Fistandantilus

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Dragonlance character
Fistandantilus
Created by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
First appearance War of the Twins (1986)
Character information
Race Civilized human
Gender Male
Class Wizard of High Sorcery

Fistandantilus is a fictional black-robed wizard, considered by many the greatest in the history in the Wizards of the Coast fictional world of Dragonlance, as created by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Contents

[edit] Background

Little is known about his past, other than elven records already talked about his presence. The first facts about his life are found during the Kingpriest times in Istar. After giving the Kingpriest the means to defeat the Towers of High Sorcery in the Lost Wars, he made a bargain with him in order to gain a place in Istar palace.

Fistandantilus used an amulet named the Bloodstone and a complex spell to drain the life and soul out of mage apprentices. Originally a red robe, Fistandantilus desired a longer life and thus, petitioned Takhisis for a means to extend his stay upon the mortal realm. In exchange for donning the black robes of Nuitari, she awarded him the Bloodstone.

Extreme methods like the previous one and a continuous desire of power and leadership gained Fistandantilus the renegade title. However, such was his power that nobody in the Towers of High Sorcery ever dared to confront him.

He was the inventor of the time travelling spell archwizards and Tower Masters are able to learn.

Indirectly he caused the downfall of Istar. On the day of the Cataclysm, he traveled forward in time along with Pheragas, champion gladiator of the last tournament, and Denubis the priest scribe, appearing in the Tower of High Sorcery of Palanthas.

[edit] The Army of Fistandantilus

During their travel to Thorbardin, Fistandantilus united exiled Knights of Solamnia, Neidar dwarves and different rogues to form the Army of Fistandantilus. With the help of Dewar dwarves, who forsook the Hylar army, Fistandantilus managed to seize the fortress of Pax Tharkas. He had made a treaty with these dwarves, promising them gold and the head of his General, Pheragas, which they would present later to the Hylar clan to gain their forgiveness.

On the following days the Army of Fistandantilus moved south and were engaged by the defenses of Thorbardin in the Plains of Dust. This gave Fistandantilus the time to enter the fortress of Zhaman and locate the hidden Portal. What happened inside is a matter of discussion:

  • After Pheragas' death, Thorbardin's counterattack pushed his army past Zhaman fortress. Being unable to finish the enchantment to take him through the Portal before the dwarves stormed the fortress, Fistandantilus cast a powerful spell that wiped both armies and the fortress from the face of Krynn (as seen in Legends trilogy).
  • To gain more time against Thorbardin's army, Fistandantilus cast four spells. First a spell of fire, then a spell of ice. The third spell, a lightning one, fumbled, never triggered and was trapped in strange circumstances in another dimension. The fourth spell, the strongest, fumbled as well and destroyed both armies and the fortress (as seen in The Gates of Thorbardin).
  • Fistandantilus reached the Portal, and began the casting of his spell along with Denubis. However, at the same time a gnome imprisoned in Thorbardin actived his time machine, which created an opposite force that unbalanced Fistandantilus' spell, destroying the armies and the fortress (also seen in Legends trilogy).

What all theories agree is that the destruction was total. The blast killed everyone, and the fortress of Zhaman crumbled upon itself. The ruins, due its similarity with a skull, received the name of Skullcap.

[edit] Survival

However, his spirit survived the explosion. The books have three references to his afterlife:

  • Fistandantilus' heart was found in Skullcap. Through it, the spirit was able to cast some magic in the mortal world. A religion was created where Fistandantilus was the only god, and spread as these spells were mistook as true miracles.
  • Before the final battle against the archwizard Raistlin Majere, Fistandantilus extracted a portion of his self and kept it apart in a potion, which later was given to a lesser mage. When the mage drank it, Fistandantilus' spirit came back to the mortal world.
  • His body destroyed, the spirit fled to other planes, becoming a lich. There it waited watching the different Tests of High Sorcery, making treats with apprentices that were near failure, giving them some of his power to help them pass the Test in exchange of some of their life energy that allowed him to continue surviving.

Fistandantilus died when Raistlin Majere traveled back in time and faced him as the Master of Past and Present.

[edit] References

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