For Gold & Glory: Card of the Week: Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore

When I first started playing Magic, we'd call this the Evil Eye of Al Gore. It was a lot more topical in 1994 than now, I guess.

Watching from the Dark
It was almost unnoticeable when it began. Barely there. A prickling on the back of my neck, a whisper of a presence at the back of my mind. Like I was being watched, but from afar. I turned around to catch a glimpse, but I never saw anything. Just the darkness...but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something watched from that darkness. Something malevolent...something evil.

As the nights passed, the feeling grew ever stronger. No longer just a hint of a presence, it commanded my attention. I could not ignore it, could not pretend that it wasn’t there. Something was watching me, of this I was sure. Something studying my every move, waiting for me to let down my guard. And it was no longer content to wait for night to fall. It was there, day and night. But whether in light or in shadow, I still could not see it. It was not paranoia; I knew it was out there.

Finally, I could take no more, and I fled the setting sun and into the night. I could not stand to have it watch me and wait any longer. Of course, I hoped to escape its malignant regard, but after so much time I would almost welcome a confrontation. And so I ran. And maybe my flight was what it waited for, for it came to me before I had finished the first mile.

I saw the glint of light flashing in the darkness ahead of me, and I knew that my escape had failed. With nothing else to do, I slowed to a stop and waited. My breath ragged from both exertion and fear, I watched as it formed itself from the surrounding darkness—a great lidless eye, its iris angry and red, a hellish fire burning deep in its pupil. I think that the eye was the totality of the being, although I admit that I could not tear my gaze away to see if there was aught else.

The Eye stared into my own eyes and I was transfixed with fear. I could not run, I could not turn away, I could not even blink to bring myself mercy from its terror. Only watch as it drew ever nearer. Only wait, wait for the end that it so promised.

Maybe it was divine intervention that saved me. Maybe it was my fear. My knees buckled, and I stumbled and fell to my hands and knees. And it so happened that the remnants of a wall—crumbled masonry and powdering mortar—now stood between the Eye and my own. With its fearsome gaze blocked by the wall, its vice-like grip on my heart eased ever so slightly. I scrambled away, then ran, never daring to look back to meet that baleful gaze.

Lore-by-Gore

Very little is known about the origin of the Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore. I’m not even sure whether the Eye’s title of Orms-by-Gore refers to a place, a person, or something else. If it is a being of some sort, I am terrified as to its capabilities apart from its Eye.

Regardless of its origins, the Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore shares some traits of the “evil eye” superstitions found throughout Dominia. These “evil eyes” are curses or supernatural forces possessed by some that bring bad luck and misfortune to others. If Orms-by-Gore is a person, the eponymous Evil Eye is a good example of this belief—the dread and terror it brings is nothing if not misfortune.

Other eyes similar to Orms-by-Gore’s appear in legends throughout the multiverse apart from the evil eye superstition. Tales speak of beholders, great floating abominations whose central eye is surrounded by many smaller eyes, that dwell in dungeons and whose gazes possess powerful magics. But perhaps the most famous of all is the legend of the Great Lidless Eye, rimmed in fire, the symbol of a great Dark Lord.

The Great Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings movies. In the books, the "Eye of Sauron" is more of a symbol of Sauron's power rather than his physical form.

The Evil Deck of Orms-by-Gore

In my years of sorcerous battles, I have only once come across a foe who wields the dread power of the Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore. It does have several advantages: it is hard to kill, its aura of fear prevents foes from fighting back against it, and its black essence makes it difficult for rival black mages to deal with. But most mages find it too taxing to summon, and even if they manage to do so, its aura of fear—so useful in repelling foes!—tends to drive away allies as well.

Why restrict yourself to just four Evil Eyes when you can have so many more?

But a mage twisted enough to summon the Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore can duplicate it with Clones and Doppelgangers. Its fear cannot repel allies when its allies are its own kind, and a whole pack of Eyes is truly terrifying indeed. And if few mages rely on the Evil Eye of Orms-by-Gore, even fewer in my experience bother to use Walls—the only reliable defense against the Eye.