Apprentice (The Black Mage, #2)(5)
The master scoffed. "That is of no consequence. I expect the two of you to assist Apprentice Ian with the cleaning of the barrack privies during your evening hours for the remainder of this week. A small price for interrupting the rest of your classmates' study. It is my hope that the extra duty will illuminate the error of your ways." He gave a loud, exasperated sniff. "Though I suspect it will not. Now, pay attention to the rest of the Commander's address or I will see to it that you never have free time again."
Silently fuming, I forced myself to sit tall in my seat and focus on the regiment leaders at the front of the room. Beside me Ella did the same. Now was not the time to complain. Despite the drama just moments before both of us really did want to hear what the Commander and her regiment leaders were saying. Unlike the lessons we'd had back at the Academy, these officials' information was formed entirely by firsthand experience.
Today's topic was continuing a three-week lecture on chariot combat – what the desert regiments were famous for.
Ishir Outpost was located at the northernmost boundary of the Red Desert, which encompassed the entire southern region of Jerar. The city and the rest of the desert's border were made up entirely of tall desert bluffs and steep crags with only one man-made gate allowing travel between the desert and the rest of the country. The desert's tall, rocky walls overlooked the middle plains and provided perfect vantage points for the Crown's Army in the event of a full-scale invasion on the capital, Devon. Mostly, the desert's local regiments serviced the walls as lookouts. There hadn't been a war between Jerar and its northern neighbor Caltoth in over ninety years.
Since the start of our training in Ishir I had learned that at the base of this wall were several hidden tunnels interspersed every fifty miles or so to help the central plains evacuate and give the Red Desert's regiments easy passage out. According to palace historians, no country had ever attacked Jerar's capital due to the threat just south of it.
Because of the desert tunnels and the plains' level ground, one of the first things the Crown's Army had done was order up several hundred two-manned chariots to be stored in all of the desert's northern cities – ready to be used for swift-assault should the need arise.
The chariots were intended to be the first charge with a soldier steering while either a skilled archer-knight or Combat mage led the attack. The quick speed of such a light vehicle allowed the mages and knights the ease of a distanced approach that enemies would have a hard time countering. The Red Desert's knights and mages were known for their long-range attacks, and since Ishir Outpost was the most populace city with the largest regiment it had become one of the four territories mage apprentices and knights' squires trained in during their four-year apprenticeships.
"Soldiers of the Cavalry are exempt, of course, since they are immediately placed following their trial year in whatever region the Crown demands," the Commander noted. "It is a shame that they can't do a four-year rotation as well, but they take on much lesser roles in our service and it is not necessary for them to learn the chariots before they are placed in our city."
The imposing lady knight continued to explain the finer points of her strategy – pointing to her colleagues from time-to-time to explain what each leader would do once the chariots had left the barrier tunnels. The mounted knights would follow up with an armed assault – usually the sickle sword if they were desert natives, or the halbred if coming from the Crown's Army. Whatever horses remained were given to the soldiers – with the majority serving on foot with battle axes to break up their opponent's armor and give the knights an easier target to dismantle. The Restoration and Alchemy mages would remain in the tunnels – equipped for battle, but prepared for healing and the latter for a last minute defense.
They had left no possibility unplanned.
Though we went over various techniques for breaking up enemy lines and securing a victory, the one thing the Commander and her council never told us was exactly where those tunnels were located. We didn't know their number either, and we never would… unless we were given a position in command or participating in an actual war.
Because Jerar's capital had never been under siege, the Red Desert's tunnels had never been used. The laborers that had helped build them had died several centuries ago. The only people who knew their exact coordinates were either dead, or currently serving the commanding post in one of the desert or plain cities. The only exception was the royal family. Not even the various barons or ruling lords in the affecting cities knew.
From everything I had gathered the tunnels were Jerar's most safeguarded secret. It hadn't been said directly but I was almost certain they punished offenders with death. There were rumors that those who went looking for them never returned. And then there was the mysterious death of Ishir's past Commander who had been in the prime of his health when a sudden illness had rapidly taken his life after only three years into his reign.
Definitely a secret.
By the time our two hours were over I had forgotten most of my earlier problems. Priscilla, Master Byron, and my new injury were just small, annoying blips in my otherwise perfect life. Every time I walked away from Strategies in Combat I felt like I was a part of something great. No one and nothing could take that away from me.
I was an apprentice now. For Combat, the most prestigious faction of all. I had defeated more odds than any of the other war schools. In the School of Knighthood almost half of the first-year pages were made squires. In the Cavalry? Three-quarters of its applicants made soldier. The Academy? Less than ten percent.