An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Takhisis.

A little gully dwarf runs by and says 'Wordwrap is at 80. 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 worn folio on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Takhisis' scribed in unearthly orange ink.

Author:    Takhisis       
Date:      Thu Dec 11 02:45:27
2008
Subject     The Knife of Dracart pt 1

The cave walls were slick
with moisture, and screams reverberated off of
the slate walls. The narrow
passages pulsed, seeming almost to breathe.

In the corner of the large central
cavern, hidden by an outcropping of rock,
a man crouched, watching the center of
the caverns intently. His clothing
was dark, but a pendant of Solinari hung from
his neck, barely visible in
the folds of his clothing. He stared intently as a
small group of
black-robed figures moved in the center of the cavern, carrying
what
appeared to be a large rock to an alter that had been placed in the
center
of the cavern. Suddenly, the light fell fully onto the rock, and the
man
gasped as he saw that it was made out of gold! 

He leaned forward intently,
as he watched the figures separate, and form a
circle around the large gold
rock. Two figures stepped forward to grasp
hands over it, and the rest stood
silently, watching. Squinting, the man
could see that one of the figures wore
the medallion of Takhisis emblazoned
on his robes, and the other seemed to be
wearing the black robes of a
magic-user. Slowly, they began to chant in unison,
their hands now closed
around what appeared to be a dark knife, smeared with
some kind of liquid.

Their chanting grew and grew, as the two figures raised
the knife high over
the lump of gold. Suddenly, as the very air seemed to hum
with their power,
they thrust the knife into the top of the rock. It shattered,
to reveal some
kind of golden creature, which was writing in pain. Slowly, the
creature's
gold skin began to darken, and it's small cries of pain grew more
shrill. It
writhed and began to tear down the middle, forming two lumps of
golden flesh
which continued to writhe and change, until two small lizard-like
creatures
were formed. The man gasped again, for he knew now what the lump of
gold
must be: a gold dragon egg. 

The two creatures were handed to some of the
robed figures, and a new gold
egg was brought forward. Before he rightly knew
what he was doing, the
hiding man had begun to run towards the circle in the
middle, crying out
words of magic. As he ran, he raised his hands, and pointed
at the two
closest members of the circle. Darts of light flew from his fingers,
flying
into the dark clerics, and leaving a hole in the circle, through which
he
ran. Towards the center he ran, towards the two with the knife. He knew
he
could not kill them all, but he could feel the evil of the knife. It must
be
destroyed. 

He leaped up to the alter, ignoring the smoke that began to rise
from his
feet, and pressed his hand to the cleric's chest, crying out more words
of
magic. Frost began to form on the cleric's robes, and he fell to the
ground,
his hand blue and frozen, as the knife fell to the ground. Quickly
turning,
he shoved the black-robed mage out of the way, and grabbed the
fallen
dagger. It burned his hand, and his flesh sizzled, but the man had no
time
to worry about that. He could feel the evil of the thing, and knew that
his
magic would be unable to destroy it. As the circle of dark clerics
closed
in, murder in their eyes, the man knew what he had to do. Closing his
eyes,
he once more muttered words of power. The knife grew hotter and hotter
in
his hands, and a wind whipped up, though there was no source, as a small
hole
opened in space. The man quickly threw the knife through it, and sighed
as the
portal winked shut behind it. Even he did not know where it had
gone.

He had
time for one sad smile before the dark clerics were upon him.

Meanwhile,
somewhere in Estwilde, the portal opened, and the knife fell out.
A passing
thief noticed the shining black blade, and picked it up, thinking
to sell it.
But the knife felt warm, and he liked the way the handle curved,
so he tucked it
into his belt, and headed on towards the Kalaman port. He
had a ship to catch.


Author:    Takhisis       
Date:      Thu Dec 11 02:46:21
2008
Subject     The Knife of Dracart pt 2

Later that day, the Emperor
of the Dragonarmy walked through the cavern, examining the corpses.  
 
"One
man did this?  How did he get through our guards?" He asked the man standing
beside him.

"The human paid a guard to let him through the door.  I've
already had the man killed."

The Emperor looked at the alter. 

"And the
knife?"  His voice was quiet.

"Gone.  I do not know where it is, but
Dracart assures me that the knife's powers
 would force it to remain on
Krynn."  

"Find it.  Without the knife, we cannot make more draconians. 
That is unacceptable.  
That is our priority now.  Find that knife,
Harkiel."

"Do not presume to lecture me, human.  If your plans had not
forced me to preform my 
part of the ritual weeks ago, this would never have
happened."
 
For a moment, it seemed, the man beside the Emperor was gone and
an enormous red
dragon stood in his stead.  Then the man stood there again.

The
Emperor spoke again:

"Spread the word to your dragons.  We must have that
knife."
 
And so the order went out to all of the Dragonarmies: to find the
Knife of Dracart.

Author:    Takhisis       
Date:      Wed Jan
 7 23:07:35 2009
Subject     Knife of Dracart

The wind and rain
whistled down the sides of the Khalkist mountains,
and beat against the wings of
Harkiel, the Ancient Red Dragon.
On he flew amidst the lightning that flashed
and cracked past
his enormous head, ignoring the bolts, even when they
struck
his body.  He could sense it. 

Onward it drew him, the taint of the Dark
Queen heavy in the air as he flew.
He could almost taste the knife.  Forged by
Dracart, imbued by Wyrllish, and 
finally quenched by Harkiel himself, it was
crucial to the coming war.  

Up ahead, nestled in a small box canyon, he
spotted the flare of human
magic.  Folding his wings, he dived swiftly, flaring
his wings at the last
moment to land.  His impact with the earth caused the
entire mountain to
tremble, which pleased Harkiel.  Rocks and grit flew into the
air, as he
looked towards the glimmer of magic.  It was a small cave, hidden
behind 
several boulders.  Harkiel shattered the rocks with a  word and
stomped
towards the cave. 

The canyon was narrow, and Harkiel was forced to
shape shift into human form
to avoid bringing down the mountains around him.  He
hated human form.
The barrier shimmered and flared as the rain struck it. 
Harkiel paused 
for a moment, staring at the pitiful magic, analyzing it. 
Sneering slightly,
he made a fist, and slammed into the barrier.  Just once. 


The air...flexed...as he struck the barrier, which shattered.  Smiling
grimly,
Harkiel strode forward into the cave.  The knife was there, all right.
sitting
in the dust like a forgotten children's toy.  Harkiel scooped up the
knife,
and strode quickly back towards the entrance to the cave,
already
shifting back to his original form, shattering the cave with his magic
as he 
walked out into the night.  

Airborne once more, knife clenched in his
claw, Harkiel paused for a moment.  
He could feel the taint of the knife, feel
its love of destruction seeping
into him, mixing with his own evil.  He wanted
to destroy.  Turning once 
more, he headed towards Palanthas.  They would know
fear this day.  


Author:    Takhisis       
Date:      Fri Jan
 9 04:24:25 2009
Subject     Knife of Dracart:  the search is over

The
air above Palanthas was cold as Harkiel limped through the air.
For the first
time in centuries, mortals had fought him, and indeed, 
caused serious damage. 
His right wing flapped, almost useless from 
the holes caused by arrows and
spells.  He felt pain, and it enraged
him.

More painful than the hurt wing was
the feel of defeat.  The mortals
had not only hurt him, but they had driven him
off before he could 
destroy signifigant parts of the city.  

The Knife of
Dracart pulsed in the grip of his taloned claw, as he 
slowly turned, and flew
towards Sanction.  The mage would be happy to
have his little knife
back.




And so, the Knife of Dracart was returned to the gathering forces
of
the Dragonarmies, where it was once more put to use, corrupting
the eggs of the
Good Dragons.  And the Armies of Takhisis continued
to grow...




Author:    Takhisis       
Date:      Tue Jun  2 18:26:19
2009
Subject     Dragon's Eggs


The captain of the ship "Dragon's
Fire" nerviously wiped his face with a
dirty rag. As he looked over the side of
his vessel to this strange shore
his orders had brought him to, his eyes were
drawn to the crates that were
being loaded onto his vessal. Along the shore, he
could see other ships
being loaded with similar cargo. 

None of the other
captains knew what was in the locked and sealed boxes.
Only a handful of
officers aboard the small fleet knew. The men who had
loaded the boxes had all
been killed, as his orders had instructed. He
watched nervously the heights
above the shore. The Emperor himself had
assured him that the dragons of Good
would not interfere with his mission,
that they were in a magical sleep from
which they would not awaken, but
still, he worried. A dragon was nothing to
disturb. He watched, as the
crates were loaded. He knew each one was patched,
sealed, and padded, but
still, he worried. Who knew how fragile a dragon's egg
was?

Finnaly, the eggs were loaded, each in their individual containers. As
the
captain lead the small fleet away from the islands, he felt his
spirits
begin to lighten. Perhaps they would make it after all. Three days past
on
their journey. The sea grew rougher, and the clouds more ominous, but
the
fleet continued on. Then, on the morning of the 4th day, a sail was
sighted
by the lookout. The captain looked through his telescope and swore.
A
solamnic fleet! What could they have been doing out this far?! 

"Men! Oars!
Move! Our lives depend on it!" He set about raising the flags to
alert the
other ships of the fleet, but he knew it was hopeless. The ships
of the
dragonarmy fleet were merchant vessals: built for shipping, not
speed. The
Solamnic fleet was war vessals. They would run down the pitiful
merchant ships
and capture the cargo. Survivors would be hanged. The captain
was just raising
the last signal flag when he noticed, up ahead, the largest
storm he had ever
seen. 

"All ahead! We'll lead them into the storm."

With oars and sail,
they charged forward, straight into the heart of the
massed clouds.

Days later,
all along the coastlines of Kyrnn, thrown there by currents,
wind, and perhaps
by the hand of a God, crates began to wash ashore. They
were sealed, both
physically and magically, and resisted all tampering. Some
were carried off by
thieves, some by treasure seekers. None were able to
open the boxes, but one
thing was sure: the search had begun. 

Author:    Takhisis      

Date:      Fri Jun  5 18:27:43 2009
Subject     Eggquest:  the
ending

The Emperor of the Dragonarmies looked out from his window
high
in a tower in Sanction.  A noise from behind him signaled the 
entrence of
his aide, but he did not turn.  

"How many did we recover?  Will there be
enough for our plans?"

The Aide, even though he knew the Emperor could not
see him, nodded
anxiously.  

"Yes, master.  The Clerics think that we will
have plenty.  Also,
there are plans to aquire more of the eggs as well."

The
Emperor nodded to himself.  This was excellent news. When the
fleet had crashed,
he had been so enraged that he had killed his 
laste aide.  

"Excellent. 
Alert the clerics. I want them working around the
clock on this.  Nothing may
interfere with our plans."

The aide left, closing the door behind him.  The
Emperor allowed
himself a smile.  Yes.  Things were comming together
nicely.

And far away, locked behind celestial walls, A dark goddess echoed
his
malicious smile.  

Author:    Takhisis       
Date:      Fri
Aug 28 17:39:32 2009
Subject     The Champ

Tollas OOCs 'anyone want
a shot at the champ?'

--> Tollas got toasted by a solamnic guard at Steel
Street

Author:    Takhisis       
Date:      Wed Mar  3
21:17:17 2010
Subject     The Death of the Emperor


As his failing
heart slowed, pumping weakly in a futile effort to sustain
life, the Prophet of
the Queen Luerk Trell struggled to speak. He gurgled
incoherently, choking on
the lifeblood bubbling up through his throat. The
red fluids overflowed at the
corners of his mouth like some grotesque goblet
filled too full. 

Despite the
horrific damage to his body, he felt the pain slowly subsiding,
like a warm
sheet being draped over him. He snickered to himself, more dark
blood dribbling
down his chin. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the red
robed magi rummaging
through his precious cargo. But he no longer cared,
there was nothing he could
do to stop the wizard.

With a blackened hands, he grasped the front of his
clerical robes, wiping
his slick hands on the finery. His delicate fingers,
burnt almost to the
bone came across a deep hole in his chest. He pressed
softly, feeling his
beating heart for the last time.

With lifeless eyes, the
Conqueror of Palanthas, Emperor of the Dragonarmies,
Chosen of the Queen, (and
numerous other titles) past into the beyond. In
the following moments of
silence, he was truly and utterly still.

Then, creeping through the cobbled
stone of Palanthas, a deathly chill
permeated the still air. Hardly noticeable
at first, it spread from the
center of the dead prophet's body. But defying the
laws of nature, the deep
pools of blood began to bubble and boil. As if the very
nature of gravity
had reversed, great globs of blood, flesh and ichor dripped
into the air,
dissipating into nothing. But as the physical remains of the
Prophet
disintegrated upward, the soul of the fallen remained chained to the
Abyss.

Dragging the soul through the crust of Krynn itself, the goddess
Takhisis
reigned in her prize, licking her lips in anticipation. And as her
faithful
awoke in the afterlife, he looked around and asked, "But my Queen,
where are
the virgins?" 



Author:    Takhisis       
Date:
     Tue Mar  8 17:44:54 2016
Subject     The Dark Storm.



The
knight had never felt so much evil in one room, it was almost
overwhelming and
indeed he felt weak at that very moment as even more of the
Dark Queens
servants, Highlords of the plague known as the Dragonarmy,
filled the room.
There were hundreds in attendance from all branches of the
massive network of
the Queens evil militant forces. The knight had to keep
focused as he stood in
the back, he wore the emblem of the wretched filth
and had snuck in with the Red
wing forces after a long march straight from a
fresh battle. The armor was beat
up from the most recent battle, he had
slain the original owner himself. This
particular helm afforded the knight
with a face shield which helped to conceal
his identity. 


As he gazed through the crowd making a mental note, he suddenly
felt warmth
within him. He felt stronger and then heard a booming voice not his
own,
within his head. He had never heard, but at once knew it was his
god,
Paladine communing with him. The god was with him, he knew it and he
knew
the god was watching this swarm of evil as intently as he himself was.
Just
as the last few important lords entered the chamber and the doors
were
barred shut he felt his connection with Paladine disappear. He was
left,
cold and weary, alone with his fears.


At the same instant that Paladine
had left him the knight felt a great
darkness enter the chamber and indeed saw a
beautiful woman manifest herself
at the altar in the center of the great hall.
She was not quite whole, more
of a shadow or mist, but even in this faded form
she commanded authority and
emanated great evil to every corner of the room. It
was impossible for most
of the followers to look away from her for a moment and
the knight wondered
if she saw him for what he truly was.


The Dark Queens
voice boomed through the great hall with anger and malice
towards her followers.
She was clearly not pleased with their efforts and it
was plain to see. Many in
the crowd were cowering like dogs, groveling in
some cases, begging for
forgiveness. The knight could not understand what
was happening to them or see
any physical harm happening to anyone. Many of
the higher ranking officers were
in better shape, but many had blank, almost
dazed looks on their faces. They
seemed to be in a trance of some sort but
the knight could not tell from his
vantage point. His gaze meet with the
misty form of Takhisis and she gave him a
wicked smile before continuing
with her demands of the highlords and other
forces. The knight felt drained
and stumbled back a step immediately upon
meeting with her gaze. The guard
next to him caught his arm and scowled an order
for him to clean himself up.
With a curt nod the knight ducked out and left the
great hall at once. He
had to get a message to his harbor contact and send word
to the knighthood. 


Author:    Takhisis       
Date:     
Tue Mar  8 17:46:32 2016
Subject     The Dark Storm. Part II



The
knight handed the shipwright a sealed message with strict orders to set
sail
right away for Palanthas. He had little time to discuss matters further
and
quickly left for fear of being noticed on the docks. He travelled the
most
direct route from the docks to the city gates, intent on heading back
to his
fangs camp outside the city. His head was spinning and his mind could
not shake
the Queens gaze. The knight turned down a dark side alley unaware
that he was
being followed. He did not exit the side street.


The Highlords within the
black wing received images of a mighty swarm of
goblins landing on the island of
Schallsea in droves. The beaches were
overrun with landing parties and the hoots
and war cries of excited, blood
thirsty goblins and hobgoblins turned loose
could be heard all across the
southern parts of the island. The scene faded away
to show a mass grave of
villagers and a horizon full of burning buildings and
smoke. Burn the
island, slaughter the innocent and raise an army. The island
is a choke
point for our naval forces. Takhisis hisses with venom in her
voice.


The Highlords within the red wing saw a massive horde move low into
the
valley carrying the banners of the red wing. It is an orderly march and
the
throng of infantry splits in to two groups allowing siege to be brought
to
the front lines. Looking down across the valley stands the gates
of
Thorbardin. Crush them. a female voice booms across the entire valley.
On
command the entire force shouts Glory to the Queen and begins rushing
across
the valley floor towards their intended target.


The Highlords of the
smallest wing, the white wing witnessed a group
travelling on a path through the
ice and snow, it was a blizzard and bone
chillingly cold. The small band bearing
the sigil of the white wing was
determined to do the Queens bidding and reach
the great ice caves. It was a
dangerous journey through the Ice Reach to be sure
but that was hardly the
part that unnerved the troop. Their mission was to wake
the great beasts and
call them to aid the Queen. White dragons that have been
asleep for
centuries would be difficult to work with and nearly impossible to
control.
Fortunately the troop had brought along some slaves as an offering to
the
massive beasts. 


Author:    Takhisis       
Date:     
Tue Mar  8 17:54:18 2016
Subject     The Dark Storm. Part III



At
once the green dragonarmies heard their gods demands: A dark champion
will
rise to slaughter the children of Eli! I call forth a dark champion of
the green
wing to do my bidding and rid me of these vermin. Who will answer
the call? Who
will claim blood in my name? the Queens voice bellowed loudly.
The scout
surveyed the immediate area near where the children of Eli were
reported to be.
He had trained his entire life for this and he was not about
to fail his majesty
in this important mission. He ordered his small band
forward searching for a
sign. He would find them for the commander of the
green wing as he was
instructed. He and his scouts were determined to prove
he was the dark champion
his Queen sought.


The blue wing Highlords witnessed a vision depicting their
forces descending
upon the northern regions near Lemish. There was more finesse
with their
movements, unlike the red wings wild rush upon Thorbardin. The forces
of the
blue wing were calculating in their approach and systematically moved
north
securing each village and road as they went. It was clear their target
was
closer to the knights where a disciplined force would be most needed. 


In
the minds of all the dark armies, these images burned brightly before
slowly
fading away. Some were left with dull aches, other stunned and
motionless. The
touch of the goddess was strong, but slowly fading as the
great immaterial form
of the Queen dissolved into a southern moving wind.
There was a great silence,
an eerie emptiness that was entirely uncommon
amongst such a congregation. Even
the rumbling of the Lords of Doom seemed
subdued. The entire armies waited for a
true scion of darkness to speak
first. 



(OOC) HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to
Paladine for collaborating so much on this
story. I apologize for the long wait,
I hope it was worthwhile for those of
you waiting. If this is the first you're
hearing of this, feel free to reach
out to your local DA merchant of death :)
All are welcome to participate. 

Author:    Takhisis      

Date:      Tue Oct 31 14:04:58 2017
Subject     HSQ2017 Intro
Prompt



This is the deepest, darkest cavern youve ever been
unfortunate enough to be
exploring. If it werent for the light youre carrying,
youd see nothing but
pitch black darkness. It is almost suffocating. But
instead, you see that
the walls of this cavern are slick with some oozing green
ichor, and the
occasional mottled fungus that struggles to survive. Whoever
brought you
here did you no favors.


Suddenly, your light goes out for the
longest second of your life. And when
it flickers back to life, the hairs on the
back of your neck stand on end.
Someone or something is RIGHT behind you.

So
you have two choices: you can run and hide, or you can turn and die.

Which is
it going to be? 

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 869 storytellers on Ansalon pen their epic stories here for all to read.'