Page 92 - Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica

Speakers' Chamber, and they elect a Prime Speaker
from among them to serve as the Simic guildmaster.
Zegana, the current Prime Speaker, is the Speaker of
Zonot One, which is located in a remote, sparsely inhab-
ited part of Ravnica far from the political activity of the
Tenth District.
The Simic guildhall, Zameck, is located in Zonot
Seven within Precinct Five of Ravnica's Tenth District.
SIMIC COMBINE A huge chamber just below the street serves as the
gathering place for all the Speakers, as well as a loca-
THE SIMIC REPRESENTATIVE WAS A STERN-LOOKING
tion where non-Simic visitors can meet with the Prime
mage whose parentage appeared to be part!Y human and Speaker or other combine emissaries.
part/y aquatic, possib!Y merfolk: he rode astride a creature
GOALS OF THE S!MIC
that seemed the offspring of a giant, blue-carapaced crab
Two philosophical principles, in tension with each
and an irate squid. The Simic squad was rounded out by a
other, combine to give the Simic Combine its unique
host of mages clad in scale armor, and improbable hybrid approach to science and nature. In traditional Simic
fusions of scaled, finned, and shelled creatures. thought, these principles are called the Holdfast and the
-Doug Beyer, Return to Ravnica: The Secretist Upwelling.
The Holdfast principle, named for the biological mech-
anism that keeps kelp and sponges anchored to the sea
The secrets of life are revealed in the laboratories of
the Simic, and their research notes plumb and catalog floor, advises members of the Simic Combine never to
stray so far from nature that they become "adrift." It es-
nature's wonders. Their original mission was to oversee
pouses the idea that nature left undisturbed will evolve
issues of public health, but the Simic came to beUeve
toward adaptive traits and increased strength. Nature
that complete health-of individuals and of society as a
will flourish and grow, and every creature will find its
whole-depends on the mutual adaptation of nature and proper niche in the ecosystem where it can thrive.
civilization to one another. Thus, biological experimen- The Upwelling principle, named for the phenomenon
tation has always been among its primary concerns.
Historically, the guild's approach to its mission has of nutrient-rich water rising to the ocean surface, advo-
been one of incremental progress toward a utopian ideal cates that the new and enlivened should replace the old
of thriving biology, and it remains more aloof from poli- and depleted in an unending cycle, bringing constant re-
tics than other guilds. Its fundamental mission remains freshment and renewal. This principle accounts for the
combine's analytical bent and its emphasis on knowl-
unchanged by the current political instability, and the
edge as a means of transformation. Learning the secrets
isolation of its laboratories protects most Simic guild
of the universe lets you shape the world as you desire.
members from immediate harm.
The Upwelling encourages every creature to discover its
Little is known about the combine's founder, except
full potential.
that this individual's first or family name was Simic.
The Holdfast encourages the Simic to promote nature;
the Upwelling urges them to perfect nature. The end
INSIDE THE COMBINE result is the same: a hastened system of evolution that
Vast sinkholes called zonots are the primary geographic brings out the best in every creature's nature. But differ-
divisions among the Simic. Each zonot pierces layer ent factions within the Simic Combine interpret these
upon layer of crumbled city as it descends deep below principles in their own ways.
the surface and connects to ancient, long-forgotten The leadership of the Simic Combine represents the
ocean waters. A zonot is a distinct Simic habitat with its traditional philosophy of the Utopians. Their vision is of
own culture and ecosystem, as well as a leader called an ideal world in which nature and civilization exist in
a Speaker. The Speakers of all nine zonots form the balance, in which natural life adapts to life in the midst

CHAPTER 2 I GUlLDS OF RAVNICA 91