Augustin IV

**Augustin IV** was a human bureaucrat who held a position of immense power on Ravnica as the Grand Arbiter and guildmaster of the Azorius Senate for a few decades around the time of the Decamillennial. Like countless Arbitrators before him, Augustin's name is an honorary one, chosen from the names of celebrated Arbitrators of the past. His real name is unknown.

## Description

Seemingly blind and legless, Augustin rested on a floating bench across which he moved. The bench was a white marble throne adorned with silver and supported by four small levitating spheres, which he controlled with a pale hand. Despite his physical limitations, he possessed a commanding presence and a reputation for brief but eloquent speech.

## History

Augustin IV was the occupant of what was arguably the most influential position on Ravnica. As the Grand Arbiter, he headed Ravnica's "technical" governing body, exercising unparalleled legal authority throughout the plane. He succeeded the wise and respected Grand Arbiter Lucian III after the latter succumbed to Goff's disease, having assumed power during a Rakdos revolt. Under his leadership, and ordered more executions because of that event than any previous Grand Arbiter in the guild's history.

Augustin IV presided over important legal cases on Ravnica and frequently traveled between courts to resolve disputes, earning respect for his fair judgments, though he was considered difficult to predict and nearly impossible to deceive. His tenure saw the breaking of the Guildpact, inadvertently caused by Agrus Kos capturing Szadek, parun and guildmaster of House Dimir. Augustin orchestrated events that led to the reformation, forcing Ravnica into martial law after Kos thwarted Momir Vig's attempt to control the city.

However, Augustin's tenure came to a dramatic end. His obsession with control led him to capture Szadek's ghost, which later resulted in his own death. Kos released a grounder containing Szadek's spirit, and upon release, Szadek killed Augustin IV as an act of revenge, thus ending his rule. After the turmoil subsided, Leonos II succeeded him as the new Grand Arbiter, inheriting the complex legacy left behind by Augustine IV.

## Non-Canonical History

> *All of the following information is non-canonical*
>
>

### Szadek's Delation

The vampire parun Szadek was apprehended by Agrus Kos and caught in the act of violating the Guildpact during the events of the Decamillennial. Subsequently, he was held in custody by Grand Arbiter Augustin IV, who killed him and enslaved his ghost. Prior to being sent to kill Razia, however, Augustin coerced Szadek's enslaved spirit to reveal confidential information about the Dimir, including the locations of secret bases and the identities of high-ranking guild members, like Duskmantle, the Dimir's Guildhall.

### Operation Trajan

In possession of such information, Augustin ordered a massive covert operation to capture several necrosages and other Dimir spies infiltrated in other guilds. The Operation Trajan, named after a Grand Arbiter who in the distant past had also unsuccessfully tried to capture Dimir operatives, was handed over to Hussar Commander Paljanes vus Amegir who led to the arrest of several agents from all ranks of the guild, whose trials were conducted by Augustin IV himself. One of these was the fearsome lobotomist Circu.

The operation was conducted entirely in secrecy of justice as Augustin could not openly violate the Guildmaster's Law which stated that the Dimir guild could not be revealed. After Augustin's death, Leonos II, his successor, revealed to the public a series of documents that cited the names and whereabouts of several of these arrested agents. Finally, as part of a political maneuver to disassociate himself from the perceived damaging image of Augustin IV, Leonos II granted a pardon to all political prisoners of his successor during Operation Trajan.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Cory J. Herndon (2006). Ravnica Cycle, Book III: Dissension, Wizards of the Coast.*
2. ↑ *Cory J. Herndon (2006). Ravnica Cycle, Book III: Dissension, Chapter 7, Wizards of the Coast.*
3. ↑ Cory J. Herdon (2006), Ravnica Cycle I: Ravnica.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fanmade by Sorin Perrone