Card of the Week: Titania's Song

Kerstin Kaman painted only three pieces of artwork for Magic, and all were in Antiquities. She was the mother of Tom Wänerstrand, who painted some of the most iconic old-school art. But I think that Titania's Song is equally iconic.

The Tragedy of Argoth

The island of Argoth was destroyed centuries before my birth. Indeed, the Ruinous Blast that reduced the once-mighty island to the shards of the Shattered Isles ushered in the Dark Ages when I was born. Thus, I have no first-hand knowledge of Argoth, but its legacy looms large in Terisiare's history.

I have, however, been to the Shattered Isles. These remaining scraps are little more than rocks in the Shielded Sea, a far cry from the lush forests of Argoth. When I set foot upon them, all-but-feral tribes of elves still clung to the old ways there. But their numbers were few and even I could see that it was only a matter of time before even they abandoned the Isles.

But what sticks most in my memory is the feeling of desolation and emptiness there. Even blasted rock, crashing wave, and stubborn scrub should have some sort of soul, but the Isles felt sterile in a way I haven't felt before or since. It was not like the feeling of looking upon a ruined town or crumbled castle—at least with those, one can imagine the life and the power that used to reside there. No, it was as if life and power had never existed there, despite my knowledge of the contrary. Perhaps Titania, the spirit of Argoth, had not just died in its destruction. Perhaps her death had taken the very life of the land with her too.

I have not been back to the Shattered Isles in thousands of years, nor do I have any desire to return. I can hope that life has returned to them—nothing comparable to Argoth's zenith, of course—but anything would be better than the heartbreak I saw. Perhaps, even, the Isles have grown themselves a new spirit to rule the land as Titania once did. But I can only hope.

Lore

The history of Argoth cannot be separated from that of Titania. She was the spirit of Argoth's forests, what in later ages came to be called a “maro-sorcerer”. Her control over her land was immense, both magically and politically. Her will swayed the very trees and winds on the island—but just as her strength drew from the land, so too did she suffer from the land's destruction. She ruled Argoth as its queen, even as she served the greater power of Gaea.

Not quite a goddess in her own right, Titania was neither a creature of flesh and blood. When her presence was required at her court or otherwise, she could manifest an avatar of wood and plants, clothed in vines and masked in jade. From her court in Citanul, she met with the Brothers and tried to dissuade them from their war.

For all of her might, Titania could not stop the war between Urza and Mishra as it ravaged her land. Though she bent the power of the forest against them both, it was not enough. As the Brothers stripped Argoth bare in their war against each other, Titania suffered along with it. The Sylex blast that ended the war killed Argoth, and so too killed her.

Though she has long since passed from Dominaria, the memory of Titania lives on in her magic. The elves and druids of Argoth learned to harness the magic of the forests as she did, and passed that knowledge to their descendents in Fyndhorn and elsewhere. Foremost of these magics is her Song, a powerful enchantment that brings artifice into the natural world.

Singing Titania's Song for Fun and Profit

Mages who wield Titania's Song are able to grant a form of life to the lifeless trinkets of artifice—life in proportion to the difficulty of bringing them into battle. These enlivened artifacts are thus able to engage in battle just as are summoned creatures; however, their life prevents them from functioning according to their design. To some mages, this is an advantage, and to others a drawback--and the key to making it an advantage is forcing it to be a drawback to a rival.

Good...as long as those aren't your opponent's artifacts.

Mages who rely heavily on artifice to control their duels may find Titania's Song useful as it allows their artifacts to double as combatants. Jayemdae Tomes, Winter Orbs, Icy Manipulators, Howling Mines, and the like allow a mage to control the shape of the battle. Once the duel is well in hand and these artifacts are no longer necessary, Titania's Song can bring them to life so that they can finish off the opponent. Relying on the artifacts themselves to do both, rather than relying on other creatures to finish the battle, allows a mage to more finely hone his or her spellbook to the controlling strategy.

Good...unless those are your Moxen.

Titania's Song is also useful in denying an opponent those artifacts that take no effort to summon, namely the Moxen. A mage in combat with an opponent who relies heavily on jewelry to cast spells can cripple his or her foe with the Song, especially if he or she doesn't rely on them to do the same.

The Song can even be used in even more exotic ways to get around the drawbacks of certain artifacts. The Time Vault, most famously, requires a mage to sacrifice the present to it to unlock the future. But a clever mage might use Titania's Song to animate it, wait for the Vault to unlock itself, and then dispel the Song to revert it to its original purpose.

Danatoth of Alsoor (Dan Hyland)


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