My name is Gherit Trakand, the son of Elayne Trakand, the Queen of Andor, and Rand Al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn. I am twenty years old, born shortly after Tarmon Gai’Don. This is a description of a period of my life that I spent learning under the guidance of a great king, Al’Lan Mandragoran, the King of Malkier.
At the age of 14, my twin sister, Andira (the only real friend that I ever had as a child), was found to have the spark. She would be an Aes Sedai one day. Our mother insisted that she train at the Tower as soon as possible, which meant that she was gone within a few days. I had never felt so alone in my life. We used to squabble like siblings do, but we could only trust in each other. Other children were suspect because many of them had hidden agendas, even at a young age. Or rather their parents did. It was not a very pleasant way to grow up.
Losing Andy was hard on me, and Mother could see that. To keep my mind off of it all, she decided to call on Lan and ask him to take me as a pupil, to teach me how to be a leader of soldiers. As a child, I had sworn an oath to protect Andy at all costs, the oath of the First Prince of the Sword. That made me responsible for learning the skills of the warrior and general. Mother wanted me to learn from the best, so I was sent to begin my training with the man who began the training of my father, so many years ago.
To make my training as thorough as possible, I went under a different name. My name was Danegar Holt. My story was that I was the son of a minor Andoran Noble who wanted to train his son to be a good leader of soldiers. I don’t think that anyone bought it, but at least they were polite and pretended that they did. I must say that I am not a very good actor. I am just glad that most of the story was true.
The first six months were hard. I was kept too busy to think and I was restricted from many things. I was not allowed to send messages home or even be near my family members should they come to visit. I was to dress like a servant, eat with the servants, sleep in the servants’ quarters, and get paid as a servant. But, unlike the other servants, I was never allowed to be off duty. The other servants rotated duties, including days off, especially for holidays and other special events. But I was to be on duty every day of every week. I got no breaks. I think that it was to teach me that my duties never stop when I am a leader. That I must always be working for the benefit of those under my command, even when they get time off. And it just comes with the job, so I must carry that burden with dignity.
I was a pageboy, sent on any errand that any member of the court, visiting dignitary, or senior member of the staff had. I must have gone through three pairs of shoes (and hundreds of blisters) in those months. At the end of that time, my endurance had improved greatly. I had to run everywhere I went. I could run for a few miles before needing to stop for a break.
I rarely had time off. I didn’t have the energy to think about Andy most of the time, but when I did, I missed her little pranks. It is just not the same, waking up in the morning without a frog, worm, or something else slimy and squishy in your shoes. And there was nobody else that I could really be close to. The other staff at the castle avoided me somewhat, and at the time I didn’t know why. It eventually came to me, but it took a while. I really needed a friend that I could confide in and talk to that would treat me like a person, and not a prince. Since Andy left I hadn’t had that. That was what I missed the most.
After about six months of running errands, my duties were changed. I was assigned to the stables to care for the horses of the King. At this time, I was allowed to start sending letters home or to the Tower. I could finally talk to Mother and Andy again. The first message was a long one to Mother telling her about all of the differences between Malkier and Caemlyn. My second message was an even longer one to Andy telling her about everything that had happened to me since she left and asking about what she had been up to.
The month I spent in the stables was a smelly one. I mucked out stalls, cleaned tack, curried the horses, took them out for exercise (usually the other stable hands did the real practicing while I carried buckets of water out for the horses to drink and helped wipe them down after they got sweaty), and did the many tasks required of stable hands. This time, my quarters were in the stable loft, among the hay and spare equipment.
If anything the work was harder in the stables, but I was prepared to handle hard work by then. I had gotten used to running, so I would occasionally take horses out to the exercise yard and give them a nice easy run (for them) and just run in circles. I did this with those that were not up to carrying riders yet (sometimes horses get sick and others are young and not prepared for riders yet). The months as a pageboy developed my ability to run so well that I felt somewhat trapped if I couldn’t run a few miles each day. It just felt good to run sometimes.
Working in the stables built my upper body strength a little and greatly increased my endurance. I had to haul hay, buckets of water, tack, saddles, oats, and equipment often, and over some fairly long distances. It was hard work, but I got used to it. The horses were usually friendly, except for the big one that belonged to the captain of the guard. He had a temper and liked to bite. I learned a lot about horses and their care in the stables of Malkier.
After five weeks in the stables, I was sent to the smithy, to help out there. There was a lot of work to do at that time, because it was summer and the spring field training had taken a toll on the equipment and it had to be ready for the summer training. I was under the supervision of Samnel Druilar, the chief smith. The smithy had to repair weapons, armor, and massive quantities of common items. It was amazing, how many things need the services of a smith besides weapons and armor. I never knew how much other “stuff” it takes to keep a small army in the field. That was a valuable experience.
Samnel was a friendly man. He was one of the few real friends I ever had besides Andy. He treated me well, but played along with the charade. He gave me the simple, repetitive tasks to do, but let me get involved with an apprentice working on some simple items, such as horseshoes. I learned some of the basics of metals and smithing techniques. I obtained valuable experienced in that smithy. It was probably my favorite time of that first year.
I also grew a few pounds and gained some upper body strength. I didn’t do very much actual smithing, but I did carry loads of heavy coal, metal, water, and items in need of repair or recently repaired. It was exhausting. But I kept running on the side. I liked some of the horses, particularly a young mare that was about to be saddle broken. She was very friendly and liked apples. I used to sneak her some on occasion. I visited her while I was working in the smithy and ran with her every other day. I started to lose some of my endurance, but I just ran longer to make up for the fewer days of running. I still didn’t get days off, but I was used to it by that time.
I was actually sad when I was told that my duties were changed. I was leaving Sam and the smithy to go into the service of the chief Armsmaster. I was to care for the spare weapons and armor that the armory contained. I sharpened swords, cleaned off rust, wiped off dust, oiled leather, checked buckles and straps, organized equipment, conducted inventories, checked fletching, swept the floor, sent for repairs of broken items, issued replacement equipment when things were broken during training, and did the many other little tasks necessary for keeping the armory going. I learned a lot about the equipment maintenance necessary for sustained field operations. The volume of equipment that gets broken, even when not actually in combat, is tremendous. I learned a lot about the logistics of keeping the soldiers adequately equipped. Other than that, it was not very eventful for the four weeks that I spent in the armory.
When I left the armory, I was sent to join the army for its field exercises. I was assigned to the cooks. That was very interesting. I never knew that people ate so much food. The number of wagons carrying equipment, people, smiths, leather workers, tailors, other needed craftsmen, and medical staff was dwarfed by number of wagons carrying food and cooks. Everyone has to eat. Preferably they eat three times a day. That is a lot of food when you are looking at feeding hundreds of soldiers with hundreds of support people (the tailors, farriers, smiths, and such). It was probably the most valuable thing that I learned in Malkier. ‘The will of an army relies on the fullness of it’s stomachs’ as the saying goes. I took that to heart.
The only real problem with the job was that it took all day from before the sun rose until well after it set. The soldiers do the fighting, but the hardest workers are the cooks. They get up two hours before first light and start getting breakfast ready so that at sunup the army could eat. Then they had to clean up after breakfast and start preparing for lunch. If the army was moving, it had to do what preparations were possible on the move. There were even some special wagons with metal sheathing on the floor that could be used to cook on the move. There weren’t many and they were heavy, but they could cook the meat before we stopped for lunch or dinner and then it could be added to some stew and heated up quickly or eaten as is with some bread. Either way, it helped get real meals when on the move. After dinner was over the final cleanup began. Every pot, pan, dish, bowl, spoon, knife, platter, plate, and pitcher had to be cleaned out, scrubbed, rinsed, dried, put away properly, and inventoried. Only after all this was done, were the cooks released to go to sleep.
Every day new fuel had to be gathered for the reserve fuel supply if any wood was used from there. The reserve fuel wagon was covered to keep the rain out, keeping the wood relatively dry. If nothing else, the dry wood would be replaced with wet wood, which would have the chance to dry out a bit over night. This was a concern that never occurred to me before. The availability not only of fuel for the fires, but dry fuel for the fires was a bit of a novel concept. It is one of those concerns that is always taken care of by an experienced commander (who probably had to do without once, and only once), but not easily thought of by even a trained leader.
The worst part about the time I spent in the field was that Mother and Andy came by to visit, but they didn’t come out into the field to see me. I didn’t get back until they were long gone. I was rather put out by that. I hadn’t seen my family since I left, almost 9 months before. I really missed them. I would get to see them more in the future, but to miss the first visit really irked me. I was a little thundercloud of temper for a few days until Sam saw me and I talked it over with him. He was what got me through it. My temper cleared up after that talk and I was much more pleasant to be around.
Shortly after we returned from our field exercises, I was reassigned to the army. It was the day of my 15th birthday. I was to be trained to fight and work with the border patrols. There were still rare encounters with Shadowspawn, but things like wolves or bears were much more common. The borders were relatively safe, but the vigilant borderlands refused to let old habits die. They kept the border patrols strong and consistent. They were very serious about advance warning should the Shadowspawn return.
My first day as a soldier, I was introduced to the Master Armsman. He was to become my instructor and train me to be a soldier. He started by giving me a practice sword and pairing me off with a young man also just beginning his training. He beat me until I was sore from head to toe. He had been training there for two weeks and was preparing for it for half a dozen years. I was vastly out classed. However, I had been toughened in body and mind by the other trades I had been placed in and I continued to be beat on for quite some time before a halt was called due to the condition I was in. After I had recovered my wits a bit, the training began. I had to do more repetitive physical training. Lifting buckets of rocks or swinging metal poles at logs placed upright in the ground can be considered to be nothing else. It just made me tired and sore. I never hurt like I did the morning after that day. I felt like just dieing when they woke me up before first light to go running. Five miles is torture when you hurt like I did.
By the end of the week, I had moved on from pure physical labor to actual instruction. They began to teach me the fundamentals of the long sword. That is a common borderland weapon. I never much cared for the extra weight of it. I preferred the rapier. It is easier to cause vital wounds, but does not chop a body to bits as readily. It also takes much longer to learn to use it properly.
My real weapon training began with simple drills to develop a feel for the balance of the weapon and to develop the strength to use it properly. After several days of that, I began to train against wooden poles, beating them into woodchips. After they were used up, it was our responsibility as trainees to go cut down another tree and replace the posts. That lasted for some time. I never really kept track of the time because I was too exhausted to care. I just wanted to go home and sleep. Sleep was such a relief. Unfortunately, we were given just enough time to rest up before they had us awake and training again.
A few days into that portion of the training, we began to be issued armor. It was terrible. The armor was nice, even somewhat comfortable, but we always had to have it on. We had to wear it when running, training, drilling, or even sleeping. It just made everything that much worse. It made me appreciate the advantages of lighter armor for mobility and endurance reasons. Unfortunately, the border patrols wear fairly heavy armor. Most have chain mail or brigandine. We were given chain in training.
After about 6 weeks, we were graduated to the second phase of our training. At this point, we were considered soldiers of Malkier, albeit untrained ones. We were expected to live up to the standards of soldiers and obey their code of honor. We were also given our freedom (comparatively speaking). We were no longer dragged around everywhere by the Master Armsman. We were allowed to come and go as we pleased, so long as we continued to train appropriately. One recruit slacked off for a time and when he began to show the signs of his laziness, he was sent back to start the training all over again. That was incentive enough for the rest of us. Going through that once was one time too many.
We began our training by learning to ride and care for horses. I was assigned that mare I was telling you about earlier. She was from the King’s stable, even though she was not of exceptional quality, and should not have been involved in the assignment, but I have a feeling that the king heard about my fondness for her and decided that I could borrow her for my time there. She had been saddle broken while I was at my training, so she was not very well trained, but she liked me and did her best to learn how to do what I needed her to do. It was a very interesting experience for both of us.
My time in the stables was very useful. I knew how to properly care for my horse and for the riding equipment. I had to show several of my fellow recruits, *ahem!* soldiers, how to take care of their horses. I always felt that if you take good care of your horse, it will take good care of you. They are not stupid beasts. If they don’t like you, it will be miserable. Some of the others had to learn that the hard way.
After we had learned enough to ride our horses safely and care for them properly, we began lance training. We had to ride across a field and skewer sacks of hay with the lances. It was repetitive and boring, but useful. After a few days of that, we began to learn to use our swords from horseback, too. We worked at cavalry training as much as proper care of our horses would allow, then continued to work at common soldier training.
During this cavalry training, Mother stopped by to visit. She took me to the Tower to visit with Andy for an afternoon. It was the first time I had seen them in nearly a year. I was surprised at how much Andy had changed. I guess she was as surprised at how much I had changed, too. It was a happy reunion. But I had training early in the morning, so I couldn’t stay long.
Within the month, we were deemed ready to join the border patrols. I spent six more months on patrol with them along the length of the borders of Malkier. Many were the adventures and experiences that I had in those months, but I will summarize it with one statement. I became a real soldier in those months.
One day, a messenger came into our camp, telling my commander that I was to be reassigned to the king’s personal tutelage. Everyone knew that I was not just a minor noble’s son, but they were all polite enough to not mention it. I returned with the messenger to the castle, where my training resumed at the hands of King Al’Lan Mandragoran. I spent hours with him each day, learning from one of the best, and he trained me well. We practiced the forms as he had with my father, and I began learning how to flow from one form to the next in a never-ending dance of death.
The final seven months of my stay in Malkier was spent being trained by King Lan. We practiced the forms and I was taught the responsibilities of the warder, since I will probably become Andy’s warder some day. It was even more intense than the training was at the beginning. I never thought that it was possible to be worse than that. The most disgusting part of it all was that the King, getting older as he was, was far more capable at it all. It never even fazed him. I have the greatest confidence that he could have taken much worse than that without it affecting him.
I was never as apt a pupil as my father was. It took me quite some time to advance my skills and they were never as advanced as I would have liked them. But King Lan was a patient teacher and taught me much. It was fairly obvious that I would never be an exceptional warrior, but that command and leadership were the skills that I would be in greatest need of. When we were not at the training yard, we were discussing battles of the past and combat tactics. He had a wealth of knowledge and, more importantly, experience. He did his best to impart the knowledge and the wisdom he gained from his experience on me. It was a very busy seven months.
After two full years of training and soldiering in Malkier, the king invited me back to court. When I entered the hall, I was greatly surprised to see Mother and Andy there. All of my old masters from each trade that I was placed in, the Master Armsman who trained me, my company commander that I served under at the border, and the King were all there. As I stood in the doorway, stunned with the surprise of it all, King Lan beckoned me forward and had me stand next to him.
“You have all gathered here today to witness the completion of two years of hard work. As in battle where you must give everything you have to strive for victory, so too must you struggle and sacrifice everything to be a good leader. You must give wholeheartedly to your people and demand nothing in return.”
“Each of you has spent some time with Gherit. Each of you knows his value. He has not excelled at any of the tasks we have given him. He has nearly failed every assessment that he has been given, yet he has succeeded where his comrades could not. He has trained harder, pushed himself farther, and given up the only friend he had at this trying time, to become better than he was. None here knows his failings more intimately than he does, but we know the quality of his heart very well. I would rather stand with him as he fails giving his best, than stand with another who succeeds with ease.”
The Horse Master stood, dressed in finely tooled leathers.“He has mucked out stalls from sunup to sundown without complaint and shown only the greatest compassion and tenderness for the horses. He performed the most menial tasks while watching others do the pleasant labors, and learned from it, instead of being embittered by it. He has earned much honor.”
As the Horse Master sat, the chief smith, Samnel Druilar stood, still wearing his leather apron with singe marks from errant sparks, but otherwise dressed in a nice shirt and leggings.“He labored hard at my forge, doing the most demeaning work that apprentices can do. He lacked anything resembling talent, though his wit was quick and he learned things quickly. He lacked the touch and the passion, but he gave his best to every task I set before him. Even when I gave him tasks well beyond his abilities, he attempted them and gave his greatest effort. He was an apprentice that I wish had the touch. He could have been great if he did.”
Samnel sat, making a loud thump that echoed through the quiet hall. The chief armsmaster rose, dressed in his uniform and chainmail. He had a well-made sword sheathed at his waist. I had to polish it several times. It was a nice sword.“He was willing to do what others would balk at simply because they needed to be done. Given none of his other virtues, that alone is worthy of great praise. He was diligent with keeping things organized in the armory. He kept accurate records and organized the equipment well. He will be skilled at administration some day. Train him well and he will turn out fine.”
He sat back down on the bench he shared with the smith. Across the central aisle, the head cook of the regiment he served in during field exercises in the first year stood. “We served together, feeding our regiment while on field exercises. He worked hard and well, and I hope that he learned from his time with us.”
The Master Armsman was the next to stand, resplendent in his formal uniform. He looked around at everyone else in the hall before he spoke. “I have had much more promising trainees, but few with the drive to improve. He was one of the most determined young men I have had the pleasure of training. Every failure simply drove him to be that much better by pointing out the things that needed work. I wish he could continue to train here with us longer, but even then we would need to eventually send him on to those that are better than I, or his Majesty would have to personally conduct all training. Gherit has great promise, particularly coupled with his fondness for horses, to be a good cavalry soldier. But his leadership is natural. I could see it even as we trained. He could fail but still inspire others by his efforts and exhortations. He worked for the benefit of all of those he trained with. He will be a great leader when he finishes his training.”
Next was Captain Uldrith, the commander of my patrol company. He was wearing his field uniform, still dirty from the road, showing that he must have arrived just recently. “He served with me for half of a year and served well. There were few encounters, but he gave a good accounting of himself in those events that he was involved in. He holds four trollocs to his record. He served well and advanced to team leader. He made an able leader and learned quickly. He handled himself well at all times, making an excellent example for other new soldiers to follow. He brought honor to himself and the company by his actions. He will always find a place with the 17th Border Riders. We were honored to have him with us.”
And that was the last of them. All of my instructors had spoken. King Lan stood up from his throne. “He has many faults, but we love him anyway. He is a good man and will make a good leader. Gherit Trakand, Prince of Andor, soldier of Malkier, go with our blessing. Return to your home and continue your studies. You have learned well and made us proud. Return to your family. Return to your land. Return to your people. I release you from service to Malkier.”
I was in the uniform of a Malkieri soldier, as I had been since completing training. Suddenly I felt out of place in it. I knew that I didn’t belong in it any more than I did in a gleeman’s cloak. My place was with Andor and it was time to go home. Yet to this day I have never been as proud to wear clothing so dirty and worn as when I stepped out of that great hall with Mother and Andy close behind me, both smiling proudly. I will do my duty and be your First Prince of the Sword as well as I possibly can, Andy. You can count on me. I will not fail you.