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Gellidus

Article written by Uziel


Gellidus (? - 422 AC) is another of the alien dragons who came across to Ansalon during the early part of the Age of Mortals. Claiming a vast domain and conquering a large number of dragons, he distinguished himself as one of the great five Dragon Overlords, and the mightiest White Dragon upon Ansalon, possibly even Krynn itself. The white wyrm measures two hundred and thirty feet in length and his monstrous head is ringed with a scaly fringe. Short and powerful legs make him look almost like a serpent, and his feet are spadelike claws that allow him to dig through ice rapidly when needed. Gellidus has a flat tail like an eel, and is completely covered with snow-white scales, that are highlighted with silver and blue streaks.

NameGellidus
AliasFrost
Birth?
Death422 AC
RaceWhite Dragon
GenderMale
Eye ColorUnknown
Length240'
WeightUnknown
MateMalystryx
WyrmlingsNone

Arrival on Krynn

The fearsome white dragon believes it was instinct or destiny that inspired him to cross from the alien dragon world over to Krynn and eventually onto Ansalon. In 395 AC, he traveled for days on end, winging his way tirelessly across the trackless ocean. Stopping only occasionally when his wings almost gave out, Gellidus was first attracted to the Icereach, due to it's frigid climate. After several months of terrorizing the Ice Folk and devouring the Thanoi, Gellidus decided that conquering the arctic realm was no challenge, and looked further north to the realm of Southern Ergoth.

Gellidus launched himself on Southern Ergoth, devastating the inhabitants and forcing most of them to suffer under his rule. Using his own powerful magic, the white dragon froze the surrounding waters, forced the land to snow and transformed Southern Ergoth into a glacial region. With the exception of the western land beyond the Last Gaard Mountains, Gellidus claims ownership of all the rest of Southern Ergoth. Glacial winds and blizzards run rampant across the area, and the dragon has his lair in the high glaciers that surround Foghaven Vale.

Allies of the White

Once Gellidus had conquered the climate and most of the realm, he turned on the city of Daltigoth, deposing the human inhabitants and turned the city over to his ogre minions. The ogre chieftain Tdarnk became the Dictator of Daltigoth and led the ogres and offered their lifelong service to the dragon. In further strengthening his forces, the dragon then started bringing thanoi from Icereach to serve him. Chief and master amongst the thanoi was the war-chief Barramus, a fearsome thanoi warrior who was powerful and feared even amongst his own kind. Finally many white dragons flocked to Gellidus' banner, seeking to serve him and preserve themselves during the fighting of the Dragon Purge. The young female white dragon Shiver was utterly loyal and infatuated with Gellidus, whilst the older female Glacisse (also known as Glacier) was a scheming and manipulative dragon, who led the rest of the dragons under the overlord.

The Consort of Malys

After many years of fighting amongst dragons, and the establishment of the domains of the Dragon Overlords and the lesser Dragonlords, the five great dragons met and formed their own alliance against all others. In 414 AC, seeking to further his own power and also side with the most powerful dragon on Krynn, Gellidus pledged his complete loyalty to Malystryx and offered himself to become her consort. The mighty dragon complied and the two became even closer again, even though Malystryx schemed to make Khellendros her consort instead.

In 416 AC, Gellidus joined his fellow overlords near the Window to the Stars, to watch Malystryx ascend to a form of godhood. However the arrival of the Heroes of the Heart led to a fight between the dragons and the heroes. Utilizing magical weapons and with some misguided fiery blasts between the dragons; Gellidus was sufficiently injured to flee the area before he was killed. The white returned to his icy realm of Southern Ergoth and later rejoined Malystryx. However he soon discovered that Malys was more interested in rebuilding her forces than in him, and he returned once more to Southern Ergoth. The white overlord began to build his own forces, secure his power base, and formed the Whitescale Society. Even with the deaths of three of his fellow overlords during the War of Souls, and the death of the only other overlord Onysablet directly after, Gellidus still was secure in his realm, although his confidence was shaken.

The Theft of Divine Magic

Gellidus formed a pact with the god Chemosh, bargaining for necromantic powers in return for service. The dark god assisted Gellidus by showing him how to steal the magic between the gods and their clerics, except for those in the Church of Chemosh. The dragon learnt that he needed to significantly increase the power of his skull totem to enable the theft of divine magic, which involved securing the skulls of the first ten dragons to dwell on Krynn. Gellidus then sent his dragon vassal Gilthanas Kanan to wander throughout Ansalon in search of more dragon skulls to add to his totem. When Gilthanas came across a band of heroes who were entering the Dragons' Graveyard, the elflord went with them, stealing the five skulls of the Daughters of Paladine and returning them to the white overlord.

The dragon then sent Gilthanas and his Whitescale Society in search of the five skulls of the Sons of Takhisis to complete his totem. The elflord returned to the overlord's new fortress in The Rimeberg, where Gellidus began the final ritual to complete his totem. However the same band of heroes that entered the Dragons' Graveyard, confronted the overlord and slew him. The death of the overlord resulted in the subsequent deaths of those linked with him, including his White Dragonspawn and the elflord Gilthanas. With the death of the final overlord, the realm of Southern Ergoth was allowed to slowly rebuild and return to a normal state, albeit thanoi and ogres were still in abundance throughout the region.

Titles and Nicknames

Since his arrival in Southern Ergoth in 395 AC, the mighty white dragon has been primarily referred to as Frost. Others have referred to Gellidus as the White Overlord, and he was known amongst his fellow overlords as the Sentinel.

References

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