Lord Soth
Lord Loren Soth is the current High Lord of the Knights of the Black Rose, a rather unusual chivalric organization that has been gaining further and further support within the Thanedom of Technocratic Republics since the return to power of the Thanes.
In all his undead glory, Soth stands 6'5 feet. He wears a full suit of ritual plate mail that is of ancient design. Damage from many battles marks the delicate ornamentation on his armour, obscuring its intricate carvings of kingfishers and roses, leaving only a charred black rose on the breastplate, which had become Soth's symbol. A long purple cloak hangs heavily on his shoulder, draped behind him almost to his knees. A tassel of long black hair tops his helm, as worn and ancient as the rest of his armour. A sword black with the blood of countless victims hangs sheathed on his hip. Of the undead knight himself, only two flaming dots red as blood shine from the eye slits on the helm. His voice seems an echo from the depth of a bottomless cavern. Like all Knights of the Black Rose, there is always an aura of freezing undeath cold around Soth, the demeanor so terrifying that even the most valiant ones have been known to be frightened.
Past Background
Lord Loren Soth served for many years as Knight Elector of the chivalric order of the Knights of the White Rose, one of the two greatest chivalric orders open to humans within the Thanedom. However, during a battle following the uprising of many wizard enclaves in the year 210 before Academician's Reckonings, which would ultimately end in the overthrowing of the Thanes and the rise to power of Mordenkainen the Great, he was killed by a mage's rampaging spellcraft, but not before saving the life of Thane Mernock-bhar-Khent. After the battle ended, his body was carefully encased in an ivory coffin and sent to rest along with the greatest heroes of the realm, in the Tomb of Knights.
Somewhere during the eight millennium after the Academician's Reckoning -current date is 10,255-, Soth's body, along with that of many hundreds of other long deceased Knights of the White Rose, was rescued from beneath the ocean -where all the remains of the Age of Thanes had been vaulted long ago by Mordenkainen- by a group of occult practitioners of the dark arts of Necromancy, known today as the Chamber of Still Voices, who were interested in bringing forth the knowledge of times long past. Lord Soth, and many other dead knights as well, were brought back not to life, but to unlife, as an undead.
It is unclear what exactly happened afterward, as the necromancers were hunt down by the orders of the Technocratic Council, and reported eradicated in 8,915 A.R. -although they were not, at least not entirely-. Since none of the undead knights have ever expressed any form of wish to relate the events, all has been left to speculation and the hard-to-find records found here and there. The common theory is, however, that he and his brethren just worked to remain hidden.
Return of the Thanes and Rise to High Lordship
After the Thanes made their triumphant return in 10,179, perhaps the first ones to run to their help were the undead Knights of the White Rose, who suddenly showed up all around the nation, their numbers somewhere around the nine hundreds, but with a degree of power that made even the wizards tremble. In the following war, which lasted for almost a decade, Soth and the other knights fought for their old masters in ways that will pass in history forever; perhaps the fact that they would finally get revenge on many of those who were responsible for their deaths -as many of the old wizards were still around- was a good incentive.
Once the war ended, the soon-to-be-crowned Thanes understood that, if they ever wanted to rebuild their long lost realm, they would have to, first, revive the old institutions, and the chivalric orders were a very important part of that. However, they also knew that Soth and his brethren were not standing in the realm of the living, and in their deaths they had lost membership to the Knights of the White Rose; a customary technicism perhaps, but a barrier nonetheless. In order to solve this and still grant the undead knights the honour and recognition they deserved, a new order was created: The Knights of the Black Rose, whose members are all counted in the ranks of the unliving. As Soth had become a true beacon of leadership for the knights during the war, it was only logical to grant him the title of First High Lord of the Order, which he took gladly.
Role
As High Lord, his tasks are many, among which can be counted the overseeing of military training, political and diplomatical functions, and the Lordly Might, which is the function of administrating the nobility of the realm, a task he shares with only a handful of selected individuals.
