The Shadowmoor minisite has gone up. As they did with Lorwyn, Wizards will be using the site to tease you about Shadowmoor with stories and a list of all the cards that have been officially previewed (you can follow “unofficial previews” over at the MTG Salvation spoiler archive).
Most notable today is the story explanation of what Shadowmoor actually is, called Shadow of the Aurora. Turns out, Shadowmoor is Lorwyn overwritten:
Darkness fell. The Great Aurora swept across the plane, transforming it into an eerie world of permanent gloom, and wiping away almost all traces of its former nature. The denizens of the plane have transformed along with it, memories and all, and now only a precious few still remember the name Lorwyn.
The sun has abandoned the world. In the wake of the Aurora, the plane’s formerly lighthearted races have taken on new identities, their allegiances twisted by the shadow. The Aurora also awakened new threats, beings that slumbered, hidden, during sunnier times. Moaning spirits, impish oddities, scuttling scarecrows, and enormous monsters of lore have emerged to roam the land. And Shadowmoor is now the province of demigods, manifestations of dark forces that have slept since the last Great Aurora.
Mind you, there are only two cards bearing the word “Demigod” in the set (but more on that later).
Interesting. On a 100% related note, I happened to walk by a game shop when I was in Italy last week, and the Italian name for Lorwyn was “Lorwyn,” but the Italian name for Morningtide was “Aurora.”
This is an interesting piece of flavor, and it allows for a lot of those obvious mirrorings like Goldmeadow and Mistmeadow. It almost — almost, I say — makes me want to read the fiction. Almost.