First appearance | Dragon #83: short story "The test of the twins" by Margaret Weis (March 1984) |
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Created by | Margaret Weis |
Game information | |
Homeland | Solace |
Gender | Male |
Race | Civilized human |
Class | Wizard of High Sorcery |
Raistlin Majere is a fictional character from the Dragonlance series of books created by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Raistlin played an extensive role in the two main series of books, particularly in Dragonlance Legends in which he was both primary protagonist and antagonist. He is brother to Caramon Majere, half-brother to his protective sister Kitiara uth Matar, and a significant member of the Heroes of the Lance. In the animated movie adaptation, Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Raistlin was voiced by Kiefer Sutherland.
Born to a mother prone to trance-like fits and a woodcutter father, Raistlin inherited his mother's aptitude for magic. He undertook and passed the arduous Test of High Sorcery, but in the process he acquired white hair and golden skin, and was cursed with hourglass eyes which saw the effects of time on all things. His health, while never robust, was ruined further, leaving him weak and subject to frequent bouts of coughing blood. Initially wearing the red robes of neutrality, as the first series progresses Raistlin's powers increase while his mood and actions darken, and he adopts the black robes of evil during the War of the Lance.
Raistlin, although physically very weak, is extremely intelligent, and possesses uncommonly powerful magical abilities. While ruthless in his pursuit of power, he holds to a code of conduct which repays all debts and protects those disadvantaged through no fault of their own. His relationship with his much stronger, better-liked and good-natured twin brother Caramon is fraught with tensions as Caramon seeks to protect and shelter his weaker brother, while denying his cruelty and penchant for hurting any others while in pursuit of his goals.
Dragon magazine introduced some of the Heroes of the Lance in a series of short stories; "The test of the twins" in Dragon #83 (March 1984) was the first of these, and is a story about the twins Raistlin and Caramon.