Though you have been too busy to visit Issar Roon's study lately, his last story remains fresh in your mind. You walk quickly to his door, refusing to give the stone walls and flickering torches a passing glance. A brief pause by the door reveals low cursing and grunting coming from within the private study. Hoping the old man is still willing to finish his story, you push the door open with a quiet creak.

Where did that infernal book get to?! I'll burn this whole room to ashes if it doesn't appear! Bewitched books should know better than to run off when they're wanted.

After a few more curses and threats the old man finally recognizes your presence.

You! Come and help me search for my book. It's a hazel color like that of your robes, and has legs it uses to hide from me.

You realize that you won't get a story from the old man until he's found his book

You realize that you won't get a story from the old man until he's found his book, so it's probably best to help hurry the process along. You begin searching the stacks of books near the door while wondering what he could possibly mean by saying a book has legs. After some heavy lifting and a slight sweat from the effort, you find a hazel book with legs drawn on the cover. You stand still for a moment, surprised to find the old man correct... Albeit, in a very ambiguous way.

That's the one! I need it to finish some obscure research I'm doing on the Ouphe race, but it keeps disappearing when I begin searching other books for information.

Ouphe are told of in children's tales, but you know better than to question the old man about his stories.

Now that I've taken care of that, what is it that you've come for? Ahh…Another story is it? Yes, I guess I did leave things a bit unfinished last time you visited me. Very well, I shall tell you a bit more about Karn and the unique place he holds within the Multiverse.

The old man pauses for a second. You watch as he strains to pick up the heaviest book on his desk, and set it upon the hazel book. You wonder if the book was ever truly able to run away, but know for certain it won't be able to now.

Do you remember my previous story about Karn's memory? It would combine with his vow of pacifism to cause a lot of trouble for Karn and his friends. Because his memory was limited to the most recent twenty years, Karn was unable to remember times in his life when he had killed enemies to save the life of a friend, or even himself. The freshest memory in his mind was that of one with terrible consequence, the loss of innocent life.

After being freed from his frozen state, Karn resumed his role as Gerrard's guardian. Despite refusing to commit physical violence, Karn could still help Gerrard as a friend. He joined the crew of the Weatherlight and helped them along their journey in search of Legacy artifacts. He especially loved the engine of the Weatherlight, and helped Hanna, the ship's navigator, to improve its capabilities.

It was during his travels with the Weatherlight that Karn's vow of peace came to haunt him. The Weatherlight was forced to fight Phyrexian forces as they traversed the Multiverse, but Karn withdrew from each conflict. He became a liability, a loved one, but one that the crew was forced to protect as he could not protect himself. Even when Gerrard and other members of the Weatherlight were precariously close to death, Karn would not kill to save them. Karn was distraught over the pain his friends had to endure from his inaction, but he refused to change his promise.

You wonder why a sentient being would chose not to help those he cared about. Surely, anyone would protect loved ones if it was as simple as knocking a goblin unconscious. Wouldn't they?

When the Weatherlight came to Rath in an attempt to rescue Captain Sisay it was attacked and Karn was captured by the Phyrexians. Knowing how much it pained Karn to kill an innocent, Vuel, the very person who had tricked Karn into killing an innocent before, created a gruesome torture for the golem. Vuel put him, along with some helpless moggs, in a room that constantly rotated. As the room spun Karn was forced to fall upon the moggs, crushing and killing them endlessly. Yet, after he was rescued by Gerrard, Karn continued to abide by his promise of peace.

After the incidents on Rath, Karn decided to part with the crew of the Weatherlight on a separate mission to collect pieces of the Legacy. Perhaps he also wanted some peace from seeing his friends fighting death while he stood by, unable to help. He traveled in search of the Sliver Queen, who was guarding a part of the Legacy. Karn succeeded in his mission by understanding the way the hive mind thought. He convinced the Queen of Slivers to give up the Legacy artifacts by stating that they were a part of him. The Sliver Queen believed him, and allowed Karn to leave with the artifacts.

Your mind begins to wander, fixated on a being called the Sliver Queen. You have no idea what slivers are, but find it enjoyable to guess and speculate at what they could be. Before long, you realize that you're no longer paying attention, and quickly put your mind back to what the old man is saying.

After a time, Karn reunited with the Weatherlight crew. They had found a great deal of the Legacy artifacts, and were happy to see Karn again. Unfortunately, their celebration was quickly interrupted by the Phyrexian Invasion of Dominaria. Their actions had been too successful, and Yawgmoth retaliated by invading their homeworld before they had time to plot another move against him.

During the first stage of the Invasion the Weatherlight crew found themselves confronted by the general of Phyrexian forces, Tsabo Tavoc. Tavoc was strong and held the advantage against the crew, but that was before Karn entered the fight. During the struggle Karn was hit upon the head by a Phyrexian. In a strange twist of sorcery, that hit freed Karn from the memory spell that Urza had cast.

Immediately, Karn began drowning in memories of his past life, but one refused to wash by him. It was a memory of one of Karn's many journeys with Jhoira. It contained an image of Karn saving Jhoira's life by the only means possible, killing the Phyrexians attacking her. With understanding, Karn's vow of pacifism was wiped away, and he attacked Tavoc to save his friends.

You wonder how magic can be stopped with a simple hit on the head. Is the old man's idea of magic so weak that anyone can just hit themselves on the head to prevent a spell?

There is much more to Karn's story after the initial Phyrexian Invasion, but I'm afraid I have kept you up late already. Perhaps another day I will tell you the story of Karn's personal plane, Argentum, or go into more detail of his ascension as a planeswalker. For now, you should leave me be.

The old man waves his hand towards the door, and you follow his quiet but firm order. As you enter the dark hall, you wonder if Karn ever surpassed his creator as a planeswalker.

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.