Sturm was born in Solamnia in the year AC 331. Sturm was the son of one of the great swordsman of the Knights of Solamnia, Lord Angriff Brightblade. When Sturm was 11, he and his mother, Lady Ilys, were sent away to Solace from their castle by Angriff. The peasants in the area had gone mad. Angry because the knights couldn't stop the Dark Queen, the peasants lynched and burnt down the houses/castles of knights and the knight's families. Angriff stayed behind with his men to fight. It is a mystery as to what became of Angriff.

Sturm was raised by his mother to be proper and well educated. He adopted a thick Solamnic accent for which he was teased by the other children in Solace. He befriended Caramon and Raistlin in Solace, who, along with himself, were "adopted" by Flint Fireforge after their parents passed away.
As he grew up, he became more and more determined to become a knight and to restore the former honor and glory of the knighthood. He went on many journeys all over Krynn learning about the knights and what became of this father. When he was a young man, he learned that a rival of his father, Lord Boniface Crownguard, was responsible for his father's disappearance and an attempt on Sturms life. Boniface was put to death for treason. Boniface's squire and nephew, Derek Crownguard, was Sturm's biggest rival in the order. He stopped at nothing to shame Sturm and his family name.
Sturm received his fathers armor and sword as a young man. Though the armor was a bit big for him, he wore it always and assumed the role of a knight. He was a great swordsman, though not so much as his father.

During the War of the Lance, Sturm was an invaluable link to the knighthood and eventually became a knight himself, despite the resistance put up by Derek Crownguard. Lord Gunthar Uth Wistan, former squire to Sturm's father, was one of Sturm's only friends in the order.

Through the years, Sturm and Kitiara had a love affair. Kitiara's ambition was greater than her love, however. During a battle at the High Clerist's Tower, she killed Sturm without a second thought. It was one of the saddest days on Krynn. Caramon honored Sturm's memory by naming one of his son's after him. Kitiara and Sturm had a son: Steel Brightblade.