An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Rauglothgar.

A little gully dwarf runs by and says 'Wordwrap is at 65. You change? 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 small leaflet on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Rauglothgar' scribed in faded green ink.

Author:    Rauglothgar    
Date:      Fri Jan 12 18:22:22 2007
Subject     Rauglothgar's past

Rauglothgar was born the only son of a minor noble. Desiring
great
things for his son, his father ensured that he had the best
possible
training to develop his intellect as well as skills in the arts
of war.

However, due to the amount of time which he had to spend training
each
day, Rauglothgar grew up to be a very sheltered young man, unwise
to the
ways of the world.

One day, as he was returning from his daily training with the
swordmaster, he noticed a mysterious figure walking hurriedly
away from
the manor in which he lived.

Feeling uneasy, he quickened his pace to catch up with the
figure, but
no matter how hard he tried, he could never seem to do so.

Turning round a corner, he was surprised to see that the figure
had
mysteriously disappeared into thin air.

Shrugging the matter off, he strolled back to the manor. Once
inside, he
sensed that something was immediately wrong as it was very quiet,
a
little too quiet.

He rushed into the house only to find corpses of the servants and
guards
everywhere. In the study, he found the bodies of his parents and
their
personal bodyguard, his childhood friend. They had apparently
made a
final stand there.

His father had apparently been trying to destroy something as
there were
ashes in the room. Clutched in his fingers were the remnants of a
map.

Based on the small fragment which he managed to pry from his
father's
lifeless fingers, Rauglothgar managed to decipher only one word,
Qualinesti.

His mind was in a whirl, Though he had read about the elves in
his
studies, he had never encountered one before. Why would his
father have
any dealings with them and what was he trying to protect?

Who too was the mysterious figure and what part did he have to
play in
this? Rummaging through his father's belongings, Rauglothgar dug
up a
suit of armor and a servicable sword.

Packing sufficient rations and clothings for one or two days, he
hurriedly left the manor before the deaths were discovered. As
much as
he would like to co-operate with the authorities, too many
questions
were unanswered.

It would only make matters worse if they discovered the map
fragment so
he made sure that all that was left of it were ashes.

Stopping at the entrance of the manor, Rauglothgar uttered a
short
prayer to his god, closed the doors, and with a firm
determination, set
out to discover what relationship his family had with the elves,
and
what fate had in store for him.


Author:    Rauglothgar    
Date:      Thu Jan 25 03:24:09 2007
Subject     The Faith

The first night after leaving Palanthas, Rauglothgar found
himself in
the plains outside the town.

Uncertain of which direction to travel and way too wise to travel
in
the night, he decided to camp till daybreak.

By the light of the small fire he had built, he reflected on the
events which had transpired that morning.

His once carefree features were now lined with sorrow and
uncertainty.
Yet, there was still the air of purity around him.

Though he was alone now, without a home and a family Rauglothgar
knew
that he would never be alone, as long as his belief in his god
was
still strong.

As he stared into the flames, he thought of his name,
Dragonchild, and
how it had come to be

One night, when he was but in his teens, Rauglothgar had a dream.
In
this dream, he was a copper dragon, good-hearted but young and
na?ve.

Soaring high up in the clouds, he frolicked without a care in the
world. Swooping closer to the ground, he suddenly noticed a human
caravan being accosted by a huge blue dragon.

The humans were valiantly fighting back but it was clear who
would
emerge the winner.

Never one to back down from an opportunity to foil the chances of
the
blue dragon, he flew down and, catching the blue by surprise,
blasted
it with a cone of acid into the blue's face.

The acid failed to do much damage to the blue's thick scales, but
it
did irritate it to no end.

With a roar of anger, it breathed a bolt of lighting at the
copper,
narrowly missing it but singeing its tail.

Panicking and realizing for the first time the danger it was in,
the
copper tried to evade the blue but due to its inexperience,
caught the
next bolt right in the chest.

Pain ripped through its entire body and it plummeted to earth.
Strangely, the blue did not follow, maybe it felt that the bolt
would
have been sufficient to kill the copper.

The copper crashed to the ground, creating a small crater.

As it lay mortally wounded, it strangely felt no pain, only a
chill
that was slowly creeping through its body. "So this is what death
feels like," it thought.

This was when a voice pierced through its subconsciousness.

"My, my, you have gotten into a bit of trouble haven't you,
little
one. Let's see what we can do for you."

The young dragon then felt someone lay his(its?) hand on his
body. A
bright light emated from the palm of the hand and it enveloped
the
dragon's entire being.

A moment later, the chill had disappeared and he felt whole and
refreshed again.

In front of him was a middle-aged man dressed in the armor of a
warrior.

On his shiny breastplate was carved the intricate design of a
dragon.

The warrior then turned to the dragon and said, "You do need to
take
care of yourself better, my son. Taking on a blue dragon twice
your
size won't do you any good at this point of time".

However, your bravery is indeed commendable and it will be noted,
thought next time, you may not be so lucky.

You will need to work very hard and you will face many trials,
tragedies and tribulations,

but one day you will be able to stand your ground against the
fiercest
of man or beast and do good for all mankind." And with that, the
man
vanished.

When Rauglothgar awoke, he felt the spot where the man had laid
his
hand on him when he was in dragon form.

At that spot was a small mark, a mark which had never been there
before

Not knowing why or how he knew it, Rauglothar realized that the
man
was Paladine and that he had been sent a sign, a sign that his
path
had been set out for him.

He would ask his father to permit him to enroll as a squire to
begin
his training as a paladin in the service of the Paladine,

, the god of charity, redemption, leadership and greatness.

He also vowed to uphold all that was true and right, and to fight
tyranny and injustice whenever and wherever it was met.

He would also do his best to care for the lost and dedicate
himself to
the temple of the gods of good.

Coming out of his reverie, Rauglothgar realized that the fire had
gone
out and all that was left was glowing embers.

Berating himself for not being more alert, he quickly checked his
belongings to make sure all was still there.

Satisfied, he settled down and made himself comfortable to wait
the
break of dawn

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 mentions 'We have had over 868 storytellers on Ansalon pen their epic stories here for all to read.'