The River of time is said to be unalterable, but with five different ages of Krynn, I would say it is more malleable than suggested.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and I am going to discuss the Five ages of Krynn with you. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to this channel, ring the bell, and you can further help this channel, and pick up Dragonlance Gaming materials, using my affiliate link in the description below. Dragonlance is most famous for it’s War of the Lance, set in the Age of Despair with the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy of novels, but what set the stage for those events, and where did they lead? Let’s get a birds eye view of the Five Ages of Krynn.

Discussion

First and Foremost, I am compelled to introduce you to Astinus of Palanthus. Dragonlance’s Deities are able to take many forms, so it’s difficult to delineate the line between Astinus the chronicler of history with Gilean, the god of knowledge. Still gods are known to take the forms of Avatars and walk amongst the mortals of Krynn, so he might be Gilean’s Avatar, and still there are rumors that he is Gilean’s son. Regardless of the truth, Astinus’ Iconochronos is his immortal life's work, and he makes note of everything that happens with his sacred order of monks, the Aesthetics.

After the Chaos War at the end of the Age of Despair, Astinus vanished and his work at the Great Library of the Ages was picked up by Bertrem of Palanthus. It isn’t so clear as to Astinus’ fate, as there is a mysterious Herald that wanders the land with intimate knowledge of Krynn’s history in the Age of Mortals. Some believe this may be an Astinus with Amnesia, and others perhaps a mortal gifted by the god Palatine.

History is referenced by the First Cataclysm, when the gods hurled a mountain at Krynn and changed its destiny irrevocably. Dates are referenced with PC or Prae Cataclius, and AC or Alt Cataclius.  After the Chaos War, some Aesthetics began using SC or Secundus Cataclius, but Bertrem maintains Astinus’ dating system, and so will we. By way of breaking the fourth wall on events and dates, the reality is that different creators have worked on the same campaign setting over decades, so it’s easy to find past publications with conflicting events and dates. I am referencing the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition, Dragonlance Campaign Setting as it is the latest reference point. That may all change with the Fifth Edition of Dragonlance rumored to come, but for now, this is the most up to date reference that I am aware of. If you have different sources I would be very interested in hearing about them. But, getting back into it, all of our knowledge of Krynn’s history is thanks to Astinus and Bertrem after him. So let's raise a glass to them both, and dive into the Five Ages of Krynn.

We begin with the Age of Starbirth. It is when the gods first created Krynn and populated it with its original species. The high god awakens and records the plans for this new creation in the Tobril, the book of all truth. He calls out to his children for aid in creating this world and brother and Sister, Paladine and Takhisis answer. The high god summons Gliean to be the bearer of the Tobril and maintain neutrality in this new creation. Each god of Good, Evil and Neutrality summon their own supporters and together embody the pantheon of deities and begin creation.

Reorx shapes the world into being, the other gods begin to populate it, Paladine and Takhisis have Reorx forge five rulers of the world, the five metallic dragons, Takhisis corrupts them and creates the five chromatic dragons. This begins the All Dragons war,