Ashiok

Ashiok (ASH-ee-ock) is a nightmare-like planeswalker of unknown gender and origin.
==Appearance and characteristics==
Ashiok is a being of strange and terrible beauty. They have long, slender fingers with long, talon-like claws for fingernails. Their mouth contains two rows of pointed teeth. While the bottom half of their head resembles a human's, the top half consists of two large black horns, made of a rough rocky substance, that frame the void around them. Ashiok has no upper face, no cranium, eyes, or nose. In their place, there is only black smoke emanating from where the mouth and upper lip ended. This black smoke whirls around their head, swirling down in a wider radius outside the body and cooling the areas it touches.
Ashiok is capable of reaching into the dreams and fears that dwell inside of others. With this power, they can summon beings born of people's darkest fears, call them into reality, and give them form. They become Ashiok's minions, eager to please their master, freed from the dreams of the believer. Ashiok uses these minions to tear down those who view themselves as untouchable and superior, believing that since all sentient beings feel fear, fear is the greatest equalizer of all beings. The dread vapors that emanate from Ashiok are an extension of the nightmare magic the mage wields, giving the walker easier access to the fears of those they enshroud. Ashiok travels the Multiverse in perpetual search of designs for the perfect embodiment of fear. They never laugh.
Ashiok's magic is centered on manipulating fear, dreams and nightmares, extracting thoughts, and destroying the mind. Ashiok can float. Ashiok is centered in black and blue mana. When they planeswalk, smoke swallows them at their origin, while veils of black coalesce into their form at their destination as those nearby feel cold and inhale smoke.
===Ashiok's gender===
Ashiok's announcement article for Theros generally referred to from a gameplay perspective using "it," but referred to the character as "he" in its final sentence. The same day, senior creative designer Doug Beyer implied that Ashiok's race and gender were unknown as they enjoy unsettling others. Later that week, head designer Mark Rosewater weighed in, stating that he believes Ashiok is male or female, but prefers not being defined. However, when the set released, Ashiok was again referred to using he/him pronouns in its Player's Guide.(2013). Theros Player's Guide. Wizards of the Coast. Beyer again clarified that "despite the pronouns used in the player's guide of the Theros fat pack, Ashiok’s gender is officially unspecified." Rosewater agreed, stating that while others may label Ashiok, they choose not to use labels. In their first storyline appearance, Phenax initially refers to Ashiok using he/him pronouns, but later recants: "He, no, Phenax was not sure if the mortal even had a gender, Ashiok." In their next appearance in the IDW Publishing comic Magic: The Gathering - Theros, the Theran firemage Atha refers to Ashiok using he/him pronouns but reveals her knowledge of the planeswalker to be secondhand.Jason Ciaramella, illus. Martin Coccolo. (2013-2014.) Magic: The Gathering - Theros, IDW Publishing. ISBN-13 978-1613779088. That year, Rosewater and Beyer again clarified that Ashiok's gender is "officially unspecified," and that while the character may have a private gender identity, they choose not to share it. In 2015, Wizards of the Coast shared the official MTG Style Guide entry for Ashiok written by Daily MTG copy editor Mike McArtor, which stated that "Ashiok is androgynous and does not subscribe to the binary." The Style Guide also advised against using "it," "he," "she," or "they" pronouns and instead suggested using Ashiok's name. In 2019, Rosewater repeated that Ashiok's gender is unknown, and for the first time suggested that Ashiok may lack a gender entirely. Rosewater also tacitly reconfirmed that Ashiok does not have pronouns.
==History==
Ashiok may have been human once. Over time, their power has taken a physical toll. The mage's face eroded into a smoky shadow. Nightmarish wisps swirl where a skull may have once been. That these are no longer required is part of their enigma, and is a testament to the unnatural power they wield.
===Theros===
Ashiok came to Theros because of the strong power of devotion and belief of the plane's mortals, and of the consequential effects it has on the gods and Nyx. There is something special about Theros, and they intend to harness this unique advantage. However, unlike the gods, Ashiok does not seek to become the object of belief. Instead, they seek the darker side of belief, the smoke, and screams that waft from the cold corners of nightmares. They know that if fond thoughts of the gods have power, then the dark phantasms spawned from fearing those gods hold even more: where there is a belief, there is doubt, and where there is doubt, there is the nightmare. And the world of Theros is a world full of believers.
The nightmare weaver's complete agenda is yet unknown. Whether Ashiok came to Theros for personal purposes, or as an emissary of some stronger force, is unclear. At some point in their pursuits, they made a bargain with Phenax, the god of lies and deceit. The nightmare weaver then sought to incite war between the polis of Iretis and the leonin.Ashiok posed as Udaen, an advisor to Kedarick, king of Iretis. Kedarick was trying to make peace between his city and the Leonin, resulting in a peace meeting between the two sides. However, Ashiok sent nightmarish abominations to kill off individuals from both sides during the peace meeting. This resulted in continued conflict between humans and leonin, each side accusing the other of betrayal. The leonin retaliated by annihilating the Iretis' citizenry, allowing Phenax's plan to go into motion, to create another necropolis for the Returned, a cog in his grander designs. In return, Ashiok asked to be made invisible to the gods, which made Phenax break into a burst of hysterical, cruel laughter after he peered deep into their essence.
As an experiment, Ashiok used psychic powers to upset the dreams of the citizens of Theros. This created disturbing thoughts of the poleis, which in turn created Cacophony - God of Cities. The newborn god was quickly slain by Ephara, but she was unable to locate the creator of Cacophony. Ashiok was satisfied by the use of Phenax's boon and the results of the nightmare weaver's test. Ashiok valued creation and beauty, and considered the deed beautiful.
===A grander scheme===
Slowly Ashiok's influence grew, their nightmares stirring in the minds of Theros's inhabitants. Entire cities grew tense as their dreams turned against them, but it was only the start of their scheme. As the will of the people weakened, those with power, the magic wielders found themselves awakening in places with no memory of how they had gotten there or what they had done while slumbering. They could remember only the nightmares that haunted them, and mayhem broke out in their wake. They were cast out from their homes and all the while, Ashiok gathered power for the grandest spell.
The planeswalker planned to cast a spell over all of Theros that would send the world into never-ending slumber so that they could harvest nightmares forever. There was only one person who could hope to stand against the mage: Dack Fayden. Dack, Ravos, and the dead put an end to Ashiok's Sleep curse.Greg Weisman (April 2019). "War of the Spark: Ravnica". Del Rey.Jason Ciaramella (2014). "Magic: The Gathering - Theros". IDW Publishing.
===War of the Spark===
Ashiok was, in some undisclosed way, involved with the War of the Spark.Despite having a card in War of the Spark, Ashiok does not appear in the novel. Strangely, their art depicts the Meditation Realm rather than Ravnica.
===Beyond Death===
Ashiok continued to spread nightmares through Theros. Not even the Underworld was free from such dark power. Eventually, they would start to particularly savor the twisted dreams of Elspeth Tirel, a fallen planeswalker. Ashiok found out about the nightmarish Phyrexians from Elspeth's mind and then planeswalked away, hoping to find the Phyrexians and to understand more about their nature.
===On New Phyrexia===
Ashiok used their nightmare-inducing powers to influence the dreams of Mirrans until they decided to see what they would do to a Phyrexian. They then tested that on Elesh Norn herself, making it appear as if her glistening oil failed to properly compleat a Mirran woman. When Norn discovered the ruse and attacked Ashiok, the planeswalker conjured a figure of Elspeth Tirel wearing Norn's armor before leaving. The incident inspired Ashiok to send a message to Elspeth on Dominaria while she was helping defend the Temporal Anchor, in which they waxed poetic about the many people Elspeth had hurt.
===On Eldraine===
Following New Phyrexia's Invasion of the Multiverse, Ashiok was one of few planeswalkers who retained their spark following the Desparkening. After the invasion, they traveled to Eldraine, which had fallen under a magical sleep. There, they pulled the nightmares of the sleeping citizens into the waking world and turned them against those still awake, presumably to rule Eldraine in the absence of the courts. They allied with the witch Eriette, one of the authors of the curse. Taking control of the sleepers when Will Kenrith assaulted Castle Ardenvale, they were restrained by Kellan and struck in the chest by an ice bolt from Will, forcing them to planeswalk to safety.
===Impersonation on Thunder Junction===
After they left the plane of Eldraine, Jace Beleren began using their image as a cover identity to recruit a team capable of raiding Maag Taranau, a vault on the plane of Thunder Junction. The first use of this cover identity was to free Eriette from prison and recruit her.
==Trivia==
*Ashiok was conceived as a "Dark Jace," following the "Dark Mirror" comic book trope of a villainous reflection of a heroic character.Mark Rosewater (December 20, 2013). "Drive to Work Episode 80: Theros Part I".
**Ironically, Jace used Ashiok's form as a guise to further his plans during the events of Outlaws of Thunder Junction.
*Ashiok is the primary antagonist of the Theros Beyond Death trailer.
*Wizards of the Coast hired musician Jonathan Young to compose a song based on Ashiok titled Nightmare Weaver.
*In the video game Magic: The Gathering Arena, Ashiok is voiced by Steve Blum.
==Planes visited==
*Eldraine
*Meditation Plane
*RavnicaJames Wyatt (October 13, 2020). "The Art of Magic: The Gathering - War of the Spark". Wizards of the Coast
*Theros
*New Phyrexia
==Planeswalkers met==
*Calix
*Dack Fayden
*Elspeth Tirel
*Jace Beleren
*Oko
*Rowan Kenrith
*Vraska
*Will Kenrith
==Gallery==
File:Ashiok comic.jpg|Ashiok in Magic: The Gathering - Theros.
File:Ashiok4.jpg|<c>Ashiok, Dream Render</c>
File:Ashiok, Nightmare Muse.jpg|"Fear writhes and whispers in the shadows of your mind. It is the enemy you always knew would come."
File:Ashiok, Sculptor of Fears.jpg|"Not all nightmares can be escaped by waking."
File:Ashiok alternative.jpg|<c>Ashiok, Nightmare Muse</c> alternative art.
File:Ashiok 3D art Bill Elis.jpg|Ashiok by Bill Elis.
File:Spellslinger Ashiok.gif|Ashiok at Valor's Reach for Magic SpellSlingers
File:Ashiok MTGA avatar THB.png|Magic: The Gathering Arena avatar.
File:AshiokConcept.jpg|Ashiok redesign for Wilds of Eldraine
File:WOEKeyArt2.jpg|Wilds of Eldraine key art.
File:WOEKeyArt7.jpg|Wilds of Eldraine key art.
File:AshiokTrailer.png|Ashiok in the Wilds of Eldraine anime trailer.
File:JaceOTJ2.jpg|Jace reveals his disguise.
==Story appearances==
Title 	Author 	Publishing date	Set 	Setting (plane) 	Featuring
 	Ken Troop 	2013-11-27 	Theros 	Theros 	Kedarick VI, Klytessa, Lara, Ashiok (as Udaen), Thoros Clawkiller, Teralos
Building Toward a Dream, Part 2 	Ken Troop 	2013-12-04 	Theros 	Theros 	Kedarick VI, Klytessa, Lara, Ashiok (partially as Udaen), Chelta, Vanin, Mogis, Phenax, Heliod, Ephara, Iroas
 	Ken Troop 	2014-04-23 	Journey into Nyx 	Theros 	Cacophony, Euneas, Pollio, Melantha, Xenocrates, Koblios, Ephara, Phenax, Ashiok, Xenagos
Magic: The Gathering - Theros #1-5	Matt Forbeck 	2014 	N/A 	Ravnica, Theros 	Dack Fayden, Ashiok
 	Lora Gray 	2022-05-03 	- 	New Phyrexia 	Elesh Norn, Ashiok, Elspeth (mentioned)
 	Reinhardt Suarez 	2022-10-25 	The Brothers' War 	Dominaria 	Elspeth, Wrenn, Seven, Chandra, Nissa, Heliod (mentioned), Daxos (mentioned), Jodah, Jaya (mentioned), Venser (mentioned), Calix (mentioned), Kaya, Saheeli, Teferi, Rona, Tezzeret, Ashiok
 	K. Arsenault Rivera	2023-08-10 	Wilds of Eldraine 	Eldraine 	Rowan Kenrith, Joshua and Saxon, Ashiok, Eriette, Kellan, Ruby, Troyan, Beluna Grandsquall, Yorvo, Albiorix
 	K. Arsenault Rivera	2023-08-14 	Wilds of Eldraine 	Eldraine 	Kellan, Ruby, Rowan Kenrith, Will Kenrith, Eriette, Imodane, Ashiok, Alyse, Ronald, Hex
 	Akemi Dawn Bowman 	2024-03-13 	Outlaws of Thunder Junction	Thunder Junction	Annie Flash, Tinybones, Breeches, Malcolm Lee, Oko, Geralf Cecani, Gisa Cecani, Eriette, Vraska, Ashiok, Rakdos, Kaervek, Satoru Umezawa, Ral Zarek, Kellan
 	Akemi Dawn Bowman 	2024-03-18 	Outlaws of Thunder Junction	Thunder Junction	Akul, Oko, Kaervek, Annie Flash, Vraska, Gisa Cecani, Geralf Cecani, Eriette, Malcolm Lee, Breeches, Satoru Umezawa, Tinybones, Kellan, Ashiok, Nolan
 	Akemi Dawn Bowman 	2024-03-18 	Outlaws of Thunder Junction	Thunder Junction	Oko, Kellan, Rakdos, Kaervek, Nolan, Breeches, Malcolm Lee, Tinybones, Vraska, Eriette, Ashiok, Annie Flash, Satoru Umezawa, Gisa Cecani, Geralf Cecani, Twist Fandango, Akul
==In-game references==
==Note==
==References==
Category:Wizards