During the War of the Lance he fell in love with the Kagonesti maid Silvara, who later revealed herself to be a Silver Dragon known as D'Argent. The elf pushed Silvara away on learning of her true nature, but his love for her caused him to pursue her for several years afterwards across Ansalon. Gilthanas was an adventurer and a hero of not only his people, but the folk of Ansalon, for his deeds during the War of the Lance as a Hero of the Lance. He was described as being a handsome Qualinesti elf, who had blond hair and hazel eyes, and was both brave and charming.

Early Life

The young Gilthanas grew up in the court of his father, the Speaker of the Sun, in the elven city of Qualinost. Living in the beautiful kingdom, the elven prince was treated with respect and love, and befriended his half-elven cousin Tanis. The young pair became the closest of friends and delighted in the toys of the Dwarven merchant Flint Fireforge. However as they grew older, Tanis fell in love with Gilthanas' younger sister Laurana. When his sister reciprocated the half-elf's affections, Gilthanas confronted Tanis and their friendship dissolved. The young elf believed in the superiority of elves over any other race, and was furious that his sister would consider dallying with anything other than a full-blooded elf.

In 308 AC, Gilthanas took his one-night vigil in the Kentommenai-kath, to support his brother Porthios during his Kentommen (an elven coming of age ceremony). Several murders had occurred around this time, and even though they were no longer friends, Tanis suspected that Gilthanas was the next to be targeted. The half-elf reached the Kentommenai-kath just as the murderer was about to strike, and saved Gilthanas from certain death. The elven prince then escorted Tanis back to Qualinost, however the half-elf tackled him and knocked him unconscious, so he could prevent the murderer (which turned out to be Arelas Kanan, the youngest brother of Solostaran and Kethrenan Kanan) from carrying out his dark plot. Gilthanas stayed within Qualinost for several more decades until he had his own Kentommen and became a man in the eyes of the Qualinesti elves.

War of the Lance

Whilst scouting the forests with a band of his fellow elves in 350 AC, Gilthanas came upon a human smith named Theros Ironfeld, who he initially suspected was a spy of Highlord Verminaard. Having heard Theros' story and allayed his suspicions, Gilthanas then commissioned the smith to help in building a fleet that would allow the elves to flee from Qualinesti to Qualimori, so that if the Dragonarmies continued their push against the elven kingdom, the Qualinesti elves would be able to escape. The smith agreed and the work went underway, as the elven prince returned to Qualinost. As the War of the Lance continued, Gilthanas led a force of elves towards Pax Tharkas, to free the prisoners held within by Verminaard. However his force was ambushed by Dragonarmy forces and wiped out. The elven prince was knocked unconscious, however his men were burned alive, increasing his hatred of the Dragonarmies and Verminaard, once he awakened and returned to Qualinost.

By 351 AC, Gilthanas returned to Solace, to view the work of Theros Ironfeld. However he was captured by Dragonarmy forces, along with Theros and the Heroes of the Lance, and thrown into a slave caravan, which was destined for Pax Tharkas. En route, an elven war party led by Porthios arrived and freed Gilthanas and his companions, allowing them to escape to Qualinost. Speaker Solostaran agreed to allow Gilthanas to lead the heroes to Pax Tharkas, in an effort to undermine Verminaard and free the prisoners held within. Along the way, the group encountered Eben Shatterstone, a warrior who had been an ally of Gilthanas' in the past, and who joined the party. The more the group progressed into Pax Tharkas, the more that Eben cast dispersions on Gilthanas, advising his human companions that the elf was not to be trusted. In turn, Gilthanas did not trust Eben, which turned out to be accurate, when the warrior betrayed the group to Verminaard. The elven prince aided the Heroes of the Lance in defeating Verminaard's forces, although he didn't participate in the final battle against the Highlord himself.

Gilthanas continued to travel with the Heroes of the Lance, helping in leading the Pax Tharkas refugees to Thorbardin and then traveling to Tarsis. As the heroes planned their next moves whilst staying at the Red Dragon Inn, the structure collapsed. Gilthanas, Sturm Brightblade, Flint Fireforge, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, Laurana, Elistan, and three Solamnic Knights who had recently joined them; all escaped the destruction and assumed their missing companions were dead. The group determined to travel to Icereach and to recover the Dragon Orb from Icewall Castle. Gilthanas and his companions made it to Icereach, where they met with the Ice Folk and the cleric Raggart Knug. The cleric led the party to Icewall Castle, where Highlord Feal-Thas confronted them. After some vicious fighting, the Dragon Highlord was defeated and the group had acquired the Dragon Orb, but at the cost of the lives of the Solamnic Knights, Brian Donner and Aran Tallbow. The surviving knight Derek Crownguard, chastised would-be knight Sturm Brightblade, however Gilthanas and the others regroup and make the return journey to warmer lands, where they are captured by elves in Southern Ergoth and are led to Qualimori by an attractive young Kagonesti elf known as Silvara. Gilthanas is immediately enamored with Silvara, however he keeps his feelings to himself as he reaches the elven camp and is hailed as a hero by his father, Speaker Solostaran, in contrast to the reception that his sister Laurana receives, who is treated like an outcast.

When Laurana and her friends decide to flee Qualimori with the Dragon Orb (which the elves had taken from them), Gilthanas goes with them. The Kagonesti elf Silvara aids the group, leading them towards Foghaven Vale. On the way to the Monument of the Silver Dragon, Gilthanas makes his feelings plain to Silvara, and the elf maiden reciprocates. The pair of lovers returned to the group and Silvara asks Sturm and Derek to take the Dragon Orb to Solamnia, as she leads the rest further into Foghaven Vale. Silvara then cast a sleep spell over Gilthanas and his friends, and escaped into the monument where she spoke with the mage Fizban. The mage urged Silvara to tell her companions of her secret, and on being awakened she revealed that she was in truth a silver dragon. Gilthanas was horrified and pushed Silvara away from him, unable to accept the fact that he had fallen in love with a dragon, and not a full-blooded elf. However realizing that his emotions for Silvara should not cloud his duty to his people and the fight against the Dragonarmies, the elven prince buried his emotion for a time. With some guidance from the mage Fizban, Silvara and Gilthanas undertook a mission to try to recover the metallic dragon eggs, so that the metallic dragons could enter the war, after seeing that their Oath of Neutrality had been broken by Takhisis.

As the War of the Lance rolled into 352 AC, Gilthanas and Silvara, along with some aid from Fizban and Silvara's cooshee Dargo, reached the dark city of Sanction, and infiltrated the Temple of Luerkhisis. Inside the temple, Gilthanas encountered and befriended the shadowperson Greer, and the copper dragon Cymbol. The pair witnessed the draconian creation process by the Dragonarmy forces, and recovered the metallic dragon eggs, before fleeing to the Dragon Isles. Once Gilthanas and Silvara finally reached the Dragon Isles, they returned the dragon eggs and convinced the Metallic Dragons to participate in the War of the Lance. Gilthanas and Silvara led the metallic dragons back to Ansalon, where they arrived in Palanthas to aid Laurana (now hailed as the Golden General and leader of the Whitestone forces) in the fight against the Dragonarmies.

When the Whitestone Forces brought the fight to the Dragonarmies and retook Kalaman, Gilthanas was appointed as commander in chief of the defending forces by Lord Calof, after being recommended by Tanis Half-Elven. The elven prince admitted to Tanis that he had learnt many lessons during the war, and one of them was that racial differences did not matter. He apologized to Tanis for his harsh actions in previous times, even referring to him as a brother, before the half-elf departed to infiltrate Neraka and end the war. At war's end, the people of Kalaman, who he had defended during the war, approached Gilthanas. They asked him to be their Lord Mayor, and the elven hero graciously accepted, serving in the role until the Summer of Chaos when he heard of his brother being imprisoned by General Reyl Konnal of the Silvanesti.

Gilthanas raced to Silvanost to aid his brother, and was instead captured by the agents of General Konnal. The military governor had the elven prince locked away in the hill of Sol-Fallon, keeping his location and identity secret, so the Qualinesti elves or Silvanesti sympathizers would not be able to rescue him. Shortly after being imprisoned, Gilthanas learnt that his brother Porthios had been rescued by Tanis Half-Elven and escaped Konnal's justice.

Age of Mortals

Gilthanas languished in the hill of Sol-Fallon for twelve years and in 394 AC, General Konnal finally returned to have the elven prince executed. However a group of Griffons rescued Gilthanas and flew him out of Silvanesti. The elven prince was left at the edges of Gal Tra'kalas (the Missing City), where he was discovered by the wanderer Aman Daun and taken to Falaius Taneek, commander of the local Legion of Steel garrison. Gilthanas was healed of his wounds and continued in his search to find his lost love Silvara, traveling through Purstal, Stone Rose, and even finding himself at the Frozen Past Arch in the Icereach region. At this ancient Hulderfolk site, Gilthanas discovered a huldreboat, which he used in 396 AC and it magically transported him to the Elian Wilds. On reaching the Elian Wilds in 401 AC, he is told by the Superior Master of the Ran-Eli, that the magical boat can transport it's passenger anywhere they desire, however the passenger will be put into a magical sleep for five years before they arrive at their destination.

The elven prince resurfaced in 406 AC, when the huldreboat arrived at the Dragon's Graveyard. On speaking with the Bronze Dragon Sterellus, Gilthanas learnt that Silvara had passed through the graveyard, and that she had left to find a friend in the mountains, but knew no more. The elf witnessed the passing of Sterellus and then Gilthanas returned to Kalaman in 407 AC, where he was asked by Migel Aurrafil, the chief advisor to Lord Mayor Tierrel Rychner, to resume his role as governor. Gilthanas accepted on the condition that if he received any word of Silvara, he would leave the city. The prince fought off an attack by black-clad assassins, and word filtered through the city that Silvara had been visiting an old Kyrie hermit known as Keelak, in the Peak of Clouds. Lady Jennetta Aurrafil, wife of Migel Aurrafil, advised Gilthanas of the news against her husband's wishes, and the elf set out for the Peak of Clouds in search of Silvara.

Gilthanas climbed the Peak of Clouds and came across Keelak, begging him for news of Silvara. The kyrie told the elf that he would only advise of Silvara's location, if Gilthanas could prove himself worthy by mastering three schools of sorcery. By 408 AC, Gilthanas had mastered the schools of Enchantment, Divination, and aeromancy, but before he could garner the information from Keelak, the pair were set upon by black-clad assassins. The elven prince managed to defeat the assassins, however Keelak was mortally wounded and only able to tell Gilthanas to seek Silvara in a gnomish tower by the sea, before he died.

Traveling to Karthay, Gilthanas entered Winston's Tower in 409 AC to look for more clues on his beloved, only to find bodies of gnomes. As he continued searching, the prince rescued the elf Lethagas and the gnomes Spudder and Drussi. The gnomes advised Gilthanas that Silvara did visit a few years ago, but they knew nothing more. The pair of elves went to leave the tower, and Gilthanas was cut by a gnomish trap and poisoned. Lethagas and Gilthanas then traveled past the Valley of Crystal where they encounter Linsha Majere and some sell-swords. In his poisoned and maddened state, Gilthanas kills one of the sell-swords who is attacking Linsha and mistakes her for Tika Waylan Majere (Linsha's grandmother). Linsha's magic healed Gilthanas somewhat, however Lethagas led him to Godshome, in the hopes of finding a permanent cure for the elven prince.

Finding nothing in Godshome, Lethagas then led the weakened Gilthanas to the River of Healing in Solamnia. Finally on reaching the river in 410 AC, Gilthanas bathed in its waters and was healed of the poison and his madness. Lethagas and Gilthanas traveled back to Qualinost, where the elven prince met with his brother Porthios, who was now in exile. Gilthanas learnt that Silvara had been seen in Sancrist, and was approached by a Kagonesti maid, who introduced herself as Alla, advising that she had recently escaped from Dark Knights and asked to travel with the pair.

The prince agreed and the three elves made their way to Sancrist to find word of Silvara, only to have Alla kidnapped by dark figures on the backs of griffons. The Solamnic Knights tell Gilthanas and Lethagas that they suspect Alla's kidnappers are dark cultists who operate near Raekel's Pit. On arriving at Raekel's Pit in 412 AC, Lethagas and Gilthanas are ambushed by Dark Knights, and Alla reveals herself as an agent of Khellendros. Gilthanas and Lethagas are thrown into a slave ship bound for a Dark Knight stronghold within the domain of the Blue Dragon Overlord Khellendros.

Gilthanas was imprisoned in Relgoth and kept by the Dark Knights until he was freed in 414 AC by the Heroes of the Heart. Indebted to the heroes, Gilthanas offered to aid them in their quest to bring down the Dragon Overlords. Hoping to find magical artifacts to aid their mission, Gilthanas offers to travel with Ulin Majere, Groller, and Fury to Southern Ergoth, to locate Huma's Lance. Traveling through Southern Ergoth, the group rescued the Solamnic Knight, Fiona Quinti, and eventually made their way to Dragon Mountain. They were confronted by a band of Solamnic Knights, led by Lady Arlena Plata, who began to question their actions. Gilthanas saw through the magical guise of Lady Arlena, recognizing her as Silvara. He spoke with Silvara, pledging his love and asking for forgiveness. Eventually Silvara returned his love and the pair were finally reunited. Gilthanas and Silvara continued to aid the Heroes of the Heart, and thwarted the plans of Malystryx to ascend to godhood. After the battle against the Overlords in 416 AC, Gilthanas and Silvara made plans to travel back to Southern Ergoth and resume the fight against Gellidus, the White Dragon Overlord.

The elven prince and his beloved returned to Castle Eastwatch to fight the oppression of Gellidus. The pair continued the fight, which they began in 416 AC and carried through to 422 AC, however they became undone in 422 AC, when the Overlord captured Silvara. Held in his lair, Gellidus told Gilthanas that he would kill the silver dragon, unless the elf accepted to become his dragon vassal and bear his scale. Under duress, Gilthanas agreed and became the eyes of the White Overlord. Gilthanas traveled to Nordmaar as an emissary of Castle Eastwatch, but in secret as a servant of Gellidus, where he met with a band of heroes who were traveling to the Dragons' Graveyard. Gilthanas accompanied the heroes to the mystical site, and as the party fought against Caeldor the Betrayer, a powerful servant of Chemosh, Gilthanas absconded with five elder dragon skulls and fled back to Southern Ergoth. Realizing that the elven prince had betrayed them, the party set out in pursuit....

References

• The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Autumn Twilight, p. 197, 296, 301, 310, 315-316, 343, 365-367, 370, 376
• The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Winter Night, 562, 639, 652, 633, 693, 697, 706, 710, 744, 820
• The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Spring Dawning, p. 1010-1018, 1134-1135
• Lords of Doom
• Kindred Spirits, p. 13, 42, 74, 180, 274, 288
• Theros Ironfeld, p. 228, 236
• Odyssey of Gilthanas, 8-12, 17, 20, 28, 37, 44, 59, 61, 93, 100, 104-105, 147, 150, 157, 171, 185, 222, 235
• The Day of the Tempest, p. 96-97, 109, 136, 163-166, 225
• The Eve of the Maelstrom, p. 12, 136, 290, 310
• DL4-14
• DL 2, p. 3-4, 9, 13
• DL 3, p. 6, 31
• Tales of the Lance: World Book of Ansalon
• Tales of the Lance: Gilthanas Card
• War of the Lance
• Spectre of Sorrows