Lord Soth Read Online Free Page A

he was no longer presiding over the council.
    The fourth member nodded, accepting control of the ceremony.
    “Are you the supplicant wishing to apply to the Order of the Rose?” asked High Justice Lord Adam Caladen, who along with High Clerist Lord Cyril Mordren occupiedthe remaining two spots on the five-member Rose Knights Council.
    Soth looked up at the high justice and nodded.
    “You may begin with your family’s lineage,” said High Justice Caladen.
    “I am Loren Soth, Knight of the Sword,” he said proudly. “My family has been one of the ruling houses of Solamnia for many, many years. For generations, the Soth name has carried on the proud tradition of the Solamnic Knights, pursuing the virtues of loyalty, obedience, heroism, courage, justice and wisdom. So well have my ancestors served the knights, and so stringent is their adherence to the ways of the Oath and the Measure, that they were deeded the province of Knightlund in recognition of their years of loyal service and undying devotion to the cause of Good.” Soth paused in honor of his ancestors. “It is my intention to make sure that the same level of commitment continues under the Soth family name for many generations to come.”
    A slight good-natured laugh rippled through the crowd of knights, family and guests that had gathered within the courtyard to witness the ceremony.
    “While my father, Aynkell Soth, was not a knight, he has done his best to serve the Knights of Solamnia well. In addition, many of my father’s brothers—my uncles—were some of the bravest and most noble knights Solamnia has ever seen.”
    “Yes,” someone called from the rear of the crowd.
    “And although my father was just a humble clerk, he was never without honor, pledging loyalty to the knighthood and living his life as if he himself were bound by the code prescribed by the Oath and the Measure.” Soth raised the volume of his voice slightly as he said these words in order to prevent it from wavering. “For many years, he has acted as a most capable steward of Knightlund, ensuring that the realm would be strong and prosperous for the day that I, his only son and the one trueheir to Knightlund”—these words were also spoken loudly, almost as if they were a challenge—“became of age and the province could rightly be passed from his capable hands to mine.”
    The crowd behind Soth broke into a small cheer that grew in strength until the high justice was forced to raise a hand and restore order. “And what of your deeds of honor?”
    Another laugh rippled through the crowd, only now it was a little livelier. Asking Soth about his deeds of honor was like asking the great and legendary Knight Huma Dragonbane, “And what of the dragons?”
    “I have led a successful expedition to Southern Ergoth to rescue two knights who had been captured and unjustly held as hostages by a band of ogres while on a peaceful journey to Qualinesti.”
    Members of the Knights Council nodded, none more emphatically than Dag Kurrold, whose son Degan was one of the two knights rescued in that very raid.
    “While escorting a religious pilgrimage of women to Istar to visit the Temple of the Kingpriest, my party was crossed by a band of marauding thieves in one of the passes leading through the mountains of Thoradin. During the subsequent battle, I single-handedly slew four ogres and a minotaur.” Some in the crowd gasped at the mention of a minotaur, but Soth continued. “But most important of all was that none of the women on the pilgrimage, nor any of the knights under my command, were killed or injured in the fight, while each and every one of our attackers was dispatched and the pilgrimage continued on without further incident.”
    “Paladine be praised,” came a cry from somewhere in the courtyard, no doubt from one of the women who had been on the pilgrimage.
    “Last spring,” continued Soth, “while traveling through Kelwick Pass on my way to Throtyl, I rescued a child from