The vedalken are a peaceful race, interested chiefly in the more philosophical pursuits of life. That is not to say that they are passive or inactive. Their pursuits in magic and science make them highly respected throughout the plane. Many other races, although mostly humans, put high value on a vedalken education, and will gladly hire a vedalken tutor or send their children to one of the monastery schools.

The monastery has become one of the central parts of the vedalken society. Some of the monasteries have a strict religious or philosophical tradition, while others are basically just like a university in most other cultures. It started when two competing philosophers each started their own institute of learning, both of which turned into highly ritualistic fellowships: The Order of the Sun and the Order of the Wave. Although society at large mocked them at first, soon both orders started turning out stunning results in a number of fields, from art to magecraft. Suddenly every great teacher and philosopher wanted their own Order. Most of them have long since faded away, and new ones turn up every few years, but several orders have stayed strong and are thoroughly established.

Of course, an institution cannot live on academic pursuits alone, and so most orders have taken to offering education to others than their own members in exchange for donations to the monastery. These donations are not set at a specific amount, so that anyone can have access to the teachings of the orders, regardless of race or gender. It has become tradition among the vedalken (as well as the humans living on the same land) to send every child to a monastery through their teenage years to study. The vast majority will leave after a few years to pursue various careers, but roughly ten percent take vows and become lifetime members of an order.

The vedalken do not have a formal centralized government, but rely on basic direct democracy. Whenever an important decision needs to be made, they gather as many as possible of those who would be affected and hold a vote. If the decision affects more than one town or village, each area chooses a representative acting in their interest, forming a temporary council. No person may on more than one such council every year. This system was put into place in order to ensure that no person could hold too much political power, especially to offset the influence that the leaders of the various orders have on the people.

Despite the lack of formal government, vedalken society is highly unified in their traditions and purpose, and they are respected by the surrounding nations. This is in part because of the aforementioned education they provide, and also because of the effects of that education on the vedalken themselves. For one thing, the Order of the Wave has grown to specialize in diplomacy, and their members are often sent to defuse tense situations. If that fails, several of the orders have turned to pursuing physical abilities as well as the original philosophical and intellectual topics they were founded around. This has resulted in a large number of combat styles, both armed and unarmed, and with the deep study of the arts of combat that have become the focus of the Order of the Sun it is said that a group of unarmed vedalken monks can defeat an armed force even while outnumbered four to one. Very few are eager to test the veracity of that statement.

There is some argument of whether or not the griffins should be considered an intelligent race or not. It is clear that they have a highly organized society, although the exact rules of that society are unclear to other races. No one has been able to communicate with a griffin, and some vedalken hold that this is a sign that the apparent intelligence they show are simply highly developed instincts.

Whether through intelligence or instinct, griffins have a natural affinity for magic. This makes them dangerous enemies, as their magic gives them great advantages. It is common to see hunting griffins cast illusions of themselves in order to confuse their pray. Some griffins are even known to be able to make themselves imperceptible. These abilities, combined with the unwavering coordination of a griffin hunting party, makes other scholars guess that the reason no one can communicate with them is that griffins possess some natural means of magical communication, completely bypassing the need for language.

Either way, the griffins do not cause enough trouble for anyone to want to go through the effort it would take to get rid of them. As long as people keep themselves and their livestock away from griffin hunting parties there are no problems.

Not much is known about the archons, but the rumors are many and strong. They say that there is a hidden island somewhere, either hidden in a far-off ocean or floating among the clouds. They say that on that island there is a magic library which contains all the laws of every nation and society in the world. They say that if a society fails to uphold the laws they have set for themselves, the archons always know. And when that happens, the archons will select a group to remind that society of what it is supposed to do.

The only thing that is known for certain is that the archons will eventually show themselves. It does not happen often, usually taking years between appearances, but sooner or later they arrive. Three or four archons will sweep in on their winged lions and set an example (usually in a significant but not central town) by rounding up criminals and corrupt officials and carrying them away by magic. Very rarely will they bring anyone back. The few survivors have told tales of being brought to a large courtroom, filled with twelve archons, where each of those taken were given a single chance to defend their actions. Anyone who failed to do so was immediately executed. The few that were able to convince the archons of their innocence were brought home.

The most intriguing thing about the archons is that they seem to judge each society by the rules that that society itself has set. Thus they strike harder against peoples who have set higher standards for themselves.

If this vedalken society reminds you of something, that is on purpose. If it also reminds you of something else, that might be on purpose too. I will however not make any official claims, as I am not entirely satisfied with it yet.

The griffins came about because I was simply drawing a blank on my midrange race. I was just trying to think of something that had appeared in both colors (and I didn't have access to gatherer), and of the things that came to mind, I liked griffins the best. I'm still not sure if they are a strong enough concept, but I like them.

Once I settled on griffins for my midrange, it became clear that sphinx would not work as my iconic, due to the similar aesthetics. I decided to try to create a treatment of archons that felt , but I feel like I might have overdone it.

Kesh is a world where absolute truth rules, where deceit is tantamount to murder, and illusions are seen as the darkest form of magic. Of course, like any world, there are plenty of practitioners of both. Planeswalkers visiting Kesh may draw the conclusion that it's peoples are gullible or simply stupid. This assumption carries a great deal of risk, however, for Kesh itself rejects deceit. Illusions dispel themselves, lies reveal themselves, and those who try to hide always end up out in the open. To the people of Kesh, this is the way of things - trying to lie is like trying to fly.

It can be done, but only with practice and the correct knowledge.

The people of Kesh are wary folk, and have seen many troubles from those who seek to move against the will of the world. Always, Kesh exposes these would-be rebels for what they are - liars and charlatans.

Background and Physical Appearance
The amphibious humanoids known as the Vorsha are an intelligent and savvy people that inhabit much of the swamplands surrounding the enormous sinkhole in the center of Kesh. They average about four or five feet in height, although when they fully extend their legs they are easily taller than humans. Vorsha have large, flat heads and no neck to speak of, with wide mouths that hide rows of blunt teeth and a long, powerful tongue. Their arms are much shorter than their legs, with enough length to fold across their stomachs and terminating in human-like hands, albeit without fingernails. Their feet are long, broad, and webbed, which helps them traverse their swampland home. All in all, the Vorsha look a great deal like toads that had one day gotten up and learned to walk - of course, there are no toads on Kesh, so the comparison would be lost upon them.

Unsurprisingly, the Vorsha have a tidy stranglehold and trade through the center of Kesh, with their territoty painstakingly marked. "Nothing moves without the Vorsha" is a common saying among the other people of Kesh, and the Vorsha take pride in their mercantile civilization. Mostly, this is because it would be difficult for them to fight a war outside of their homeland, and they would be woefully outmatched by the likes of the Orcs and Humans anyway. Instead, their system of tariffs, taxes, levies and tolls are legendary both for their frequency and their relative fairness. While it is true that the Vorsha always benefit the most from any trade agreement, their dependability is worth it.

Of course, where there are merchants, there are also thieves. Sometimes, the two are one and the same. While the Vorsha cannot lie - whether directly or by omission - their trade contracts can be crafted with such a density of words and legal paraphernalia that navigating them would take the likes of a Luminous Inquistion scholar to comprehend. Indeed, many of the wealthier non-Vorsha merchant on Kesh tend to bring these papers to the Luminous Inquisition for inspection before signing on with the Vorsha at all. Those without access to the necessary means to have these agreements inspected, however, usually fall prey to a theft they had full knowledge of, but simply could not comprehend.

Fortunately for everyone else, the Vorsha are more interested in turning a profit than swindling Orcs. If every contract needed to be run halfway across Kesh in order to be inspected by the Luminous Inquisition, nothing would ever get done, and most people will accept a verbal promise from a Vorsha, if the statement is simple enough.

Society
Every member of Vorsha society contributes to the trade boats that ferry goods across their territory. Either they are merchants, money-lenders, contract writers, inspectors, or they are dock workers, boat hands, or simply caravan guards. Those who do not contribute to the trade empire that the Vorsha have set up are either being cared for by someone who does, or they are forced to find employment for themselves elsewhere in the world. Vorsha do not fare well outside of the swamp, and the term "A Vorsha out of mud" is commonly used to refer to someone being where they do not belong.

Of course, many Vorsha simply live off the well-traveled waterways. These Vorsha are seen as rather rural, but they have a closer attachment to the land they live off of. Known as Swampers, these Vorsha are largely responsible for providing food to the Vorsha people as a whole, despite the disdain many of their city brethren hold for them. The Swampers don't care much, however - food is food, and what they get in trade with the merchants is more than enough to cover their needs. Not much is known about the Swampers besides their fierce desire to be independent and their ability to reliably catch fish. Despite the mystery behind them, the Swampers were one of the first people to rise up and pledge themselves to overthrowing the demonic tyrant that had conquered Kesh a century ago. Most people have forgotten about that dark time, but the Swampers still remember.

The Vorsha who live in their sprawling, amphibious cities tend to be well-learned and well-spoken. While most cloth is incompatible with their mucous-covered flesh, many wealthy Vorsha dress in jewelry made of precious metals. In fact, it is simple to tell how much influence any individual Vorsha has - if they are dressed in iron (an abundant resource they trade for from the Orcs), they are usually workers or low-ranking merchants. Vorsha dressed in silver (a rare commodity that only the far away Aven have ready access to) are aristocrats or social leaders.

Vorsha society is not a meritocracy, however. While Swampers seem to govern themselves communally, the Vorsha of the city form a council many hundreds of Vorsha strong and croak at one another until conflicts are resolved or laws are passed. While this seems strange to those outside of Vorsha society, the Vorsha are flexible not only in their ability to breathe both air and water, but also in opinion. Changing a Vorsha's mind can be as simple as showing them a different point of view, and while Vorsha are always interested in making a profit for themselves, they cannot do that if the council croaks itself into a stalemate.

Magic
City Vorsha do not tend to practice magic. Those who show an aptitude tend to be given scholarships to join the Luminous Inquisition - A Vorsha's slippery mind is singularly suited to study - but few choose to leave their swampy homeland. Swampers, however, practice an old and particularly odious form of shamanism. Swamper shamans are rarely seen and even more rarely roused to anger. However, should someone threaten their home, family, or village, they may find themselves beset upon by plagues of ravenous mosquitoes, leeches, or flesh-eating fish. This swarm-magic is unique on Kesh to the Swampers, and while most people avoid the Swampers like the plagues they can summon, there are rumors that Swampers shamans can summon swarms of larger, more dangerous things as well...

The grotesque, eyeless serpents that wander the swampland native to the Vorsha almost have more in common with leeches than they do with snakes. Some get up to dozens of feet in length, and they all share the same pale, white flesh that would make it difficult for them to hide in the swamp, if they were not capable of changing the color of their skin. These serpents are the chief reason why Vorsha require guards for their caravans at all.

Deviously intelligent, these serpents are capable of mimicking the voices of any creature they have heard speak. What's more, they do not simply copy the words - just the voices. The serpents can say anything they want in whatever voice and language they have heard spoken, all the better to lure unsuspecting Vorsha to their deaths. They are bound to the same truthfulness as the rest of Kesh, however. Attempting to trick a serpent into revealing itself is the chief method of protection against them, but this usually enrages the creature and prompts it to attack anyway.

When not devouring Vorsha, serpents will eat anything that moves, and evens some things that do not. Driven by hunger, they may even attack one another, or feast upon the dead. Nothing is unpalatable to the serpents of the swamp.

The Demons of Kesh are just as conniving and vicious as they are across all of the multiverse. Of course, the chief difference between them and their counterparts is that the Demons of Kesh cannot lie, or at least, must make painstaking preparations in order to do so. Their hunger for power and the souls of mortals is strong, however, and this has bred in them a singly unique ability.

The Demons of Kesh can temporarily alter reality to suit their needs.

If the words they speak are made to be true - even for a time - then the magic of Kesh cannot stop them from lying, or cause them to be found out. Even so, this power comes at a cost, and drains the demon immensely. Usually, they are more than happy to use honeyed words and silvered tongues to convince mortals that dealing with them is worth it. In fact, so persuasive are the demons of Kesh that it is not uncommon for folk to talk about them openly, and consider dealing with them as a very real option.

There a few demons left after the coup that shattered their power, however. The people of Kesh, with the aid of a trio of planeswalkers, overthrew the demonic tyrant that had lorded over the plane for hundreds of years. This demon was said to be so powerful that there was no limit to his reality warping prowess. How he was defeated remains a mystery, and some believe he has not been destroyed at all, but is simply biding his time. The people of Kesh remain at a fragile peace with each other, however - if the demon were to strike now, he would doubtlessly find himself facing the entirety of the plane.

Demons travel to all corners of Kesh, although their primary targets are Orcs, Vorsha, and Humans. Some demons do not bother with temptations and contract, and simply kill whom they want and don't bother trying to hide it.

Demons congregate inside the enormous sinkhole at the center of the plane - what used to be the demonic tyrants place of power, now reduced to a gaping hole in the ground into which all the plane's water flows endlessly. There, they consolidate their individual powers and feud with one another, seeking to be the next tyrant that dominates the plane. So far, there is no clear victor. If one arose, however, they would be a force to be reckoned with indeed.

Vorsha Merchant -
Creature - Frog - C

Whenever Vorsha Merchant becomes tapped, draw a card and discard a card.

0/4

Murshalla, Swamper Matriarch -
Legendary Creature - Frog Shaman - R

Whenever Murshalla becomes tapped, put a 1/1 insect token with deathtouch onto the battlefield.

: Target opponent loses life equal to the number of insects you control.

0/3

Blind Serpent -
Creature - Serpent - U

Deceive - When Blind Serpent enters the battlefield, search your library for a non-land card and exile it face down. Then, name a card.

As long as the exiled card is face down, Blind Serpent has Menace.

When the exiled card is turned face up, if it is not the named card, Blind Serpent gains "This creature attacks each turn if able."

5/5

Keshlord of Lies -
Creature - Demon - R

Flying

Keshlord of Lies gets +1/+1 for each face down exiled card you own.

Deceive - When Keshlord of Lies enters the battlefield, search your library for a non-land card, and exile it face down. Then, name a card.

At the beginning of your upkeep, if the exiled card is face down, draw a card and lose 1 life.

When the exiled card is turned face up, if it is not the named card, lose 5 life.

4/4