The City of Lost Names

The City of Lost Names is a tale of the hubris of man, and Chaos, but ultimately a tale of revenge for that hubris. Let’s learn more about The City of Lost Names. Buy War of the Lance: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3164/War-of-the-Lance-35?affiliate_id=50797 

https://youtu.be/C6KFaFxGbYQ

Transcript

Cold Open

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition fundamentally changed the city's origin and purpose, and not for the better.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about The City of Lost Names. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, 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 Dungeon Magazine #86 and the War of the Lance sourcebook for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

As with most stories on Krynn, the tale of the City of Lost Names begins with Chaos. After being trapped in the Graygem, unknowingly by Reorx, Chaos was rightfully enraged. We all know the tale of the Graygem of Gargath, so I won’t reiterate it here, but suffice it to say, Chaos, even trapped in the Graygem, held incredible influence over Krynn and its inhabitants. As we have come to learn, this is not always good or bad, as Chaos itself is neither and both. Krynn held dormant magic from its creation by the gods, but not all mortals were aware of it, or if they were aware, were able to command it. Chaos however was capable of teaching others how to use the wild magic, and in the Age of Dreams, in The Time of Light, in the dense forests of Northern Solamnia, the Graygem taught sorcery to a few select individuals of different races.

These sorcerers believed themselves to be masters over the elements, free from the dominion of the gods, but they were blinded by their own hubris, as they were simply pawns in Chaos’ schemes. You see, Chaos was tortured by being trapped in the Graygem, and had nothing but time. A eons to plan his revenge against the lesser gods who imprisoned him, and the mortals and land of their creation. His plan was to encourage the expansion of sorcery and escape into the River of Time to destroy everything his captors created, and his sorcerers were his willing puppets. Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man sorcery, and he will craft an Anvil of Time for Chaos to destroy Krynn with. Or, I believe the saying goes something like that anyway. 

What Chaos could not see was that the mortals would become fascinated with the Graygem and over time, capture and recapture it, trapping him and his schemes over and over again throughout time. With his waning influence over the sorcerers, their power would grow exponentially, and with it, their pride and desire to showcase that pride. These sorcerers built a massive city in dense forests of Northern Solamnia. The perimeter of this city featured twelve minarets to protect it from intruders. The minarets contained spiraling staircases that rose up thousands of steps. There were incredibly vast plazas and massive ziggurats which rose up into the sky, proclaiming the city’s splendor. Surrounding these immense spaces were wide avenues and lush, beautiful gardens. But that was only the beginning, for floating high above it all, hundreds of feet in the air overlooking the city was an island. Symbolically, this incredible city was a sign that mortals did not need the gods, or were as powerful as them.