Dragons of Autumn Twilight (dragonlance: Chronicles, #1)

This is the first volume of the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy, set in the fictional world of Krynn, where the ancient gods departed centuries ago after a catastrophic event called the Cataclysm, which reshaped continents and destroyed civilizations.

Five years before the story begins, a group of close friends swore an oath to separate, search for evidence of the true gods, and reunite at the Inn of the Last Home in Solace, a town built in the branches of great vallenwood trees. As the novel opens, the companions gather amid growing tensions: goblin soldiers patrol the streets, and rumors of war spread from the north. Tanis Half-Elven, the group's leader, reunites with the dwarf Flint Fireforge; Tasslehoff Burrfoot, a kender, one of a small, fearless, perpetually curious race; the twins Caramon, a huge warrior, and Raistlin, a frail mage whose golden skin and hourglass-shaped pupils are marks of a magical ordeal that shattered his health but granted him great power; and Sturm Brightblade, a Knight of Solamnia who clings to the code of a disgraced knightly order. Kitiara, the twins' mercenary half-sister and Tanis's love interest, breaks her oath and does not appear.

Sturm arrives with two Plainsmen: Goldmoon, the Chieftain's Daughter of the Que-shu tribe, and Riverwind, her warrior companion. Goldmoon carries a blue crystal staff with miraculous healing powers. When the drunken Hederick, a fanatical local cleric, falls into the fireplace, Tasslehoff strikes him with the staff and the flames vanish instantly. A mysterious old man incites the crowd against the companions, and they flee Solace.

During their flight, Raistlin notices that two constellations have vanished from the sky, which he interprets as a sign that the Queen of Darkness, an evil goddess, has returned to Krynn and war is imminent. On the road, the companions encounter robed figures who prove to be draconians, reptilian winged humanoids never before seen on Krynn. Driven south, the companions enter Darken Wood, where they meet the Forestmaster, a unicorn of great wisdom. She delivers a message: They must reach the ruined city of Xak Tsaroth within two days to receive "the greatest gift given to the world." Raistlin privately warns Tanis that the Queen of Darkness seeks to conquer all of Ansalon, the continent on which Krynn's civilizations lie, and that whatever they find in Xak Tsaroth will prove the enemy's undoing. The Forestmaster summons pegasi to carry them east.

The companions land on the Plains and discover Goldmoon's village destroyed, its buildings melted by unimaginable heat. A warning signed by Verminaard, the Dragon Highlord commanding the invading forces, promises death to those who take prisoners. Traveling through swampland, they reach Xak Tsaroth, a city that fell underground during the Cataclysm. A black dragon named Khisanth erupts from a well and attacks, striking Riverwind with corrosive breath that sears the flesh from his body. Goldmoon, drawn into an intact marble temple by visions, encounters the goddess Mishakal, who reveals that the gods never abandoned humanity; rather, humanity turned from the gods. The Disks of Mishakal, platinum disks containing divine truth, lie in the dragon's lair below. Goldmoon emerges and uses the blessed staff to heal Riverwind completely.

The companions descend into the sunken city, allying with gully dwarves, a wretched enslaved race. The gully dwarf leader betrays them, and Khisanth captures Raistlin, demanding the staff. Goldmoon walks forward and strikes the dragon's claw with the staff. It shatters, releasing an explosion of blue light that destroys both the dragon and Goldmoon. Sturm grabs the Disks as the underground city collapses, and the companions fight their way to the surface. In the temple above, Riverwind finds Goldmoon alive, restored by the goddess. She is now a true cleric of Mishakal with the power of healing, charged with delivering the Disks to a leader who can unite the peoples of Krynn. As they flee west, they see Solace burning on the horizon.

Returning to Solace, the companions find the town destroyed by red dragons and occupied by draconian forces under Lord Verminaard. At the ruined Inn, they encounter Gilthanas, an elven lord and Tanis's childhood companion. Fewmaster Toede, a hobgoblin officer, arrives with troops and captures the group. Locked in a slave caravan bound for the fortress of Pax Tharkas, they meet Fizban, an apparently senile old magician with strange and unexplained powers. Goldmoon heals the blacksmith Theros Ironfeld, whose arm was severed for helping elves escape.

Elven warriors ambush the caravan. After a chaotic escape, the companions reach Qualinost, the elven capital, which is preparing for evacuation. The Speaker of the Suns, ruler of the Qualinesti elves, explains that a dragonarmy at Pax Tharkas blocks the elves' westward flight. He asks the companions to infiltrate the fortress through a secret passage called the Sla-Mori, free the enslaved humans, and incite a revolt to draw the army away. Tanis confronts painful memories: Laurana, the Speaker's daughter, was secretly betrothed to him in childhood and still loves him, but Tanis tells her he loves another. Laurana secretly follows the group into the passage.

Inside the Sla-Mori, Tanis claims the enchanted sword Wyrmslayer from the tomb of Kith-Kanan, the greatest elven king. Within Pax Tharkas, Tasslehoff and Fizban are separated from the group and overhear the red dragon Pyros conversing with a hooded traitor from among the companions. The traitor reveals the group's plans, but Pyros is more interested in a mysterious prisoner called the Green Gemstone Man, whom the Queen of Darkness has been seeking across Krynn.

Below, Goldmoon heals Elistan, a dying member of the Highseekers, Haven's former ruling religious council, and wins his devotion to the true gods. Disguised, the companions alert the enslaved men to revolt. At dawn, they evacuate the children past Matafleur, an ancient, half-mad red dragon who believes the children are her lost offspring.

The revolt erupts. The fortress's defense mechanism is triggered, and massive boulders seal the gates. Eben Shatterstone, a human fighter who joined the group in the Sla-Mori, is revealed as the traitor when he tries to flee with Berem, the Green Gemstone Man. Both are crushed beneath the falling boulders. As Berem's shirt tears, the companions glimpse a green gemstone embedded in his chest.

Verminaard, riding Pyros, threatens the freed slaves. Matafleur, believing her children are endangered, attacks the larger dragon and rams Pyros into the mountainside. The peak explodes, killing Matafleur. Verminaard falls into the courtyard and faces the companions alone. Using dark clerical powers, he strikes down Raistlin, blinds Caramon, and paralyzes Tanis and Sturm. Goldmoon grasps Verminaard's wrist, channeling Mishakal's power. The Queen of Darkness withdraws her support from her cleric, and the paralysis breaks. Tanis drives Wyrmslayer into Verminaard's back while Sturm delivers the killing blow.

The freed slaves escape south into the mountains. On the last day of autumn, Riverwind and Goldmoon marry in a ceremony presided over by Elistan. During the feast, Tanis and Sturm glimpse a man who appears to be Berem, alive despite being crushed, but he vanishes. Raistlin declares there is no hope: More dragons will come, and without the Dragonlance, a legendary dragon-slaying weapon associated with the ancient knight Huma, they cannot win. He dismisses hope as "the denial of reality." The companions plan to travel south to the seaport of Tarsis the Beautiful to find ships. But Tasslehoff, overhearing the conversation, resolves to keep hoping. A single white feather drifts from the sky into the kender's hand, a quiet echo of Fizban's spell and a small sign that hope endures.