dzasyn-deactivated20160812 asked: Are we allowed to ask about the end of "The Secretist" yet? I really want to know what it means that Jace "is" The Guildpact.

SPOILERS AHOY.

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Jace has a strange new status now. He has become the living embodiment of the Guildpact, a kind of mystical arbiter whose rulings are binding for the guilds on Ravnica. He is empowered to settle disputes and keep the guilds from destroying each other.

At the end of The Secretist, Niv-Mizzet tests the boundaries of this by attempting to declare war on another guild. Jace denies the request, and Niv-Mizzet is compelled to comply with his ruling. From here on out, if a guild wants something that impinges on or impacts one of the other guilds, or has a dispute that involves the jurisdiction of multiple guilds, then it will be a matter for the Living Guildpact to decide.

Jace will need help — it’s a big job, and the guilds will undoubtedly try to curry favor with Jace, bribe him, or outright threaten him. Lazav is still out there somewhere, and wants this power for himself. Niv-Mizzet is not at all happy with the situation. Jace has reached out to Lavinia for help, but she’s still struggling with her belief that Jace is a deceiver and a criminal.

Despite all that difficulty, this is kind of what Emmara wanted all along. Jace had been a self-absorbed loner for the most part, but she saw in him the potential to be able to truly understand multiple perspectives. His mind magic makes him uniquely qualified to see and experience what it’s like to think like a member of any of the ten guilds. He’s a reluctant candidate, but to Emmara, the best candidate.

It’s a strange transition for Jace — he takes the responsibility seriously, as he cares deeply for the world of Ravnica. But it also puts him in a very difficult and dangerous position. As news of the Living Guildpact spreads, there are probably thousands of people who’d now like to kill him, and he’s not sure what happens to Ravnica or the guilds if he dies.

He’s also still a planeswalker. Jace can leave Ravnica and still remain the Living Guildpact, but traveling away from Ravnica pulls him away from his duties, and demands on his time there are constant. Every moment he spends away from Ravnica, he risks some disastrous issue arising between the guilds that only he can settle.

There you have it!