Chronicle of Bolas: A Familiar Stranger
Kate Elliott
When Yasova and the twins reach Ugin's grave at last, they find a mysterious—and potentially deadly—stranger awaiting their arrival.
* They reach Ugin's grave. There should be a hunting party camped there, but they aren't responding.
* While Fec the orc investigates, Yasova takes the twins to a secret area with hidden Temur artifacts and stories. She worries she won't have an opportunity to pass on this knowledge again.
* Naiva is jealous of how the artifacts whisper stories to Baishya and not her.
* They go into a chamber that allows them to spy on the cave where the hunting party is supposed to be camping.
* Fec enters the cave, and it's empty except for a woman who claims everyone died to disease. Fec keeps his distance out of caution. The woman is in late stage pregnancy and wishes to speak to Yasova. She initially reacts with confusion when Fec asks if this is her first. Fec tells her to stay put, and he leaves.
* Yasova points out that the woman resembles one of their relatives, but it's clearly someone else taking her form. Naiva is surprised such magic exists. Yasova says she will inspect the woman more closely, but the twins have to stay there. She makes clear she suspects this is Bolas, then leaves.
* Baishya is being contacted by Ugin, and leaves regardless, with Naiva following.
* They go to Ugin's tomb and find a way in, so Baishya goes inside. Naiva gets a strong urge to leave her, so Yasova will love her more, but she fights it back and follows after her.
* Inside, they have visions.
* Ugin arrives on Tarkir and spends some time there. He speaks to the shamans there of his journey, and they ascribe to him the creation of the world, even though he didn't do that.
* He briefly returns to Dominaria (called as such here) but upon seeing human armies bearing banners with Bolas's horns, he leaves again.
* For years--later revealed to be four to five thousand years--he wanders the planes, including Lorwyn and an Alara that's whole. His thoughts go back to Bolas, though, and he decides to check in again.
* On Jamuraa, the armies of Arcades and Bolas clash. Ugin gets between them and forces them to stop. As an old school planeswalker, he's far more powerful than them, and furthermore, he has mastered all five colors of magic, transcending them. Arcades uses this chance to retreat.
* Bolas is surprised, having thought he died. He shows Ugin around his lands, paying little heed to the destruction around them.
* Bolas gloats about how his empire stretches beyond what either of them imagined was the size of the world, but Ugin mocks the insignificance of it compared to the Multiverse.
* Ugin explains what he learned, and Bolas is annoyed he waited thousands of years to tell him this. Ugin tries to explain he how planeswalks, but he can't, so Bolas accuses him of lying.
* Ugin planeswalks away.
* Naiva breaks out of the trance, which her sister is still in.
* She hears noises outside and thus comes out with her spear. Yasova is there and Naiva explains the situation.
* Yasova concludes she must join Baishya in her trance and goes inside the tomb. She tells Naiva to join the others at the secret Temur area.
* Naiva hides the entrance and starts to leave, but then the pregnant woman appears. Despite her pregnancy, she moves freely. Naiva notices she is just barely floating above the ground.
* After confronting her with this information, the woman transforms into Bolas. He had to check Ugin again, and sees that he indeed isn't dead. He asks Naiva to help kill him for good.