He saw the fall and subsequent rise of the Knights of Solamnia in the public’s eye and eventually rose to become its Grand Master and even revise the Measure. Let’s take a closer look at Gunthar Uth Wistan. Buy War of the Lance: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3164/War-of-the-Lance-35?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
He would redefine what it meant to be a Knight, but it would take years of darkness…
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Gunthar Uth Wistan. I would like to take a moment and thank the members of this channel, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing War of the Lance, Age of Mortals, Knightly Orders of Ansalon sourcebooks and much more for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below.
Discussion
Gunthar Uth Wistan hails from his ancestral home Castle Uth Wistan on the Isle of Sancrist. Initially constructed a thousand years before the cataclysm, the castle stood as a beacon of light for the publicly despised Knights of Solamnia. The knighthood fell in the eyes of the public after the Cataclysm. They were publicly blamed for not saving the populace and even said to have been the cause of the tragedy. The truth mattered little to those wanting vengeance for the state of plague and decay the Age of Despair found itself in, and this would be the era Gunthar cut his teeth as a knight in. His ancestors were said to have fought alongside Vinas Solamnus himself in the Rose Rebellion against Ergoth. So the Wistan line is one of pride, honor and distinguished men and women of valor.
Gunthar was born in the spring of 293 AC, and his earliest campaigns were set on the Solamnic Plains around Vingaard Keep. He would fight alongside Lord Brightblade against hobgoblin incursions and peasant uprisings. He would grow to be close friends with the Brightblade family, and in 335 AC during the Rebellion, he was under the command of Sir Angriff Brightblade when, with the Brightblade castle surrounded, Angriff saved the knights and civilians within by giving himself up. It was an act of heroic sacrifice that Gunthar would never forget. Throughout his knighthood, Gunthar would develop a rivalry with the Crownguard family, beginning with Boniface. This came to a decisive head when Boniface rejected a young Sturm Brightblade from entering the order, and Gunthar overruling his decision. Gunthar would be a father figure for young Sturm, but the rivalry between Gunthar and Boniface would ultimately mar the knighthood for years, and even spill over to Derek Crownguard and Sturm Brightblade.
There had not been a Grand Master of the Knighthood since the beginning days of the Cataclysm, as there were never enough knights together, since the vast majority of the Order of Clerists disappeared just before the cataclysm, they were unable to elect a new one in a Grand Circle according to the Measure. Castle Uth Wistan would become the de facto meeting place for the knighthood in the years leading up to the War of the Lance. It was there that Gunthar oversaw the Whitestone Council as a nominal leader of the Knights of Solamnia, against the wishes of his only real rival for the position of Grand Master, Derek Crownguard. Derek preferred to face evil head on, rather than all this reaching out to the other nations and races of Krynn.
When Derek Crowngard returned to Sancrist with the Dragon Orb and Sturm Brightblade, it was only through Gunthar Uth Wistan’s influence that Sturm was not expelled entirely from the order, but insead, made a full Knight of the Crown. Derek was a rigid follower of the Oath and the Measure, so much so that he would willfully be the downfall of the Knighthood if placed in a position of authority. Gunthar was more inclined to see the Measure as Sturm showed him though word and deed, and when Sturm made the ultimate sacrifice atop the High Clerist Tower, providing the opportunity to turn the tide of the battle, Gunthar swore to change the Measure to reflect the heart of a Knight and the spirit of the Measure rather than the rigid interpretation that was followed and nearly led the Knighthood to ruin. It was Gunthar’s gift of seeing greatness in those around him that led to his granting Lauralanthalasa Kanan, a Qualinesti princess, the honorary title of General for her role in the recovery of the Dragonlances and her racial social status. And though she proved to be a brilliant military leader, we must acknowledge the true gravity of Gunthar’s decision. This was a world where if you weren’t from Solamnia, you could not be a knight. If you were from Solamnia and were also a woman, you could not be a knight. Tension between the elven nations and the Knights were suspicious at best, so to assign female elven royalty to lead Solamnic Knights in clean up duty let alone battle was unthinkable.
With the success of Gilthanas and Silvara’s mission of discovering the truth of Draconian creation, and the subsequent return of the Good Dragons, Gunthar Uth Wistan would be promoted to acting Grand Master. Together with the Golden General, the Whitestone armies would drive the Dragonarmies back to Neraka, and the Heroes of the Lance would defeat the Queen of Darkness. Gunthar’s leadership led to a resurgence in the Knighthood following the end of the war, and in 355 A.C. he would be officially named the first Grand Master in over three hundred years, since before the cataclysm. He declared that he would revise the Measure himself, using the war and those lost as his rationale and inspiration. It would take the rest of his life to complete.
He did his best to defend against the Blue Lady’s War in 357 AC., hoping for another battle at the High Clerist’s Tower, but was only able to ride to Palanthas’ aid as her forces devastated the city. They would eventually push her forces back in the absence of the Blue Lady herself and Lord Soth. Later that year, Ariakan Ariakas would be released from captivity and go on to create the Knights of Takhisis who would take control of all of Ansalon with the blessing of all of the gods to stand against Chaos himself in 383 A.C., but Gunthar would be retired for a year before the world saw it. Even in retirement he would work for the betterment of the knighthood, and when the Alien Dragons came to Krynn and the Dragon Purge began, Gunthar would reach out to the current Dark Knights leadership and offer to join the forces of Solamnia with Neraka.
During this meeting Gunthar would propose a hunt for the infamous Mannjaeger, but would be gored in the hunt by the beast, and ultimately die, passing control of the Knighthood to Sir Liam Ehrling. Lord Ehrling’s first act would be to finally unveil the new Measure Gunthar spent the last part of his life working on. Gunthar Uth Wistan died nine years after the Summer of Chaos. His legacy is one of vision and adaptation. Of asking Knights to rely on one another with faith and honor through actions, not the recitation of passages. This is a radical, reformation of the Solamnic Knights Measure in a time removed from its patron deities. Gunthar never knew any significant times of peace. If it wasn’t the people of Ansalon rising up against the Knighthood, it was the knights themselves warring with each other. Then came the Dragonarmies, the Blue Lady’s War, and the Chaos War, followed by Dragon Overlords. They say it takes immense pressure and time to create a diamond, I would argue that is exactly what was needed to define Gunthar Uth Wistan whose legacy will forever be one of vision, restoration, reformation and honor. He was the last of his name, having lost his sons in the years of war, but we can be sure his name will live on as long as the Knights of Solamnia stand up to their oath: Est Solarus oth Mithas, my honor is my life.
Outro
But that is all the time I have to talk about Gunthar Uth Wistan. I hope you enjoyed the information. What do you think about Gunthar’s legacy? Should he have reached out to Mirial Abrenna? And finally do you think the Whitestone Armies would have won without his leadership? Leave a comment below.
I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
Don’t grieve, dear one. Don’t cry. The Forestmaster said to us, in Darken Wood, that we should not mourn those who have fulfilled their destiny. Mine is fulfilled.
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