Tasslehoff Burrfoot

Tasslehoff Burrfoot (often called Tas) is a fictional character of the kender race from the Dragonlance series of novels, written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. He was born in Kendermore. His parents are unknown and he has few known relatives. He has a sister, and also claims (like many other kender) to have an Uncle Trapspringer. He has three uncles, by the names of Remo Lockpick, Bertie, and Wilfre. He also has a cousin, Latchlifter Furrfoot.

Tas was just a bit under four feet tall. He had a slight build and slender, pointed ears. He also had brown hair and brown eyes. His hair is always tied into a topknot, which most kender have and are extremely fond of. When he became old, his face was wrinkled. Tas hated being bored, and on the occasion that he was, he was known to begin talking about meaningless things to anyone who would listen.

Early life

As a child, Tas's passion for maps began. He enjoyed collecting them and putting them all over the walls of his room. However, when he drew maps, his short patience led him to draw them inaccurately and often made up names for certain places on Ansalon. While he often stole things, he always claimed he wasn't a thief, often saying he was just borrowing the objects in question.

When he was in Solace, he found a ring dropped by a thief. It was dubbed "Tas's Ring of Teleportation", and he began a wild journey across Krynn, ending up in all sorts of places. However, he ended his travels at Magus's Tower, where he aided the Prince of Demons in an attempt to stop Magus from using demons, and departed, entrusting Magus to the Prince of Demons.

Outside of Solace, while Tas was traveling, he encountered Tanis and Flint. He asked to be their friends; they declined. Tas, upon leaving Solace, acquired a bracelet that Flint made for Selena Sonluanaau. This bracelet saved Tas from a spider, and it saved a merchant as well.

Tanis and Flint came to collect the bracelet, however Tas no longer had it. Selena arrived and charged them with finding the bracelet, and so the quest began. On the trail of the bracelet, they were waylaid by satyrs, who made them stop, dance, and drink while the satyrs played music for a whole day.

Upon arriving in Tantallon, Flint and Tanis are captured by the local Lord. Selena and Tas take a polymorph potion that turns them into birds to get into the castle, then they become mice to retrieve the bracelet. They then free Tanis and Flint, the bracelet is returned to Selena, and Tas leaves with Flint and Tanis.

Tasslehoff then joined the remaining Companions and they began adventuring. Tas was involved in Flint's near drowning episode; Tas helped to get Flint ashore. When Tas was on a quest for a special herb that Raistlin needed, along with Sturm and Caramon, he was captured by minotaurs. Tasslehoff made a major appearance in the Legends Trilogy as a character to retrieve Caramon from his drunken stupor.

Back to Kendermore

When the companions separated Tas had no intention of leaving his friends but a bounty came to arrest him and bring him back to Kendermore because he had to get married.

War of the Lance

Tas helped his companions on many ocasions during the war, mainly due to his lack of fear and extreme curiosity of everything. While these qualities are usually no more than a nuisance, they often help the Companions in some way or another. Tas takes his part in the war by riding a dragon with Flint during one of the final battles.

Legends

Tasslehoff was an important character in the Legends series. Since the creation of Kender was accidental, Kender possessed the ability to alter the flow of time.

Chaos War

In order to imprison Chaos, the gods needed Chaos's blood, and so, at the end of the chaos war Tasslehoff insulted Chaos, making the deity careless. Tasslehoff then ran up and stabbed Chaos in his big toe with a magical knife a friend had dubbed "Rabbitslayer". The resulting spurt of blood was enough of Chaos' essence to be used to force the deity into a choice--stay in the world and be forced to continually control himself (which Chaos had little patience for), or leave. Chaos decided to leave, but while he was leaving, he stomped on Tasslehoff, somehow killing Tasslehoff, but leaving his clothes and items.

War of Souls

Before Tasslehoff was killed by Chaos, he used the magical time travelling device to go forward in time to speak at Caramon's funeral. The first time he attempted to attend the funeral, he arrived too late. On another attempt at arriving at the correct time, he managed to speak briefly. After this event, Tasslehoff went back to a different time and participated in the War of Souls. By simply existing in this timeline that wasn't his own he was a danger to Tahkisis. He was proof that her power wasn't absolute and inspired some individuals. When he came into the timeline he brought with him the Device of Time Journeying, a magical artifat from the fourth age of great power. Because of this item many events began to take place during the War of Souls. After the gnome Conundrem fixed the Device of Time Journeying after it was broken he traveled through several various times throughout history before he returned to his own time. Shortly after he helped Gerard, Odila, and Mirror free the metallic dragons from their prison. After this he agreed to go back in time and get stepped on by Chaos, as he was supposed to, thus returning to his normal time-stream. Overall he helped move the events of the War of Souls on very much and played an important role.

Biography

While travelling during his Wanderlust (a time of the Kender's natural lifecycle, which gives them an insatiable urge of traveling), Tas ended up in Solace with one of Flint Fireforge's metalworking pieces in his pouches. Tanis caught the Kender, and the three became friends for the remainder of their lives. Always fearless and able to look on the bright side of any situation, Tas was never at a loss for telling a good story to anyone who might listen.

Tas was killed in the battle with Chaos during the chaos War. Before his death, Tas managed to stab Chaos in the foot, causing him to bleed and allowing Usha to catch a drop of his blood in the Greygem of Gargath, which proved to be the key to defeating him. Tasslehoff did so with the small, tarnished table knife which he called "Rabbit Slayer". "Rabbit Slayer" was Tasslehoff's pride and joy, he claimed it to have magnificent magical properties, but because of the nature of kender, no one ever believed him. Which makes his slaying of the ultimate being in Dragonlance lore with it a comical irony. Tasslehoff is honored at the Last Heroes' Tomb. However, Paladine allowed Tasslehoff to go forward in time to speak at Caramon Majere's funeral. Tasslehoff used the time travel machine just before being stomped by Chaos. Due to Takhisis' intrusion, Tas ended in an alternate future. A succession of events lead him to meet Palin Majere and Laurana Kanan, and with their help ended the War of Souls. Accepting his fate, he went back in time and let himself be killed by Chaos, restoring the flow of time. With the Heroes of the Lance, he found peace with his friends.

Coincidentally, many kender claim to have a Uncle Tas during the Fifth Age.

Personality

Tas, like all kender of the Dragonlance series, could be compared to a 5-year old child; he is utterly irresponsible in any task that is not of the utmost importance, often takes things that do not belong to him, which to a kender is borrowing and not stealing. Kender do not consider them to be thieves or people who steal and they believe in sharing all that they have. A common custom between 2 kender is dump the entire contents of their pouches and exchange things. Tas is completely without fear for himself. However Tas is different from other kender as he does know fear, not for himself, but for the people that he cares about. What separates Tasslehoff from other kender, however, is that he is fiercely loyal to his friends, has enough sense (largely thanks to lecturing from Tanis Half-Elven) to avoid overly dangerous situations, and above all, has a conscience in the form of Flint Fireforge's voice (To this day it is debated whether it's a coincidence, or if Flint is literally speaking to Tasslehoff from the afterlife), and his fear for his friends to which he is fiercely loyal.

Displays of this fear can be found in the books:
Chronicles Trilogy
Dragons of Winter Night
Dragons of Spring Dawning
Dragons of Summer Flame

War of Souls Trilogy
Dragons of a Fallen Sun
Dragons of a Lost Star
Dragons of a Vanished Moon

Appearance

Tasslehoff is often described as resembling a twelve- year old child; he is of that general height and build. His face has many wrinkles that appear whenever he smiles, which is often. His clothes are always described as colorful, comfortable, and utterly unmatching. Like all of his race, he carries a good number of pouches, which he never takes off, except just prior to his death at the hands of Chaos, so that he could run faster. See Chaos War. Also like all of his race, he has a ludicrously large topknot, which is to a kender what a beard is to a dwarf.

See also

• Kendermore

References

• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2000). Dragons of Autumn Twilight: Chronicles vol. I. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1574-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2000). Dragons of Winter Night: Chronicles vol. II. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1609-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2000). Dragons of Spring Dawning: Chronicles vol. III. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1589-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2000). Time of the Twins: Legends vol. I. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1804-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2000). War of the Twins: Legends vol. II. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1805-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2000). Test of the Twins: Legends vol. III. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1806-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2002). Dragons of Summer Flame. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2708-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2003). Dragons of a Fallen Sun: The War of Souls vol. I. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1807-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2002). Dragons of a Lost Star: The War of Souls vol. II. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2706-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Margaret Weis; Tracy Hickman (2003). Dragons of a Vanished Moon: The War of Souls vol. III. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2950-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Mary Kirchoff; Steve Winter (1991). Wanderlust: The Meetings Sextet vol. II. TSR. ISBN 1-56076-115-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Kirchoff, Mary (2003). Kendermore: Preludes vol. II. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-2947-2.