Sturm Brightblade

Sturm Brightblade (stûrm bright-blade)( August 5, 322 AC – 352 AC ) was one of the famed Companions who fought against the Dark Queen and her dragonarmies in the War of the Lance. He was a true Knight of Solamnia in spirit, even if not fully recognized by others. He has blue eyes. At the time of the war of the Lance he was no more than 29 years old, but his long hair was already starting to turn gray. He sees everything in black and white terms, refusing to consider the grayer shades between, and considers all magic as being evil.

He sacrificed himself during the Battle of the High Clerist’s Tower to buy Laurana and the Knights of Solamnia the time they needed to win the day. Honorable to a fault, Sturm nonetheless carried his own secrets. Unbeknownst to the other Companions, Sturm was not a true Solamnic Knight but merely a squire. Years after his death, Caramon Majere and Tanis Half-Elven would learn that Sturm was seduced by Kitiara Uth Matar, who later gave birth to their child, Steel Uth Matar Brightblade. His noble bearing and compassion earned him great respect (and possibly love) by the lady Alhana Starbreeze. Sturm’s name is recognized and spoken with respect by the people of Ansalon.

Sturm
Race	Human
Class	Fighter
Alignment	Lawful Good
Gender	Male
Nationality	Solmanic
Hair Color	Brown
Eye Color	Blue
Occupation	Knight of Solamnia (Knight of the Crown)
Children	Steel Brightblade
Birth	322 AC
Death	352 AC

Early Life

The son of Angriff Brightblade and Ilys Brightblade, Sturm was raised in Castle Brightblade in Solamnia. The Brightblade Family had been Knights of Solamnia for generations, and Sturm was tutored by Vedro in a manner befitting his noble bloodline and station. In 335 AC, peasants from Avrinet rose up against Castle Brightblade, and Angriff ordered Soren Vardis to smuggle Ilys and Sturm out of the castle while he and his knights stayed behind to defend the castle. Sturm and Ilys made their way to Solace, where Sturm got his first job working for Derimius the scribe. He befriended Caramon Majere, and met Caramon’s twin Raistlin Majere and half-sister Kitiara Uth Matar.

After Ilys died from plague, Sturm returned to Solamnia to learn more about his father and the knighthood. While in the High Clerist’s Tower, Sturm met Vertumnus and was challenged to an honorable duel. Sturm traveled to the Darkwoods of Lemish, discovered Vertumnus’s identity, and returned to the High Clerist’s Tower to accuse Boniface Crownguard of dishonor. Sturm was swiftly defeated by the experienced Boniface and returned to Solace.

As Caramon and Sturm grew older, they befriended Tanis Half-Elven, the kender Tasslehoff Burrfoot, and a dwarven metalsmith named Flint Fireforge. They often accompanied Flint on his travels and guarded Flint’s wares from bandits. This group of adventurers, who came to be known as the Companions, split up in 346 AC, as the various groups departed to undertake various tasks. They agreed to meet again five years hence, at the Inn of the Last Home.

Sturm and Kitiara 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 and seduced him one night during his evening prayers. The two parted ways shortly afterward, and Sturm continued on to Garnet alone.

When Sturm went back to Solamnia to search for his father, it was a sobering journey. He was forced to sell off his ancestral lands to cover the debts his father owed. The only things he came back to Solace with was the armor and sword his father wore when he was a Knight. Sturm located the Brightblade, his family’s ancestral sword, and discovered that a man named Merinsaard was behind the siege on Castle Brightblade. Merinsaard was killed by an arrow in the back as he was about to kill Sturm. A second arrow revealed that Merinsaard’s killer was Kitiara, who said her final goodbye. Kit later gave birth to Sturm’s son, Steel Uth Matar Brightblade.

War of the Lance

Sturm returned to Solace to reunite with the other Companions who departed on their various journeys five years before. At 29 years of age, Sturm had brown eyes and long black hair, with a long mustache. He truly looked like a traditional Solamnic knight with his ancestral sword, shield, and full platemail, but Sturm was only a squire in the knighthood at the time. Sturm’s honor was his life, and it was this honor that caused him to escort Riverwind and Goldmoon to the Inn of the Last Home.

During that fateful night, the Companions except for Kitiara were reunited at the Inn of the Last Home, and were joined by Riverwind and Goldmoon. However, through a series of events set in motion by an Old Man, the companions were forced to flee through the kitchen, where they made their way to Tika Waylan's house.

After a brief encounter with several goblins, Sturm and the group escaped Solace and traveled across Crystalmir Lake, and then began the journey to the capital city of Haven. On the road, they were attacked by strange clerics, who revealed themselves to be draconians. The group entered Darken Wood, where they were met by the Forestmaster, who sent them to Xak Tsaroth to recover the Disks of Mishakal. Armed with the knowledge of the true gods on the Disks, the group returned to Solace only to be captured by the dragonarmies, who had attacked and destroyed the town. Placed in a caravan of prisoners to be taken to the mines of Pax Tharkas, the Companions were saved by an ambush set by Qualinesti elves outside their borders.

Taken by the elves to the capital city of Qualinost, the companions snuck into the fortress of Pax Tharkas through the Sla Mori, where they were able to free the slaves from the mines, defeat the Dragon Highlord Verminaard, and then fled with the refugees into the Kharolis Mountains, pursued by the dragonarmies. After recovering the Hammer of Kharas from the depths of Thorbardin, the Companions and the human refugees of Pax Tharkas were allowed to stay in the underground dwarven realm for the winter. The companions set out for the city of Tarsis to see if they could commission ships to transport the refugees back to Abanasinia. They discovered the city to be landlocked and under the tacit control of the dragonarmies.

Shortly after their arrival in the city, Sturm became the first human to look upon the Silvanesti elven princess Alhana Starbreeze and he instantly fell in love. Sturm met three Knights of Solamnia – Brian Donner, Aran Tallbow, and Derek Crownguard – who had been seeking information about dragons. The companions were split up during an attack on the city by the Red Dragonarmy and a detachment of Blue Dragons, commanded by the Blue Lady. Sturm protected Alhana from the fleeing mobs, and she realized that she felt strongly for Sturm as well. Alhana gave Sturm her elven Starjewel before returning to her friends in Tarsis.

Sturm, Laurana, Flint, Tas, Brian, Aran, Derek, and the cleric Elistan were split up from the rest of the group. While en route to Icereach to find a dragon orb, the three Companions and Laurana experienced the dream that Tanis and friends ventured into in Silvanesti. In the dream, Sturm was killed by the green dragon Cyan Bloodbane.

As they searched for the dragon orb in Icewall Castle, Sturm retrieved a broken Dragonlance from a frozen knight mounted on an equally frozen silver dragon. They arrived at the heart of the fortress and killed the orb’s guardian, Feal-Thas, but not before he had killed Brian and Aran. They acquired the dragon orb but their ship crashed on the way back to Southern Ergoth, and they were captured by Silvanesti elves. They were turned over to the Qualinesti elves and imprisoned, but escaped with the help of Theros Ironfeld and Silvara. Hoping to mislead their pursuers, Sturm followed Derek to Sancrist while the others took a different path through the nearby mountains.

Derek and Sturm reached Sancrist with the dragon orb, and Derek immediately laid charges of insubordination and cowardice against the young squire. In a bold move, Lord Gunthar Uth Wistan stripped Sturm of his squirehood before accepted him into the Order of the Crown. Not only did Sturm finally become a knight, but he became the commander for those Knights of the Crown who were heading to war in Palanthas.

After the meeting of the Whitestone Council, Sturm traveled with Laurana, Flint, and Tas to the High Clerist’s Tower. They set up a hasty defense against the dragonarmies, but Derek severely hindered their work when he led most of the army out of the tower on an ill-advised charge. Derek died from wounds received in the charge, and the tower was left with Laurana, Flint, Tas, and Sturm and his small contingent of Knights of the Crown. Tas located another dragon orb beneath the tower, and Sturm bought Laurana the time she needed to properly use the orb. He distracted the blue dragons long enough for the Blue Lady to deal with him personally. Though Sturm fought the Blue Lady and her mount Skie valiantly, he was slain by the Blue Lady’s spear. Kitiara was later revealed as the Blue Lady, and their fight was the first time they had encountered one another since Merinsaard’s death years ago.

Sturm’s body was placed beneath the High Clerist’s Tower with the Starjewel, the Brightblade, and his father’s armor. Flint added a carved wooden rose, and Tas added a single white feather.

After Sturm’s Death

Many years after Sturm’s death, his spirit appeared to his son Steel. When Caramon and Tanis escorted Steel to the High Clerist’s Tower in an attempt to sway him to the side of good, Sturm’s spirit appeared and gave Steel the elven starjewel and the Brightblade. His spirit also helped Steel pass through the magic of Shoikan Grove.

Inconsistencies

The year 324 AC has been occasionally cited as the year of Sturm’s birth. The siege on Castle Brightblade, and thus Sturm and Ilys’s escape, took place in 334 AC or in the period of 338-339 AC, depending on the tale. Likewise, Sturm’s encounter with Vertumnus may have happened in 340 AC or in 344-345 AC.

References

• The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Autumn Twilight
• The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Winter Night
• Darkness and Light
• Dragons of Summer Flame, p. 196, 462
• Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (PB) p. 22, 52, 69-71, 87, 96-97, 130, 142-148, 180, 195, 301, 362-363, 404-430, 560, 581
• Love and War, Tales Volume Three, "Love and War", p. 160
• The Magic of Krynn, Tales Volume One, "Finding the Faith", p. 219
• The Oath and the Measure
• The Second Generation, p. 53
• War of the Lance (Sourcebook), p. 65