Kitiara Uth Matar (October 28, 318 AC – 357 AC), or "Kit", was one of the most infamous figures during the War of the Lance. As the Blue Lady, Kit controlled the Blue Dragonarmy. When the Queen of Darkness was defeated at the Temple of Neraka, Kit was able to keep most of her forces intact. Years later, she backed her half-brother Raistlin Majere in his bid for godhood and sent her army to Palanthas in a battle known as the Blue Lady's War. Kit perished from wounds suffered by Dalamar near the end of the war, and her body was taken from Palanthas by Lord Soth. Her presence and charisma were such that Kit’s blue dragon Skie and Lord Soth would both spend years trying to find her soul. Kitiara was also known as the Blue Lady, the Dark Lady, and was referred to as a "Lord" by many individuals – including Takhisis herself.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Kitiara was born to Gregor Uth Matar and Rosamun Aelan in 318 AC, probably in the city of Palanthas. Gregor and Rosamun left Palanthas for the city of Solace when Kit was still a baby. Kit had the same brown eyes and dark curly hair possessed by her father, and her smile always had a lopsided and roguish quality to it. Gregor abruptly left Solace in 325 AC, and Rosamun soon married the woodcutter Gilon Majere. The following year, Kitiara considered following Ursa Il Kinth out of Solace but stayed to help Rosamun give birth to the twins Caramon and Raistlin Majere. Kitiara named Raistlin after the clever hero in Gregor’s stories that he had once told to her.
Gilon was often away chopping wood and the birth was very hard on Rosamun, so Kit taught herself how to cook, sew, mend, and look after the boys. Kit yearned to leave Solace but also pitied Rosamun, whose health had deteriorated after the birth. Although some accounts differ, Kitiara left home around the same time that Raistlin joined Theobald's mage academy. Kit met up with Ursa and his companions and began her life as a mercenary. Her first payment was Beck’s sword.
Kitiara periodically returned to Solace with money and small gifts. She gave Caramon a wooden sword and taught him how to use it during her return visits. During one such trip in autumn of 334 AC, Kit met Patric and Strathcoe and joined them on their way to Gwynned. Patric had even proposed marriage to Kit, but he and Strathcoe were killed while they were all out at sea on the Silver Gar. A desperate Kit jumped ship rather than be unjustly accused of their murders. She rested at a nearby farm and entered the Wooden Weapons Annual in the village of Vocalion, in which she tied for first with a dwarf named Camium Ironbender. She reunited with Ursa, but soon discovered that he had betrayed her father and left Gregor to die at Whitsett. Kit fought and killed Ursa but couldn't discover Gregor's true fate. She coincidentally returned to Solace as Rosamun was dying but decided to leave without seeing her mother.
Kitiara first met Tanis Half-Elven shortly after she stole some magical jewels from the Valdane’s wizard Janusz. Tanis rushed to Kit's aid in her fight against some Hobgoblins, only to discover that she had been toying with them. The pair immediately got acquainted with one another, though there was some tension when Kitiara's former lover Caven Mackid turned up looking for his share of loot from Kit. Kit was captured by Janusz and Res-Lacua and taken to Icereach, where she was "rescued" by Tanis. Kitiara became pregnant during this time but the child’s father and fate is not known.
Upon their return to Solace, both Kitiara and Tanis were surprised to learn that their relatives and friends had already met one another. Kit found Solace a little more interesting with Tanis and her new friends around, and decided to stay for a time. The group came to be known as the Companions. In 346 AC, the Companions split up for various reasons, but they agreed to meet at the Inn of the Last Home in five years' time. Tanis broke off his relationship with a furious Kit before they went their separate ways.
Kitiara and Sturm Brightblade headed north to Solamnia by way of the elven ship High Crest. Stranded in Caergoth, the pair acquired passage on the Gnome ship Cloudmaster, bound for Solanthus. According to some rumors, the ship malfunctioned and sent the entire crew to the Red Moon, Lunitari for a time before they returned to Krynn. Some time during this journey, Kitiara became increasingly annoyed at Sturm’s attempts to take charge. This, coupled with her frustration concerning Tanis, caused her to seduce Sturm one night during his evening prayers. She didn’t know it at the time, but she became pregnant with his child. The two parted ways shortly afterward, though she found Sturm as he was confronting Merinsaard. Kit killed Merinsaard with an arrow to the back, and sent a second arrow that contained her final goodbye to Sturm.
Kitiara showed up at Sara Dunstan's cottage, sick and with child. Sara and a local druidess cared for Kit during her pregnancy. She was very ill during her term and it is rumored that she may have made a deal with the Queen of Darkness to kill others in exchange for her own life. Kit named her son Steel Brightblade as a kind of joke, since Sturm was the father. Kitiara agreed to let Sara keep the child, though she periodically sent money and gifts to Sara and Steel.
Rise to Power[]
Kit had heard stories about Ariakas, then a general, and left for Sanction as soon as she was well. She met up with her contact Balif, who introduced her to Ariakas. He was impressed with her demeanor and sent her on her first mission – to recruit the red dragon Immolatus. Kit returned to Sanction with Immolatus much to the surprise of Ariakas, who had expected her to fail. She attained the rank of Commander and was sent to the town of Hope's End with Immolatus, there to search for the eggs of Metallic Dragons. Kit was given orders to do what was necessary if Immolatus deviated from their plan, and when he tried to destroy the eggs Kit stopped him with the aid of the spirit of Sir Nigel of Dinsmoor. Immolatus then tried to acquire Raistlin's Staff of Magius, but Kit killed him with the help of an unwitting Raistlin. Kitiara was pleased at her brothers' burgeoning careers but decided not to reveal herself to them. It was also during this time that she began to believe in the majesty of the Queen of Darkness.
Kitiara became part of the Blue Dragonarmy and was paired with a Blue Dragon named Zephyr. Her superior, Kartilann, was killed by a sniper's arrow, and shortly thereafter Zephyr was slain. Kitiara and Skie teamed with one another to save face and formed a skilled partnership. With Skie's help, Kit became the Dragon Highlord of the Blue Dragonarmy, taking on the name of the Blue Lady. Taking six of her most loyal Sivak Draconians, she made them her bodyguards and learned the Draconic Language from them.
War of the Lance[]
During the War of the Lance she became one of the most prominent Dragon Highlords, leading most of the battles across the Solamnic plains, including the Siege of Castle Crownguard. In the Spring of 351 AC, Kitiara led the Blue Dragonarmy in their invasion of Solamnia, conquering Kalaman, Hinterlund and Nightlund, and then pressing on to capture Vingaard Keep. Busy leading her army, Kit was unable or unwilling to return to the Inn of the Last Home in the fall of that year for the reunion of the Companions. She was preparing to lead her dragons in an attack on the High Clerist's Tower when she was recalled from the front by the Emperor Ariakas in response to the death of Dragon Highlord Verminaard at the hands of a rag-tag band of adventurers. Kitiara realized that those adventurers were her former companions but kept that information to herself.
Ariakas rejected Kitiara's plan for an immediate attack on the High Clerist's Tower and instead tasked her with carrying out his plot to undermine the Knights of Solamnia from within by having one of the leading knights, Lord Derek Crownguard acquire a Dragon Orb. He also tasked her with investigating the death of Highlord Verminaard. A disguised Kitiara then travelled to Palanthas where she succeeded in making contact with Derek Crownguard and convinced him to pursue the Dragon Orb. Kitiara then journied to the city of Haven where she confirmed that it was indeed her former companions who had killed Verminaard. She also learned that Tanis was traveling with his former girlfriend, the elven princess Laurana. Overcome by jealousy, especially after being told that Laurana was more beautiful than her, Kitiara became obsessed with Laurana and resolved to find her former companions.
Tracking them to the city of Tarsis, Kit sent Skie with a contingent of blue dragons to capture Tanis and her brothers, while she personally sought out Laurana. After covertly watching the elfmaid, Kitiara decided Laurana was too beautiful a rival to let live and decided to kill her. Kitiara then had a force of Draconians attack Laurana's companions while she personally attacked Laurana from behind, intending to drag the elfmaid off into an alley, interrogate her about Tanis, and then murder her. Kitiara expected to easily defeat the rival she dismissed as just a pampered princess and was shocked when Laurana fiercely resisted her attack. It was only with the help of the Sivak Draconian Slith that Kitiara was finally able to subdue Laurana. Kitiara and Slith dragged Laurana off into an alley, but before they could kill the elfmaid they were interupted by none other than Derek Crownguard, leading a group of Solamnic Knights, and Elistan, a Cleric of Paladine. Kitiara was forced to flee, promising Laurana they would meet again.
Kitiara then learned that Skie had failed to catch Tanis and received a summons from Emperor Ariakas to immediately report to the city of Neraka. Ariakas had been using the wizardess Iolanthe to spy on Kitiara and after seeing her show so much interest in the group that had killed Verminaard, now believed Kitiara was guilty of treason. When Kitiara arrived in Neraka, she was arrested and quickly sentenced to death. However, Iolanthe who was playing Ariakas and Kitiara off against each other, then helped her escape. The fugitive Kitiara then travelled to Dargaard Keep where the Death Knight Lord Soth had said he would serve the first Dragon Highlord to survive a night in his keep. Kitiara successfully survived the night, winning the admiration of Lord Soth, and thus restored her position as a Dragon Highlord.
Kitiara was then sent to the town of Flotsam to track down Berem, known as the Green Gemstone Man. In Flotsam she discovered Tanis, who was disguised as one of her own troops, and they quickly rekindled their relationship. Kitiara then left Tanis in charge in Flotsam while she travelled to Solamnia to finally lead her army against the High Clerist's Tower.
Kitiara led a flight of blue dragons against the tower and fought against her former friend, Sturm Brightblade, on the tower's battlements. She succeeded in killing Sturm, but he managed to delay her long enough to allow Laurana to successfully use a Dragon Orb to lure two of Kitiara's dragons into a trap. The Dragon Orb also caused the Draconians in Kitiara's army to go berserk, causing her army to rout. Kitiara then confronted Laurana on the tower walls, where she taunted her rival by telling Laurana that Tanis was with her.
Kitiara then returned to Flotsam and found that Tanis had left her and was fleeing on the Perechon, a ship that also held Berem. She tried to capture the ship, but it was pulled under the Blood Sea of Istar by the Maelstrom.
Meanwhile the Good Dragons had entered the war, and Laurana was appointed commander of the Whitestone Army. Laurana then led her forces into battle against Kitiara's army and Kitiara's force was again defeated with her second in command, Bakaris, being captured. The Whitestone Army then liberated the city of Kalaman.
Emperor Ariakas then went to execute Kitiara for the many defeats she had suffered. However, Lord Soth stayed Ariakas' hand and Kitiara managed to convince the Emperor she had a plan to capture Laurana, now known as the Golden General, and destroy the Whitestone Army, by using Laurana's love for Tanis Half-Elven to lure her into a trap.
Kitiara sent a false message to Laurana, skillfully manipulating her rival by telling the elfmaid that Tanis had been mortally wounded and wanted to see her before he died, which Kitiara would only allow in exchange for Laurana returning Bakaris to her. Just as Kitiara expected, Laurana fell for this trick. The elfmaid, who already believed Tanis was with Kitiara, was convinced the message was true and believed (based on their prior encounter at the High Clerist's Tower where Kitiara had acted in a honorable manner and hadn't tried to physically harm her despite catching her in an extremely vulnerable position) that she could trust Kitiara to honor a truce, so she took Bakaris to the meeting site where she was betrayed and captured by Kitiara's forces. With the Golden General now her prisoner, Kitiara then traveled to Kalaman and threatened to execute Laurana in three weeks time unless Berem Everman was turned over to her and the Whitestone Forces surrendered.
Kitiara then went to Neraka for a meeting of the Dragon Highlords. As she entered the city she again encountered Tanis Half-Elven, who had come to Neraka to try and rescue Laurana. Tanis offered to trade himself to Kitiara if she would release Laurana, and Kitiara agreed to consider his offer. However, Kitiara was lying to Tanis as she had already decided that the only way to make Tanis totally hers was to make him watch as she destroyed Laurana and thus planned to have Laurana tortured to death and her soul given to Lord Soth.
Kitiara then had Tanis accompany her that night to the meeting of the Council of Highlords where Kitiara had the captured Laurana put on display, earning her the praise of the evil goddess Takhisis. Kitiara then asked Takhisis to accept Tanis as an officer in the Dragonarmies and to grant Laurana's soul to Lord Soth. Takhisis agreed to both requests.
Tanis managed though to turn the tables on Kitiara when he struck down Emperor Ariakas with help from Raistlin, and then seized the Crown of Power. Tanis was about to trade the Crown of Power to Kitiara for Laurana's freedom when Laurana broke free on her own. Laurana immediately attacked Kitiara, stealing the Highlord's sword, and knocking her to the ground. Tanis tried to stop Laurana from running off which caused her to shove him off the platform. This caused Tanis to drop the crown and all the Dragonarmy factions started fighting for it. Laurana fought her way out of the room in the chaos with Tanis chasing after her, and Kitiara chasing after him.
Kitiara soon caught up to Tanis and Laurana and offered Tanis a final chance to rule at her side while warning Tanis that Lord Soth was coming to collect Laurana. Tanis refused Kitiara's offer, and told her he would die to protect Laurana. Kitiara then allowed them to escape before Lord Soth arrived. Lord Soth mocked her for this, but Kitiara claimed that by letting the two escape she had insured she would always live in Tanis' heart which would forever poison his relationship with Laurana. Lord Soth then presented Kitiara with the Crown of Power.
Post War of the Lance[]
Kitiara retreated to Sanction after the war and rebuilt her forces, while Lord Soth helped by killing other Dragon Highlords. The Blue Lady, as she was still known, shared an uneasy truce with the Knights of Solamnia. In the spring of 356 AC, she was summoned by Raistlin to the Tower of High Sorcery at Palanthas and made aware of his plan to become a god. She tried to thwart his plans by sending Lord Soth to kill the Revered Daughter Crysania, but Raistlin took Crysania and himself back in time so that the Kingpriest could heal her.
The wizard Dalamar, Raistlin's apprentice and a spy for the Conclave of Wizards, also sought to stop his Shalafi from becoming a god. Kitiara made an alliance with Dalamar to stop Raistlin, but Lord Soth convinced Kit that Dalamar secretly supported his master. Soth convinced Kit to attack Palanthas, which she did with a flying citadel. Thus began the Blue Lady's War. Kit used the Nightjewel to enter the tower and tried to kill Dalamar, though he mortally wounded her in the attempt. She would have been successful, but Caramon's knowledge of the future enabled him to save Dalamar's life. A mortally wounded Kit begged Tanis to protect her from Lord Soth. Shortly after she died, Lord Soth appeared to claim Kit's body, and Tanis finally gave her up. Caradoc captured her soul and placed it inside the gem of his medallion of office. He then hid the medallion from Lord Soth in order to bargain with him. It is said that her body lies next to Soth’s throne in a state of preservation.
After Kitiara's Death[]
Kitiara's spirit appeared at various times during the Chaos War. She, along with the spirit of Sturm Brightblade, helped Steel pass through the magic of Shoikan Grove. When Palin was in the Abyss, she (or something resembling her) tried to prevent him from returning to Krynn. She appeared to Steel again and gave him the chance to leave, along with Takhisis's other chosen, but he refused.
In addition, both Skie and Lord Soth searched for Kitiara's spirit but to no avail. Skie sought to return Kitiara to life, but Lord Soth's goals were undoubtedly darker.
Inconsistencies[]
Kitiara's role in helping Raistlin attend his wizard school varies with the story, as does the wizard's name. Her birth date was mentioned at least once as October 31st, though there are twenty-eight days in a Krynnish month.
References[]
- The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Autumn Twilight, p. 38, 41, 117, 315, 469
- The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Winter Night, p. 497, 501, 531, 533, 608, 840, 845, 848, 882, 898
- The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Spring Dawning, p. 947, 952, 1019, 1047, 1185, 1221, 1232, 1247, 1286-1287
- The Annotated Dragonlance Legends, Test of the Twins, p. 942-943, 1005, 1083, 1090, 1096-1097, 1111-1113
- The Annotated Dragonlance Legends, Time of the Twins, p. 74, 85
- The Annotated Dragonlance Legends, War of the Twins, p. 662
- Brothers in Arms, p. 36-87, 159-172, 223-226, 249-269, 280-290, 328-336, 385-392, 400-410, 435-443
- Dark Heart, p. 3-5, 10, 13, 27, 30, 31, 102, 113, 220, 299-301, 308-309
- Darkness and Light
- Dragons of Summer Flame, p. 195, 326, 511
- Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (PB) p. 346
- Dragons of the Highlord Skies (PB) p. 2, 5, 21-192, 319-364, 386-406, 432-447, 457, 477, 565-594
- The Eve of the Maelstrom, p. 86-87
- Knight of the Black Rose, p. 6, 21, 33, 40, 313
- Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home, p. 45, 169
- Kitiara's Son (The Second Generation), p. 5-83
- The Soulforge (HC), p. 35
- Steel and Stone
- When Black Roses Bloom pg 16, 42-43
- DL16: World of Krynn – “Dargaard Keep” pgs. 53