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Ravnica at dawn. The city was never truly at peace, but dawn was when it came closest. The sun set over Tenth District’s glorious skyline. The sounds of bells ring, marking the end of the working day. You could see laborers going home from their daily shifts of rebuilding. Two years ago, the War of the Spark tore into the heart of the city, leaving the Tenth District’s plaza in ruin. Planeswalkers from all walks of the multiverse were captured. Nicol Bolas brought destruction to the city of the guilds and was brought to a gruesome end by the Planeswalkers he sought to destroy. The War of the Spark... When Rat met Teyo for the first time.
It was here where Araithia Shokta, more commonly referred to as Rat by those who could perceive her, was currently perched at the top of the new Chamber of the Guildpact. She looked out over her city, taking in her home with adoration. She had always been so proud of her home. The guilds were her everything as a child. She sat for hours reading the books in the Conclave’s library and listening unseen to stories about the triumphs of the guilds. She always thought one day she would join a guild just like her family. Yet there she sat. Rat, the gateless. Until she took on another name, Atkos Tarr, Dimir assassin by night.
Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed the sun trail below the horizon. Only when the lanterns in the street flickered to light did she come back to reality. Rat began her effortless climb from the new Guildpact Chamber, jumping from support beams onto the paved street below. She donned her assassin’s cowl and disappeared into the shadows of the buildings she had just been looking over.
Running through the streets of Ravnica was almost as fun as seeing it from above. Through the twisting maze that was the city’s back alleys that Rat had memorized. Her nightly rounds. Peeking through windows, sneaking into shops of the Tin Street Market, gathering information for the Dimir. It was a slow time for assassins’ work. Lately, she had just been working as a spy. But even then, her nights had been getting slower.
She longed for something more. A bigger job. Something challenging. Something to keep her mind off…
Rat had unknowingly stepped across the very bridge she saw Teyo appear that fateful day. Normally this area was too painful to go near. She simply avoided it altogether. In those two years since they met, Teyo had only visited a few times. She understood he had a duty to fulfill on his home plane of Gobakhan. It had been a year since he last visited. It still stung. The two had grown so close in the short time that they had together. He was like a brother to her. One of the few people who could actually see her. Understand her. He and Kaya, the former guild master for the Orzhov Syndicate, became family. And they left almost as soon as they had arrived.
Rat lingered in her spot, taking off her cowl. She crouched down and touched the ground tenderly. If she looked hard enough she swore she could see some glittering sand from the moment he appeared.
She let herself relish in the memory for a moment. The moment she spotted him, scared and confused. How she bombarded him with questions she didn’t give him a chance to answer. The look of bewilderment he had as she dumped every piece of information she could about Ravnica and the guilds. Finally! Someone who could listen to her fixated ramblings.
Even when the world was falling apart around them, they stayed close. They protected each other. Teyo’s friendship meant the world to her. And then he left her.
Rat stood and dusted herself off. She gave the fateful spot one last look before walking away. She was about to put her cowl back on when she heard something from behind. With quick reflexes, she spun around to see where the sound had come from. She grabbed her knives and held them up defensively. But she saw nothing.
She waited.
Nothing.
As she began to back up, she heard it again: The unmistakable sound of sand falling.
Could it be?
No, why would he?
But there is no sand in the Tenth District.
What else could it be?
Slowly she heard the sound grow louder and began to see that glittering sand pile up out of thin air onto the brick street. She backed up and watched as the pile turned into a mound.
She held her breath in bated anticipation when it stopped.
Talk about a coincide-
FWOOSH.
Out of the sand, as if on cue, came Teyo exactly as he had the day he came to Ravnica. He panted as he rolled down the sand mound and landed at Rat’s feet, coughing up sand that coated his tongue and throat.
Quickly, she sheathed her weapons and knelt in front of him. With tears threatening to spill from her eyes, it took every ounce of her to not smile. To keep herself calm. She wanted to do what she always saw siblings do. Play fight, make him feel bad for leaving her, the whole nine yards. Instead, she could only feel overwhelming joy and relief.
She grabbed his shoulders and attempted to help him cough up the sand by patting his back. After barely letting him finish coughing, she began her usual barrage of words.
“Teyo! You’re here! I’m so excited- No. Wait. I’m so mad at you! How dare you leave me for so long I was so worried! I was afraid you’d died or something and clearly, it wasn’t wrong of me to think that when you haven’t even learned to Planeswalk without nearly killing yourself! You know you are so lucky I just so happened to be here again in the exact same spot we were in before. Did you notice that? No of course you didn’t, because you’re still coughing haha- No wait sorry still trying to be mad. Dammit Teyo I-”
He cut her off by grabbing her, almost violently. She stopped and stared at him in shock. He had never been aggressive around her. This didn’t feel right. Something was off. She hadn’t noticed it until now. He had finally stopped coughing a little but now she could really get a look at his face. It was pale. Much paler than it should be for someone who lives in the desert. His eyes had dark circles under them. Too dark.
“What… What happened?” She was suddenly scared. Nothing had ever scared her this much before, not even when Ravnica was under attack.
Teyo spat out a glob of a horrible black substance mixed with sand.
“Rat. You have to listen to me. There isn’t much time. The planes are under attack-”
“What?! By who?! It’s not Bolas again, is it? Because I swear to the guilds if he-”
“Stop! You have to listen to me!” He shook her and she stopped. He never cut her off. Especially not that aggressively. Teyo continued, “You have to warn the guilds. There is nowhere to run, you have to fight it. They are coming. They came to Gobakhan and before I knew it, everything was gone. My home is gone . You need to find the guild leaders. Tell Niv Mizzet. Tell everyone. You have to-”
Another clump of horrible black bile and sand escaped him as he coughed. Rat held him carefully as he did so.
“We have to get you to a healer first. The Selesnya conclave- they can-”
“No! Rat, please, you have to listen to me, it’s too late for me. Whatever they’ve done to me is going to happen to everyone here if you don’t hurry. I know you can outrun anything so I need you to do this. Now. You have to go.” He pleaded. The look in his eyes was so painful to Rat. He was even more desperate than when they had met.
She couldn’t think. She hesitated. She was so torn. Warn her beloved city or help save her closest friend… Her brother. “No. We’re getting you somewhere safe first. I can’t leave you here like this.”
“Dammit, Araithia, you have to!” She recoiled at the use of her given name. It stung and pierced her at her core. No one used her real name except her parents. And he never called her that. Ever.
“Teyo I-”
“Go. Now. Before this gets any worse and I lose control.”
Rat stared at him. What did he mean by that? ‘lose control.’ Without a moment's hesitation, she hugged him. One last moment of soft, familiar touch, in case she never got to do so again. In case whatever was happening would tear them apart for good this time. And he didn’t recoil. Didn’t retreat. He hugged her back. Careful, but firm, and so so loving. The hug of an older brother who knew he wouldn’t see his sister again. The warmest hug you could possibly imagine.
“I love you, Teyo…”
“I love you too, Rat… Now go… Please before I- ARHG-” Teyo cried out in pain and pushed her away from him. She landed, hard, on the brick walkway, but managed to scramble to her feet and back away from him, unsure of what was going on.
She watched as his body contorted and twitched. He wailed and moaned in agony, as that same black bile mixed with glittering gold sand poured from his wounds. She did not notice them until now. A sickening mixture of glistening beauty and horror that caused him to writhe and twist. Soon the mixture took over his entire body, a slick, shining mixture that she could only now recognize as oil. It seeped into him, leaving glowing gold and black trails of scars in geometric patterns along his skin. His clothes were torn apart and left with a shining plate of black and gold armor that reflected the blazing street lights. The symbol of intricate geometric patterns that hung proudly from his ear was replaced by a wavy circle with a slash through the middle. An unfamiliar symbol to Rat. His hands were stretched and contorted into spidery claws that stiffened and twitched. Slowly the oil moved to his face where the black took over his eyes. Almost as soon as it began, it stopped, and his body slumped onto the floor.
He heaved for a few moments.
Rat was stricken with fear from what she had just seen. Her shock froze her in place. All she could do was watch, helpless.
After what seemed like an eternity, the mass of metal and oil moved. He stood, slowly and mechanically. Unnatural.
With a snap of his neck, he turned to her. His eyes were no longer their soft golden brown. They were pitch black. Oil blood streamed down his face from his eyes. Slowly his mouth formed a sad grin, and a light began to form in the iris of his eye. A bright gold circle pierced through the black scleras.
His body turned, slowly, and she watched in horror as this creature Rat knew as Teyo began to move toward her. She backed up and started to run.
She sprinted through the city streets, not once daring to look behind her. She didn’t need to. She could hear and feel him following her.
The two darted and ducked and jumped over walls, behind buildings, and around corners. Rat did everything she could to lose him, but it was never enough.
Despite running through these streets all her life, Rat was suddenly feeling herself grow exhausted. Keeping out of range of Teyo was much harder than she expected. Her breath grew heavy. She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep this up for much longer. Then she remembered what he had told her, ‘ Tell Niv Mizzet. Tell everyone. ’
She made a sharp turn and began sprinting to the Chamber of the Guildpact.
But how would she tell them? No one could see her unless they tried. She was practically invisible. How would they know to try? And running to the conclave wasn’t an option. She had to make do.
In a moment of pure desperation, she pulled out her daggers and slashed at any metal object she could reach. She made as much noise as possible. The ringing of the metal was faint. She needed something bigger. Louder.
It was then she noticed a small slab of concrete loose from recent construction. Without gauging how much time she had—there was no room for hesitation—she pried the slab up with all her might and threw it against a wall. She could hear rustling from within the home she had dented. She continued running, feeling Teyo not far behind her.
She heard a gasp of shock as the family noticed Teyo race by them.
The feeling of this small victory wore off fast as she could feel herself slowing down. Her muscles ached under the strain she was putting them through. Desperate to make it to the chamber, she ignored the growing stitch in her side and forced her breath to stay even.
“ Rat …” She could hear from behind her. The voice was steady. Unfaltering. Not the voice of someone who had been running at full speed. The sound almost made her stumble, but she kept her composure and continued, not daring to look behind her.
“ You’re so clever. I’ve always admired that about you, sister. Your cleverness. Your calmness under pressure. I’ve missed it. ”
Rat choked back a sob. Those words would’ve meant everything to her before tonight. Now they just felt wrong.
“ Stop running, Rat. I know you want to. I know what you want. I want it too. I never wanted to leave you. If you join us, we never have to be apart again. ”
She faltered and tripped. She sprawled out on the ground and tried to force herself back up. She cried out in pain. ‘Shit.’ Her ankle was twisted. She crawled to a wall and used it as leverage to stand. She leaned against it and allowed herself to catch her breath. Finally, she saw the figure of Teyo–no–what once was Teyo, standing over her. It smiled a gentle, off-putting smile.
She looked him-no... it in the eyes. Tears welled. She didn’t want their reunion to be like this. She never expected him to actually be in danger. After Bolas, it seemed no threat could possibly harm them. Could take them away from each other.
“ You hurt yourself… ” A flicker of worry crossed the creature’s face as it approached. It still had his mannerisms.
“STAY BACK!” She shouted, hopping away from him, but falling. “Shit,” she whimpered.
The creature didn’t listen. He only stepped closer, kneeling with a metallic “clink” against the pavement. It reached a cautious hand out to her. She tried to kick his outreached arm away to no avail.
“ Rat, please. I only want to help you. ”
“Like hell you do. You warned me before you turned into… into this . You’re not Teyo anymore.” Even if she couldn’t comprehend what had happened to him, she knew. This wasn’t Teyo. Not anymore. This was some sick twisted version of him. Even still, she saw a wave of hurt cross his face. Perhaps even grief.
“ Please, Rat. You have to believe me when I say I never want to hurt you. I only want to help. It’s all I ever wanted. To stay with you. To be your brother. ”
“Then why didn’t you, huh? Why didn’t you come back!?” Her anger overtook her. The fury of being abandoned finally settled within her as she was face to face with this monster she used to think of so fondly.
“ I had duties. Responsibilities. I planned on returning, I really did. But, Rat, this affliction is a blessing, don’t you see? I am one with Phyrexia now. I can feel and hear their every thought and whim. I am with them always, even now, as we spread across the multiverse. That could be us. We could always be together. By joining us, you never have to go unseen again. ”
He reached out a long, spidery hand to her. She looked at it, horrified. What was he implying? In her peripherals, she could see small crowds gathering and leaving their houses. Soon they’d see what was happening. She looked up and saw the base of the Chamber of the Guildpact. Her plan had worked. She just needed to keep him busy a little longer.
“That’s not possible. And… Deep down you know that. I know you do. Because Teyo would never want this to be the reason we’re together.” His hand flinched back for a moment. “You’re still in there, I know it.”
“ I am… I am Rat. I’m still here. And I’ve missed you so much.” His body began to shake as though he was trying to fight something within himself. He was resisting some kind of deep instinctual urge. “I’m here. And I never want to leave you again… ”
“Then don’t. Stay with me. In Ravnica. We'll figure out how to fix this. To cure this."
“ But… I can’t. They’re coming and I can feel it… I can feel their approach. ”
Rat hesitated. Her instinct was to go to him. Comfort him. In a final, decisive moment of desperation, she hugged him. Tightly. She hugged him so hard she thought she could squeeze the putrid oil that was plaguing him right out of him.
She needed to buy the living guild-pact some time. Where was he? Where were the guild leaders? Surely they were on their way. She thought about the things Teyo had said. Was there really a possibility for them to be together? But how would that work? He said they'd be together even when they were apart. She considered the possibility, and then she thought of her parents. What would her parents think if they saw her now? If she agreed to what Teyo was saying? She was almost tempted by the words. Stay with him forever. Never having to be away from him. Be visible . Be a part of something more than just a spy or an assassin.
Her thoughts drowned out everything around her until she felt a light piercing feeling dig into her skin. She tried not to pull away for fear of being hurt more.
Where was Niv?
They stared at each other. She was resolute. She knew what had to happen to buy time.
"Teyo… Do it."
" What? "
"I want to be with you. I can't stand being away from you anymore. I want to be seen." She smiled a sad smile at him, assuring him she had made up her mind. "Please. It's okay."
Teyo let his head fall. She hugged him again and he hugged back. Slowly, he let his claws sink into her back. Rat winced at the momentary pain, but did not pull away.
After that, she was hardly aware of the events that took place around her. Everything was in a haze. She felt the ground suddenly quake beneath her as the mighty dragon wizard Niv Mizzet landed in the Plaza. The rumbling of his voice pierced through the air, though she couldn't make out what he was saying. And then she heard the first cry of terror from the crowd. For a brief moment, she looked to the sky and saw it split open as the barrier that divided the multiverse shattered. Gaping holes in the same shape as Teyo’s earring formed in the sky. Giant beings of metal, oil, and flesh poured out of them as the invasion began. Whatever the threat was, it was here now. And she was becoming one with it.
She could feel the slick oil moving through her veins, taking over her consciousness. And the whole time, Teyo held her. Her body twitched and writhed as she felt her bones splinter and grow a metallic coating. She hardly made a sound, simply letting herself fall lifeless in the arms of her adopted brother. In her last moments of pure consciousness, she thought about her mother and father. She hoped they'd be safe. She hoped that she could keep them safe.
Then everything was dark as the oil reached her eyes and took over her mind. Black. Pitch, slick, infinite black.
And then her vision returned. She looked down at her hands, which resembled the paws of a rat, only they were sharp, metal jointed claws that clicked when she moved them.
She felt her face, cold but still fleshy. She tried to straighten her back and felt the clicking of her spine as long spikes jutted from every vertebra down to her newly elongated tailbone. A mechanical tail swept behind her and ended in a blade sharper than any dagger made on Ravnica. The ankle she had twisted was set back into place and reinforced by metal.
Teyo laughed slightly. It almost sounded like him. " Now your name matches your appearance. More than it already did, anyway. "
Rat let out a hoarse, clicky laugh. She looked at him. She realized he wasn't speaking. It was all in her head. Then she became painfully aware of the number of voices in her head. A cacophony of voices and whirring and whining.
They both stood and watched as the chaos unfolded around them. Niv Mizzet flying through the air roaring orders. The guild leaders leading their forces against the Phyrexian monstrosities that spilled through the broken sky. Buildings that were so close to being rebuilt were being torn down again. Ravnican citizens screamed and ran from the threat of danger, unaware of where to go or what to do. And all of it was so quiet compared to the voices in Rat's mind.
All of them.
Whispering.
" All will be One. "