Vedalken

Vedalken is a blue creature type used for cards that depict a tall, thin, hairless, blue-skinned humanoid race with an exceptional mental acumen and a generally dispassionate view towards life. However, in some planes, they have more positive qualities.Jay Annelli (2022). Magic: The Gathering - The Visual Guide, DK. ISBN-13 978-0744061055. Their infatuation with knowledge makes these hyper-intellectual people natural Artificers and Mages.
==History==
As of Mirrodin in 2003 merfolk were phased out as the characteristic blue race, because of their limited suitability away from a water environment. This (not coincidentally) coincided with the rise of the cunning, and leg-having, vedalken. The vedalken loomed large throughout Mirrodin and Ravnica blocks, doing all the things that the other colors’ humanoids could do visually and narratively speaking. Then in Kamigawa block, where vedalken wouldn't have felt very natural, the new soratami (Moonfolk) race appeared, also having legs while embracing blue-aligned flavor.
==Alaran Vedalken==
The vedalken are one of the many races of the broken plane of Alara. Originally native to Esper, some migrated to Naya after the Shards of Alara realigned.
===Esperite Vedalken===
Vedalken make up a large majority of Esper's sentient population.Doug Beyer & Jenna Helland (2008). A Planeswalker's Guide to Alara, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13 978-0786951246 Vedalken are intelligent, progressive humanoids with skin tones ranging from bluish-white-gray to dusky, deep blue. They have only the slightest indication of an outer ear, with no lobe or 'rim' just a hole that leads to the eardrum. They have nostrils but only a slight nose bridge. They have only fine body hair that's uniformly clear and light. Esper's vedalken are refined, sophisticated, and lawful, and have led Esper in magical advancement and in using etherium. The vedalken, like all creatures in Esper, are enhanced by a filigree of the mystical living metal etherium. Whereas humans tend to have relatively minor and simple etherium enhancements, vedalken make more dramatic use of the alloy. It's not uncommon for vedalken necks or abdomens to be partially replaced with etherium, for example. In such instances, powerful enchantments stand in for traditional biological functions.
The vedalken are among Esper's most prestigious mortal inhabitants and often hold positions of power thanks to their prodigious intellect and talent for spellcasting. In vedalken society, the pursuit of magic takes on an almost scientific purpose and methodology. The vedalken are driven to understand everything around them and are thus in a constant, intense observational state. It can give other species the unnerving impression that they're being monitored and examined rather than talked to.
===Nayan Vedalken===
After Alara was reborn, some <c title="vedalken heretics">Vedalken Heretic</c> from Esper were drawn to the verdant jungle of Naya. There they rejected the cold clutch of etherium in favor of the warm embrace of nature, seeking enlightenment in the infinite patterns of life rather than the dusty confines of ancient tomes.
==Avishkari Vedalken==
Avishkari (formerly Kaladesh) vedalken subscribe to the philosophy that nothing is perfect and nothing ever can be perfect. Regardless, they continue to innovate and learn, to create the best result possible. While many believe them to be a unified front, in private, Vedalken organize themselves according to clades. Clades are supra-familial entities centered around common interests. Membership of clade is entirely voluntary and anyone can leave at any time. Several acclaimed Vedalken inventors are part of multiple clades. When introducing themselves to others, Vedalken use their clade as a kind of surname.The Art of Magic: The Gathering - Kaladesh, p.52
Avishkari Vedalken have six fingers on each hand. In contrast to Vedalken on other planes, Avishkari vedalken can have hair. Also in contrast to other Vedalken, which are aloof and detached, Avishkar's are portrayed as more involved and curious, some even shown smiling.
==Mirran Vedalken==
On Mirrodin, the mycosynth created a vapor that induced mutations in the vedalken, who developed four arms and gills. Soon, this variation became the norm. These vedalken are physically very different from the members of their race on other planes and have more inhuman features, in some cases lacking a nose or visible ears. The center of their culture was the city of Lumengrid, from which the Vedalken ruled over an empire that enslaved the Neurok tribes at the shores of the Quicksilver Sea. For a long time, the Vedalken were ruled by the Synod, who considered themselves servants of Mirrodin's guardian, Memnarch. After Memnarch's fall, they were forced to reorganize themselves. Central to this reorganization was the "Origin Query", the answer to the origin of the Vedalken race. The vedalken became organized into several roles known as "sanctives." Each sanctive was in charge of one method of codifying and analyzing knowledge. Certarchs were those vedalken who tested acquired knowledge, building models of the accepted theories and testing their resilience against reality. With the loss of easy access to blinkmoth serum, their hold over the empire became fragile and revolts from the Neurok forced the two races into a state of cooperation rather than subservience.
When New Phyrexia rose, Lumengrid was overtaken by the forces of Jin-Gitaxias. Many Vedalken fell prey to phyresis, their distended brains looming over frail, but lethal and burr-pocked, bodies. Jin-Gitaxias and the Progress Engine turned the conquered vedalkens into a living research library and co-opted many of their principles and materials, including their academic structure. Those few remaining have cast their lot with the surviving Neurok in an attempt to survive.
==Ravnican Vedalken==
The vedalken of Ravnica are associated most closely with the Simic Combine and Azorius Senate, though the Izzet League are not an unprecedented choice.Unearthed Arcana; Races of Ravnica (PDF) They generally avoid the Dimir. They look very much like tall humans, but with hairless blue skin and showing little emotion. Their eyes are darker shades of blue and violet. These Vedalken lack external ears, their noses are broad and flat, and they are partly amphibious.James Wyatt and Jeremy Crawford (November 2018). "D&D Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica", Wizards of the Coast. Their life span is typically 350 years, with some living to the age of 500. Though the vedalken of Ravnica are physically different from those of Mirrodin, some Simic biomancy experiments have produced similar results, including four arms and gills.
==Future Vedalken==
It is hinted that in the future, <c title="vedalken wizards">Vedalken Æthermage</c>, possibly on Dominaria, will gain a measure of control over slivers.
==Notable Vedalken==
==References==
==External links==
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