T'iam was the Elder Goddess of the Eleint, also known as dragons. Kilava Onass referred to her as the Mother of all Dragons. According to a conversation between Osserc, Menandore and Sukul Ankhadu, T'iam sailed out on feathered wings from the dark of another realm. By a process not yet fully understood, some Tiste became Soletaken by drinking T'iam's blood. The female Soletaken thus created subsequently referred to themselves as T'iam's daughters. It seems that the transformation also required T'iam to mate with a male Tiste. The creation of the Soletaken resulted in T'iam's death.