You wander toward the old man's study one afternoon, taking in the pleasing weather. The air has turned crisp with the arrival of autumn, and leaves beyond the monastery have begun to ooze color other than their summer greens. The hallway is cool, filled with shade from the wide eaves above. You remind yourself to begin wearing heavier clothes when not working.

Arriving at Issar Roon's study, you turn the metal latch and are rewarded with a rush of warm air.

Hello.

Well, don't just stand there with that look of ignorance. Close the door!

Jumping at the old man's tone, you step forward and swing the door shut behind you. It has been a while since the old man has been angry with you. You realize you had started to believe he could be a friendly mentor.

Hmph. I suppose I could tell you a tale today. It will have to be something simple, as my thoughts are elsewhere, swirling among the mists of the Blind Eternities.

Aha! I will tell you of them, the Blind Eternities, along with the rest of the Multiverse. Perhaps your languid mind could use the help. After all of these tales I've told, you most likely still do not grasp the full extent of the Multiverse.

You wonder why it has taken the old man this long to tell a tale on this subject. He may live in it every day here in his study, but surely you do not.

The Multiverse is the largest classification we have for everything that exists. Most scholars believe it is infinite, but all agree that it would be impossible to count the number of planes contained within in one lifetime – even for beings that live much longer than a typical human. Between the planes lie the Blind Eternities, a place filled with chaotic energies, Aether, and some mana. Finally, planes themselves can be broken into natural occurring planes and artificial creations, built by planeswalkers most likely.

Of course, there is an even larger classification that defines the Multiverse. It is something that cannot be catalogued or counted, something that defies what most beings believe. That classification would be the time streams that occasionally appear within our own Multiverse.

Time streams are similar to stalks of grain in a never-ending field. They all contain a version of the Multiverse and have a beginning and an end, but each is a unique length and there are an infinite number that exist. Some interact, twisting around each other, or touch another for a brief moment, but all grow at their own pace.

In general, the interaction of time streams is a safe event. Often, most beings don't even notice the merging, splitting, or touching of two streams, but occasionally there can be disastrous consequences. Especially when time rifts are present. Time rifts allow people, creatures, objects, events, and alternate futures to be pulled into new time streams, causing chaos, destruction, and possibly the end of that Multiverse. Whenever a time rift is created there is cause for concern.

Of course, I talk of disasters so rare and specific that you will most likely never live to see or hear of such a thing. These are matters discussed among planeswalkers, not the concern of trivial beings living out their short lives on their home plane. Do not fear, for I doubt you will experience such an event. If you do, you will most likely die before you can comprehend the trouble.

If this is the old man's method of trying to calm you, it doesn't seem so comforting.

I have talked of the Multiverse before, but let me outline a clearer picture for you. It is not like your universe here, with the stars and planets shining at night. Your universe is just one speck in the overall Multiverse. Each speck that exists is its own plane. Some are tiny islands, some are larger than your universe, but all of them are contained within the seemingly limitless Multiverse.

It is impossible for a being to see another plane without the aid of an extraplanar power. Currently, the only known beings that can access that extraplanar power are planeswalkers and the fearsome Eldrazi. I wish you the best of luck if you choose to enlist the help of the Eldrazi.

The old man chuckles at yet another joke you cannot comprehend.

As I said before, some planes occur naturally, while others are created. Natural planes are many, and make up the majority of the known Multiverse. Artificial planes are rare, most likely because those who have the ability to create them are just as rare. Some have theorized that a planeswalker must first find an empty pocket within the Blind Eternities in which a plane can be made. There is also the matter of existence.

You see, Phyrexia, before Yawgmoth was taken there, was a plane with no signs of life. This is a strange anomaly within the Multiverse in that an artificial plane must have something to prevent its collapse. One without a source of mana, lifeforms, or a continual expansion – like flowstone – would simply wink out of existence.

Finally, we get to what got me jabbering about the Multiverse in the first place, the Blind Eternities. Also called the Nether Void or the Abyss, the Blind Eternities are often shortened to the Aether by planeswalkers these days. Filled with Aether, mana, and temporal energies, the Blind Eternities are vastly an unknown. The only beings known to have access to them are planeswalkers and the Eldrazi, and I doubt the Eldrazi will be telling us any useful information.

Again, the old man chuckles. You wonder what about the Eldrazi has the old man laughing so.

Some planeswalkers have written down accounts of their travels through the Aether, but the experience seems to be indescribable to those who have not done it. I would describe my own personal experience within the Blind Eternities, but I doubt you'd be very interested. Perhaps another time.

For now, I have told you a tale, and it has become much longer than I had planned. Leave before I regret my generosity.

You hear the anger returning to the old man's voice and quickly obey his command. You are happy to leave his study with a much-improved vision of the old man's world.

This is a work of fiction based on the stories and entries provided by Wizards about some of the early characters. The author takes some liberty with the story for dramatic purposes. So the story portrayed here may not be the exact story according to Magic Canon. The author has found references and art to use in the following locations: Encyclopedia Phyrexianna and the MTG Salvation Wiki. Written by Brendan Weiskotten.