An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Shilaan.

A little gully dwarf runs by and says 'Wordwrap Off 65 80.'
The gully continues 'Eyes hurt? Turn Color OFF!! (regular story dates)

Astinus says 'Enter the main library here to view only the author list.'
Astinus gently places a well written novel on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Shilaan' scribed in yellow ink.

Author:  Shilaan
Date    Wed Jan 15 20:40:54 2003



SubjectThe beggining of the end.......



A dark figure sat within his dark room, Only one black candle was lit upon the
desk. The figure's red eyes glowed brightly within the shadowy confines of his
jet black hood.

The hood was connected to the same color in robes the dark figure wore. He was
a black robed mage, a follower of Nuitari, the almost always unseen of the
three moons of magic.

This was no ordinary Black robed mage, however, he was High Archmage of the
order, he commaned a host of power hungry deadly wizards.

Even more set him apart from previous High Archmages, for this man, or rather,
"Being" was known as Shilaan.

Half-Fiend. Born from the blood of a Tanar'ri, a demon of the abyss. In fact,
the powerful demon known as Vornas, Takhisis' most powerful ally, was
Shilaan's father.

To begin with the description of Shilaan, it is best to start from the very
beggining. This is how his tale began......

A dark wizard stood within a room, far away from the rest of society, his
black robes cascaded around his weakened form.

In the middle of the room, mere inches in front of the wizard, was drawn a
pentagram upon the floor. An ancient symbol of protection.

The dark figure looked over the freshly drawn pentagram. Looking for any
abnormalities, or flaws in it.

The spell he was about to cast required the utmost precision in every little
thing, or else his life would be in horrible danger.

Finding nothing out of whack, he began meditating, focusing his mind upon the
task at hand. All thoughts but the spell to be cast were cleared from his
brain.

After what most would deem an eternity, the dark robed wizard was ready.

Raising his arms, he began to chant mystical words of magic. They flowed off
of his tongue with practiced ease.

Every fibre of his being, every bit of energy he could muster was put into the
casting of this most powerful of spells.

He continued chanting, his voice growing louder and louder as each intricate
phrase went on. Magical energy crackled through the air, so much, the wizards
hair stood on end, and sparks flew through the air.

Suddenly, the chanting ended. The wizard was drained. His energy spent.

However, the spell was just beginning to take affect.

A large flash of light erupted from within the area inside the pentagram. The
smell of acrid smoke wafted into the room, causing the wizard to choke and
cough as he tried to breathe in the noxious fumes.

A rumble occured, shaking the foundations of the room, almost knocking the
wizard from his feet. And a split second later, everything went dark.

A sound much like grating metal echoed throughout the room....ended.....then
began again, over and over.

The wizard knew what this sound was.....someone...or something breathing.

Bright fire erupted, temporarily blinding the wizard. Once his eyes were
focused and used to the light, the dark wizard looked upon one of the most
magnificent, evil beasts he had ever set eyes upon.

The beast, standing before him, locked within the protective confines of the
pentagram was a demon...not just any demon, but a powerful demon known as a
True Tanar'ri.

Little did the wizard know, but this demon was one of the most powerful of
demons, his name, Vornas.

He was well known among demonkind as a being of great power...This demon was
Takhisis' general.

The dark wizard visibly shaken, tried to compose himself with little results.
However, he knew that he must continue his task.

'Demon of the abyss! I have summoned you, and as you see, you cannot harm
me! You will do as I comman....'

His voice was cut off.....the wind racing through his throat, past his voice
box, allowing him to speak, was cut off.

The wizard could not breathe. As he stared almost blankly at the demon before
him, he knew this demon had great power, but he could not figure how it got
past his safeguards.

Then, as darkness was beginning to conquer him, he spotted it. A small
disection of two lines, splitting a line where a split should not have been.

Thus, the protection was void.

(to be continued)



Author:  Shilaan
Date    Wed Jan 15 20:51:35 2003



SubjectThe beggining of the end......



The wizard went limp, his body soon after was torn to shreds by the manevolent
beast.

Vornas stepped outside the lines of the pentagram, his monsterous hairy legs
making a massive thud sound as he walked.

He scanned the room, his massive glowing red eyes looking much like bright
braziers, looking for an exit.....A small door stood against a wall on the far
side of the room. Much too small for his massive frame.

Vornas charged towards the nearest wall, his huge frame rendering the stone
walls to rubble. He stood outside a small tower, obviously built by the wizard
whom summoned him, for this special purpose. The tower stood in a clearing,

dwarfed by massive trees, Vallenwoods to be exact.

Vornas lifted his great snout into the air as he caught scent of something he
required.......

Vornas had planned along time for this.....centuries even. He bided his time
until the opportunity arose...that opportunity being the wizard who summoned
him.

Now, his plan will come to be.......

(More to come)




Author:  Shilaan
Date    Thu Jan 16 18:53:47 2003



SubjectThe beginning of the end..... (Continued)



The wind blew across the trees that surrounded the clearing. Flowers were in
full bloom, and it seemed all of the creatures of the forest were in
attendance this fine afternoon.

A small woman sat, lounging against the trunk of a tree, her golden hair
shining in the sun's warm rays.

She was an elf maiden, born from Silvanesti parents, and raised to cherish
nature. Which, in fact, she was currently doing.

Her name was Celewan. She was considered pretty even among her own people, and
almost Goddess like among those of the short lived races.

As Celewan relaxed, bathing in the tranquility of nature, a doe slowly strode
towards her, its nose coming within inches. Celewan didnt stir, she did not
want to frighten the beautiful creature.

The doe, feeling safe, kneeled upon the ground, and lay, relaxing next to the
elven woman.

As Celewan relaxed a bit more, she began to doze off, and soon fell into a
restful nap, the gentle breeze blowing over her prone form.

She awoke some time later with a start. The doe had long run off back into the
woods, and the light of Lunitari cast her glow over the clearing, causing an
eerie red effect of shadows.

Celewan felt a slight chill as the cold night air blew across her lightly
dressed figure.

She stood up, and brushed the grass, and plantlife off of her clothing. She
prepared herself for her trek home, back towards the homeland of the elves.

As she followed the trail that she knew more than the back of her hand, her
mind raced with thoughts of nature and of her goddess, Chislev.

She was deep in thought when suddenly she realized how quiet the forest had
gotten. Not a single sound could be heard except for her own heartbeat.

She quickened her pace, fearing possibly a pack of wolves or worse...

Celewan ran for some time, her elven blood allowing her to keep an even pace
for long periods of time.

She heard from somewhere deep within the forest, a loud, pounding, continuous
thud.

As she ran quicker, the sound hastened as well. Celewan knew something out
there was following her. The thud sound grew louder and louder, no matter how
hard, and how fast she ran. Soon, whatever it was would be upon her....

She put every ounce of her being into the "race" hoping to reach the
boundaries of her protected home before whatever it was would catch her.
But....it seemed time was wearing thin.

A dark shadow crossed in front of her, it seemed to block out her entire
vision. Nothing could be seen past it, whatsoever.

Celewan came to a halt as quickly as she possibly could, in hopes she wouldn't
literally run into the shadow in front of her.

She found herself enveloped within the shadow itself, she looked all around
her, and could see nothing, not even her own hand in front of her face.

Thats when she heard the gods awful nose....

A grating sound, like metal on metal, it would come in intervals. Celewan soon
found out...it was the sound of him breathing.....

Vornas' eyes lit up a bright red, and he let out a fiendishly wicked roar.
Celewan's ears began to bleed from the horrid sound. She felt her limbs grow
weak, and she fell to her knees, almost passing out from fear alone.

The great beast tightened his grip upon her, and with his third arm, began
tearing at her clothing, ripping it to shreds.

Celewan was helpless, her appendages would not obey her, no movement came from
them no matter how hard she tried.

Time slowed for the elven female. Every second passing like hours, and then
days.

Celewan could not recall exactly how long she was used, over and over again to
the delight of the evil beast.

In an instant, however, he was gone. Celewan lay naked upon the trail, her
body broken and bloodied. Yet, she was still alive.

How could this be? She thought to herself. She was sure she would not survive
the outcome of this ravaging.

Celewan drug herself to her feet, and limped, slowly but steadily towards her
original destination. Her home.

She was greeted by one of the forest watchers.....he quickly surmised she was
in trouble and grasped for her as she passed into unconciousness.



Author:  Shilaan
Date    Mon Feb 10 00:28:52 2003



Subject  The ending of the end



And so the story ends...

The mighty battle ended....yet both combatants stood.....one, the victor,
Takhisis stood of her own will. The other, stood encases in stone, for an
eternity to come....a reminded to all whom would challenge the gods.

Shilaan's statue stood a few meters south of the great fountain within
Palanthas. His mighty staff upraised as a last sign of a final assault upon an
unseen foe.

Evil he was. ending many lives, and changing the paths of many others. Born of
a horrid combination of a great Demon from the abyss, and a meak Elven woman
of Solace. He was raised, bent on a lust for pure power. Power that finally
overtook him

in the end. For he attempted to do what only one other in the world had
done....he attempted to become a god. His plan was far more intricate than
that of the well known Raistlin. Raistlin sought to overtake all of the
gods...

Shilaan felt his chances were far greater....he merely wished to stand WITH
the gods. Worshipped by mortals, and remembered for an It seems, he recieved a
partial wish....for all who would see his statue would

Shilaan freed the Thorn mageling DraanAkar, whom currently stuck in the weak
body of a feline, still had enough power and influence to assist Shilaan in
his task.

In exchange for DraanAkar's assistance, Shilaan set the feline free from the
Conclave prison, and also gave unto him books..both belonging to the Thorn
mage from his days in Conclave, and belonging to Shilaan himself.

Shilaan's books held many secrets. Secrets of Shilaan's life, as well as
secrets of grasping powerful magics and controlling them.

Shilaan opened a portal to the only place he knew that witnesses to his
"ascension" would be everywhere.....Palanthas!

Shilaan and DraanAkar entered the portal, as onlookers stood openmouthed at
the sudden appearance of the most feared of mages, along with an obviously
powerful cat.

Soon afterwards, DraanAkar began chanting, and calling upon great magics, to
aid him in contacting the Dark Queen.

To which the queen responded in person...Much to Shilaan's amusement, for it
is this meeting that Shilaan was after.

A massive battle commenced, Shilaan and Takhisis, the goddess herself, and the
darkling mage. The battle lasted for quite sometime, blows being exchanged
with not a single person being able to guess the outcome. For although all
knew Takhisis and

her god-power, they also knew Shilaan and what the mage could accomplish.

A mighty explosion occured when Shilaan struck Takhisis square in the chest
with his staff, imbued with the power of Nuitari, and afterwards, only Shilaan
stood, albeit barely.

However, the battle was far from over...as the dark queen rose from a huge
crevass created by an earlier spell that caused an earthquake.

Shilaan, battered and beaten, summoned up enough strength to attack again.

However, Takhisis, tiring of the game, ended the battle as abrupty as it
started. Shilaan sought out an ounce of blood from the dark queen, the last
ingredient he needed to ascend to "godhood", and he recieved it.

Takhisis let her blood flow, from an opened wound, over Shilaan's body as she
held him in a powerful spell of entrapment.

The blood crawled over the paralyzed mages skin, covering him completely. Soon
afterwards, the blood took on a greyish hue, much the same color as stone.

And soon after that, the same texture as stone, for it was stone.

Shilaan was encased in god-made stone, unbreakable, and unmoveable by any
means.

A reminder to all.

And thus, his story has ended...but his was just one of many thousands and
thousands of stories currently continuing in the land of mortals....

For the world still turned. And the sun still rose in the morning and set in
the evenining.

And that was the story of Shilaan Darkcloak, told to small children to keep
them in line, and instill fear in them that if they "acted up" Shilaan's
statue would come to life and deal with them....

The End.....Or is it?



Author:  Shilaan
Date    Sun Aug 21 18:05:30 2005
Stamp   1124665530
Subject  Darkness Rising.....(part 1)


The Darkened chamber was silent save for the random sound of pages turning in
a book. The dark figure hunched over the massive volume, interested in its
contents. All that could be seen were two red pinpoints of evil light,
scanning back and forth. Shilaans eyes were very accustomed to the
darkness...Perhaps it was the very darkness within him that made him so at
home within the shadows. Somewhere, in the distance of the ancient halls of
magic which he resided, two mages were in a deep discussion on a topic that
the dark mage cared very little about. With a softly spoken word, and a
gesture of his hand, the room fell into utter silence. He continued reading
the pages of the book. Now, fully able to concentrate on his readings without
the constant interruption of mindless chatter echoing through the halls. The
book he was reading dealt with ancient....VERY ancient artifacts, and their
suggested whereabouts. Obviously, he was searching.... Shilaan had lived for
many years, he was considered almost ancient himself, having lived long enough
to see even the lich, Galaphale, before he was what he is now. Galaphale had
been something of a friend to this dark mage, in a strange competitive way.
Although they were always conspiring against each other, the two of them more
often than not, had worked together on many things. Yes, he was a friend, a
strange friend, but one none the less. Shilaan had "died" many times in his
existence, once even by the hands of the Dark bitch queen herself, Takhisis.
Dying is a strong word, in that one case, for Takhisis had changed his form
completely into stone, but had allowed him to continue to sense the world
around him. For this dark mage, that was the ultimate torture. The citizens of
Palanthas, for that is where Takhisis left him, Had wondered where this
strange statue had come from. It appeared nearly over night. For years, he sat
imprisoned, staring into the world he could not interact with It was Galaphale
himself that brought Shilaan back into the world. He would never forget those
who helped him regardless of his stature, and his heritage. Most know the
story of Shilaan, the demon mage. Born from an elven mother, and a demon
father. Growing up a somewhat normal life until the one day his father
re-entered into Shilaan's life. Shilaan was coaxed into murdering his own
mother in cold blood, then drinking that very blood as it flowed from her many
wounds. The trauma had awaken something within him. Something evil, something
dark, and something sinister. And that is what he continued to be. Shilaan had
vowed to bring Takhisis down, in some way. He had been quiet for years, not a
peep out of him to the world around him. He simply read book after book after
book. Of course, many a mage had seen him wandering the halls in the deepest
hours of the night. He'd often head to the library within the towers,
gathering more books, and returning to his room. But, other than that, he was
more of a ghost to the rest of the mages within the Tower of High Sorcery. In
the darkness of the room, if one were to be in there with this mage, one would
have seen those red eyes widen in excitement. He slammed the book closed, and
although it made no sound when he did so, you could have felt the concussion.
Shilaan waved his hand, and in an instant the silence erupted into noise. The
mindless prattle of the two mages was still continuing down the hall.




Author:  Shilaan
Date    Sun Aug 21 18:16:44 2005
Stamp   1124666204
Subject  Darkness Rising.....(part 2)


Shilaan walked to the door of his room, flung it open, causing it to
crash against the stone walls.  Some would have sworn that the whole tower
shook when that happened.  He looked down the hall, and saw the two mages
engaged in discussion.  One was a black robe, the other a red.  Upon hearing
the door crashing open, both mages stopped their talk, and stared into the
eyes of the angry mage.  Shilaan directed his words to the black robed mage,
"I need supplies for a trip, and you will gather them for me!  I do not
know how long I shall be gone, but you will look after my room, no one is to
enter it whatsoever!  Do you understand boy?  " The young mage had heard
enough stories to not question this dark ones orders.  He simply bowed and
ran off to complete his newly assigned mission.  Shilaan returned to his
room, leaving the door open.  The red robed mage had not heard enough
stories obviously, for he crept towards the open door as silently as he
could, hoping to get a glance at the dark mage.  What he saw was Shilaan
gathering scrolls, and books into a small leather bag, one not big enough to
obviously fit the contents he was placing into it.  But, alas, the bag
continued to allow Shilaan to place even more objects into it.  Wands,
rings, even a rather long staff with an onyx crystal on its tip, went into
the bag.  Shilaan grabbed one last item, a map.  The red robed mage
couldn't quite make out what the map was of.  But he had overstayed his
viewing.  For Shilaan had spun around and caught the young mage looking
into his room!  His red eyes flashed with anger as he rushed towards the
helpless mage.  With a wave of his hand, he had sent the mindless idiot
crashing into the wall behind him, and let him drop to the floor.  He
didn't kill the mage.  Merely a warning that it wasn't polite to dig into
anothers business.  Especially when "another" meant Shilaan.  As Shilaan
stormed past him, the boy glanced at the map Shilaan continued to carry.... 
Vingaard......   (to be continued...)  


Author:          Shilaan
Date    Wed Sep 21 19:13:40 2005
Subject Darkness Rising.....(part 3)

The midnight air ruffled his robes as the dark mage flew over the land.
His fly spell had lasted hours, a testimony to this evil mage's magical
prowess.  He preferred the night, when darkness ruled the land and no one
would notice his passing.  A black figure floating above a city would
definately send a panic throughout the land.  Shilaan didn't want that.  His
purpose for traveling far away from his home was to be kept secret As his
red eyes scanned the horizon, the locked onto a small figure walking alone
in a field.  For some odd reason, this person grabbed his attention.  He
directed his flight towards the person, and upon coming closer, he noticed a
strange ponytail sprouting from the top of its head.  'A kender', Shilaan
thought to himself, 'A pesky little vermin that took up precious air and
space in the world.  However, Kender were also known for having a multitude
of maps in their possesion.  Not normal maps, those type Shilaan had just
about every area of krynn on parchment...  No, Kender were known for
carrying maps that specified things seen along their numerous journeys. 
Things that Shilaan would need to use as marks along his passage.  Perhaps
this particular kender, being that he it was so close to Caergoth, had a map
that Shilaan himself would find useful.  A map that depicted an old ruin... 
A very Ancient Ruin....  One that a kender might use as a landmark, but no
other being would know of its existence..  Shilaan flew close to the ground
behind the kender, and cancelled his spell of flying, his feet landing
softly on the grassy field.  "Dear kender, might I have a moment of your
time?  ', Shilaan asked in the most polite voice he could muster.  The
kender turned around, a bit stunned, but quickly recovered, blabbering on
about how much Shilaan had startled him, and asking a multitude of questions
concering where he was from, how did he get here, how he was able to sneak
up on him, etc.  Shilaan, not one to have much patience.....  Ever, quickly
through out his hands, and blasted the poor kender with bolts of lightning. 
The kender's eyes had a split second to widen as far as they could before
the bolts struck him dead in the chest.  The electricity from the spell was
so powerful that it went through the kender, and out his back, to continue
on for some feet before grounding itself out.  Shilaan waited a few moments
after the lifeless kender fell to the ground before coming close to the
corpse.  Electricity was a funny thing, it sometimes took awhile to
completely ground out from dead corpses...  No use in shocking himself this
evening as well.  He searched the backpack worn by the kender, and pulled
a thick roll of parchment out from it.  There were numerous maps rolled up
together.  Shilaan began sorting through the maps, discerning the important
ones from ones that were merely invaluable to him.  He spotted one that, in
particular would be quite useful on his journey.  One the showed a broken
down building way off to the northwest of Caergoth.  The caption above the
building stated it was A "scary old tower: KEEP AWAY!"  This is what Shilaan
was looking for.....  It had to be.  With that, Shilaan stuffed the map into
his robes, along with some more interesting looking maps.  He waved his
hands in an intricate pattern and voiced some unintelligable words, as his
feet, once again, lifted from the ground.  He flew off into the
distance.....  The cold stench of death lingering behind him, eminating from
the corpse of the dead kender. 

The Storytellers of Ansalon, The DragonLance MUD

Astinus points to the massive wall of books behind him and bids you to make a selection.

Authors: All|A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z
Astinus sighs as he recants 'We saved 878 books from Ansalon from before the great Cataclysm through today.'