Zhalfir

Zhalfir
Information
Plane	Dominaria
Part of	Jamuura
Status	Phased out
Later part of	Femeref (broke off into its own state)

Zhalfir was a more than five thousand year old militaristic kingdom on Dominaria. It was located along the western plains, forests, and coasts of Jamuraa. After being phased out, its former location is now known as the Zhalfirin Void.^[1]

History

Long ruled by the royal family from its capital Ki’pamu, Zhalfir benefited from its magical strength. The Zhalfirins pioneered the five colors of mana on Dominaria and, unlike the rest of the plane, escaped the ravages of the Sylex Blast, the Ice Age, and the Flood Ages. Zhalfir possessed a large standing army (personified by the Knightly Order of Askari) but was also constantly the site of internal squabbling by its contentious and powerful noble class.

For many years, Zhalfir was the home of the great mages Teferi and Jolrael.

The Guilds of Magic

Teferi once was the counsel to the ancient kings and queens of Zhalfir. His final act before his departure was the creation of the Guilds of Magic.

Civic Guild
Shaper Guild
Shadow Guild
Armorer Guild
Granger Guild

The Femeref seccession

When Teferi returned some thirty years later, he found the continent on the brink of war. Southern Zhalfir had split off and formed the theocracy of Femeref because the churches didn't agree with the fact that Teferi had left control of the dead in the hands of the Shadow Guild. When Femeref had found gold in the mountains, the northern country of Suq'Ata had invaded part of Zhalfir and had driven the dwarves there from their mountain homes. When the dwarves had aided Femeref in harvesting the gold, increasing their efficiency greatly, Zhalfir felt cheated out of their rightful portion of the gold. Teferi tracked down and tutored a capable girl of royal descent. After he crowned her as Queen Yormeba she brought peace to the nation, but failed to unify it. Tired of the petty squabbles of his people, Teferi left with a group of trusted advisors, sages, artificers, and sorcerers. They sailed for a hidden realm in the Chaza Isles, where Teferi wanted to manipulate time to make it easier to summon creatures.

Phased out

Zhalfirin Void — Map showing the chunk of land left in northwestern Jamuraa. Map generated using an overlay of the modern map.

At the time of the Phyrexian Invasion, Zhalfir was the most advanced nation on Dominaria. Because of its powerful magic, technology and military, Urza intended it to take the brunt of the attack. The leaders of Zhalfir thought they would triumph, but Teferi knew better.^[2] He phased out Zhalfir alongside the rest of northwestern Jamuraa because he wanted to spare it from the horrors of the Phyrexian assault.

When Teferi reappeared on Dominaria three hundred years after, he found the plane being torn apart by temporal fissures and rifts. In order to prevent the plane's destruction, he had to find a way to close the temporal rifts created by cataclysmic events in the past. Two major rifts had been created by his phasing of Zhalfir and Shiv. He managed to close the Shivan rift by sacrificing his planeswalker spark.

The Zhalfirin rift suffered a different fate. Jeska, manipulated by Leshrac, used Radha as a mana lens, forcefully closing the Zhalfirin rift without consequence of her actions. Without precise timing, the phased lands of Zhalfir were lost seemingly forever, cast into oblivion, although Teferi said that he could probably save it if he was still a planeswalker. The legacy of the Zhalfirin culture partially lives on in the nations of Femeref and Suq'Ata.

Geography

Locations in Zhalfir:

Buleusi Coast
Kenlo
Kiingal
Ki'pamu
Mtenda plains
Tefemburu
Ufunguo
Unyaro Plains
Uuserk Marshes, which contain the tomb-city Aku.

In-game references

Represented in:

Zhalfirin Void

Associated cards:

Depicted in:

Teferi's Protection

Quoted or referred to:

References

↑ Martha Wells (March 21, 2018). "Return to Dominaria, Episode 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
↑ Martha Wells (April 18, 2018). "Return to Dominaria, Episode 6". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.

[Return_1-1] Martha Wells (March 21, 2018). "Return to Dominaria, Episode 1". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.

[Return_6-2] Martha Wells (April 18, 2018). "Return to Dominaria, Episode 6". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.

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