Also known as Dragon Orbs, Orbs of Dragonkind were forged specifically to defeat Dragons in the Third Dragon War, which were inspired by the Dragon Stones from the First Dragon War. Let’s dive into their history and powers. Buy Wings of Fury: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/216832/Wings-Of-Fury-SAGA?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
On more than one video I have conflated the Dragon Stones with the Dragon Orbs, and they are not the same. Let’s explore their evolution and connection for clarity.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Orbs of Dragonkind. I would like to take a moment and thank my collaborator patrons, the Heroes of the Lance, and invite you to consider becoming a patron or member of this channel by visiting the links in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I have referenced modules and sourcebooks from every edition for this information.
Discussion
For background on the creation of the Orbs of Dragonkind, we have to travel back into prehistory, sometime in the Age of Dreams. The Gold Dragon Aurican was fascinated by the elves. When the elves chose to live in the forests that would come to be known as Silvanesti, they discovered it was already inhabited by the Dark Queen’s chromatic dragons. They didn’t take kindly to the elves’ actions, and the First Dragon War began in secret. Crematia, an ancient and evil red dragon, formed an army of chromatic dragons and ogres. While the metallic dragons were mourning the loss of the Scion, Bard Pattersmith. Crematia had the ogres attack the elves from the north. After days of bloodshed, the elves successfully beat the ogres into a brief retreat. Then the chromatic dragons came. Dragonfear paralized the elves, who were no match for the dragons they didn’t even realize were back in the world.
The female metallic dragons demanded that the males leave the grotto after the scions death, and Aurican decided to visit Silvanesti to check up on the progress of the burgeoning elven nation under the influence of Silvanos their leader. As soon as they saw the devastation laid to the elven nation, realizing that the chromatic dragons returned to krynn, they traveled to the Khalkist mountains, the evil dragons birthplace and were ambushed and decimated by Crematia’s dragon kin. Only Darlantan, the Silver dragon and Aurican the gold dragon made it out alive. You see, the good dragons did not have spell casting ability in these ancient times, a deficiency that led to their downfall. As Darlantan returned to the battle using guerilla tactics to successfully strike blow after blow to Crematia’s forces, Aurican left to the realm of the gods in search of Magic.
Elven history relates that Aurican took with him three elven sages, brothers Fayal Padran, Parys Dayl, and Kayn Wytsnall. The three gods Nuitari, Solinari and Lunitari, perhaps with the approval of Paladine, forged five powerful gems, the Dragon Stones which Aurican brought back to Krynn. The Dragon Stones are large and bright, colored with one of the five chromatic dragon’s colors. The purpose of the Dragon Stones was to trap the chromatic dragons souls. They left the stones in the care of Silvanos himself while they turned the tide on the war. Aurican would take one stone at a time to a chromatic wing, using Darlantan as bait, then ambush them with the Dragon Stone. They successfully used this tactic on three of the dragon wings, leaving the Blue and Red dragons remaining. After each dragon stone was used, an elf on griffon back would deposit them into the fiery reaches of the Khalkist Mountains.
It was about this time the Blue Dragon Stone was stolen from the elves by the Ogre Lord Barc Darrontale. It was recovered by the Elderwild of Kagonos. The blue dragons overwhelmed Darlantan, killing him, and Silvanos himself picked up the Blue Dragon Stone and trapped their souls within. Thus ending the First Dragon War, with Crematia going into hiding, leaving the red Dragons Stone unused. Now the dwarves’ history claims that they discovered the stones when delving Thorin, and sought to take them to the Lords of Doom for destruction, but Crematia claims to have threatened to bring destruction onto the dwarves if she didn’t receive the stones. After hundreds of years, she finally received them all, and took them to the Lords of Doom. It was here Takhisis destroyed the stones, releasing the dragon’s spirits.
It wouldn’t be until the Time of Knights that the Orbs of Dragonkind would be created. They are considered one of the triumphs of the Wizards of High Sorcery. During a Night of the Eye conclave in the Tower of Palanthas, the wizards reflected back on the power of the Dragon Stones. More than a thousand wizards from all three orders used their arcane magic to not only capture, but to bind the raw essence of chromatic dragons within crystal orbs. The Orbs were created to protect the five Towers of High Sorcery and fight the Dark Queens dragons throughout the Third Dragon War. They are popularly believed to destroy Evil dragons, but they in fact are used to telepathically summon them.
During the Lost Battles, when Istar was striking out against the Wizards of High Sorcery, the Dragon Orb within the Daltigoth tower was believed to have been destroyed. When the Losarcum tower was destroyed, it is believed it’s dragon orb fell with it as well. Those orbs were either blue or black. The orb in the Tower of Wayreth was removed by Feal-Thas, on request by the conclave for protection against the Kingpriest. It’s mist was white. Palanthas’ orb was moved to the High Clerist’s tower during its construction, and the dwarven architects used it as a key to the tower’s defensive design, ostensibly creating a dragon death trap. It’s mist was red. The Orb from the Tower of High Sorcery in Istar was removed by Lorac Caladon. Lorac was drawn to the Dragon Orb during his test at the tower of High Sorcery in Istar. It’s mist was green.
The Dragon Orbs contain the essence of good and evil, bound together by neutrality. They are identical in appearance. The crystal orb is 10 inches in diameter, with arcane runes floating just below the surface of the orbs. They contain a strange mist that is continuously swirling within, reflecting the color of the trapped dragon. In use, the orbs expand to 20 inches in diameter. Raistlin Majere is said to have had the orb shrink to the size of a marble for both subterfuge and ease of travel. Controlling the orbs is challenging for even the greatest of wizards, as you must gain dominance over the dragon’s essence within, by speaking the arcane words Argentum Commandares inscribed on the Orb’s surface. We can see a failed attempt in Lorac, the Silvanesti Speaker of the Stars, and success with Lauralanthalasa Kanan in the War of the Lance.
When an individual summons a dragon with the orb, they can then attempt to dominate the dragon. It also affects dragon type creatures, causing confusion in a one mile radius. The Orbs of Dragonkind have other magical powers that are unlocked by powerful wizards, or imbued by them. They can be used for scrying, even traveling the river of time! Dragon Orbs have a powerful survival instinct calling out to wizards for assistance when necessary as it did to Lorac in Istar and Raistlin in the Blood Sea. If you thought using magic in Krynn was draining, it is nothing to the physical and emotional effects of using a Dragon Orb. With all their power, dragon orbs are still very fragile as seen when Tasslehoff Burrfoot destroyed one by throwing it to the ground during the Whitestone Council in the War of the Lance. The orb in the High Clerist tower, and the orb at the bottom of the Blood Sea are still believed to exist, though their whereabouts are unknown. There was a sixth dragon orb created centuries after the Third Dragon War by Black Robe Mages from the Gold Dragon Assamiel, which was stored in Bastian. A Knight of the Thorn named Theo Drawde, recovered it but both ended up being thrown into The Grey.
Outro
And that is all I have to say about the Orbs of Dragonkind. Do you think the orbs are too powerful? Would Raistlin have been able to defeat Fistandantilus without his orb? And finally, have you ever had a player try to use one and fail? Leave a comment below.
I would like to once again invite you to consider becoming a patron or member of this channel, and you can pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link, all of which are in the description below.
This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you will join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
I will do this. Nothing in my life matters except this. No moment in my life exists except this moment. I am born in this moment, and if I fail, I will die in this moment.
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