Margaret Weis - Dragons of Vanished Moon

Mortals are born into the world of Krynn for two purposes—each ordained by the High God. The first is internal: for the growth and enhancement of their own souls and those of others as they develop faith and exercise their agency of choice between Evil, Neutrality and Good. Some souls, when challenged by Evil, choose to darken or lose themselves in the fires; others pass through such tests without failing but without attaining higher virtue; still others are purified and shine brighter than the stars, reflecting and radiating the High God’s Light.

The second purpose is external: that mortals should take up their role in shaping the world of Krynn, bringing it to perfection, and, in the wake of the deeds of Chaos and the fall of Takhisis and her cohorts, repairing the wounds of Evil. The freedom of will given to mortals by the High God means that mortals may turn to dark ends. Yet the High God weaves Neutrality and Evil into the unfolding of the Tobril, inevitably bringing forth Good out of Evil. What mortals have called Fate is the expression of the High God’s subtle but prevalent will upon Krynn. Death, feared by so many mortals, is both an end and a beginning. For souls who have chosen by their faith and actions to stand with the High God, death is an end to the trials of this life and a gateway to sharing in the love and glory of the High God. Those who chose to turn their backs on the High God, though, cast themselves into the Abyss, tormented by the wickedness they embraced in life. More than that I cannot say, for some things must be left to faith. Some mortals fear the passage to the world beyond, either out of fear of the unknown or, if they are wicked mortals, a suspicion of what awaits them. In some cases, the Evil god Chemosh responds to this fear and offers mortals a chance at a fake and perverted form of immortality. This attempt to “cheat death” and circumvent the progression of souls is but a sad joke that Chemosh delights in perpetrating. Those who accept his temptation find themselves trapped within their dead bodies or otherwise bound to the world of Krynn, doomed to a horrid existence until destroyed or freed from Chemosh’s bonds. Even dragons are not immune to Chemosh’s seductions, as the recent case of Cyan Bloodbane indicates. Some wizards have pursued a similar fate through dark magic. I have heard it said that Chemosh and Nuitari conspired to release the secrets of lichdom into the world for their own gain.

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.

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)

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 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 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.

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.