Canon:Dragonlance Timeline
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The history of Krynn is divided into five ages: the Age of Starbirth, the Age of Dreams, the Age of Might, the Age of Despair, and the Age of Mortals.
Astinus of Palanthas, in his work Iconochronos, divides the years of Krynn into PC (Prae Cataclius or “before the Cataclysm”) and AC (Alt Cataclius or “after the Cataclysm”). After the Chaos War, the chronicler Nathal introduced an alternative reckoning, starting with the year 384 AC which he renames 1 SC (Secundus Cataclius or “Second Cataclysm”). This system is now used concurrently with the AC reckoning.
Contents
The Age of Starbirth
The Age of Starbirth is the first of the ages of Krynn, and is said to begin with the High God. The High God accepts the offers of Paladine, Gilean, and Takhisis and lets the three gods select their companion deities. Paladine and his companions become the Gods of Light. Takhisis and her companions become the Gods of Darkness. Gilean and his companions become the Gods of Balance. Reorx shapes Krynn and the first dragons under the guidance of Paladine and Takhisis. The other gods, excluding Chaos, aid in the creation of Krynn as a habitable world.
Takhisis corrupts the first dragons in her image, creating the first chromatic dragons: red, blue, black, green, and white. A grief-stricken Paladine asks Reorx to craft monuments to his lost children. Paladine gives life to these monuments, thus creating the first metallic dragons: gold, silver, copper, bronze, and brass. Takhisis's treachery causes a great war on Krynn known as the All-Dragons War. The gods withdraw from Krynn before their war destroys the world. The Gods of Light build the Dome of Creation, the Gods of Darkness create the Abyss, and the Gods of Balance create the Hidden Vale.
The three pantheons discover the potential of the stars, which are spirits in reality, and the All-Saints War begins. The fighting is stopped by the High God, who proclaims that each pantheon may offer one gift to the spirits. The gods of Light provide the spirits with physical forms so as to enjoy Krynn's pleasures. The gods of Darkness "gift" the spirits with ambition and desire. The gods of Balance give free will to the spirits. The spirits are born into the world of Krynn as the races of ogres, elves, and humans. Each family of gods creates one god to honor the truce, and the Gods of Magic are born: good Solinari, neutral Lunitari, and evil Nuitari.
Reorx is persuaded to craft a powerful gemstone that will contain the essence of neutrality. Reorx tries to infuse the gem with a portion of Chaos, but entraps the god himself. Reorx gives the gem to Lunitari, who puts it in the red moon that shares her name. The gemstone becomes known as the Graygem.
Age of Dreams
The Age of Dreams contains the First Dragon War fought by the elves under Silvanos Goldeneye against the evil dragons. The elves prevailed against the evil dragons using magical stones that were lost after the war. Kender, minotaurs, and dwarves begin to settle, however the dwarves disturb the magical stones and unleash the evil dragons again. This begins the Second Dragon War, which is ended by the great power of several mages, however this power scars the land of Ansalon. These mages learn the law of magic and form the Wizards of High Sorcery and the Towers of High Sorcery. After this war, the Kinslayer War is fought, and Qualinesti is founded. Later, the Rose Rebellion is led against the Empire of Ergoth and Solamnia is founded by Vinas Solamnus. In addition, Istar is founded in this Age. The Third Dragon War erupts, leading to the great sacrifice by Huma Dragonbane to keep Takhisis away from the world.
Age of Might
The Age of Might sees the rise of Istar. Paladine holds great stock in the relatively new nation. Istar grows and begins trading, growing stronger and stronger until it is a major world power. Istar fights with several nations in protest to their growing power. The Kingpriest begins rulership of Istar and declares itself the moral center of the world. Istar begins to lose sight of the balance between good and evil and tries to eradicate evil in the world. Mages are persecuted by the Kingpriest, and they are forced to retreat to the Tower of Wayreth. Soon, the Kingpriest demands from the gods the power they gave to Huma Dragonbane in hopes of destroying all evil. The gods grow angry and they hurl a fiery mountain at Ansalon, an event known as the Cataclysm.
Age of Despair
The Age of Despair is a time of famine and of evil. It is divided into the Time of Darkness (1 AC through 331 AC), when nations descend into squalor, and the Knights of Solamnia become a dishonored group, and the Time of Dragons (332 AC through 383 AC). Takhisis readies herself to launch the War of the Lance upon Ansalon. When the War of the Lance erupts, the Heroes of the Lance fight back against Takhisis, leading to the defeat of her armies at several fronts and her total defeat at Neraka when Berem, the Everman and the secret to either Takhisis's final defeat or success, is allowed to die. After the War, Raistlin Majere begins his plans to ascend to godhood and this culminates in the destruction of Palanthas. Also, the Knights of Takhisis are formed by Ariakan. The Chaos War erupts and in its terrible wake the Age of Mortals begins.
Age of Mortals
The Fifth Age, called the Age of Mortals, sees the appearance of the Dragon Overlords, a group of incredibly large and powerful dragons who take control of the lands of Ansalon. With the loss of traditional arcane and clerical magic, Palin Majere establishes sorcery and Goldmoon establishes Mysticism. Years later, the War of Souls comes to Ansalon where it is discover Takhisis stole the world from the other gods in order to become the sole god. Several Overlords die during this time, including Malys the Red, the greatest of the Overlords, and Beryl the Green, the ruler of Qualinesti and the areas arround it, and Khellendros the Blue, ruler of the lands around Solamnia. Takhisis herself is killed because she has been stripped of her immortality, and Paladine also descends into mortality. At the current time setting of the novels, the world of Krynn is still reeling from the War of Souls.
References
- Tracy Hickman, Margaret Weis (1987). Dragonlance Adventures. (1e) TSR. ISBN 0-88038-452-2.
- Margaret Weis, Don Perrin, Jamie Chambers, Christopher Coyle (2003). Dragonlance Campaign Setting. (3.5e) Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-3086-1.
- Margaret Weis (31 January 2004). Amber and Ashes. (Novel) Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0786932589.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (November 1984). Dragons of Autumn Twilight. (Novel) TSR. ISBN 0-88038-173-6.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (1985). Dragons of Winter Night. (Novel) TSR. ISBN 0-88038-174-4.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (1985). Dragons of Spring Dawning. (Novel) TSR. ISBN 0-88038-175-2.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (February 1986). Time of the Twins. (Novel) TSR. ISBN 0-7869-1804-7.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (May 1986). War of the Twins. (Novel) TSR. ISBN 0-7869-1805-5.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (August 1986). Test of the Twins. (Novel) TSR. ISBN 0-88038-267-8.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (November 1995). Dragons of Summer Flame. (Novel) TSR. ISBN 0-7869-0523-9.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (March 2000). Dragons of a Fallen Sun. (Novel) Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 9780786918072.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (April 2001). Dragons of a Lost Star. (Novel) Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2706-2.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman (January 2001). Dragons of a Vanished Moon. (Novel) Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2950-2.
- Richard A. Knaak (1988). The Legend of Huma. (Novel) TSR. ISBN 0-88038-548-0.
- Richard A. Knaak (June 2003). Night of Blood. (Novel) Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2938-3.
- Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Jamie Chambers (2004). War of the Lance. (3.5e) Sovereign Press. ISBN 193156714X.
- Margaret Weis, Chris Pierson, Jamie Chambers (November 2004). Towers of High Sorcery. (3.5e) Sovereign Press. ISBN 1931567174.
- Margaret Weis, Christopher Coyle, Jamie Chambers (2003). Age of Mortals. (3.5e) Sovereign Press. ISBN 1931567107.
External links
- There is an article about the History of Krynn at the Lexicon of Dragonlance Nexus.
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