Belbe & Greven

by Miguel Caron

 

After rereading the Nemesis novel in English class, I started thinking about the two characters I should do a small biography on.  The choice took mere seconds and was clearly obvious to me, as all my favorite Magic characters are evil... except poor Hanna.  Anyway, I decided to do it on the self-proclaimed stars of Nemesis, aside from Ertai and Crovax. That's right kiddies!  Today it's a biography on Belbe and Greven il-Vec!

 

Belbe

In the forests of Rath, a Phyrexianized elven warrior tore through Eladamri's village with a black op stealth speed.  His target; Eladamri's daughter Avila.  Killing her with poison, the corrupt creature returned the body to the plane of Phyrexia. Without wasting a second, the vile diabolical self-styled demons began measuring her body, beginning to create a construct of her every orifice.  Forged from flesh and Phyrexian technology, the artificial being known as Belbe was created, as beautiful as Avila, whom she was designed after, and as deadly as any of savages of Rath.  Her initial purpose in her creation was to travel to Rath to find a new Evincar for the plane, as the Phyrexians considered Volrath a traitor to their cause when he stowed away upon the Weatherlight as a femme fatale to Mercadia.

 

When Belbe arrived on Rath, her first image was of the brutish Greven il-Vec and madman Crovax of Urborg slugging it out in the Dream Halls.  She soon met the mage Ertai... his boyish charms and obvious genius captivated her, but her Phyrexian design made emotions difficult to comprehend.  She soon became involved romantically with the mage, though it was quite odd that a being of artificial creature and a being of flesh and blood shared a bond of love (Love in Rath?!?  That's like saying daisies in Phyrexia!!!).   All the while Crovax was trying to threaten her passively into giving up on Ertai's ill fated plea to become Evincar and crown him the Evincar immediately, something which she refused to do under any circumstance until the time was right.  When the rebels had invaded the Stronghold to free their allies, after Volrath and Crovax had duels, as Eladamri was about to cross the planar portal into Dominaria... he laid eyes on Belbe; she was the perfect image of his lost daughter.  In a fit of sorrow and hatred towards whoever did this, he tossed the Phyrexian poison which had killed his daughter onto the machine of flesh... a single drop touching her cheek, killing her instantly.  Afterwards, the corpse of Belbe is cremated, her love Ertai taking her metal skull as a souvenir and memoir of her after her body was roasted.

 

Greven il-Vec

An outcast from the en-Vec society in the plane of Rath, Greven became a warlord for the evincar Volrath after a control rod had been jammed into his spine.  Several vicious experiments and transformations had twisted him from the envisionment of what a Vec was into a looming monstrosity... a being of sheer terror towering above his troops at a massive seven feet... his captains all giving him the one name that suits him perfectly; Dreadlord.

 

From all appearances, Greven was viewed as a sinister force.  His demeanor coupled with his intensity in battle seemed to point towards him being a terrible beast and seemed to question his sanity.  It would be ignorant to call Greven a good and heroic character, however, his morals and ethics portray him as a warrior whose sense of duty make him someone who would deserve respect. Greven himself once stated when Belbe had questioned him if he wished to be Evincar of Rath that he'd "... rather be the blade than the hand that wields it...", which in my opinion shows his acts of cruelty and torture were merely his acts of duty, exactly like a soldier. Greven held a great hatred towards his brutal master Volrath before Ertai decimated Vuel with flowstone. Volrath's ability to influence control rods made Greven unable to retaliate against the beast.  The same is true for Crovax when he brawled with Greven before Belbe and Ertai.

 

He plays a key role, commanding the Predator Flagship, constantly soaring over Rath keeping the rebels in check.  He had a great hatred towards Gerrard Capashen, and when the two confronted each other aboard the Predator during the rescue effort for Sisay, Greven and Gerrard tore each other in a vicious sword fight, Gerrard finally able to best Greven, that was until he was hoisted over the side of the Predator and dropped into the forests of Rath.  However, when the Predator and Weatherlight tangoed, the Weatherlight came out on top, escaping the massive flagship... Greven and Volrath had been grievously under-prepared for the Skyship and it's crew.  During the Invasion cycle, when the plane of Rath overlaid that of Dominaria, the minotaur Tahngarth interrupted the party of the war between Dominaria and Phyrexia. Greven was forced into a do or die fight with the beast, having to deal with its hatred and rage over the time it spent tortured in Rath.  Unfortunately for the warlord, he was taken down by the bullish creature (no pun intended), bringing an end to one of the most feared, familiar, and popular characters in the Magic: The Gathering series.