by Dragonlance
“Khot,” he swears.
“Sir?” asks his shield-bearer, a dark-skinned, shaven-headed human named Tarl. He peers down toward the water. “What is that?”
Bolgash strokes his black muzzle, his eyes narrowing. He hears his men muttering, for they, too, have spotted what he has seen.
“I don’t know,” he says. “But we’d best see, up close.”
The soldiers follow him down the hillside, axes and spears at the ready. Kharto lies in ruins, bodies scattered everywhere. The fires have long since burned out, and the crows have eaten their fill. All is silent in the town. Even the birds refuse to sing.
It isn’t the village that worries Bolgash, though. It’s what’s in the water.
The sun is high, its light making the Run glisten like a band of gold, the distant shores of the Tamire a faint shape in the haze of springtime. The ships moored there are mere shadows against that gleaming vista. Even just beholding their silhouettes, though, Bolgash knows they’re like no vessels he’s seen before. They have an ancient look, like the Aurish vessels of old. He has seen their like in mosaics and tapestries that the men of the League rescued from the fallen empire. No one has built ships like them in more than four hundred years.
As he and his men make their way toward Kharto’s docks, however, the sun passes behind a cloud, and he knows they are not true Aurish ships. Aurim was a realm of wonders, but nowhere in history or lore has it ever been said that its shipwrights made their boats out of stone.
One of the ships wallows in the shallows; the moons are waning, and though the Run won’t drain this month, the tides are very low. Bolgash slogs through the muck to the boat and touches its hull. It is indeed stone, pumice to be specific—volcanic. It is a type not found in these parts or anywhere west of the Steamwalls. He glances toward the jagged, cloud-shrouded mountains, rising only two days’ march away.
“Who could have built these?” asks Tarl, standing shin-deep in the muck. He raps the hilt of his sword against the ship’s flank. The stone doesn’t chip. “Dwarves?”
Bolgash shakes his head. “Even the Fianawar don’t make their boats out of rocks. Maybe the gnomes … but there aren’t any machines aboard. I don’t—”
“Sir! Come quickly!”
Bolgash turns back toward shore. It’s one of the other minotaurs yelling. From where he stands, he can see a crowd of soldiers gathering at the western edge of the town. They’ve tightened into a knot, staring at something on the ground. The minotaur who shouted, a veteran named Kranthal, is standing on a hunk of charred rubble, waving his mace in the air.
Sloshing through the mire, Bolgash reaches shore again. By the time he and Tarl reach the crowd, it has trebled in size. “Back to your duties, you louts!” Bolgash shouts at them. “We’re supposed to search the whole town, not just this one … small …”
His voice trails off when the crowd parts to let him see. There, in pieces on the ground, is a statue, the likes of which he has never seen. It is huge, taller even than the largest of the minotaurs, and made of dark gray stone. Its head, tumbled face-up against the soot-covered husk of an elm, is carved into a shape that is neither man nor bull. It is the sneering visage of a dragon, with glittering rubies for eyes.
“Sir,” murmurs Tarl. “Look at its sword.”
Bolgash looks, already knowing what he will see. When he spies the rusty stain that covers the obsidian blade, he snorts, but is not surprised.
Stone ships. Stone men. A hard lump forms in his throat.
“Double the search!” he bellows. “Shout if you find more of these things!”
They do: three more, broken to pieces, surrounded by stinking, fly-covered bodies. Every one is identical to the rest.
Then Bolgash sees something else, and his bad feeling about things gets worse. To the east, the ground is torn, clots of turf gouged from the soil. He bends down, Tarl at his side.
The human runs a hand over his bald head, chewing on his mustache. “It’s a footprint,” he says.
“I know,” Bolgash replies.
The track is huge and deep: much deeper than any man could make … unless the man were made of stone. And there are more of them, many more, leading away from Kharto. When his men are done searching, there are many guesses as to the size of the company: scores, certainly; hundreds, likely. A thousand or more? Possible.
“Find a messenger,” Bolgash tells Tarl. “He must go to Marshal Ekhor’s camp at once. Tell him bandits had nothing to do with Kharto, and he must come here at once.”
“Sir,” Tarl replies and hurries off.
When he is gone, Bolgash stares at the tracks. They lead east, in a straight line, through thickets and creeks, up steep hillsides and down into deep vales. Nothing seems to steer them from their course, on toward the rocky mass of the Steamwalls. Bolgash knows, in his heart, that whatever the stone men are, they have gone to the mountains.
He stares at the peaks, a hand shading his eyes, and though he tries to hide it from his men—even from himself—he is afraid.
GLOSSARY
Geographical Terms and Place Names
Akh-tazi: A ruined temple in Neron, thousands of years old.
Am Durn: A city of ancient Aurim; destroyed with a magical wave by Emperor Maladar the Faceless after invoking his displeasure.
Armach-nesti: A small elven kingdom, home to the Silvanaes.
Aurim: A vast empire that covered much of Taladas, smashed in the First Destruction. Also the name of the empire’s capital city.
Baltch: An isolated island kingdom off the eastern coast of Neron.
Bilo Columns: A land of basalt pillars along the north and west shores of Hitehkel, home to the minoi gnomes.
Chaldar: A tower of solid flame that once stood in the midst of Hitehkel.
Clovenmont: A mountain in the Rainward Isles topped by a split peak.
Coldhope: A barony in the Imperial League, on the southern shore of the Tiderun, and its keep.
The Dreaming Green: A forest north of the Tamire, home to the merkitsa elves.
The Eastern Archipelago: A Rainward kingdom composed of scattered islands.
Essud: The richest of the Rainward kingdoms.
Gald: A Rainward kingdom, home to many centaurs.
The Grayveil: A foggy strait separating the Rainward Isles from the mainland of Aurim-That-Was.
Hawkbluff: The capital of Thenol, site of a major temple to Hith.
Hitehkel: A sea of molten rock at the center of Taladas, where Aurim stood before the Destruction. Also called Hith’s Cauldron and the Burning Sea.
Hosk: The western half of Taladas, divided by the Tiderun into northern and southern parts.
Ilmachrutandabrunthabram: A colony of minoi in the Bilo Columns. Called Ilmach by nongnomes.
Ilquars: A mountain range running down the middle of Northern Hosk.
The Imperial League: An empire of minotaurs and humans that covers much of Southern Hosk.
Indanalis: The Boiling Sea, a long channel of superheated water between Southern Hosk and Hith’s Cauldron.
Ios: The Great Isle, largest of the Rainward kingdoms.
Kristophan: Capital of the Imperial League, recently sundered by an earthquake.
Marak: Several valleys in the central Steamwalls, home to clans of kender.
Mazanti: A Rainward kingdom inhabited largely by dwarves.
Neron: A little-known jungle land in the southeast of Taladas.
Panak: A frozen wasteland in the north of Taladas.
Rainward Isles: A piece of Aurim that survived the Destruction, now home to kingdoms of refugees.
Selenna: A Rainward kingdom composed of many small islets.
Sevenspires: The palace of the king of Suluk, topped with seven tall towers.
The Shining Lands: Vast plains of volcanic glass formed during the Destruction out of the deserts of Aurim. Home to the Glass Sailors.
Steamwalls: A range of volcanic mountains in the east of Southern Hosk, on the Indanalis c
oast.
Suluk: The southernmost of the Rainward kingdoms.
Syldar: A marshy land peopled by primitive fishing tribes.
Taladas: A continent on the northern hemisphere of the world of Krynn.
The Tamire: A vast stretch of grassland and steppes, covering much of Northern Hosk.
Thenol: A human realm in Southern Hosk, ruled by evil priests and necromancers.
Thumar: The northernmost of the Rainward kingdoms.
Tiderun: A shallow strait running east-west across the middle of Hosk. Also called the Run.
Ull: A Rainward kingdom, composed of two close-set islands, called Greater and Lesser Ull.
People and Cultures
Akistah: A strong rice wine brewed in the Rainward Islands.
Alan-atu: A minor tribe of the Tamire.
Boyla: The prince of the Uigan, highest lord of all the Tamire.
Cha’asii: A small, reclusive race of aboriginal elves in the jungles of Neron.
Churqa: A small, agile skiff used by the Glass Sailors.
The Faceless Brethren: A band of evil wizards and priests dedicated to bringing about the rebirth of Maladar the Faceless.
Fianawar: A hardy race of dwarves who dwell among the Steamwall Mountains.
Garlath: A minoi liquor, distilled from mold.
Glass Sailors: Mysterious, masked nomads who sail upon the Shining Lands in boats built to glide across glass.
Hosk’i imou merkitsa: Clans of barbaric elves native to the Dreaming Green. Also simply known as the merkitsa.
Ice People: Tribes of humans who rove across the Panak wastes.
Kazar: A nation of barbarians native to the Tamire, all but exterminated by the Uigan.
Khot: A minotaur obscenity, often used by soldiers of the League.
Krenaz Bur: Thick fog that shrouds the Rainward Isles, beyond which the islanders believe lies the afterlife.
Minoi: A race of tinkerer gnomes who dwell beneath the Bilo Columns on the shores of Hitehkel.
Purgi: A minor tribe of the Tamire.
Serai: An encampment of the Glass Sailors, where they engage in trade.
Shivis: A board game popular in the Imperial League; also used by the minotaurs as a tactical tool.
Shuk: A curved Uigan saber.
Silvanaes: An elf people of Southern Hosk, descended from survivors of an ill-fated expedition from Ansalon.
Talga: A scimitar commonly wielded in the Rainward Isles.
Tchakkir: A healer and wise woman among the Glass Sailors.
Tegin: A Uigan clan-lord, answerable only to the Boyla.
Tenach: A warrior sworn to protect and serve a Uigan lord.
Tokhu: A gathering of the Rainward kings, often using magic.
Uigan: A powerful people of horse-riding nomads, native to the Tamire.
Utanka: A children’s game among the Uigan.
Xogat: A type of ship used by the Glass Sailors; crewed by twenty men.
Yagrut: A Uigan profanity.
Zarlakanquistorphentilgormushandoloi: Minoi flying ships, lifted by sacks of hot air.
Creatures
Akitu-shai: An ancient, degenerate race of Neron. They have bulbous, hairless heads and masses of tentacles where their mouths should be, and can force their way into people’s thoughts. Also called the yaggol and the Crawling Maws.
At-khorakha: A tribe of hobgoblins who dwell in the ruins of Sha Moku.
Bak-su-chag: A massive, wormlike creature that dwells beneath the ruins of Aurim.
Charvat: A giant lizard of the Tamire; a predator and nuisance to the Uigan.
Disir: A race of slime-covered, thick-shelled humanoids who dwell in caves beneath the Rainward Isles.
Gloombat: A blind, albino bat found beneath the Bilo Columns, renowned for the viciousness of its bite.
Kheten Voi: Large statues animated by magic, for use in warfare by the people of Aurim. Also known as nala’ini among the elves, Gulmat in the League, and Ghelim in the Rainward Isles.
Kurshakur: Humanoids of living fire native to Hitehkel; bitter enemies of the minoi. Commonly called fire minions.
Palgantothanyugarbascivashobori: Clockwork birds used by the minoi to carry messages between colonies.
Skyfisher: A large, ugly carrion bird, usually found among ruins and on battlefields.
Skysteed: The common name among the elves for a hippogriff.
Takhansho: A ghost of Uigan folklore, believed to be the spirit of a child who died before his first birthday.
Vaka-te-nok: A burrowing creature with many tentacles, found in the jungles of Neron.
Gods and Moons
Astar: The god of the elves, a hunter and a bowman.
Bran: A god of the woodlands.
Chalva: A god of nature and animals.
Chomos: A god of death.
Erestem: The Queen of Darkness, now slain.
Hith: A god of deceit and a great power of evil in Taladas.
Jolith: A human war god, revered in the League.
Jijin: The god of the Uigan, a warrior and protector.
Khubak: A god of the sea and ships.
Lunis: The red moon, called Lunitari in Ansalon.
Manith: A god of contemplation.
Mislaxa: A healing goddess known across Taladas.
Morgash: A god of sickness and decay.
Nuvis: The black moon, called Nuitari in Ansalon.
Reorx: A god of the forge and patron of dwarves and gnomes.
Sargas: The warrior-god of the minotaurs.
Solis: The silver moon, called Solinari in Ansalon.
Zai: A goddess of the sea and storms.
History
Dread Winter: The troubled times immediately prior to the Second Destruction, when much of Taladas was covered in snow and ice.
First Destruction: Taladan term for the Cataclysm, when the gods rained fire upon Krynn. Also called the Great Destruction.
Godless Night: The years after the Second Destruction, during which both gods and magic vanished from the face of Krynn.
Second Destruction: The Second Cataclysm, caused by the Chaos War.
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