Let’s learn about the history of Krynn’s second continent. Taladas is either wholly unknown or misunderstood. But their history is not entirely dissimilar to Ansalon’s. Buy Time of the Dragon: https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/16960/time-of-the-dragon-2e?affiliate_id=50797 

In Taladas, history is not written in ink. It is carved in lava. Whispered through plague. Carried in the smoke of a shattered sky. While Ansalon remembers with parchment… Taladas remembers with scars. Tonight, we cross the sea to the forgotten continent of Krynn — and uncover the history of Taladas.

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam, and today we’re taking a look at the history of the continent of Taladas. I’d like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members and Patreon patrons, and invite you to consider becoming a member or patron–you can even pick up Dragonlance media or get $10 by signing up to StartPlaying.Games using my affiliate links. I’m referencing the Time of the Dragon boxed set for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below.

Today we journey beyond Ansalon… beyond Palanthas and the War of the Lance… to the second great continent of Krynn: Taladas. This is the History of Taladas. In Ansalon, history is carefully chronicled by Astinus in the great tome known as the Iconochronos. Taladas has no such luxury. Most cultures on Taladas rely on oral tradition. Written histories exist primarily among three groups: The gnomes of Hitehkel, The Lost Silvanesti, and The cities of the League.

Even their dating systems are borrowed from Ansalon — using Pri-Cataclysm and Post-Cataclysm conventions brought by the minotaurs and elves who crossed the seas. The gnomes, however, divide history differently: The Birthing Age — from Reorx’s creation of them to the release of the Greygem. The Cursed Age — from the Greygem’s release to the Cataclysm. Reorx’s Gift — the current era. But for clarity, we’ll follow the familiar divisions recorded by Astinus: the Age of Dreams, Light, Might, Darkness, and Dragons.

The Age of Dreams. This is the most mystical era — the age of gods. The gods awaken from the Beyond. The Highfather remains apart but commands his children to create. They establish the Balance — dividing into Good, Evil, and Neutrality to slow Chaos into Order. According to Taladan gnomish tradition, it is here that Reorx begins forging mortal forms. Sparks from his hammer become the stars. Impurities from the forge become the world. This differs from Ansalon’s telling, where Reorx forges Krynn itself.

Before the mortal races can inhabit the world, divine conflict erupts — the All-Saints War. The gods of good argue that spirits must have dominion over the world. Reorx resists, claiming he did not create it for conquest. The evil gods exploit the disagreement, plunging the infant universe into war. It ends only when Blindel — known elsewhere as Habbakuk — convinces Graylord, or Gilean, to reveal secret knowledge to Reorx. Reorx joins the forces of good, and together they drive back evil. The Highfather intervenes to preserve the Balance. The spirits enter their mortal forms. Who came first? The minotaurs claim ogres. The elves claim themselves. Humans say all at once. The gnomes and dwarves insist they were last — the final children of Reorx. Already, we see Taladas’ defining trait: History depends on who is telling it.

The Age of Light. Around 4000 PC, Reorx attempts to teach humans the arts of forge and machine — after already teaching the gnomoi. They disappoint him. In frustration, he curses them, transforming them into the minoi. In Ansalon, these minoi are the gnomes of Mount Nevermind. In Taladas, they are something different — a separate branch of Reorx’s flawed experiment. Then comes the forging of the Grathanich. Atop Mount Garath, Reorx creates a gem of immense magical power, drawing upon Lunias. Udras the Alchemist infuses it with arcane energy. It is gifted to the gnomoi king Aldinanachru. In Ansalon, this gem is known as the Greygem of Gargath. In Taladas, it is the Grathanich. And like in Ansalon, its release changes everything. Tricked by Hiddukel — known here as Hiteh — a minoi releases the gem. It drifts west, warping life wherever it travels. As punishment, Reorx banishes the Kadwar clan to pursue it across Ansalon. When they reach Ansalon, they abandon the minoi name and become the gnomes of Mount Nevermind. Taladas loses them. Ansalon gains them. The continents begin to diverge.

The Age of Darkness — The Cataclysm. Year 0. While Ansalon suffers multiple meteor strikes… Taladas suffers one. A single catastrophic impact tears apart the central plains. The land splits. A molten sea forms at its heart. This begins Hiteh’s Night. For twenty years, ash blocks the sky. Volcanoes erupt. Mountains rise overnight. Seas form where deserts once stood. And then the plagues come. Cholera. Black death. Influenza. Unlike Ansalon, Taladas had never developed strong immunities. Entire populations collapse. Worse still — the priests lose their spells. As in Ansalon, the gods withdraw. But here is where Taladas’ story diverges. In year 21, Mislaxa — known in Ansalon as Mishakal — cannot bear the suffering. She secretly restores power to her faithful priests. But she does so in defiance of the other gods. Her followers must go underground. Thus begins the Mystery Cult of Mislaxa — secret healers operating in shadows while the world burns. Taladas becomes a land where faith survives… but in secrecy.

The Return of Dragons. In 210, Takhisis — called Erestem in Taladas — travels from Ansalon and releases the evil dragons imprisoned beneath the Burning Sea. Unlike in Ansalon, dragons awaken first here — but quietly. Then Hiteh appears, seeking to use the chaos and the fire-filled heart of Taladas to build power. This leads to the Gnomoi War. From 243 to 252, dragons and fire-minions assault the Citadel of Aldinanachru. The gnomoi respond with invention. They design ships capable of sailing lava. The firefleet is born. In 255, they launch an assault on the Tower of Flame at the center of the Burning Sea. They fail to take it — but they terrify their enemies enough to halt major offensives. Taladas survives not through divine intervention. But through ingenuity.

The Oath and the Usurpation. In 296, the evil dragons summon a council and demand neutrality from the good dragons. The Oath is sworn. Meanwhile, Takhisis grows wary of Hiteh’s ambitions. By 315, she usurps his position, absorbing his fire-minions into her own forces. Hiteh retreats to the Void — outmaneuvered by the Queen of Darkness. Taladas becomes a staging ground. A shadow continent preparing for a war that will erupt elsewhere. The Age of Dragons. In 330, dragons depart Taladas en masse to prepare for the War of the Lance in Ansalon. But not all go. Some refuse. These dragons become known as the othlorx — the Uninvolved. They are cursed by Takhisis. When good dragons arrive in 345 searching for their stolen eggs, they are bound by the Oath from interfering in Ansalon’s war. They scour Taladas instead.

In 352, news of the draconian secret frees them from the Oath. Most depart westward. But again — some refuse. These good dragons, unwilling to join the war, are shunned by their kin. They join the othlorx in uneasy neutrality. Taladas becomes the birthplace of something rare in Dragonlance lore: True draconic neutrality. Neither good nor evil. Merely… independent.

What Makes Taladas Different? Taladas is not simply “Ansalon 2.0” It is: A continent shaped by one devastating impact instead of many. A land where plagues nearly erased civilization. A world where faith went underground instead of disappearing entirely. A crucible for dragon neutrality. A battleground fought with lava-ships and secrecy instead of dragonlances and knights. It is harsher. Stranger. More fragmented. And because it lacks an Astinus… Its history remains debated. Contradictory. And Alive.

Taladas is one of the most fascinating yet underexplored corners of Krynn. While Ansalon tells the story of knights, dragonarmies, and the DragonLance…Taladas tells the story of survival. Of secret faith. Of molten seas. And of dragons who chose not to choose.

But that is all the time I have to talk about the history of Taladas. What do you think of this second continent of Krynn? Have you ever explored Taladas in your home games? And finally would you like to learn more about the people and cultures of Taladas? Leave a comment below.

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Cold, hard steel. That’s what I want. No wizard stuff. Bat’s eyes. We’ve got a vault full of them.