Authors: Edo Van Belkom
Lord Soth
“It is done.”
Hearing the words, young Loren Soth breathed a deep sigh of relief. “Well done, Caradoc. You have served me well.”
Soth’s seneschal stepped into the cottage and began disrobing. He tossed his clothes upon the hearth, watching the blood of his victims burn in shades of orange and blue.
Aynkell Soth looked up at his son for the first time in hours. “Now when you take over rule of Nightlund, no other heir can come forward to lay claim to it.” He turned to Caradoc. “Thank you for the removal of the black marks upon my soul.”
“The black marks may have been removed from your soul,” said Knight Soth, “but they are not gone. They have merely been transferred. The weight of my father’s sins is now mine alone to bear. What a lovely gift to receive so soon before my wedding day.”
“Don’t be so quick to blame and condemn me, my son,” Aynkell said. “You are of my flesh and of my blood. You always will be. There’s too much of me in you for you to be so critical of my life.”
The knight’s face darkened into a scowl. His father began to laugh. Loren stormed out of the cottage.
As he joined Caradoc and began his homeward ride, the young knight could still hear his father’s mocking laughter ringing in his ears …
Haunting him for many, many miles.
From the Creators of the
DRAGONLANCE
®
Saga
WARRIORS
Knights of the Crown
Roland Green
Maquesta Kar-Thon
Tina Danieli
Knights of the Sword
Roland Green
Theros Ironfeld
Don Perrin
Knights of the Rose
Roland Green
Lord Soth
Edo van Belkom
LORD SOTH
D
RAGONLANCE
®
The Warriors • Volume VI
©1996 TSR, Inc.
All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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D
RAGONLANCE
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v3.1
For my brother, Lou van Belkom
who thought I was pursuing a fool’s dream
but thankfully kept his opinion to himself.
A lot of people played a part in bringing this novel into being. I’d like to thank Executive Editor Brian Thomsen for having confidence in my ability; Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman for creating such an interesting character to write about; editor Barbara G. Young for helping me smooth out some of the rough spots; fellow TSR author Ed Greenwood for advice and encouragement early on; and beta-testers Don Bassingthwaite, David Livingstone Clink and David Nickle for helping me make sure
Lord Soth
remained true to form.
Dear Astinus
,
I know it has been your intention for many years to pen a volume chronicling the spectacular rise and fall of Lord Loren Soth of Dargaard Keep. Understandably, work on the literally thousands upon thousands of other volumes in your wondrous library has always kept you from this important task
.
That is why I accepted this assignment with both eagerness and trepidation. While I was anxious to show you that your confidence in my abilities was well-founded, I was also unsure about those same abilities and concerned that they might not be up to the challenge of recording a life story so tangled and mysterious as that of Lord Soth’s
.
The history of the Lord of Dargaard Keep is a fascinating one, full of as much honor, devotion to duty, love, knightly law and discipline, as cruelty, jealousy, greed, falsehood, unbridled lust, infidelity and murder
.
Putting it to paper was not an easy task
.
For despite how well his exploits are known to the people of Krynn, the details of each are as varied as the number of people who are familiar enough to speak of them
.
Before this volume was completed, the life story of Lord Soth—also known to many by such names as Knight of the Black Rose, the Death Knight, or the Death Lord—had been a mixture of legend, fable, myth, spoken histories and long-lost tales
.
For example, there are many variations of the story concerning the death of Soth’s first wife, Lady Korinne Gladria of Palanthas. (Even in this, something as simple as a name, there have been errors as the woman has sometimes been incorrectly referred to as Lady Gladria of Korinne.) Lady Korinne wed Soth in a magnificent ceremony on the grounds outside Dargaard Keep. But while some histories have reported that she died during childbirth, or merely under “mysterious circumstances,” they are all only partly true
.
But you, Astinus of Palanthas, Master Historian of Krynn, did not become a master historian by chronicling half-truths and lies, and neither shall I. The reputation and respect you have
earned in every corner of Krynn has been won by your tireless pursuit of truth in all matters pertaining to its history. It has been my goal to produce a history worthy of that same respect
.
Whether I have achieved that goal or not, only you are qualified to judge. On my own behalf I will say only this. While this is as well a researched history of Lord Soth’s life as I could pen, I cannot say in all honesty that it is the one true version. For while I worked diligently to confirm each fact found in the various written records scattered throughout Solamnia and across the four corners of Krynn, far too many aspects of the story could only be verified verbally, and even then by—how shall I say?—less than reputable sources
.
Speaking in more general terms, I found Soth’s tale to be an utterly shocking one. Yet, as startling as it is, I suspect that there were even more disturbing elements that, even with the utmost diligence, I was unable to unearth. With much regret, I fear that those parts of Soth’s history might be lost to us forever
.
Nevertheless, I have combined all of the reliable facts concerning Lord Soth’s sordid life and gathered them together in a single volume for the very first time. The result is as true a history of the knight’s life as is within my ability to produce
.
I submit it for your approval
.
Verril Esteros, Second Aesthetic
Great Library of Astinus of Palanthas
401 A.C
.
Prologue