I have never played D&D in the Dragonlance setting, but I’ve read a lot of the novels. I’ve read all the early Weis/Hickman novels up through and just after the War of the Lance, the War of Souls trilogy (which, not knowing any better, I read first), and several of the “side story” trilogies written by other authors. I’m currently reading Amber and Blood by Margaret Weis, the final book of The Dark Disciple trilogy, which follows immediately after the War of Souls. On the other hand, I have somehow, purely by chance, not read any of the books that take place during the Chaos War that came between the War of the Lance and the War of Souls (unless the Linsha Trilogy was set during that time).
I said all that to say this: While reading The Dark Disciple trilogy, I was quite surprised to learn that there is a Dragonlance deity named Majere. I’m obviously familiar with Caramon & Raistlin Majere from the early novels, and Caramon’s sons, and Linsha Majere is apparently Caramon’s great niece or something like that. But the thing is, in all those books I’ve read, no deity named Majere was ever mentioned in any capacity until Amber & Ashes, the first book of The Dark Disciple - the main character is a monk dedicated to Majere.
My first thought was that Raistlin or Caramon had somehow ascended to godhood and I just hadn’t read the book in which it happened. But later in The Dark Disciple it’s mentioned that Majere is one of the original gods who was around when Krynn was created.
So … has Majere been there all along in the novels and/or campaign setting, and he was the one god that Weis & Hickman somehow didn’t manage to make mention of in any of the earlier books? Has it been explained somewhere why Caramon & Raistlin’s family name is the same as a god? Or did Margaret Weis just pull the god Majere out of a hat for the purpose of her latests novels?