https://youtu.be/TQOzDO-hWK4

It is eternally linked to Ionthas/Chaos, with multiple versions of its creation and travels. Let’s look at the last and most up to date history of Ionthas/Chaos and the Graygem.

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Transcript

It wasn’t until Dragons of Summer Flame and Dragons of a Vanished Moon that we got the most complete version of Ionthas/Chaos and the Graygem’s history from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about Ionthas or Chaos and the Graystone, err Graygem. 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 Dragons of Summer Flame, Dragons of a Vanished Moon and DLS3 Oak Lords primarily for this information. If you have any thoughts on Ionthas or Chaos and the Graygem, leave them in the comments below!

Discussion

I have covered part of the story of the Graygem in a lot of videos. This is because it is essential in placing wild magic within Krynn, creating the majority of life forms on Krynn and ultimately nearly destroying it. But even that isn’t exactly correct, as the gem itself is only a container. It’s what’s trapped inside that is causing the chaos. And to be precise it’s Chaos itself that is within the gem. There are many variations on how Chaos became trapped and who Chaos is precisely, but it wasn’t until Dragons of a Vanished Moon that we were provided the definitive account by the creators of this wonderful campaign world of Dragonlance. Up until Dragons of Summer Flame the various authors and game designers couldn’t even settle on a name for the Graygem, referring to it as the graystone, graygem, and every variation of spelling imaginable. You would think an artifact as integral to the campaign world would have a more solid presence with it’s contributors, but alas, what is history but the perception of those retelling it? 

The Graygem ended up on the Irda’s altar on the isle of Anaitha where The Decider, influenced by Takhisis, used his powerful magic to break it apart with the intention of protecting his isle from the Knights of Takhisis. But that is the third act of the history of the Graygem, so let’s take a few steps back, put away Reorx’s dice, and start from the beginning.

The High God had established the Order of Creation and the Destiny of Souls which he outlined in the Tobril. He then created the gods of Krynn, the most powerful being Ionthas. Gilean guided Ionthas with the Tobril in the creation of the world, aided by Reorx, Sirrion and others. This is in stark contrast to all other creation myths of Dragonlance, but it was the last creation myth written by Tracy Hickman and Matthew L. Martin under the guise of Valthonis (formerly known as the god Paladine) to explain the War of Souls, so I believe it must be shared here. With the world forged, the High God spoke it into existence, he commanded the gods to shape it. Ionthas deviated from the Tobril, grew proud and haughty and supplanted the High God as the true deity. He sent his might across Krynn, undoing the other gods’ work. He found he could not create anything new, but only damage and distort others’ creations. 

In his rage, Ionthas turned from the High God and his fellow gods, renaming himself Chaos.