Agrus Kos

**Agrus Kos** was an officer of the League of Wojek in the Boros Legion. From a young age, Kos believed in upholding the law. As an orphan, his only dream was to join the Boros and protect the citizenry of Ravnica. Kos epitomized the tough "street cop" archetype, complete with a drinking problem and a distaste for rookies. After his death, he became a spirit.

## Description

Kos was a dark-skinned man with gray short-cropped hair. As a ghost, he is semi-transparent and wears armor with decorative drapes in Boros colors. He was considered one of the Boros's best investigators when he was alive and continues to be so in death.

## History

### Life in the Wojek

After joining the Boros and completing basic training, Kos was paired with the veteran Myczil Zunich, a man he would come to deeply admire and who stood for everything Kos hoped to become. However, that illusion would soon shatter on the first case Kos took as lead investigator. Rumors of a Rakdos conspiracy reached the leaguehall and the pair were dispatched to investigate. The thrillkillers had been seen around warehouses in an Orzhov district set for demolition. Kos and Zunich found that the warehouses were being used as a base for the notorious cultist and gang leader Palla. Zunich was too eager to get the cultist and mistakenly attacked and killed a little girl, who was set as bait for Palla by the bounty hunter Jarad, a Devkarin huntmaster. Zunich went mad with guilt and grief and tried to blame the Devkarin at first, before trying to kill him for being the sole witness. Kos's sense of justice overrode his feelings of admiration for his partner and he tried to stop him. In the struggle, Zunich slipped off the roof and was killed on impact. It was the first in a lifetime of mistakes that would drive Kos to drink.

Despite his rocky start, Kos became one of the finest investigators in the Wojek in the years to come, though his personal life never matched his professional life's success. Many failed marriages and his constant drinking kept him from ever achieving happiness outside the job. As time wore on, Kos refused to retire despite the wear and tear he took. Eventually, he was incapable of being magically healed due to the immense build-up of healing mana in his body from a lifetime of using teardrops to heal wounds quickly. Any further use of healing magic would cause a massive heart attack.

Despite everything, Kos enjoyed his time on the streets, a place he felt at home and he had several partners in his tenure, none closer to him than the angel Feather. However, his success would ultimately cost him his job satisfaction. Shortly after being assigned a new partner named Bell Borca, Kos was forced into a promotion, learning that Bell was meant to be his replacement rather than his partner. During his last days on the beat though, the pair stumbled across a conspiracy that threatened the entire world. Unfortunately for Borca, that discovery cost him his life.

Following Borca's death, Kos began an investigation outside the Wojek sanctions with Feather's assistance. His first lead was the assassination of Saint Bayul, a notable member of the Selesnya Conclave. This brought him face to face with Fonn Zunich, his mentor's daughter, and the ledev assigned to Bayul's protection. Learning that Savra was somehow involved in the conspiracy also brought the bounty hunter Jarad back into his life. The further the group moved into the morass of plots and schemes, the more they realized what was at stake. It all culminated at the Decamillennial, a celebration of the Guildpact. Szadek triggered his plan to kill Mat'Selesnya with Savra's death, attempting to put an end to the Guildpact along with the ancient parun. Jarad and Kos were able to stop the vampire's plan at the last second, and Kos arrested the Dimir guildleader to answer for his crimes.

### Retirement

Kos's contributions earned him a great deal of acclaim, but being thrown into the spotlight was more than Kos could take and he chose to step down from the Wojeks and disappear into the lesser districts of Ravnica. Kos became an Ozhov security guard in the Utvara Reclamation Zone, where he helped his old friend Pivlic. It was a quiet life, one well suited for an old man like Kos, but he was bothered by the mystery that had haunted him since the Decamillenial festival. The Firemane angels had vanished, a fact that had driven Feather to abandon the city and her closest friend. Unfortunately, Kos's life was about to become much more complicated as the baroness Teysa Karlov claimed her inheritance, moving to Utvara and spurring the archmage Zomaj Hauc into accelerating the plot he had been secretly working on in the distant district.

With Teysa's organization and the assistance of the Gruul chieftain Vor Golozar and Izzet League courier Crixizix, the group infiltrated the *Cauldron* to stop Zomaj, learning too late that his plan was meant to hatch long-dormant dragon eggs he had uncovered. Knowing that the dragons would someday grow as dangerous as Niv-Mizzet himself, Teysa and Kos replicated the spell Zomaj had used to enslave the first enormous hatchling. Teysa and Vor rode their dragon, followed by Kos and Crix in an Izzet observation sphere. The group managed to kill both the dragon and the archmage, but the sphere carrying the former wojek crashed, fatally wounding him. In the end, though, he died because of the teardrop Crixizix used, trying to save him. Unfortunately, she was unaware of his condition and he passed away.

His funeral was a solemn event, attended by his closest friends, the people with whom he had saved the world twice.

### Afterlife

Even in death, Kos didn't get the opportunity to rest. Due to clauses in his wojek contract, his spirit was forced to serve as an Azorius Senate spirit guard. Grand Arbiter Augustin IV brought him back for the sole purpose of stopping Szadek in his attempt to bring the last strike against the already fractured Guildpact. Kos had little choice in the matter and he was teamed with the lawmage and ectomancer Obez Murzeddi to investigate what the vampire was doing. The first step was investigating the vampire's involvement with the Simic Combine and its guildleader Momir Vig.

Using his spectral state, Kos slipped into Novijen and possessed one of the simplistic brutish guards known as Virusoids. He managed to make it to Vig's private sanctum before he was detected. Hearing the guildleader speak of Project Kraj, Kos was left with little choice and killed the mad genius, but unfortunately, not in time to prevent Kraj from being unleashed. With the monstrous ooze on the rampage, Kos and Obez returned to Prahv to inform the Grand Arbiter of what was transpiring. When confronted with the news, Augustin was pleased. He had known all along what Szadek had planned and was plotting to seize control of Ravnica for the Azorius when the Guildpact finally failed. His plans were interrupted when the Boros warship *Parhelion*, piloted by Szadek, crashed into the Azorius guildhall. Knowing the threat that the vampire presented, Kos entered the crashed fortress and found his way to the controls. He confronted Szadek and was finally able to trap the vampire in a *grounder*, a device meant to capture ghosts. He later threw the *grounder* at Augustin, causing Szadek to break out of the container and kill Augustin, by removing his soul. This put an end to Augustin's plans to take control of Ravnica.

After saving Ravnica for a third time, his spirit was brought back by Feather, who recruited him as a spirit officer for the Wojek in the newly overlaid spectral district of Agyrem, where Szadek had taken control.

### Murders at Karlov Manor

In the wake of Zegana's murder around 10,080 ZC, Kos was dispatched by Aurelia to glean whatever information he could about the case, although he disliked having to interfere in the proceedings of the Ravnican Agency of Magicological Investigations. He worked alongside Kaya Cassir and Kellan, following the leads they had procured to the basement of Rix Maadi, as he believed that Rakdos was being set up as the culprit. However, before he could procure any useful information, he was trapped in a crystal skull by Judith, who was attempting to frame her guildmaster so that the other guilds would neutralize him and she could take control of the guild herself. When Judith went missing afterward, Kos was left in the skull.

## In-game references

Represented in:

* Agrus Kos, Eternal Soldier
* Agrus Kos, Spirit of Justice
* Agrus Kos, Wojek Veteran

Depicted in:

* Hide // Seek
* On the Job
* Soul Enervation
* Thespian's Stage (by an actor)

Quoted or referred to:

* Boros Signet
* Disembowel
* Fencer's Magemark
* Undercity Shade
* War-Torch Goblin

## Trivia

* Kos' name means "*blackbird*" in Czech, Polish, and Serbo-Croatian, but is also related to *mow* or *scythe*.
* A 10-foot-tall statue of Agrus Kos in Precinct Two of the Tenth District has become a meeting place for veterans, the mob, and Dimir spies.

## References

1. ↑ ***a*** ***b*** Seanan McGuire (January 10, 2024). "*Murders at Karlov Manor* - Episode 4: Justice Before Mercy". *magicthegathering.com*. Wizards of the Coast.
2. ↑ Cory J. Herndon. (2005.) *Ravnica Cycle, Book I: Ravnica*, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13 978-0786937929.
3. ↑ Cory J. Herndon. (2006.) *Ravnica Cycle, Book II: Guildpact*, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13 978-0786939893.
4. ↑ Cory J. Herndon. (2006.) *Ravnica Cycle, Book III: Dissension*, Wizards of the Coast. ISBN-13 978-0786940011.
5. ↑ Seanan McGuire (January 15, 2024). "Episode 7: Rot Before Recovery". *magicthegathering.com*. Wizards of the Coast.
6. ↑ Seanan McGuire (January 18, 2024). "Roots of Decay, the DVD extras". Seanan McGuire.
7. ↑ *D&D Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica*