Mina (Dragonlance)

DL character
name = Mina
alignment = Neutral good or neutral evil


caption = Mina standing near the body of Takhisis.
class = Cleric
title =

Dragonslayer

Saver of the Silvanesti

Goddess of Tears
race = Deity
gender = Female
creator = Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
debut = Citadel of Light (July 1998)

Mina is a fictional character from the Dragonlance universe. She is neither a God of Light nor a God of Darkness. Mina's horse, Foxfire, is blood red and is very loyal to Mina. Silvanoshei, the elven king of Silvanesti, falls in love with her. After spending time with Goldmoon, Mina leaves to find the gods that Goldmoon said had left the world.

Mina has long, dark red hair, but the One God, who is in fact Takhisis, commands her to shave it off in order to make sure that Mina's focus stayed on Takhisis and not on her looks. Mina is tall and in good shape, and has amber eyes. She speaks Common and Silvanesti Elven.

Mina was originally the daughter to Mishakal, but because she was an extra God of Light, and this would upset the balance, she was kept hidden, and frozen in a nearly eternal slumber. Due to the interference with Takhisis during the War of Souls, she was released and convinced that she was human [explained by Majere in "Amber and Iron"] (this is also why she was able to retain her powers while Takhisis was siphoning off the powers of all mortals during the War of Souls). [as shown in "Dragons of a Lost Star"]

Early life

Mina is first found by a fisherman, washed up on the shores of Schallsea, at age nine. She is taken to Goldmoon at the Citadel of Light, a holy place Goldmoon has built to teach, and is adopted by her. [introduced in "Amber and Ashes" and "Dragons of a Fallen Sun"] Mina left Goldmoon when the gods had vanished to search for them. ["Dragons of a Fallen Sun"]

Priesthood to the One God

Mina is successful in finding a god, the "One God" of Krynn. It is later revealed that the god she found was Takhisis. Takhisis has stolen away the world from the other gods, making her the only god on Krynn. [explained in further detail in "Dragons of a Vanished Moon"]

Using Mina as her own dark paladin, Takhisis raises an army at the service of Mina and herself, the One God. Because of Mina's splendor, beauty, and wit, many different races fall to the worship of the One God. The adored elf king Silvanoshei has fallen in love with Mina, and her trusted general is a minotaur named Galdar. [all such events occur within "Dragons of a Fallen Sun"]

Mina also quickly takes control of the Dark Knights of Neraka, once known as the Dark Knights of Takhisis. With so much support, Takhisis is able to initiate her master plan, the destruction of the Dragon Overlords and the seizing of all power on Krynn. With the help of Raistlin Majere and Tasslehoff Burrfoot, the gods return to the world and punish Takhisis by revoking her godhood, making her mortal. Takhisis is then killed by Silvanoshei, who is killed in turn by Mina. ["Dragons of a Vanished Moon"]

Beloved of Chemosh

After Takhisis dies, Mina converts to Chemosh, God of Death. She becomes his High Priestess and lover. After getting captured by some of Nuitari's wizards, she manages to escape. [ "Amber and Ashes"] Soon, a meeting with Rhys Mason, a monk of Majere / Zeboim, brings Mina to question her past and defy the will of Chemosh. ["Amber and Iron"] A rift grows between her and the Lord of Death.

Soon afterwards, Chemosh finds Mina unconscious after having raised the tower of Istar from the middle of the Blood Sea. The gathering of gods that occurs afterwards reveals the fact that she was a lost god. ["Amber and Iron"] The Mantis god, Majere, claims that Mina was in fact a god of Light, tricked into serving darkness and into believing that she was a mortal by Takhisis.

Godhood

Though unconscious, Mina overhears the other gods discussing her. Unable to face the truth about herself, she literally reverts to a child-like entity and entreats the monk Rhys Mason to take her "home." Gilean forbids the gods of light and darkness to interfere with this journey of self-discovery, as Mina's joining of either pantheon would upset the balance in the world. Both Chemosh and Sargonnas flout Gilean's decree and attempt to influence Mina to join the gods of darkness. Sargonnas's attempt culminates in a confrontation with Valthonis, once the god Paladine, whom Mina had sworn to kill at the conclusion of the War of Souls. Mina reconciles with Valthonis, who leads her to Godshome. There, Mina refuses to join either the Pantheon of Light or that of Darkness, becoming a force unto herself. ["Amber and Blood"]

Mina's new role is as the Goddess of Tears. Having felt human pain for all of her life due to being persuaded she was mortal by Takhisis, Mina addresses the concerns of victims of grief or loss, regardless of whether they are good or evil. Her symbol is the amber teardrop. [Appendix, "Amber and Blood"]

References

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