You cannot separate the story of Raistlin Majere from his twin Caramon or the lich, Fistandantilus that fed off and empowered him. Let’s take a closer look at Raistlin Majere, Master of Past and Present! Buy Dragonlance Adventures: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/162788/Dragonlance-Adventures-1e?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
If there was even an exception to the rule for a wizard on Krynn, it was always, and will always be Raistlin Majere.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Raistlin Majere. 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 am referencing novels and sourcebooks for this information, but we all know how deep and intrinsic Raistlin is to the history of Krynn, so If I skip over something or misspeak, please leave a comment below.
Discussion
The entire backstory for Raistlin was left for Margaret Weis to determine. She had to base it on Jeff Grub’s idea of him having hourglass eyes and golden skin. She had help as she recalls because of the painting Larry Elmore made of Raistlin, showing suffering in his face. The design team planned him as being the unlikable character as he was sly, greedy and weak. Weis saw Raistlin as the tragic anti-hero; The man who will finally be consumed by his fatal flaw–his thirst for power. She was insistent that readers and players understand him however. Raistlin turns to evil, but the Heroes would not have defeated the Queen of Darkness without him. We are first introduced to Raistlin in Margaret Weis’ short story ‘The Test of the Twins’ in Dragon Magazine #83. She described Raistlin as a frail and sickly magician and scholar. He and his twin Caramon made up one whole person. Caramon was the body and Raistlin was the mind. This would prove to be the driving force throughout the Chronicles and Legends trilogies which would propel Raistlin from that originally designed unlikable character into arguably the most popular character in all of Dragonlance.
Caramon and Raistlin were raised by their half sister Kitiara. Raistlin nearly died in his infancy and lived by Kitiara’s will alone, as he was weak and sickly. Their mother Rosamun was unwell and more than happy to allow Kitiara take up her role. It was Raistlin’s father Gilon that would set him down on the path of magic, with the visit to a local illusionist Waylan. Raistlin was obsessed with the craft and by the evening had learned every one of the sleight-of-hand tricks through observation alone! His father would enroll him in a prestigious school, taught by a highly-reputed Master Mage Theobald. He was talented in math and memory. Raistlin even inherited his mothers Psychic abilities, though he was never able to control or channel them. The Mage did not like Raistlin and was going to turn him away when Raistlin began reading the master’s spell books. This can be deadly to those too young or weak in the craft. He was immediately accepted as a pupil.
By the age of 16, Raistlin had outgrown his master. He was picked on and bullied by the other boys around his age and his brother Caramon would be the only one on his side. After their fathers death and mother’s retreat into her mind which preceded her death, Raistlin would find nothing but contempt for others. They were either less intelligent than him or outright harmed him. This would come to be a defining characteristic in Raistlin revealing itself in the defense of those marginalized. Eventually, they gained respect from the townsfolk. Caramon for his strength, and Raistlin for his skills in magic. They earned money from the strength of Caramon and performances by Rasitlin which only infuriated his master. They became friends with the other heroes of the lance and shared misadventures together. At the age of Twenty, Raistlin was offered an opportunity to take the Test of High Sorcery. He knew that it meant the possibility of death, but also, the possibility of realising his true potential.
This unexpected offer came from the Master of the Tower Par-Salian who needed a sword to battle the coming evil. Par-Salian would arrange the offer to Raistlin. During the test, which would curse him with the hourglass eyes that saw time passing, and his hair turning white and skin golden, he was presented with an opportunity from the arch-mage Fistandantilus. Fistandantilus would grant power to Raistlin in return for some of his life force. Raistlin agreed with the bargain, though would not recall it in his life until nearly the end of the War of the Lance. At the end of the test Raistlin also killed an illusion of his brother, as his actual brother watched. Raistlin was gifted with the Staff of Magius, and his long road of addiction was cemented. You see, the story of Raistlin is not one of casual growth, but rather one of an addict whose every decision was predicated on getting his next fix. His fix came in the form of greater power. This addiction would lead to his incredible growth from a young mage to ultimately the most powerful magic user in all of Krynn’s history, who would challenge and destroy the gods and Krynn itself. It wouldn’t be until the bitter end, when he divined his own future through his brother’s memory, that he would make the ultimate sacrifice. Not for the sake of his family, friends or Krynn, but for himself.
His long road to this moment began in the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayreth forest with Fistandantilus’ offer, but it was fueled by his acquisition of Fistandantilus’ spellbook in Xak Tsaroth and a Dragon Orb in Silvanesti. Combined with the artifacts, the Staff of Magius and the Dragon Orb, and empowered by the magic of Fistandantilus, Raistlin would not only be able to realise his unprecedented growth in the craft, but become the sword that Krynn needed to battle Takhisis. These were also what allowed Rasitlin to become a sanctioned renegade, existing outside the rules of the Order of High Sorcery, by saving the three gods of magic and the orders itself from the Dark Queen’s machinations. It was Raistlin who was the fulcrum that allowed the heroes to prevail, and in the aftermath, after paying his debt to everyone who assisted him in his youth and rise to power, he would turn his eyes to history in an effort to destroy the lich that had both drained and empowered him.
He fulfilled Andras’ curse by entering the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthus, as both Raistlin and Fistandantilus, thereby proving that he is the master of both Past and Present and schemed a delicate operation to enter the Abyss and challenge the Queen of Darkness herself. He would use his brother, his apprentice Dalamar the Dark, and the priestess Crysania against themselves to follow, often unknowingly, his carefully laid plan. Raistlin traveled back in time to before the Cataclysm, became an apprentice of the very Arch Mage that inhabited his soul, and defeated him in magical combat. When the dust cleared, not even the authors were sure who remained. Did Raistlin absorb Fistandantilus’ soul, or was it the other way around… and ultimately did it matter? Raistlin ceased to exist and simply personified the Master of Past and Present title. He would enter the Tower of Palanthas searching for the Portal to the Abyss, and find himself trapped in the River of Time, following Fistandantilus’ footsteps to his own doom, until he controlled the magical backlash of opening the portal while the Device of Time Traveling activated which killed Fistandantilus, but Raistlin overcame by will alone. Caramon would come from the future to reveal Raistlin’s success and ultimate failure with the assistance of Tasslehoff and Tanis in the Tower of High Sorcery in Palanthas.
Now, some would claim that Raistlin was tortured by Takhisis for this, but that is all based on a single painting for the cover of the Dark Queen of Krynn video game. He was actually granted peace by Paladine for his sacrifice, and would be awakened from that peaceful sleep by Dalamar through his nephew Palin Majere’s Test of High Sorcery. He was stripped of his magic by Takhisis for leaving the Abyss. Raistlin would assist Palin and Dalamar against the All Father, Chaos in the Second Cataclysm, and was granted final respite with the gods in its aftermath. He would return in the War of Souls with the gods to locate Krynn and welcome his brother’s soul to the afterlife.
Whether you think Raistlin’s arch was spoiled by his return from rest or not is less important than the moral that was told through his life. Addiction is dangerous and hurts those around you as much as it hurts yourself. His realization of this and his ultimate sacrifice is his redemption and I believe that is the reason why so many continue to love this character to this day, thirty-seven years after he was first introduced to us.
Outro
And that is all I can say about Raistlin Majere in this episode. Do you think he could’ve been as powerful without Fistandantilus? Did he sacrifice too much for his magic? And finally, how do you feel about his end in the novels? Leave a comment below.
I am able to create these weekly videos because of your attention and support. If you are not already a patron or member of this YouTube channel, I would like to invite you to consider becoming one. If you would like to pick up any edition of Dragonlance gaming materials, feel free to use my affiliate link in the description. Thank you again for your time and attention.
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:
Threats are for the fearful. I merely state facts.
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