Canon:Takhisis

Takhisis is the main goddess of evil and head of the Dark Pantheon in the Dragonlance campaign setting on the world of Krynn.

Titles and forms
She is also called: Dragonqueen (among elves), Nilat the Corrupter (among the barbarians of the plains), Tamex the False Metal (among dwarves); Mai-tat (in Tarsis, She of Many Faces (among the people of Ergoth) Queen of Many, Colors and None (among the Knights of Solamnia), the Dark Queen, Erestem (in Taladas), Tii'Mhut (in Istar), Lady Chaos (in Mithas), Mwarg (hobgoblin), the One God, the Dark Warrior, and Shadow Sorcerer. Some believe, such as original Dragonlance team member Jeff Grubb, that she's also Tiamat, Goddess (or Queen) of evil dragons in many other Dungeons and Dragons campaign settings, but the two are separate entities according to Dragonlance creator Tracy Hickman and others.

Takhisis most often takes the form of a five-headed dragon, each head being the colour of one of the evil dragons (red, blue, green, black, and white). She also often uses the form of a beautiful temptress, said to be so lovely that no man could resist her. She also has another form known as the Dark Warrior.

Sargonnas is Takhisis' consort, and together they have two children, Nuitari and Zeboim.

Ambition
Takhisis is the most ambitious of the Gods, frequently making plans to upset the balance and take over the world for herself. In Dragons of the Hourglass Mage, for example, Takhisis attempts to take control of all magic. After being driven back by Huma Dragonbane in the Third Dragon War and sealed from the world, she bides her time in the Abyss, always looking for new ways into the world. This brings about the War of the Lance, and subsequently contributed to the Chaos War and the War of Souls.

Raistlin Majere attempts to destroy Takhisis and assume her role as head god of evil, and succeeds in one timeline, but destroys the world of Krynn in the ensuing magical battle. His brother Caramon, with the aid of a time-traveling device, dissuades him from this path, and Raistlin sacrifices himself to prevent Takhisis from leaving the Abyss.

The War of Souls
After the Chaos War, Takhisis steals the world from the rest of the gods and becomes the "One God" of the world. When the rest of the gods return to Krynn, they realize that Takhisis has gone too far. Although Sargonnas has generally been loyal to her, the actions leading up to her being made mortal lead Sargonnas to declare she has gone too far and to support the decision. In order to retain the balance, Paladine sacrifices his godhood and immortality in order for Takhisis to be stripped of her godhood and immortality. She is then killed by the elven king Silvanoshei.

Other publications
Takhisis is considered to be a central part of the Dragonlance world creation myth as the primordial source of evil. This central role is crucial to how creation myths are presented.

In the neo-pagan press a series of books published by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart looks at Takhisis in the Dragonlance world and compares her to the Babylonian and Dungeons and Dragons version of Tiamat. The book is written as a school book for young wizards and witches of the neo-pagan sort. Takhisis is described for her role in the wars of good vs. evil.

This ultimate source of evil theme is looked into again in a presentation by Dr. Stefan Ekman of Lund University in Sweden. Dr. Ekman compares Takhisis and other fantasy "dark lords" such as Lord Foul and Sauron to the biblical Satan. In particular he states, "Even though not all of the Dark Lords above signify the ultimate source of evil, Lord Foul, the Dark One, and Takhisis certainly do. And all of them are ultimately actants, characters whose raison d’être is to provide the final threat".

This theme of good versus evil, and human versus gods, is expanded in Dragonlance, a Shared World of Fantasy Fiction and Role-Playing Games. The central focus of this thesis is the struggle of the human characters versus Takhisis. This struggle is compared with the human, or at least mortal, heroes of the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia.

Tiamat, in her Dragonlance/Krynn incarnation is also the subject of in the Dragon Gods and Evil dragons sections of the Practical Guide to Dragons. She is discussed in universe style with sidebars detailing her real-world publishing significance. This is continued in the follow-up series The Dragon Codices, in which Takhisis is the main, if somewhat hidden, antagonist.