Chaos (Dragonlance)

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Chaos
Dragonlance character

Created by	Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
First appearance	Dragons of Summer Flame (1995)
Character information
Alias	Chaos
Race	Deity
Alignment	Chaotic Evil
Gender	Male
Titles	Father of All and Nothing
Homeland	The Beyond

Chaos is a fictional deity in the Dragonlance universe who is also known as Ionthas.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Creation
2 Capture of Ionthas
3 Graygem of Gargeth
4 Reference

[edit] Creation

Like all the gods, Chaos was created by the High God in order to carry out his plan to oversee mortals in their evolution.

Ionthas was chief among the shapers of the material world and was more powerful than any of his brethren. Among his most notable creations were the astral dragons Deion and Procene.

As the gods shaped the world according to the plan set forth by the High God, Ionthas's pride grew and he eventually declared himself the true deity and usurper of the High God. When opposed by some of the other gods, he set his rage upon Krynn by undoing the work of his kin and reshaping it to his will. Ionthas came to the realization that he could only reshape what already existed and could not create anything new, unlike the High God, and this realization unleashed hatred towards everything that was not himself. Ionthas even abandoned his original name and took the title by which he is more commonly known in Dragonlance literature: Chaos.

[edit] Capture of Ionthas

The gods opposed to Chaos were led by Paladine, the greatest among the gods of light and the most faithful to the High God. Paladine was granted the strength required to defeat and bind his brother. Though Chaos had power enough to defeat the other gods, he was unable to stand against Paladine and was cast into the void. While in this void, Chaos began to slip into insanity, denying the existence of the High God and convincing himself that he was the ultimate creator.

The gods' victory was not without cost; there was siginificant damage to their work and the seeds of rebellion were sown. Takhisis, who was given the title of co-regent by the High God, was infected with Chaos's megalomaniacal pride. Against the will of the High God, she refused Krynn with her brother and fellow co-regent Paladine. Takhisis managed to lure other deities to her side, giving rise to the gods of darkness. The gods who chose neither to oppose the will of the High God nor to aid it became the gods of neutrality. Those gods who supported the will of the High God became the gods of light.

[edit] Graygem of Gargeth

In an attempt to find a method of again bestowing magic on Krynn, the gods of magic, Nuitari, Solinari, and Lunitari, paid Hiddukel a magic coin in exchange for tricking Reorx into creating a device that would accomplish this. Hiddukel first went to Chislev and fed her lies about the balance being in jeopardy; she went to Reorx and asked for a powerful magic item that would help restore the balance. Reorx created for her the Graygem of Gargath. To power the gem he sought to encase in it a small portion of Chaos, but ended up imprisoning him within. Reorx later lost the gem to Lunitari, who was overcome by an urge to study it. The gem eventually landed in the hands of Lord Gargath. The gnomes laid siege to his castle and accidentally broke in. Upon reaching the gem, one half of the gnomes, driven by curiosity, wanted to cut open the gem to see what lay inside; the other half wanted to keep the gem and covet it. A bright gray light appeared and the former became kender and the latter became dwarves.

Eventually, the Graygem ended up in the possession of the Irda. When the Knights of Takhisis landed upon their shores, the Irda, enticed by Takhisis, decided to open the gem in order to release whatever magic was inside to protect their lands, inadvertently releasing Chaos, Father of All and Nothing. Chaos then brought about the Chaos War, but was defeated when twenty Knights of Takhisis and Knights of Solamnia arrived with the white robed mage Palin Majere. While the Knights and the mage kept Chaos distracted, Tasslehoff Burrfoot managed to cut Chaos's foot and allowed Usha to capture a tiny portion of blood in the cracked halves of the Graygem. This once again imprisoned Chaos within the gem, casting him out of the universe. At the exact moment that Chaos was captured, however, Takhisis stole away the world, bringing about the beginning of the Age of Mortals.

[edit] Reference

Dragonlance
Books	Dragons of Autumn Twilight \| Dragons of Winter Night \| Dragons of Spring Dawning more...
Characters	Tasslehoff Burrfoot \| Dalamar \| Flint Fireforge \| Tanis Half-Elven \| Steel Brightblade \| Sturm Brightblade \| Goldmoon \| Riverwind \| Caramon Majere \| Raistlin Majere \| Kitiara Uth Matar \| more...
Deities	Paladine \| Gilean \| Takhisis \| Mishakal \| Sargonnas \| Reorx \| Solinari \| Lunitari \| Nuitari \| more...
Authors	Margaret Weis \| Tracy Hickman \| Stan! \| Don Perrin \| Jean Rabe \| more...
Other	The First Ever Dragonlance Movie! \| Visit the Dragonlance Portal! \| The WikiProject Dragonlance!

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:	Ionthas
Disputed:	Mina