History Literature / KingpriestTrilogy

%%* OurElvesAreDifferent: No points for guessing at Quarath's disposition.

* [[RaiseDead RaiseUndead]]: The cult of Chemosh's MO.

* WhatIf: The short story "There Is Another Shore You Know, Upon the Other Side" (in the ''Dragons of Chaos'' collection) and [[http://www.dragonlance.com/downloads/LegendsWeb4.pdf this scenario]] cover what would have happened if Beldinas ''succeeded'' in his plan. In the former [[spoiler:the gods are reduced to human (albeit immortal) forms and tortured eternally]]; in the latter [[spoiler:the former traitor turned High Protector of the Faith is [[{{Brainwashed}} Cathan the "Thrice-Born"]]]].

* IllGirl: Wentha, Cathan's little sister. After Beldyn heals her, she goes on to be an important recurring character.

* PragmaticVillainy: Fistandantilus is a ruthless manipulator, but he does it

In the mighty Empire of Istar, the Kingpriest has had a vision of his own death, and a high priestess goes on a quest to find his successor, guided by a prohpecy. She finds [[MessianicArchetype Brother Beldyn]], a wise-beyond-his-years young monk with incredible supernatural healing powers and believes that he must be [[TheChosenOne the Lightbringer]]. Other events are afoot, however, including a plague that leaves the Empire on the brink of civil war, a young bandit named Cathan, whose destiny is bound with Beldyn's, and the [[HiddenAgendaVillain mysterious]] [[EvilSorcerer sorcerer]] Fistandantilus, who has a centuries-spanning EvilPlan of his own nearing fruition.

* AlasPoorVillain: Andras is a weirdly pathetic figure at the end, as is [[spoiler: Beldinas, if you count him as a villain]].

** [[invoked]]Wentha is NeutralGood
** [[invoked]]Leciane is TrueNeutral
** [[invoked]]Kurnos is LawfulEvil
** [[invoked]]Andras is ChaoticEvil
** [[invoked]]Fistandantilus is NeutralEvil
** [[invoked]]Quarath is NeutralEvil that thinks it's LawfulGood
* {{Chessmaster}}: Fistandantilus.

* DiscOneFinalBoss: Kurnos.

** FaceDeathWithDignity / RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Beldinas, possibly.]]
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Beldinas.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Andras. "I never meant for this to happen. I only wanted revenge..." Also, [[spoiler: Beldinas, when Paladine comes to punish.]]

* ReligionOfEvil: Several show up, worshipping [[GodOfEvil dark gods]]; they're portrayed more like cults of fringe lunatics than anything majorly widespread, however.

* TheScottishTrope: Nobody likes saying Fistandantilus's name- they mostly call him "Dark One" along with a handful of other epithets.

* [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu Did You Just Flip Off Draco Paladin]]

* IncorruptiblePurePureness: What convinces Ilista that Beldyn is the Lightbringer. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted in that he ''isn't'' incorruptable, just corruptable in [[KnightTemplar a different way than usual]].]]

* ProphecyTwist: Everyone things Beldinas is [[MessianicArchetype the Lightbringer]]. [[spoiler: It's really Cathan all along, and he ends up sacrificing himself to save the only complete copy of the setting's Bible from ''Beldinas himself'']].

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Fistandantilus does this a lot, though its less about cruelty and more about covering his tracks.

* OurElvesAreBetter: No points for guessing at Quarath's disposition.

* AGodAmI: [[spoiler: Both Fistandantilus and Beldinas himself pursue this in ''Sacred Fire''. Neither succeeds, but their actions set up much of the setting's future]].

In the mighty Empire of Istar, the Kingpriest has had a vision of his own death, and a high priestess goes on a quest to find his successor, guided by a prohpecy. She finds [[MessianicArchetype Brother Beldyn]], a wise-beyond-his-years young monk with incredible supernatural healing powers and believes that he must be [[TheChosenOne the Lightbringer]]. Other events are afoot, however, including a plague that leaves the Empire on the brink of civil war, a young bandit named Cathan, whose destiny is bound with Beldyn's, and the [[HiddenAgendaVillain mysterious]] [[EvilSorcerer sorcerer]] [[MagnificentBastard Fistandantilus]], who has a centuries-spanning EvilPlan of his own nearing fruition.

* DownerEnding: Hoo boy (though it pretty much had to be considering how ''Chronicles'' opens). Beldinas has been prevented from [[spoiler: ascending to godhood and wrecking the balance]], but the world is in ruins and almost all the main characters are dead, to say nothing of untold millions of others we don't get to know by name. Oh, and [[VillainExitStageLeft Fistandantilus gets away too]], but he's not ''quite'' a KarmaHoudini because we know exactly what his Magnificent Bastardry wil get him in the end- a grisly death at the hand of the one Bastard in Krynnish history more Magnificent than he is.

Prequel to the main ''{{Dragonlance}}'' novel series, focusing on the titular KnightTemplar who brought about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt 350 years (approx.) before ''Dragons of Autumn Twilight''.

* RaiseUndead: The cult of Chemosh's MO.

* HeelRealization / MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: The Kingpriest ''does realize'' [[MoralEventorizon what he has done]], [[ApocalypseHow and what his actions will lead to]], when Paladine himself comes to punish him, and begs him for forgiveness, but is rejected. That leads to...]]

* AlasPoorVillain: Andras is a wierdly pathetic figure at the end, as is [[spoiler: Beldinas, if you count him as a villain]].
* BigBad: Fistandantilus

** [[invoked]]Beldinas and the Knights of the Divine Hammer are extreme and deconstructed LawfulGood

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Beldinas

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Andras. "I never meant for this to happen. I only wanted revenge..."

In the mighty Empire of Istar, the Kingpriest has had a vision of his own death, and a high priestess goes on a quest to find his successor, guided by a prohpecy. She finds [[TheMessiah Brother Beldyn]], a wise-beyond-his-years young monk with incredible supernatural healing powers and believes that he must be [[TheChosenOne the Lightbringer]]. Other events are afoot, however, including a plague that leaves the Empire on the brink of civil war, a young bandit named Cathan, whose destiny is bound with Beldyn's, and the [[HiddenAgendaVillain mysterious]] [[EvilSorcerer sorcerer]] [[MagnificentBastard Fistandantilus]], who has a centuries-spanning EvilPlan of his own nearing fruition.

* TheCaligula: Beldinas, by the end, is ''completely'' insane. Somewhat subverted in that he still has the charisma to make everyone think he's still TheMessiah.

* TheEmpire: Istar is a relatively benevolent example, but things get worse after ''TheMessiah'', of all people, takes the throne...

* TheMessiah: deconstructed

* AllTheMyriadWays: The short story "There Is Another Shore You Know, Upon the Other Side" (in the ''Dragons of Chaos'' collection) and [[http://www.dragonlance.com/downloads/LegendsWeb4.pdf this scenario]] cover what would have happened if Beldinas ''succeeded'' in his plan. In the former [[spoiler:the gods are reduced to human (albeit immortal) forms and tortured eternally]]; in the latter [[spoiler:the former traitor turned High Protector of the Faith is [[{{Brainwashed}} Cathan the "Thrice-Born"]]]].

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Several. Beldyn breaking the bridge, Tithian killing the Deathmaster, Cathan ''snarking off'' to Fistandantilus, Ilista nearly destroying the shadow demon, etc.

* MagnificentBastard: Fistandantilus, oh yes...

* MoralEventHorizon: Beldinas setting up mind-readers throughout his empire to make sure people can ''only'' think good thoughts. He'd been teetering on the edge for a while, but this attempt to control the very thoughts of his people is what proves that the idealistic young monk from ''Chosen of the Gods'' is truly dead, consumed by the fanatical KnightTemplar.

* NightmareFuel: Andras's situation at the end of ''Divine Hammer''. [[spoiler: He's directly responsible for causing the Kingpriest's assault on the Towers of High Sorcery, which results in the destruction of two of the towers and the deaths of hundreds of his fellow wizards. He ends up trapped for weeks in [[TailorMadePrison Fistandantilus's stripped, abandoned underground base]], with no idea where he actually is and no ability to teleport out. [[ReducedToRatburgers The only food and drink he has are the noisome liquid in the base's summoning pool]] ''[[ReducedToRatburgers and the demons he summons out of it]]''. There's a brief HopeSpot for him when The Dark One returns...but he's only there to [[GrandTheftMe steal his body for his next incarnation.]]]]