The Citadel is a fantasy novel by Richard A. Knaak. It is the third in the Classics series of unrelated novels.
The book covers how the red robed wizard Tyros, cleric of Branchala Serene, veteran soldier Bakal, and the kender Rapp save Northern Ergoth from a new flying citadel created after the War of the Lance.
Blurb[]
To be filled in
Chronology & Geography[]
The story takes place between the War of the Lance and the Blue Lady's War (i.e., after the Chronicles series and before the Legends series).
The action begins in the city of Gwynned in Northern Ergoth. The characters travel through Southlund, Kaolyn, Lemish, and Qwermish. They sail across New Sea, the Straits of Schallsea, the Cape of Caergoth, and the Sirrion Sea. Most of the story takes place in Gwynned, the short mountains east of Gwynned that do not appear on maps, the port city of Norwych on an island in the Straits of Schallsea, aboard the Harpy, and in Castle Atriun.
Characters[]
Major Characters[]
- Tyros, red robe, immaculate, attractive, neat trimmed beard, no mustache, light brown hair, deep brown eyes, promising combat mage, researching flying fortresses
- Marcus Cadrio, General, was chief officer of the black dragon highlord (presumably Lucien of Takar), deathly gray eyes, lanky, vulpine, wants to be emperor
- Valkyn of Culthairai, former red robe, currently renegade black robe, researching flying fortresses, narrow blue eyes, black hair with touches of gray, youthful, widow peak and pointed sideburns, goatee, always smiling
- Zander, chief aide to Cadrio, immaculate, cat-like, follows orders to the letter
- Murk & Eclipse, twin black dragons, young adults
- Sunfire & Glisten, mated gold dragons, mature adults
- Bakal, army captain, liaison to the wizards in Gwynned, veteran, chiseled features, heavily scarred, ponytail and short beard, darker skin but not as dark as most Northen Ergothians
- Stone, leader of the woodland gargoyle flock
- Crag, leader of the mountain gargoyle flock, larger with three horns
- Serene, cleric of Branchala, graceful, red hair, green eyes, yellow robes with green trim
- Rapp (short for Rapscallion), kender, caring, raises griffons
Minor Characters[]
- Leot, fat balding white robe, slovenly, disorganized and inattentive, social and popular, almost 30 years old but looks almost 60
- Timinion, one of Cadrio's senior officers
- Lemual, Valkyn's assistant, priest of Takhisis, pig faced, obese, groveling
- Rudolpho, black mage in Cadrio's army
- Neomidas of Estwilde who wrote about turning gold to steel 200 years previous
- Borlius of Palanthus, white robe, died just before Leot joined the order
- Grako, one of Cadrio's senior officers
- Kelner, a city guard in Gwynned
- Kendilious, a red robe in Gwynned, cranky, old, bald
- Sesk, youngest of Cadrio's personal guard
- Syl, one of Cadrio's personal guard
- General Krynos, brother of Valkyn, almost 7 ft tall, chief officer of the black dragon highlord until he died of a plague
- Elfrim, one of Sunfire and Glisten's dragon riders, honorable, probably part Elf
- Simon, one of Bakal's men, horse handler
- Bakal's soldiers: Mirko, Garon, Frankel, Galan, Korbius, and seven others
- the griffons: Taggi, Sharpclaw, and four others
Plot Summary[]
General Marcus Cadrio, aboard the Harpy in the Sirron Sea, leading a fleet of ships, two black dragons, and two flying citadels, approaches Gwynned. His army is a large portion of the remainder of the Black Dragonarmy. The storm makes his crew nervous. He orders a full attack on Gwynned.
In Gwynned, the red wizard Tyros and white wizard Leot are studying. The battle horns blow. Leot joins the battle while Tyros watches the flying fortress battle. The gold dragons Sunfire and Glisten arrive with riders. They follow the plan Tyros has devised and destroy the wind captain's chair in one tower. The golds then fight the black dragons. The uncontrolled flying fortress careens into the sea. Draconians descend on the wizard tower. Leot returns to rescue Tyros. One of the black dragons hits the wizards tower causing it to collapse. A gargoyle appears and captures Tyros.
Cadrio's army is soundly defeated. They retreat for an island they believe is empty and safe. The wizard Valkyn arrives suddenly and re-extends his offer of alliance with Cadrio. Cadrio reluctantly accepts. They change course to New Sea, heading for the province of Atriun, five days east of Lemish.
Tyros wakes in the temple of Mishikal in Gwynned. Captain Bakal, army liaison to the wizards of Gwynned, debriefs him and takes him to see the corpse of a gargoyle. Bakal believes that a second gargoyle killed the one that tried to capture Tyros. Leot's body has not been found. The old red wizard Kendilious was seen carried off by a gargoyle. Two other red robes in the region have disappeared recently. Tyros tries to get the leadership of the army or the city to follow the remaining flying citadel, but no one is interested. Bakal sets up a meeting with Sunfire. They go to a tavern and meet Serene, a cleric of Branchala. She is searching for something. Tyros tries to follow her and encounters a gargoyle. Bakal dispatches it. He thinks it was trying to capture the cleric. Tyros meets with Sunfire and Glisten. They refuse to help because Glisten is about to lay eggs. Bakal goes to investigate a kender sighting in Gwynned. He finds a griffon that escapes before anyone else sees it. Tyros finds that Serene has snuck past his spells and is waiting in his inn room. They exchange stories. Serene is searching for her lost love, who was a red wizard studying flying fortresses, and believes Cadrio has him because she received a vision from Branchala where she saw Cadrio, a flying citadel, and gargoyles. Bakal meets with Tyros and Serene and agrees to put a squad of soldiers together to find Cadrio and his flying fortress. They meet in the short mountains to the east. Serene introduces the kender Rapp and the 8 griffons he has raised. Everyone reluctantly agrees to ride the griffons. They fly toward New Sea, spending the night near the Kayolin, and then head to Norwych.
Cadrio and his personal guard disembark and go to Castle Atriun, in an uncontrolled region of Old Solamnia. They meet Valkyn and his priest assistant Lemual. They see that Valkyn controls about 200 gargoyles. Screams echo in the castle; Valkyn says not to worry about it. The next day, Valkyn and Lemual perform the ceremony to raise castle Atriun into the sky. Lemual dies in the process, as Valkyn expected. Valkyn and the gargoyles go to the fortress. Valkyn tells the furious Cadrio to meet him with his fleet at Norwych. Cadrio and his fleet sail and hide behind Three Sisters Rock near Norwych. Castle Atriun descends on the city, surrounded by a controlled storm. Cadrio's flying fortress moves up beside it. Two silver dragons attack. Valkyn uses the storm to kill one. Murk and Eclipse kill the other. Valkyn destroys Cadrio's flying fortress with lightning and rains rubble all over the city, destroying it. The gargoyles and Cadrio's army descend on the city, looting the ruins. Valkyn orders Cadrio to sail for the south coast of Northern Ergoth and await orders.
Tyros and his team scout Norwych and determine what happened. They see the black dragons, the fleet, and the flying Castle of Atriun. Stone spots Tyros and follows him. Stone kidnaps Tyros in the night and explains that he was the one who rescued Tyros in Gwynned. Stone says his flock wants it's freedom and tells Tyros how to infiltrate Castle Atriun. Eclipse captures Stone and brings him to Cadrio. Valkyn offers to ally with him and kill Valkyn. Stone tells Cadrio how to infiltrate Castle Atriun. Cadrio sets sail. Valkyn arrives to give more orders. Timinion tries to assassinate him, but it's an illusion. Valkyn kills Timinion horrifically and leaves his orders.
Bakal and Rapp leave on the griffon Taggi to tell Sunfire and Glisten what is happening. Tyros, Serene, the soldiers, and the other griffons follow Castle Atriun. When the gold dragons arrive, no longer carrying eggs, the Castle turns to attack Tyros' group. Lightning kills a griffon and two soldiers. Tyros and Serene approach the Wind Captain's Chair in the tallest tower. Bakal falls from Sunfire but is caught by Rapp and Taggi. Sunfire is horribly wounded by lightning and loses a wing. Glisten is disintegrated. Sunfire lands in the water and returns to Gwynned. Tyros enters the Wind Captain's chamber and sees that Kendilious has been drained of life and merged into the control mechanism. Tyros and Serene are captured by gargoyles. Bakal and Rapp regroup with the soldiers in the stables. Gargoyles capture the griffons. After losing two more soldiers, Bakal's group escapes through a trap door the gargoyles can't fit into. They explore the catacombs and lose another soldier to a trap. They meet with one of Stone's gargoyles. Stone comes to meet them. Stone agrees to rescue Tyros if Bakal's group stops Valkyn.
Valkyn meets with Serene and Tyros. He curses Tyros with excruciating pain every time he thinks of magic. Serene indicates that Valkyn is her lost love; She is horrified by this. Valkyn explains himself and his creation. Valkyn takes them to see the power chamber. There are two pillars. Leot is suspended between them. The pillars are siphoning off Leot's life force to power the citadel and Valkyn. Leot is nearly dead. Nearby are shadow servants, wizards who have already been drained by the pillars. Valkyn knocks Tyros out. Serene questions him and he curses her to faint whenever she thinks of Branchala.
Cadrio arrives on the coast of Northern Ergoth and plans an attack while he waits for the citadel to arrive. Tyros is saved from his cell and taken to Bakal by Stone. Tyros grabs a Solamnic sword in the crypt. Tyros heads for the power chamber and Bakal and Rapp's group head for the Wind Captain's Chair. Valkyn meets Cadrio and gives him the full battle plan. His army is to march on Gwynned through the hills. Zander leads the army into the hills. Tyros makes it to the power chamber. He releases Leot, ending power to the storm. He fights the shadow servants. Leot saves him one more time before dying. Tyros finds Serene. They see the black dragons approaching. Valkyn arrives, teleports Serene to a different chamber, and defeats Tyros. Cadrio, his black mage, and a squad fly to the castle as the storm breaks. Bakal's group climbs the stairs to the Wind Captain's Chair. They lose another soldier to a trap and are then surrounded and captured by gargoyles. Rapp escapes. Cadrio, his black mage, and eight troops arrive in the courtyard. Murk melts the front door. Both dragons head back to the ships for reinforcements. The storm re-appears and lightning kills Murk. Cadrio's group enters. The black mage is killed and they are surrounded by a wall of fire. Valkyn attaches Tyros to the power columns and gloats. Serene cannot figure out what to do. Rapp sneaks in and the discuss. Rapp goes to rescue Tyros and Serene overcomes her curse and reconnect with Branchala.
Valkyn and Cadrio contact Zander and change the marching orders again. Eclipse is depressed but agrees to be Zander's mount in the battle. The defeated Cadrio discusses strategy with Valkyn. They have Crag bring Bakal and his soldiers for interrogation.
Rapp finds Stone in a cell. Valkyn has removed Stone's wings. Rapp frees him, but Stone doesn't move until Rapp mentions that Serene is a cleric and might be able to heal him. Stone runs off to find Serene. Rapp fights past two shadow servants and finds Tyros. The manacles are trapped, so Rapp takes the Solamnic sword and starts hacking the chains loose from the marble pillars. Bakal won't answer Cadrio and Valkyn's questions, so Valkyn has Crag brutally kill the remaining two soldiers in front of him. The Ergothians begin their attack with catapults. Sunfire, flightless, enters the battlefield. Catapults hit the castle, tilting it. Bakal escapes out the balcony and onto roof of the stables. He falls through before Crag can grab him. Bakal runs for the Wind Captain's Chair. Valkyn sends Cadrio to find Bakal, then focuses lightning on the Ergothian forces.
Stone finds Serene. She and Branchala restore Stone's wings. Stone goes to tell his flock that rebellion time has come. Serene plays a song to take control of the storm around the castle. Zander and Eclipse attack Sunfire. They wear him down with hit and run tactics. The storm begins attacking the citadel. Crag, looking for Bakal, finds Serene and tries to make her stop her song. Stone returns to defend her and kills Crag. Bakal sneaks past traps into the Wind Captain's chamber. Cadrio watches how to bypass the traps and follows. They duel. Bakal kills the Wind Captain and breaks the controls, sending the citadel out of control. Cadrio falls out of the tower to his death.
Valkyn goes to the power chamber thinking Tyros took control of the storm. He kills Rapp as Tyros gets free. Tyros hits him with a manacle and realizes the curse preventing his magic is gone. Valkyn vanishes. Tyros teleports Rapp's body to the courtyard. Valkyn finds Serene and kills Stone. Tyros arrives. The citadel collides with a mountain. Serene throws Valkyn's wand out the window. Valkyn teleports away. Tyros and Serene find Bakal at the stables and they free the four remaining griffons. Valkyn gains control of the citadel again.
Zander and Eclipse leave the gold dragon to reinforce the battle lines. Valkyn orders Zander to capture Serene and kill the griffons. Tyros returns to the power chamber to confront Valkyn. Serene and Bakal leave with the griffons. The griffons find Rapps body and take it with them. Zander and Eclipse attack. Serene and the griffon Taggi lure the dragon away so Bakal and the other griffons can escape. They hide in a cave underneath the citadel. The dragon waits outside. Tyros charges his staff and breaks the crystal atop the pillar. The explosion begins destroying the citadel. Valkyn's magic backfires and he is crushed under rubble. Collapsing portions of the citadel hit Zander and Eclipse and they both fall to their deaths. Bakal and Serene regroup and grab Tyros in the air as the citadel begins to fall onto the former Black Dragonarmy.
Tyros, wearing white robes now, holds a funeral with Serene and the griffons for Rapp in the forest where Rapp raised the griffons. Serene plans to stay with the griffons. Tyros plans to debrief the Wizards' Conclave and then return to the area. Bakal has been promoted to the senior general's aide. Stone's flock of gargoyles comes by to pay respects. Tyros and Serene hope to meet again.
Importance to Dragonlance[]
The novel describes what happened to a portion of the Black Dragonarmy, including two of its flying fortresses, after the War of the Lance. It describes the activities of some of the wizards involved in researching flying fortresses. It describes a ruined Solamnic castle east of Gwynned.
Trivia[]
- Cadrio possessed a Wizards Seeing Glass, which is like a ship’s spy glass which can see through storms as if they were not there.
- The city guard of Gwynned wear sea green breastplates.
- The Sea Maiden's Lament is a tavern in Gwynned, frequented by army officers and dock workers.
- Ariakas had come up with the design for the flying fortresses in the War of the Lance.
- Three Sisters Rock is three large pillars of rock in the Straits of Schallsea visible from Norwych. It is considered unlucky by sailors.
- Castle Atriun was built by an eccentric, possibly insane, Knight of Solamnia. It is unusually large, incorporates magical lighting, and is built of stone from very far away. The crypts hold very few bodies, indicating that something abruptly ended habitation of the castle.
- In some gargoyle flocks, a new leader takes the name of the old leader.
Release details[]
- Richard A. Knaak (2000). The Citadel (Paperback), Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1683-4.