Mina, Goddess of Tears

Introduced in The Dark Disciple trilogy by Margaret Weis, Mina, the Goddess of Tears is the central figure and made a massive impact on Krynn. Let’s learn about this new goddess who lives outside the pantheon of Krynn. Buy Amber and Blood here: https://amzn.to/3NwjE51

Transcript

Cold Open

She is so much more than a pawn for more powerful characters.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today I am going to talk about Mina, Goddess of Tears. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, 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 Amber & Blood Appendix for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

Mina is one of those seminal characters in the Fifth Age of Krynn. Not only was her original backstory hijacked from the current Age of Mortals game designers by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman when they were asked to course correct the Fifth Age by Wizards of the Coast, the character had always lived under the shadow of other more pronounced characters. First it was under the tutelage of Goldmoon at the Citadel of Light. Then under the One God, Takhisis, the Queen of Darkness in the War of Souls, and again under Chemosh in the Dark Disciple Trilogy. But Margaret Weis decided to do something wholly unexpected with the character to finish out that trilogy. She made Mina, a god!

In an interview I had the privilege of conducting with Margaret Weis, she revealed that Mina was written with the Jean of Arc archetype. Something that makes perfect sense and in its own right, is an incredibly powerful story. But when it was revealed that Mina was in fact a god, born during the creation of Krynn itself, it turned everything us lore fans of Dragonlance knew up on its head, in my opinion, in a good way. To be surprised by a campaign setting that you have been reading and playing for decades is a rare experience indeed! Let’s take a look at Mina, the Goddess of Tears.

Mina, the Goddess of Tears is a lesser deity, the daughter of Mishakal, Goddess of Healing and Paladine, the Platinum Dragon. Her symbol is an Amber Teardrop, and has no celestial symbol of representation. Her home plane is the Ethereal Plane and Krynn. Her alignment shifts from either Neutral Good or Neutral Evil. Her portfolio includes Grief, Loss and Morality. She doesn’t have active worshippers initially, but the desperate and the abandoned, the grief-shattered, those feeling trapped, suicidal, those who have lost all hope are welcome to find comfort in this goddess. Her colors are black, purple and yellow. This is all echoed in her personal life story after having been awakened by Takhisis in the Age of Mortals, and used as a pawn, the whole of her days.

Mina is the embodiment of the sorrow of the gods in the face of the world’s many tragedies. She is a mysterious divine agency who refuses to stand with the other gods of Krynn, as it would upset the balance if she did so. As she was irrevocably changed through her trials, she does bring comfort in the face of sorrow. She is a constant reminder to the grieving that their pain is a real and necessary part of a mortal’s existence. It is something that connects us all, and is direct evidence that we each mean something. That we are of significance to those who survive us. That this life is not one to cast aside, but rather to be embraced. Pain is part of it. Loss is part of it, yes. But so is joy, so is connection, and so is purpose.

As mentioned, Mina is the Daughter of Paladine and Mishakal. She was born out of their sheer joy in the creation of the world. She is sister to Kiri-Jolith and Solinari, though she was not counted among the gods brought forth in the Age of Starbirth. This is because her existence was a secret. Only her parents and their wise councilor, Majere, knew of her. They also knew that if she joined them in the pantheon of Light, it would upset the Balance. The very principle on which the world was created. If she were to have joined them in the skies, that imbalance would have granted the Dark Queen the ability to manipulate events to her advantage. So with sorrow in their hearts, but resolve in their purpose, they did the unthinkable. They bade Majere to hide Mina away, safe in eternal slumber, deep within Krynn’s primordial oceans.

Mina’s divine essence was housed within Krynn itself, unseen and unknown, until the Age of Mortals. Once Takhisis stole the world at the end of the Chaos War, she believed herself to be alone, but Mina’s holy power, in the vacuum of the other gods, was immense. The Queen of Darkness discovered Mina, and devised a plan to rule the world as she was recovering from stealing the world away. We all know the story of the War of Souls, and if not, I have a video about it you should watch. I have also reviewed the Dark Disciple Trilogy which outlines Mina’s experiences after the War and the loss of her One God. Can you imagine the confusion and shock of discovering that you have been used your whole ‘supposedly’ mortal life, only to be faced with the reality that you are in fact a god?

Mina sets herself apart from the other gods of the Fifth Age. After realizing who and what she is, Chemosh now opposes her, though the other gods of Darkness are not so sore as he is. Some would even like to court her to their side of the Pantheon. The gods of Light respect and support her, but Mina can not forget her eons-long slumber manifested at their hands.The gods of Balance accept her presence in the universe, she has even been added to the roll of Krynn’s divine powers by Gilean, but Mina is not aligned with them. Mina is not entirely unlike the Highgod and Chaos. She has no clerics and does not grant clerical powers to those who may worship her. Rather, she manifests to those who need her, in an aspect of her choice. She rarely grants blessings, but if you are in dire need, she will not discriminate between those of good or evil.

Mina is as likely to encourage mortals to embrace their fate as reject it. This puts her in a wonderful place to craft a narrative as a DM. She would lend her ear to the oppressed and the oppressor alike, without judgment. She has numerous roadside shrines dedicated to her. She may appear to the heroes in your campaign, but traditionally on behalf of those who have truly hit rock bottom. Her aspects are always female, and usually human. It may be in the form of a small child, around six years of age, or a mature warrior. But she will never appear as a priestess of Chemosh after having been used by him. If she appears as a priest, it will be in the embodiment of Charm, Liberation, Meditation, or Protection. Ultimately, with her dual alignments, Mina exists as a counterpart to herself, and is thus able to exist and not upset the Balance of powers in Krynn’s universe.

I love the idea of Mina as a goddess because what she represents speaks to me. Every experience has a counterpoint that may not be seen until the dust has settled if ever. To be able to have perspective in that moment is essential and may prevent future tragedy. That is the role of Mina. She will listen, if necessary, she will council. But most of all, she cares for the individual in a way the other gods of Krynn never could. Simply because she has lived as a mortal. She has been used, abused, and betrayed, like many of us have in one form or another. If you want to bring true moral perspective storytelling to your game, I think you would benefit from leveraging Mina, the Goddess of Tears in your campaign.

Outro

And that is all the time I have to talk about Mina, Goddess of Tears. What do you think about this new goddess? Do you use her in your home campaigns? And finally, do you know what she was originally going to do narratively before the War of Souls? Leave a comment below.

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We should be grateful for small blessings, as the gnome said when he blew off his hand when it might have been his head.