Eldraine: What has happened so far, and how did we reach Wilds of Eldraine

... and they lived happily ever after.

In Eldraine, this moment is still pages away.

One of the most awaited-for releases in 2023 will take us back to the plane where fairy tales are real - and quite lethal. The Wilds of Eldraine set is getting closer, and, with it, we'll have the first glimpse of the lore after the New Phyrexia Invasion developments in the Multiverse.

However, before theorizing about what's to come, we have to look at the past. In this article, we'll summarize some of the main lore developments in Throne of Eldraine.

And, as it always happens in fairy tales, this one starts with a "once upon a time..."

Imagine a world with magical beings, castles, knights, witches, and even gingerbread cookies who have come alive, becoming the main characters in stories which would only be seen in fairy tales.

This is Eldraine, a plane in which stories from children's books are real, but don't be mistaken by thinking that everything is childlike and "pure": here, witches are capable of killing their own sons, and kings and queens don't always have their happy endings.

During many years, the Realm was run by elves who, according to the humans, were arrogant, proud, vain, and cruel, and lived with the idea that those who are too weak to defend themselves should kneel to the strongest and beg for protection. It was a dark period, when humans served the elves as slaves.

That is, until humanity got together and gathered forces strong enough to rebel and successfully take down the Lords who enslaved them for so many years. After the battle, five knightly courts were created, each with an affinity to each of the mana colors. They are:

Ardenvale - Ruled by the High King Algenus Kenrith, and his Queen, Linden Kenrith, it is the home of The Circle of Loyalty (a circle made of a brilliant white flame, in which knights must step into, to prove their loyalty). Its virtue is Loyalty.

Vantress - Led by the arch mage Gadwick, it is the home of Indrelon, known as The Magic Mirror, a legendary artifact capable of answering any question in exchange for a good secret (also a reference to Snow White's Mirror). Its virtue is Knowledge.

Locthwain - Rule by the elf Queen, Ayara, it was home to The Cauldron of Eternity, an artifact capable of returning those who died back to life, as long as it deems them worthy. Its virtue is Persistence.

Embereth - Ruled by a council, it is where a great knight tournament happens, and is where magical weapons like Embercleave can be empowered. Its virtue is Courage.

Garenbrig - Ruled by the giant King, Yorvo, it is the home to The Great Henge, a portal which is used to travel between locations on the plane. Its virtue is Strength.

After the fall, many elves left Locthwain and sought refuge in The Wilds, where they could live more freely and keep traditions which were forbidden by the Realm, such as the Wild Hunt, under the watch of the Council of Druids.

To keep the peace, the High King and High Queen are chosen after they are acknowledged as knights of the five courts, and after they complete all the steps of The High Quest, given by the Questing Beast. In Eldraine, any person, regardless of gender, can conquer the title of Syr.

However, Algenus and Linden's predecessors used their power selfishly to favor those who were close to them, going against the virtues they were supposed to defend. That allowed those who lived in The Wilds - or just the forests - to act with more freedom, and allowed an unsavory magic to run unchecked.

Algenus completed the quest and became known as the High King Kenrith, whereas Linden married him and became his Queen, besides adoptive mother to the twins, Will and Rowan. The couple doesn't talk much about the twin's biological mother, but it is known that she was killed in The Wilds.

Oko e Garruk

Not knowing anything about the plane he traveled to, Oko, the planeswalker, was enjoying the delightful scenery when he realized the fearsome presence of Garruk, which suffered from the curse cast by Liliana, with a hedron embedded in his flesh.

Knowing it would be impossible to defeat the huntsman in a duel, Oko immobilized him and mesmerized him so that Garruk would answer his every call, and become a loyal bodyguard who would protect him from any danger.

To Oko, Garruk was a Dog. To Garruk, Oko was a Master.

Rowan and Will

As the High King and Queen's oldest children, the twins Will and Rowan didn't have many privileges and the reason was simple: they shouldn't do anything that went against the virtues defended by the Kenriths.

Actually, their lives were so full of rules and limitations that both eagerly awaited for the moment they would turn 18 and finally free themselves from those binds.

With but a few months left until they were free, they managed to get a small opportunity to start living their own epic adventures: working as porters with the baggage train in the party which would accompany the High King at the High Procession. However, they lost track of time for their departure and heard an earful from Queen Linden about their privileges.

But, as youngsters thirsting for adventure, slightly irresponsible too, they decided to sneak out behind the royal procession. For that, they were willing to face the wilds and its dangers.

The Wilds showed them that more or less all the rumors were true, and, a short time after they entered the forest, the twins had to face a group of redcaps - the name Eldraine goblins are known by - and saw themselves greatly outnumbered.

Luckily, at this time, Garruk arrived to help them, and he scared the redcaps away. Oko, of course, wasn't far behind the huntsman, and took advantage of Rowan's ingenuity to gather some information about that plane.

Without realizing it, the young woman told him everything he'd like to know, and couldn't help but be charmed by the planeswalker's pleasant voice and exotic appearance. Meanwhile, Will watched the situation carefully, and tried, unsuccessfully, to speak with the mesmerized Garruk.

The group didn't stay together for long, and they were soon able to reach the royal procession. They didn't know it, but that night Oko would take on the appearance of someone close to King Kenrith to transform him into a stag.

Besides that, Oko also charmed the twins, so they would forget their meeting, and everything they had shared with the fey.

Three months later, things were very complicated and bad across the Realm with Queen Linden's authority being constantly questioned, creatures from The Wilds attacking villages of all five courts, and the lack of clues in the search for the High King.

The twins, now 18 years old, decided to go on their first big quest, searching for their father. For that, they called in a group, and ventured through the courts, looking for clues and answers.

They went first to Vantress, where Will gave up a secret not even Indrelon knew: with his ice, he was capable of creating a "mirror" which showed images from places which weren't a part of Eldraine, at least not the Eldraine he knew. In exchange, he got a vision: a stag between two obelisks at the dawn of Winter's Solstice.

The only problem with that vision is that the date of the Solstice was close, and that place was in The Wilds. For that reason, the group went to Garenbrig to ask for King Yorvo's help to travel with The Great Henge's teleportation ability.

Not very keen on the idea, the giant still accepted the request to help them and warned them that if they didn't return until at most a year and a day, when the portal would open up again, they would be declared missing.

The King's warning weighed heavily on their minds, as the quest now seemed more serious. Not being able to turn back, the group went through the portal, and as soon as they reached The Wilds, they were attacked.

Luckily, they were able to spot the stag from Will's vision, which went over an obsidian bridge and after the elves' old and forgotten city ruins. By following the animal, the twins accidentally stumbled across the Council of Druids in the middle of a meeting.

On one side, part of the group seemed to listen to and share the ideas of a mysterious stranger who incited the non-humans to rebel against the five courts. On the other, Queen Ayara argued in favor of balance and order.

After some time riding and theorizing on what they heard, Will and Rowan heard a voice calling their names, and realized they knew the mysterious stranger who spoke to the Circle: it was Oko, who was curious about the duo's presence in the forest, and told them of his quest to encourage the dwellers of that place to embrace their freedom without caring about the Realm's rules.

The rest of the group catches up to them and a small fight breaks out, which ends with part of the group imprisoned in a ring and Garruk capturing the stag. It is only at this moment that Rowan realizes Oko's plan.

That stag is their father, and the planeswalker is bringing him to The Wild Hunt, which will kill him, and start a gigantic war between the members of the court and non-humans.

Even imprisoned in the ring, Will manages to communicate with Garruk, bonds with the huntsman over his past, and decides to help him how he can with the hedron issue.

The group has success in their quest to free Garruk, and soon his will is returned to the planeswalker, who frees all prisoners in the ring. Unfortunately, that also causes his curse to return to him at full force, and animals around him are corrupted before he goes after Oko, looking for revenge.

The group is separated and part of it goes back through the portal to warn Queen Linden of what's going on, while Rowan and Will go forward to the place where The Wild Hunt will start.

Elves riding beasts, felines, chimeras, and many other gigantic beasts occupy the space, ready to ride all night long and capture the prey which will be sacrificed at dawn. Elves believe the blood spilled in the forest during the Winter Solstice is capable of fending off death itself, and the High King's blood would be the most powerful offering.

Garruk is then taken over by the curse and is attacked in a river by a four-arm tentacle being, eventually starting to drown as a result. Will manages to reach him, but the planeswalker's body is too heavy for him to drag him to a safe place.

Even then, the young Kenrith keeps trying. His act of persistence summons The Cauldron of Eternity, and Will takes advantage of the situation to place Garruk's body in the artifact. At the same time, the curse of the veil which stalked him dissipates, and Garruk is free again.

As a thank-you, Garruk joins the twins, and together they set off looking for The Wild Hunt. For that, they go into a witch's cottage in an abandoned and isolated spot.

There they are faced with a disturbing image: a bucket containing a human skull, pierced by a quest sword where its eyes would be.

Even in fewer numbers and with quite low odds, they try preventing the death of the stag. Luckily, reinforcements come when Queen Linden appears with a series of knights riding griffins, and an intense battle between knights and wildlings begins.

The fight reaches an end when Queen Ayara shoots a precise arrow and mortally wounds the stag. But, that wasn't the real Ayara, and soon Oko reveals himself in front of everyone to claim his moment of glory.

Garruk takes advantage of the opportunity to capture him, and was about to kill the fey, when Rowan begs him not to do it, and to allow Ardenvale's justice to lead its course and judge him for his crimes.

In the middle of the confusion, Oko takes advantage to escape by transforming himself into various different animals. Before skipping planes, he says he is indebted to Rowan and hates that, but knows he won't see her again, and won't have to pay her.

Elves reclaimed their prey, and tasted the dying stag's blood before fleeing the place.

Gathered around the stag, humans watched as he slowly took on the High King's form. Queen Liden then reveals that place is where the twins were born, because it belonged to their biological mother.

That woman was a witch, who charmed Algenus with a love potion, stole his memory and heart before he became High King, and, a year later, gave birth to Will and Rowan.

However, the witch wasn't a loving mother, and, after she gave birth, she killed the twins so that their innocent blood could create an elixir which would increase her longevity.

So, Liden told them how she was willing to find Algenus, even if all that was left were his mortal remains, during the High Quest. However, what she found was the man she loved, carrying buckets of blood, uncapable of recognizing her. She kissed him, and, thanks to true love, broke the spell the witch had cast.

Algenus told her that the witch's plan was to transform the well into her private fountain of youth, and, for that, she would use the blood of the innocent children she had just given birth to.

Consumed by anger and the thought of having been the victim of a cruel witch, Algenus killed her and threw his own sword into the well, which then became embedded into the lifeless woman's skull.

Meanwhile, Liden used the magic given to her by the Questing Beast, contained in the Quest Sword, to revive the twins. She let go of her own right to carry on with the High Quest to conquer the title of High Queen. Shame and anger motivated Kenrith to go through the forest completing the quests until he conquered the title of High King.

Seeing the lifeless body of the man she loved, who spent the last few months missing, Queen Liden got the sword that so many years before he had thrown into the well, and again used its magic to revive another person.

Chocked and traumatized by the latest revelations, the twins' feelings burst out, and their shared spark ignited for the first time, taking them to another plane.

Garruk calms the monarchs, affirming that the twins are fine and that he would pay his debt to them by finding them and protecting them.

During MagicCon Barcelona, we had the first glimpses of the new set themed around Eldraine.

This is the first time we'll sneak a peak at the Multiverse after the New Phyrexia Invasion, and we'll see what were the consequences for this plane. Besides that, with Rowan and Will, we knew Eldraine through the lens of those who live in castles, and with Wilds of Eldraine we'll know the plane of those who live in The Wilds.

During the invasion, a curse known as Wicked Slumber fell over the plane to put the phyrexian forces in a harmless deep sleep - something very similar to Sleeping Beauty. However, that curse lost control and now Eldraine's people are also falling asleep.

The curse was placed by Talion, the Kindly Lord, the fairy governor, and the three witch sisters to protect Eldraine, but now that it is out of control, it got Ashiok's attention, who traveled to the plane personally.

Unfortunately, during the invasion, the High King and High Queen passed away, and the twins lost their sparks, being left to carry on and keep the Realm together - something that can bring the tension between them to its limit.

Meanwhile, an old force in the depths of the forest calls for a half-fairy youngster who still doesn't know what it is to be a hero.

Will true love's kiss magic and honorable knights be enough for the new challenge which is approaching?