Kaus,

Your name has never been uttered before me until now. Indeed, I would
imagine that your interactions with the Maldaathi House have been
minimal at most, for I have been a member my entire life without once
seeing the House make any mention of you worth noticing. To those ends,
I remain unimpressed by your pathetic attempt to call out the House
before Sapience. We certainly have nothing to hide and, if anything,
this will prove your worthlessness before the Lords. Allow me to
address, point by point, the elements of your feeble argument.

As Sir Icaru mentioned in his earlier post, the Maldaathi Knights do not
pointlessly seek conflict. We are certainly under no obligation to
accept challenges from those we have never heard of nor interacted with
in any manner. There are those that would seek to take advantage of the
honour and Code of Chivalry we adhere to. You, it appears, fall neatly
into that category. You appear surprised that a House Official enemied
you for challenging a Knight. Perhaps you should reconsider the thought
process you go through. The enemying was for no such thing. It was for
foolishly insulting the honour of the Maldaathi which you have now done
with your own words before all of Sapience. Conduct your research
properly before making any accusations in the future.

Lord Xenomorph has long since acquitted himself of any crimes he
"committed" against the Maldaathi House and the Maldaathi. I highly
doubt his loyalties have ever been in question since. You find yourself
surprised that he would take action against an individual attempting to
abuse the doctrine of a Maldaathi Knight? I do not and must wonder how
deep your own loyalties truly lie, for it is this degree of loyalty he
has so clearly summed up in his own words that makes him such a valuable
ally. There are few that would go to Lord Xenomorph's extent to defend
his former City and House. That he takes this extra step does not
reflect poorly upon the Maldaathi; it simply shows the degree to which
he respects us.

Lastly, you claim that the Maldaathi House is unable to fight for
themselves. This incident likely occurred when very few of our own
Knights were in the realms. I assure you that every waking moment you
find yourself here with several other House Officials or me, you will
find your statement quite lacking. Let this be my challenge to you,
Kaus. I have acknowledged you as a rival and await your response. Should
you choose to refuse that challenge, I will also accept any duel you may
wish to send my way. If both these options go unanswered, I certainly
will not lower myself to your level and call you out over public boards
for doing so.

In faithful Service to the Lords,
Lady Istiria Dread, Knight of the Maldaathi

Penned by my hand on the 13th of Chronos, in the year 433 AF.