Dragonlance 10 - The Second Generation Read Online Free PDF Page B

sums of money increased and the gifts were more costly. The presents were all warlike in nature: small swords and shields, a small knife with a silver hilt carved with a dragon for his birthday. Steel adored them. As she had foreseen, he was a born warrior.
    "When he was four, the war broke out. The money and gifts stopped coming. Kitiara had more important matters on her mind. I heard stories of the Dark Lady. I heard how she had risen in favor with Highlord Ariakas, the general of the armies of evil. I remembered what she'd said to me—how, when the boy was old enough to ride to battle, she would return for him. I looked at Steel. He was only four, but he was stronger and taller, more intelligent, than most children his age.
    "If I ever missed him, I was sure to find him in the tavern, listening with open mouth and eager eyes to the stories of battle. The soldiers were mercenaries—a bad lot. They made fun of the Knights of Solamnia, called them weak men who hid inside their armor. I didn't like what Steel was learning. Our town was small and unprotected except for this rabble, and I feared that they were in league with the Dark Queen's forces. And so I left.
    "My son"—Sara cast Caramon a fierce look, daring him to defy her—"and I moved to Palanthas. I thought we would be safe there, and I wanted the boy to grow up among the Knights of Solamnia, to learn the truth about honor and the Oath and the Measure. I thought this might… might…" Sara paused and drew a shivering breath before she continued. "I hoped it might counteract the darkness I saw in him."
    "In a child?" Tika was disbelieving.
    "Even as a child. Perhaps you think it's because I knew the disparity of the two strains of blood that ran in him, but I swear to you, by the gods of good, whose names I can no longer say in innocence, that I could literally see the battle being fought for his soul. Every good quality in him was tainted with evil; every evil quality gilded with good. I saw this then! I see it more now." She lowered her head. Two tears slid down her pale cheeks. Tika put an arm around her. Caramon left his place by the fire and stood protectively near her as she continued her tale.
    "It was in Palanthas that I first heard about Sturm Brightblade. I heard the other knights talk about him—not in particularly approving tones. He was said to associate with outlandish folk—an elf maid, a kender, and a dwarf. And he was defying authority. But the ordinary people of the city liked and trusted Sturm, when they didn't like or trust many of the other knights. I talked about Sturm with Steel, took every opportunity to make Steel aware of his father's nobility and honor…"
    "Did Steel know the truth?" Caramon interrupted.
    Sara shook her head. "How could I tell him? It would have confused him. It's odd, but he never asked me who his parents were. I never made any secret of the fact that I wasn't his real mother. Too many in my small town knew the truth. But I lived—I still live—in dread of the question: who are my real father and mother?"
    "You mean"—Caramon looked astonished—"he doesn't know? To this day?"
    "He knows now who his mother is. They took care to tell him that much. But he has never once asked his father's name. Perhaps he doesn't think I know."
    "Or perhaps he doesn't want to find out," Tika suggested.
    "I still think he should have known," Caramon argued.
    "Do you?" Sara cast him a bitter glance. "Think of this. Remember the battle for the High Clerist's Tower. As you know, the knights won. The Dragon Highlord, Kitiara, was defeated, but at what a terrible cost. As you said, she killed Sturm Brightblade, killed him as he stood alone on the battlements.
    "I was horrified when I heard this news. Can you imagine what I felt? To look at Steel and know that his mother had slain the man who was his father. How could I explain such things to a boy when I didn't understand them myself?"
    Caramon sighed. "I don't know," he said moodily. "I