Knight-General Rafiq was born the son of a baker on the plane of Alara in Eos, one of the major nations in the shard of Bant. Rafiq’s father was a member of the Mortar caste of Eos, making up the vast majority of the nation's populace, but Rafiq was destined to rise.
Ascending quickly to the sigiled class and into the Knights of the Reliquary, he became known as Rafiq of the Many due to the vast number of sigils he acquired in his adventures. In Bant, sigils are gifted by angels to those who exhibit great bravery and courage. Rafiq spent years traveling across the shard, resolving conflicts through ritualized duels that were commonplace in the shard’s nations. He currently commands the Knights of the Reliquary as its Knight-General.
With the reunification of the five shards of Alara, the Conflux began. Chaos erupted, and the shards came into open conflict with their new neighbors. Knight-General Rafiq would head the armies of Bant against the armies of the shard of Esper, but was unprepared for battle outside of the highly ritualized style of warfare common in Bant, where a champion from each force would do battle. In the midst of the pitched battle, an Esper mage would take control of one of Rafiq’s friends Mubin, turning him on his own men. Rafiq was forced to stab Mubin to stop him, paralyzing him in the process.
Resolved to try and help his friend walk again, Rafiq settled on Etherium, a magical alloy used by Esperites, as the best way to save his friend. Rafiq put together a strike force to aid him and set out for Esper. Before arriving, he would re-route his mission to the shard of Grixis after one of his scouts returned with news that there were humans trapped there in need of help. He would rescue and befriend Levac and Salay and attempt to save their son, who had become a zombie, but was unsuccessful. After retrieving some Etherium, Rafiq returned to Bant in time to warn his forces of the impending invasion by the demon Malfegor.
Again leading the armies of Bant against invaders, Rafiq would push back Malfegor’s forces and send them into a retreat. During their retreat, the planeswalker Elspeth Tirel would give Rafiq the Sword of Asha, the legendary sword wielded by the Archangel Asha in her fight against Malfegor prior to the sundering of Alara’s planes. Rafiq would use the Sword of Asha to do what Asha could not and slayed Malfegor before he could get away. Following the battle, Rafiq would be unsuccessful in saving Mubin with the Etherium he retrieved from Esper.
Rafiq continues on as Knight-General of the Knights of the Reliquary and prepares to defend Bant against the Phyrexian invasion.
PLANESWALKER & LEGENDARY CARDS
ARTWORK APPEARANCES
FLAVOR TEXT APPEARANCES
"Even in single combat, I am never alone."
- Rafiq of the Many (Angelic Benediction, Shard of Alara)
"His body belongs to Bant now. His soul? I honestly don't know. I expect it belongs to the angels."
- Rafiq of the Many (Offering to Asha, Alara Reborn)
"Leotau that were born wild make the best mounts. It's like riding a thunderstorm"
- Rafiq of the Many (WIld Leotau, Conflux)
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