The Kingpriest of Istar

He was the last Kingpriest of Istar, known as the lightbringer. Let’s learn more about Beldinas Pilofiro and how he caused the cataclysm. Buy Legends of the Twins: https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/3252/legends-of-the-twins-3-5?affiliate_id=50797 

https://youtu.be/wbSILGxjePw

Transcript

Cold Open

He went from obscurity as an orphan to infamy as the Lightbringer.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today we are going to talk about the Kingpriest of Istar. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a DLSaga member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing the Legends and Kingpriest trilogies, DLA Dragonlance Adventures, and Legends of the Twins sourcebooks for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

There are few characters as notorious as the last Kingpriest of Istar. In fact when anyone mentions Kingpriest, it is not the many Kingpriests that preceded Beldinas Pilofiro that they think of, but rather the Lightbringer himself. This is twofold. First and foremost, he was the last Kingpriest of Istar and the one that caused the Cataclysm! The entire campaign world is based around the Age of Despair, the three hundred plus years after the Cataclysm which rocked and fundamentally changed the face of Krynn forever. And when referencing the Kingpriest in Legends, he is a holy man shrouded in light, able to bring back the dead, and perform miracles while simultaneously being terrified of every shadow. 

Up until the Kingpriest trilogy by Chris Pierson, we had no idea how this Lightbringer became the Kingpriest and how he brought about the Cataclysm, outside of challenging the gods that is. Chris Pierson contextualized and created the character of Beldinas, and gave us an epic story that lives up to the incredible tragedy of the known outcome. Beldinas, or Beldyn, grew up as an orphan in the streets of Xak Tsaroth. Somehow he developed the ability to heal the sick, and was discovered by a cleric of Paladine. The head of the church accused Beldyn of witchcraft, so the cleric took him into the Kharolis Mountains and they founded a monastic order together.

The First Daughter of Paladine followed a vision which led her to a prophesied savior, or the Lightbringer, and she found Beldyn in his monastery. They were traveling to Istar when the current Kingpriest died. The First Son of Paladine took up the mantle and with Fistandantilus whispering in his ear manipulating him, he craved the power of the Kinpriest and cast the First Daughter and Beldyn out of the church before they even returned home. The journey for them to Istar took a long time however and everywhere they went Beldyn was curing the sick and injured. He built up a following which journeyed with him to ultimately challenge Kurnos, the First Son and resident Kingpriest’s accusations.

Beldyn was able to recover the lost Crown of Power, the Miceram, with the aid of a devotee, and Kurnos tried to assassinate Beldyn, the first of many attempts at his life which would drive him into darkness as a ruler, but killed the first daughter instead. A second attempt took the life of Cathan, his dear friend. Beldyn raised him from the dead, and arrived at Istar and confronted Kurnos and took the throne. Beldyn became Beldinas Pilofiro, the Lightbringer, the Kingpriest of Istar and declared war on all evil.