The Reckoning

The Reckoning is an infamous day in Ravnican history that often serves as a reminder of the fragile relationships and responsibilities between guilds in the city. The two primary guilds involved in this event were the Simic Combine and the Izzet League, during the signing of the Guildpact. The Simic Combine was designated to maintain control over the healthcare of the entirety of the city, being responsible for the upkeep, advancement, and staffing of the city's hospitals and healthcare services. Momir Vig, the founder of the Simic Combine, disagreed that this would be the only scope of the Simic Combine. He urged the guild founders of Ravnica to reconsider adding more responsibility to the Simic, as being designated the caretaker of other guilds would leave the Simic much weaker than the other guilds. He pushed for a myriad of different responsibilites to be considered, though notably he focused on the area of biomedical research and related magics, an area that Niv-Mizzet, founder of the Izzet League, claimed to be responsibility of his guild. After extensive negotiations, the guild founders sided with the Niv-Mizzet, designating all research be the responsibilty of the Izzet League. It is well documented that Momir Vig disapproved of this decision^[1]. Despite the decision, Momir Vig sought out to create a method for storing genetic information, believing that selecting characteristics and qualities to be born into Ravnica would only benefit the population by increasing the quality of life of all inside the walls. To do this, he created cytoplasts, globules of green and blue gel fluids contained in glass apparati. With an induction of magic, these cytoplasts were able to store genetic information, and would allow the creating of Birthing Pods, where characteristics and genes of a bloodline could be selected for. The potential for these cytoplasts was infinite, potentially creating a disease-immune society. Unfortunately for the Simic, Niv-Mizzet immediately claimed that such a creation was in violation of the Guildpact guidelines, and that research into new technology was the purview of the Izzet League. Seeing the obvious benefits of the technology, Niv-Mizzet offered to forgive the offense of the Simic, but required the technology's innerworkings to be shared with him and the Izzet League so they might improve upon the design moving forward, as was their right as the research leads of the city. The guild founders once again sided with the Izzet League, and Momir Vig reluctantly agreed, explaining that he could show the lead Izzet researchers how to create cytoplasts in one of their labs. While Niv-Mizzet planned to be in attendance for this demonstration, an unknown horror known only as The Knowing Knot,a tick like gargantuan entity that siphoned knowledge from living sources was awakened deep beneath the surface of Ravnica. Niv-Mizzet was the only entity in Ravnica strong and intelligent enough to stop this entity, and so he deployed with haste to deal with The Knowing Knot, leaving Izzet League business dealings and negotiations with Grozgrox, a Master Chemister and second in command of the Izzet League at its founding. Momir Vig and a team of Izzet League chemisters assembled and began the creation of a new cytoplast under the supervision of Grozgrox. Momir Vig helped create the first Izzet run cytoplast, publically warning the League that misuse could have dire consequences. Ignoring this, the Izzet fired up the cytoplast and began experiments to see the extent of the technology. While Niv was occupied with the Knowing Knot, Grozgrox conducted thousands of experiments in the cytoplast, claiming potential for new improvments on the original design. Unfortunately for all of Ravnica, these experiments would cause a myriad of Slaad to be born in birthing pods, neigh indestructible and dangerously strong monstrosities who terrorized the city of Ravnica. Rallying forces to stop the insurrection created by the Izzet, the Boros Legion and hired mercenaries from the Azorius and Orzhov took the fight to the Slaad, but were quickly outmatched. The laboratories that housed the birthing pods in the Izzet League were almost instantly destroyed, losing thousands of years of research and valuable researchers in the process. For a while, the Izzet League seemed to teeter on destruction. Fortunately for the Izzet League and the Guildpact, Niv-Mizzet returned to Ravnica, having slayed the Knowing Knot. Niv intelligenty assigned Izzet resources, with the assist of the Simic Combine, to rally the remaining Slaad, and banish them from existence. Due to the oversight of Grozgrox, the guild founders voted again on the issue proposed during the signing of the Guildpact, amending it to include research in the Simic Combine. Though this is one of the only amendums made to the Guildpact since its creation, Momir Vig stepped down from his position once securing the future of his guild, claiming the correct decision had been made. Many to this day see Momir Vig as a hero and legend, and he is often attributed with many of the biomedical advances made by the Simic Combine. The Izzet League suffered heavily in the area of public relations, and the League was seen as reckless and headstrong when it came to research, opting for knowledge over safety. It is still an often held belief that Izzet researchers fit the 'mad scientist' stereotype, though efforts have been made by the Izzet League to show this is an inaccurate representation of their guild. After his oversight, Niv-Mizzet was forced to surrender Grozgrox to sentencing from the Azorious Senate, and he was publically executed 4 days after The Reckoning. Since the sentencing, Niv-Mizzet has never spoken of the incident^[2]. ^[1]Momir Vig's journal was recovered by House Dimir after he stepped down from his position as guildmaster, giving an insight to his thoughts on the decision of the other guild founders. ^[2]Though few speak with Niv-Mizzet, no offical record exists of the Izzet Parun mentioning the name Grozgrox in any public forum, though private conversations are not accounted for in this statement.