Margaret Weis - Dragons of Vanished Moon

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, Takhisis 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.

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.

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.