Spare the Rod In the bleak Khalkist Mountains, on a stormy winter night, a child is born amid hard words, ill will, and the ominous prophecy of a druidess. Young Verminaard grows up unlovely and unloved, trading friends and family for a dark romance with an evil, mysterious voice and the sinister weapon it comes to inhabit. Michael and Teri Williams, long known for their poems, novels, and stories in the continuing DRAGONLANCE saga, reveal the origins of the evil cleric Verminaard. The Villians Series explores the corrupted origins of the malevolent minions of Takhisis, Queen of Darkness.

The Rise and Fall of an Evil Dragon One score and six years before confronting the Companions in Xak Tsaroth, the black dragon Khisanth is awakened from a centuries-long sleep. The world she had known as a young wyrm is gone, irrevocably changed by the Cataclysm. Now fully grown, she has much to learn about being a dragon in a world where her kind are feared as the villians in stories told to children. Her lessons are hard, learned at the hands of two achingly beautiful creatures who entrust her to save their race; an aging evil dragon who resents Khisanth's innate power; and the only man she considers her equal, one she would honor by carrying him into battle . . . if only he were not her sworn enemy. When a conspiracy at the highest levels of the Black Wing threatens the Dark Queen's army, Khisanth realizes her true devoltion to evil and is rewarded with a destiny handed down by Takhisis herself. The Black Wing is the first DRAGONLANCE novel to fully explore the dynamics of dragon life from the unique perspective of the most powerful and magical creatures on the world of Krynn.

Ariakas Was Ambitious Vast armies surge across Krynn, spreading shadows of evil dragonkind over the land. All these horrific forces follow the commands of one man. . . Ariakas, the Emperor of Ansalon. Warrior, priest, nobleman, king. . . he attains glory and power by climbing over the bodies of his enemies. And his rise is aided by Takhisis, his mighty mistress. Yet, when the ultimate victory of evil looms, Ariakas must master his own ambitions - or oppose the Dark Queen herself. The Villians Series explores the corrupted origins of the malevolent minions of Takhisis, Queen of Darkness.

Hederick, leader of the Seeker religion in Solace and self-ordained conscience of Krynn, embarks on a terrifying Inquisition that threatens all who follow magic and the true gods and allows the forces of evil into the world

A Fiendish Bet In the depths of the Abyss, the domain of Takhisis, two dark powers argue over the nature of true nobility. To see if the ignoble can be made noble, they return one of their evil-hearted agents to life. They choose Fewmaster Toede, former ruler of Flotsam, recently dead from dragon fire. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. . . The most outrageous villian of the Companions of the Lance is once more loose on the face of Krynn, and he is a hobgoblin with a mission - to become noble, no matter who or what gets in his way. TSR novelist and gamemaster Jeff Grubb has written this fiendishly comic story. The Villians Series explores the corrupted origins of the malevolent minions of Takhisis, Queen of Darkness.

Storm of Prophecy In a vision from her prison in the Abyss, the dark goddess Takhisis watches Fordus Firesoul, leader of a ragged band of desert rebels, assault the city of Istar and threaten her plans to reenter the world of Krynn. But the goddess is known for having her own way. How can a mute slave, an ancient druid, and a cursed bard and her magical hawk - aided by a band of strange, gem-encrusted elves - resist the magic of Takhisis and withstand her fury? Known for their stories and novels set in the best-selling DRAGONLANCE saga world, Michael and Teri Williams have fashioned the first full-length tale about Takhisis, the evil-most queen of the world of Krynn. The Villians Series explores the corrupted origins of the malevolent minions of Takhisis, Queen of Darkness.