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Characters
I would be honored to meet your sons,"
Justarius said coolly. "Palin in particular.
I understand that the young man is desirous
of becoming a mage someday."
Today, the Tower at Wayreth provides a home to some three score sorcerers and scholars, and still more people visit every year. This chapter details the key characters associated with the Tower. The Tower's less flamboyant residen include about forty aging former wizards who have retreated to Wayreth mostly to hide from the realities of the Age of Mortals. They yearn for the great days of High Sorcery, finding the limitations of the new art of sorcery frustrating. Jaclyn Cashell, the Tower's chief librarian, typifies those with this backward-looking attitude. A substantial minority of residents - about twenty - consider the Tower an excellent place to advance new methods of sorcery. They actively experiment, trying to discover, for example, why transmutation spells don't work very well on wood. The Master of the Tower and Grevasse, head door warden, represent those most concerned with the future of magic. The Tower also houses about a dozen domestic servants who handle heavy work for the sorcerers, as well as most of the cooking and cleaning - though all residents must pitch in.
![]() Thin, wrinkly-faced Grevasse is a white-haired old wizard who walks with a stoop and often squints - his eyesight isn't what it used to be. Despite his obvious age and apparent infirmity, Grevasse displays considerable energy, especially when lecturing some youngster about the proper way to assemble a sorcerous spell, talking about the good old days of the last age, or harassing first-time visitors to the Tower. As chief door warden, Grevasse makes it his business to ensure that visitors realize the Tower of High Sorcery is no mere building, but a millennia-old monument to magical power. The crotchety wizard frequently has to remind visitors that the Tower is a mage's refuge, not a shop where one comes to hire sorcerers or purchase spells. Still, there's a hint of humor behind his gibes, and his twinkling eyes often betray the merriment that underlies his bluster. Grevasse usually carries a staff, but sometimes takes up a broom if he thinks the Tower needs cleaning. He also keeps a few old rags with him to pick up dust and polish the odd piece of bric-a-brac. Many residents joke about the gruff old man's tender care for his longtime home. Unlike most permanent residents of the Tower, Grevasse sees the modern age as an era filled with possibilities. Naturally, he shared his colleagues' dismay when the old magic disappeared after the Chaos War. Rather than sit and brood, however, he soon journeyed to the Citadel of Light to study mysticism with Goldmoon. Though this matter-of-fact fellow didn't find the First Master's spiritual beliefs catching, he did master various mystical spells. He spares little sympathy for sorcerers today who whine that their magic no longer affects the living. Upon the foundation of the Academy of Sorcery, Grevasse quickly traveled to Solace to study with Palin Majere. He returned to his post at the Tower once more, not to hide from the world - as many other residents have done - but to help direct its resources toward building a future and away from preserving a past that is fast evaporating. Those who get to know Grevasse find him a jolly soul with a sharp wit and a maddening knack for turning puns. He often pokes fun at colleagues who wallow in tales of the "good old days" of High Sorcery by cracking jokes about some of those old spells. His favorite is the ESP spell, whose casting required a copper coin. "A copper for your thoughts," he says with a smirk. Nevertheless, Grevasse remains a creature of habit. A member of the Order of the White Robes for many years, he still wears only white garments, even if they tend to get grimy when he goes on one of his cleaning binges. His white robes, white hair, and white beard make Grevasse look more like a pole draped with old sheets than the powerful sorcerer he is. Grevasse: Human elder male, eccentric demeanor, Master, Ag 5c, Dx 4D, St 5D, En 6D, Re 7A (49), Pe 8c, Sp 7B (49), Pr 6B, Dmg +2 (quarterstaff), Def 0 (no armor), also sorcery (divination, aeromancy, summoning) and mysticism (mentalism). Head librarian Jaclyn Cashell serves as the Tower's unofficial expert on the history and lore of magic. After serving as an apprentice to the great Justarius, a former head of the Conclave of Wizards, Jaclyn settled in Palanthas to undertake a lifelong study of magic. When the Knights ofTakhisis occupied the city during the Summer of Chaos in 383AC, Jaclyn lay low. She ignored the Dark Knights' orders restricting wizards to the Tower of High Sorcery and continued her life much as she always had. She believes her unassuming ways allowed her to escape the Knights' notice. Jaclyn finally left the city in 1sc, when Palanthas's Tower of High Sorcery was destroyed. The aging sorceress has a solid frame, squat but not obese. She has a large face with baggy cheeks - often her eyes look puffy, thanks to long hours spent poring over old scrolls and tomes. In her youth, Jaclyn's hair was intensely black, though today her locks have turned mostly gray. She wears her hair pulled into a loose knot that usually begins falling apart by late afternoon. Clearly, Jaclyn generally has other things on her mind than her appearance. Her threadbare red robe is patched at the elbows, and the sleeves show stains where candle wax has dripped during her late-night studies. Conversation with Jaclyn often proves bewildering. She has a brilliant mind but forceful and unpolished manners. She can speak with confidence and authority on almost any topic, but tends to understand theories better than practical applications. Magic and all its attendant details is her favorite subject, and she can expound at length about magical theories and accomplishments from any point Ansalon's history. Unfortunately, her vast store of knowledge often gets in her way - she seems unable to finish a thought without wandering off to explore several other ideas, no matter how obscurely related they might be to the subject at hand. Sometimes several ideas strike her at once, reducing her speech to a series of unintelligible monosyllables until she gets herself straightened out. Other times she forgets the topic of conversation entirely, but she's never shy about asking what it was, then picking up where she left off. Nobody can speak briefly with Jaclyn - she never wants to end a conversation until she's said everything that comes to mind. Despite her proclivity for lengthy diatribes, Jaclyn spends most of her time reading and studying. This librarian becomes so engrossed in her work that she often forgets to eat or sleep. When fatigue finally overcomes her, she usually just nods off where she sits, no matter what she may be doing at the time. Since the Chaos War, Jaclyn has occupied herself with studying items of magic, seeking a way to bring High Sorcery back to Krynn. She has learned to cast sorcerous spells, but considers them a poor substitute for "real" magic. She thinks dissolving the Conclave of Wizards was a bad idea and still considers herself a member of the Order of Red Robes. Her correspondence with Nathal of Palanthas, a historian specializing in the events of the modern age, keeps Jaclyn remarkably well informed about current events. Jaclyn has a laboratory and sleeping quarters in the south tower and often frequents the library. She never misses conferences in the Hall of Mages. Heroes who come to the Tower seeking information usually get referred to her. She happily answers questions - at length - and often asks travelers to carry letters to Palanthas for her. Jaclyn Cashell: Human elder female, resolute demeanor, Master, Ag 4D, Dx 5D, St 5D, En 60, Re SA (64), Pe 7B, Sp 6C, Pr 7X, Dmg +2 (quarterstaff), Def 0 (no armor), also sorcery (divination, enchantment, transmutation). Ansalon's most famous sorcerer looks nondescript at first glance. He stands about six feet tall - a respectable height - but he has a slender, fine- boned frame. In a younger man, Palin's build might suggest a resilient sapling, but at nearly fifty-five years of age, Palin looks more like a stalk of ripe grain not quite yet gone to seed. Although his shoulder-length auburn hair shows a few streaks of gray, Palin remains a vigorous man with a serious face and clear, penetrating eyes. His hands, though delicate, are still deft and rock steady. In retrospect, this great mage more closely resembles a well-seasoned staff than a trembling stalk of grain. Late in the last age, Palin took his Test of High Sorcery in the Tower of Wayreth, becoming the youngest person to do so since his uncle Raistlin's Test thirty-six years earlier. Upon receiving the White Robes, Palin embarked on a series of adventures with his two brothers, but often feared his magic would fail him - especially after their deaths during the Summer of Chaos. However, young Palin showed his true mettle when he cast a spell of the great war-wizard Magius during the Battle of the Rift. One of only two survivors of this battle, Palin Majere has become a major figure in the Fifth Age. Though Krynn's wizards were stripped of their magical powers when the gods withdrew from the world after the Chaos War, the Conclave of Wizards attempted to continue its work. While Palin and other mages sought new ways to practice magic, other wizards bent their efforts toward preserving old magical lore or collecting enchanted items. Neither of these two endeavors bore much fruit, instead resulting in pointless debates over defunct magical rites and petty squabbles over the ownership and proper use of magical items. Palin became the leader of the White Robes in 7sc. In 24sc, the Conclave recognized his efforts to return wizardly magic to Ansalon and elected him Master of the Conclave. The post was mostly symbolic by then, however; the Conclave's numbers plummeted each year, and Palin's leadership did little more than keep the frustrated wizards from each others' throats. Four years later, Palin took part in the Last Conclave and helped unveil arcane secrets that allowed sorcerers to tap into Krynn's primordial magical energies. At that time, Palin and his colleagues formally dissolved the Conclave of Wizards, which clearly had outlived its usefulness. With his newfound knowledge, the former White Robe founded the Academy of Sorcery near Solace to teach this newest magical art to anyone with the wit and will to learn it. Palin spends the bulk of his time in Solace, teaching and studying at the Academy. He visits the Tower of High Sorcery several times a year. He never schedules a visit, but simply travels to the Tower when he wishes to consult with the Master about some magical theory or get an update on the situation in Qualinesti. He always travels to the Tower magically, as he has no desire to become entangled with Beryl or her cohorts. The Master has offered Palin the use of the laboratory once occupied by the great wizard Par-Salian, head of the Order of White Robes when Raistlin took his Test. Palin uses the chamber only occasionally, when he has a project that requires privacy or one that might prove dangerous to bystanders. When visiting the Tower, Palin usually confines himself to his laboratory, the Hall of Mages, or the Master's study.
Palin Majere: Human adult male,
impulsive demeanor, Legend, 1 In his normal form, the Master appears a strapping fellow more than six feet tall. His long legs don't quite seem to match his fairly short trunk, and his hips seem slightly larger than his shoulders. He has a bullet head with a solemn, unreadable face. His night-black skin gleams, and his bluish black hair - though thin at the crown - grows thick over the temples, forming compact masses of tight curls that look vaguely lopsided. The Master has hollow, unblinking eyes with ebony irises that make his pupils look perpetually dilated. He wears a floor-length black robe sewn all over with dark appliques in the shape of arcane runes. Few have ever noted his similarity in build and appearance to the Tower itself. The Master made his first appearance the year after the second Cataclysm. He seldom leaves the Tower of Wayreth and, before the Last Conclave met in 28sc, very few Ansalonians even knew of his existence. Now that he has achieved some measure of notoriety, many believe him to the archmage Raistlin Majere returned from his imprisonment in the Abyss. Even those who have met the Master face-to-face mistakenly take him for just another sorcerer. The Master is not Raistlin - he's not really even human. Instead, the Master is the physical manifestation of the sentient Tower of Wayreth, as discussed in Secrets of the Tower, Chapter Three. The secretive Master has confided only in Palin Majere, the copper dragon Clang (see page 10), and several high-ranking members of the now defunct Conclave of Wizards, explaining his true nature to them. Several other visitors to the tower undoubtedly have surmised the truth. For the first few years of his existence, the Master remained uninterested in the world beyond the protective forest surrounding the Tower. He did what he could to help Ansalon's wizards find new sources of magic, but spent most of his time preventing desperate wizards from looting Wayreth's stockpile of enchanted items. The Master himself had full command of the art of sorcery from the instant of his creation, but wisely kept the full extent of his powers concealed until he understood them better. The start of the Dragon Purge concerned the Master greatly. He had no doubt that the Tower of Wayreth would survive the scourge, of course, but he began to doubt anyone would remain to visit it if the dragons overran the land. After long reflection, the Master concluded that although the Tower existed to serve magic, magic ultimately existed to serve the peoples of Krynn. So, in an effort to safeguard the mortal races, he stepped up his research into the nature of sorcery and began exploring ways to extend his influence beyond the forest of Wayreth. The Master can be a powerful ally. Not only does he wield considerable sorcerous power, he also can assume the guise of any wizard from the Third or Fourth ages of Krynn. Once he has assumed a wizard's form, he knows everything that person knew. (Secrets of the Tower, Chapter Three, explains this power.) The Master can freely and instantly move to any point within the Tower of Wayreth or the protective forest beyond, so visitors could encounter him anywhere. The Master of the Tower: Human adult male, thoughtful demeanor, Legend, Ag 5C, Dx 5C, St 10C, En 10C, Re 10A (100), Pe 9B, Sp 10C, Pr 9A, Dmg +2 (quarterstaff), Def 0 (no armor), also sorcery (not subject to normal limits; see Secrets of the Tower, Chapter Three). The mysterious Shadow Sorcerer appears to be a stooped human or elf about five and a half feet tall, or perhaps slightly taller. Though most people refer to him as masculine, his gender remains as much a mystery as his race - and almost everything else about him, for that matter. The figure's real name is unknown; "Shadow Sorcerer" is a nickname derived from his odd appearance. Insubstantial as a shadow, he has an impossibly gaunt body, thin limbs, and a light step. The sorcerer wears several layers of wispy, mottled gray robes. The ensemble includes a voluminous hood and long hems that stream behind him like smoke on the wind even when he stands still. When he sits, his robes seem to settle and spread out like a pool of spilled ink. Satiny black boots and gloves sheathe the figure's clawlike hands and feet. No one has ever seen the Shadow Sorcerer's face - most of the time the big hood seems to swallow his visage without a trace. A deliberate peek reveals only a mask of blue-black metal and two silvery eyes peering out from narrow slits. The mask has no other openings. The Shadow Sorcerer speaks in a silky voice which seems neither low nor high, neither quiet nor loud. In fact, the most remarkable thing about this speech is its lack of distinctive qualities. Nevertheless, the Shadow Sorcerer is known for being quite a speaker. His voice seems understandable in almost any conditions and over any type of background noise. When he addresses a crowd, all listeners hear the voice clearly, in their own languages and at the same volume and pitch. It seems likely that the sorcerer speaks with the aid of some sort of spell. The Shadow Sorcerer became infamous in 20sc, when he calmly walked out of the Desolation and demonstrated a command of magic that had not been seen since the twilight of the Fourth Age. He wandered Ansalon for years, sharing his secrets with no one and predicting the defeat of humanity at the claws of the Great Dragons. The predictions didn't win him any friends, but his magic commanded respect. When the Last Conclave convened in 28sc, this secretive arcane master apparently had a change of heart, for he appeared at Wayreth to help Palin Majere and the Master of the Tower unlock the secrets of sorcery. Speculations about the Shadow Sorcerer's true identity abound. Armchair wizards throughout Ansalon identify him as the gold dragon Pyrithellion - or Pyrite - companion to the wizard Fizban (the god Paladine in mortal guise). However, historians familiar with the War of the Lance scoff at the idea that the senile Pyrite could be the glib and insightful Shadow Sorcerer. Those who dismiss the Pyrite theory often suggest that the Shadow Sorcerer is none other than the dark elf Dalamar in disguise. Dalamar, once the head of the Conclave of Wizards, disappeared after the Chaos War. His fate remains uncertain. The Shadow Sorcerer visits the Tower of High Sorcery often but not regularly. The Hall of Mages and the west courtyard are his favorite haunts there.
The Shadow Sorcerer: True race, age
and gender unrevealed, enigmatic
demeanor, Legend, 5 The copper dragon Shatraklangg - Clang for short - possesses a sleek, powerful body. She has a sinuous neck and long, whiplike tail that flicks back and forth like a hunting cat's. Jutting from her triangular head are two gazellelike horns. Her expressive golden eyes reveal a shrewd intelligence, and her powerful, fleshy wings are tipped with claws, like a bat's. Coppery scales about the size of coins cover her reptilian hide. Due to her age (more than eight hundred years), the scales have developed a bluish-green tarnish along the edges. This verdigris allows Clang to hide easily among the trees ofWayreth Forest. A veteran of the War of the Lance. Clang and several younger siblings claimed lairs in the mountains south-east of Qualinesti shortly after the final victory of the Whitestone forces. Never particularly ferocious, Clang spent many happy days hunting giant scorpions and centipedes (her favorite foods), and occasionally bedeviling passersby with practical jokes and riddle contests. She also began raising a clutch of rambunctious dragonlings. Clang was one of many dragons whose eggs had been destroyed in Sanction during the last age, and she became a doting mother to her young. The Dragon Purge nearly destroyed Clang - she survived through sheer craftiness. Clang refused to meet the enemy in open battle, instead tricking her chromatic foes into her deathtraps. Although she made sure to appear meek and helpless - and almost mad in her penchant for riddles - she was in reality a very clever and deadly foe. But for all her guile, she could protect neither her children nor her siblings from the fury of the Dragon Purge. All of them perished, to her utter despair. Their deaths have left her seething and looking for revenge. While unwilling to sacrifice herself in this aim, Clang does all she can to covertly interfere with the Great Dragons' plans. Often, that means aiding those who seek the Tower at Wayreth in their own battles against the dragon overlords. Clang's greatest foe is Beryllinthranox, the lord of the green wyrms. Of course, the old copper knows she could never defeat Beryl in open battle, so she prefers to play the fool - all the while attempting to lead the Green Dragon into making a fatal decision that would spell the tyrant's demise. This copper riddler could never resist a mystery and she hates being out-tricked. So over the years she has tried many times to discover the exact location of the Tower of High Sorcery within Wayreth Forest. Ever since she was a young dragon, she had heard of the Tower, of course - what a fabulous challenge it would be to thwart its legendary defenses! After observing Clang's antics, the Master of the Tower offered the dragon an alliance. At first she refused, but when the Master beat her in a contest of wits, she realized she would never solve the mystery of the Tower. Now she assists the Master whenever he asks for her aid. She still delights in audacious stunts that provoke Beryl, but whenever the Green appears, she flies for cover near the Tower, where the Great Dragon cannot follow.
Shatraklangg (Clang): A female
copper wyrm, cantankerous demeanor,
3 Trenna appears to be a human sorceress who has led a hard life. She has long auburn-gray hair and a comely but careworn face with a delicate chin, pert nose, and shapely lips. Her emerald eyes seem luminous and sensual, though framed with crow's feet. Freckles and even age spots mar her fair skin. The lady speaks with a rich, breathy voice that could stop a young man's heart. Though amicable, Trenna seems nervous. She walks with a careful, padding step, as though she's afraid to make any noise. When on the move, she casts frequent glances back the way she has come. Even at rest, she scans her surroundings continually. Trenna wears a dress that hangs a little loosely on her and a dark shawl. She carries a plain wooden staff and wears doeskin boots. This interesting figure is actually the human form ofVentyr, a magical artifact of dwarven manufacture. Her true form is an exquisitely made gauntlet with the power to negate the magic of High Sorcery (see Secrets of the Tower, Chapter Four). During the Fourth Age, Ventyr could project the image of an attractive young woman to communicate with its owner. After the Chaos War, Ventyr fell into a senseless stupor and lay unused in Thorbardin's vaults. The followers of the dwarf prophet Severus Stonehand took Ventyr along with them on their migration to Thoradin in 29sc. Recently, a dwarf scholar began experimenting with the gauntlet and reawakened its intelligence. Ventyr suffered quite a shock when it "awoke." The power of High Sorcery, which had sustained it as an sentient entity, was gone. Instead, it had to rely on its accumulated store of magical energy. Severus discovered its powers, to its dismay, and began draining its reserves. To save its own life, the gauntlet broke away from Thoradin and, adopting the name Trenna, Ventyr headed across Ansalon for Wayreth's Tower - the last source of Krynn's old magic. Along the way, Trenna has heard tales of the Master of the Tower and, herself a manifestation of a sentient magical construct, she guessed at his true identity. In addition to life-sustaining magic, she hopes to find companionship at the Tower. After all, what could be better company for an intelligent artifact than another intelligent artifact? Trenna's quest to find the Tower provides the basis for the adventure in the second half of this book. Like the Master, Trenna can use any school of sorcery and her sorcerous spells can affect living things. (See Secrets of the Tower, Chapter Three.) Unlike the Master, however, Trenna's spell - and her very existence - depend on the magic stored within her. Trenna can hold unlimited sorcery points, and for every 5 points she stores, she gains a point in one of her ability scores, though no score can exceed 10. When Trenna suffers injury, she loses sorcery points, and her ability scores decrease accordingly. If one of her scores ever falls to zero, she forever becomes just a magical gauntlet. By draining magic from enchanted items, Trenna can regain lost sorcery points. Whenever she or anyone she touches is subject to an effect from an item created before the Fifth Age, she can negate the effect and gain a sorcery point. By touching an arcane item, she can drain it, rendering it permanently nonmagical. If it had charges, she gets 1 sorcery point per charge; if it had a numeric bonus, she gets 1 point per point of bonus; and if it had neither charges nor bonuses, she gains points based on the Narrator's assessment of the item's power: Consumable trinkets, such a protection scrolls and magical dusts, restore 1 point, while powerful treasures and artifacts, such as rings of spell reflection, restore up to 15 points. Trenna: Human elder female, mysterious demeanor, Champion, Ag 5D, Dx 5D, En 4C, St 4C, Re 9A, Pe 8B, Sp 8C, Pr 8A, Dmg +2 (quarterstaff), Def 0 (no armor), also sorcery (any school).
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