It was only a few days later that he died at the Battle of the High Clerist's Tower, and his death (more properly, his life) seemed to inspire a change in the Knights as a body. I know that I looked at him as the ideal Knight, next to Huma, of course. He was so very different from Lord Gunthar, who knew how to play the political games and wrested the power of the Knights under his leadership. Different, as well, as my father, who while serving as a Knight admirably, admitted to me on occasion that the way of life was troubling to him, at times. David was a very emotional man, and the strictness of the Knight lifestyle frustrated those spirited parts of him.
But there were no three better role models for the young man that I was at the time. I was able to see the strengths of weaknesses of all three men and applied myself towards being the better part of each.
*****
The pressure of the lifestyle which my father had buckled under was also felt by my mother and I. There was, and still is, great feeling between my mother and I -- she is very much like my father in that regard -- but it had never been socially acceptable for us to show this. Mother had her own Code and Measure to live under, just as Father did, and there were times that I could recall where, in supposed private, she would lash out with all her pent-up anger. I also remember her fevered dreams that Father would soothe her out of. After the funeral, she withdrew, as one would expect... and my duties as a knight, over the last several years, has kept me away from home.
Fortunately, Lord Gunthar has allowed her to become the de facto lady of the castle ever since his wife died, and I have made sure that Mother's needs are well met. From afar, of course.
One of the more frustrating things about our lives, and the times we live in, is that we must constantly be on alert. The Knights of Takhisis have been well-organized, and their initial push into Ansalon required all of our units to be mobilized. We've pushed them back past Goodlund, and the news from Kenderhome is good as well, but they cannot and will not be counted out.
*****
I miss a few things from my earlier life. I sometimes think about my earlier youth, when my nobility had not yet took hold. I haven't lacked for companionship, finding my duties to not leave much time to tend to anyone else's needs, let alone my own. The time I spent studying at the Temple of Paladine was invaluable; I truly did not want to leave, but I then realized that my time spent there has made me a better man and officer, on the whole.
Perhaps, with the end of this current campaign, I can tend to some things I had long forgotten...