Terisiare

Terisiare was a large continent in the northern hemisphere of Dominaria, positioned in the middle of the ocean, halfway between Shiv and Aerona. Terisiare is the setting for the expansions Antiquities, The Dark, Ice Age, Alliances, and Coldsnap, as well as portions of the Urza's block and the novel The Thran.

Current geography

The Terisian Isles

In the Modern Age sometimes referred to as the Lost Continent or the Terisian Isles, the original continent surrounded by the Shielded Sea has been broken up in smaller islands. The Sea of Laments now lies in the middle of the old continent. They are located to the south of Greater Videnth, to the east of Otaria and to the north of Sarpadia.

Locations

• Lat-Nam, the western island. Now actually larger than in earlier times.
  • Campus of the Tolarian Academy
• Gulmany, the northern island.
  • Efuan Pincar
  • Ohran Mountains, formerly the Colekgan Mountain range.
  • The Kovrian Wastelands
• Almaaz, the island south of Gulmany
  • Sumifa
• New Argive, the eastern island
  • Balduvian Steppes
  • Karplusan Mountains
  • Kher Ridges
  • Epityr, an ancient settlement and center of learning.
  • Argivia, the capital
• Yavimaya, now contained to a single island between Almaaz and New Argive.
• Korlis. Even before Dominaria was torn apart by the time rifts, Korlis was a fading civilization. Now located on a small island south of New Argive.
• The Shattered Isles
• Jharth, one of the smaller islands of the archipelago, between New Argive and Gulmany.
• The Deep-sea trench connecting Terisare with Sarpadia
• Rundvelt

Storyline

Many ancient storylines took place on Terisiare, including the Brothers' War. Throughout Dominarian history, several important nations were located on Terisiare, such as the Thran Empire, Argive and Kjeldor. In the Ice Age that set in after the war, Terisiare was largely covered by glaciers; as they receded, the continent was ground up into a large archipelago.

Almost all of the nations of Terisiare that have existed during the time of the Brothers' War, the Dark Age and the Ice Age have fallen:

At the time of the Thran Empire

At the time of the Thran, five thousand years before the birth of Urza and Mishra, their Empire stretched across the entire continent. It was ultimately destroyed by Yawgmoth, ruler of Phyrexia.

• Halcyon, the capital. A beautiful city.

At the time of The Brothers' War

At the time of The Brothers' War (0-64 AR), 5,000 Years have passed since the Thran Civil War, and Terisiare has managed to largely rebuild into a dynamic and modernizing force on Dominaria. That is, until the war came along.

• Almaaz, one of the most ancient kingdoms during the time of the Brothers. The only country that didn't collapse in the wake of the War.
  • Sumifa, its capital
  • The Halquina Mountains, the backbone of the southwestern peninsula.
• Argive, homeland of Urza and Mishra. Ruled by a monarchy until the outbreak of the War, where Urza was all but given the powers of the king. After the war, the country eventually crumbled with the rest of Terisiare's cultures.
  • Penregon, its capital
• Argoth, a large island off the coast of Southern Yotia. Completely obliterated in the last battle of War, when Urza activated the Golgothian Sylex.
• Colekgan Mountains, a massive mountainous area in the northwest of the continent.
• The Fallaji Empire, a great alliance of several different tribes of desert nomads ruled by Mishra. Nearly all the Fallaji were killed in the Last Battle.
  • The Great Desert
  • Tomakul, its informal capital
  • Zegon, another important city
  • The Western Desert
• The Kher Ridges, a mountainous region
  • Koilos, once Halcyon, the beautiful capital of the Thran Empire. By the time of the Brothers, there was little more than a few crumbling buildings and a network of caves, containing the last technological remnants of the Thran.
    • Caves of Koilos, containing a planar portal to Phyrexia
  • Kher Keep, lair of Kobolds
• Korlis, a coastal one of the three coastal kingdoms. Its forest was completely harvested by Urza. Crumbled after the war.
  • The River Kor
  • Korlinda, site of a failed peace conference
• Lat-Nam, an island west of the mainland. Headquarters of the Third Path.
• Malpiri, the nation on the north-eastern plains
• Mishra's Fortress, located west of Koilos.
• The Monastery of Gix, a centre of Phyrexian activity.
• Ronom Glacier, a large body of ice at the furthest north of Terisiare. The site where Feldon found his first cane.
• Ronom Lake, an immense lake in the centre of the continent, fed by the Ronom Glacier.
• Sardia, a mountainous country neighbouring Argive, home to many dwarves.
• Sarinth a peacefull region, destroyed by Mishra's forces.
• Terisia City the largest and most ancient city. Headquarters of the Third Way. It declared neutrality in the war, but was conquered several times by both sides.
• Urza's Tower, located near the Kher Ridges.
• Yotia was the most southern of the coastal kingdoms, and the one suffering the brunt of Fallaji raiding parties before the outbreak of the war.
  • Kroog, its capital.
  • The Sword Marches, a disputed region.
• Yumok, a rival of Sarinth along the mountainous northern coast.

In the Dark Age

During the time of The Dark (64-450 AR). The devastation that followed The Brothers' War had left the once-mighty nations in ruin. Civilization had been reduced to a handful of loosely aligned city states, all ruled under the puritanical Church of Tal. Goblins and bandits stalked the roads between these cities, and winter seemed to last longer and reach further south with each passing year. After the Brothers' destruction, artifice and magic were treated with suspicion, fear and hatred, and the Church of Tal sought to eradicate them.

• Lat-Nam, in the far west, now connected with the mainland due to decreasing temperatures and water level,
  • The City of Shadows, a secretive training grounds for mages.
• Almaaz, the only nation that had survived the War.
• The Conclave of Mages, an impressive Citadel built on the site of the Monastery of Gix. It was an alternate to the City of Shadows, being much less structured.
• The Tanglewoods, a deadly place of man-eating vines at the foot of the last sentinels of the Sardian Range. South of the Conclave.
• The Malpiri Plains in the northeast.
• Sardian Mountains
  • Storgard, a kingdom. Its capital had the same name.
• The Great Desert, now uninhabited.
• Kher Ridges
• Giva Province, which once was Argive. The home of Jodah, who would eventually become one of the most important figures of the coming Ice Age. Giva was eventually completely locked in ice.
• Alsoor, a city that was destroyed by diabolic machines. Voska lived near it, and here Jodah had his first escape from Primata Delphine.
• Pitdown the location a three way battle between Alsoor, Ghed and a goblin host.
• Ghed, a port city three days travel to the southwest from Alsoor.
• Korlis, a fading human civilization in the south.
• The Shattered Isles, remnants of Argoth south of the mainland.

Locations of uncertain location

• Coireall, the site of a famous, contested tower.
• The Flarg, was a region infested by goblins.
• Lacjis, a goblin nation whose inhabitants where forced to journey out of their homelands because of the coming Ice Age. This led to a conflict that went unresolved until Tivadar's Crusade.
• The Scarwood, a wooded region plagued by bandits, goblins, hags, and scavenger folk.
• Thorn. Tivadar of Thorn hailed from this town. He and his Knightly Order, aided by the wizard Rasputin Dreamweaver, temporarily restored civilization to Terisiare by throwing back the Goblin Invasions with their Crusade. This brought a close to the period known as 'the Dark.'

In the Ice Age

A period of extreme cold lasting from 450 AR to 2934 AR.

• Lat-Nam, divided again from the mainland. Hidden behind the Great Glacier.
  • the School of the Unseen, the newest college of wizardry.
• The Great Glacier, dividing Lat-Nam and the mainland. A corridor for the more snow-loving creatures that migrated from Upper Videnth to Terisiare. The Yetis being an example.
• Almaaz. The incoming frost around the beginning of the Ice Age dispersed the humans and allowed a supernatural race of ice-beings called the Rigida to take control.
• Tresserhorn, Lim-Dûl's fortress.
• The Colekgan Mountains
• The Ronom Glacier, the coldest part of the continent.
• The Boreal, the most northerly region bordering the glaciers. Only inhabitable by Rimewind creatures.
  • Rimewind Keep, headquarters of Heidar.
• Raynor Glacier, third of the great glaciers.
• The Frost Marsh, also known as the Lake of the Dead. A marshy region infested by the undead, east of Tresserhorn. It had replaced last remnants of Ronom Lake and the Tanglewoods.
• Northern Wastes. Part of the former Great Desert, reigned by Lim-Dûl.
• Balduvia, a vast region, northwest of Kjeldor and the Karplusan Mountains. Steppes populated by tribal barbarians.
• The Karplusan Mountains were the mountain range forming the northern border of Kjeldor. Prior to the Brothers' War this region was known as the Sardian Mountains.
• Kjeldor, a kingdom with a rich military history.
  • Kjeld, the royal city.
  • Krov, the capital city.
  • Soldev, a semi-autonomous city in the north, located on the ruins of Storgard.
  • Darien's Roost, the first outpost in the Karplusan Mountains.
• The Adarkar Wastes, frozen Tundra which replaced the eastern part Great Desert.
• Fyndhorn, a forest in the southeast. Possibly created out of the remains of Argoth. Unlike Argoth it was connected to the mainland because of the lower sea levels during the Ice Age.
  • Kelsinko, its main city.
• Yavimaya Forest, a forest located on the west bank of the Yavimaya River.

In-game references

• Adarkar Unicorn
• Adarkar Windform
• Ashnod's Cylix
• Benthic Explorers
• Cryoclasm
• Dire Wolves
• Icefall
• Rimebound Dead
• Tamanoa
• Viscerid Drone
• Zur the Enchanter

Maps of Terisiare

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  Terisiare (0 AR) ©1993-1999 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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  Terisiare Map of Terrain and Locations during the Brother's Wars ©1993-1999 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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  Map of Terisiare (2934 AR) ©2001 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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  Globe of Dominaria. The continent on the far left is Terisiare (Around 4000 AR) ©2001 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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  A close up of the previous map, with increased gamma. So Terisiare is more clearly visible (Around 4000 AR) ©2001 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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  The art of Invasion Plans also shows a globe of Dominaria with Terisiare on the left (4205 AR) ©2001 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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  Map of Eastern Terisiare after the Mending ©2011-2014 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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  Map of Terisiare around 4560 ©2018 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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  A more detailed map of Terisiare around 4560 ©2018 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

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  Map of Terisiare during the Brother's Wars

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  Terisiare during The Dark

Sources

• The Thran
• The Brothers' War
• The Gathering Dark
• The Eternal Ice
• The Shattered Alliance
• Planeswalker