You find yourself at Issar Roon's door on a sunny afternoon. Devoid of responsibilities, you decide you are in the mood for a story from the old man. As you swing the oak door open you find that the old man is standing patiently as if he has been waiting for you.

Welcome back! Let's go for a walk today. It is much too nice outside to stay locked up in an old, stuffy place like this.

Slightly taken aback by the old man's restless attitude, you acquiesce with a slow nod of the head. You let the old man pass by, and follow him from the study.

I enjoy taking walks in the fresh air to clear my mind. It often helps me to remember where I can find a small piece of information that I've been searching for among my books.

Your curiosity comes to the forefront of your attention as the old man finally tells you a small bit about himself. He so often tells you stories of others that you have never truly learned much about the strange old man. You follow him down a cloister, headed toward one of the monastery's many gardens.

I think today may be a good time to impart upon you the tale of the Rathi Overlay. It was a tragic event true, but also one of unimaginable power and consequences. It is the tale of two worlds becoming one.

As you exit into a large garden you think upon the old man's words. You know that he talks of worlds as if they are as distant as the stars in the sky, but you can't help comparing the idea to two countries merging into one.

The Rathi Overlay was a direct action taken by the Phyrexians in an attempt to overwhelm the Dominarians defending their home plane. Some have called it Stage 2 of the Phyrexian Invasion, the first stage containing battles over key positions on Dominaria, and the final stage starting with the arrival of Yawgmoth himself. As I mentioned, the Rathi Overlay was a merging of two worlds, Dominaria and the artificial plane of Rath. Quite simply, pieces of Rath began to appear in Dominaria.

I know, such a thing seems impossible, but two very unique details allowed the Rathi Overlay to take place. The first was the location of Rath, hidden within the shadows of Dominaria. It's proximity to Dominaria in the Multiverse allowed the two planes to influence one another, though few beings from either plane could detect the other. No one knows quite how Rath came to be so close to Dominaria, or when. Some have theorized that it always hid in Dominaria's shadow, lying undiscovered. Phyrexian scholars claim Yawgmoth created Rath sometime after the Shard fell, planning for the future invasion. Perhaps it was neither of these. The other required element for the consolidation of planes was like an element itself.

The old man chuckles at his own joke as he sits down on a low stone bench. A rest seems like a good idea, so you join him in the cool shade.

The element I speak of was called flowstone. Flowstone could be manipulated by magic, formed into almost any conceivable shape of the mage's choosing. Yawgmoth appointed an Evincar to rule Rath, oversee the production of flowstone, and harness its power as the Evincar saw fit. As the Phyrexians created more and more flowstone Rath's planar borders expanded, and began to push against its closest neighbor, Dominaria. This was the destructive plan Phyrexia had in surprise for the defenders of Dominaria.

At first, the effects were quite minor. Some denizens of Dominaria were pulled to Rath, or into the Shadow between the two planes. Most Dominarians were unaware of the cause, and remained oblivious. Rathi denizens fought the spread of flowstone, but for them it was a perpetual cycle in their daily life and nothing unusual.

When the amount of flowstone hit a tipping point during the Phyrexian Invasion the Rathi Overlay began, and violent change took hold of both planes. Mountains were thrust into the sky where none had been, oceans were drained of water and life, and forests were erased from existence. Races on both planes were mutated beyond recognition, sometimes creating a new race and sometimes merging those that already existed into one. Even the Aether was affected, leaving scars that would cause trouble until the Mending.

The old man pauses for a moment as he casts a look around the garden. He seems to take in the trees and smaller plants as though they were a rare sight, one that might disappear tomorrow.

Of course, the horrible disfiguring of one plane and the ultimate destruction of the other were the last thing on anyone's mind at the time. Phyrexians had filled the plane of Rath, preparing for the Overlay, and immediately set about killing any non-Phyrexian they could find once they appeared on Dominaria. The Dominarians and races of Rath fought back, but that is a story of many battles and one I will not tell today.

After the Rathi Overlay the plane of Rath did not exist. Pieces of it had been transposed upon the Dominarian landscape and flowstone found a new home, but the plane was gone. Dominaria too, was changed. Dominarians adapted to flowstone and some races took in their brethren from the destroyed world, but pieces of Dominaria had been erased permanently. It took many generations for the shockwaves of the Rathi Overlay to dissipate and settle.

The old man finally rises from the hard bench and walks back they way you had come.

It is a terrible thing to witness, the destruction of worlds. I pray you do not see such a thing in your life my child.

Without another word the old man disappears around a bend in the path. A bit stunned at the end of the old man's story, you find yourself unable or unwilling to follow him back to his study. Trying to shake the nervous shudder you have suddenly developed in the cool shade, you get up and return to warmer places within the grounds.

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.