
Join DLSaga for their interview with Edo Van Belkom (@edovanbelkom9304), an award winning author of horror fiction, notable to Dragonlance fans for Lord Soth.You can find  Edo Van Belkom on his website: https://www.edovanbelkom.com/, and on X: https://twitter.com/edovanbelkom




https://youtube.com/live/PzivLaYYsxU




Intro



Welcome to another DragonLance Saga Professionals episode. My name is Adam and today I am talking with the award winning author Edo Van Belkom. He is also known in Dragonlance circles as the author of Lord Soth.



I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link.



Discussion




* Born in Toronto in 1962, van Belkom received a B.A. in Creative Writing from York University and now resides in Brampton, Ontario with his wife Roberta.



* former reporter on the sports and police beats for newspapers in and around Toronto, 



* arrived on the horror scene in 1990. 



* admired writers such as Kurt Vonnegut and Ray Bradbury



* His first short story sale, Baseball Memories, was selected for the prestigious Year’s Best Horror Stories edited by Karl Edward Wagner.

* The story was also nominated for Canada’s prestigious Aurora Award and appeared side-by-side with work by authors such as Mordecai Richler and W. P. Kinsella in The Grand Slam Book of Canadian Baseball Writing.





* 150 short stories have sold to a variety of top magazines and anthologies in the sf, fantasy, horror and mystery genres as well as Simon & Schuster’s BEST AMERICAN EROTICA. 



* twice won the Aurora Award, taken home the Bram Stoker Award once, and been a finalist on many other occasions in a variety of categories spanning his work as a novelist, 



* anthologist and non-fiction author, and his YA novel WOLF PACK won Ontario’s prestigious Silver Birch Award. 



* published in Germany, Spain and Italy. 



* SCREAM QUEEN (2003) and BLOOD ROAD (2004) are his first major mass market horror novels.



* Edo was also one of four on-air hosts for the launch of ScreamTV in 2000, hosting the segment Post Mortem during their late night movie block.








Links




* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_van_Belkom



* https://www.youtube.com/@edovanbelkom9304



* https://www.edovanbelkom.com/



* https://www.twitter.com/EdovanBelkom




Original works




* Lord Soth, 1996



* Dragon Dice, 1997



* Death Drives a Semi, 1998



* Wolf Pack, 2005



* Wyrm Wolf,[4] Mister Magick,[1] Teeth,[5] Martyrs,[6] Scream Queen,[7] Army of the Dead



* editor of Aurora Awards: An Anthology of Prize-Winning Science Fiction (1999)





Edo Van Belkom Interview

This podcast is a celebration of the one-of-a-kind, high fantasy setting Dragonlance. It will include information about the Dragonlance Saga and the world of Krynn, including features on characters, events, stories, art and more!

Hobbies

Games & Hobbies

Games

Fiction

Leisure


Join us as we continue our @Dungeons & Dragons liveplay of Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen with this part twenty-five! You can buy Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen here: https://amzn.to/3V73n8C 




https://youtube.com/live/Dxt5VpPkKkM




Time Stamps:




* 0:00 Intro 



* 1:48 Chapter 6: City of Lost Names - The City Rises 



* 1:22:37 Warriors of Krynn: Scenario 8 - Fighting Retreat 



* 2:04:36 Break Begins 



* 2:12:07 Warriors of Krynn: Scenario 8 - Fighting Retreat Continued 



* 4:03:06 Outro




Cast of Characters




* Bromly Savisty | Lvl 9 | Human | Cleric / Sorcerer / Divine Soul



* Aamela Panderson | Lvl 9 | Kender | Bard / Barbarian / College of Lore / Path of Wild Magic



* Arizyre the lowly | Lvl 9 | Human | Rogue / Arcane Trickster



* Holgr | Lvl 9 | Gnome | Monk / Way of the Drunken Master




Game Setup



Last time on Shadow of the Dragon Queen: Faced with bitter defeat at the hands of the Red Dragonarmy and Lord Soth, and not having heard from the heroes in over a day, Darret calls in a special backup team as recommended to him by Willem and Tatina. He then activates a spy that has been with the Red Dragonarmy since the Battle of High Hill. This spy meets the new heroes and provides them with disguises so they can make their way to the Threshold of the Heavens and stop the Dragonarmy leadership from raising Onyari. They ascend the obelisk and encounter ancient Istarian Drones, who prove to be more than a nuisance. After defeating them, they hear signs of battle as the obelisk begins rising into the air, and they come across the original heroes in their final moments. The heroes pick up the Dragonlance and charge into the room, intent on finishing the job, and stopping the black robed wizard Lohezet and the young blue dragon who was posing as the priest of Takhisis Belephaion. With the helm master defeated, the obelisk begins to plummet back to the City of Lost Names, and the heroes must find a way out or be crushed within the tower.



About Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen



Enlist in the War of the Lance 



Takhisis the Dragon Queen has returned to the world of Krynn. Across the land, her armies of fanatical draconians wage a brutal war of conquest. As the Dragon Armies march on the unprepared nation of Solamnia, only the defenders of the city of Kalaman stand in their way. But the Dragon Armies want more than just to crush their foes. An ancient evil in the Dragon Queen’s service seeks a magical weapon that could dominate Krynn for all time. 



Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen is a tale of conflict and defiance set during the legendary War of the Lance.

D&D 5e – Shadow of the Dragon Queen Actual Play, Part 25


Sancrist was the least affected landmass by the Cataclysm. But it’s rich in history and diversity. Let’s learn more about the Isle of Sancrist. Buy The Atlas of the Dragonlance World: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/182424/atlas-of-the-dragonlance-world-1e?affiliate_id=50797




https://youtu.be/Fb7ZTfkQ3Os




Transcript



Cold Open



If you ever find yourself in Mount Nevermind, you have to try the Gnomeflingers!



Intro



Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Sancrist in the War of the Lance Era. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing The Atlas of the Dragonlance World, Tales of the Lance Boxed Set, and the War of the Lance sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!



Discussion



The isle of Sancrist is far removed from the politics and challenges of life on Ansalon. It was also the least affected by the Cataclysm, only actually gaining some mountain ranges to the north. But the history of Sancrist is one deeply steeped in lore. For starters, around three-thousand and fifty Prae Cartaclius, Gnomes first discovered the isle while chasing after the Graygem. Once they arrived, they decided to stay. There is rumor with no way to verify its validity, that the isle was actually once a part of Ansalon, but it broke off when the gnomes discovered and started testing smokepowder. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant, as life seems to go on more or less as usual for the Gnomes regardless of the travesties which afflict the rest of the continent. 



In two-thousand, five hundred PC, the Ergothian Empire claimed Sancrist as its own territory, but as the Sancrist Straights kept the Ergothian army at bay, the Gnomes didn’t get too bothered by them. Vinas Solamnus, on his Quest for Honor, wandered into the Whitestone Glade and was given a vision to create the Knights of Solamnia in one-thousand, seven hundred and seventy-five PC. In one-thousand, seven hundred and fifty PC, after Ergoth’s fall, the gnomes declared independence. After the Cataclysm the Knights of Solamnia would gather at the Whitestone Glade in honor of their founding.



The geography of the isle is simple, the northeastern segments contain vast mountain ranges that rival the Khalkists in size. Within is Mount Nevermind, the massive gnomish citadel carved out of a dormant volcano. The south features verdant forests and glades. The Western third contains Gunthar forest and Whitestone Glade. The forest contains hearty broad-leaf trees, apple and cherry trees, and vegetables. The winters tend to be mild with four months of freeze and moderate snow. Blizzards can rarely sweep across the isle from the Sirrion Sea. The geothermal activity within Mount Nevermind melts any snow that may collect. Summers are quite pleasant, lasting from Corij through Reorxmont. The cool seabreeze extends across the whole island maintaining a cooler temperature and breaking up any clouds.



The Isle of Sancrist boasts  a population of nearly seventy-five thousand! Eighty percent of that are gnomes, with around sixteen percent being human and the rest made up of gully dwarf, kagonesti elves and others. Mount Nevermind is governed by an elected Grand Council of clan leaders and guild masters. The mountain holds over two-hundred clans and fifty guilds.

Sancrist – War of the Lance Era


Join me as I review Dark Heart by Tina Daniell, live! Share your thoughts on this third novel in the Meetings Sextet series, released on January 1, 1992 by TSR Inc. You can buy a copy here: https://amzn.to/49AKdOY 




https://youtube.com/live/zBYkf7PLBy8




About Dark Heart



A remarkable-warrior woman’s credo of "the sword is truth" becomes her triumph—and her downfall—in this third Meetings Sextet novel



At long last, the story of the beautiful dark-hearted Kitiara "Kit" Uth Matar . . . This compelling novel tells the story of the birth of her twin brothers—the warrior Caramon and the frail mage Raistlin—and Kit's admirable role in their upbringing.



But her youthful mercenary deeds and increasing fascination with evil throw her into the company of a roguish stranger and band of adventurers whose fates are intermingled with her own. Haunted by the memory of her Solamnic father, she hunts him ceaselessly.



Review



Intro



Welcome to another DragonLance Saga review episode. It is Misham, Fleurgreen the 25th. My name is Adam and today I am going to give you my review of Dark Heart by Tina Daniell. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. This is my perspective only, and if you have any thoughts or disagree with mine, I invite you to share them in YouTube chat.



Most of this story immediately flooded back to me as I started reading it. We begin with Kitiara Uth Matar and her father Gregor Uth Matar. He had brought her with him on a mercenary mission, and his insistence that she was a boy not a girl was to ease any concern from his partners. She saw him interact with lords and mercenaries, imprinting in her mind his worth, intellect and strength of arm. Then we flash forward to her waiting for her father to return and she runs across another mercenary who has clearly heard of her father but doesn’t know where he is. His name is Ursa Il Kinth. They bandy back and forth and he is impressed with this, still a child, Kitiara. 



We flash forward again and Rosamun, Kit’s mother, has remarried to a woodcutter named Gilon Majere. Rosamun is suffering from fevers and trances that she cannot control. This is an aspect of magical talent that is never explored elsewhere, but it even bleeds over to Raistlin. I truly wish this was explored in future novels, as seeing the future would be a great story beat. But Rosamun is pregnant and calls for the midwife, Minna. Not that Mina, this one has two n’s. Kit rushes to the midwife's home who is surprisingly defiant initially then races to the home and helps with the birth. This scene was read through blurry eyes. The process of birth can be horrid for the woman, but it is two of my favorite memories and most happy and proud experiences. Witnessing and aiding in the birth of my two children, then cutting the umbilical cord, and dancing and singing to them, while my wife was being tended to. It’s truly a magical experience, and one that is as close as any of us will be to being an actual god, through creation.



So Caramon comes first, and they are surprised that there is another baby, in breach. They work the baby out and it is sickly. Rosamun is passed out, and Minna tells Kit to be prepared to bury the baby in the morning, it's not worth the effort Kit is putting into keeping it alive. This infuriates Kit who slaps Minna across the face, and I laugh out loud. Minna is beside herself and notices Gregor has returned from work to discover the situation,

Dark Heart Review


The Silvanesti Speaker of the Stars has a tortured legacy, but he found himself in a turbulent time which demanded action! Let’s learn more about Lorac Caladon. Buy the War of the Lance sourcebook: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/3164/war-of-the-lance-3-5?affiliate_id=50797  




https://youtu.be/o9W6sk5-V1o




Transcript



Cold Open



His legacy is one of torture and nightmares, but he’s much deeper than that.



Intro



Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Lorac Caladon, the Silvanesti Speaker of the Stars. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing the Annotated Chronicles, Dragons of Winter Night and the War of the Lance sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!



Discussion



It would be easy to see Lorac as the man, trapped by a Dragon Orb, tortured by Cyan Bloodbane, and a failed ruler of the ancient Silvanesti elven nation, but I truly believe he is much more than that. We have only to look at the era he was raised in and the turbulent times he lived through to begin to understand the notions this Silvanesti royalty was operating under. For the Speaker of the Stars did not have the best of times on his throne. He is known as the most infamous of Silvanesti kings, and that’s saying something after the kingdom had already faced three dragonwars and a brutal Kinslayer War which literally split the Silvanesti nation. I think we need to have a bit of a primer on the Silvanesti to truly understand Lorac Caladon. The Silvanesti are the chosen people of their god Eli, or Paladine. They claimed the forests, which were already occupied by the way, and fought two devastating Dragonwars to keep it. Through these wars, The Orders of High Sorcery were created by the gods out of necessity, and so the legacy of this ancient race is one of manifest destiny and magical order.



When the Erothian Empire began to press their borders and illegally raid their resources, they were forced to act, and what could have ended in a suing for peace with another nation, instead turned to a bitter civil war pitting elven neighbor against elven neighbor, brother against brother, literally when it came to Kith Kanan, who would end up founding Qualinesti, and his twin Sithas who ruled Silvanesti. This cemented the worldview of the Silvanesti elves, xenophobia and isolationism. But if you thought that was the end of it, hold my beer, because we haven’t even gotten to the Cataclysm yet. The Silvanesti were members of the Kingpriests court, but even they were ostracized by souring trade deals and the fanaticism of the Kingpriest, and this is where we first encounter Lorac Caladon. You see, Istar had a Tower of High Sorcery, a beautiful, powerful center of magical study. And this is where Lorac would ultimately travel to in order to take his Test of High Sorcery. 



Yes, Lorac Caladon was a talented magic user. It was commonly understood that Lorac was blessed by Eli for his raw talent and aptitude in the arcane arts. But Lorac was also a handsome, fair skinned, blonde elf of royalty. His piercing blue eyes spoke of intelligence and cunning. It wouldn’t be known at the time, but perhaps us students of history would see that fact that Lorac was the last royal elf to take the Test in Istar as a portent of doom, for after he left,

Lorac Caladon, Speaker of the Stars


Join us as we continue our @Dungeons & Dragons liveplay of Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen with this part twenty-four! You can buy Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen here: https://amzn.to/3V73n8C 




https://youtube.com/live/bZAVZ1EC3Lw




Time Stamps:




* 0:00 Intro 



* 3:38 Chapter 5: The Northern Wastes - City of Lost Names 



* 20:10 Chapter 6: City of Lost Names 



* 47:48 Chapter 6: City of Lost Names - Threshold of the Heavens 



* 2:14:10 Break Begins 



* 2:24:35 Chapter 6: City of Lost Names - Threshold of the Heavens Continued 



* 4:20:01 Outro




Cast of Characters




* Bromly Savisty | Lvl 9 | Human | Cleric / Sorcerer / Divine Soul



* Aamela Panderson | Lvl 9 | Kender | Bard / Barbarian / College of Lore / Path of Wild Magic



* Arizyre the lowly | Lvl 9 | Human | Rogue / Arcane Trickster



* Holgr | Lvl 9 | Gnome | Monk / Way of the Drunken Master




Game Setup



Last time on Shadow of the Dragon Queen: The heroes continued up the Threshold of the Heavens. They were running thin, exhausted and battered, but pressed on nonetheless. They entered The Scrying Room and met the black-robed wizard Lohezet. He tried to make a deal with the party, but the party was fulfilling its promise to kill him from the bone devil Guelfost. The battle turned as they had never encountered a wizard this powerful before, and the party was a hero down. As the charmed Sven was attacking his party, Lohezet went up to the Bridge and told Belephaion, a young blue dragon pretending to be a human priest of the Dark Queen, about the heroes. They all set an ambush for the heroes and as soon as they opened the door to the bridge, all hell broke loose. Despite their valiant efforts, the party was destroyed by the evil priest and wizard of Takhisis, leaving the future of the city of Kalaman and the land of Ansalon as a whole, unknown.



About Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen



Enlist in the War of the Lance 



Takhisis the Dragon Queen has returned to the world of Krynn. Across the land, her armies of fanatical draconians wage a brutal war of conquest. As the Dragon Armies march on the unprepared nation of Solamnia, only the defenders of the city of Kalaman stand in their way. But the Dragon Armies want more than just to crush their foes. An ancient evil in the Dragon Queen’s service seeks a magical weapon that could dominate Krynn for all time. 



Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen is a tale of conflict and defiance set during the legendary War of the Lance.

Edo Van Belkom Interview

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