Blades of the Tiger

Plot|date=February 2008
infobox Book |
name = Blades of the Tiger


image_caption = Blades of the Tiger book cover
author = Chris Pierson
cover_artist = Matt Stawicki
country = United States
language = English
series = Taladas Chronicles, Dragonlance
genre = Fantasy novel
publisher = Wizards of the Coast
release_date = April, 2005 ("mass market paperback")
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 416 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-7869-3569-3
followed_by = Trail of the Black Wyrm

Blades of the Tiger is a fantasy novel set in the Dragonlance campaign series and is the first of a trilogy about Taladas. The second book in the trilogy is Trail of the Black Wyrm.

Plot introduction

"Blades of the Tiger" is set in Taladas shortly after the War of Soulswhen, and is generally located in the Imperial League.

Plot summary

While stealing a portrait of Silvanos from a fief, Shedara discovers the lord has been attacked and is dying. The guards are all dead, and she arrives just before the lord dies. He mistakes her for a minotaur friend, and mutters the "hooded one" before he died. His wounds don't bleed. After going back to Armach-nesti and discussing the event with the Voice of the Stars, she is sent on another mission to retrieve the Hooded One which is a statue of an evil emperor of Aurim, called Maladar the Faceless. He survived the Great Destruction because his soul was placed in the statue, and now some evil forces are trying to find him another body.

Meanwhile, across the Tiderun and on the plain north of Coldhope Keep, Hult, a protector of Chovuk, the leader of their tribe, discovers that their enemies have ambushed the Boyla, leader of all of the Uigan, a term used to designate the barbarian tribes north of the Tiderun. Chovuk and Hult look for the Boyla, and discover that he is still alive. Chovuk kills the Boyla, to be named the next Boyla. Hult later discovers that Chovuk has been learning evil sorcery from a black robed mage, known only as the Teacher. Chovuk fights the other contestant for the position of Boyla, and wins because he used sorcery to shape change into steppe-tiger. The tribes have a superstition that the steppe-tiger is the avatar of their god, and so embrace Chovuk as the new Boyla. Chovuk recruits the goblins, as well as an elf, Eldako, from the wild elf tribes to help him attack the Imperial League. They burn, sack, and massacre the towns and villages of the Imperial League north of the Tiderun, while they wait for the moons to sink below the horizon, so that the Tiderun will become dry.

In the Imperial League south of the Tiderun, Foldo is returning from many long years of war, when he discovers that the capital has been damaged by an earthquake, and that the emperor and almost all of his immediate blood relatives are dead. He also finds out that the keeper of the peace is Duke Rekhaz. Foldo meets Duke Rekhaz, and Rekhaz wants Foldo to help command his army, so that Rekhaz can defeat any opponents vying for the throne. However, Foldo has a writ of dismissal from the now dead emperor, so he refuses to serve, which angers Rekhaz. Foldo returns home, to discover a pirate raiding in his waters, whom he had previously signed a treaty with. He discovers that the pirate raided the ship only because the ship was carrying artifacts that hadn't been taxed, and the owner of the ship was a rich merchant. In return for raiding the ship, the pirate gives Foldo a statue. After taking it home, he finds out that his wife is pregnant, and that they both feel the statue's menacing presence. He decides to have it moved into the family vaults under the keep.

Meanwhile, the Uigan horde prepares to cross as the moons will sink below the horizon in two weeks. Soon after, they cross, with the Boyla leading the way as a steppe-tiger.

Shedara discovers that the statue was stolen from a merchant, and that it later ends up in the hands of Foldo. She attempts to steal the statue, but she falls asleep in the vault because of a trap. Foldo discovers her, and he attempts to question her. She refuses to answer, so he has her locked up in a tower. He also discovers that the Uigan are preparing to cross the Tiderun, and attack his fief. He calls for aid from Rekhaz, but Rekhaz questions his loyalty. Rekhaz agrees to give Foldo about six hundred men only if he agrees to rejoin the army. Forced to act, Foldo agrees. Later, Grath, a friend of Foldo's and the current commander of the Sixth Legion agrees to help Foldo. He decides to send the Sixth Legion to help Foldo, but knowing it will be a suicide mission, he offers the men to choose to follow him, or to stay in the capital. He manages to raise around six hundred men, but they still can't hold the fief. He then questions Shedara again, and agrees to give her the statue if she will contact Armach-nesti to send aid. She contacts Armach-nesti, but discovers that the evil force intent on capturing the statue has murdered the Voice of the Stars. Foldo tells her she's free to go, but she still wants to help him, so she forces Maladar to send a gigantic wave against the barbarian horde. The barbarian horde is destroyed, and she manages to force Maladar back into the statue. However, because she used the statue, the evil forces found her, and one of their agents, a dragon, stole the statue as well as Foldo's pregnant wife, Essana.

A small remainder of the Uigan horde is still alive, as well as the elf, Eldako, the Boyla, as well Hult. They don't present much resistance and are easily defeated by Foldo and his men, however, the elf escapes. The Boyla turns back into a human because the evil forces betrayed him, so he becomes mad. He attempts to fight Foldo to "regain" his honor, but Foldo kills him. The Boyla's protector, Hult, decides not to avenge his master and so he follows Foldo, because the remaining men are angry at the Uigan. Foldo discovers that Grath was killed during the fighting and that the Uigan were sent as a diversion so that the keep would be unprotected. He, Shedara, and Hult return to the keep, and discover a scale that the dragon left behind. They attempt to trace the scale, but have had no luck so far.

Characters

*Shedara - A moon elf thief, who works for the Voice of the Stars in Armach-nesti.
*Barreth Forlo's - Forlo's is the commander of the sixth legion, of the Imperial League, as well as lord of Coldhope Keep.
*Hult - Hult is a barbarian of the White Sky tribe.
*Chovuk - Chovuk is the leader of the White Sky tribe, as well as the Boyla, leader of all tribes.
*Essana - Essana is Forlo's wife.

ee also

* Taladas

External links

* [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dlnovel/176260000 Wizards of the Coast Blades of the Tiger site]
* [http://www.wizards.com/books/downloads/products_dlnovel_176260000.zip Sample Chapter (zipped)]
* [http://www.dragonlance.com Dragonlance.com]