Imperator,
A Knight accepts honourable challenges, and so I accept yours.

A union of surgeons would seek to excise one that knew nothing of the trade. An association of lawyers would seek to disbar one who practiced law without any training. A Guild of Knights shall challenge those who wear Knightly titles without living our ways. An entepreneur who has worked hard on his brand would seek to protect his brand.

Any soul may show honour, but indeed Chivalry--and the titles associated with it--was practiced exclusively within the Inheritor Guilds: The Paladins, the Maldaathi, the Runewardens. Every recognized Knight earned their title in one of these Guilds--including Kinilan Demaxx--and though they often warred, the three recognized their shared identity. That lineage fell to their successor Houses, and after our long, dark age it has fallen to us: the Guild of Knights refounded by the survivors of our chivalric orders.

We note the honour of kindred Knights not of our lineage. We salute our progenitors, Lord Kemnast and his Deathknights. We hail Knights of the ancient Aalen Kingdom, and their successors. We explore with interest the shrouded origin of the Knights of Moghedu. But the archetype of the Adventurer Knight, whose deeds travel far and wide by rumour and legend, we do claim as our Seleucarian heritage. For a miscreant in a Knight's title casts doubt upon the virtues of all other Knights to wear it. The public expresses this sentiment to my inbox often.

The Guild of Knights seek to hold ourselves to a higher standard of integrity, and return this norm to Sapience. To earn our highest title means a great deal to us, much of our sweat and blood has been shed before that accolade touches our shoulders. It is our goal to mark ourselves as souls that Sapience may trust to be truthful, dependable, and evenhanded to our enemies. Knights, it could be said, live and die by our reputations; that you seem to think poorly of ours wounds me, already.

And so even if we are not the greatest of warriors, we shall stand for our ideals and shall not flee in the face of consequence. That is what gives our titles weight, and distinguishes us from pretenders who clad themselves in our accolades without making sacrifices for it.

If others wish to don a Knight's title, let them prove their commitment to a Knight's ideals, for we shall.

Ser Aerek

Penned by my hand on the 6th of Mayan, in the year 920 AF.