Raakdos

War of the Spark #005 Baan's Chamber 32x56

Added 2024-08-02 01:00:02 +0000 UTC

Dovin Baan was a tall, thin, and always impeccably dressed vedalken who strove for perfection. His suit was partially encased in whorls and filigrees of brass, bits of which hissed and ticked faintly as he moved. Baan had an innate talent, heightened by magic, that allowed him to see the flaws in any system or machine. After mere moments of scrutiny, Dovin could provide a complete analysis, noting a particular machine's weaknesses, highlighting its shortcomings, and predicting with startling accuracy exactly how and when it will fail. He can do this for a machine, a bureaucracy, a dance — the form matters little, only the process. Consequently, he could perfect the thing, little by little, until it became a true exemplar of what it was meant to be.

After realizing that Tezzeret was not the true mastermind behind the Planar Bridge, Baan decided to look for Tezzeret's master. Walking right into Bolas claws, he was taken in by the dragon's intelligence and "flawless planning". Bolas then offered Dovin something Dovin couldn't turn down, the chance to reshape a plane into flawless and ordered efficiency. Since his first visit to Ravnica to recruit the Gatewatch, Dovin had itched to improve the guild system, so he willingly jumped at the chance to take over the Azorius Senate on Ravnica.

Manipulating the system from the inside, he exploited one loophole after another to disrupt the chain of command. Occupying judges and senators with often overlooked (but technically required by law) paperwork, rescheduling key meetings, and arranging the ousting of people in key positions of power, Dovin emerged as the new head of the Lyev Column, replacing the unpopular hussar Agmand Sarv.

After Vraska killed Isperia, Dovin took over as guildmaster and showed the guild how to make spy thopters and use precognitive mages to arrest people before committing crimes. When Ral Zarek altered the Implicit Maze to fulfill Niv-Mizzet's plan of stealing the power of the Guildpact, Dovin found out and played along until right before Bolas's arrival on the plane and then sabotaged the device, leaving Jace as the Living Guildpact.

In the War of the Spark, Dovin guarded the Immortal Sun for Bolas. During a fight, he was overpowered by Chandra Nalaar, who turned out to be the Dimir guildmaster Lazav in disguise, using an Izzet League flamethrower. Lazav threw throwing stars that hit Dovin in the eyes and blinded him. This seriously affected his ability to detect weaknesses in others. Bleeding, he planeswalked away shortly afterward. The new Living Guildpact, Niv-Mizzet, later hired Vraska to track Baan down.

After being blinded by Lazav, Dovin Baan planeswalked to his home on Kaladesh but soon returned to his safe house on Ravnica. There he managed to lead a fairly regular life thanks to his eidetic memory and started to manufacture appliances to replace his lost eyes. On Ravnica, he was discovered by Vraska, and in exchange for his life, Baan offered to help her retain control over the Golgari. Vraska accepted the offer and together they plotted to fake Baan's death. Using a statue replica of himself, a fight was staged in Zinara on Regatha with Chandra Nalaar being an unsuspecting accomplice. During the fight, Vraska severed Baan’s right hand to use as proof of a kill while Chandra believed she had delivered the killing blow. The plan succeeded and Baan returned to Ravnica, only to be assassinated by Atkos Tarr who had been sent by Lazav in his plans to blackmail Vraska. After his death, Atkos removed Baan’s left hand and secretly passed it on to Lazav.

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