With one of, if not the best character arcs in the saga, Laurana began a spoiled brat and evolved into the Golden General and all because her love of Tanis Half-Elven allowed her to break free of her elven prejudice. Let’s take a closer look at Lauralanthalasa Kanan. Buy The Art of Dragonlance: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17389/The-Art-of-the-Dragonlance-Saga?affiliate_id=50797
Transcript
Cold Open
We first met her as a love sick, spoiled princess who turned into the Golden General leading armies against the Dark Queen herself. I’m talking about Lauralanthalasa Kanan of course…
Intro
Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to dive into the life of Lauralanthalasa Kanan. I would like to take a moment and thank my collaborator patrons, the Heroes of the Lance, and invite you to consider becoming a patron or member of this channel by visiting the links in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate link. I am referencing the sourcebooks and novels for this information, but if you believe I misspeak or have something wrong, please leave a comment below.
Discussion
I get a lot of flack from Dragonlance fans about my perception of Laurana as a character. She is entirely defined by the state of the world, rising to the challenges set before her, but her beginnings were less than admirable. Tracy Hickman refers to her as transitioning from “’…[a] spoiled little girl’ to the general of armies.” Tracy actually named her after his wife Laura. Laurana was one of the original three characters that Tracy and Laura Hickman workshopped to define Dragonlance. Kitiara as the paragon of Evil, Laurana as the paragon of good, and Tanis as the paragon of Neutrality. Just as the trio would have a love triangle and moral struggles between them, the campaign world itself would follow suit, echoed in the machinations of the gods, the Queen of Darkness, Paladine and Gilean.
The character herself notes that she behaved naively, chasing after a man who supposedly didn’t love her. Doing what she is doing, not for the greater good, or glory, but to earn the love of and prove herself to Tanis. This is of course halfway through her character arc, and by the time she arrives in Southern Ergoth, she is entirely caught up in the workings of the world, doing what she can, not for the selfish love of one man, but for the love of her friends and the good in the world. You can see this evolution in the writing, naturally, but also in the way the artists portrayed her. But before we can truly appreciate what she becomes, we have to take a trip down memory lane to where she began. Laurana is the youngest child and only daughter of the Speaker of the Sun Solostaran Kanan. Her older brothers are Porthios Kanan and Gilthanas Kanan. Laurana was taught to be a symbol of her people and act gracious in polite society, though she was a product of being pampered and spoiled. She learned ceremonial swordplay and to telepathically communicate with griffons. When her father took on Tanis Half-Elven as a ward, Laurana and Tanis would fall into a romantic though childish relationship, promising to marry when they reached maturity. She was a skilled diplomat, and even used her good looks and charm as a weapon to get her own way.
A week after confiding her love for Tanis to her brother Gilthanas, Tanis left Qualinost. Laurana was heartbroken. So when Tanis returned unexpectedly with an entourage heralding the changing world to come, Laurana was devastated by his rebuke of her affections and his confessions of loving Kitiara Uth Matar. This is also the beginning of the love triangle that would become a point of contention through the War of the Lance and after, leading to Laurana’s capture. Laurana was determined to win the affection of Tanis however and even chased after him when the companions left. This is the defining moment for her character, it broke her out of the protected womb and allowed her to see the state of the world, and get exposure to different perspectives and people that her insulated life sheltered her from. Exposure to different world views and personalities is essential for personal growth and we are afforded a front row seat to Laurana’s.
When she was discovered following them, and Tanis scolded her for putting everyone in danger, she grew even more determined to prove herself. They liberated the prisoners of Pax Tharkas and after delivering them to Thorbardin, traveled to Tarsis. Tanis began to fall back in love with Laurana, as she was spending a lot of time with Elistan and helping the other former prisoners. When the Red Dragon Army attacked Tarsis, Laurana believed Tanis was killed in a collapsed inn, after throwing her to safety. She was devastated. Kitiara searched for Laurana after hearing rumors of the two being together in the murder of the Dragon Highlord Verminaard. Finally, the tangled web of sexual tension, jealousy and lost love has entrapped all of its players.
Laurana earned the respect of Kitiara as she fought her in Tarsis, and the Icewolf for her plan to sac Icewall Castle where she killed Feal-Thas at great loss. En route to Icereach she shared the echo of Loracs Nightmare and Laurana saw Tanis and Kitiara together, and her companion Sturm die. She began to believe Tanis was alive. They sailed for Sancrist with the Dragon Orb and pieces of a Dragonlance, and were attacked by the highlord’s white dragon, crashing on the shores of Southern Ergoth. There she was reunited with her family in exile, but chose to deliver the Orb to the Whitestone council against her fathers wishes. She split with Derek and Sturm and was led by Silvara to Humas Tomb. There they forged the Dragonlance’s with Theros and delivered them to the Whitestone Council. She was asked to speak on behalf of Sturm, which led to him earning his knighthood, and she was sent to the High Clerist Tower to teach the knights how to use the Lance. She won the respect of all as a warrior and Sturm sacrificed himself to allow her to activate the Dragon Orb, winning the battle but again, facing off with Kitiara. She is the only non-wizard to have had the strength to control an orb, this is a long way from where we met her. Though she still wanted Tanis more than ever. She even violates the law by breaking out a prisoner in exchange for Tanis in a trap set by Kitiara, where she was ultimately captured by Lord Soth.
Laurana was presented as a gift to Takhisis and Tanis went after her, using Kitiara to get her back. This backfired as Laurana no longer trusted Tanis. This is also the most unbelievable moment in the books for me. Laurana has longed for Tanis and sacrificed everything for him with the trade of Bakaris, yet now that he is the one saving her, she no longer trusts him, but again, not for long. Because as they are escaping the temple her affections magically return after he refuses Kitiara’s offer. I may be alone in this but it was very unlike the character we have known to date. The year after the War of the Lance, Tanis and Laurana marry, and fifteen years later they would have a son, Gilthas. They worked together as diplomats, trying to unify the people of Krynn to no avail. The Qualinesti would capture Gilthas, and Tanis would be called to investigate the Knights of Takhisis. This would lead to his discovery of Sturms son, who he would sacrifice his life for to honor his old friend, and Laurana would be called to Qualinesti by her son as his advisor.
Laurana would remain in Qualinost with her son, secretly sending elves out of the city before the dragon Overlord Beryl attacked it. She would face off against the dragon and even kill it before she died herself. From spoiled princess, to Golden General and finally as Queen Mother, Laurana led a life that was both inspirational and terrifying. She always stepped up to the situation presented to her, allowing her focus and love of her friends and family to guide her choices, to the end. There is no other character that turned as many heads, perceptions and hearts as Lauranthalasa Kanan and was admired and respected by her enemies as much as her allies. And in reflection, perhaps I like her more for the moment of confusion and questioning Tanis in the Dark Queen’s temple. It added a bit of the frailty to her character that seemed to be lost since childhood. For any character to be believable they need faults as much as virtues, and for Laurana both were love, just as it can be in real life. And that makes her real to me.
Outro
But that’s all the time I have to talk about Laurana. What are your favorite scenes of Laurana’s? Do you have a favorite painting or illustration of her? Do you believe she was a spoiled little girl like the authors and artists? And finally if you had to spend time with Kitiara, Tanis or Laurana, which would you choose and why? Leave a comment below.
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This channel is all about celebrating the wonderful world of the Dragonlance Saga, and I hope you will join me in the celebration. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:
I can’t hang around, protecting you. Neither can Gilthanas. You have behaved like a spoiled brat. I told you once before—you’d better grow up. Now, if you don’t, you’re going to die and probably get all the rest of us killed right along with you!
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