Dragonlance 12 - Raistlin Chronicles - Soulforge (59 page)

Raistlin had readily agreed. He planned to learn all he could from the archmagus before they parted.

He had hoped that Antimodes would apprentice him, and had even been bold enough to make the request. Antimodes had refused, however. He never took apprentices, or so he said. He lacked the patience. He added that there was little opportunity in the way of apprenticeships open these days.

Raistlin would be far better studying on his own.

This was a prevarication (one could not say that a White Robe lied). The other mages who had taken the Tests had all been apprenticed. Raistlin wondered why he was the exception. He decided, after considerable thought, that it must have something to do with Caramon.

His brother was rattling the teapot, making a most ungodly racket, slopping boiling water all over the floor and spilling the herbs.

Would I go back to the days of my youth?

Then my body had seemed frail, but it was strong in comparison to this fragile assembly of bones and flesh that I now inhabit, held together only by my will. Would I go back?

Then I looked on beauty and I saw beauty. Now I look on beauty and I see it drowned, bloated, and disfigured, carried downstream by the river of time. Would I go back?

Then we were twins. Together in the womb, together after birth, still together but now separate. The silken cords of brotherhood, cut, dangle between us, never to be restrung. Would I go back?

Closing the volume of his precious notations, Raistlin picked up a pen and wrote on the cover: I,
Magus
.

And, with a swift, firm stroke, he underlined it.

Coda

One evening, while I was absorbed in my usual task of chronicling the history of the world, Bertram, my loyal but occasionally inept assistant, crept into my study and begged leave to interrupt my work.

"Whatever is the matter, Bertram?" I demanded, for the man was as pale as if he'd encountered a gnome bringing an incendiary device into the Great Library.

"This, Master!" he said, his voice quavering. He held in his trembling hands a small scroll of parchment, tied with a black ribbon and sealed with black ink. Stamped upon the ink was the imprint of an eye.

"Where did this come from?" I demanded, though I knew immediately who must have sent it.

"That's just it, Master, " Bertram said, holding the scroll balanced on the tips of his fingers. "I don't know! One minute it wasn't there. And the next minute it was."

Knowing I would get nothing more intelligent from Bertram than this, I told him to place the scroll on the desk and to leave. I would peruse it at my leisure. He was clearly reluctant to leave the missive, thinking no doubt that it would burst into flame or some other such nonsense. He did as I requested, however, and left with many a backward glance. Even then, he waited, hovering outside my door with—as I learned later—a bucket of water nearby, intending, no doubt, to fling it on me at the first puff of smoke.

Breaking the seal and untying the ribbon, I found this letter, of which I have included a portion.

To Astinus,

It may be that I am about to undertake a daring enterprise
. 1
It
is highly probable that I will not return from this undertaking (should I decide to undertake it) or if
I do, it will be an altered state. If it should occur that I meet my demise upon this quest, then I give
you leave to publish the true account of my early life, including that which has always been kept
most secret, my Test in the Tower of High Sorcery. I do this in response to the many wild tales and
untruths being circulated regarding me and my family. I grant you permission on the condition that
Caramon also agrees with my decision…

I did not forget about Raistlin's charge to me, as some have implied. Neither Caramon nor I deemed the time right for publication of his book. Now that his nephew Palin has grown to manhood and has taken his own Test in the Tower, Caramon has given his permission for the book to be published.

This is the true account of Raistlin's early life. Astute readers will note discrepancies between this account and others which have come before. I trust those readers will take into consideration the fact that the name of Raistlin Majere had become legend over the years. A great deal that has been written, told, and sung about the great mage is either false or a distortion of the truth.

I am guilty of some of this myself, for I deliberately misled people in regard to certain aspects of Raistlin's life. The Test in the Tower of High Sorcery—the Test that proved to have such a devastating and fateful influence on him—is one of the most important. Other accounts exist of his Test, but this is the first time the true account has been written.

The Conclave of Wizards has long decreed that the nature of the Test be kept secret. Following Raistlin's "death," certain wild and destructive rumors began to circulate regarding him. Caramon asked for permission from Par-Salian to lay these rumors to rest. Since the rumors appeared likely to damage the reputations of all magic-users on Krynn, the Conclave granted permission for the story to be told, but only if certain of the facts were altered.

Thus Caramon caused to be written an abbreviated story of Raistlin's Test, which came to be known as the
Test of the Twins
. In essence, the story is true, though you will see that the actual events are a great deal different form those earlier portrayed.

I finish with the conclusion of Raistlin's letter.

… I
break the silence now because I want the facts known. If I am to be judged by those who come
after me, let me be judged for the truth. I dedicate this book to the one who gave me life
.

Raistlin Majere

1 The enterprise to which he refers is his attempt to enter the Abyss and overthrow Takhisis. Those interested may find this tale in the Great Library, in the books marked "Dragonlance Legends."

The Legends Trilogy

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

In the sequel to the ground-breaking Chronicles trilogy, the powerful archmage Raistlin follows the path of dark magic and even darker ambition as he travels back through time to the days before the Cataclysm. Joining him, willingly and unwillingly, are Crysania, a beautiful cleric of good, Caramon, Raistlin's brother, and the irrepressible kender Tasslehoff.

Volume One:
Time of the Twins

Volume Two:
War of the Twins

Volume Three:
Test of the Twins

Dragonlance is a registered trademark of TSR, Inc.

Dragons of Summer Flame

Margaret Weis And Tracy Hickman

The best-selling conclusion to the stories told in the Chronicles and Legends Trilogies. The War of the Lance is long over. The seasons come and go. The pendulum of the world swings. Now it is summer. A hot, parched summer such as no one on Krynn has ever known before.

Distraught by a grievous loss, the young mage Palin Majere seeks to enter the Abyss in search of his lost uncle, the infamous archmage Raistlin.

The Dark Queen has found new champions. Devoted followers, loyal to the death, the Knights of Takhisis follow the Vision to victory. A dark paladin, Steel Brightblade, rides to attack the High Clerist's Tower, the fortress his father died defending.

On a small island, the mysterious Irda capture an ancient artifact and use it to ensure their own safety. Usha, child of the Irda, arrives in Palanthas claiming that she is Raistlin's daughter.

The summer will be deadly. Perhaps it will be the last summer Ansalon will ever know.