The River of Time
“Time is a great flowing river, vaster and wider than any river we know. Throw a pebble into the rushing water — does the water suddenly stop? Does it begin to flow backward? Does it turn in its course and flow another direction? Of course not! The pebble create a few ripples on the surface, perhaps, but then it sinks. The river flows onward, as it has ever done.”
— Par-Salian
< Age of Starbirth >
Age of Gods
The High God Awakens
Out of the chaos, there was thought and being; there was the High God. With celestial hands, the High God drew the plans for a new realm, a new beginning. These plans were written in a book called the Tobril, a book that makes gods of mortal folk.
The Gods are Called
Into the Beyond, the High God called. There came an answer from two beings: one of light, and one of darkness. They were lesser gods, seeking greatness in the chaos. The king and queen of worms, they were. They abandoned their twining struggles against each other and worked together to create a new place for them, a place for greatness.
Gilean is Drawn Forth
Out of chaos and out of time, the High God summoned a third god. He was Gilean, greatest of sages. Gilean alone, in all of time, was worthy to bear the High God’s plans for the universe. He received the plans, the Tobril. Then, the High God departed, for the planning was done and the creation was about to begin.
Reorx and the Companion Gods Come
Together the three gods summoned helpers. Other, lesser gods came. The greatest of these was Reorx. “Give of yourself,” he said, “and I will tame the chaos.” And from the gods, Reorx forged a mighty hammer. With the hammer, he smote the chaos and it slowed. Sparks flew from the hammer and lighted the heavens. And there were stars.
Krynn is Made
Reorx shaped a mighty globe and separated the lands and seas, the light and dark, the heavens and the soil. Then, the other gods gifted the world, each to his or her own. Krynn was blessed with plants and trees, creatures of the earth, water and air, seasons and weather, and untold beauty.
Dragons are Made
Together, Paladine and Takhisis guided the hand of Reorx and made five rulers of the world. Drawn from the savage elements and encased in frames of base metals, these rulers became one with the world. here were the dragons. But the Dark Queen coveted the dragons and corrupted them. Their metals were tarnished and lost to light.
Good Dragons are Made
Paladine mourned the loss of his dragon children. He turned to Reorx for comfort and Reorx made five monuments to the lost dragons. He forged these monuments from precious metas. But, Paladine longed to behold his children whole, alive again. And so, he breathed life into the statues.
All-Dragons War
The gods, the dragons, the beasts of the world, and the light and the dark themselves made war over Takhisis’s treacheries. Chaoes swirled at the corners of the world, threatening to unmake it. When the gods saw the harm they cause their world, they withdrew, light gods to light, dark gods to dark, and gray gods to gray. There they agreed to stay. They lived and loved for countless eons; thus were born the lesser gods, their children.
The Stars are Claimed
In the silence that followed, there came the sound of chimes, of heavenly singing. The gods pondered it, and saw that the stars lived. They shone like the gods themselves, shone as pieces of the gods. And the gods coveted these countless spirits.
All-Saints War
Once again war erupted in the heavens. The firmament shuddered with the struggles of the gods. The gods of light sought to nurture and lead these star spirits. The gods of darkness sought to bind and control them. The gods of gray sought only to set the fledgling spirits free.
The Balance Restored
Hearing the battle, the High God returned from the Void. And the High God knew wrath. From the fire of wrath, the High God forged the Balance: each family of gods could gift the spirits with one gift. Afterward, the gods must let the spirits be. The gods of light gave the spirits physical bodies so they might become masters of the world. The gods of darkness cursed them with weakness, want, and mortality, that the fearful spirits might be brought to serve Evil. And the gods of shadow gave unto the spirits free will, the ability to shape their own fates.
Birthing Age
And so, the peoples of the land were formed. The people of the land were three. Stoney ogres there were, cold and beautiful, strong but hollow. Wooden elves rose like living trees, tall and regal, graceful, solitary, and proud. And, least of all, were creatures of clay — humans, short and common, simple and bestial. The humans had the capacity to destroy, and to love. There were the children of the world.
< Age of Dreams >
9000 — 5000 PC
Foundation Age
The People Choose Places
Ogres, first to awaken, claimed the mountains. From that lofty perch they gazed upon the world. Elves withdrew to the forests and there they lived in quiet harmony, pondering the world. But to humans fell the plains, and there, exposed to savage winds and rains, they grew savage themselves.
8500 — 5000 PC
Birth of Civilization
Ogres set themselves to ordering the land. They seized and enslaved the humans to be their hands in toil. By human sweat and blood, the ogres built a mighty nation of cold stone. The elves watched as order grew.
8700 PC
Favored of Reorx
Reorx gathered to himself humans who worshipped the hammer, who were filled with creation. With these humans, Reorx retired to a norther land. The clay folk would assist Reorx in his heavy labors. Over the centuries, these humans became the short Smith folk.
6320 — 5980 PC
Heresy of Igraine
The ogre Igraine failed to slay the slave Eadamm when he saved Igraine’s daughter. Men learned of Eadamm’s independence and threw off oppression. As the humans rebelled, Igraine’s fled for his life from the wrath of all ogre.
6000 — 5000 PC
Decline of Ogres
As ogres embraced cruelty and vengeance, humans asserted their independence. The humans rose up to slay their masters. Civilization fell and barbarism reigned.
5000 — 3000 PC
Elves Ascendant
Elves discovered the value of cooperation, and together they sought to create their own civilization in the souther enchanted woods. Yet this was homeland to the dragons. Over time, they mustered for war.
< Age of Light >
4000 — 2000 PC
Age of Elves
4000 PC
Rise of House Silvanos
The first Sinthal-Elish, the elven council of high ones, was convened by Silvanos. The many elf families unified for the first time, swearing an oath of allegiance to Silvanos. Balif, son of the second largest family, was made Silvanos’s lieutenant. The elves prepared for war.
3500 — 3350 PC
The First Dragon War
Elves allied to drive dragons from their chosen lands, but the opposition was fierce. The three gods of magic gifted the elves with five magical stones, which captured the dragons’ spirits. The elves buried these stone deep in the tallest mountains of the land. The gods of magic were exiled for they interference.
Graystone Forged
The banished gods of magic had Hiddukel trick Reorx into creating a Graystone. They said this stone would remind them of faraway Krynn, from whose lands they were forbidden. Reorx did so, setting the stone on the moon of Lunitari. There, in secret, the gods of magic filled the stone with their essence.
3350 PC
Building of Silvanesti
The second Sinthal-Elish was held, once again pledging allegiance to Silvanos. The Kingdom of Silvanesti was decreed and all the elven families were granted lands. The elves copied the ancient and long-lost civilization of the now-barbaric ogres.
The Graystone Released
The plans of the gods of magic entered a second phase. They asked Hiddukel to trick one of Reorx’s Smiths into stealing the powerful Graystone from the surface of Lunitari. The Smith fumbled, dropping the stone from the sky onto Krynn. With it, magic reentered the world.
3100 PC
Arrival of the Graystone and Magic
Reorx punished and deformed his Smith folk for their pride and commanded them to recapture the Graystone. They fled their homeland and followed the Graystone. Wild magic was released into the world into the hands of some reborn Smiths. They became the dwarves mages called Scions.
3100 — 2900 PC
Kal-Thax is Built
Fleeing the Graystone’s chaos, the other Smiths hid in caves in the bluffs of Ansalon. There they built the first dwarves kingdom: Kal-Thax.
3051 PC
Graystone of Gargath
A ruler named Gargath captured the Graystone and bound it between two god-gems. The Smiths demanded its return. Gargath recruited men and stubborn ogres to defend his prize. Elves, fascinated by wild magic, joined the smiths to reclaim the stone. When at last the stone was freed, it escaped, but not before touching those present and changing their forms to reflect their natures. Thus, goblins and minotaurs, Kender and gnomes came into being. Onward the Graystone wandered, changing the world as it went.
2800 PC
Thoradin is Delved
Seeking to escape the Graystone’s ravages, the smiths — now dwarves — became masters of mining, and began to delve the new kingdom of Thoradin in the Khalkist Mountains. They abandoned Kal-Thax for all time.
2750 PC
Balif Dies
A kender hero named Balif, a close friend of the elf-lord Silvanos, died. Balif built the kingdom of Kender in Balifor.
2710 PC
Dragon Stones Discovered
The dwarves found the five magical dragon stones that the elves had buried deep in the Khalkist Mountains after the First Dragon War. Hating magic due to the Graystone, the dwarves returned the stones to the surface.
2692 — 2645 PC
The Second Dragon War
The dragons awoke and struck south at Silvanesti. Accompanied by great armies of lizard people, the dragons ravaged the land. Three wild-talent mages, with the guidance of a lone Scion, summoned potent magics and commanded the ground to swallow the dragons for all time. The dragons were defeated, but magic ran wild and thousands died. The three mages, fearful for their lives, called upon their gods. The tower in which they stood was taken from Krynn to the Beyond. It became the Lost Citadel.
2645 — 2550 PC
Magic Defends Itself
The three lost mages created the laws of magic. They guided their brethren to build five bastions of magic in remote regions to shelter all mages. Thus, the Towers of High Sorcery were built.
2640 PC
Thoradin Closed
Ashamed for causing the Second Dragon War, the dwarves withdrew from the rest of the world. Thoradin’s gates were closed.
2600 PC
The Rise of Ergoth
Ackal Ergot united Khalkist barbarians after the war to build their own kingdoms. They pillaged the abandoned ogre homes and, with their booty, founded Ergoth.
2600 PC
Hylo Founded
The second Kender nation was founded when an entire Kender clan was trapped in the first floating citadel. It crashed against the Sentinel Mountains in northwest Ansalon.
2500 — 2200 PC
Ergoth Dominant
The nation of Ergoth stretched from the southern Kharolis Mountains to the northern shore. These brutal barbarians tried to learn the ways of civilization. Skirmishes broke out with dwarves neighbors and an uneasy truce resulted. Ergoth expanded to the borders of Silvanesti and trade began with elves. Some elves intermarried with humans.
2515 PC
Death of Silvanos
The venerable elf Silvanos died and was buried in a crystal tomb. His son Sithel assumed command and ordered the construction of a tower, the Palace of Quinari, in memory of his father. All of Silvanesti counted their leader’s death as the end of an age.
2150 — 2000 PC
Thorbardin Delved
Hill dwarves migrated to the southern Kharolis Mountains and, after a time, began delving a new home. Thoradin was in decline, becoming isolated from the outside world.
2308 PC
Sithas and Kith-Kanan Born
Twin sons were born to Sithel. Sithas was the the older by minutes, followed by Kith-Kanan.
2192 PC
Sithel is Slain
Sithel journeyed to the outpost of his son Kith-Kanan to asses the half-elf problem. Sithel was accidentally slain by humans hunting on the western border of Silvanesti. The Kinslayer War began.
2192 — 2140 PC
Kinslayer War
Elves tried to drive humans from their border, while humans resisted fiercely. Half-elves were forced to take sides, brother fighting brother. Kith-Kanan led the elven war effort, and was pushed into killing his kin. Finally, Kith-Kanan negotiated a truce with Ergoth.
2140 — 2100 PC
Sundering of Silvanesti
Western elves, ashamed by the bloodshed they had cause with their brother elves, sued for social change and self-determination. The western Silvanesti declared their independence.
2128 — 2073 PC
War of the Mountain
Border disputes between Thorbardin and Ergoth resulted in skirmishes.
2073 PC
Swordsheath Scroll
Kith-Kana engineered the signing of the Swordsheath Scroll, a peace treaty between the elves, dwarves, and Ergoth. Elves were granted a large enchanted forested area as a buffer between dwarves and humans. The land was renamed Qualinesti, and was populated by the discontented western elves. Kith-Kanan was their leader. Ergoth agreed to stop mining the Kharolis Mountains and the dwarves relaxed trade restrictions.
2072 PC
Hammer of Kharas is Forged
Thorbardin dwarves forged the Hammer of Kharas, a mortal artifact made in the image of the immortal Hammer of Reorx. They presented this greatest dwarves gift to Ergoth as an offering of peace. The Hammer reinforced the peace.
2050 — 2030 PC
The Great March
Western elves of Silvanesti migrated to the new homeland of Qualinesti
2009 PC
Thoradin is Lost
None could find the gates of the great city of Thoradin. It was lost to time.
< Age of Right >
2000 — 1000 PC
Knights of Solamnia
2000 — 1900 PC
Peace and Pax Tharkas
Ergoth and all nations prospered. Kith-Kanan strengthened the peace by convincing men, dwarves, and elves to join together to erect the fortress of Pax Tharkas. This fortress became a monument to the peace. The benign and just reign of the Quevalin line began in Ergoth.
1900 — 1750 PC
Rebellions in the East
The end of the Quevalin line in Ergoth brought brutal kings who sought to exploit the kingdom. After much abuse and taxation, the eastern counties revolted. Small but brutal battles crushed all resistance.
1812 PC
Vinas Solamnus Commands Imperial Guard
Skilled commander, Vinas Solamnus, assumed the most important military post in the nation of Ergoth.
1801 PC
Great Uprising in Vingaard
Solamnus marched east with a huge army to crush a rebellion in the lands of Vingaard.
1800 PC
Year of Waiting
Solamnus reviewed the rebels’ cause, trying to avoid another massacre. He discovered that the corrupt Ergothian empire had driven the desperate people to rebel. Solamnus and most of his army joined the rebel forces.
1799 - 1791 PC
Rose Rebellion and Fall of Ergoth
Nations of eastern Ergoth rallied to Solamnus as their savior. Patiently, Solamnus trained an army while turning back Imperial forces. In 1791 PC, Solamnus marched south to Daltigoth, outmaneuvering Ergothian forces and laying siege to the capital. The emperor finally sued for peace, granting the northern states independence. Solamnus honored the Swordsheath Scroll with the dwarves and elves.
1775 PC
Knights of Solamnia Formed
After his Quest for Honor, ruler Vinas Solamnus founded an order of knights who would fight for the cause of Good. The order was inspired by Paladin, Kiri-Jolith, and Habbakuk — three gods of Good. The Crown, Sword, and Rose Knights of Solamnia became the guardians of the world.
1750 — 1300 PC
Birth of Nations
Sancrist, Solamnia, and Istar arose from independent city-states. Solamnia prospered and Ergoth declined. The Silvanesti retired from the world.
1480 PC
Istar Grows as Trade Center
Istar grew from a confederation of city-states in the east. Unaffected by the recent wars, Istar became a nexus for world trade.
Solamnia became the major military power, and the world looked to it to safeguard the peace.
1399 — 1010 PC
The Dark Queen Plots
With her dragon children buried, the Dragon Queen began a new plot. Calling on the aid of the lizard people, she seeded the mines of Thoradin with dragon eggs, which folk believed to be rare gems. Collectors bought the eggs, which hatched in their possession. The owners were devoured by the wyrmlings. Over 350 years, the eggs seeded wyrmlings across the globe. By the time they were discovered, hundreds of mature dragons had returned to Krynn.
1060 — 1018 PC
The Third Dragon War
The dragonarmies unleashed their fury, first attacking and conquering small borderlands, but finally turning toward Solamnia. The Good folk of Ansalon endured the attacks from the skies, barely clinging to life. Ansalon hung in the balance.
1020 — 1018 PC
Huma Dragonbane
The young Solamnic knight Huma Dragonbane met and fell in love with Gwynneth, a mysterious elf woman who was really the silver dragon, Heart. With the guidance of Paladine, they forged the first true dragonlance and rode into battle.
Their victories rallied the other Good dragons; they produced more lances. At last, Takhisis herself fell before the enchanted weapon, and she agreed to retire from Krynn, taking all other dragons with her. Huma and Gwynneth died as Takhisis departed.
The Bakali — the lizard people — were not seen again.
< Age of Might >
1000 — 0 PC
Age of the False God
1000 PC
Hylo Allies with Solamnia
Thorbardin reopened Thoradin by driving occupying ogres out of the delving. With the nearness of Istar, Thoradin became a major supplier of metals, coins, and tools.
1100 — 800 PC
Istar Dominant
Istarian trade standards spread throughout the world. Istar became the moral center of the world.
980 PC
Thorbardin Opens Kayolin
In gratitude for thei help during the Third Dragon War, Solamnia granted the dwarves of Thorbardin mining rights in the Garnet Mountains. The dwarves delved the city of Garnet and set up a kingdom there. They called their provincial kingdom Kayolin.
967 and 948 PC
Thorbardin Constructs Tree of Life
Thorbardin began construction of Zakhalax, the Tree of Life, and Willow, an outlying hill dwarf kingdom. Silvanesti and Qualinesti became more isolationist after the war.
910 — 870 PC
Ogres Return to Thoradin
Exiled ogres united to flush the foreign dwarves from the halls of Thoradin. The Thoradin dwarves called on their Solamnic allies to drive the ogres away.
850 — 727 PC
Trade Wars
Istar aggressively imposed and enforced trade standards on neighboring nations, including the Kender of Balifor. The riled Kender began a trade war. After years of attempted military actions and lawsuits against the Kender, Istar admitted defeat and signed an agreement known as the “Kender Tax,” exempting them from taxes and trade standards.
673 — 630 PC
Istar and Silvanesti Clash
Istar expansion threatened Silvanesti naval merchants. Several sea skirmishes resulted in blockading of Istarian ports. With the aid of Solamnia as peacemakers, the elves persuaded Istar to add its signature to the Swordsheath Scroll. This signing was called Elfmend.
530 — 522 PC
Ogre Wars | Dwarfmeld
Ogres from the Khalkists threatened trade routes among Istar, Thoradin, and Solamnia. The dwarves of Thoradin united with Istar and the Knights to drive back the invaders. The dwarves added their signature to the Swordsheath Scroll with Istar.
490 — 476 PC
Barbarian Raiders | Great Meld
Solamnia became more dependent on Istarian trade, currency, and ideals. Repeatedly, they joined the eastern nation in alliance. Barbarian tribes in the Estwilde, resenting the Istarian trade routes, raided caravans. Istar branded the barbarian tribes as “pagans, brigands, and villains.” Solamnia joined Istar in warring against the barbarians. Solamnia re-signed the Swordsheath Scroll with Istar.
460 PC
Peace in the Land
Istar reigned as the center of commerce, tax, and art.
280 PC
Istar Declares World Righteousness
Claiming to be the moral center of the world, Istar set up its first Kingpriest. Solamnia approved the effort to promote Goodness throughout the lands. Silvanesti grew increasingly antagonistic toward the arrogance of Istar. Few others noted the signs of doom.
260 —212 PC
Temple of the Kingpriest Built
The finest artisans in Krynn went to Istar to build the Kingpriest a temple that would proclaim the glory of Istar.
250 — 100 PC
Corruption of Justice | Elves Shun
Istar began to repress independence and anyone who did not agree with the policies and divinity of the Kingpriest. The elves, reaching a breaking point in their disgust with the arrogance of humans, withdrew into their forests and barred commerce with the outside world.
118 PC
Proclamation of Manifest Virtue
The Kingpriest declared that Evil in the world was an affront to both gods and mortals. A rigid list of evil acts was created and those guilty of offenses faced execution or duty in the gladiatorial arena. Priests of Istar began to lose access to high-level spells. These priests became the Kingpriest’s enforcement squad.
80 — 20 PC
Dominance of Istar Clergy
Istar claimed itself the center of religion, and all aspects of Istarian life required the approval of the priesthood. While the status of Istarian clergy rose, wizards were hunted as ungodly and uncontrolled. The priesthood lost all of its miraculous abilities.
Chosen of the Gods
Divine Hammer
19 PC
Siege on Sorcery
Urged on by the Kingpriest, the people of Krynn laid siege to the Towers of High Sorcery in the Lost Battles. Two of the towers nearly fell into the hands of the uninitiated. Unwilling that novices should unleash the fury of magic, mages destroyed the two towers. Fearful of rampant, unordered magic wielders that might arise if all five towers were destroyed, the Kingpriest granted the mages safe passage to exile if they left the remaining towers intact. The Kingpriest took the Tower of Istar for his abode.
6 PC
Edict of Thought Control
The Kingpriest asserted that evil thoughts equated to evil deeds. The priesthood used renegade mages to cast ESP spells at random on all Istarian subjects. A reign of terror and degeneration ensued.
Sacred Fire
0
Cataclysm
The Kingpriest tried to elevate himself to godhood and command the other gods. He used their gifts to the world to control them. The gods were wrathful. True priests disappeared from the world. The gods sent thirteen signs to warn the people of the coming Cataclysm. The Solamnic Knight, Lord Soth, although given the chance to save Krynn from the Cataclysm, refused. On the thirteenth day of Yule, the third of the new year, the sky burned and a fiery mountain fell from the heavens. It dragged Istar to the depths of the ocean.
< Age of Darkness >
1 — ??? AC
Age of Dragons
1 — 300 AC
Shadow Years
The world was reshaped. New mountains arose; elder mountains fell; seas rushed in. Famine and plague spread across the world. Krynn became a place of distrust and hatred. Every fallen race blamed others for the world’s pain. All Good priests, knights, and mages went into hiding.
3 — 140 AC
The Dark Queen Finds Istar
The Temple of Istar was not destroyed, but gated to the Infernal Realms where Takhisis found it. For years she pondered the possibilities, sending agents abroad through Krynn to gauge the opportunities in the world.
39 AC
Dwarfgate Wars
The men and hill dwarves of Xak Tasorth fled southward, seeking refuge in Thorbardin. The mountain dwarves barred their gates and turned back the refugees with sword and spear. Then the evil mage Fistandantilus built the magical fortress of Zhaman in the shadow of the mountains. From there, he waged war on Thorbardin. When at last his defeat was certain, he obliterated his tower with spell power, forming Skullcap.
141 AC
The Stone is Planted
Using the Foundation Stone from the ruined Temple of Istar, Takhisis opened a gateway back to Krynn. She carried the Stone from the Blood Sea and planted itin the remote vale of Neraka. There, it grew into a dark version of the Temple of Istar.
142 —152 AC
Dragons Awakened
For ten years, the Dark Queen wandered the lands in disguise. She delved into the remote netherlands and depths of Krynn to find and awaken the Evil dragons and prepared them for her dark work. Then she returned to Neraka and, from there, to her home in the Infernal Realms in the Abyss.
157 AC
Berem Finds the Stone
The young hunter Berem and his sister Jasla discovered the Foundation Stone. Berem coveted the gems in the stone and pried one lose. Jasla counselled him against it. They struggled and Jasla struck her head on the Foundation Stone. She died. Fearing discovery, Berem fled with the hidden in a pocket of his tunic. The gem bonded with the man’s flesh, becoming imbedded in his chest. Jasla’s spirit was drawn into the Foundation Stone, occupying the void left when Berem stole the stone.
210 AC
Takhisis Finds the Gate Barred
Because the Foundation Stone stood incomplete, Takhisis could no longer use it as a gate. Her sleepless senses searched through the land to discover the reason for the stone’s disfunction. She soon tracked down Berem and learned of his capricious acts.
287 AC
Dragon Eggs Stolen
Evil dragons raided the homes of Good dragons and stole their eggs. They hid the eggs beneath the flaming mountain called the Lords of Doom.
296 AC
The Oath
Takhisis awakened the Good dragons and presented them with an ultimatum. They would remain out of the coming war that Takhisis had planned, or have their precious eggs crushed. Knowing they could not hatch such a store of eggs for another century, the Good dragons swore noninvolvement in the coming war. Takhisis promised the return of their eggs once the war had concluded.
300 — 320 AC
Agents of Evil
Takhisis sent secret minions and worshippers to search for the gemstone man. She needed him to complete the Foundation Stone so that she could reenter the world. Berem fled from Takhisis, entering Tarsis and Barter and Thorbardin. In the last of these, he was caught by Daergar and thrown in a dungeon to rot. But the gem sustained Berem for nearly fifty years in the dark. In those dungeons, not even the Dark Queen could find him.
332 — 340 AC
Dragons Gather | Dragonlords Made
At their queen’s direction, the Evil dragons formed an unholy alliance with wicked men and ogres. These barbaric men and brutal ogres became the dragons’ commanders and masters. The Highlords, as they were called, proved as willing and able to torture their own forces as well as those they conquered.
337 AC
Sanction and Estwilde Corrupted
The blight of darkness in Nerve verged into the neighboring nations. Takhisis established the lava-besieged town of Sanction as her major port city. The Evil humans and humanoids of Estwilde became reluctant reserves for the Dark Queen’s armies.
341 AC
Dragonarmies Offer Alliance
The dragonarmies offered alliance to the lands of Kern, Khur, Blode, and the Pirate Isles, an offer they swiftly accepted, knowing refusal meant death.
342 AC
Draconians Created
Takhisis taught a dark mage and an Evil priest the ceremony for creating draconians. By corrupting the stolen eggs of Good dragons, the mage and priest raised an army of dragonmen from a single egg. The first to be created were the baaz and the kapak; the bozak, sivak and aurak came later.
343 —347
Evil Marshals its Forces
Takhisis and her generals trained their army of human rogues and cutthroats, goblins, hobgoblins, and ogres. Violence occurred among the allies of Evil, fights that weeded out the weak. At last Takhisis judged her troops ready.
348 AC
War of the Lance Begins
In spring, the Dragonarmies poured eastward from the Khalkist Mountains to overrun Nordmaar and Balifor and to threaten lands beyond. Silvanesti accepted emissaries of the Highlords, who swore that the elves need not worry for the safety of their lands.
349 AC
Silvanesti Betrayed
Flushed with victories, the dragonarmies turned south on a “routine patrol” and attacked Silvanesti’s northern border. Losses were heavy on both sides. Elves lured their foe into ambush. Takhisis committed the rest of her troops to the battle and the forest border was ravaged. Supplies low, the elves retreated to Silvanost, where they a good chance of outlasting the siege.
However, King Lorac Caladon, of the Silvanesti had become enchanted by the Dragon Orb of Istar, an artifact he had rescued from the lost city before the Cataclysm. Lorac ordered the evacuation of Silvanesti. The elves fled in ships, heading for Solamnia and Qualinesti. On the last day of the year, the dragonarmies reached the edge of Silvanost. Then, Lorac commanded the Orb to destroy the dragons. However, Visper, the Evil spirit residing in the Orb, seized control of Lorac. The elven king’s mind went mad. The Dragon Orb projected Lorac’s nightmares out into the land he loved. Silvanesti became a spiraling nightmare. The dragonarmy abandoned its conquest, which had grown worthless and corrupt.
350 AC
Evil Rearms Itself
Licking its wounds, the dragonarmies rebuilt their forced from the Evil folk they had conquered. Takhisis controlled all of eastern Ansalon, save Saifhum. The minotaurs of Mithas and Kothas harried the retreating Silvanesti refugees.
351 AC
Evil Turns West
With the coming of spring, the dragonarmies began skirmishes on Solamnia’s eastern border. The Blue Army struck across the Dargaard Mountains, aided by goblins. The Knights of Solamnia, in recent disarray, could not repel the attack. The Blues occupied Kalaman, Hinterlund, and Nightlund. They pressed the borders of the Plains of Solamnia and Gaardlund.
Lemish betrayed humankind, opening a door in the south for the dragonarmies to enter Solamnia.The dwarves of Kayolin, however, proved an insurmountable bulwark against the advancing dragonarmies.
By autumn, the Knights responded and Solamnia became entrenched. The Red Army led an amphibious flanking assault along New Sea and across the Plains of Abanasinia. The barbarians fell to their advance and the war verged upon Qualinesti.
The Qualinesti elves fled to join their cousins in Southern Ergoth, but not until first delaying the foe’s advance. The dragonarmies marched against the dwarven kingdom of Thorbardin, laying siege to its northern gate.
A wing of the Blue Army then struck south around New Sea to Tarsis and the Plains of Dust. They marched then toward Kharolis to cut off all retreat for the dwarves. By year’s end, much of Ansalon had fallen beneath the dragon’s shadow.
352 AC
Whitestone Council
Representatives of the surviving nations gathered on Sancrist at Whitestone Glade and forged an uneasy alliance. The secret of the dragonlances was discovered and these supreme weapons began to be forged anew.
With the arrival of spring, the Blue Dragonarmy besieged the High Clerist’s Tower in Palanthas. They were repelled by the Knights, using the new-forged dragonlances for the first time.
A special force made a surprise stab at Sanction and discovered the blackmail that kept the Good dragons out of the war. With the aid of the silver dragon D’Argent and the copper dragon Cymbol, the special force rescued the Good dragon eggs. The Good dragons swiftly entered the war.
In the summer, the armies of Whitestone began to strike back. They reclaimed much of fallen Solamnia. The dragonarmies responded by bringing five flying castles into the battle. But already the dragon alliances and conquests were slipping away. The siege of Kalaman by Whitestone forces marked the beginning of the end.
Released from years of imprisonment in the dwarven kingdoms, Berem, the gemstone man, was sighted again. Takhisis moved agents to find and capture him. Thus, she might open the gates of the Infernal Realms and bring her armies of dread to reinforce the flagging dragonarmies. But Berem constantly evaded her best efforts.
In a desperate ploy, Whitestone forces marched across the Estwilde and assaulted the vale of Neraka, stronghold of Takhisis’s might. The Heroes of the Lance, by Fate’s hand, found Berem and journeyed to Neraka. As Evil rallied its forces around the crippled form of the dark Temple, Berem reunited the gem with the Foundation Stone. Whole, at last, but now inextricably linked with Jasla, the Temple healed itself. Then, as Jasla’s spirit fled the stone, the Temple crumbled. Takhisis’s gateway was destroyed.
Evil turned in on itself. The weak alliances of Evil fought over the dropped crown of rulership. The War of the Lance faltered to an end.
353 AC
The War of the Lance Ends
The former armies of the Dark Queen fragmented and fled to remote regions of Ansalon. The dragons, in their retreat, entered lands with climates harsh to them. They grew weakened.
353 — 357 AC
Harrying the Foe
The Whitestone forces continued to scour the land, driving out the last pockets of darkness. Even after the last pockets of resistance disappeared, the dragonarmies still occupied large regions of central, eastern, and southern Ansalon.
355 AC
The Knighthood Reborn
Gunthar uth Winston becomes the first Grand Master of the Knights of Solamnia since the Cataclysm. He begins the process of revising the Measure so that the knighthood is never thrown into such a tumultuous and disorganized state again.
356 AC
The Master of Past and Present
Revered Daughter Crysania and Black Robe archmage Raistlin Majere meet in Astinus’s study at the Great Library of Palanthas. Crysania seeks to turn Raistlin from the path of darkness as a testament of Paladin’s glory. Raistlin tells Crysania of his plan to overthrow Takhisis and end the suffering she has caused the world. Blinded by her own ambition, Crysania twists this in order to see Raistlin as a man warring against darkness, not one who seeks to become its master.
Raistlin Majere and his brother Caramon used a time-travel device to journey into the past. They reached the corrupted Istar, intent on changing history and challenging the Dark Queen herself. Raistlin became one with Fistandantilus. He journeyed through the years and into the Abyss, hoping to defeat the Dragon Queen.
357 AC
The Blue Lady’s War
The Blue Lady, one of the most powerful and ruthless Dragon Highlords, made an unholy pact with the death knight, Lord Soth. Together, they led a dragonarmy from Neraka and, with a flying citadel above, attacked northern Solamnia. They besieged even Palanthus, but the effort was doomed. The Blue Lady and Soth were defeated.
Tricked by Lord Soth into believing that the dark elf Dalamar seeks to aid Rasitlin, Kitiara tries to kill him, but is slain instead. Lord Soth disappears with the highlord’s body and calls off his undead forces.
358 AC
Sealing the Gates of Hell
Raistlin Majere made the ultimate sacrifice to bar the return of Dark Queen Takhisis. In order to seal the gates of the Abyss, Raistlin surrended his own life. His brother, Caramon, and all the Heroes of the Lance grieved the loss of the great mage.
358 — 369 AC
Changing of the Guard
A new generation of Knights worked to reclaim the peace and aid in rebuilding of the wounded nations. The Heroes of the Lance were replaced by youthful counterparts.
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