Dragonlance 17 - Dragons Of A Vanished Moon (63 page)

Glory of the Gods: The Four Powers

The life and death of mortals upon Krynn gives strength to the gods. This was ordained by the High God, both for the sake of the gods (that they might benefit and learn from the unfolding of the Tobril's Plan) and for the sake of mortals (that the gods of Evil would not destroy the balance). As mortals act on Krynn, their beliefs and deeds lend power to the gods aligned to their actions. This is especially true when they die and make their final commitments of the spirit. The gods not only benefit from this power but return it to their followers. (Fig. 1)

Two kinds of power can be said to exist on Krynn: the spiritual

energy of faith, fueled by the heart and spirit of mortals, and the elemental energies driven by creation. These powers exist in two states, the ambient power of Krynn and the directed energies of the Cycles of Faith and Creation, which connect gods and

mortals. From these sources comes the magic of Krynn.

The ambient power of the world is the source for the magic of the Fifth Age, both mystical (ambient spiritual energy) and

sorcerous, or "wild magic" (ambient elemental and creative energy). These arts were also practiced in the Age of Dreams but largely forgotten after that era. This magic is fueled by mortals and their relationship with Krynn and thus survived even during the gods' absence. Wild magic is "wild" precisely because of the damage done to Krynn by the forces of Chaos and Evil. As it reflects the state of creation, it also shares in the disordering of the world.

It is from the harmony between gods and mortals that the powers of High Sorcery and clerical magic derive. As mortals revere the gods and pursue the acts of living faith, they channel power to the gods. The gods complete the circuit by returning that power, whether Good, Neutral, or Evil. The cycle thus rewards both gods and mortals, providing magic to the mortals and energy for the gods in their cosmic struggle. However, the gods are not equal, nor are all mortal beings, and there is

constant flux and volatility.

The Fifth Age—Another Perspective

Despite the turmoil of Krynn and occasional disruptions of the Cycles of Faith and Creation, the Progression of Souls remained unthreatened until the Chaos War. (Fig. 2)

Krynn normal motion in space, time & reality

Chaos, released from the Greygem that had trapped him, resumed his challenge to the High God for mastery over Krynn. Some say that Takhisis enticed him into this mad scheme, but it certainly seems likely that she was the one who coaxed the Irda to crack the Greygem. It must be understood that the Chaos War was not fought merely over the world of Krynn, but over the souls of mortals.

The Theft of the World

The ultimate defeat of Chaos at the end of the Chaos War was the last cog in her own master plan, which Takhisis

apparently had been developing for centuries. In the last instant of Chaos's fall, the Dragon Queen stole the world of Krynn,

removing it to a place, time, and reality unknown and unnoticed by the other gods. She adopted many guises as she endeavored to achieve this and other ends . .. including that of a Shadow Sorcerer.

(Fig. 3)

However, Takhisis, badly weakened from the terrible theft of the world and deception of the gods, needed time to rest and regather her strength. She felt comfortable in doing this, for

Chaos War Unrealized Future that has changed.

Spirit Krynn After Takhisis Steals the World

while new souls continued to be born into the world, the progression

of souls had been stopped. Instead of moving on to a higher plane after death, the souls of mortals were stopped, doomed to remain on Krynn. Takhisis drew power from their spirits as they were trapped in this hideous fate, in a fashion similar to that of her favored children, the Evil dragons, during the early days of this age. As the power of the Dark Queen waxed, these souls became more enslaved. She even began to send them forth to drain magic from the spells of mortals, and spellcasters even began to detect her foul taint corrupting wild magic and mysticism. (Fig. 4)

The world became a closed source of power for the Queen of Darkness. While other gods were deprived of the energies of mortal souls, the Dragon Queen drew power not only from those who served her but from the energy put forth by all mortals. In time, she believed that she would have enough power not only to retain supremacy over Krynn but to challenge the High God for mastery over all creation. Thus did she follow in Chaos' path, and bring about great misery in the world in doing so.

The Curious Case of the Render: Then and Again

Time is key to understanding the unfolding of this history of Krynn. As creation would be meaningless without a past, present, or future, long ago the High God forbade the powers to tamper with the River of Time. Takhisis, typically, believed that this

commandment had no real meaning for her, even though her theft of Krynn displaced the world both in space and time ... with

unforeseen consequences.

The Future That Never Would Be

Prior to the Chaos War, Tasslehoff Burrfoot—a kender of some renown—was able to travel forward in time ... to a future that would never take place, because of Takhisis's subsequent sin against the High God.

Perhaps this illustration will best serve to clarify the matter (Fig. 5). The kender went forward in time (A) prior to his deadly conflict with Chaos. He visited a future (B) where the elves were at peace and Palin had attended Caramon's funeral. He then returned to the past (C) where he was caught up in the Chaos War. At the moment Chaos might have destroyed him (D), he gratefully recalled my admonition to trigger the device once more. In that very moment, Tahkisis stole the world, establishing it along a new and different timeline. Tasslehoff leaped forward once more to the same time—Caramon's funeral—but an entirely different future. (E) Another way of looking at it is that Tasslehoff jumped "down" the River of Time a ways, then returned and continued on his regular

path through life. At the end of the Chaos War, Tas tried to jump forward again, but at the same moment, Takhisis dammed the river and forced it into a new course, sweeping Tasslehoff along with it.

Time travel, it is true, is a highly speculative subject. Inarguable

is the fact that Tasslehoff had memories of two distinct futures because of the simple fact that he had indeed visited two separate futures.

The Past That Never Was

I have spoken with Palin Majere at length since the end of the War of Souls. He was most curious as to why, when he tried to travel back in time, he found no past beyond the Chaos War. As you can see from the diagram, when Palin used the device inside the War of Souls timeline, he attempted to travel back beyond the point in time when Takhisis absconded with the world. Thus, while everyone on Krynn from that time had lived in the original timeline and could thus remember it, from the point of view of the River of Time itself, there was no past at all (F).

Palin also expressed some confusion as to the relationship between the High God and Chaos, drawing from what he

overheard in the Abyss and while working with Reorx to try and stop Chaos. When he was in the Abyss, the domain of Takhisis, observing the gods, his perceptions were influenced by Takhisis. While much of what he overheard was accurate in substance, his perspective was colored by the Dark Queen. Confusing Chaos with the High God, in Palin's mind, must have seemed to Takhisis an excellent way to advance her plans for dominion.

As to Reorx referring to Chaos as "Himself" and "the Father of All and Nothing". . . Chaos remained the mightiest of the gods until the end, and the magnitude of his presence could be overwhelming even for Reorx. When Reorx came face to face with Chaos, it shook him to the core and left him fleetingly believing Chaos's deluded claims. After the Chaos War, the Forger recovered, but by then the world had been stolen and the mistaken impression lingered.

The Future of the Fifth Age

With the return of the gods, the progression of souls has been restored, and mortals can now move on to their just rewards or punishments. High sorcery once again functions, and the gods have been reunited with the lost world with tremendous joy. However, Mysticism and wild magic have also blossomed in the Fifth Age and no doubt are here to stay.

As for me and my future, who can say? The justice of the High God has been satisfied. We know there are struggles ahead. There is still evil that threatens the balance, and there are still dragon overlords who oppress vast portions of Krynn. The

minotaurs now threaten the continent of Ansalon more than ever before in history.

The best that may be said is that there will be a future . . . though what future will be up to each of us. We look forward, if not to a new age, to clearer Understanding of this Age of Mortals in which we live. We may not know the future, but as for me ... I look forward with wonder to see it unfold.