Pushing the heavy door open slowly a peculiar sight is revealed. The top of Issar Roon's desk is covered with books as usual, but the space around it is completely clear of objects. It looks almost as if the desk itself became angry and struck out at the stacks of books near it scaring them away. Transfixed by the new sight, you jump slightly when a soft sound reaches your ears. Thinking a mouse is looking for some food, your eyes wander the piles of books around the edges of the room, searching for a grey streak of movement. Instead, you see a pile of books about as high as your stomach in front of one of the gigantic bookcases. Unlike the haphazard piles all around the room, this one looks it was created by a mini-tornado within the study. Incidentally, the bookshelf above it is completely devoid of books. You reconsider, and wonder if there is such a thing as mini-earthquakes.

Ssshhuuuuuuu……

Knowing the sound came from inside the jumble of books, you rush over to find the source. After pulling a few books away from the mound you see the robes of Issar Roon. Quickly, you manage to free the man's head and arms.

Wha…? Why thank you for waking me up. It's about time I get back to work, and my back will start hurting if I lay here much longer. Books do not make good pillows you know. I don't normally take naps with my books, but I didn't have a choice this time.

While listening to his reasons for taking a nap amongst his books you continue to dig him out.

Careful! That book is incredibly old, and is the only source of information I have on Ulgrotha. Please set it on my desk so it doesn't get damaged.

You walk over to the big desk as the old man frees his legs. As you set the book down you notice that the colossal book on Urza is still there, along with other books that seem to belong with it.

That book was very difficult to find. I… attained it many years ago from a suspicious peddler on the streets of Benalia. It is an invaluable resource on the plane of Ulgrotha.

You don't know Ulgrotha? I guess that's not surprising. Very few people know much about it, and even less ever want to go there. It's a plane without mana, and because of that, most planeswalkers find it to be a useless plane.

Still unsure about some of the old man's ramblings, you've learned enough to know that mana is very important to the old man.

Of course, being greeted by the Baron Sengir's cold disposition would make me leave in a hurry too!

There I go again, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning.

The knock on his head from the books seem to have improved the old man's storytelling. Excited to hear about this strange plane, you sit down on your usual stool.

Ulgrotha, or as it's sometimes affectionately called by its inhabitants, Homelands, lies far from my home of Dominaria. The name means 'garden' in an ancient tongue, but it no longer resembles one. Indeed, it has always been called an “outpost world” or “backwater plane” by many. No one knows when the history of the Homelands began, but some know of the Great War a long time ago.

The first known history of Ulgrotha was a great war between two factions of planeswalkers called the Ancients and the Tolgath. In an effort to put an end to the war, a Tolgath planeswalker named Ravi rang an incredibly powerful artifact, called the Apocalypse Chime. The Apocalypse Chime not only destroyed almost every living being on the plane, including both the Tolgaths and the Ancients, but sent a ripple through the multiverse, affecting multiple planes far beyond Ulgrotha. The Great Destruction, as it is now called, opened a gateway between my land of Dominaria and a plane known as Kamigawa. It even weakened the stability of Kamigawa's physical and spiritual realms, allowing the Kami War to take place. Finally, it stripped the entire plane of Ulgrotha of all mana. If it were not for the Dwarven Gate, the plane would be lost to us forever.

The gate was created as a passage between worlds by one of the Ancients during the Great War. No one knows where it leads, but the mana that passes through it is the only thing that protects those remaining on Ulgrotha. Minotaurs, goblins, orcs, humans, and a few other races live in the area surrounding the Dwarven Gate. The rest of the plane is called the Dead Zone. No living thing enters and returns from the Dead Zone. Some say it's because it was cursed by the gods after the Great War. Some believe it to be created by a planeswalker determined to hide something within the plane. Personally, I think the lack of mana sucks the very life out of anything that wanders away from the Dwarven Gate.

Happy at first, you realize that the old man sounds just as crazy with this story as all of his others. You decide to indulge him lest you anger him. At least the story is unique.

Soon after the Great War the remaining inhabitants of Ulgrotha settled around the Dwarven Gate. Dwarves arrived through the gate, but have kept the land beyond a secret from those in the Homelands. They began to build a large civilization unknown to the rest of the Homelands' inhabitants. Unfortunately for them, a rather cunning vampire named Baron Sengir appeared, and took over the dwarven haven. The Baron began building an army around his new castle, intent on ruling Ulgrotha.

But he wasn't the only person to arrive on the Homelands. Serra, having left her own plane, appeared shortly after the Baron, and united the wandering tribes of Ulgrotha. Together, they formed the land known as Aysen, and resisted the Baron. Her new husband, Feroz, conjured a barrier around the Homelands, effectively making it invisible to planeswalkers. It lasted for hundreds of years, until his death allowed it to slowly fade.

While you have trouble keeping all of these pieces of information separate, you are surprised to find that you understand almost everything the old man is saying. You grow slightly worried that you are becoming just as crazy as the old man, but manage to reassure yourself that you are not confused between his world and reality.

The Homelands have been a very important plane in the multiverse, despite many planeswalkers' attempts to ignore it. In fact, if the rumors are true, it will once again reach out to touch other planes as it did before the Great Destruction.

My, my… I've gotten caught up in telling you a story again. You really must learn to stop distracting old men from their work! Now go, so that I may read my books in peace.

You leave quietly as the old man turns towards the piles of books on his desk. Taking one last look at him before you close the door, you notice something new. Where books had once littered the floor, you can see an expansive carpet. Though most of it is still hidden under piles, you see part of an intricate symbol embedded in the carpet. Once again, you wonder about the old man named Issar Roon…