Magic Untapped talks with the author of the Aetherdrift story.
For the past several years, Puerto Rican-born Brooklynite author Kyra Arsenault Rivera has contributed to Magic: The Gathering's story. This has included pieces for Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, Innistrad: Crimson Vow, March of the Machine, and Wilds of Eldraine. Her works also span the comics, sci-fi and fantasy realms, including the Ascendant trilogy, Batman: The Blind Cut, and The Shadow Files of Morgan Knox.
Her most recent story for Magic was for Aetherdrift.
Kyra was kind enough to talk with Magic Untapped about it.
Magic Untapped: What were your main touchstones and influences for the story?
K. Arsenault Rivera: Fast and the Furious, Redline, Mad Max, and Speed Racer. When I attended MC Vegas last year I was fortunate enough to see this really sick reel of influences on the idea and feel of Aetherdrift. After I got back I mainlined all of that stuff I could get my hands on. In terms of touchstones, Sita really holds a lot of it together in terms of arc and theme. She changes the most of anyone we see, she's a perfect foil to Chandra, her father (while well meaning) is stuck in the past. So much of the core of this set is embodied by Sita and her struggles!
MU: Did you have a favorite character while writing this?
KAR: I've written Chandra several times by now, so I find her comforting in her own way. I never have to think very hard when I'm writing her; she springs to life all on her own. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Spitfire. I had to really work to get into her head. Once I'd figured her out, though, the rest of the story fell naturally into place. I think that's the way she'd want things to be, too.
MU: Was it difficult to write a story that jumped from so many planes instead of staying generally in one?
KAR: This isn't my first time plane-hopping--I also wrote the main story for March of the Machine. This was easy in comparison! We've got only three main ones to deal with and they're all done in a nice tidy order. With March we were bopping around all over the place. Things are much more straightforward here.
MU: Who was the hardest character to write for?
KAR: Jace, by far! He's not someone I've connected with before on a personal level, and he's someone that's so iconic to Magic. You really don't want to mess up when it comes to him. His parts really put the Team in Story Team, and I'm beyond grateful for all the help.
MU: There were many references and elements in from racing movies and and other media sprinkled throughout. Was it hard putting in racing tropes into the story since Magic never had a racing plotline before?
KAR: Would you believe that prior to writing this I'd never seen a Fast and the Furious movie? When I got the assignment I sat down and marathoned as many of them as I could. I wanted to get that high octane feeling. Of course, I'd seen Redline and Fury Road, and I've always enjoyed racing mini games, so I tried to throw in what I liked about those things as well. The different kinds of racers and their approaches--Spitfire being very technical, Chandra impulsive, the Endriders showy, and the Keelhaulers more concerned with knocking people out than winning by merit--are all things I loved about the media I took in during this time.
I always try to reference other works that have influenced the genre we're working in when I write a story for Magic. Wilds of Eldraine was written specifically to evoke old poetry, for instance.
MU: Was adapting car racing difficult from a narrative standpoint?
KAR: A little! But only in that I didn't know what I was doing talking about cars at first. They're actually a cool thing to work with, though. A story should always be moving forward. Having cars and races in the mix just reinforces that momentum. You're always moving forward in more ways than one!
MU: Did any parts of the story feel like you were writing for a high octane movie?
KAR: All of the little vignettes about the racers felt like this, but especially the bit with Redshift and Daretti, or the part with Mincemeat and the Endriders. I tried to go wild on those and amp up the volume as hard as I could.
MU: In coming up with the story, were you able to see any of the art beforehand to help integrate into your story?
KAR: The Story Team had put together a world guide, and so I had access to that and a lot of the preliminary concept art. A lot of that has gone into the excellent Planeswalker's Guide to Aetherdrift. I'm happy that other people get access to that trove of information--I can't tell you how exciting it was to get a look at it!
MU: Was the character of Loot hard to integrate into the story?
KAR: I want it on record that I am a Loot enjoyer. I like the little guy! It was an honor to work with him. We had a little back and forth about things like dialogue--what he should sound like and what he should act like--but honestly it was fun. He and Chandra make such a natural comedy duo, just like the contrast between him and Daretti. The only real trouble was how he should communicate--but Roy really nailed the vibe there.
MU: Would you want to visit any of the planes from the Aetherdrift story?
KAR: Amonkhet, for sure! I've thought that place was cool for ages, and it would be awesome to take a visit there. Innistrad remains my (perhaps ill advised) ideal vacation, but Amonkhet is up there, too.
Our thanks to Kyra for the interview.
Other MU interviews of story authors can be found below:
