Tim > Recent Status Updates

stop it. Either he gives his life to magic (i.e. black robes) or he gets trialled instead of Steel. Astinus already wrote about the first, but Steel decides otherwise, thanks to Dalamar's teleport ring.

Tas, Palin & Usha meet again, lots of stuff about thieves. Raistlin meets with Astinus, tells Palin to meet him at there midnight. The three have to flee, since the dark knights are patrolling everywhere & life is much more controlled since the conquest. Meeting at the library, Palin sees black robes to change his dirty, smelly white ones. Think it's a trick. Meanwhile Steel is brought to justice, but Palin can still

of Caramon & Tika. Meanwhile, Usha is "trapped" in the Thieves' Guild, thanks to the dwarf Dougan Redhammer (aka Reorx, see The Second Generation).

a promise he made to Sturm. But why Tanis had to die like that, at the hands of a barbarian, after all he's done and been through before? Lame! Way to go, TSR. Laurana is invited by their son Gilthas to visit Qualinesti. A trap or not, that's to be seen. Abyss: Raistlin, Tas, Palin have to flee as Kitiara wounded Palin. Raist can't get back into the abyss, thus returns with Palin to the Inn, to the biggest surprise..

remain captive. Steel returns to meet him destiny, i.e. death. That gets postponed because of the oncoming war. All venture towards the High Clerist's Tower, the major defense of the Solamnic knights. Palin & Tas open the portal, get to see Raistlin. In turn, apparently, these three hear how the gods quarrel over what's happening on Krynn. Something unique to witness. At the tower Tanis gets killed while saving Steel

hostage & needed to open the portal to the abyss to let the dark queen come out again. Lots of adventuring, incl. Dalamar, Crysania, Shoikan grove. Tas & Usha meanwhile are captives of Dalamar in the tower. And so a new meeting occurs. Tas overexcited, as usual, but Palin knows to keep him silent now and then. Palin & Tas get to enter the laboratory, Steel & Usha don't. Steel didn't dare. Usha has to flee to not...

wrap-up so far: Usa, riased by the Irda (who have the graygem in which Chaos hides/is released and so the misery begins), has to flee to save herself. She arrives at Palanthas, knows nothing of money or civil life. There is drought, hot weather, war. Caramon's sons are killed, save Palin. He is captive, but Steel (Sturm's son) has a debt to repay & so brings back the bodies to Caramon/Tika for burial. but Palin is...

Dark armies attacking the High Clerist's Tower, Steel leading the charge. His party gets trapped, but Steel knows it. Still, when he wants to attack the commander (Tanis), he's surprised. Tanis saves his life, but gets killed by a barbarian in the act. :( Yet, Sturm's request is fulfilled, in that Steel had to survive. What now? Will Steel turn to good?

his commander to report that he failed, which means his death, but that gets postponed so he can fight the upcoming war. Usha escapes from Dalamar and co., ends up with the Thieves Guild. She early in the story had to get away from the Irda, where she grew up, since they came under attack of the dark armies. Usha knows nothing of the world, of money, etc... Also, Tanis is back to help rescue Ansalon once more.

A new war is brooding. Drought and more. Palin Majere is the sole survivor, his brothers killed by the armies of Takhisis. Steel Brightblade vows to repay the debt of his life (see TSG), so carries the bodies back to Caramon. Palin is hostage, also to open the portal to the Abyss. He, Steel, Tas and Usha arrive there, even enter the laboratory where the portal is. Steel & Usha don't enter. Steel has to return to...

Tanis's and Laurana's son, Gilthas, is savely kept in their house, to protect him, as he's not like the others. But he gets an invitation to become the speaker of the sun. Gets kidnapped, so to speak, lured into the trap, while Porthios and Alhana Starbreeze are imprisoned by Rahas (senator). Tanis and Dalamar try to rescue Gilthas, but in the end he has to stay as he gave his word. all in all a fine story.

299 indeed, since I already read stories 2-4. Anyway, the first ends rather poorly, imho. Steel decides to keep his father's sword and jewel, swears allegiance to the dark queen anyway. But even if his body and mind are hers, the jewel prevents her from possessing Steel's soul, which you could see as that curse lord ariakan told him about if he found out who his father was.

loose. all 3 escape, also thanks to Sara and her dragon. what boggles me is, why didn't T & C just say why they came, that Steel is Sturm's son, etc.? I do think they knights would have understood and so a battle would not have been necessary, no?

Tanis and Caramon take Steel to the High Clerist Tower with the excuse to honor the fallen, etc.. they are let in with guards and all, which they didn't want. Anyway, T & C pray to the body of Sturm about Steel being his son, how they want to bring him to the good side. Then Sturm appears in a halo, the starjewel is passed on and his bidy disappears. then the guards sense there is something wrong and a battle breaks

story about Kitiara's son, which she apparently made with Sturm when they both travelled so many years ago (see Darkness And Light). Apparently Kit didn't want anything to do with the kid, so Sara (a friend and dragon highlord), is to ask help from Caramon to save the kid from the dark, strangely enough. And so they and Tanis fly to Storm Keep, to try and rescue the kid.

much describing of the situation. Makes it a nuisance to read. Just move on instead of telling things again and again in a different way.

9th story: about Huma and his silver dragon (lover) against the dark queen. bloody battles and what not, the usual thus. A giant obelisk being the power source for the queen's army, but then Human launches the dragonlance at it and so the queen does get defeated. Strange, though, how the dark queen cannot avoid that. or is it because she was in human form? Anyway, mediocre story. Battles not that realistic and too

golden eyes. Amberyl dies, though, with the birth. But two of her species come to the rescue of the child. Seems they're ogres. Well, nice story all in all. Nothing super, but a surprising ending.

8th story: Raistlin and Caramon on a journey through Wayreth Forest after Raistlin's test. They stop at the Wayward Inn, which is a shabby place. There the meet a girl, apparently Raistlin feels strange about her presence, they seem to be connected and so on. Strange happenings, Caramon not understanding it all. They leave, Amberyl follows them, she and Raist spend the night together and so Raist has a daughter with

Love grows between Goldmoon and Riverwind. The other guy only wants to wed her to get to power, but gets killed by Goldmoon near the Hall. Goldmoon gets a spiritual lesson in humility from her mom. Etcetc... she and Riverwind survive and later Riverwind will ask her father for her hand. See also "Riverwind, The Plainsman". all in all, good story.

Chieftain's Daughter (Que-shu tribe) Goldmoon is the tribe's priestess. She gets to go see the Hall of the Sleeping Spirits, which opens once every 10 years. She wants to see her deceased mother again, get counsel, ... but for that she needs an escort of two guardians. Candidates have to battle to obtain the role. Riverwind, a sort of outcast, unbeliever, and another one (son of the tribe's historian) wins.

hoe meer het IMF en de ECB zich mengen in het verhaal, hoe lakser de politiek wordt, denkende dat de ECB alles zal oplossen. En dat zint de ECB logischerwijs niet. Maw, gedeelde schuld. Verder wil Trichet ook dat de ECB onafhankelijk blijft, itt Sarkozy.

uit de ECB om steun aan landen te geven, maar niemand anders wil dat het fonds een bank wordt. Ook even een focus op hoe premier Rutte (NL) rekenfouten maakt, bepaalde zaken niet snapt. Vervolgens hoe de banken moeten bijdragen met miljarden om Griekenland e.a. te helpen, maar in return krijgen ze bijna niks. en dat alles om de markten te sussen, want er zijn ook de ratingburo's die roet i/h eten gooien. Maar vooral:

er wordt gerekend en geld vrijgemaakt voor het zoveelste reddingsplan voor Griekenland, omdat dat land z'n afspraken niet nakomt en dus de schulden dienen herberekend te worden qua aflossing. En ga zo maar door. Hoe Duitsland & Frankrijk proberen zonder de EC te werken, hoe Frankrijk (via een tip van de Amerikanen) wil dat de ECB de eternal saviour wordt, hoe het noodfonds een soort bank wordt die geld kan trekken...

verloopt dat je je afvraagt: wat zitten die daar te doen? En toch nog bakken geld verdienen daarmee. Move the f*** on. Vooral Griekenland is een pijnpunt, qua schuldaflossing & weer nieuwe schulden & dat gaat zo maar door. Of kortweg, het is een zootje. Ok, het is een ingewikkelde materie, maar toch. En wie houdt die boekhouding bij? Men gooit met miljarden zoals jan met de pet met z'n 10 en 20 EUR biljetten gooit.

tot dusver ging het dan o.a. over het noodfonds voor lijdende landen, waaronder de PIIGS. Over een tijdelijk fonds en hoe moeilijk het was om dàt erdoor te krijgen, terwijl Duitsland een permanent fonds wil (soort Euro-IMF) vanaf 2013, waarin EU-landen dan echt geld storten. Verder hoe er in de NL-regering praatjes worden gemaakt om toch maar kiezers te winnen, hoe overleg met ECB, EU zodanig slabakt en stroef...

gelul over noodfonds waarbij dan de EC niet meer als "hoofdorgaan" wordt beschouwd en de landen zelf bepalen hoeveel er in de pot komt en door wie, IMF erbij betrekken of niet, duidelijk wel. Man,is me dat een circus ginder met al die polletiekers. Veel geld verdienen, amper durven beslissingen nemen of hun ego laten werken, niet (sorry, nooit) in het algemeen belang denken. Geen wonder dat men Europa niet moet.

intern wil oplossen. Maar men wil enkel de expertise van het IMF. Merkels visie op EU is niet die van Kohl. Ze staat weigerachtig tgo Duitse financiële steun, dan wil ze wel weer. Ook hoe Sarkozy en Merkel overeen of niet komen. Hoe Van Rompuy en Barosso elkaars rollen aanvaarden, want permanente EU voorzitter ipv roterend systeem, enz...