The City of Lost Names is a tale of the hubris of man, and Chaos, but ultimately a tale of revenge for that hubris. Let’s learn more about The City of Lost Names. Buy War of the Lance: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3164/War-of-the-Lance-35?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition fundamentally changed the city’s origin and purpose, and not for the better.
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about The City of Lost Names. 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 Dungeon Magazine #86 and the War of the Lance sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!
Discussion
As with most stories on Krynn, the tale of the City of Lost Names begins with Chaos. After being trapped in the Graygem, unknowingly by Reorx, Chaos was rightfully enraged. We all know the tale of the Graygem of Gargath, so I won’t reiterate it here, but suffice it to say, Chaos, even trapped in the Graygem, held incredible influence over Krynn and its inhabitants. As we have come to learn, this is not always good or bad, as Chaos itself is neither and both. Krynn held dormant magic from its creation by the gods, but not all mortals were aware of it, or if they were aware, were able to command it. Chaos however was capable of teaching others how to use the wild magic, and in the Age of Dreams, in The Time of Light, in the dense forests of Northern Solamnia, the Graygem taught sorcery to a few select individuals of different races.
These sorcerers believed themselves to be masters over the elements, free from the dominion of the gods, but they were blinded by their own hubris, as they were simply pawns in Chaos’ schemes. You see, Chaos was tortured by being trapped in the Graygem, and had nothing but time. A eons to plan his revenge against the lesser gods who imprisoned him, and the mortals and land of their creation. His plan was to encourage the expansion of sorcery and escape into the River of Time to destroy everything his captors created, and his sorcerers were his willing puppets. Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man sorcery, and he will craft an Anvil of Time for Chaos to destroy Krynn with. Or, I believe the saying goes something like that anyway.
What Chaos could not see was that the mortals would become fascinated with the Graygem and over time, capture and recapture it, trapping him and his schemes over and over again throughout time. With his waning influence over the sorcerers, their power would grow exponentially, and with it, their pride and desire to showcase that pride. These sorcerers built a massive city in dense forests of Northern Solamnia. The perimeter of this city featured twelve minarets to protect it from intruders. The minarets contained spiraling staircases that rose up thousands of steps. There were incredibly vast plazas and massive ziggurats which rose up into the sky, proclaiming the city’s splendor. Surrounding these immense spaces were wide avenues and lush, beautiful gardens. But that was only the beginning, for floating high above it all, hundreds of feet in the air overlooking the city was an island. Symbolically, this incredible city was a sign that mortals did not need the gods, or were as powerful as them.
Of these myriad of sorcerers, time does not tell if it was a council or single mortal that controlled the city. Rumors have spread over the millennia that it was the beautiful and arrogant ogres of old, or a lost tribe of elves, or even powerful dwarves. And once this city’s splendor reached the three gods of magic’s eyes, they grew jealous. For the residents began tapping into and developing new magic’s beyond the Graygem’s sorcery. They began researching the magic of the ancient ogres and dragonic magic, shaping both with the wild magic dormant in Krynn. Through this research they were able to open a gateway into the River of Time, and once therein, crafted the Anvil of Time. History is shaky on this point, as some say the Anvil of Time was what Reorx used to shape the universe, so it’s entirely possible these sorcerers discovered it, rather than crafted it, but in either case, the three gods of magic initially appreciated access to this invention, and used it for their own affairs. However, it soon became clear that these sorcerers, and the world at large, was not ready for such powerful magic.
This is when the three gods of magic: Solinari, Lunitari and Nuitari decided to sever the connection between the Prime Material Plane and the River of Time. The arrogant high sorcerers refused to acknowledge the gods’ will, so the three gods of magic reached out to their brother and sister gods in Takhisis, Chemosh and Zivilyn, including the most ancient dragons of old. The divine retaliation initially came in the form of a curse on the city. The water flowing through the springs and fountains of the city became contaminated with saltwater from the Sirrion Sea. The citizens’ herds of sheep, fowl, cattle, and even the flocks of Wari began dying of a rotting disease. With the populace consumed with thirst and hunger, fearing for their lives, the dragon came to deliver the gods’ message.
The great dragon demanded that the citizens abandon their city, leaving all of their possessions behind, or they will witness the destruction of their home. The populace believed in the power of their sorcerers and followed their council as they refused the dragon’s ultimatum. The dragon returned with ten other great reds and burned their forests to the ground. The sorcerers tried to summon rain to quelch the fires, but no rain came, only wind which turned the flames into an inferno, redirecting the flames from the forest surrounding the city, into the city itself, scorching their gardens. It was as if the stone itself was aflame. But that was not to be the end. The dragons soared high into the skies above the city to its floating island which was the center of the city’s religious and arcane power, and together used their magic and might to send it crashing to the ground, obliterating the survivors of the inferno.
The fallout left Northern Solamnia a wasteland. It’s smoldering sands swallowing up those who search for the remains of this once great city. Of course this story changed in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. In Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, the City of Lost Names was created in the Age of Might by the Kingpriest of Istar. The Kingpriest dreamt of an earthly paradise, a pleasure city to reward those he deemed righteous. Together with his servants, the Kingpriest built a great floating island named Onyari, or the City Without Sin. The Kingpriest saw it as a heavenly place where the most worthy and wealthy of his subjects would cast off their mortal weaknesses and live as gods. The problem was that it was built over and powered by the dormant power of a timeless dragon graveyard.
The Chromatic Dragons were banished from Krynn due to the Third Dragon War, so when the Metallic Dragons learned of this sacrilege, they were understandably furious. The gold dragon Karavarix led a contingent to the city, demanding that it be set down. Paladine tasked the Solamnic Knight Zanas Sarlamir with finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict, but alas, he failed, and attacked and killed Karavarix with a Dragonlance! This set into motion a massive war between Metallic Dragons and Istar leading to the floating city’s destruction, crashing into the Northern Wastes and Sarlamir’s death. The Kingpriest suppressed all knowledge of this to hide his failure, and the history of Onyari was buried with only hidden mention of the City of Lost Names as its legacy.
Outro
But that is all I have to say about The City of Lost Names. Do you prefer the original history or the rewrite of the City of Lost Names? Does the lack of consistency in Dragonlance lore bother you? And finally, would there be differences in the relics of the City of Lost Names between the two versions? Leave a comment below.
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You know nothing, Great One! You are a fool!
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