• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

ThThee RaisiRaisinngg ooff ththee ShiShieeldld I remember the day my fellow woodshaper came and whispered in my ear. “Surely you wish the forest to remain safe from the ravages of the outside world? Isn’t that why you build defensive hedges—to keep the unwanted ones out?” He could see the answer in my eyes. “If I were to tell you of a way to create a barrier to keep every living thing out, you would use it, wouldn't you?” The last he said almost taunt- ingly. Knowing the answer, he outlined the plan. Even today, I cringe at the thought of what we did. He gathered eight woodshapers for the ceremony. With joined hands, we stood in a circle around the tree that has grown within a magical shield ever since the Summer of Chaos. He passed around us, dropping a strange amulet over each of our necks. When he finished, we stepped up to the invisible barrier surrounding the tree—and then took a step further. With a silent shimmer of iridescent colors, the barrier fell away from us and rose back into place once we’d passed. We now stood within its boundary. Kneeling in front of the luminescent tree, we each placed our hands on the trunk and concentrated. As our consciousness linked with it, our wish became known. Shield us, we asked. Spread your protection over the whole of the forest. Seconds passed. Then we sensed the tree’s assent. We took sprigs gathered from one of the barrier hedges and laid them on the tree’s gnarled roots. The sprigs wilted and withered into dust before our eyes. That was when we realized what we had done. Though we had sensed that the shielded tree drew on a source of energy for its barrier, we had assumed that light from the sun, moon, and stars sustained it. Now we knew otherwise: It fed on the essence of life. And we had learned this truth too late. The shield was already rapidly spreading outward to encompass the Silvanesti Forest. Afterward, we woodshapers present at the ceremony would gather periodically to discuss the ramifications of the shield's draining effect. At first, it seemed that the vast well of forest life could sustainSample it with no ill consequences.file However, as the dragons continued to fight over- head and elves, humans, and other races attempted to find a way into the barrier’s protection, we saw that the shield drew energy far too quickly for the forest to rebound. As trees withered to ash, we approached our fellow woodshaper to ask how to attune the shield to draw energy from animal life as well as plant life. We hoped by increasing the pool of energy, the drain on any single source would occur slowly enough for each life to continu- ally replenish itself. He led us to the tree. Once more we formed a circle and he dropped the amulets around our necks. We laid our hands to the tree and linked our awareness to it. Please draw upon animal life force as well, we asked. The trees are dying from your drain. With its assent, we sliced our palms enough to allow blood to flow freely, then touched our palms to the tree for the last time. After that day, one by one the participating woodshapers grew sick and died of a wasting sickness—helped along, I am sure, by he who led us down this disastrous path. Only those of us at the original ritual can remove the shield from around the forest. I alone remain alive, yet even now I sense the vile woodshaper directing the shield ’s hunger at me. I weep for the remaining elves and the living forest. Eventually, the tree will kill all life within the shield. In my death, let there be life, Padarrin Oakbranch, 22sc ® A Battle Lines Adventure AnAn EpicEpic AdventureAdventure inin thethe SilvanestiSilvanesti ForestForest William W. Connors and Miranda Horner With Stephen Kenson Contributions From Duane Maxwell, Steve Miller, and Skip Williams Editor Carrie A. Bebris Adventure Concept Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman Brand Manager Sue Weinlein Cook Typographer Angelika Lokotz Graphic Designers Tanya Matson and Dawn Murin Cover Illustrator David Martin Cartographer Diesel and Rob Lazzaretti Interior Illustrators Matthew Mitchell with James A. Crabtree, Rebecca Guay, and Jeff Menges Art Director Dawn Murin Special Thanks To Stan! and to Paul B. Thompson, Tonya R. Carter, Douglas Niles, and Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, whose novels provided this book with descriptive quotes to begin certain chapters. DedicationsSample file For Sue Weinlein Cook and Carrie A. Bebris, women of beauty, intelligence, and compassion; friends in times good and bad. —WWC To Shaun Horner, whose unceasing love and support helped me get where I am today. —MH The authors gratefully acknowledge the original pioneers of Krynn: Larry Elmore, Jeff Grubb, Harold Johnson, Douglas Niles, Carl Smith, Michael Williams —and of course, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. U.S., CANADA, EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS ASIA, PACIFIC, & LATIN AMERICA Wizards of the Coast, Belgium Wizards of the Coast, Inc. P.B. 2031 P.O. Box 707 2600 Berchem Renton, WA 98057-0707 Belgium +1-800-324-6496 +32-70-23-32-77 Visit our website at www.tsr.com 11329XXX1501 ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, DRAGONLANCE,DUNGEON MASTER,FIFTH AGE,MONSTROUS MANUAL,SAGA, and the TSR logo are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. All TSR characters, character names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. is a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. ©1999 TSR, Inc. All rights reserved. Made in the U.S.A. Distributed to the hobby, toy, and comic trade in the United States and Canada by regional distributors. Distributed worldwide by Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and regional distributors. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR, Inc. Authors’ Foreword When this product first took form back in the spring of 1997, many changes started happening around the office. The biggest one included the acquisition of TSR by Wizards of the Coast. Not only was someone else running the company now, but many of our colleagues moved to Seattle to continue with the company. During the transition, this book, which was originally supposed to be a complete source box on all of the elves of Krynn, was put on hold. Another change that occurred with the acquisition was the fact that Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman joined our team as creative consultants. Every six months or so, they meet with the DRAGONLANCE® product group to discuss the direction of the line. In our Summer 1998 meeting, the focus of several products shifted to help prepare the way for the War of Souls story arc. One of these products was the elf project. Our team decided to focus in depth on the Silvanesti elves and their sylvan shield instead of discussing all the elves of Krynn more broadly. Thanks to the deft guidance of Sue Cook, the excellent input of Steve Miller, the lightning-fast prose and conversions of Steve Kenson, and the superlative editorial eye of Carrie Bebris, the adventure that reveals the secrets of the Silvanesti Shield and the events that occurred behind it rests in front of you in its final incarnation. In a way, it’s interesting that while TSR and Wizards of the Coast have unified, the elves of Krynn still have not. Like the humans around them, the elves are splintered. They are not united in the face of the many perils of the Fifth Age. The Great Dragons are aware of this discord and do what they can to foster it. After all, a united elven race would pose a great threat to their power. This adventure focuses on the Silvanesti elves who live in the town of Sithelnost. Until recently, that town was protected by the great shield that hung over the whole of the Silvanesti Forest. In recent years, however, the shield has begun to falter somewhat. Those who live near its edges have seen the forest gradually wither and die. Whether the shield is poisoning the wilderness in some way, draining the essence of life from it, or otherwise inhibiting the flora and fauna is impossible to say—or at least, that was the case prior to this adventure. In The Sylvan Veil, the heroes learn secrets about the Silvanesti, the forest in which they dwell, and the shield that protects them. Indeed, they will learnSample things that even file the Silvanesti do not suspect. Exactly how they use this information after the adventure will help to shape the future of every DRAGONLANCE campaign. The Sylvan Veil is the first product in the Battle Lines series of books and adventures and serves as a prelude to the War of Souls novels. Readers and players can look forward to more stories—including a new trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman—about this tumultuous period. Future adventures will focus on more of Krynn’s races and how they interact with each other during this critical time. If you’re interested in reading even more about the Silvanesti elves, here is a brief list of the sources we used to flesh out this product: The Elven Nations Trilogy by Paul B. Thompson, Tonya R. Carter, and Douglas Niles Tree Lords by John Terra The Dragons by Douglas Niles “The Sacrifice” short story in The Second Generation anthology by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman Table of Contents Prologue: Scene Four: Trail of Tears .

Load more

  6

Copy Link