The River of Time is rarely altered, but glimpsing an alternate timeline does occur. Let’s look at one presented in the Legends trilogy. Buy Legends of the Twins: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3252/Legends-of-the-Twins-35?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
“As of Fourthday, Fifthmonth, Year 358, the world ends.” –Astinus
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Alternative Timeline: Hourglass in the Sky. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing the novel Test of the Twins from the Legends Trilogy and Legends of the Twins sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!
Discussion
When Caramon Majere and Tasslehoff Burrfoot flee Zhaman and Raistlin and Crysania enter the Abyss, Caramon and Tas arrive in an unrecognizable future. The sky is adorned with an hourglass constellation and Krynn as they know it is dead. Raistin succeeded in everything he set out to do. He defeated the gods and became a god himself, but the world in which he reigned was empty. In the end, Raistlin would rule over nothing. This is not exactly what he planned, and in his ignorance, his desire for godhood and power blinded him to the ultimate outcome. We know that in the Legends trilogy Caramon would then travel back in time and enter the Abyss and tell Raistlin what he saw of his future, and that would convince Raistlin to abandon his plans. But what if Caramon never made it back, or Raistlin didn’t abandon them? This is what is proposed in the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition sourcebook, Legends of the Twins. Let’s take a look at what could transpire in this alternate timeline.
It takes just two years and two days from the time Raistlin Majere lures Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness out of the Abyss in the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas, to the end of the world. This is not a lot of time for anyone to attempt to stop Raistlin or alter events in time to prevent this from happening, but it is a time of prophecy and chaos. It all begins in eight hundred and seventy-six Prae Cataclius. Astinus of Palanthus, working on recording history as it unfolds in the Library of Palanthas, is presented with a strange volume of history from the Ichonochronos. This volume is filled with events that have yet to occur. Astinus is confident this is a volume that has somehow traveled back through the River of Time, and upon opening it sees a handwritten note by Caramon Majere noting that he has failed. He is trapped in time, and he cannot return. This is a prelude to the madness to come.
An Aesthetic Monk from the Library of Palanthas, Brother Lanadon Oakleaf comes across this final volume of history on tenth month of Three Hundred and Fifty-Five Alt Cataclius. He was stunned to learn that he was destined to make six copies of the final volume of history and deliver them to the people of Ansalon. This may be an attempt at stopping the presented outcome or simply preparing the people for the inevitable. Whatever the goal was, on Seventh Day, Thirdmonth of Three Hundred and Fifty-Six, Brother Lanadon leaves Palanthas with the copies. Because Caramon Majere and Tasslehoff Burrfoot are not around for the Blue Lady’s War on Third Day, Fifth Month, Three Hundred Fifty-Six, Kitiara Uth Matar and Lord Soth with their dragonarmy decimate Palanthas, killing Tanis Half-Elven as Raistlin Majere draws out Takhisis, defeats her, and absorbs her power. What happened next is a chain of events that is seemingly impossible to anticipate or stop.
As Brother Landon distributes his volumes, magestorms begin to decimate Krynn. Magestorms are roiling violet-black clouds up to a mile wide which are lit by blue lightning. It brings with it winds up to fifty miles per hour and temperatures in excess of ninety-five degrees fahrenheit. Those unfortunate enough to be covered by them must then suffer a barrage of lightning strikes with a frequency of approximately one per minute! These strikes can kill or even worse in some estimation alter the reality of the object or being struck. When the storms finally do pass, they leave a ravaged landscape covered in debris and corpses in its wake. On a very rare instance, much like the nature of Raistlin himself, some of these magestorms bring light and goodness. These are referred to as lightstorms and are rarely larger than a mile radius. They rain cool gold and silver drops of water which can heal and in rare cases resurrect those who have suffered in this time.
As Raistlin continues to defeat and absorb the various gods and their power, he is joined by Chemosh who assists him. This has obvious effects for those who are granted power by these gods. Not only do they slowly become incapable of using their divine or arcane inspirations, but Raistlin inadvertently passes some of the power he is absorbing to beings of neutral or evil alignments in the form of vitality. There is also a cult that arises on Twenty-eighth Day, Seventhmonth, Three Hundred and Fifty-Six. It is led by Icel Batavos, these Railstlinites as they call themselves, accept that the world is in fact ending, but believe that those resurrected by the lightstorms will stand to inherit the world in the wake of its destruction. This cult spreads all across Ansalon, staging mass murders and usurping cities and governments.
Brother Lanadon is killed by a Magestorn in the southern plains on Second Day, Eighthmonth, and raised by a lightstorm on Twenty-Fifth Day, Tenthmonth, Three Hundred and Fifty-Six, and those he delivered the volumes to begin to muster and strike back against the Raistlinites and Hariel the Bender, the red dragon who had taken control of Sanction. By Twelfth Day, Firstmonth, Threehundred Fifty-seven, Brother Landon is robbed and left for dead, with the final two volumes sold to traders in Khuri-Khan. Raistlin is not all powerful however and continually needs to retreat and rejuvenate, but he is always eventually successful in defeating the gods. On Eighteenth Day, Eightmonth, Three Hundred and Fifty-Seven, Mount Nevermind erupts, killing thousands of Gnomes, and on Second Day, Tenthmonth Three hundred and Fifth-Seven, the largest magestorm passes over Palanthas resurrecting all who fell in the battle of Palanthas and the Raistlinites’ victims, and the second battle of Palanthas begins.
The magestorms begin to combine in their force and the lightstorms end by Seventeenth Day, Thirdmonth Three hundred and fifty-eight. Raistlin destroys the gods of magic, shattering their moons as the debris batters Krynn. By firstday fifth month, Krynn is covered in a massive magestorm, and on forthday fifthmonth, Raistlin kills Paladine, and the world ends. This is not a time for the faint of heart, but it is a time ripe for a campaign to stop Raistlin or alter the River of Time. There are more events that occur in this timeline with Sturm Brightblade being resurrected and the Lords of Doom being forced to erupt and directed into Sanction.
Outro
But that is all I have to talk about the alternate timeline: Hourglass in the Sky. What do you think of this possible future for Krynn? Is it better than the Fifth Age? And finally, do you have any ideas on how to stop Raistlin from ending the world that differs from Weis and Hickman’s? Leave a comment below.
I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
“I have failed. The spell sent me too far back. I cannot return: the device is broken, and have lost the kender. May the gods forgive me.” –Caramon Majere
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