The Greatest Dragonlance Fantasy Novel of the 80s - How to Write Heroic Chivalric Heroes - The Legend of Huma & Why Huma still matters as a Hero & Knight
Rennard as a Captain
So we return to the Legend of Huma once more!
Rennard selects Huma as one of his men for the scouting operation that lies ahead of them. And as said before Rennard is an interesting character who has had a troubled life and is something of a villain. But the thing is he’s not yet been revealed to be any such thing so for now gotta hold off on bad-mouthing him or commenting on his poor life-choices.
In terms of battle-field choices though, his are usually second to none as he’s both a brilliant captain and soldier.
"Spread out. You four to my right," he said, gesturing at Huma and three others. "The
rest to my left." He drew his sword.”
Case in point, he has his men spread out even as he keeps a steady eye on each of them (or ear in some cases I imagine). There’s a feel to the character that’s very unique so that he’s someone who always feels quite competent, and utterly terrifying about him. And yet there’s a feeling of death about him that you cannot truly escape from so devastating and hollow is he.
Naturally his men don’t follow him, loyal and fierce as they are. They are too well-disciplined to even question following him.
“The others followed suit and moved into position, with one man between Huma and
the patrol leader. Rennard gave the signal to advance. The knights kept a slow but
steady pace.
The woods curved over a hill, one of the few in this area. If goblins or ogres lurked
anywhere nearby, they would be here. Rennard pointed at the knight to Huma's left
and sent the man forward. The rest of the patrol stopped and waited. The scout
climbed off his horse and made his way to the top of the rise. The others watched
anxiously as he peered over the top, and as quietly and quickly as he could, returned
to the knights and horses. Huma, who had taken the reins of the other's horse,
handed them back.”
The slow, steady pace is a good thing. It means that the Solamnics are taking this seriously and also that as they know the enemy to be nearby, there’s a good chance that they might run into trouble.
That said they soon receive news of the enemy and Rennard immediately comes up with a plan to deal with them.
"Goblins. The ugly creatures are eating. A marauder patrol, I think. Must be at least
twenty. No more than several dozen, I think."
Rennard nodded in satisfaction. "Nothing we cannot handle." Huma thanked
Paladine that his visor hid his own worried face. Rennard pointed at the scout, Huma,
and the two knights to Huma's right. "Ride around the right side. We'll take the left.
When you hear an owl, ride in. Huma, you will take charge of your group."
I must give Knaak a great deal of credit because his presentation of military strategy and the writing of a pragmatic captain is really well done. This is a stratagem that honestly is worthy of the likes of Tolkien & Howard, two writers who also had a grasp of solid battlefield tactics.
His plan though relies on a pincer movement, so that what he does is select Huma as his junior commander so that the youth has been given a higher command than some of those around him. What’s interesting here is that though he’s hesitant Huma does as bidden, and more than tries in his new duties, for he thrives in them!
Huma as Captain
“Huma could see no guards, and he dared to climb from his horse and survey the
goblin camp from a small rise. That the creatures were ugly was an understatement.
Their skins were a sickly green, teeth protruded from every inch of their mouths, and
their eyes reminded the knight of frogs' eyes. The goblins were squat and
misshapen, but they were also very strong. Many carried axes, and a couple even
hefted crude bows. Their armor appeared to be compilations of everything they could
rummage from the battlefields.
As Huma watched, a goblin came rushing over to the apparent leader, who was twice
as big and ugly as any of his subordinates. The smaller goblin whispered something
to the patrol leader, who stiffened and barked out orders.
Huma knew what had happened. Either the newcomer had been a guard or he had
wandered away from the camp for some reason. Whatever the case, the goblins
apparently realized that Rennard and the others were approaching from the other
direction, and they were now preparing for a fight. Within seconds, the normally
disorganized goblins had formed themselves into an attack formation that, with the
element of surprise, meant that Rennard and his companions would almost certainly
be struck down. There was no time to send someone to warn them.”
Here we have the first encounter with a Goblin. Naturally it’s one of the Gygaxian Goblins who are squatter and shorter than those from Hobbit/LOTR so that what we have is some old school Dragonlance world-building.
There’s more though, as this paragraph shows Rennard favouring Huma for a minor command. While this might seem nepotistic it is undeniable that Huma’s earned his place among the knights.
What’s more is that Huma exhibits that key trait that is so integral to command; courage. What many call impulsiveness, when in reality it is decisiveness. The difference lies in the confidence and knowledge that accompanies decisive courage separating it from impulsivity. Being impulsive is bad just to make it clear and is performed from a stance of impatience and recklessness while courage comes from as said a place of patience and knowledge.
“Suddenly, a howl shivered through the air.
Something leaped at Huma's steed. The knight caught a brief vision of something
akin to a wolf in form—but the resemblance ended with the thing's corpse-white
pallor, as though it had been skinned. The yellow, dripping fangs seemed as long as
his fingers and as sharp as needles. Then Huma's warhorse screamed and turned,
despite the knight's protests. Straining every muscle, the animal raced from the
skirmish, mindless of the frantic rider clinging to it. Somewhere close behind, the
thing howled again. Huma could only clutch the reins and hang on for the wild ride.
The sounds of fighting faded as the maddened horse rushed deeper and deeper into
the charred forest.
What could so terrorize a trained warhorse? Certainly no earthly beast.
Then, even that thought vanished from Huma's mind as his mount broke through the
blackened limbs of a knot of trees and found the earth was suddenly far, far below.”
What is it that leapt at Huma? Why nothing as to what that howl or roar was, it was none other than a dragon.
An interesting fact about Dragonlance is that dragons like in my lore tend to inspire a magical sense of dread. They are larger metaphysically than any other creature. So that since there’s one nearby the young knight’s horse panics and charges ahead only to lose its footing and fall down a short ravine so that Huma hits his head against a rock some ways below.
“Lunitari, in wane, glittered weakly, casting a slight crimson tinge. Like blood, Huma
thought, and then he forced that thought quickly away. If Lunitari were in wane, which of the other moons would be waxing? Solinari was nowhere to be seen. If it was
indeed Nuitari that waxed, Huma would never know it. No one saw the dark moon—
no one save the Black Robes, those mages who worshipped the dark god of magic.
The dark moon was invisible to common folk and perhaps even to those who
followed the paths of white and red magic as well.”
This is how the next chapter starts and I’ve always liked this slice of prose. The reason for this is because of how it world-builds and shows how different Krynn is from Earth. On Krynn there are three moons; the white one of Solinari, the red of Lunitari and the black moon of Nuitari. Each of these three moons are named after the deities that live on each of them.
What’s remarkable is that with the whole of the forest all around Huma bathed in the red light of Lunitari, a light that’s already begun to fade there’s a certain feel to the story. This light has begun to be replaced by the light of Nuitari… okay that sounded weird as Nuitari doesn’t cast a light as he’s all darkness.
The thing that is so remarkable about this is that it shows that each Moon has its own rotation, its own ‘turn’ if you will that allows each one it’s own time ‘in the sun’ so to speak.
Huma soon steps up, searches the area, accidentally happens upon a nearby Goblin encampment. The camp in question is one for a group of scouts it seems whereupon he discovers as he clings to the shadows a prisoner.
It is at this time that we see classic Huma valour, as he seeks to free what he knows to be a Minotaur or what he must suspect to be one.
"Cut your bonds and run! I'll do my best to give you time!" Even as he said it, Huma
wondered at his own daring—or foolishness, it was hard to say which. He only knew
that, as a knight, it was his duty to risk his life for others.”
This is reckless and noble all at once. One cannot help but admire the man’s courage, even as one must criticize the decision to throw his life away should they be discovered.
The Minotaurs though are archenemies of most other races, including the men of Solamnia. This Minotaur though is unlike any that’s ever come before in all of Mythology and Fantasy Fiction. Because he’s Kaz!
Kaz the Minotaur is one of the greatest heroes of old school DnD fiction and of all of Dragonlance.
At this point in the story he’s still an anti-hero, something of the ‘shadow Warrior’ archetype to the ‘Knight in his fullness’ archetype that Huma represents. In this way they are very much opposites. Kind of like Goku and Piccolo from DBZ. Essentially they form something of a ‘buddy cop’ type of duo.
And this gets to the main thrust of this essay; we need more ‘buddy cop’ stories in Fantasy. Except I don’t mean cops but Knights. We need stories of this sort as shown in the Season of the Witch as it can be truly magnificent and interesting, giving us two very different sort of characters.
It can prove quite interesting and different from how Knights are typically portrayed (just a little fruit for thought).
“Again, the voice was deep and resounding. "You have my gratitude, Knight of
Solamnia. I owe you my life, a debt I can never repay but one that I shall endeavor to
compensate you for if it takes the rest of my days."
Huma stayed poised, but some of his unease vanished. "You owe me nothing.
Anyone would have done the same."
The tall figure chuckled ominously. "Would they?" He turned to face the knight and,
even in the dim light, it was obvious that the one he had freed was no man or elf. The
horns were part of the creature, as was the thick, dark fur that covered the top and
much of the back. As the goblins had so crudely put it, the other resembled nothing
less than a bull with a body of a man.”
This here is the start of a great friendship that will change the Genre. It shows that Knaak knew what he was doing, his descriptions are superb so that there’s much that can be learnt from this part of his story.
What’s more is that introduces the idea of the Minotaur’s honour. Sure, Knaak shows his inexperience by having Kaz beat the point over our skulls about his honour and his life-debt, and constantly mention it throughout the novel. He does however counter-balance this by showing his talent by having it shown repeatedly that there’s a tender friendship that lies at the heart of the bond between the two of them.
The Key Lesson Here
The thing to learn from the end of Chapter One and start of the second one of Legend of Huma is how to set up a good ambush, how to also show something that many authors struggle with these days.
What is that something?
The idea of showing Chivalry and Doubt and properly balancing them together. The masterful control that Knaak has over characters and their emotions all while showing them to be passionate, intelligent beings is impressive.
Huma embodies both the chivalric knight of old and also that of the uncertain, self-doubting man that Modern people like so much. And yet he exhibits the sort of growth that has become synonymous with the Genre.
Idealistic as he is, Huma himself is not blind to his own flaws, to the dangers that surround his decisions and the results they may well have. However, though traditionally an enemy he still wishes to risk his life for the honourable Kaz.
This is the sort of balancing act that all authors should learn. It is crucial to one’s growth as an author. The key is to have a character stare down the darkness, and offer to throw away his life for another all while thinking to himself it could prove foolish. That said, the self-doubt that the character demonstrates ought to as with Huma slowly yet steadily disappear over the course of the story.