Read The Tattered Banner (Society of the Sword Volume 1) Online
Authors: Duncan M. Hamilton
The Tattered Banner (Society of the Sword Volume 1) (10 page)
The other method was a direct challenge. If a student was ranked highly enough within his class, he could directly challenge a Blade for his place. This was rarely done however, more of a left over from older times than a rule that was in practice. Although any student was eligible to try for membership, in reality, most Blades were adepti, with only an occasional tyro managing to get in, Ranph being the sole example in the Academy at that time, and it was unheard of for cadets to get in. The prospect of being a Blade, and all of the benefits that came with it was immediately attractive to Soren.
A
ll graduates of the Academy were expected to be competent horsemen. While Soren had seen many horses during his life, he had never been on one and he felt a certain amount of trepidation as he sat on a bench outside the stables, which overlooked the manoeuvres field at the back of the Academy campus. He felt somewhat resentful at having to take part in the class as he felt it was pointless for him. The expense to outfit a heavy cavalryman was far beyond the means of a jobbing swordsman. His future, if not in the service of Amero, as it would most likely be, would be as an infantry officer, or perhaps as a duellist in the arena. He thought it extremely unlikely that he would ever be called upon to perform as a cavalry officer. Nonetheless, being able to ride a little for transportation purposes alone would be necessary, so however grudgingly, he did attend the class.
The first thing that intimidated him was how big the horses were up close. They seemed far larger than the horses he could recall seeing around the city, although he supposed that these were war horses, while those he had seen before would have been riding or work horses. These were proud and haughty beasts with personalities and attitudes that further intimidated Soren. He had no idea how he was supposed to impose his will on one of them.
He was handed the reins of a grey, dappled horse that was very nice to look at, but that towered over him, and regarded him with suspicious disdain. While his speed and agility made up for his raw swordplay, he was completely out of his depth with a horse. He couldn’t see how any of the ability that had so far kept him at the Academy would have any bearing on controlling one.
When handing him the reins, the Master of Horse, Master Thadeo had let Soren know that he was aware of his recent arrival and would come back to him once all the others were ready to go. This did little to quell Soren’s nerves as he watched all of the others check their equipment and mount their horses with ease and familiarity. Master Thadeo returned to him once he had checked that all the others had properly fastened their saddles and bridles and were ready to go.
‘Am I to take it that this is your first time on a horse?’ he asked.
Soren just nodded in reply.
‘Ok, we’ll take it very easy today then. I won’t have you join in with the others, as that would just be a disaster! You’ve seen the others mount, so just do as they did, and I will hold the bridle to make sure nothing unexpected happens!’ said Master Thadeo.
Soren nodded again, and somewhat daunted, turned to the horse. He put his left foot into the stirrup and, taking a deep breath, pushed down on it and swung his body up onto the back of the horse and his right leg over the other side. This left him lying forward on the horse’s neck, so he very unsteadily sat straight up. He could feel the horse moving ever so slightly beneath him and he realised that his knuckles were white on the reins and his thighs were clamped to the saddle.
‘Very good!’ said Master Thadeo, as he moved to adjust the stirrups. ‘Now, today, it will just be the basics. I want you to get used to the feeling of sitting in the saddle and the balance that is required. I’ll have you walk the horse around the field, getting used to the controls. The Academy horses, yours is called “Barto” by the way, are well trained and quite biddable. If you treat him well, he’ll do the same for you.
‘Now, when sitting at a halt, maintain some tension on the reins. When you want to move off, say “walk on” and release some of that tension. To stop him, say “whoa” and gently put some tension on the reins again. Also, smooth and gentle movements, they are more than enough. Don’t yank at the reins. Now try that for yourself. Walk Barto forward a few paces and then stop him. And remember to breath!’
Soren nodded again nervously, trying to make sense of everything that he had been told.
‘Walk on!’ said Soren, and on the command Barto moved off. There was a gentle and slight bouncing movement as the horse walked. Soren felt a giddy excitement overcome him at the novelty of the new experience. In that instant, heroic images of armoured cavalrymen charging to battle flashed into his head. It was a sight far removed from a tense, wobbly and scrawny youth taking his first riding lesson, but one that was not beyond the limits of his imagination nonetheless.
‘Excellent,’ said Master Thadeo. ‘Now stop.’
‘Whoa!’ said Soren, as he tentatively pulled back on the reins. Barto stopped abruptly, and in a way that made Soren wonder if he was doing it because he knew that was what he was intended to do, rather than down to Soren’s command.
‘Good,’ said Master Thadeo. ‘Now, to turn him you increase the tension on the rein on the side you want to turn to, while easing the tension on the other side. I want you to ride back and forward across the field, no faster than a walking pace, starting and stopping Barto every so often, and turning to both directions. I will send one of the other students to keep an eye on you, but it’s not so hard once you get a feel for it!’
Master Thadeo mounted his own horse with the smooth and practiced efficiency of an expert and galloped off toward the rest of the class who were in a group at the far side of the field, cantering along. Soren pulled on the left rein and eased off on the right one as instructed, and Barto turned to the left without moving forward. His hooves clacked and scraped on the solid cobbles of the stable yard, and Soren wondered what it would feel like on the softer turf of the field.
In spite of his initial anxiety, he found that he was enjoying the experience tremendously. He urged Barto forward at a walk, the clip-clop of his hooves silencing to dull thuds as he moved onto the grass. He had just reached the far side of the manoeuvres field and begun to turn around when he noticed a rider break away from his group of classmates at the opposite end of the field and head in his direction. He kept Barto walking forward as he watched the group cantering as one cohesive unit, wheeling left and right, speeding up and slowing down. It was an impressive sight to watch but he tried to shut it out and concentrate on the task at hand. As the student sent to assist him drew closer, his heart sank however and his rising concerns made concentration impossible.
‘Well, well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rat on a horse before. Perhaps a large dog would be a more appropriate mount for you!’ said dal Dardi.
Soren wasn’t sure if he was just a victim of circumstance, or if dal Dardi had volunteered to supervise him. He suspected the latter, but he was certain that the situation would not end well. He wished Master Thadeo had taught him how to make Barto back up, but as it was, forward, left and right were the only options available to him.
‘I’m glad to see your face is healing,’ said Soren. He just couldn’t stop himself from baiting dal Dardi. ‘It’s just a shame that with the swelling gone everyone can see what an ugly sack of shit you are again!’
Dal Dardi started circling his horse around Soren and Barto, but Soren’s balance was still precarious at best and he could not twist in his saddle to watch him when he went around behind him. He felt a shiver run down his spine as dal Dardi circled around out of view, and his entire body tensed. He almost breathed a sigh of relief when dal Dardi came back into his line of sight.
‘Hmm, not bad for a gutter rat,’ he said. ‘But your bridle is all wrong. Let me help you with it.’ He reached forward and undid the noseband and pulled the bit from Barto’s mouth.
‘There, much better,’ he said. ‘You’ll find the control a little different when you gallop, but I think you’ll like it,’ he added, with mock sincerity.
It was all that Soren could do to remain still and try to ensure he did not fall from Barto’s back. Reaching forward to fix the bridle was a challenge too great for him. Dal Dardi backed his horse up, once more out of Soren’s view. There was a loud slapping noise, and Barto reared up before breaking into a bucking gallop.
Soren did his best to hang on but the reins were ineffectual and did not provide any resistance for him to be able to pull against. He roared at the horse to stop as he dropped the reins and clung desperately to the edge of his saddle. He managed to hold on for a few moments, but with each stride Barto took, Soren was bounced further out of the saddle until he lost contact with it altogether. As he flew through the air it felt like the world was slowing all around him. He could see Barto galloping off across the field, and all of his classmates watching in bewilderment. Above all, he could hear dal Dardi’s laughter. There was a bright flash behind his eyes, and then darkness.
Soren woke up later that afternoon in the infirmary. At first he was not able to remember what had happened, but even at that point dal Dardi’s laughter echoed in his ears. Gradually, as his memory of the events returned, anger twisted in his stomach.
His first visitor was Master Thadeo, who felt obligated to check on Soren’s recovery. He said that dal Dardi had claimed the incident had occurred without his involvement, but he was clearly of the opinion that this was a lie. He had fitted the bridle himself and did not believe that it could have come loose without interference. Once he had confirmed that Soren had not tried to adjust it himself, he seemed satisfied with his belief. Soren’s second visitor was more of a surprise.
Ranph dal Bragadin appeared with a somewhat sheepish expression at the end of Soren’s bed.
‘How are you feeling?’ he asked.
‘I’ve been better,’ said Soren guardedly. He didn’t see what Ranph was there for, as he didn’t seem the type to gloat, or to try to make out that Soren had gotten what was coming to him for breaking dal Dardi’s nose.
‘Look, I’ll come right to the point,’ said Ranph. ‘We all know what Reitz did, and it was a stupid, dangerous and low thing to do to someone who has never been on a horse before. He’s brought dishonour on Stornado House, and both I and the other Stornados want you to know that should you choose to call him out over it, you will be entirely within your rights.’ With that he left.
Soren was left bemused. It struck him as having been an apology of sorts, but he didn’t really have a clue what Ranph had meant by ‘call him out’.
He was allowed to rest in the infirmary for the remainder of the day before being sent back to River House in the evening.