Magic Untapped takes a look at the spirit guardian of the Great Wood of Ulgrotha, Autumn Willow.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome back to Who Is on Magic Untapped as we explore the stories of characters from throughout the Magic: The Gathering multiverse. I’m Barry White.
In this episode we explore the lore around the avatar protector of the Great Wood of Ulgrotha – a character known as Autumn Willow.
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Every great forest has a guardian. These guardians, known colloquially as “forces of nature,” serve as the protector of that forest and all that call it home.
On the plane of Ulgrotha, there is a vast wooded area known as the Great Wood. Living there was a forest spirit. As the plane’s mana backed up as a result of the world-enchanting protective magical ban placed upon the plane by the planeswalker Feroz, this forest spirit grew in strength and eventually was able to take physical form.
This spirit-turned-corporeal would become an entity known as Autumn Willow, protector of the Great Wood.
Now appearing as if a mortal being, she explored her forest and met the various faeries, animals, and people living within it including the folk of An-Havva for whom she would gain a motherly affection. Despite this affection, though, she largely remained a neutral party amongst all who live in hear realm. That isn’t to say, though that she is without judgment as those who displease her or trespass in her lands are often met with resistance or, worse, consequences such as, for example, being transmuted into lizards.
As time passed, trespassers into the Great Wood increased – often in the form of goblins that came from the nearby Koskun Mountains in search of lumber or to poach the animals there for food. To help combat this, Autumn Willow manifested additional guardians to assist her in defending her forest such as a phantasmal hungry mist and spectral bears – the latter being considered by many as being the Willow’s personal escorts. She also created lesser avatars, known among the An-Havva as “Daughters of Autumn” whom also appear in and around the Great Wood in a physical, human-like form who fight to defend the innocent and even for nature itself.
Still, not all outsiders were unwelcomed in the Great Wood. Traders and travelers were allowed to traverse the area unscathed so long as the respected the forest. Those intent on war or stealing resources from the area, though, were rarely heard from again.
As tensions amongst the various prime factions across Ulgrotha began to rise, she kept a careful eye and an open ear to anything that might threaten those under her protection.
On the very night that Feroz died, she had a vision. It was a vision of Baron Sengir, the dark, draconian vampiric lord that ruled over a good portion of the world, leading an imposing army through the ancient Dwarven Gate – a sort of interplanar portal – that lay beneath Castle Sengir.
With Feroz’s demise came the weakening of his ban, allowing the rich mana that had been backed up on the plane to flow more and more freely. As the ban began to fade, so did Autumn Willow’s strength. Due to this, Autumn Willow felt she had but two choices: To reset the plane’s mana channels and bring the plane back to life (though likely at the cost of the elimination of all living creatures with in the Homelands), or do nothing and witness the lands’ power fade until both she and the land itself withers until it ceases to exist entirety.
At a loss of what to do and seeking a third option, she awaits a champion or some sort of miraculous event to occur that would prevent her from having to issue a primal order that would save the world by means of ending it so that it can begin anew.
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And that’s pretty much all that’s known about Autumn Willow through the cards of Homelands as well as the few short stories and comic books written about it from the mid-1990s.
As for what happened to her and what happened with Ulgrotha, we have no idea as Wizards of the Coast – save for a couple of one-off cards in Planechase and March of the Machines – has never revisited the plane. Of course, that’s not to say that they’ll never be back.
I recently asked Aaron Forsythe, the vice president of design, at Wizards of the Coast about the possibility of the game officially returning to Ulgrotha at some point in the future. Here’s what he had to say:
“I think we could reclaim that space if I get enough folks on board.”
So I guess if you want to see what’s happened with Ulgrotha in the 30-some-odd years since the release of Homelands, you should probably let Wizards of the Coast know.
In the meantime, please click on that like and subscribe button and thank you for watching.
