Raistlin Majere
Early life
Early life
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As described in the [fantasy novel](/wiki/Fantasy_novel "Fantasy novel") *[The Soulforge](/wiki/The_Soulforge "The Soulforge")*, Raistlin Majere and his twin brother Caramon were born in the town of Solace, Abanasinia, to a woodcutter named Gilon Majere and his wife, Rosamun (who, because she possessed magical abilities but was forced to suppress it by her upbringing, had a habit of slipping into uncontrollable trances). They were preceded by an older half\-sister, [Kitiara uth Matar](/wiki/Kitiara_uth_Matar "Kitiara uth Matar"), the product of Rosamun's first marriage to a purported ex\-Solamnic Knight, Gregor uth Matar. Raistlin was born sickly and on the verge of death. In fact, the midwife felt that the baby Raistlin should be allowed to die as an act of mercy. Only due to Kitiara's stubborn refusal to let him die (and subsequent treatment and care) did he finally overcome the infantile ailment and live.

Possibly as a result of this early illness, Raistlin was always a sickly child, but possessed a fierce intellect, in stark contrast to his slow\-thinking, but not unintelligent, physically stronger twin. In fact, according to the common lore of the world of [Krynn](/wiki/Krynn "Krynn") (supported by statements made by the god, Paladine, in the closing chapters of *Dragons of Spring Dawning*), identical twins were considered to be one person split in two. For this reason, Raistlin believed he had been given the mind, and Caramon the body.

Kitiara, still driven by a desire to find a use for her brothers, was annoyed by Raistlin for this same reason. She knew Caramon would make a great warrior, but she did not know what to do with his brother. The answer came when a powerful archmagus of the [White Robes](/wiki/Wizards_of_High_Sorcery%23Alignment "Wizards of High Sorcery#Alignment"), named [Antimodes](/wiki/Antimodes "Antimodes"), stopped for a night in Solace. Kitiara, after much effort, persuaded the archmage to talk to Raistlin, who impressed the archmage with intellect and wisdom beyond what Antimodes felt should be possessed by a child of six. He was also frightened by another trait Raistlin possessed: the desire to control others. However, after this meeting, Antimodes personally saw to Raistlin's enrollment in a school for magic, even paying for his first semester's tuition.

As years passed, Raistlin learned the basics of the arcane tongue from his schoolmaster, and was taunted and isolated by his schoolmates who termed him "the Sly One". However, Raistlin, rather than being upset by this lack of acceptance, enjoyed the fact they feared him enough to try to destroy him. When the time came for his first test of magic, a test conducted by writing the words "I, Magus" on a lambskin which would burn into the skin if he possessed the ability, at first nothing happened. After a desperate prayer to the three gods of magic, who visited him and made him swear to worship them, the words lit up with such ferocity that the skin was utterly consumed.

It would be several more years before Raistlin finally learned to cast his first spell. The twins were sixteen. While Raistlin was away for his schooling, a widow by the name of Judith began to take care of Rosamun, the twin's and Kitiara's mother. Widow Judith was a believer in the snake god Belzor, who had a growing following; it appeared as if Judith was of great help for Rosamun, for their mother showed evidence of much improvement under the widow's care...nevertheless, Raistlin was not fond of the woman, and she held him in disdain for his interests in magic.

His father, Gilon, was mortally injured in a terrible logging accident and was brought back to Solace just in time to say a few last words to his sons. Widow Judith comforted the distraught Rosamun, insisting that the god Belzor would perform a miraculous healing for her husband. When Gilon died, Widow Judith argued that it had been Rosamun's lack of faith, her daughter Kitiara's unsavory lifestyle, and Raistlin's study of magic which caused the god to forsake Gilon in his time of need. When Raistlin spoke out against Judith's claims, the woman made to attack him. The people of Solace had apparently heard enough, for they ran Widow Judith out of town. Rosamun, struck dumb by the sudden loss of her husband, fell into one of her trances, sinking so deep that she never re\-emerged. She died three days later. At her funeral, driven nearly senseless and hallucinating with his grief, Raistlin showed great disregard for the inclement weather that oversaw it and fell into a deep fever. He only survived due to the unexpected return of Kitiara, who fought death over her brother once more and, like before, defeated it. It was after Raistlin's recovery when Caramon was overcome by terrible dreams, that Raistlin finally learned what it took to use the magic and cast a sleeping spell over his brother.

Raistlin and his brother formed a friendship with other citizens of Solace who would one day become their fellow Heroes of the Lance. These friendships and the mentorship of [Flint Fireforge](/wiki/Flint_Fireforge "Flint Fireforge") and [Tanis Half\-Elven](/wiki/Tanis_Half-Elven "Tanis Half-Elven") helped fill the gap that the sudden loss of their parents had created. Raistlin's skills continued to grow even as he developed a love for herbalism and played an instrumental role in saving Solace from a plague.

In the twins’ early twenties, they accompanied Flint, Tanis, and the [kender](/wiki/Kender_%28fantasy%29 "Kender (fantasy)"), [Tasslehoff Burrfoot](/wiki/Tasslehoff_Burrfoot "Tasslehoff Burrfoot"), to Haven for a market fair. It was there that Raistlin encountered the cult of the false god Belzor, and where he again met the [Renegade Wizard](/wiki/Renegade_Wizard "Renegade Wizard"), Judith, who was using magic to bamboozle the townspeople into believing in her. By revealing she was using magic and not the powers of a god (by casting a spell of his own), Raistlin proved that she was a charlatan, destroying her cult and at the same time invoking the wrath of the townspeople against himself, coming dangerously close to being burned at the stake.

However, the spell Raistlin had used was illegal for him to cast, as an untested mage, by the law of the [Conclave of Wizards](/wiki/Conclave_of_Wizards "Conclave of Wizards"). Rather than discipline him, less than one year later, the Conclave decided to summon Raistlin to the Tower of High Sorcery at Wayreth Forest to take the Test. This in itself was astonishing for no one so young had ever taken the grueling test, which touted death as the price of failure. Raistlin and his brother left Solace, being unable by Conclave law to tell anyone where they were going, and made their way to the Tower.


What impact does the Conclave of Wizards have on Raistlin's life?