Feldon of the Third Path
• Norin and Feldon

Associated cards:

• Feldon's Cane

Depicted in:

• Founding the Third Path

Quoted or referred to:

• Chromatic Lantern (Retro Artifacts, #73)
• Loran's Escape
• Mox Amber (Retro Artifacts, #98)