MTG Wiki
Register
Advertisement
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

Xira Arien
Xira the Golden Sting
Details
Race Eumidian
Birthplace Unknown
Lifetime ~3000 AR - ~4150 AR, Accuracy unknown
Sources
Johan, Assassin's Blade, Emperor's Fist, Champion's Trial

There were two characters named Xira Arien in the Magic storyline.

The Glass Mountain

The first was the apprentice of Johan from the first Legends Cycle (Johan, Jedit & Hazezon). She was also known as the Glass Mountain.

The Eumidian

The second was an eumidian and a master assassin and wizard working for Ramses Overdark. When Overdark was ordered by Nicol Bolas to stop the uprising of the Edemi Islands he sent Xira to assassinate the leader of the rebellion, Lady Caleria. Xira was also ordered to lure Tetsuo Umezawa to Argenti, for Overdark hoped Umezawa would die fighting against the rebels, making Overdark's position stronger. Xira did this by infecting Kei Takahashi with her offspring. Xira hoped that she could use her offspring against Overdark, who kept her on a very short leash, but Tetsuo and Ayesha Tanaka killed it before it could fully develop. Kei did have to live with horrible insectoid mutations, however, for which Tetsuo later tracked her down and killed her.

Continuity issues

Most people think that these two versions of the character could be the same. The Xira from the second Legends Cycle was a far more experienced fighter but she didn't appear to have aged much. This could be a problem for the theory, but since next to nothing is known about eumidian physiology it could well be normal for them to live for longer than humans. Another problem is that the original Xira Arien was depicted as a human, not a eumidian. It's worth noting, however, that Xira was able to transform Kei Takahashi into a Eumidian via biological means, so it's not impossible the same was done to her human self between the events of Legends I and Legends II. But this all remains a theory until a future novel sorts things out. Most likely, the writers of the two books interpreted Xira's card differently, with one assuming she was an insect person, which was later supported by the change in her creature type, but the flavor text indicates she is just in costume.

Gallery

In-game references

Represented in:
Associated cards:

References

Advertisement