WELCOME TO THE INN
Greetings, friends and fellow companions, and welcome back to the
Inn of the Last Home. Pull up a seat as the bards tell us the
latest tales from across Ansalon.

Today has been a most special day on many fronts. Between the
release of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (bring the tissue, not the
kids!) and Mrs. Dragonhelm's 10th anniversary at her job, it's been
spectacular enough. Of course, the revelation of what the Big
Secret is in the Hickman Newsletter made it better still. More on
this below!

So grab your hoopaks, my friends. New adventures and familiar faces
await!

DARK CHRONICLES TRILOGY: THE BIG SECRET REVEALED!
Yep, you guessed it! Weis and Hickman are back! Here's the press
release…

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: FANTASY DUO WEIS AND HICKMAN TO FORGE NEW
TRILOGY

Authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, co-creators of the
DRAGONLANCE® world, will pen new adventures

May 19, 2005 (RENTON, Wash.) — Two of the premiere voices in
American fantasy fiction have just agreed to write a new hardcover
fantasy trilogy titled The Dark Chronicles for Wizards of the Coast,
Inc. In this new venture, longtime masters of the fantasy genre
Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman will return to Dragonlance, the
sprawling magical world they first wrote together over two decades
ago. This marks the first time Weis and Hickman have collaborated on
a project since the 2002 release of Dragons of a Vanished Moon, the
final book in The New York Times best-selling War of Souls trilogy.
The Dark Chronicles trilogy will return to the period of the
original Dragonlance Chronicles and will feature some of the more
popular heroes and villains from that era. The first book in The
Dark Chronicles is currently planned for release in summer 2006.

"The Dark Chronicles tells the tales that took place between the
chapters of the original Dragonlance Chronicles," said Hickman. "It
is intended to mesh smoothly with the established story millions
have come to know and love."

Added Weis, "Many of the characters whom fans have come to know
intimately over the last twenty years will again come to life in the
new series. You can expect to see all the original Heroes of the
Lance—especially Flint, Tanis, Kitiara, Lord Soth, Tasslehoff, and,
of course, the brothers Caramon and Raistlin Majere."

"We're very excited about Margaret and Tracy's newest collaboration.
They're a dynamic writing team, and their energy and imagination has
earned them a tremendously popular following, both collectively and
independently. You don't have to be a Dragonlance fan to like their
books, since they know how to deliver a great adventure story," said
Peter Archer, Associate Publisher at Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
In addition to the new series, Margaret and Tracy will collaborate
on a Dragonlance novella, which will feature several characters from
their new trilogy. The novella will appear in Here Be Dragons, an
oversize trade book scheduled to release in June 2006. That book
will also include stories set in different fantasy-themed universes
by New York Times best-selling novelist R.A. Salvatore, and by
authors Keith Baker and Scott McGough.

About Weis and Hickman
Since their co-publication of The Dragonlance Chronicles in 1985,
Weis and Hickman have jointly authored eleven Dragonlance books,
four of which have appeared on The New York Times best-seller list.
Both authors also publish independently while remaining committed to
the Dragonlance world and fans of their collective efforts.

Margaret Weis's high profile career as one of fantasy's most
prominent authors spans two decades. She has written numerous novels
and short stories set in the fantasy world of Krynn. Most recently
she has completed the third novel in the Dragonvarld trilogy for
TOR, Master of Dragons. She is now working on the second novel in
the Dark Disciple Trilogy, Iron and Amber, set to release in
February 2006 from Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

Tracy Hickman, co-creator of the Dragonlance world, has been
publishing fantasy novels for over twenty years. His first two solo
novels, Requiem of Stars and The Immortals released in the spring of
1996 from Bantam press. Tracy and his wife Laura released Mystic
Warrior (2004) and Mystic Quest (2005), their first joint novels in
The Bronze Canticles, a trilogy from Warner Books. Their third novel
in that series, Mystic Empire is expected in 2006.

About Wizards of the Coast
Since its founding two decades ago, Wizards of the Coast's Book
Publishing division has produced hundreds of titles that have sold
millions of copies in over 16 languages.

For more information about books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman,
scheduled author appearances, or other novels published by Wizards
of the Coast, Inc., please visit wizards.com/books.
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS),
is a publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York
Times bestsellers. For more information, visit Wizards of the
Coast's website at wizards.com.

Wizards of the Coast and Dragonlance are trademarks of Wizards of
the Coast in the U.S.A. and other countries. Copyright 2005 Wizards.

MORE NOVEL NEWS
Excited yet? If that's not enough to whet your appetite, then you
might be interested in the latest Dragonlance novels.

Margaret Weis has announced that Amber and Iron, book two of the
Dark Disciple trilogy, will be released in paperback in February.
It sounds as if there may be a hardback copy eventually, but
paperback will be announced first.

Richard Knaak finishes up the Minotaur Wars trilogy with Empire of
Blood. I've heard mixed reports on whether the book is out yet or
not, so call your local bookstore. Tides of Blood is also out in
paperback.

For all you Taladas fans, Chris Pierson has a new book – Blades of
the Tiger, book one in the Taladas Chronicles trilogy. Now you can
learn about Krynn's second continent and what has transpired since
the Time of the Dragon boxed set.

Doug Niles' Lord of the Rose, book one of the Rise of Solamnia
trilogy, is also out. Book two will be called Crown and Sword, and
book three is to be called The Last Measure.

Plus, the New Adventures series of novels continues with Dragon
Knight by Dan Willis.


GAMING NEWS
If you haven't seen it yet, then you simply must pick up
Tasslehoff's Map Pouch: The Age of Mortals. This product has a HUGE
poster map, chalk full of goodies. Plus several smaller maps as
well. The map pouch is by Sean Macdonald, who many of you know as
Kipper Snifferdoo from Kencyclopedia.com.

Sovereign Press has three other products in the works. Spectre of
Sorrows is part two of the Age of Mortals campaign. Written by Cam
Banks, this product continues the adventure begun in Key of
Destiny. Look for part three, Price of Courage, later in the year
as well as Dragons of Autumn, part one of a trilogy of adventures
that reprints the original modules and updates them for 3.5.

As for sourcebooks, Holy Orders of the Stars will be released
shortly. This book details the clerics and gods of Krynn. On its
heals is Legends of the Twins, a sourcebook detailing the Legends
trilogy, time travel, and alternate realities.


COMIC NEWS
Coming up in June will be the release of the Legend of Huma trade
paperback, compiling issues 1-5 of the comic as well as the
previously unreleased issue #6! I'm proud to say that I've had the
privilege of writing the scripts for issues 3-6. I'm afraid the
comic won't be continued, but the trade will certainly be a
collector's piece.

Also, Devil's Due Publishing will be releasing an adaptation of
Chronicles. More news on this as it comes in.


NEXUS NEWS
The Nexus has been pumping along with several goodies as well,
including combined requirement tables for the Sword and Rose Knights
as well as the Age of Mortals Legion of Steel prestige classes.
There are reviews of Sandstorm and Lord of the Rose. Reference has
added several new articles including one on the ancient empire of
Ergoth (including a map by cartographer Sean Macdonald!). Plus a
new prestige class for Tika fans – the barmaid!


UNTIL NEXT TIME
I'm not sure what more can be said! A new Weis and Hickman trilogy,
new novels, new gaming books, comic books, and the Nexus….it's quite
a lot! Throughout it all, the Nexus will be here to keep you up to
date on all the Dragonlance news and to be a supporter of the
Dragonlance fan.

See you soon, my friends!

Long live the Lance!

Trampas Whiteman
"Dragonhelm"
Dragonlance Nexus