Goblins of the Multiverse: Mercadia

Like many of the planes, Mercadia is what’s known as a seeded world. While there are true natives, such as the Caterans and the Dryads, the most powerful races came from Dominaria during one of two events. The latter event, about five thousand years ago, brought large numbers of humans and introduced merfolk into the world during the Brothers’ War, but by that point, it was already ruled by the goblins that had arrived some five thousand years prior.





War Cadence by John Matson



Before Yawgmoth took over Phyrexia, he had amassed significant amounts of power on Dominaria. At the height of this power, a planeswalker by the name of Dyfed rescued a number of his human prisoners and evacuated them to Mercadia. In order to ensure they were well taken care of, she sent with them two hundred goblin servants to help them survive in the untamed world. The goblins helped the humans create a society to their specifications, but the lazy humans insisted their goblin servants do all the actual work. Over the course of the next nine thousand years, as Mercadia City grew and became more and more elaborate, the responsibilities of the goblins evolved such that they were running everything, and the human rulers had no actual power.





Conspiracy by Jeff Easley



As their responsibilities grew, so did they, and while most planes’ goblins are suited toward life in a wilder state, the combination of environment, agriculture, and a variant set of virtues resulted in Mercadia’s goblins growing taller, thinner, and more intelligent. Distinct from their Dominarian cousins, Mercadian goblins are known as Kyren in the common tongue and Klomahamin in their own. Kyren have the following characteristics:





Kyren archive by Roger Raupp



Tall: Kyren are significantly larger than goblins elsewhere. Though still on the short side, a tall Kyren can reach the height of an average human. The height difference between them and their Dominarian cousins is exaggerated by the fact that Kyren walk fully upright to make themselves look as tall as possible while many other goblins are prone to slouching or hunching forward to better hide.







Magistrate’s Veto by Brian Snoddy





Intelligence: Kyren grew more intelligent with each generation. While they haven’t shown to be any wiser than humans, they receive the best educations in Mercadia and are taught how to manage the city’s functions. In addition, Kyren are particularly eloquent. As a unique conversational quirk, they only ever speak in questions, even when conveying information. This likely evolved to pretend to pass power to those they worked for, often leading another to believe they made the decision that the Kyren had determined beforehand.





Kyren Glider by Daren Bader





Humanlike: As humans and goblins lived so closely together, physical ideals began to overlap. Instead of those with the strongest hunting abilities surviving, Kyren bred for slender frames, small noses, and flatter faces. Accustomed to human food, they have become fully omnivorous and have smaller mouths with human-like teeth. Kyren still eat meat, but don’t include insects as part of their diet.





Kyren Sniper by Carl Critchlow



Cowardly: Unlike other species of goblin, Kyren abhor direct confrontation. They prefer to have others, usually Cateran mercenaries, inflict their violence for them. When they must eliminate someone themselves, they often use blowguns with poison darts.





Arms Dealer by Luca Zontini

Unfortunately for the Kyren, at some point in their history they were secretly taken over by the Phyrexians. Though it’s unclear how long the goblins had been working with Volrath, or Phyrexia as a whole, Volrath ruled the goblins through raw intimidation, killing any who didn’t do exactly as he desired. Volrath’s failed attempt to seize the Weatherlight ended with Mercadia City overthrown, most of the Kyren killed, and the rest banished to the mountains. Though goblins are prone to thriving in the mountains, none have checked on the status of the Kyren in the four hundred years since their banishment, so their fate is entirely unknown.