"You had the courage to love," (Laurana) said to him softly. "That will be your salvation and my own."
--- from "Dragons of a Lost Star" by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

In Ansalon, according to the Elven calendar, today is Dead Eye, the 30th day of Spring Rain. Yesterday, Night's Eye, I finally finished book 2 of the War of Souls Trilogy, "Dragons of a Lost Star". The new epic is set after the Chaos War... quite some time after the Chaos War, when all the gods have left and magic is no more... except wild magic inherent to the world. And amidst the desertion of the gods, and the seeming rule of the Dragons, a young girl comes along performing miracles and winning battles all in the name of the One God. Who is the One God? That is the surprise that Weis and Hickman springs at the end of volume 2. And I do admit that that "surprise" made me rethink my opinions about the gods in the Dragonlance saga.

This latest epic once again demonstrates that Weis and Hickman are the masters of the saga. No one else seems able to capture the essence of the characters and of everything about Krynn other than that duo.

There are a lot of sad things that happened in the two books so far. But I know something glorious will happen in the third. And why the fate of the world lies in the hands of that kender will finally be revealed. So is the significance of the gnome....

I cried at one and only one instance in the two novels.... Maybe because it was... relevant. Marshal Medan, a commander of the Knights of Neraka, stereotyped as a follower of evil, had the courage to love... love an elf, a follower of good. Their issues weren't really so much about alignment, but more about overcoming the barriers that the Marshal seemed to have encountered with regard to his emotions. Laurana insists that her heart was buried with her husband and she is not capable of loving again. The Marshal knew that but he took the risk because she was worth it. In the end, Laurana understood. She had it right, I think. All the sadness and anger, the hatred, chaos, the sorrow, the loneliness, the doubt, all the negative things... they will not stop or disappear unless someone gets up the courage to love. The risks are innumerable, but the rewards are gratifying. And if all those things start to come back, then people must get up the courage to love some more because giving up is admitting defeat. The hurt and the risks are unavoidable. But only the one who risks is truly free. And as Mother Teresa said, it is when we love until it hurts that all the hurt goes away.

To laugh is to risk appearing like a fool.
To weep is to risk being called sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk sharing your true self.
To place ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk being naive.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But only the one who risks is truly free.
--- Fr. Evarist Verlinden




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Everyone's really crazy about "Smallville". Unfortunately, I haven't been able to catch any episodes. Last night though, I caught the last 3 minutes or so of one of the first episodes of season two. Lana was talking with Clark. And one of the things she said struck me. Paraphrasing.... When you love a person, you love that person no matter what. But for you to determine what the "no matter whats" really are, that person has to open up to you somehow and show you most, if not everything. Then you can decide that you love that person "no matter what". Intriguing. And true.

I have discovered though from the little amount that I know, that I can safely say.... I believe... that I do love him no matter what.

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I'd rather have bad times with you
than good times with someone else
I'd rather be beside you in a storm
Than safe and warm by myself
I'd rather have hard times together
than to have it easy apart.
I'd rather have the one who holds my heart...."


.:chronicled by senator skywalker at 9:04:00 PM:.
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