Changes

The following are '''[[artifact]]s artifacts from the [[Dragonlance]] universe'''.

The bloodstone was created during the [[Age of Dreams]]. It is possible that the bloodstone had some intelligence. It was an artifact used by [[Fistandantilus]] to transfer his soul to an apprentice's body, allowing Fistandantilus to become young and powerful again. The bloodstone was used against Fistandantilus by [[Raistlin]], who stole it from him after a battle. He took over Fistandantilus's body and his knowledge. The bloodstone was a powerful [[evil]] item from early days of magic. It is roughly three inches in diameter, and it is set in a silver setting attached to a silver chain. It is actually a green gemstone with flecks of red.

The Blue Crystal Staff once resided in the arms of a statue of the goddess [[Mishakal]] in a temple to that goddess in the city of [[List of Dragonlance locations#Xak Tsaroth|Xak Tsaroth]]. The staff has the power to heal wounds by summoning the power of Mishakal. It also strongly repels evil by shocking the evildoer with powerful lightning.

The Staff was lost to the world when the city was thrown down a mountainside during the [[Cataclysm]]. The Staff was discovered again when a barbarian named [[Riverwind]] was sent on a quest to find knowledge of the true gods by the chieftain of his people, the father of his beloved [[Goldmoon]]. Upon returning to his village, [[Riverwind ]] was denounced as a charlatan, and ordered stoned to death. Goldmoon, staff in hand, ran to be with him. As the rocks hit them both, the staff flashed bright blue, and the two were transported to the outskirts of the town of [[List of Dragonlance locations#Solace|Solace]].

The Staff was sought by the forces of evil who feared that knowledge of the [[Gods of Good|good gods]] could hurt their efforts to conquer the world, but the [[Heroes of the Lance]] protected Goldmoon and the Staff until they eventually came to [[List of Dragonlance locations#Xak Tsaroth|Xak Tsaroth]]. There Goldmoon returned the Staff to its proper place (the staff fused with the statue and became rock) and was made a true cleric of [[Mishakal ]] with the innate ability to heal without the use of the Staff.

The Disks of Mishakal contain the teachings of the gods of good, such as marriage rites. They also teach about the [[gods of evil]] and [[Gods of Neutrality|neutrality]], since balance is needed throughout the world. They are thin, lightweight, and made of platinum. After the Cataclysm, the disks were hidden in the ruined city Xak Tsaroth. They were guarded by the black dragon, [[Khisanth]] (Onyx). The Disks were found by the companions in the first book in the Chronicles series called ''[[Dragons of Autumn Twilight]]''.

The player characters in the computer game ''[[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance]]'' must retrieve the Disks of Mishakal from the lair of Khisanth in the ruins of Xak Tsaroth.<ref>{{cite journal | last =South | first =Phil | title =Screen Shots Part II: Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes of the Lance | format = review | journal =[[Your Sinclair]] | issue = 39 | pages =page 80 | date =March 1989 | url =http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=YourSinclair/Issue39/Pages/YourSinclair3900080.jpg | issn =0269-6983 | accessdate = March 29, 2007 }} [http://www.ysrnry.co.uk/articles/heroesofthelance.htm alternate html version of the review].</ref> The characters must use the Disks to prevent [[Takhisis]] from creating her evil empire.<ref>{{cite journal | title =Fantasy Roleplaying: Heroes of the Lance | format =review | journal =[[Wikipedia:Crash (magazine)|Crash]] | issue = 62 | pages =page 71 | date =March 1989 | url =http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=Crash/Issue62/Pages/Crash6200071.jpg | issn =0954-8661 | accessdate = March 29, 2007 }}</ref>

The Dragon Orbs were powerful artifacts created by the [[Wizards of High Sorcery]] at the end of the Age of Dreams during the final desperate hours of the [[Third Dragon War]]. The Orbs were created by wizards of all three orders and contain the essence of all dragons, good and evil. All of the Orbs were believed to have perished in what are known as the Lost Battles, when the [[Kingpriest of Istar]] roused the populace against the magic-users, but in fact three of them have survived. One of them is in the care of Lorac, another in Icewall Castle and the third one lies forgotten in the [[High Clerist's Tower]]. What the Orbs actually do is give the user the ability to summon dragons, which the user will hopefully be strong enough to enslave or destroy. The Dragon Orbs are also highly intelligent and exhibit a strong instinct for self-preservation. They will easily take control of a weak-willed user's mind and this is exactly what happened to [[List of minor Dragonlance characters#Lorac Caladon|Lorac Caladon]]. Later during the [[War of the Lance]], the Whitestone forces sought to use the Dragon Orbs. However, due to their risk, they were destroyed, one by [[Tasslehoff]]. Another was used by the infamous wizard Wizard Raistlin Majere, to help aid his escape from death in the [[Blood Sea]]. Although they cannot be harmed by magic, strong physical actions can break them.<ref name="orbmagic">{{cite book

According to the Dragonlance campaign setting, dragonlances are weapons first created in the Third Dragon War, designed with the purpose of killing evil [[dragonDragon (Dungeons & Dragons)|dragons]]s, and are the only weapons with which mortals can kill dragons.<ref name = "W23">[[#References{{sfn|Wolf (|2010)]]. |p. =23</ref> }} Dragonlances have this power because of the way in which they are created, which requires the use of "two god-blessed artifacts".<ref name {{sfn|Wolf|2010|p= "W23"/> 23}} The weapons clearly draw upon Christian iconography, as the two mythical figures shown defeating dragons, [[Wikipedia:Michael (archangel)|Archangel Michael]] and [[Wikipedia:Saint George|Saint George]], are often portrayed wielding lances to do so.<ref name {{sfn|Wolf|2010|p= "W23"/>23}} [[Huma Dragonbane]], a character spoken of in many Dragonlance novels, uses one to defeat [[Takhisis]], an evil goddess consistently causing strife in the novels. The dragonlances are rare and not commonly traded, according to the campaign setting. There are Lesser Dragonlances, which are made when only one of the artifacts are used to create them, and Greater Dragonlances, which are made when both artifacts (the [[#Hammer of Kharas|Hammer of Kharas]] and the [[#Silver Arm of Ergoth|Silver Arm of Ergoth]]) are used to make them. Greater Dragonlances are blessed with the power of Good, unlike Lesser Dragonlances.<ref name="dragonlances">{{cite book

In the stories, the [[Heroes of the Lance]] flee to [[Thorbardin]], the kingdom of the mountain dwarves, where the ''Dragonlance'' is being forged; the heroes are eventually able to use the ''Dragonlance'' to prevail over the villains.<ref name="LZW">{{cite book |editor1-first= Detlef |editor1-last= Wienecke-Janz | year = 2002 | title = Lexikon der Zauberwelten - Gandalf & Co. | publisher = Wissen Media Verlag | isbn = 3-577-13505-0 |page=62}}</ref>

The Graygem of Gargath is an artifact that contains the essence of the being [[Chaos (Dragonlance)|Chaos]]. [[Reorx]] created it to contain actually a small part of the god Chaos but accidentally captured him in the gem, according to the campaign setting. The artifact is the Graygem, which he puts into the moon Lunitari. The common story is that the [[gnome]]s Gnomes took the Graygem to power a Great Machine they had made from [[Reorx]]'s designs. The gem escapes them, and the Chaos within changes the world and the things in it ([[Pegasus|pegasi]]Pegasi, [[minotaur]]sMinotaurs, etc.). The gnomes Gnomes chase the Graygem east from [[Taladas]], until they reach [[Ansalon]]. Gargath, a powerful ancient wizard, traps the Graygem between two godstones and sets it in a tower. Two groups of gnomesGnomes, one seeking the Graygem for wealth and the other wanting to study it, attempt to capture the Graygem from Gargath, and it transforms them into [[dwarves]] Dwarves and [[kender]]Kender.

However, in the ''[[Dwarven Kingdoms of Krynn]]'' module ''Songs of the Loremaster'', which relates in extreme detail the true history of the dwarven peoples of Krynn, the tale is much different. It is told that the [[Smiths]], the precursor peoples of the dwarves, once dwealt on the continent of Taladas, and were natural masters of elemental magic. Which they used to build and craft amazing things. They constructed a ladder from [[Krynn]] krynn to the red moon [[Lunitari (moon)|Lunitari]]Nuitari, where the Greygem was, and attempted to retrieve it. As the one carrying it descended to the ground, the gem flared its power, and flew off (wreaking the chaos as noted in the other tale). The circle of smiths at the base of the ladder were turned into the [[Scions]] (of which one is in fact narrating this story to the reader), golden skinned beings with great magical abilities, and the Smiths lost their elemental abilities and became known as dwarves. The dwarves were driven from Taladas and chased the greygem to Ansalon. Eventually the tale tells of the battle of Gargath, where armies vied for the Gem. An army of Dwarves was transformed by the gem's power into gnomesGnomes, and an army of [[elves]] Elves was transformed into the first kenderKender.

[[Palin Majere]] and his brothers attempt to capture the Graygem, and succeed, but their companion loses it again in a wager. The [[Irda (Dragonlance)|Irda]] find it and break it, accidentally bringing about the Chaos War.<ref name="Graygem">{{Cite_Pubcite book |author = Margaret Weis |last2=Perrin |first2=Don | title = Dragonlance Campaign Setting |date=August 2003 | accessdate = 2007-03-14 | edition = 1st edition | publisher = Wizards of the Coast | isbn = 0-7869-3086-1 | chapter = Chapter 6, The Dragonlance Campaign, "Creation Myth:The Graygem of Gargath". | page = 288}} p. 288.</ref>

In her book ''Religious Concepts in Fantasy Literature'', Nadine Wolf contrasts the innate power of the Staff, which is the same no matter who wields it, with the power of the [[Wikipedia:Force (Star Wars)|Force]] from the ''[[Wikipedia:Star Wars|Star Wars]]'' fictional universe, which is a skill that must be learned over time, and whose effectiveness depends on the ability of the individual using it.<ref>[[#References{{sfn|Wolf (|2010)]]. pp. 57-58.</ref>|p=57–58}}