Cyan Bloodbane (ca. 1060 PC - Summer, 421 AC), also known as K'rshinthintl by dragons, was one of the many dragons hatched from the eggs spread across by Deathfyre in the years before the Third Dragon War. Cyan was a direct descendant of Tyrannus Bloodbane, an infamous green dragon from the earlier days of the Age of Dreams. Despite his exalted lineage, Cyan was something of a weakling among dragons, and utterly lacking in true courage or loyalty. He possessed a mind cunning and subtle even beyond the norm of the green dragons, and he used that to his advantage. Dragons who sought to take advantage of Cyan's weakness found their ire gently redirected towards the young green's other enemies, or making choices that led them to their own dooms.
Age of Dreams[]
Cyan's intellect and talent for manipulation brought him to the attention of Galan Dracos, the Mage of Chaos and chief lieutenant to the Queen of Darkness during the last days of the war. Taking the green under his wing, Dracos used a combination of education and magic to train Cyan in both the arcane arts and in the understanding and domination of mortal races. With the defeat of the Dragon Queen at the end of the war, Cyan was forced into dragonsleep like most of his kindred, but the lessons he had learned from Dracos stayed with him during those centuries of slumber.
Age of Despair[]
When the Dark Queen awakened her children in the Fourth Age, Cyan was at first reluctant to heed her call. Soon, though, he realized that service to the Dragon Queen carried the potential for power, and he joined the ranks of the dragonarmies. He never bore a rider, but used his talents in strategic planning and subversion; only rarely engaging in direct combat. The Queen of Darkness found his talent for corrupting and manipulating others appealing, and when Lorac Caladon of Silvanesti used the Dragon Orb, she ordered Cyan to heed its call. Cyan agreed readily; like many of Ansalon's green dragons, he bore a special hatred for the Silvanesti as usurpers of the green dragons' ancient homelands and as paragons of the Goodness that the wyrms despised.
Cyan entered Silvanesti to find the realm awash in wild magic, its king enspelled by the spirit of the Dragon Orb. Coiling himself around the throne in the Tower of the Stars, he whispered horrifying suggestions and nightmarish tales into Lorac's ear. Lorac's bond to the orb and the land; as well as the power of the ancient artifact, turned the king's nightmares into reality.
Eventually, the Heroes of the Lance broke the spell that the orb had cast over Lorac and drove Cyan Bloodbane from Silvanesti. Retreating to Neraka, Cyan began building a power base among the other dragons, using flattery and deceit to win himself allies. He also found himself fending off challenges from younger, more hot-blooded dragons, who desired to attain status of their own by defeating the old green. Though Cyan managed to avoid most of those fights, he found himself forced into a few; including killing one young red dragon in a quarrel over a deer. The red was, unfortunately for Cyan, a special favorite of the Dark Queen's, and the Mistress of Dragons imprisoned Cyan beneath Neraka--ostensibly for this crime, but some suspect that she had begun to see the cunning and self-interested dragon as a threat to her control over her minions.
Post-War of the Lance[]
At the end of the War of the Lance, Cyan was released from his prison and enslaved by Raistlin Majere. For the next two years, Cyan served as a steed and agent for the Master of Past and Present, being rewarded with arcane lore and magical items. Among those items was a unique amulet that allowed Cyan to conceal his body in a pocket dimension and send forth his soul in mortal guise. Though he detested mortal form, Cyan quickly saw the potential of this item for his plans of vengeance.
After Raistlin died in the Abyss, Cyan returned to Silvanesti, making a lair deep beneath the Tower of Shalost and formulating plans to punish the elves he despised. He refused to participate in the Chaos War, seeing no need to risk himself even for the preservation of the world. Ten years later, he completed his plans and began to stir from his den. Disguising himself as the Silvanesti mage Glaucous, he worked with the elf Rillion Dawnbringer, whom he had encountered and corrupted during the Summer of Chaos, to persuade Military Governor Reyl Konnal to approve their plans for the Silvanesti Shield. The Shield would keep outsiders out of Silvanost, while draining the energy of all others living within it. The Shield's foul magic would slowly kill the elves, reduce the forest to an ashen wasteland, and make Cyan one of the most powerful dragons on Krynn. Relying on Dawnbringer to manipulate Konnal at first, Cyan eventually disposed of his pawn and maneuvered himself into a position as Konnal's chief advisor. During this time, Cyan also let himself be 'discovered' by the elves often enough to keep them afraid and distracted.
War of Souls[]
The War of Souls saw Cyan's schemes approach completion -- and end in disaster. Letting Silvanoshei, son of Alhana Starbreeze and Porthios, into Silvanesti, Cyan managed to assume the position of regent to the young Speaker of the Stars. Only the intervention of Mina, who revealed the dragon for what he truly was, prevented Cyan from attaining total dominion over the dying realm of Silvanesti. Shot down by Silvanesti archers, Cyan crashed into the forest outside Silvanost and was presumed dead by all.
Inconsistencies[]
A couple of sources indicate that Cyan Bloodbane, seduced by Chemosh, has risen from the grave in the form of a dracolich. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.
References[]
- Age of Mortals (Sourcebook), p. 90, 136
- DL10: Dragons of Dreams
- Dragonlance Campaign Setting, p. 210,
- The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Winter Night, p. 606-608, 610, 614
- The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Spring Dawning, p. 1186
- DRAGONLANCE Conspectus
- Dragon Magazine #356, p. 21.
- Dragons of a Fallen Sun, p. 141-143, 530-531, 534
- Dragons of a Vanished Moon Appendix, "Report on the Order of Creation and the Progression of Souls", p. 540
- Dragons of Krynn (Sourcebook), p. 13, 29
- Dragonlance: Fifth Age
- The Legend of Huma, p. 345
- The Sylvan Veil
- Unsung Heroes, "Cyan Bloodbane" writeup
- War of the Lance (Sourcebook), p. 132, 134, 247 (D&D 3.5 stats)