Stories told to children. Fables of a time long past. Creatures of myth and legend, the great dragons that once thundered across the surface of Krynn had left the world centuries before. Before the rise of Istar, before the Cataclysm, before the departure of the gods, and before the shattered remnants of civilization huddled in the Age of Darkness, the gods' mightiest children had been forgotten and dismissed.

Despite the disbelief of the mortals, dragons returned to Krynn with the gods and once again set Krynn ablaze with the flames of war. The shadow of darkness nearly swallowed the land until a mighty, ancient weapon was rediscovered. This mighty weapon gave hope and faith to the forces of good and struck a mighty blow to the unsuspecting dragonarmies. This weapon was the Dragonlance.

With the Dragonlance, the forces of good managed to take back their lands from the minions of the Dark Queen. Dragons still graced Krynn's soil, but it seemed like a tentative peace had settled over the land.

However, Takhisis, the Dark Queen, had learned from her past mistakes. She created a knightly order of dark paladins dedicated to serving her. These Knights of Takhisis caught the bickering forces of good off guard and once again war split the land asunder.

The Irda, a proud and ancient ogre race, were determined to protect themselves from the growing evil in the land. They captured the legendary Graygem, whose chaotic magic had been responsible for creating many of the creatures that now roamed Krynn, and decided to use its magic to protect them. They split open the gem and released oblivion upon Krynn. They released the Father of All and Nothing. They released the creator of the gods. They released Chaos.

Chaos threatened to cast Krynn back into nothingness, but the gods protected their world. Mortals and immortals alike fought agaisnt Chaos and his terrible minions. The Father of All and Nothing left terrible scars on the world and claimed many lives, but, in the end, Chaos was driven back.

With him, he took the gods. With the gods, left all magic. Once again, the inhabitants of Krynn were godless and forsaken. Paladine decreed the new age the Age of Mortals. Mortals would have to learn to live and prosper without gods to turn to. Slowly and surely, the inhabitants of Krynn adjusted and began to rebuild their lives.

Then the dragons came once more. They came from the East, from past the great Courrain Ocean. They were larger and more fierce than the native Ansalonian wyrms and even attacked their own kind. Called the Dragon Purge, the native dragons and the foreign dragons warred. The victors claimed the magical essence within the loser.

Armed with terrible magic, the dragons carved up the land for themselves and became Overlords. The inhabitants of Krynn were powerless to stop the powerful wyrms.

Still, hope glowed faintly in what seemd like a never-ending darkness.

A new form of magic was discovered. A new organization dedicated to righteousness arose. Hope slowly grew in the ashes of a despairing land.

Dangers mounted even as hope grew. The Knights of Takhisis still held power in the land. The dragons, though fewer in number, were now tremendously powerful. Even the new magic seemed powerless to turn the tide of fate.

Still, the people wait for a sign. Still, the people wait for a weapon. The people wait for the power of the Dragonlance.

The people wait for heroes.