Sponsored by

Choose a link ADD Quotes Dragonlance Poems Drizzt Quotes Elminster Fantasy Gallery Diablo Everquest Humor Everquest Sceenshots Ultima Poems Fellowship of the Ring Two Tower Dark Poems Poems Home Books Links

AN UNLIKELY GROUP OF HEROES

Raistlin Majere, Caramon's twin brother, magic-user. Though his health is shattered, Raistlin
possesses great powers beyond his young age. But dark mysteries are concealed behind his strange golden eyes.


"I am not certain of drawing my next breath. But go head. Walk into the wood that no living man has ever walked out of. Death is life's one great certainley, Tanis."

"It is the Orge's choice you offer us, Tanis-'Die fast or die slow."

"I made love to a beautiful women and I didn't know it. Just my luck,"

"Raistlin bowed.'I will be an accommodating guest, I assure you, Sturm. I will not set the bed linens on fire,nor will I poison the well."

"Of coarse this means a lot to me, Caramon. It means everything! I have worked and studied almost my entire life for this chance. What would you have me do-cast it aside because it is dangerous? Life is dangerous,Caramon. Just stepping out that door is dangerous! You cannot hide me from danger. Death floats in the air, creeps through the window, comes in with the hand-shake of a stranger. If we stop living because we fear death we have already died."

"Yes", he whispered. "There is always the Worm. Do not fear, knight. Your weapon is safe, as are the lives of those you leave in our care...if any are safe...Farwell, my friend." he hissed, his strange, hourglass eyes gleaming."And a long farwell it will be, some of us are not destined, to meet again in this world!"

"I have sinned enough against the world. Teaching magic to a kender would ensure my damnation."

"The sword began to give off a faint red glow. Raistlin smiled and said softly,'It is enchanted.' Tas gasped.'Good enchantment? Or bad?" "I have no way of knowing,'the mage whispered.'But since it has lain undisturbed for so long, I would certainly not venture to touch it!"

"We need light,'Flint said uneasily as night's shadows closed in thickly. Sounds in the woods that had been innocent in the daytime now seemed sinister and threating."Surely you do not fear children stories,' Raistlin hissed.'No!' snapped the dwarf."I just want to make certain the kender doesn't rifle my pack in the dark."

"Magic will be my sword."

'I have been happy,'he murmured to himself,"Strange there have not been many times in my life I could make that claim. Certainly not when I was young, nor in these past few years, after they tortured my body and cursed me with these eyes. But then I never expected happiness. How paltry it is compared to my magic! Still..still, these last few weeks have been weeks of peace. Weeks of happiness. I don't suppose any will come again. Not after what I must do-

"What would have happened if they had taken your staff? Tanis asked Raistlin."They would have died horribly", the mage whispered"and not by my brother's sword!"

Caramon Majere, Raistlin's twin brother, warrior. A genial giant of a man, Caramon is the exact opposite
of his twin. Raistlin is the one person he cares for and the one person he fears the most.

"Just this,'Raistlin made a mistake-a terrible, tragic mistake. And he did what few of us can do-he had courage enough to admit it and try to do what he could to rectify it, even though it meant scareficing himself."

"I was with my brother in the Tower," Caramon said, "I saw him battle powerful mages and wizards with only a few simple spells. He defeated them, though they shattered his body. I carried him, dying, from the terrible place. And I-" The big man hesitated


"Oh I don't know about that,'disagree Caramon with a broad grin."If they let Tas improvise with his hoopak, he'd stand a fighting chance."

"There could be lots of reasons,'said Caramon stoutly.'Maybe he's being held prisoner in a dungeon by a mad wizard. Oh, sorry Raist. I didn't mean it the way it sounded,"{Caramon giving Strum a possible explanation for his missing father}

"It's eaten all the draconians,"whispered Caramon gruffy,'and now it's after us!" 'Caramon,'Raistlin said, shivering'shut up!"

"You think you know my brother, Caramon said,You Master Theobald, and you, John Farnish, and you, Sturm Brightblade, and the rest of you. You call him 'Sly" and 'Sneak.'You say he's cold and calculating and unfeeling. You think you know him. I know him. Caramon's eyes filled with tears. I know him. I'm the only one."

Caramon grinned."Not like Kitiara you won't,Lady of Que-shu. Kit taught me the meaning of every swear word I'd ever heard, plus a few I hadn't. She taught me to use a sword and fight with honor in the tournaments, but she also taught me how to kick a man in the grion when the judges weren't watching. No, lady, you're not much like my older sister."

"I say we throw the dwarf off the mountain," growled Caramon to Tanis.


Tanis Half-Elven, leader of the companions. A skilled fighter who detests fighting, he is tormented by love
for two women-the tempestuous swordswomen, Kitiara, and the enchanting elfmaiden, Laurana.


"I need you, Flint. They're all so...so young. You're like a solid rock that I can set my back against as I weild my sword."

"Stop looting and get that gully dwarf of yours to show us the way out, or so help me, you'll die by my hands!" {Tanis roared at Raistlin}

It's the sensible, logical thing to do, of course, which is why we don't do it."

"If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear the pain of loss, the our lives will be empty, our loss greater."

"Why follow me? He asked resentfully. I hardly know where my life is going, yet I'm expected to lead others. I don't have Strum's driving quest to rid the land of dragons, as did his hero Huma. I don't have Elistan's holy quest to bring knowledge of the true gods to the people. I don't even have Raistlin's burning quest for power."

"I think, the young man was a better magician than you gave him credit for'he said.'And you must admit, he worked long and tirelessly to help those who were taken in by the fake clerics-as I did."{Tanis defeading Raistlin}

"Yes, Tanis sighed. I can imagine Sturm. Dear friend, I never realize how much I depended on you-your courage, your noble spirit. Are you alive, my friend? Did you reach Sancrist safely? Are you now the knight in body that you have always been in spirit? Will we meet again, or have we parted never to meet in this life-as Raistlin predicted?

"How do we know, Master," Tanis asked hesitantly,"Wether the life of any creature has fulfilled it's destiny? I have known the very old to die in bitterness and despair. I have seen young children die before their times but leave behind such a legacy of love and joy that grief for their passing was tempered by the knowelege that their brief lives have given much to others."

But why? Tanis questioned impatiently."We are not the stuff of heroes-well, maybe Sturm's.

The half-elf had endured much pain in his life, pain of prejudice, pain of loss, pain of knives, arrows, swords. But he did not think he could endure this pain. The look of betrayal in their eyes ran straight through his soul.


Sturm Brightblade, Knight of Solamnia. Once revered in the days before the Cataclysm, the knights have fallen
into disgrace. Sturm's goal-More important to him than life itself- is to restore the honor of the knighthood.

"I don't care what you say Caramon, there's a dark side to your brother and Tanis has seen it. For which I'm graceful. He can deal with it,I couldn't". said Sturm.

"Flint says he'll burn before he'll get in the boat-at least he'll die warm instead of wet and cold."

"I never thought I'd say it, but I miss Raistlin. I miss all of them. I feel as if a part of me been cut off, and that's how I felt when I was in Solamnia. That's why I came back, instead of waiting and completing the tests for my knighthood. These people-my friends-were doing more to combat evil in the world than all the Knights lined up in a row."

"Est Sularus oth Mithas-My honor is my life"

"The Forestmaster said to us, in Darken wood, that we should not mourn those who have fulfilled their destiny. Mine is fulfilled."

"Madam, your servant" He bowed; the courtly knight would not be hurried."It seem we are all in danger- you most of all, we are familiar with area around here: We grew up here. You I know ,are strangers.We would be honored to accompany you and your gallant friend and guard your lives."

"Yes, study of that which is dark and mysterious," the knight sneered."What really happened in the Towers of Sorcery, Raistlin? You didn't gain these wonderful powers of yours without giving something in return. What did you sacrifice in that Tower? Your health-or your soul!"

"But my heart lies north in my homeland. If armies of those draconians are preparing to attack, my place is with those knights who will surely band together to fight this evil. Still, I do not want to desert you, Tanis or you, lady."He nodded to Goldmoon.

"It won't be much of a rescue if we end up dead" Strum dropped to the floor. "I thought elves were expert marksmen!"

"Did they?" Strum said his eyes narrow."It seem that bewteen the elves and the old man, we came closer to getting killed than with just about anything short of the dragon!"


Flint Fireforge, dwarf,fighter, Tanis's oldest friend, the ancient dwarf regards these youngesters as "his children."

"Of all the hatreds, the ones between families are the cruelest."

"More spooks," Flint grumbled, peering into the darkness "Send the mage in first, so he can warn them we're coming."
"Throw the dwarf in,"Raistlin return." They are accustomed to living in dark, dark caves."


"Flint grunted, overhearing them.'First the kender get us charged with inciting a riot, than he disappears. Now the knight get us thrown into prison. Next time, remind me to stick to the mage. I know he's crazed!"

"There it's raining" Flint grumbled. "It isn't enough that I have to squat in a bush like a toad. Now I get soaked to the skin-"

"Elves never want to kill period," Flint grumbled"The magician scares us to death and you starve us. Well, if anything does attack us tonight, I hope it's edible."

Flint grumbled."We come back to Solace for supplies and find nothing but draconians. My house is little more than a cinder. Tanis doesn't even have a vallenwood tree, much less a home. All we've got are platinum Disks of some ancient goddess and a sick mage with a few spells."He ignored Raistlin's glower."We can't eat the Disks and the magician hasn't learned to conjure up food. So even if we knew where to go, we'd starve before we got there!"

"Flint sat back down on the stone and began to carve once more. He scrowled up at Tanis."Why the beard? You where ugly enough."

"We thought getting the dragon orb of Ice Wall was tough," the dwarf said in an undertone."There we only had to escape a crazed wizard and a few walrus-men. Now we're surrounded by three nations of elves!"

"There's only one creature I hate worse than a gully dwarf" he muttered,'and that's a goblin!"

"The war's finally turning in our favor. Send a Kender up on a dragon and that'd be the end. We could just hand the Highlord the keys to the city."

Tasslehoff Burrfoot,kender,"handler." Kender-the nuisance race of Krynn-are immune to fear.
Consequently, trouble, just seeems to follow them home.

"Elven wanderer, turn from your coarse and leave the dwarf behind. We are the spirits of those poor souls Flint Fireforge left on the barroom floor. Did we die in combat?' 'No! We died of shame, cursed by the ghost of the grape for not being able to out drink a hill dwarf?' 'Damn the eyes of elves! The spectral voice turned merry,'And damn the beards of dwarves!' 'Wouldn't you know it?'Flint groaned. Tasslehoff Burrfoot"

" I asked my father once why Kenders were little, why we weren't big like humans and elves. I reallly wanted to be big," "What did your father say?" asked Fizban "He said Kenders were small because we were meant to do small things."If you look at all the big things in the world closely"he said "You'll see that they're made up of small things joined together." That big dragon down there comes to nothing but drops of blood, that make the differnce."

"You know,Flint,'the kender said seriously,'my people don't fear death. In a way we look forward to it-the last big adventure. But I think I'd feel badly about leaving this life, I'd miss my things'he patted his pouches and my maps, and you and Tanis.Uless' he added brightly, we all go the same place when we die.' Flint had a sudden vision of the happy-go-lucky kender lying cold and dead. He felt a lump of pain in his chest and was thankful for the cocealing darkness. Clearing his throat, he said huskily,'If you think I'm going to spend my afterlife with a bunch of kender, you're crazy than Raistlin."

"Poor Fizban,'Tas said, blinking tears from his eyes as he floundered in an ocean of white feathers. His last spell must have been featherfall like Raistlin uses. Wouldn't you know it? He just got the feathers."

"Out of my way you soul-sucking scum! Leave now, lest I unleash the lethal power of my ancestor's tableware! Leave now, lest I use this spoon to scoop out your shadowy innards!"

"Raistlin! You have on black robes! How wonderful! Can I touch them? Oh all right. You needn't glare at me like that. It's just that they look so soft. Say, does this mean you're truly bad now? Can you do something evil for me, so I can watch? I know! I saw a wizard summon a demon once. Could you do that? Just a small demon? You could send him right back, No?"

"And what else did Raistlin say? asked Tanis "That if I touched his spell books or even looked at them sideways, he'd turn me into a cricket and s-swallow m-me whole."Tasslehoff stammered. He looked up at Tanis with wide eyes"I believe him too."

Riverwind, Grandson of Wanderer. Given the blue crystal staff in a city where death flew on black wings,
he barely escaped with his life. And that was only the beginning...

"All my life, through Darkness and light,'I have kept this flute. I took it with me on my courting quest and carried it to war. I played it that night in Solace, when I met Tanis and Caramon and the others. And-it is the only thing I have left to remind me of my grandfather. Even his face is no longer clear in my memory, but I can still see his hands as he guided my fingers over the holes. The kender nodded solemnly.' I'm surprised you're so careless with it, if it's so important."said Kronn.

"I was thinking about it last night. I've been gone so many years. My thoughts were of you, as a women. I did not realize-" He swallowed and then drew a deep breath."I left Goldmoon. I returned to find Chieftain's Daughter."

"I have never known an elf," "My people distrust them saying that the elves have no care for Krynn or for humans. I think my people my have been mistaken. I am glad I met you, Tanis of Qualinost. I count you as a friend."

"We do not grieve for those who fulfill their purpose in life, We have fullfilled our purpose, my friend. Who knows how many lives we have touched? Who knows but that this hope will lead to a great victory? For us, it seems, the battle has ended. So be it. We lay down our swords, only that others may pick them up and fight on."(Riverwind talking to Tanis}


Goldmoon, Chieftain's Daughter. Bearer of the blue crystal staff, her love for a tribal outcast,
Riverwind, leads them on a dangerous quest in search of the truth.

"I am going to our village. It is our fault if something has happened. I don't care if there are thousand of those monsters waiting. I will die with our people, as I should have done."

"If I slip and fall, you'd fall with me. The only thing we'd accomplish would be to die together." She snapped at Rivewind.

"It was so much easier when you were here with me; she said. 'Together we were...' Goldmoon closed her eyes and a lone tear edged over her cheek.'When we were together, I was complete."{Goldmoon talking to her dead husband Riverwind}

"He rules my heart, but I am his ruler. Once, when we were young, we thought we could forget that. But I have been "Chieftain's Daughter' to long."(Goldmoon talking about her and Riverwind}

"I am a true cleric now, Goldmoon said softly" I am a disciple of Mishakal and, though I have much to learn, I have the power of my faith, Above all else, I am a healer. I bring the gift of healing back into the land."

"I told you I was still weak. I should be able to accept Raistlin and what he did to his brother without questioning. I should have faith that it is all part of the greater good I cannot envision. But I'm afraid I can't. All I can do is pray that the gods keep him out of my path."

oDisclaimer:Dragonlance is © Copyright by