Chapter 1: Ignite the Beacon

Ral Zarek felt a wave of nausea wash over his body, and it had nothing to do with standing on the edge of a fifty-story bell tower window during a thunderstorm. When one channels the raw power of lightning through their body daily, things like heights and storms don't tend to be an issue. No, what caused Ral's stomach to clench harder than a pair of Rakdos thumbscrews was what was happening inside the bell tower. For it was here that he was building a device to stop the apocalypse.

Suddenly, a squealing voice pierced through Ral's disquieted mind. "Where'd ya want me to load the backup mizzium core?" Chief Chemister Varryvort asked. Ral stared at the goblin, who barely came up to his knees, as he hefted a glass cylinder full of swirling silver-blue energy over his shoulder. A second passed, and Ral said nothing. Then, it finally hit him that a question had been asked, and he quickly shook his head and met the goblin's red-tinted goggles.

"Sorry, yeah, attach it parallel to the central core, but on the opposite side of the shielding generator."

"Gotcha," Varryvort nodded warily. He turned from Ral and scurried to the massive device that sat in the middle of the bell tower, ducking underneath its chassis to attach the battery.

"Everything alright, Ral?"

He felt an armored hand squeeze his shoulder, and he turned to see Lavinia's concerned face staring back at him. Any other day, he would be frightened to see the former Azorius law-mage showing any overt emotions, but his relief at seeing a friend won out.

"Yeah. Yeah, everything's great," he said, wiping the massive collection of sweat from his brow.

A second voice interjected. "Really? 'cause you're looking a little corpse-y at the moment." Hekara the razorwitch poked the long metal canister on Ral's back with a long red fingernail. His frame stiffened in surprise at the metallic ringing. "See, rigor mortis is already setting in!" She laughed, but neither Ral nor Lavinia cracked a smile. He kept his back to the witch, while Lavinia turned to address her.

"Hekara, that is wholly unnecessary," she shot, her face returning to stony resolve. "We've all been through a lot these past weeks, Ral is understandably shaken."

"Why?" Hekara asked, black tufts of hair swinging into her face as she cocked her head. "We were all there at the meeting, you and I saw the same thing he did. C'mon, you have to admit that it was kinda funny. Could've been a headline act at a Rakdos revue."

Ral suddenly turned to Hekara. "There is nothing funny about what happened!" he shouted, his temper flaring. "We saw our ally betray us, a guild leader die, and our chance of uniting this city petrify before our eyes! Now we're stuck here working on plan B while a multiversal threat could show up at any second. What about that is funny to you?!"

Ral's chest heaved as he finished his tirade. Hekara's eyes were wide, not with fear or worry, but with surprise and just a touch of her trademark unflappable glee. Ral dared not look at Lavinia, for he knew that her face had returned to how it had been just moments before; concerned.

"Sorry," he offered curtly, before slinking back from them towards the device that loomed over him. He stared at the Interplanar Beacon, the massive, complex machine that he had been tasked to build. But as he stared at the collection of chrome and wire, gauges and knobs, all he could see was a monument to his failure.

Ral Zarek was a high-ranking guildmage in the Izzet League, and he had been acting as the right hand to its leader, the great dragon Niv-Mizzet, for quite a while now. Ral had always regarded Niv-Mizzet as either a nuisance in his way or a foe he would have to vanquish, but recent developments had forced him to act in the dragon's defense. They had recently learned of an incoming danger, one so severe and far-reaching that everyone on Ravnica needed to join if they hoped to defeat it. Apparently, Nicol Bolas, the great Elder Dragon, was coming any day now to carry out some manner of evil plan. With the Living Guildpact, the individual bestowed with the combined might of all ten guilds of Ravnica, nowhere to be seen, the city needed a new binding protector, and Niv-Mizzet was more than happy to volunteer for the position.

This had led to the meeting, with a representative from each guild in attendance. Though it only happened a week or so ago, it felt like ages had passed since then. Ral thought he had made enough allies to sway everyone to give Niv-Mizzet the power he needed, to give Ravnica a fighting chance. But then one of his allies betrayed him, and he could do nothing to stop it…

"Zarek!" called a voice overhead.

Ral snapped out of his clouded stupor just in time to see a dark-skinned figure materialize through the ceiling in an aura of purple light. Kaya, ghost-assassin and impromptu leader of the Orzhov Syndicate, landed deftly on the ground before him and leveled a serious look at the lightning mage.

"They've spotted us, haven't they?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kaya responded as she shook the rain from her curly black afro. "Looked like a squadron of about 20 of those damned thopters. They scanned the place, so no doubt Baan knows what we're doing here."

"That slimy weasel," Lavinia spat at the mention of Dovin Baan. Ral shared her sentiment, though he knew he could only possibly feel a fraction of her anger. After all, it was only because of his former ally's treachery that the leader of the Azorius Senate was murdered, allowing Baan to work his way in and take the vacant position. Ral, Kaya, Lavinia, and Hekara knew that Baan was in league with Nicol Bolas, but the higher-ups within the Senate cared not ever since he wowed them with his fantastical inventions. The thopters that Kaya reported were everywhere nowadays, keeping their filigree eyes on every citizen of Ravnica.

No wonder those bureaucrats couldn't wait to kiss his blue ass, Ral mused, he delivered them a surveillance state on a silver platter.

"How much longer 'til this thing's ready to go?" Kaya asked.

Ral gave the machine a once-over. "Only a few more minutes to tighten everything up, then another few minutes to charge it."

"Well you'd better hurry. I'd say those thopters only give you three minutes before that pompous vedalken shows up to shut everything down."

Ral smirked. "I'd love to see him try."

Hekara slapped a hand on Ral's shoulder. "Now there's the Ral Zarek we know and love, back from the dead!" she beamed. "No need to pout about mean ol' Vraska when there's work to be done!"

Everyone stiffened at the mention of Vraska, queen of the Golgari Swarm and former ally to everyone present. Ral grit his teeth in frustration.

That damn gorgon! She worked with us, side by side, to get that meeting planned. She put the full support of the Swarm behind Niv-Mizzet's plan to become the Living Guildpact. With her, we had the majority. And she betrayed us to that blasted dragon! Gods only knows where she is now. The next time I hurl a lightning bolt at her, I won't hesitate.

Ral was almost taken aback by the violent thought. Sure, he was angry at Vraska for dismantling their entire plan, but he never fancied himself a ruthless killer.

Maybe that's the problem. If I hadn't paused, if I hadn't tried to see a single twinge of regret on Vraska's face, I could've blasted her before she planeswalked to whatever shithole she's hiding in now. I've had Bolas in my head before, and so has Kaya, but we were able to slip out and defy him. Maybe Vraska wasn't strong enough, or maybe she really wanted to help.

"Ral," Lavinia cut in, her even voice bringing him back to reality, "if you scowl that much, the wrinkles will never go away."

He offered a wry smile as thanks, then suddenly wished it had been more genuine. He turned to look at the three women standing before him, and a wave of gratitude washed over him for having allies that he could trust now. Even Hekara, whom Ral had often discarded as a useless, chaotic distraction, brought him mild comfort in this eleventh hour.

"Alright Ral, the Beacon's all set up." Varryvort wiped his grease-stained forearm across his perspiring brow and patted the machine, clearly proud of his handiwork. "Everything's lookin' good, if I do say so myself."

"Excellent Varry, you're not the Chief Chemister for nothing."

A toothy grin spread across the goblin's face. "And don't you forget it, pal, 'specially when a promotion crosses Niv's desk."

"Trust me, if all goes well, the dragon'll probably give you my job."

This seemed to delight Varryvort so much, his red goggles started to fog over. Ral couldn't help but smile. At least someone's happy to be here. He cast a wayward glance over his shoulder to Hekara, who was currently attempting to cartwheel before Lavinia, no doubt trying to crack her impassable fa?ade. Well, someone who isn't a total psychopath, at least.

"Alright everyone, I need to all to get against the wall." Ral started turning the switches on the Accumulator, the large cylinder he carried on his back that acted as a backup battery for his electricity. It emitted a low whine as it primed, and the display on his bronze gauntlet sprang to life.

68% charged, Ral read from the holographic display. Good thing I haven't charged it recently, wouldn't want the damn thing overloading.

"Lavinia, open the window! And everyone, get ready to shield your eyes!"

Lavinia quickly moved to the large vaulted window of the bell tower, undid the latch, and pushed them aside. A strong wind forced its way into the cramped quarters, nearly knocking Lavinia and Hekara off their feet. Rain began to dot the wooden floors, and the sound of thunder cracking overhead filled the space all the way to the vaulted ceiling.

Once Ral confirmed that everyone was a safe distance away and hugging the grounded wall, he placed his gauntleted hand and placed it against the Beacon's chrome side. Then, he channeled forth the stormmage magic deep in his chest, then flung his hand in the direction of the window.

A bolt of lightning arced through the open window with a monstrous CRACK and collided with Ral's outstretched hand. The surge of raw energy made Ral's hair stand on end. He felt the lightning bolt pass through his fingertips, make its way into the Accumulator, then flow back through his other hand into the Beacon. His eyes watched as the meter reading the devices power began to steadily rise. He smiled as the lightning, along with a rush of adrenaline, pumped through his veins.

It's working, he silently cheered. That damn dragon may be a blowhard, but he does know his engineering.

Kaya, Hekara, and Lavinia watched as the lightning bolt persisted across the room, filling it with an ethereal bluish light. Kaya reveled in the sight of Ral's use of storm magic. Though her intangibility and power to kill the undead were useful, they simply weren't as flashy.

But then, somehow over the sound of the crackling electricity and the swirling winds, Kaya heard something outside, a high-pitched buzzing that she knew all too well.

Those damned thopters again, she scowled internally. Kaya knew it would still be a little while before the Beacon was ready, so she needed to scope the perimeter and see how much time she could buy. With a swift thought, she made her head and neck intangible and stuck it through the brick wall.

She saw the thopters, about ten or so winged mechanisms no larger than falcons, cutting their way across the late-night Ravnica skyline. But it was who accompanied these thopters that sent a chill through her spine. It wasn't the blue humanoid figure of Dovin Baan perched atop his creations, but a massive gold dragon flapping its wings, with two pointed hors that curved inward, and a golden gem floating between them.

Bolas!

As if sensing his name in her thoughts, the dragon looked to Kaya's head protruding from the tower wall and flashed a curling smile full of razor-sharp teeth.

KAYA, HOW NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN. His monstrous telepathy pierced Kaya's brain like a javelin, making her shrink back in pain. WOULD YOU BE SO KIND AS TO ALERT MR. ZAREK TO MY ARRIVAL? The dragon offered a small chuckle, accentuated by a large flap of his wings, and he continued his path straight for them.

Kaya pulled her head back in and tried to catch her breath, ragged from the sudden terror of seeing Nicol Bolas again. Once she regained her composure, she shouted to Ral, her voice straining over the lightning.

"Zarek! You need to hurry! He's here, he's coming right for us!"

"Who, Baan?" Hekara asked. She was ducking just beneath the massive lightning bolt, and though she addressed Kaya, her eyes were fixated on the light above and her hand, which danced dangerously close to the energy.

"NO, BOLAS!" Ral yelled across the floor to them. As soon as Bolas had broached Kaya's mind, Ral felt it as well. The creeping miasma of the Elder Dragon's psychic energy was impossible to forget.

Ral looked at the Beacon's power meter. About halfway there. He knew he needed to hurry, but as strong as his magic was, he couldn't make electricity move any faster than the speed of light it was already travelling at.

"What should we do?" Kaya called out over the din. "We can't stop him like this."

Ral turned to her and, through gritted teeth, managed a small grin. "We don't need to stop him, we just need our distraction to show up."

Before Kaya could question his vague message, a new sound came from outside, one that drowned out all others with a bellowing resonance. Kaya thought for a moment that this was the roar of the Elder Dragon declaring his incoming victory, but then another cry followed, this time coalescing into a single word.

"BOLAS!"

Kaya phased her head through the wall once more. She saw Bolas, still flanked by a cloud of thopters, but he was no longer looking at the bell tower. Instead, she traced his eyeline down in time to see a huge red dragon barrel through the rain towards him.

Niv-Mizzet collided with Bolas, catching the Elder Dragon in the stomach with his right wing. Bolas seemed to be caught off guard, and in the split-second of realization, Niv slashed his claws across Bolas' chest.

The Elder Dragon did not flinch, and he grabbed Niv by the arm and wrenched it away violently. Despite their distance from the bell tower, Kaya could hear a SNAP as Bolas' grip crushed Niv's humerus.

Undeterred, Niv sunk his razor-sharp teeth into Bolas' arm. Even with his immense strength, Niv only broke a couple of Bolas' scales, and his grip did not lessen. Both dragons refused to let go of one another, so Bolas raised his free hand as he readied to swipe down on the prone Niv-Mizzet. The dragon, however, anticipated the movement, and using his bite as leverage, swung a wide kick that caught Nicol Bolas across the cheek.

Bolas' head jerked to the side, and Kaya silently cheered as she saw three distinct lines on Bolas' face where a layer of scales had been ripped by Niv's talons. Her excitement quickly deadened as she watched Bolas' eyes begin to glow a deep purple, nearly black.

I GROW WEARY OF THIS GAME, YOUNG ONE. Bolas' telepathic message exploded across the stormy sky, engulfing the bell tower and its inhabitants with his contempt. Kaya had felt this energy before, it signaled Bolas' mind warping ability, something that she had been lucky enough to avoid in her dealings with the dragon.

You don't need to brainwash an assassin to do your dirty work, she thought. But a hostile dragon…

She watched in transfixed horror as waves of deep purple energy flowed up Bolas' horns and radiated from their tips. They washed over Niv-Mizzet, bathing him in an unnatural glow. Bolas smiled as Niv-Mizzet released his bite, and the dragons' eyes met. Then, Niv-Mizzet let loose a thunderous roar, one that shook the very foundation of the bell tower, and he dragged his free hand down the length of Bolas' exposed chest.

"If you think your mind is stronger than my own," Niv rumbled, "then perhaps you are not the master strategist they make you out to be."

In one swift motion, Niv wrenched free his broken arm and swung it wildly at Bolas. His hand bent back at an unnatural angle, one that tied Kaya's guts in a knot just by watching, but the force was enough to leave another few lines of carved-out scales.

Bolas staggered back in the air and raised a hand to his chest. A cerulean light appeared in his palm, and he raised it to the gashes on his underbelly.

Niv bellowed: "No, Bolas, there will be no time to heal."

The red dragon reared back his head and unleashed a blistering cone of flames from his mouth. They ran red and blue, magically enhanced by Niv's own abilities. All rain in their vicinity instantly evaporated, creating a thin mist around the combatants. The thopters that had hovered around the Elder Dragon began to melt rapidly, their liquified remains mixing with the falling rain. In an instant, Bolas was engulfed, his entire body enshrouded in fire hotter than a volcano's basin.

Niv hovered in the air, grasping his now completely shattered arm. "And to think I asked those ungrateful guild leaders for their power," the dragon mused, staring into the flames. "I may not have foreseen this victory, but I will accept it nonetheless."

Kaya let a smile creep onto her face. I can't believe he did it! Ral told me himself that Niv-Mizzet's breath could melt anything it touched. There's no way th-

And just as soon as the smile appeared on Kaya's face, it disappeared, replaced with a mask of pure dread. All she could do was watch as a golden arm, claws bared like a cobra's fangs, materialized out of the inferno and grabbed ahold of Niv-Mizzet's right wing. Then another hand shot out and grabbed Niv's other wing. Finally, the body of Nicol Bolas stepped out of the fire, his scales glittering from the light that had done no damage.

Niv shrank away from the imposing visage that approached him. The dragon tried to fly away, but Bolas only sunk his claws deeper into the thin membrane of his wings.

Bolas scoffed. YOU THINK YOU ARE ABOVE ME, DON'T YOU NIV-MIZZET? A MIND UNPARALLELED, A POWER UNCHALLENGED. YOU THINK YOURSELF A GOD AMONG MORTALS. BUT YOU ARE NO GOD.

Bolas snapped Niv's right wing with a flick of his wrist, the cracking bones and sinew echoing across the sky, followed promptly by Niv-Mizzet's scream of pain.

YOU ARE NO MASTERMIND.

He snapped Niv's left wing.

YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A PETULANT CHILD BEFORE ME.

Bolas wrapped his slinking tail around Niv-Mizzet's throat. The dragon tried raising his arms to claw at it, but the torrent of pain rushing through his body left his arms limp by his side. Then, with a gruesomely spectacular flourish, Nicol Bolas ripped the two wings from Niv-Mizzet's back.

Kaya gasped in abject terror as the Parun of the Izzet League let out a cry of pain she could only hope she would never experience. The sound was almost pathetic, like a fearsome lion brought to a mewling kitten by a thorn in its paw. She felt sympathy for the dragon, whom she had regarded as another know-it-all scientist and schemer. But then, she heard something follow the pained shout, a deep, halting laughter emanating from Niv's restricted windpipe.

"You think you have beaten me," he choked out, "but this victory is only temporary. I have seen through your plan, Nicol Bolas, and it will never succeed."

Nicol Bolas smirked. THE DYING WORDS OF A FAILED GENIUS. THIS IS THE END FOR YOU, YOUNG ONE. YOUR FIRE IS IMPRESSIVE, BUT YOU'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN TO LEARN ITS WAYS. BEFORE YOU TOOK YOUR FIRST BREATH, BEFORE THIS PLANE SPROUTED ITS FIRST BLADE OF GRASS, BEFORE THE MULTIVERSE HAD BLINKED, I ALREADY MASTERED THE FLAME.

Bolas took a deep breath in through his nostrils, parted his reptilian lips, and loosed an enormous burst of azure flame. The fire took over Niv-Mizzet's body in an instant, even reaching up to the sundered wings in Bolas' clutches. The dragon tried to scream, but between the tail around his neck and the fire sloughing through his open mouth, no sound emerged.

The heat from Bolas' breath flew past Niv-Mizzet, making its way to the bell tower's open windows. The room was suddenly rocked by the force of the heatwave. Everyone in the tower was buffeted by the wind, their skin nearly burning from the intense temperature. The seven-foot windows shattered above them, raining down shards of glass. Lavinia raised her cloak overhead, while Hekara stuck her tongue out like a child trying to catch snowflakes. Luckily, Ral maintained his footing and kept the lightning bolt uninterrupted.

The fire raged for only a few seconds, and when it finally died down, Niv-Mizzet, leader of the Izzet League, planned Living Guildpact, and last Ravnican line of defense, was nothing more than a charred skeleton.

Bolas let go of the bones, tossing them to the ground below like a child discarding a broken toy. His head then snapped to Kaya's, and he gave her another toothy grin that nearly froze her blood. She quickly pulled her head back into the bell tower.

"Ral," she shouted, "Niv is down. How much longer?"

Ral had been trying desperately to focus on his job of charging the Beacon, ignoring the clashes and screams from the battle outside. Even as the window behind him shattered and the force of Bolas' attack smothered him, he remained focused on the task at hand. He looked to the meter. It was nearly full.

"Another thirty seconds and we should be done!" he yelled to Kaya.

Her eyes widened with surprise. She phased her head through the wall once more, and saw Nicol Bolas hovering steadily in midair, exactly where he had incinerated Niv-Mizzet a moment earlier.

He's not moving, she thought, a twinge of happiness penetrating her thoughts. Even if he started now, he wouldn't reach us in time. He's too far away, and once the Beacon is activated, there's not a being alive that can shut it off. Did we actually pull it off?

Then something happened that shook Kaya's confidence to the core. Though Nicol Bolas hovered far away, she saw his horns begin to glow with purple light. The light flowed from the tips and traveled out in subsequent amethyst waves. It was only a fraction of a second before the psychic energy overtook the bell tower.

No!

Kaya quickly pulled her head inside. She swiftly turned to Hekara, who was still sitting next to her. She smiled, her teeth smeared with blood from the falling shards, and waved to the reemerged Kaya.

Kaya only had time to yell two words: "Look out!"

Unfortunately, those words were too late, and as Hekara cocked her head in confusion, Lavinia's blade slashed her throat. She gurgled unintelligibly in Kaya's direction, and for the first time in the span of Kaya knowing her, Hekara's eyes showed fear at the sight of her own blood.

Lavinia's eyes shone purple light in Kaya's direction, and her fingers tightened around her small dagger. In a flash, Lavinia leapt at Kaya, blade held back and ready to strike.

Kaya activated her intangibility, waiting for Lavinia to fly through her body so she could subdue her. Before Lavinia reached Kaya, however, she was met with a small bolt of lightning. It slammed her against the tower wall, knocking her out and leaving her cloak smoldering.

Both Ral and Kaya looked at one another, their breathing increasingly labored. They shared a look, both knowing what was about to happen. Though Nicol Bolas could not control the minds of planeswalkers, it still took all their strength to stay conscious against the raging storm he had placed in and around their minds.

Kaya was the first to succumb, her eyes closing and body slurping to the floor.

Ral turned away from her and to the Beacon. He fell to his knees and looked to the full meter on its display panel. He fought and fought against the dragon's mind magic, but he knew it was no use. As he slipped into a forced slumber, the last thing he saw was the Beacon emit a five-colored beam of light up through the bell tower ceiling and out to the Multiverse.