Omenpath

Omenpath
Information
Plane	Multiversal
Card art	art:"Omenpath"

Omenpaths are planar portals originally created by Kaldheim's World Tree and later by New Phyrexia's Invasion Tree. After New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse and the Desparkening, these passages are now the main way to travel between planes.^[1]

Description

Omenpaths are trans-planar arteries that are naturally occurring on Kaldheim, where they received their name.^[2] They can vary in appearance. Some can be tiny, some huge. Some permanent, some temporary. Some stable, some moving. They present a great risk for non-planeswalkers, as there's no promise of a way back. Not every plane is connected to every other plane, so some trips can be quite a journey.^[1] Some could be one-way.^[3] It is possible to navigate and map Omenpaths to some extent, given Saheeli Rai was able to locate Ixalan in under a year. Niv-Mizzet and Ral Zarek were able to construct a way to transmit information through Omenpaths, setting the grounds for interplanar communication.

Nissa described an Omenpath on Zhalfir as a glowing blue light hovering in the air and pulsing to the beat of the leyline song.^[4] Its edges resemble ragged cloth as if someone cut the fabric of reality. Kellan described one on Eldraine as a swirling series of interlocking triangles, something like a cloudy mirror, standing free.^[5] Amalia Benavides Aguirre described one on Ixalan as a sparkling circle wider and taller than a human floating above the ground and swirling with lights.^[6]

Despite the Omenpaths being a way to connect the Multiverse further, other planeswalkers such as Jace Beleren and Vraska regarded them with disdain. To the pair the Omenpaths should not exist, as they jeopardized the work the Gatewatch was formed to fulfill. Since the threats the Gatewatch prevented were contained on individual planes, the Omenpaths presented a grim future of conquerors collecting planes and warlords smearing violence across the Multiverse with no way to stop them. In essence, the Omenpaths would allow plane-bound threats a path to escape punishment.

Loot, a Fomori child, can see the endpoint of every Omenpath and planes coming to life from a World Tree and also returning to darkness in the Multiverse in real-time.^[7]

Omenpath classifications

Avishkari system

The official Avishkari Omenpath Classification System is a simple, colloquial system that attempts to batch Omenpaths into three recognizable categories.^[8] This system isn't intended to be a technical classification system for industrial or academic use but a quick-reference system for popular use by people across the Multiverse. It has quickly spread to become the Multiverse's dominant standard, thanks in large part to the cultural spread of the Ghirapur Grand Prix.

Evergreen Omenpaths

Evergreen Omenpaths are stable Omenpaths that opened in the wake of the Phyrexian invasion and have not yet closed. Evergreen Omenpaths can be downgraded to deciduous or instanced.^[8] Evergreen Omenpaths are known to exist on various planes, including:

• Amonkhet-Muraganda^[9]
• Many in and around Ghirapur, Avishkar^[10]
  • Avishkar-Amonkhet^[9]
  • Avishkar-Muraganda^[8]
• Tenth District, Ravnica-Near Eiganjo, Kamigawa^[11]

Deciduous Omenpaths

Though not permanent, Deciduous Omenpaths are considered stable in that they open and close on regular, predictable cycles (they may also be referred to as "perennial"^[9]).^[8] Many deciduous Omenpaths open and close on Avishkar, connecting the plane to other planar "neighbors."

• Alacria-Avishkar^[9]
• Strixhaven, Arcavios-Ixalan, Ixalan^[12]
• Avishkar-Kylem^[9]
• Across Thunder Junction, especially in Omenport^[13]

Instanced Omenpaths

Instanced Omenpaths are any other Omenpaths, including those that have recently opened and are undergoing evaluations to determine their stability and/or regularity.^[8] These Omenpaths are said to be "instanced," as the schedule that dictates their opening and closure is unique to that Omenpath. For example, the Avishkar-Duskmourn Omenpath opened for mere seconds, while the Avishkar-Gastal Omenpath opened for days.

History

On Kaldheim

On Kaldheim denizens of one realm could always cross the dangerous Cosmos and enter another realm. As realms shifted on the World Tree, Omenpaths sometimes opened between realms. Inhabitants of one realm could use an Omenpath to reach another one. Sometimes this was as simple as walking through a shimmering light on the landscape, but other Omenpaths were more treacherous and involved crawling through shifting tunnels and being deposited unexpectedly on the mountaintop of an unfamiliar realm. Once an Omenpath between realms had opened, some powerful mages could close and reopen them at will. The opening of an Omenpath often was a precursor to the two realms overlapping in a violent Doomskar.

Because of the Cosmos Elixir that makes the gods what they are, the gods of Kaldheim were immune to the disorienting effects of the Cosmos and could cross between the realms more easily than other races. Shapeshifters' ability to change form and the Omenseekers' rune-enhanced longboats also enabled passage between realms. On the other hand, a Planeswalker's ability to travel to other planes could not be used to traverse the Cosmos, with Kaya requiring Cosima's longboat^[14] and Tibalt using the Sword of the Realms.^[15]

New Phyrexia's Invasion

During New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse, the Phyrexians created Omenpaths with Realmbreaker to transport their troops in seedpods. The Angels of New Capenna traveled through these Omenpaths to aid other planes.^[16]

After the Invasion

After the Invasion, these new Omenpaths have become a lasting Multiversal phenomenon.^[1][17] Planar travel in the Multiverse for beings besides planeswalkers was now possible, something that had not occurred since the Great Mending when all planar technology was rendered inactive.

According to Saheeli Rai, Omenpaths are less flexible than planeswalking.^[18]

While the destinations of many Omenpaths are risky and random, some have stabilized to lead to specific planes. One such example is an Omenpath that connects the planes of Arcavios and Ixalan. The regularity of the Omenpath appears enough to allow couriers to travel between the planes to establish consistent communication.^[12]

On other planes such as Avishkar, the city of Ghirapur, by good fortune, received a wealth of stable Omenpaths to various planes. The city is taking advantage of these Omenpaths by beginning to make contact with inhabitants on other planes, opening embassies to promote Avishkar's culture and commerce, putting Ghirapur well on its way to becoming the center of Multiversal trade, travel, and industry.^[10]

The existence of the Multiverse, which had been a secret known only to a few, was made known to many across myriad planes in the aftermath of the Invasion. On some planes, such as Innistrad, on which many scholars had assumed that their plane was alone and all that amounted to existence, this has resurrected renewed interest in the study of the planes beyond.^[2]

While the emergence of the Omenpaths heralded the loss of many planeswalkers, some view these new planar portals to be the beginning of a bright new era, not the ending of a beloved older one.^[11]

Ravnica and the Omenpath Project

With Omenpaths opening across Ravnica and other worlds, Niv-Mizzet recognized their patterns as a significant threat to his plane. The Firemind began to study the portals and secretly employed agents across the Ravnican guilds to facilitate his research. Following a string of murders, including the death of one of Niv-Mizzet’s agents, Kylox, the detective Alquist Proft began investigating evidence that uncovered the Firemind’s plans. During a meeting with Proft and Etrata, Niv-Mizzet acknowledged his intent to regulate the Omenpaths and to position Ravnica as a locus of the multiverse. Proft and Etrata were contracted to assist the Firemind with his "Omenpath Project."^[19]

Avishkar

When the Omenpaths opened across the Multiverse, Ghirapur on Avishkar was blessed with a wealth of stable connections to various planes.^[10] The city was poised to become a center of Multiversal trade, travel, and industry. To that end, the Avishkar Assembly began opening embassies on various planes to promote Avishkar's culture and commerce and to spread its influence. In this effort, Avishkar has come to recognize Ravnica as its chief rival.^[8]

To showcase Avishkar's culture, affluence, and political power, a widely advertised multiplanar racing event called the Ghirapur Grand Prix was held at least a year after the Omenpaths opened.^[20] Its success led to it becoming an annual event, and the second Grand Prix became more regulated, with the racetrack stretching across Amonkhet and Muraganda as well.^[9]

Thunder Junction colonization

The access of Omenpaths played a role in connecting various planes throughout the Multiverse. Non-planeswalkers became more familiar with the reach of the Multiverse and the process of navigating it, along with the existence of far-flung planes such as New Capenna, Ravnica, Kaldheim, etc.^[21]

In some cases, this led to unspoiled planes becoming new frontiers for exploration, such as Thunder Junction. A myriad of people and cultures began to come through the Omenpaths and settle the uninhabited plane like the nomadic Atiin. The congregation of people created settlements near major Omenpaths such as Omenport. Factions from other planes, such as the Riveteers, aided in the development of the transportation system of the settlements by crafting a train network.^[22] The Omenpaths made planes more interconnected, to the point where peddlers have begun plying wares of spices from Naktamun and cookware from Fiora.

While some used the Omenpaths to reach Thunder Junction to begin new lives, unfortunately, the plane has become a hotbed for outlaws from the various planes only kept in check by the Sterling Company, a private mercenary group. Despite the criminality of the plane, it became the test site of Ral Zarek and Niv-Mizzet's relay tower project to develop a way to communicate through the Omenpaths. The technology was regarded to be of interest to various criminal groups on Thunder Junction, but on other planes, as whoever gained control of the communications hub first would become unimaginably wealthy. Hence the Sterling Company invested in the research.^[23]

Geralf's research

The stitcher Geralf Cecani pondered the effects of trans-planar travel on non-planeswalkers in his monograph The Effects of Trans-Planar Relocation on Individual Magical Manifestations.^[2] He believed that every plane of existence has its own rules of magic and that every magic user over time will have their magic adapt itself to the natural rules of the new plane. He referred to this process as "naturalization" or "planar acclimatization."

Vorzani Conjecture

According to Zimone Wola, some interpretations of the Strixhaven Vorzani Conjecture say that the Multiverse itself seeks observation, in the form of people capable of seeing it from multiple directions at once. She posits that’s part of why the opening of connections between planes has been met with a matching decrease in the number of people who can travel them under their power. The Multiverse can remain stable and observed without that investment of resources.^[24]

Duskmourn

On Duskmourn, the demon Valgavoth sought to lure more victims to his plane from beyond.^[25][26] Before the Invasion, he was able to create doors to other planes to capture unsuspecting victims, but after, the process became much easier thanks to the Omenpaths. Valgavoth used his newfound access beyond the Blind Eternities to create harmless-looking doors that were his versions of planar portals to Duskmourn.

These doors brought in a wealth of fresh victims, unaware of the terror and danger in his realm.^[27] With access to a new supply of entertainment, the demon changed tactics from farming the few survivors within his plane to actively hunting them to sate his hunger for fear.

However, his activities in the greater Multiverse did not go unnoticed, as his doors had kidnapped several citizens of Kamigawa resulting in action from the Imperials.^[11] Another door opened in Ravnica and was quarantined. Niv-Mizzet and the Izzet League took charge of unraveling the mystery of this new type of Omenpath. In cooperation with a group led by the The Wanderer, they launched an investigation into the phenomena in hopes of retrieving those trapped on the other side. A former planeswalker named Aminatou, who was also present at the site, warned the retrieval team of the malicious, intelligent evil lurking behind the door, giving the authorities some idea of what they were dealing with.

Trivia

• While Kaldheim's Omenpaths were round, those after New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse are triangle-shaped. This shape was chosen because it is the "strongest shape" and the Omenpaths are meant to "hold the weight of the multiverse."^[28]
• The "Omenpath Arc," beginning with Wilds of Eldraine, was the first part of a three-year Magic story arc following the Phyrexian Arc.^[29]

Gallery

• 
  Concept art of Tibalt opening an Omenpath.
• 
  Tibalt opens an Omenpath from the Aldergard forest to Immersturm.
• 
  Tibalt opens the Omenpath in the Kaldheim trailer.
• 
  The Omenpath.
• 
  Tibalt enters the Omenpath.
• 
  Kellan enters an Omenpath.
• 
  Loot enters a circular Omenpath.

In-game references

Represented in:

Associated cards:

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Referred to:

^† Scryfall does not record flavor text for digital cards. See Alchemy: Thunder Junction/Flavor text.

References