Takhisis

Takhisis is a fictional character from the Dragonlance universe. She is depicted as the main goddess of evil in the setting and head of the Dark Pantheon.

Takhisis
Dragonlance character
First appearanceDragons of Autumn Twilight (1984)
Created byMargaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
In-universe information
AliasThe One God
RaceDeity
GenderFemale
TitleDragon queen
Nilat the Corrupter
Tamex, the False Metal
Mai-Tat
She of Many Faces
Queen of Many Colors and None
The Dark Queen
Erestem
Tii'Mhut
Lady Chaos
Mwarg
The Dark Warrior
Shadow Sorcerer
AlignmentEvil

Titles and forms

Within the Dragonlance universe, Takhisis was a sister of Gilean and Paladine, the goddess of control and evil, consort to Sargonnas, and mother to Zeboim and Nuitari. Takhisis was responsible for the corruption of the chromatic dragons, and appeared in one form as a dragon with heads the colors of blue, black, white, red, and green. Takhisis is also referred to as Dragon Queen (among elves), Nilat the Corrupter (among the barbarians of the plains), Tamex, the False Metal (among dwarves), Mai-tat, She of Many Faces (among the people of Ergoth), Queen of Many Colors and None (among the Knights of Solamnia), the Dark Queen, Erestem, Tii'Mhut, Lady Chaos, Mwarg, the One God, the Dark Warrior, and Shadow Sorcerer. Jeff Grubb believes that she is Tiamat,[1] Goddess (or Queen) of evil dragons in many other Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings. However, the two are separate entities according to Dragonlance creator, Tracy Hickman[2] and others.[3] The 4th Edition Draconomicon books confirm that Takhisis is Tiamat in fourth edition. This is confirmed again in the 5th edition Dungeon Master's Guide.[4]

Takhisis most often takes the form of a five-headed dragon; each head is represented by the color of one of the evil dragons (red, blue, green, black, and white).[2][5] She also often uses the form of a beautiful temptress, said to be so lovely that no man can resist her. Additionally, she has another form known as the Dark Warrior.

Sargonnas is Takhisis' consort. Together they have two children: Nuitari and Zeboim.[6]

Ambition

Within the Dragonlance universe, Takhisis is the most ambitious of the gods, frequently making plans to upset the balance and take over the world for herself. In Dragons of the Hourglass Mage, for example, Takhisis attempts to take control of all magic.[7] After being driven back by Huma Dragonbane in the Third Dragon War and sealed from the world, she bides her time in the Abyss, always looking for new ways into the world. This brings about the War of the Lance, where the dark goddess is ultimately thwarted by the Heroes of the Lance,[8] and subsequently contributes to the Chaos War and the War of Souls.

Raistlin Majere attempts to destroy Takhisis and assume her role as head god of evil. He succeeds in one timeline, but destroys the world of Krynn in the ensuing magical battle. His brother Caramon, with the aid of a time-travelling device, dissuades him from this path; and Raistlin sacrifices himself to prevent Takhisis from leaving the Abyss.

The War of Souls

After the Chaos War, Takhisis steals the world from the rest of the gods and becomes the "One God" of the world. When the rest of the gods return to Krynn, they realize that Takhisis has gone too far. Although Sargonnas has generally been loyal to her, the actions leading up to her being made mortal lead Sargonnas to declare she has gone too far and to support the decision. In order to retain the balance, Paladine sacrifices his godhood and immortality in order for Takhisis to be stripped of her godhood and immortality.[9] She is then killed by the elven king Silvanoshei.

Other publications

Takhisis is key to the Dragonlance world creation myth as the primordial source of evil. This central role is crucial to how creation myths are presented.[10]

In the neo-pagan press, a series of books published by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, looks at Takhisis in the Dragonlance world and compares her to the Babylonian and Dungeons & Dragons version of Tiamat. The book is written as a school book for young wizards and witches of the neo-pagan sort. Takhisis is described for her role in the wars of good vs. evil.[5]

This ultimate source of the theme of evil is discussed again in a presentation by Dr. Stefan Ekman of Lund University in Sweden. Dr. Ekman compares Takhisis and other fantasy "dark lords," such as Lord Foul and Sauron, to the biblical Satan. In particular he states, "Even though not all of the Dark Lords above signify the ultimate source of evil, Lord Foul, the Dark One, and Takhisis certainly do. And all of them are ultimately actants, characters whose raison d’être is to provide the final threat".[11]

This theme of good versus evil, and human versus gods, is expanded in Dragonlance, a Shared World of Fantasy Fiction and Role-Playing Games. The central focus of this thesis is the struggle of the human characters versus Takhisis. This struggle is compared with the human, or at least mortal, heroes of the stories of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia.[12]

Tiamat, in her Dragonlance/Krynn incarnation is also the subject of in the Dragon Gods and Evil dragons sections of the Practical Guide to Dragons. She is discussed in universe style with sidebars detailing her real-world publishing significance.[13] This is continued in the follow-up series The Dragon Codices, in which Takhisis is the main, if somewhat hidden, antagonist.[14]

Footnotes
  1. Dragonlance Nexus (2001-04-29). "Interview with author and designer Jeff Grubb". Dragonlance Nexus. Archived from the original (Interview) on 2006-08-13. Retrieved 2017-05-16.
  2. Weis, Margaret; Hickman, Tracy (1999), The Annotated Chronicles, Wizards of the Coast, p. 1237, ISBN 0-7869-1526-9
  3. Moore, Roger E. (June 1985), "The Dragons of Krynn", Dragon, TSR, Inc. (98), pp. 15–16
  4. 5th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide. p. 225.
  5. DeKirk, Ashley; Oberon Zell-Ravenheart (2006). Dragonlore: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry. Oberon Zell Presents (1 ed.). New Page Books. p. 224. ISBN 978-1-56414-868-1.
  6. King, J. Robert, ed. (1992). Tales of the Lance. TSR, Inc. p. 117. ISBN 9781560763383.
  7. "Brilliance Audio". Bookwatch. February 1, 2010. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2012. – via HighBeam Research (subscription required)
  8. Wienecke-Janz, Detlef, ed. (2002). Lexikon der Zauberwelten - Gandalf & Co. Wissen Media Verlag. p. 62. ISBN 3-577-13505-0.
  9. Wolf 2010, p. 14.
  10. Wolf, Nadine (2010). Religious Concepts in Fantasy Literature (in English and German). GRIN Verlag. ISBN 9783640661428.
  11. Ekman, Stefan (March 22–26, 2000). Satan, Sauron, and Sundry Dark Lords: Evil Incarnate in Fantasy (PDF). 21st International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Ft Lauderdale, Florida. Retrieved 2017-05-16.CS1 maint: location (link)
  12. Bajusz, Nikolett (16 Jun 2011), Dragonlance, a Shared World of Fantasy Fiction and Role-Playing Games, p. 69, hdl:1800/6553
  13. Trumbauer, Lisa (September 26, 2006). A Practical Guide to Dragons. Practical Guides (1st ed.). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 9780786941643.
  14. Henham, R.D. (January 8, 2008). Red Dragon Codex. The Dragon Codices. 1 (1st ed.). Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 978-0786949250.

Sources
  • Wolf, Nadine (2010). Religious Concepts in Fantasy Literature. GRIN Verlag. ISBN 978-3640661428.
List of Dragonlance deities
Good: Paladine Majere Kiri-Jolith Mishakal Habbakuk Branchala Solinari
Neutral: Gilean Sirrion Reorx Chislev Zivilyn Shinare Lunitari
Evil: Takhisis Sargonnas Morgion Chemosh Zeboim Hiddukel Nuitari
Other: High God & Chaos Mina
PANTHEON OF DRAGONLANCE
High GodChaos
PaladineMishakalGileanTakhisisSargonnas
BranchalaMajereReorxMorgionChemoshHiddukel
ShinareSirrionChislevZivilyn
Kiri-JolithHabbakukSolinariMinaLunitariNuitariZeboim
gollark: Rob Pike is foolish.
gollark: I think he's just a GHC developer.
gollark: I was totally about to say that.
gollark: It's much more coherent, doesn't stick in arbitrary bodges like `make` and the weird not-generics, and has very light syntax.
gollark: Without the million language extensions, the language is much less arbitrarily designed.
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