Locations
Warmth remains in the stone corridor even though darkness has taken the monastery. The faint smell of dried sweat is apparent, a reminder of the effort put toward your responsibilities in the hot sun. Summer has almost come and, along with the lengthy winter, has left little time for the cool and refreshing days of spring.
The old man’s study remains hot and stuffy no matter the weather beyond its walls, candles fueling the climate of this closed-off room. Though you find it slightly inhospitable, you have come for a story, and are willing to bear a small discomfort for your prize. Issar Roon greets your appearance with his usual disregard, and continues reading the faded green volume before him. Finally, he acknowledges your presence.
Good evening, young one. It looks as if you have been enjoying the recent weather.
What is that frown? Do you not enjoy being called young? You will have to forgive this old bag of bones, for everyone but a few individuals in the multiverse are young in my eyes. Do not take it personally.
The old man has misinterpreted which of his statements you dislike, but you let him carry on, knowing a correction will only delay the story you desire.
It looks as though you wish I dispense with pleasantries today. Very well.
I think it is time I told you the tale of an important Phyrexian figure that I have failed to mention in the past. This man—or perhaps it is better said, this creature that started as a man—was named Gix, and his history with Phyrexia began at the very beginning. In fact, if it were not for this man, Phyrexia may never have existed, a truth I am sure at least one reality in the infinite Æther enjoys.
Gix’s origins are intertwined with those of Yawgmoth’s, for he was born in the same era and the last days of the Thran Empire. But while Yawgmoth was an exiled eugenicist, Gix was a simple laborer. What brought him to Yawgmoth was a series of choices and coincidences, like many important events in history. When the two
The first thread that tied Gix and Yawgmoth together was an act of anger and self-righteous justice carried out by Gix. He was a simple laborer at the time, working at the powerstone mine adjacent to the Thran capital city of Halcyon. Like many of his friends and family, Gix had contracted a new disease that was devastating the lower classes of the Thran Empire. Though the elite had heard whispers of the affliction, they remained unaffected, making them unhurried in finding a cure. Enraged that they remained callous toward the plight of the common people, Gix gained an audience with the Thran leader, Glacian, and stabbed him with a powerstone.
Though unintentional, this act of violence caused Glacian to contract the same disease, and brought it to the forefront of the elite’s activities. Glacian’s wife proposed calling the healer Yawgmoth back to the capital to analyze and halt the disease. After intense debate among the leaders of Halcyon, they acquiesced and requested Yawgmoth’s presence.
A genius in medical science, Yawgmoth was able to create a cure almost immediately, but refused to use it to eradicate the now-named Phthisis. Instead, he schemed to use it for political gains, cementing himself within Thran society, and giving him more power. With this in mind, Yawgmoth manipulated Gix and his rebels, giving them the cure for their disease, but not enough to eliminate it permanently. They danced for him as puppets on a string would, though Gix had not yet met Yawgmoth.
When Yawgmoth’s plans grew even more ambitious, and he began to create a world for himself on a new plane, Gix was one of the first to volunteer—though I must admit that history does not say whether the man did so willingly.
The old man’s laugh is restrained, but it is deep, and it seems to resonate within every bone of his thin body.
There are more details before the fall of the Thran, but I doubt you are interested. Yawgmoth twisted Gix’s actions to his own ends, gaining more power over the Thran, and in return, Gix was ensconced as his lieutenant in the new world. The rest you have heard from me previously. When events unfolded, Yawgmoth and Gix were stuck on the new world of Phyrexia, cut off from their homeworld of Dominaria.
Gix remained on the new world of Phyrexia for many millennia, helping Yawgmoth build his civilization and develop the optimum process for creation and training of newts, the basic building block of Yawgmoth’s new civilization. Over the centuries, Gix was twisted, modified, and mutated into a new creature, one befit of a Phyrexian Praetor instead of his weak human form. When the Brothers’ War erupted on Dominaria, and Phyrexians were once again able to use the Phyrexian portal within the Caves of the Damned, Gix returned to his former world to serve Yawgmoth.
As commander of Phyrexian forces on Dominaria, Gix was responsible for carrying out Yawgmoth’s plans, and did so with a sinister and sinuous hand. He manipulated Mishra, and slowly turned him against his brother Urza. But escalating the Brothers’ War was only one piece of his mission. For he also built a following among the civilizations on Terisiare, teaching Phyrexia’s beliefs and philosophies to those who would follow.
Though Gix did well in his mission, causing the brothers to destroy each other and creating a large following devoted to Yawgmoth, he made a mistake at the end of the war that would cost him dearly. As their climactic battle commenced around them, Urza and Mishra confronted each other. It was then that Urza discovered Gix’s meddling in the war that had consumed his life, and in a rage over what had become of his brother, he unleashed the Sylex Blast from the Golgothian Sylex, starting a chain of events that would create the Shard of Twelve Worlds and once again seal Dominaria off from Phyrexia’s influence.
Those events did not lead to the end of Phyrexia’s involvement with Dominaria, as you well know, but it was the end of Yawgmoth’s trust in Gix. As punishment for his failure, Gix was sent to the Seventh Sphere of Phyrexia, a place of hellish torture. Gix survived, though in perpetual torment, for thousands of years.
Eventually, Gix was released for a chance at reinstating himself among Phyrexians. He was put in charge of an early Phyrexian expedition force, mostly spies and sleeper agents, meant to prepare Dominaria for a coming invasion. With his knowledge of Dominarian societies and languages, he successfully planted sleeper agents in all major cultures on Dominaria. But his success was also a liability.
Urza knew Yawgmoth would once again attempt to invade Dominaria when the Shard had been broken, and uncovered Gix’s actions. With no other choice available, Gix did the only thing his power-hungry mind could think of: He forced Urza into a confrontation. The ancient Thran did not survive.
So that is another tale for you. I hope it helps you discover the larger story that connects Phyrexia, Yawgmoth, and Urza. It is integral to the history of our Multiverse, and still affects events today.
Now it is time you leave me in peace.
The old man turns back to the faded green volume upon his desk, and you have once again become invisible. With nothing left to do, you leave the old man alone. Perhaps the wash rooms still hold the day’s heat like the stones in the corridor.
