Apart from Urza, only a few Magic the Gathering characters can claim to be a master inventor, such as Saheeli Rai. Saheeli is a brilliant and innovative planeswalker, renowned for her unparalleled mastery of artifice and inventiveness.
Hailing from the world of Kaladesh, a plane marked by a rich blend of technology and natural energy, Saheeli stands out as a visionary artificer and mage. Adorned in intricate attire, she embodies the creative spirit of her homeland. Saheeli possesses an innate connection to the world's aether, allowing her to manipulate and channel its energy for incredible feats of invention and manipulation.
With the intellect of a blue mage mixed with the untethered freedom of a red mage, Saheeli can craft great works of art that fully express who she is as a planeswalker. Her willingness to support other inventors and her selflessness have garnered many lifelong friends, including her partner Huatli.
The Aether revolt
Born and raised in Kaladesh in the city of Ghirapur, Saheeli quickly became one of the brightest minds within the city, even becoming the youngest artificer to attend the Ghirapur Institute of Art and Science. Along with her friends Rashmi and Mitul, she helped to create a device at the Inventors’ Fair that could move objects through the Blind Eternities.
However, when Tezzeret confiscated this device during a coup, Saheeli saw fit to join the Gatewatch and the Renegades of Kaladesh to put an end to his evil machinations. Saheeli joined Liliana Vess in trying to recover the planar bridge but was unsuccessful, learning from Rashmi that their device had been completed and could allow objects to travel from plane to plane.
Saheeli assisted Pia Nalaar in constructing the Hope of Ghirapur, a thopter designed to destroy the planar bridge. During their assault to destroy the bridge, Dovin Baan sabotaged their plans, and Saheeli was forced to modify the Hope of Ghirapur for a new purpose.
Inside the newly updated thopter, Chandra flew into the planar bridge and used her pyromancy to turn the Hope of Ghirapur into a bomb, while Gideon used his power to protect them from the blast. With Tezzeret defeated and peace returning to Ghirapur, Chandra offered Saheeli a spot in the Gatewatch, which Saheeli refused. Saheeli wished to remain on Kaladesh to help rebuild her city and aid her people, which she did until Huatli appeared on her plane.
The War of the Spark
When Huatli appeared on Kaladesh and found Saheeli, the two immediately connected. Hautli was fascinated by the intricate city of Ghirapur with all its inventions, and Saheeli was intrigued to hear about dinosaurs, hoping one day to construct one with her artifice. Soon after meeting, the two developed a relationship.
However, it wasn’t long before the two of them found themselves trapped on Ravnica during the events of the War of the Spark. Nicol Bolas had trapped the planeswalkers on Ravnica using the Immortal Sun and had used a newly constructed planar bridge to bring his armies from Amonkhet to the plane.
Alongside Chandra, Lavinia, and Lazav, Saheeli was tasked with locating and turning off the Immortal Sun. They succeeded in disabling the powerful artifact, allowing planeswalkers to escape the plane. However, Saheeli would not leave her friends, and she remained on Ravnica to fight Nicol Bolas and his hordes of eternals.
At the moment of Nicol Bolas’s defeat, Chandra reactivated the Immortal Sun, preventing the elder dragon from leaving the plane. Chandra then left Saheeli in charge of guarding the powerful artifact. Jace then tasked Saheeli with deactivating the Immortal Sun once again, allowing Ugin to planeswalk to the Meditation Realm with Nicol Bolas, as well as allowing Liliana to escape from Ravnica to avoid repercussions for her actions. Saheeli then traveled alongside Huatli to Theros for the funeral of Gideon Jura.
The Phyrexian Invasion
After the compleated Ajani destroyed Karn’s Golgothian Sylex, Saheeli assisted in creating a filigree replica; however, she lacked the knowledge to activate it. With the help of Teferi and Kaya, Saheeli built the Temporal Ancor in Urza’s Tower, which would allow someone to travel back to the time of the Brothers’ War and learn the secrets of the original Golgothian Sylex.
Things soon went awry, and the powerstone within the Temporal Anchor exploded, leaving Teferi in a comatose state within the Statis Coffin. Saheeli chose to stay with Teferi’s body alongside Jodah, hoping to bring him back to reality.
When the Phyrexian invasion of the Multiverse began, Saheeli traveled to Kaladesh and, alongside Pia Nalaar, initiated Operation Golden Scales, in which she released robotic dinosaurs on the Phyrexians. She was successful in defending her plane, however, her planeswalker spark was stripped from her during the Great Pruning.
The Lost Caverns of Ixalan
Using an Omenpath, Saheeli reunited with her love, Huatli, on Ixalan and began a new life. She spent most of her time with Huatli but was soon employed by the Emperor of the Sun Empire to create artificial dinosaurs.
Being provided with unlimited resources, Saheeli began designing and creating dinosaurs of every shape and size for the Emperor. However, it wasn’t long before she discovered that the Emperor planned on using her creations as war machines in the coming war with the other races on Ixalan.
While Huatli ventured to the center of Ixalan, Saheeli stayed within Orazca, attempting to find a way to free her inventions from military use. Learning of a secret meeting between the Emperor’s aunt Caztaca and the vampire Elenda, Saheeli agreed to attend as Caztaca’s scribe.
During the meeting, the pirate Admiral Beckett Brass intervened, demanding that the other nations of Ixalan recognize the people of the Brazen Coalition as a sovereign nation. Saheeli was able to broker a peace treaty between the three nations, using her magic to seal the treaty within a filigree cylinder.
Trusting that Caztaca could convince her nephew to adhere to the peace treaty, Saheeli pledged her loyalty to her, hoping it would be the first step towards a peaceful Ixalan. However, this occurred without the knowledge of what occurred with Huatli in the core of Ixalan, without the knowledge of the escaped bat-god, Aclazotz…
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