Lost Wars
Encyclopedia
The Lost Wars is a fiction
al war
occurred in the Dragonlance
universe.
made him subject to the Conclave of Wizards' attacks, as renegade mages are hunted and killed. He was also afraid mages may inform the Kingpriest of Istar what he was doing or planning to do. In order to prevent these interruptions, he prepared a complex plan to force a Conclave retreat from Istar, exploiting the Kingpriest's distrust for the balance.
Beldinas Pilofiro's extremist behaviour was continuous, especially in his speeches. Being a follower of the gods of light, anyone worshipping the gods of evil was an enemy, and should be eliminated, as should anyone supporting them. With time the followers of the gods of neutrality, who did not take an active posture against the followers of evil, were seen as a part of the problem instead of neutral beings, and began to be persecuted as well.
The Orders of Magic followed a path much closer with the one the gods had in mind: a good and an evil side, with neutrality balancing them. One cannot exist without the other. Destroying one will destroy the other.
By using the Kingpriest's line of thought to his advantage, Fistandantilus was able to provoke a war between the Orders of Magic and the Divine Hammer
, the personal army of the Kingpriest.
In the end, the Kingpriest considered every mage, including the ones wearing white robes, symbol of the god of light Solinari, as evil, because they did not work for the further spreading of rightness, but instead assisted and accepted the evil side as something necessary.
s from the Abyss, which required him to cut his little finger. With an extra spell to protect them against clerical powers, the quasitas were used to attack the Bilstibo or great arena
of Lattakay in moments in which a tournament
was held in honour
of the Kingpriest. The Kingpriest tried to destroy them, but the protective spell deflected his efforts. In the end, it was Leciane who weakened them with sorcery and allowed the members of the Divine Hammer to force the retreat of the demon
s.
of over three hundred knight
s in the tournament prompted a hunt. Using the powers of Leciane, the Divine Hammer was able to track and locate Andras in old ruins some miles away. He was captured and transported back to Lattakay to be executed in the arena, without a trial
.
The Conclave of Wizards, however, wanted to try him in order to discover how a student was able to summon demons. Efforts to stop the execution were in vain, and at the last moment Leciane summoned the Conclave powers to transport Andras to the Halls of Mages in the Tower of High Sorcery of Wayreth.
While he was being questioned by Ysarl, the Head of the Order of the Black Robes, Fistandantilus worked his magic through Andras. Ysarl was destroyed, and Andras was transported to Fistandantilus' secret lair
.
between the clergy and the Orders, the Empire of Ergoth and the Knights of Solamnia
, to which assisted, between others, Vincil, Head of the Conclave of Wizards, some helper wizards, Leciane, the Kingpriest, Silvanesti emissary Quarath, and both the First Son Suvin and the First Daughter of Paladine. When the clergy learned Andras had escaped, they accused the Conclave of protecting an evil wizard.
Fistandantilus had provided Andras a fetch, a creature from the Abyss with the power to copy the physical characteristics of anyone. Andras assassined the First Son, and used the creature to mimic the corpse. With a spell that linked the fetch to his spirit
and several others to prevent the mages assisting to the meeting from discovering the true nature of the replacement, the First Son stabbed the Kingpriest. The guards took retaliation, gravely wounding Vincil, who died shortly after transporting his party back to the Tower of Wayreth. Several knights and mages were killed in the skirmish.
The Kingpriest could heal himself, and declared a Holy War
against the mages of Krynn.
was a great force in Krynn, the price for casting spells was too great. A mage can only memorise a certain number of spell incantations, depending on their power. The spells flare and disappear from the casters'memory as they are cast, forcing the caster to study them again. Furthermore spellcasting is physically taxing, requiring the mage to rest and recuperate before being capable of using magic again.
The mages ordered an immediate retreat from the different Towers of High Sorcery, by using portals that linked the different towers with the one in Wayreth.
Each tower held a virtually infinite amount of magical items, and there might not be enough time to transport everything. Thus, the Conclave ruled that, instead of letting such powerful items to fall into the hands of unexperienced persons, they would destroy the towers as a last resource.
The Church decided to launch coordinated attacks a few days later. The first Tower to be attacked was the one situated in the city of Losarcum. Then would come the attack to the Tower of Daltigoth, and to the Tower of Palanthas.
Duke Sarl, who had lost two sons while fighting in the moot against the mages, convinced Emperor Gwynned to attack five days ahead of schedule. By using a special seed
sent by the Kingpriest they created a path through the Guardian Forest. As they were storming the tower, Iriale, Mistress of the Tower and her inner circle enclosed themselves in the Heart Chamber, and cast the spell that brought the tower down. Two hundred and four wizards and at least eight thousand citizens of Daltigoth died in the explosion, and a quarter of the city of Daltigoth was completely destroyed.
Although Quarath suggested a cease-fire after seeing the results of the first assault, the Kingpriest refused. On spring
dawning the Divine Hammer, by planting a special cypress
seed, a path was made. After defeating the different wards and the golem
s protecting the base of the tower, they entered. The mages resisted, and even though they were powerful, there were too many knights. When Marto, one of the leaders of the army
, managed to break into the Heart Chamber, Khadar, Master of the Tower, released the powerful spell the wizards had been casting. The destruction was massive. Losarcum, City of Stone, was utterly destroyed, along with its twenty thousand inhabitants.
This new encounter was faster, and the terms were quickly arrived. The wizards would surrender the towers of Palanthas and Istar to the Church. They would be given the time to remove all the items from those towers, and carry them to the Tower of Wayreth, far from any important human city. Any attack on wizards would stop, as long as they stayed in their forest.
The Tower of Istar was surrendered soon after, and the Kingpriest was given a charm to protect him from the Guardian Forest. However, while the Tower of Palanthas was being locked, Fistandantilus transported Andras to its top floor, and forced him to jump out of the window, impaling himself on the exterior fence. With his last breath he cast a curse
that transformed the tower in an abomination, where undead
s rapidly took control of it until the Master of Past and Present, Fistandantilus, claimed possession.
Fistandantilus presented himself to the Kingpriest while he was inspecting the Tower of Istar, and after informing him he was the one who sent him the seeds that allowed the Divine Hammer to trespass the different Guardian Forests, convinced him to accept him as a member of the Istarian court
.
could not be achieved, which inflicted spiritual and psychological damage on him.
Fistandantilus, at the same time, was able to push the influence of the Orders far from Istar. Without any other mages in the city, he was able to work his magic at will, and prepare himself for the Cataclysm
.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
occurred in the Dragonlance
Dragonlance
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application...
universe.
Causes
One of Fistandantilus' goals was to be able to study, prepare and work very powerful spells. However, his status as a renegade mageWizard (Dungeons & Dragons)
The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.-Creative origins:...
made him subject to the Conclave of Wizards' attacks, as renegade mages are hunted and killed. He was also afraid mages may inform the Kingpriest of Istar what he was doing or planning to do. In order to prevent these interruptions, he prepared a complex plan to force a Conclave retreat from Istar, exploiting the Kingpriest's distrust for the balance.
Beldinas Pilofiro's extremist behaviour was continuous, especially in his speeches. Being a follower of the gods of light, anyone worshipping the gods of evil was an enemy, and should be eliminated, as should anyone supporting them. With time the followers of the gods of neutrality, who did not take an active posture against the followers of evil, were seen as a part of the problem instead of neutral beings, and began to be persecuted as well.
The Orders of Magic followed a path much closer with the one the gods had in mind: a good and an evil side, with neutrality balancing them. One cannot exist without the other. Destroying one will destroy the other.
By using the Kingpriest's line of thought to his advantage, Fistandantilus was able to provoke a war between the Orders of Magic and the Divine Hammer
Divine Hammer
Divine Hammer is a fantasy novel set in the Dragonlance campaign series and is the second of a trilogy about a Kingpriest of Istar, Beldinas Pilofiro, and is set during his reign of Istar.-Plot summary:...
, the personal army of the Kingpriest.
In the end, the Kingpriest considered every mage, including the ones wearing white robes, symbol of the god of light Solinari, as evil, because they did not work for the further spreading of rightness, but instead assisted and accepted the evil side as something necessary.
Recruitment
Detailed in the book Divine Hammer, Fistandantilus rescued a young black-robed mage, Andras Ranoch, from a Divine Hammer raid. The hatred Andras took at the Hammer for burning Nusendran, his master, in a stake, made him a willing student of the Dark One.New envoy
The death of Marwort the Illustrious, the white wizard who represented the Conclave in Istar and the Master of the Tower of High Sorcery of Istar, brought a conflict when Leciane do Cirica, a red robed wizard, was appointed as the new envoy. The Kingpriest was able to hunt, judge and execute black wizards, with little interference from the Council, as Marwort did not protest. After his death, and since the Black Robes would not accept another White Robe as emissary, nor the Kingpriest would have accepted a Black Robe in his court, a Red Robe was chosen instead. Although the court distrusted the mage, the Kingpriest decided to accept her.Attack
With his training done, Andras cast a very hard spell to summon quasitas, impImp
An imp is a mythological being similar to a fairy or demon, frequently described in folklore and superstition. The word may perhaps derive from the term ympe, used to denote a young grafted tree.-Folklore:...
s from the Abyss, which required him to cut his little finger. With an extra spell to protect them against clerical powers, the quasitas were used to attack the Bilstibo or great arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
of Lattakay in moments in which a tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
was held in honour
Honour
Honour or honor is an abstract concept entailing a perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects both the social standing and the self-evaluation of an individual or corporate body such as a family, school, regiment or nation...
of the Kingpriest. The Kingpriest tried to destroy them, but the protective spell deflected his efforts. In the end, it was Leciane who weakened them with sorcery and allowed the members of the Divine Hammer to force the retreat of the demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s.
Justice
The deathDeath
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
of over three hundred knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s in the tournament prompted a hunt. Using the powers of Leciane, the Divine Hammer was able to track and locate Andras in old ruins some miles away. He was captured and transported back to Lattakay to be executed in the arena, without a trial
Trial (law)
In law, a trial is when parties to a dispute come together to present information in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court...
.
The Conclave of Wizards, however, wanted to try him in order to discover how a student was able to summon demons. Efforts to stop the execution were in vain, and at the last moment Leciane summoned the Conclave powers to transport Andras to the Halls of Mages in the Tower of High Sorcery of Wayreth.
While he was being questioned by Ysarl, the Head of the Order of the Black Robes, Fistandantilus worked his magic through Andras. Ysarl was destroyed, and Andras was transported to Fistandantilus' secret lair
Lair
Lair may refer to:*An animal's lair or home; see :Category:Shelters built or used by animals*Lair , a 2007 video game*In Scots language, lair refers to a burial-plot in a graveyard...
.
Parley
The Kingpriest called for a meetingMeeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
between the clergy and the Orders, the Empire of Ergoth and the Knights of Solamnia
Knights of Solamnia
In the fictional Dragonlance universe, the Solamnic Knights are a chivalric order, a "brotherhood forged when Krynn was young". The Solamnic Order is dedicated to the forces of light and live by a strict code of honor...
, to which assisted, between others, Vincil, Head of the Conclave of Wizards, some helper wizards, Leciane, the Kingpriest, Silvanesti emissary Quarath, and both the First Son Suvin and the First Daughter of Paladine. When the clergy learned Andras had escaped, they accused the Conclave of protecting an evil wizard.
Fistandantilus had provided Andras a fetch, a creature from the Abyss with the power to copy the physical characteristics of anyone. Andras assassined the First Son, and used the creature to mimic the corpse. With a spell that linked the fetch to his spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
and several others to prevent the mages assisting to the meeting from discovering the true nature of the replacement, the First Son stabbed the Kingpriest. The guards took retaliation, gravely wounding Vincil, who died shortly after transporting his party back to the Tower of Wayreth. Several knights and mages were killed in the skirmish.
The Kingpriest could heal himself, and declared a Holy War
Religious war
A religious war; Latin: bellum sacrum; is a war caused by, or justified by, religious differences. It can involve one state with an established religion against another state with a different religion or a different sect within the same religion, or a religiously motivated group attempting to...
against the mages of Krynn.
Lost Wars
The wizards knew from the beginning they could not win the war. Even though sorceryMagic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
was a great force in Krynn, the price for casting spells was too great. A mage can only memorise a certain number of spell incantations, depending on their power. The spells flare and disappear from the casters'memory as they are cast, forcing the caster to study them again. Furthermore spellcasting is physically taxing, requiring the mage to rest and recuperate before being capable of using magic again.
The mages ordered an immediate retreat from the different Towers of High Sorcery, by using portals that linked the different towers with the one in Wayreth.
Each tower held a virtually infinite amount of magical items, and there might not be enough time to transport everything. Thus, the Conclave ruled that, instead of letting such powerful items to fall into the hands of unexperienced persons, they would destroy the towers as a last resource.
The Church decided to launch coordinated attacks a few days later. The first Tower to be attacked was the one situated in the city of Losarcum. Then would come the attack to the Tower of Daltigoth, and to the Tower of Palanthas.
Duke Sarl, who had lost two sons while fighting in the moot against the mages, convinced Emperor Gwynned to attack five days ahead of schedule. By using a special seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
sent by the Kingpriest they created a path through the Guardian Forest. As they were storming the tower, Iriale, Mistress of the Tower and her inner circle enclosed themselves in the Heart Chamber, and cast the spell that brought the tower down. Two hundred and four wizards and at least eight thousand citizens of Daltigoth died in the explosion, and a quarter of the city of Daltigoth was completely destroyed.
Although Quarath suggested a cease-fire after seeing the results of the first assault, the Kingpriest refused. On spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
dawning the Divine Hammer, by planting a special cypress
Cupressaceae
The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...
seed, a path was made. After defeating the different wards and the golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
s protecting the base of the tower, they entered. The mages resisted, and even though they were powerful, there were too many knights. When Marto, one of the leaders of the army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
, managed to break into the Heart Chamber, Khadar, Master of the Tower, released the powerful spell the wizards had been casting. The destruction was massive. Losarcum, City of Stone, was utterly destroyed, along with its twenty thousand inhabitants.
Peace
After the Tower of Losarcum was destroyed, the Kingpriest called for a new moot to end of the war. Two of the remaining towers were situated in extremely populated cities (Istar and Palanthas), and a massive destruction like the previous two could have been possible.This new encounter was faster, and the terms were quickly arrived. The wizards would surrender the towers of Palanthas and Istar to the Church. They would be given the time to remove all the items from those towers, and carry them to the Tower of Wayreth, far from any important human city. Any attack on wizards would stop, as long as they stayed in their forest.
The Tower of Istar was surrendered soon after, and the Kingpriest was given a charm to protect him from the Guardian Forest. However, while the Tower of Palanthas was being locked, Fistandantilus transported Andras to its top floor, and forced him to jump out of the window, impaling himself on the exterior fence. With his last breath he cast a curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
that transformed the tower in an abomination, where undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
s rapidly took control of it until the Master of Past and Present, Fistandantilus, claimed possession.
Fistandantilus presented himself to the Kingpriest while he was inspecting the Tower of Istar, and after informing him he was the one who sent him the seeds that allowed the Divine Hammer to trespass the different Guardian Forests, convinced him to accept him as a member of the Istarian court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
.
Consequences
The Lost Wars is considered the first great defeat of the Kingpriest, even though he managed to exile the mages to the Tower of Wayreth. His main goal of eliminating arcane magic from KrynnKrynn
Krynn is the fictional world of the Dragonlance novels, co-written by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. It has also been used in many other books, set in the Dragonlance universe. It is also used as the main setting in the Dragonlance campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing...
could not be achieved, which inflicted spiritual and psychological damage on him.
Fistandantilus, at the same time, was able to push the influence of the Orders far from Istar. Without any other mages in the city, he was able to work his magic at will, and prepare himself for the Cataclysm
Cataclysm (Dragonlance)
In the Dragonlance books, the Cataclysm was a catastrophic event that occurred when the Kingpriest of Istar demanded to be given godlike powers in order to eliminate evil from the world.-Background:...
.