Margaret Weis - Serpent Mage

It is a widely held belief among the Elmas that the short life span of humans is due entirely to their unfortunate habit of sleeping on the ground. Phondrans, on the other hand, view the tall elven beds with horror, are terrified that they will roll off in the night and kill themselves. The Gargan find the entire argument ridiculous. As long as there is solid stone above him, a dwarf could sleep standing on his head. Unfortunately, however, this is one reason many dwarves do not travel comfortably by ship.

A reference to what the dwarves know as scurvy.

Dwarves have a low regard for fish and eat it only when no other, more substantial, food is available. A slang word among dwarves for fish is elmas-fleish, or “elf-meat.”

Reference to a popular dwarven drinking game, the rules of which are far too complex to describe and probably wouldn’t be believed anyway.

Reference to the startling and horrifying discovery that the dead were being brought to life in Abarrach, recounted in Fire Sea, vol. 3, The Death Gate Cycle. It is theorized that for one person to be brought to life untimely, another will die untimely.

A reference to Alfred’s adventures with the child Bane, the assassin Hugh the Hand, and his first meeting with Haplo, recounted in Dragon Wing, vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle.

A more complete history of the Patryns can be found in Fire Sea, vol. 3 of The Death Gate Cycle.

The next several pages of Grundle’s journal chronicle events previously related. Since-with one exception—they correspond with Haplo’s account, these passage will be deleted. The exception is Devon’s attempted suicide, which Grundle describes as an “accident while picking sugarfruit.” It is interesting to note that even in her own private writings, she loyally perpetuates the deception.

This is, however, the last entry in Grundle’s journal.

As stated previously, Grundle leaves us no record of later events. We must refer, therefore, to this account, which is taken from Haplo’s Chelestra: World of Water, volume four, Death Gate journals.

Reference to Haplo’s fight with the chaodyn, Dragon Wing, vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle.

Dwarves do not like green vegetables; the potato, the carrot, and the onion are the only vegetables in the dwarven diet, and even these they will not eat raw.

Sound is the most reliable form of communication in the sea. Ship captains know and utilize the various distinct sounds that the seamoons—the durnai-make as they drift through the water. These sounds are detected by “elf ears,” magical devices made by elven wizards that pick up the sounds and transmit them through a hollow tube to the ship’s captain. By noting the various locations of these sounds and their distances, the position of the ship can be determined.

Unfortunately, however, the captains would be familiar only with their own local waters. Out of those waters, they must now rely on the dragon-snakes for guidance.

For further information on these magical battles, see Appendix I.

Extremely unlikely, considering the wide degree of difference in the magical constructs of each race. Most battles were won through sheer luck, though you would never find the victor who would admit it.

See “Magic in the Sundered Realms, Excerpts from a Sartan’s Musing,” in Dragon Wing, vol. 1 of The Death Gate Cycle.

One theory holds that this game was played by mensch children desirous of emulating Sartan (or Patryn) heroes.

Excerpt from a treatise, untitled, discovered in the library of the Sartan on Chelestra.