This issue has been killing me since Guilds of Ravnica came out, I NEED TO KNOW.
So I think I may have cracked this mystery.
I heard a rumor that the Ral novel will have Ral in a relationship with Tomik, the advokist from the card, erm…Tomik, Distinguished Advokist. From the card art it looks like he’s either Orzhov-affiliated or Guildless (card’s mono-white and has no Guild watermark) but that’s all we know about him. And this is entirely based on a rumor; I know nothing about the book. BUT.
This is Tomik:
Note two important facts:
He’s wearing white robes.
He has a red streamer tied around his right wrist.
So…what are the odds that the scrap of white cloth Ral’s holding, and later has bound around his wrist, is a piece of cloth from Tomik’s robes?
And what are the odds that the red piece of cloth Tomik is wearing in turn is one of the many red streamers Ral favors for his own outfit?
If this is true, I’m not sure what trading items like that means on Ravnica. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s some kind of promise that Ral can’t be in a serious relationship while he’s running the damn League (hence his mournful expression in Izzet Viceroy) but someday he intends to be. But consider also the art on the card Blast Zone, which shows an Orzhov citadel getting kicked in the teeth, and the art on Ral’s Outburst that shows a really truly furious Ral firing lightning from what looks like a rooftop. It may be that poor Tomik ends up collateral damage and Ral goes off because of it. I hope not - he seems like a nice person, and probably the kind who would understand Ral’s bonkers work schedule. Plus it enables all sorts of dirty Zeleren jokes about Ral’s predilection for the law.
We’ll know one way or another when the novel comes out. But for now, that’s my theory.
EDIT: @elspethsunschampion reports that the art book has a little more detail on Tomik: he’s Orzhov, works as a security & contracts mage, has loving ghost parents, and studied with/assists Teysa Karlov. He has a deep respect for the law beyond most Orzhov advokists, but also loves finding loopholes in it. Sounds like the sort of mischievous bastard Ral would date. There’s interesting potential there for a really sweet moment with contract magic and trading items like that, too. He seems like a fun character. I hope he lives.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!
I haven’t seen that red cloth on Tomik!
I’ve got some info on Tomik Vrona, as he was an apprentice of Teysa Karlov. So your guesses on him being part of the Orzhov Syndicate are right. He’d even operated as her right hand, running messages to her old contacts and fostering secret alliances, while she was in prison.
From his Wiki page: Tomik is known to fly a gargoyle.
A GARGOYLE.
I NEED RAL RIDING A GARGOYLE WITH HIS BOYFRIEND LIKE NOW.
