Quicksilver Sea | |
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Information | |
Plane | New Phyrexia |
The Quicksilver Sea was a large body of liquid metal on Mirrodin. After the Phyrexian conquest of the plane, it was drained into the Surgical Bay.
Description[ | ]
Though the sea resembles mercury, it was an otherwordly liquid.[1] The Vedalken Spires, islands of solid metal, probably tin, arose from the sea in strange formations, reaching hundreds of meters tall. Metal catwalks and bridges connected many of these spires, and the spires themselves were filled with chambers, balconies, and staircases formed from the metal that comprised them. These spires are used as dwellings by vedalken and Neurok alike. The vedalken live in a massive structure called Lumengrid, located somewhere near the shore of the Quicksilver Sea, while their Neurok servants dwell in settlements of tin on the shore nearby. The Blue Lacuna, located beneath the Pool of Knowledge, was in the general area of the Quicksilver Sea.
In the Quicksilver Sea was a spot where the liquid simply refused to flow - a large, circular space where the "floor" was the silvery sea bed and the "wall" around the space was quicksilver suspended as though by a forcefield. Within this spot stood the Titan Forge, a huge device for creating towering metal colossi.[2]
The waters of the Quicksilver Sea were one of the first areas of Mirrodin to be infected on a wide scale, following the Mephidross.[3] Glistening oil has been mixed with the liquid metal, creating a fluid that quickly corrodes away living organisms and artifacts, their spare parts later used for the creation of new things. This region became known as the Darkslick. Members of the Progress Machine built an "underwater" laboratory that designed sea monsters.
After the Phyrexians made nine layers, the former surface of Mirrodin became a wasteland known as Mirrex. The Quicksilver Sea was transplanted to the fifth layer, becoming the Surgical Bay[4][5]
The Surgical Bays[ | ]
The Surgical Bays are the blue-aligned fifth sphere of New Phyrexia. Initially built as Kraynox's Fourth Sphere (in addition to the Surface, Core, and Furnace), a layer of glistening oil below the surface, it was later taken over by Jin-Gitaxias, who drained the Quicksilver Sea above into it, creating a massive reservoir of the oil.[6][5] Sterile laboratories rise from islands in the middle of the sea of quicksilver and glistening oil. Even breathing the spray of the sphere's fountains can begin phyresis.[7] Mechanical eyes appear in all places and on most Phyrexians to observe all who enter and reside in this sphere. Painful and inhumane experiments are conducted here to further Phyrexian knowledge though no real substance is gained. Jin-Gitaxias and the Progress Engine reside here.
The Fathom Ward, an "underwater" sea monster installation, holds the last doses of blinkmoth serum.[5]
Known locations[ | ]
Before the Phyrexians' conquest, the Quicksilver Sea was the center of the Neurok and vedalken cultures.
- The Vedalken Spires or Quicksilver Spires
- Lumengrid, the capital of both cultures
- The Pool of Knowledge, , location of the blue Lacuna
- The Titan Forge
In-game references[ | ]
- Represented in:
- Associated cards:
- Depicted in:
- Island (Mirrodin, #291)
- Island (Mirrodin, #292)
- Island (Mirrodin, #293)
- Island (Mirrodin, #294)
- Island (Scars of Mirrodin, #234)
- Island (Scars of Mirrodin, #235)
- Island (Scars of Mirrodin, #236)
- Island (Scars of Mirrodin, #237)
- Referred to:
- ^† Scryfall does not record flavor text for digital cards. See Alchemy: Phyrexia/Flavor text
References[ | ]
- ↑ Magic Arcana (October 06, 2003). "Mirrodin Environments: Blue". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Monty Ashley (March 31, 2011). "Sketches: Titan Forge". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Doug Beyer (October 6, 2010). "Spreading the Infection". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021.
- ↑ Jay Annelli. (2022.) Magic: The Gathering - The Visual Guide, KBB
- ↑ a b c Grace Fong (January 31, 2023). "Planeswalker's Guide to Phyrexia: All Will Be One". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Wizards of the Coast (June 3, 2011). "On the Mirrodin Site: Roxith, Thane of Rot". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Seanan McGuire (January 14, 2023). "Assault on New Phyrexia - Episode 3: Inconceivable Losses". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.