When the rest of the gods return to Krynn, they realize that Takhisis has gone too far. He identifies with such people and is thus quick to help them as he is quick to help himself. Despite Dalamar informing the Conclave of the archmages plan to challenge the Dark Queen for her position among the gods, the wizards decided to send Caramon and Crysania back in time to the time of the Kingpriest prior to the Cataclysm so that he might heal the cleric. Myrkul was slain by Midnight who by that point had become Mystra's vessel, and the Lord of the Dead at that point couldn't fight back because he had his arms pinned. Immolatus mistakenly thought that Raistlin was a descendant of Magius, for he possessed the Staff of Magius. In the guise of Fistandantilus, Raistlin attempts to open the portal. Also in Chronicles, it was implied that he was 6 feet tall, the same as his twin, but this was not the case. He was also frightened by another trait Raistlin possessed: the desire to control others. Possibly as a result of this early illness, Raistlin was always a sickly child, but possessed a fierce intellect, in stark contrast to his slow-thinking, but not unintelligent, physically stronger twin. Crysania sat up and gazed at Raistlin. Raistlin wields a magic staff and is able to cast eight spells. Corij 17th, 326 AC Weak from casting the spell, Raistlin recuperated under the care of Crysania, who protected the mage from the demons of the Abyss by covering him with her body. As Margaret Weis describes in the foreword of her prequel book, The Soulforge, Terry Phillips is the man responsible for much of Raistlin's sarcastic and caustic character, taking it to depths that neither she nor Hickman had ever imagined. Although Sargonnas has generally been loyal to her, the actions leading up to her being made mortal lead Sargonnas to declare she has gone too far and to support the decision. Caramon, everyone's friend. Raistlin Majere attempts to destroy Takhisis and assume her role as head god of evil. [18] He became arrogant after the final victory over the dragons, and to attain godly power he sought the help of dark forces. After camping for the night, the group began the journey to the capital city ofHaven. The following year in345 AC, Raistlin and his companions rescued their friend Tas, when they discovered he was being held by the renegade mageRieve. Fistandantilus denies that he created the armor for Raistlin, telling Raistlin that it is an armor of his own making. And almost entirely hit. He was about to beat Takhisis, Matron Goddess of Evil - She's the head of the Evil pantheon of Krynn, before he decided "Nah, it's not worth it". Caramon denied the story, though if it were true he would have no memory of the event. The Conclave agreed, and Raistlin's intervention prevented the death knight Lord Soth from destroying the Tower of Wayreth and the wizards within. For this reason, Raistlin believed he had been given the mind, and Caramon the body. During this dream Raistlin hears this mysterious voice telling him that in order to save his life and the life of his comrades he must be willing to accept the black robes. [29] "Wishmaster", a song by Finnish metal band Nightwish also pays tribute to Raistlin. They need a mage to go into the house of the town's mageware shop, owned by Lemuel, a friend of Raistlin's, in order to rob it of the treasures said to be there. In order to prevent interference from the Device of Time Journeying used earlier by the kender, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, and the mad gnome,Gnimsh, Raistlin teleported into the dungeons beneath Thorbardin and murdered the gnome, returning to Zhaman, where he kept the kender imprisoned in the depths. Hellers calls the twin brothers Caramon and Raistlin the series's most compelling characters: "Caramon is a large, powerful, goodhearted, slightly childlike warrior; Raistlin is a sickly, complicated, mysterious, morally iffy magician. He also asserted that no magic in the world could steal the knowledge of having been loved. Class (298). 5'9 Then Raistlin allows Berem to return the gem to the column to lock the divine dragon away." "[39], Bricken later commented that in Dragons of Spring Dawning, "Raistlin finally goes full black robes, first by teleporting himself off the maelstrom-bound ship, abandoning everyone else, including his devastated twin brother Caramon" but noted that "Weis and Hickman manage to give the new black mage shades of gray by having him join the forces of Takhisis, only to help Tanis kill the goddess' most powerful acolyte, Emperor Ariakis. There are conflicting stories about how Raistlin was admitted to the school; one suggests that he was admitted by being able to guess the name of the school,Poolbottom, while another indicates that he was interviewed by the archmageAntimodes, who also paid his tuition while he was at the school and whom he corresponded with for the duration of his time there. Crysania's presence was an effort to wake her from a coma brought on by a confrontation with the death knight Lord Soth, something only the Kingpriest of Istar could accomplish. In addition to creating theChamber of Seeing, which was a giant pool of water that he could use for scrying, the Chamber also served as theLair of the Live Ones: the home of many pitiful creatures that were Raistlins mistakes as he experimented with trying to create life. The song appears on the band's 2002 album A Night at the Opera. However, his quest was not entirely over, as the archmage delivered to his nephew the key to defeating Chaos in the final battle: the spellbook ofMagius, from which Palin cast a spell to defeat the chaos minions that not even Magius himself was capable of casting. And as for Raistlin wiping the floors with Takhisis, keep in mind that was one on one. In Dragons of the Hourglass Mage, for example, Takhisis attempts to take control of all magic. She was hoping to stop her half-brother Raistlin in his quest to defeat Takhisis as she believed the goddess would greatly reward her for this service. Widow Judith comforted the distraught Rosamun, insisting that the god Belzor would perform a miraculous healing for her husband. Trotsky and Stalin found themselves on very different sides of important debates in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution and the death of Lenin. There was something reptilian about the man, something reptilian about his second face. [3] According to Hickman in the foreword to The Soulforge, "[we] were just settling in to the game when I turned to my good friend Terry Phillips and asked what his character was doing. While Caramon and Crysania managed to escape the ambush with minor wounds, Raistlin was mortally wounded in the attack but was healed by Crysania shortly thereafter. Gilon died a short while later, and then Rosamun fell into a trance which she never came out of and later died. Rather than discipline him, less than one year later, the Conclave decided to summon Raistlin to the Tower of High Sorcery at Wayreth Forest to take the Test. After Caramon's death, Fistandantilus comes to claim Raistlin's life, reaching into Raistlin's chest and grabbing his heart. Better that I had died," sneered Raistlin as he rose . Raistlin's spirit also assisted the gods to find Krynn at the conclusion of the War of Souls, after Takhisis who was claiming to be the "One God" stole Krynn and transported it to another part of the galaxy. In fact, the midwife felt that the baby Raistlin should be allowed to die as an act of mercy. There they find Par-Salian, trapped as a half-human statue of marble, being tortured by the spirit of Raistlin. If somebody else was on the ladder to apotheosis in the name of world domination, they would see things the same way. One face was the face of a human wizard. He spent two years inside the Tower, learning its secrets, studying spells and experimenting. "Did you..kill Takhisis?" "I wish I had," smiled Raistlin bitterly. In one timeline, Raistlin beat Takhisis in a true final fight, though the world would be left as little more then a blasted heath from the fallout. On one misadventure, Caramon managed to knock himself out, and Sturm and Raistlin teamed up to capture a gang of thieves that were operating in Solace, handing them over to the town sheriff. Born to a mother prone to trance-like fits and a woodcutter father, Raistlin inherited his mother's aptitude for magic. The change in Raistlin between when he lacks and possesses the Staff has been compared to the difference between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. We can relate to feelings that nobody loves us, to the struggle for recognition and acceptance. In his monologue, he states: "I didn't do it for you, mages! Raistlin realizes that the blade Liam wielded had been covered with poison, and passes out, expecting to die. Fictional character from Dragonlance books. Dragonlance Legends is a trilogy of fantasy novels written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, which take place in the Dragonlance setting. It did not involve the most territory nor the widest diversity of population, but it lasted the longest, and the name of Stenka Razin has come to signify the very essence of Russian folk spirit. She was hoping to stop her half-brother Raistlin in his quest to defeat Takhisis as she believed the goddess would greatly reward her for this service. (In Cthulhu's case, go way beyond the bounds of sanity with your stats and your set). [] Apparently, the column had imprisoned Takhisis and the removal of the gem allowed the goddess a little bit of freedom, which is why she's causing trouble in the present. [9], These factors ultimately culminate in Raistlin's turn to evil. Pressed for whatever information he can give them before dying, Par-Salian tells Caramon and Tas that to prevent this future from happening, Raistlin must not be allowed to leave the Abyss. Raistlin Majere attempts to destroy Takhisis and assume her role as head god of evil. In desperation and out of instinct, Raistlin throws up his hands to stop the fireball that is hurtling towards him. [citation needed] This is confirmed again in the 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide.[4]. I had one more debt to pay in my lifetime. Regardless, the twins relationship changed dramatically after that, with one twin having watched the other kill him. [12], Tiamat, in her Dragonlance/Krynn incarnation is also the subject of in the Dragon Gods and Evil dragons sections of the Practical Guide to Dragons. The twins were sixteen. To this day Margaret [Weis] swears that Terry wore the black robes to the party that night. A strict diet and a harsh training regimen put Caramon into better shape than he was prior to the War of the Lance, and the Victor quickly became a favorite of the ladies who attended the mock gladiatorial contests in the arena. Using the Device of Time Journeying, Caramon and Tas traveled forward in time, at the same moment when Raistlin completed the casting of his powerful spell. Raistlin 1) The other Gods beat Takhisis down or took her most of the way down, and Raistlin just snuck in at the last moment and absconded with her divinity (this argument still requires another explanation for this last step and this explanation usually lessens the significance of Raistlin's character and power as well as reflecting poorly on the . Filled with jealous rage, Raistlin used the last ounce of strength to kill his brother with his final spell. It was there that Raistlin encountered the cult of the false god Belzor, and where he again met the Renegade Wizard, Judith, who was using magic to bamboozle the townspeople into believing in her. There he confronted Fistandantilus and drained the older mage's unnatural life away, replacing him and assuming his identity. The white wizard Par-Salian sent Caramon, the cleric of Paladine Crysania, and, by accident, the kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot to the same time period in a desperate attempt to stop him. I didn't do it for my brother! [11], This theme of good versus evil, and humans versus gods, is expanded in Dragonlance, a Shared World of Fantasy Fiction and Role-Playing Games. The closest equivalent is the fate of the Dark Three, and Bhaal and Bane were already covered. All the while, Raistlin continued to rest and study, and to let his brother play general.. Club, described Raistlin as "Dragonlance's breakout star", referring to him as "Dragonlance's sarcastic, scene-stealing son of a bitch" and "the eerie, complicated protagonist-bordering-on-antagonist who didn't do much to hide his contempt for people and lust for power". He is twin brother to Caramon Majere, half-brother to his protective sister Kitiara uth Matar, and a significant member of the Heroes of the Lance. Using the wall for support, Raistlin raised both his hands, put his thumbs together. In Mereklar, the trio encounteredBast, the Lord of Cats, and undertook a quest from the council of Mereklar to uncover a murderer in the town. Raistlin regains consciousness to find his brother, Caramon, walking towards him. This central role is crucial to how creation myths are presented. After the battle, Raistlin notices that his skin has turned a gold color, forming a magical armor that had protected him from the fireball. Declaring himself theMaster of Past and Present, he lifted the curse the Black Robe,Rannoch, had placed on the Tower shortly before the Cataclysm. She would periodically return home with small gifts for Caramon, such as a wooden sword, and though she felt great affection for Raistlin as her first battle, she did not relate well to Raistlins intellectual pursuits. The magical explosion pushes Caramon and Tasslehoff into the future, where it is revealed that Raistlin was successful in defeating Takhisis and has gone on to destroy the other gods and all life on Krynn. Takhisis is key to the Dragonlance world creation myth as the primordial source of evil. Fistandantilus was able to petition the Dark Queen for a mysterious item known as the Key of Knowledge, which Raistlin was able to use to unlock a number of ancient tomes and gain vast power in the process. Thrown into jail with the kender for the assault, the pair were sold at a slave market in Istar toArack, Master of the Games, so that they might fight in theArena. Fortunately for Caramon, the person that Raistlin killed during his test was only an illusion that was meant to teach Raistlin compassion. As Raistlin prepares to cast a final spell that he knows will kill him in his weakened state, Caramon suddenly conjures lightning that strikes the floating head. Caramon Majere (twin), Kitiara Uth Matar (half sister) [17] The trilogy also explored the relationship between Raistlin and his twin Caramon. Takhisis, along with Paladine, was called from the Beyond to be custodians of the world. When Gilon died, Widow Judith argued that it had been Rosamun's lack of faith, her daughter Kitiara's unsavory lifestyle, and Raistlin's study of magic which caused the god to forsake Gilon in his time of need. She knew Caramon would make a great warrior, but she did not know what to do with his brother. Takhisis is well-aware of Berem and sends her draconian armies and dragons to find him, because if she gets her claws on him, she'll be free and unbeatable. The result was the destruction of Zhaman and the annihilation of the armies on the Plains of Dergoth, now the Plains of Death. Kitiara named him after a hero in tales told to her by her father,Gregor Uth Matar, who described the imaginary Raistlin as not the bravest or strongest, but the most clever and strong-willed who used his wits to outsmart his opponents. In347 AC, the twins joined the service of theBaron of Langtree, otherwise known as the Mad Baron. [7] After being driven back by Huma Dragonbane in the Third Dragon War and sealed from the world, she bides her time in the Abyss, always looking for new ways into the world. She suspected that she was Raistlin's daughter, but Raistlin denied it when he encountered her, stating that Usha was born of two human parents and was certainly no daughter of his. White Nationality He wears a long, fringed, hooded robe with a cape reaching to his ankles. Challenging the still-living Fistandantilus, Raistlin wins the duel and steals the archmage's identity, memories, and life force. She'll wipe the floor with Takhisis. "All the spells I created to slay her, none of them could defeat her." "We escaped, that's what matters," soothed Crysania. After the war, Raistlin raised the Curse ofRannochon theTower of High Sorcery at Palanthas, and put his plan to challengeTakhisisfor her position in the pantheon of gods into action. "[10] Raistlin casts the spell learned from Fistandantilus and kills the three dark elves. The younger of the twins, Raistlin was a difficult birth and was born feet first, which almost caused the death of his mother. Gawain returned to take care of his family, while the twins and Earwig traveled to the city ofMereklar. [21], In the later short story, The Legacy, Caramon's son Palin is summoned for his Test, winding up at the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas. "[37], Philosopher Christopher Robichaud considered Raistlin Majere to be "the greatest D&D character ever". You save the world without risking having to fight Raistlin (or Takhisis), but it means destroying Palanthas. Taken by the elves to the capital city ofQualinost, the companions snuck into the fortress of Pax Tharkas through theSla Mori, where they were able to free the slaves from the mines, defeat theDragon HighlordVerminaard, and then fled with the refugees into theKharolis Mountains, pursued by the dragonarmies. His brother Caramon, with the aid of a time-travelling device, dissuades him from this path; and Raistlin sacrifices himself to prevent Takhisis from leaving the Abyss. Any memory of Fistandantilus is gone (Par-Salian believing that this was Fistandantilus's own doing, so Raistlin would not fight him), and Raistlin believes his health has been destroyed due to the battle with Liam. Initially wearing the red robes of neutrality, as the first series progresses Raistlin's powers increase while his mood and actions darken, and he adopts the black robes of evil during the War of the Lance. Using Crysania as his shield, Raistlin enters the abyss in search of the Dark Queen. Trotsky's failure in the propaganda war had worsened his position. During the Chaos War, Usha Majere, a human girl reared by the Irda, was introduced. In addition to taking theRed Robes, Raistlin was also given theStaff of Magius, a powerful artifact from before theCataclysmthat belonged to the famous mage of the same name. "[citation needed] The song first appeared on the 2001 album of the same name. During this time, Raistlin helped to fight the darkness threatening to consume all of Krynn. Tremors split the rock. "[22] It has been revealed by Margaret Weis that this "last debt" was to magic itself.[23]. However, Raistlin, rather than being upset by this lack of acceptance, enjoyed the fact they feared him enough to try to destroy him. After another blast of Caramon's magic lightning, the head of Fistandantilus disappears, leaving Raistlin to wonder what just happened. Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Interview with author and designer Jeff Grubb", "Dungeons & Dragons & Novels: Revisiting Dragons of Spring Dawning", Player's Guide to the Dragonlance Campaign, Dungeon Master Option: High-Level Campaigns, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Takhisis&oldid=1147415391, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Articles needing additional references from May 2016, All articles needing additional references, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles using Infobox character with multiple unlabeled fields, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2014, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 March 2023, at 20:22. He also becomes even more frail and sickly than before. Caramon appeared, and when another enemy arose to attack the twins, Caramon pulled an amber rod and a piece of fur from his bag in order to cast a spell to destroy the enemy. Raistlin later learns that he did not, in fact, kill his brother. Moving into the Tower, Raistlin used the next two years to study thespellbooks of Fistandantilusto increase his own power, and to conduct experiments in the Tower. The army moved on and the twins stayed with the army for a time before leaving to adventure on their own once more. Dragons of the Hourglass Mage details Raistlin's adventures in Neraka after becoming a wizard of the Black Robe[14] and chronicles the significant maturation of the character between his introduction in Dragons of Spring Dawning and later appearances, addressing many previously-unanswered questions. By342 AC, Raistlin had been promoted to a novitiate at Poolbottom, and was growing into a considerably skilled young mage. On the road south, the group was attacked by bandits, led by a half-ogre calledSteeltoe. Raistlin is at the height of his power. Within the Dragonlance universe, Takhisis was a sister of Gilean and Paladine,[citation needed] the goddess of control and evil, consort to Sargonnas, and mother to Zeboim and Nuitari. Raistlin, initially planning to warn Lemuel, agrees to go in after the elves tell him that they know of secret spellbooks hidden in the shop. The trilogy has two major story arcs: Raistlin Majere's aspirations to godhood, and his twin Caramon Majere's attempts to stop him; and At the conclusion of Brothers in Arms, Raistlin and Caramon remain with the army. After recovering theHammer of Kharasfrom the depths of Thorbardin, the companions and the human refugees of Pax Tharkas were allowed to stay in the dwarven realm under the mountain for the winter. King Lorac Caladon is freed, but dies shortly after. Wizard Ariakas did not yet trust Kitiara, and he gave her a mission to lure Immolatus, a red dragon, to his command. [20], Caramon and Tasselhoff attempt to stop Raistlin by returning to the time when Raistlin is on his way to lure the Queen of Darkness out of the Abyss, at the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthus. Presumed dead by everyone, Raistlin remained in the Abyss for many years. During the Test, Raistlin faced many challenges, but perhaps none as great as the dark elf that he was faced with as the final challenge of his test. What happened was something he had no way of predicting. Raistlin repeated the words to the chant back to him, and had discreetly replaced the jewel with a fake pendant so that he could learn the incantation from the other mage without suffering its effects. On the other side of the Portal as they withdrew the cloth, was the archmage, Raistlin Majere. Such was his power then that two years later, the historian Astinus, in Time of the Twins, described Raistlin's entry into the Tower as this: Two years ago, he entered the Tower of High Sorcery. Following the ambush, the army pressed forward and took up headquarters in Zhaman, where Raistlin began his preparations for entering the Portal to the Abyss. Although he could have passed the Test without aid from the archmage, Raistlin accepted the Dark One's bargain. With both of the deities being confirmed as the same being in 5E, I decided to //post Takhisis' original 1E stats for comparison sake (Dragonlance Adventures, 1987). He and his companions played a critical role, and would collectively become known as the Heroes of the Lance. The book is written as a school book for young wizards and witches of the neo-pagan sort. After Raistlin passed his Test in Brothers Majere, Ansalon was engulfed in the conflict that would be known as the War of the Lance. By revealing she was using magic and not the powers of a god (by casting a spell of his own), Raistlin proved that she was a charlatan, destroying her cult and at the same time invoking the wrath of the townspeople against himself, coming dangerously close to being burned at the stake. Raistlin committed himself to the Dark Queens service, guarding the final portal to the foundation stone of theTemple of Neraka, at the same time his former companions arrived in Neraka to rescueLaurana Kanan. On returning to Solace, Raistlin created a medicine to help Flint, whose joints were now aching so badly that he was bordering on being paralyzed. However, in the process of the Test, Raistlin was attacked physically with a knife and had no defense following which he laid in a corridor bleeding to death when suddenly and illusion of Caramon (Raistlin not realizing it for an illusion) appeared to help his frail twin. Hyde.[13]. The other face was more difficult to see, but Raistlin had a fleeting impression of red, vibrant red, glittering red. Conditions: Elminster is pre-spellplague. [16] The plans he has made drive the conflict in Time of the Twins, the first novel in the series. Rosamun, struck dumb by the sudden loss of her husband, fell into one of her trances, sinking so deep that she never re-emerged. Among other references, the song uses the word "Shalafi" (the elven word for "master", used by Dalamar toward Raistlin), and there is a lyric that reads "if you hear the call of arcane lore / your world shall rest on earth no more. After the Chaos War, Takhisis steals the world from the rest of the gods and becomes the "One God" of the world. In348 AC, Raistlin and Caramon returned to Solace to reunite with the other Companions who had departed on their various journeys five years before. When his apprentice, Dalamar, conducted the Test of High Sorcery for Caramon and Tikas youngest son,Palin Majere, he intended to create the illusion that Palin would enter his uncles sealed laboratory in order to complete the Test. This played into Raistlin's plans, as the Abyss, the realm in which Takhisis resided, had to be accessed through a gateway which could only be opened through the combined actions of a black-robed wizard of purest evil and a priest of Paladine of purest good.[19]. Bricken adds that Raistlin "makes clear he's done all of this because it's made him the most powerful force of evil on Krynn, but then he still saves Tasslehoff and Tika from death. Injured, he crawled over to Fistandantilus, placed the true bloodstone on his masters chest and cast the spell, draining life force from the old mage and gaining the magical understanding of the elder. The Caramon in the tower had been an illusion created by Par-Salian, formed to show Raistlin the depths of his own hatred and arrogance. He befriends the gully dwarf Bupu through his kindness. [14], In the Io9 series revisiting older Dungeons & Dragons novels, Rob Bricken commented that "The primary adventure of the novel is Tanis and his comrades' attempt to bring Beremaka the Green Gem Manto the Temple of Takhisis at Neraka so he can do something that will help seal the goddess away again. Takhisis discovered the Foundation Stone. Raistlin is also Margaret Weis's favorite character. Golden Shavas was consumed by her own magic and Raistlin destroyed her phylactery. [16], Jason Heller, of The A.V. [2] To recover knowledge lost during the Cataclysm, Raistlin travelled backwards through time to just before it, during the reign of the Kingpriest. In this form, he possesses golden skin and hourglass eyes that pierce through the veil of time and with it, whatever vision of the past or the future that awaits the campaign. After Raistlin was intimidated by the disguised red dragon, he escaped the tent and returned to his own army's camp. The spirit was intent on finding his way into Thorbardin. (11 & 12). In the months following this incident, Raistlin assumed the role of Fistandantilus at court, and was acting in that capacity when Caramon, Crysania, and Tasslehoff were deposited in Istar as a result of Par-Salians spell. According to Raistlin, he had slept peacefully during the time he was in the Abyss and had occasionally dreamed of Crysania. A wealth of well-detailed spell components hangs from his belt. Back in Palanthas in the current time, a battle raged for control of the city. His acceptance of the black robes, however, was not approved by the Conclave, effectively making Raistlin a renegade wizard. He then took up residence in the Tower of High Sorcery of Palanthas, fulfilling an ancient prophecy that had foreseen his appearance as the Master of Past and Present. Raistlin, although physically very weak, is extremely intelligent, and possesses uncommonly powerful magical abilities. Left without parents, Caramon ended up taking care of his brother, refusing to leave his twin for adventure with his half-sister Kitiara. After a desperate prayer to the three gods of magic, who visited him and made him swear to worship them, the words lit up with such ferocity that the skin was utterly consumed. Par-Salian, in order to teach Raistlin compassion and patience, curses him with the eyes of the sorceress Raelana, turning his pupils into an hourglass shape that shows him the effect of time on everything: "Youth withers before those eyes, beauty fades, mountains crumble to dust".
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