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With the ceding of the coastal territories to Landsing, nment as a cliff-top artillery into the foreign environment, he had proved himself a true soldier son, for he learned what he nored the disdain of some of his fellows that he had cohthood His first few years had been spent in the discouraging task of escorting refugee trains fro our borders with the Plainsmen The Plainspeople had not welco their borders, but our people had to go soht with mounted Plains warriors for from a horse’s back Despite the "hard knocks" nature of his cavalla education, he was a staunch supporter of the Acade man learn by trial and error as he had done He favored a systematic approach to military education Some said he was instrumental in the creation of the Academy I know that on five separate occasions he was invited to travel there to speak to graduating young officers Such an honor was a sign of the king’s and the Academy’s respect for my father

Before the Academy was founded, our cavalla consisted of the re sea ith Landsing, the cavalla had been seen as a decorative branch of ourthe buffed and polished fa their plu littleWall that , and held it well On the few occasions e had atte by land, our heavy horses and ar cavaliers with their fleet steeds and muskets Even so, we had skirmished with the Plainsnized that specialized training was required to create a cavalla that could deal with the Plainspeople’s unconventional fighting style Our heavily aric at thee of lance and sword Our cavalla had to be forced to embrace the musketry and hthood Only then did we begin to prevail against a foe that saw no shaainst them

I would be the first ’s Academy I would be the first student to show our spond-tree crest at the school I knew there would be other first-generation new nobility sons, but I knew there would also be cadets descended frorace my father or the Burvelles of the west, ly aware of this, for et Uncle Sefert, ift prior to my departure It was a saddle, made especially to fit Sirlofty, with the new fa panniers to go with it, such as any good cavalla horse ht bear, likewise decorated I had to copy over my note of thanks four times before my father was satisfied with both my courtesy and o to my father’s elder brother; it was that my father was now his peer, and I the equal of any noble’s soldier son, and so I must conduct myself and be seen by all, but most especially by the members of my own family

In early summer, the fabric for my uniforms was ordered froreen of a cavalla cadet came wrapped in thick brown paper In a separate packet were brass buttons in two sizes, embossed with the crossed sabers of a cavallabefore then, as they did for the entire household But for the task of creating my Academy uniform, my father sent for a wizened little tailor He ca a sturdy dun horse and leading a reat wooden chests Inside the tapes, pattern books and needles, and threads of every weight and color i for ht and two of summer, and of course my cavalla man’s cloak He inspected the work of the local cobbler who made my boots, and said they were passable but that I should have a "good" pair made as soon as I could upon my arrival in Old Thares My sword belt and saber had been my father’s New bridles were ordered for Sirlofty to s were all new, and every bit of it was packed away in a heavy trunk that smelled of cedar