The entire troop of all 15 contestants made their way to the far end of the arena led by Sir Wallace. There were three other Knights waiting there, two dressed exactly as Sir Wallace and one much smaller one, dressed in a full suit of plate mail armor that gleamed in the sunlight.
"Contestants, line up on this wall. When I point to you, you will run to the far end of the arena at a sprint and pick up your log. Once your log is upon your shoulders, you will begin to run around the outer edge. The contestant with the most laps complete will win this stage."
I looked across the arena and saw the logs all lined up on the wall across from us. They appeared to be about 3 feet in width and a foot around. These were much smaller than what I carried back at the village. I had no doubt that I could run with these for half the day. Sir Wallace pointed at the first boy and to my surprise it was the Knight in plate mail armor. The boy took off in a sprint. How was he going to run in that heavy armor? It took nearly a ten count for him to reach the far side and pick up his log, then the next boy was sent. The line slowly dwindled until it was my turn. The first boy was just finishing his first lap when I was sent. I took off in a blur, picked up the log and began making my way around the arena.
I passed the boy that was sent before me by the time I hit the half way mark around the arena. The log was uncomfortable on my shoulders, but I could deal with it easily. I saw one boy titter and fall when he reached the starting point. He had only done one lap, he didn't bother to get up, he just laid there, chest heaving.
As I ran past the fallen boy, I looked across the arena to see the plate armor still running at a good pace. I quickly passed three more boys, as they began to slow and buckle under the weight of their logs. I even heard one drop behind me. Only 14 more left with only 1 full lap down.
Three more laps had passed with several more boys taking their leave of the field. After 10 laps, it was just me and plate mail still running. He managed to stay in front of me, but I was still gaining on him. 15 laps and I had finally caught him. We began running side by side for the next 3 laps. I took the lead after that, and he began to slow his pace. I was on my 21st lap when I looked across the arena to see him placing his log on the starting point. He had only done 20 laps. I could hear the crowd roar with a cheer. The race was over, but I still wanted to finish that last lap, so I sprinted the rest of the way around the arena and placed my log next to the one that plate mail had just put down. Sir Wallace came over to me, and patted me on the shoulder.
"Good job lad. You ran farther than anyone has ever done in these tournaments. The old record was 18 laps. You could definitely be knight material. Can you ride as well as you run?"
"I can ride, but I'm not sure it's as good as I can run, and thank you Sir."
"Ah, a humble young man to boot. I'm going to keep my eye on you lad."
With that Sir Wallace raised my hand above my head and the crowd roared to life again. I looked over at the other contestants, and all of them were still sitting or leaning on the wall panting, with the exception of one. Plate mail looked back at me and nodded his head, I nodded back. The King stood up and raised both hands in the air, and the crowd silenced.
"We have our first winner of the day. No one in the history of this tournament has ever run more than 18 laps, this young man did 21 and it appeared that he could have ran more. It appears we have an extraordinary field of contestants this tournament." The crowd roared again, and the King took his seat again.
Sir Wallace motioned for me to join the other boys on the wall, and he walked to the center of the arena.
"That is the end of the first event. We will take a moment to set up the course for horsemanship and then we commence the second contest. Please feel free to get up and move about. The trumpeters will announce the start of the next contest." With that Sir Wallace spun on his heal, and walked back over to us. "Alright, let's get back in the waiting area. There is water and bread waiting for you if you want it. I will lead you all out again when the next contest is ready."
We all walked back into the tunnel under the stands, except plate mail. He walked back over to the two Knights that were across the arena.
"Excuse me, Sir Wallace." He was following me back into the tunnel.
"Yes, lad.
"Why is that boy going back over to those Knights over there." I pointed to plate mail as he crossed the pitch.
"No need for you to worry about that lad. Just hurry on now, and get some water. Although you don't look like you need it, you should get some in you."
I just nodded and went through the tunnel. I wasn't going to find out the answer and I suppose I didn't need to.
My father and Galdren were waiting for me in the corner we had stood in when we first arrived. The both had large smiles on their faces.
"You did it boy. You don't even look like you broke a sweat out there."
"I guess I didn't. That log was far less than what I carry up to the base of the mountain every day. I carry at least 4 times that much when I cut the trees down for you and the village."
"You got the lad carrying trees up a mountain? No wonder he can run like a plow horse with and empty cart.
My father handed me a tanker with water in it. I drank it down and then sat quietly waiting for the next event. I knew how to ride a horse, but I was still worried about this. I'd never ran a horse through a course before. I'd only ridden from the village to here, and then back again. Occasionally I would go out with my father for a ride along the tree line near the village, but that was it.
"Pitre, I can tell by looking at ya, that you are getting worried again. You know how to ride a horse, so you will have no trouble with this. There is only one thing you may need to know. If they want you to jump over something, just lead your horse to the obstacle and don't hesitate to keep it going forward. If you lack confidence in what you are doing, the horse will sense it, and lose confidence itself, ya got it?"
"Yes, papa." I began to relax again. It wasn't soon after that that Sir Wallace announced that we would be going back out very soon. A few minutes later and the trumpets began to blare. We all lined up and began walking out.
"Remember lad, be confident."
My father's words washed over me, like a calming wave. I could do this. I would have no trouble with whatever mount they gave me to ride.
After sitting in the dark waiting area, the sunlight seemed brighter as we entered the arena again. The floor of the arena now had logs and barrels placed in a large course all over. On the far wall was the two Knights with plate mail. They were standing near three very large horses. These were like the warhorses that the Knights of Targen rode. Were we going to compete in the next event on actual warhorses?
I began to shake, but this time it wasn't out of worry, it was out of excitement. I was going to ride and actual warhorse that very well could have ridden into battle with a Targen Knight on it's back. They were beautiful and their body rippled with thick muscles. These Horses were meant for action, not just a casual ride through the realm. The pawed at the ground and huffed in anticipation of being ridden. Sir Wallace directed us to stand where we had originally stood earlier against the wall. As we all gathered there, plate mail came over and stood with us.
"The second contest is now to begin. This will test how well our contestants do an on unfamiliar horse. It is no easy task, especially with these trained warhorses. If they waiver, theses horses will know it, and buck them the first chance they get."
That's why my father told me to be confident. He must have known that they would be warhorses. I felt even better now.
"Each contestant will be assigned a mount. Once they are aloft their assigned mount they will be led to the opening of the course. Only one rider will be allowed on the course at a time. That rider will be timed through the course. The rider with the best time will win. Good luck to all our contestants. The winner of the first contest will be up first."
The crowd rose an applauded, and I began to sink. I was up first. I was hoping to see someone run the course first. Sir Wallace walked towards me and waved me over to him. I jogged to his side and then a new fear came into existence. The horses were even bigger than I first thought. I had no idea how I was going to climb on top of them.
"Beautiful creatures aren't they?"
"Ye-ye-yes sir." I couldn't help but let my nerves be heard.
"Ah, don't worry lad, they won't bite you. They'll buck ya, but they won't bite you."
"I've never seen a horse so big. I've ridden plow horses and farm ponies, but never anything that big. How do I get on it?"
"Don't worry about that, we aren't going to make you figure that out, besides, us Knights have a bitter time with climbing on ourselves, especially when we are in full armor."
As we approached the horses, two stable boys ran out with a large set of steps and placed them in front of the horses. Sir Wallace pointed to the horse in the middle and one of the stable boys ran over to him and led him to the steps.
"There ya go lad. Just climb up those steps and have fun. Not everyday that just anyone can ride a Targen warhorse. Once you are on, I'll lead you to the entrance, then it is all up to you."
I climbed the steps and I could feel the heat coming off the horse. It was impressive. I began to swing my leg over, but then I stopped. I stepped back, and then I reached over and pet the horse on it's muzzle. The beast let out a loud huff that was almost like a sigh, and it shook it's head up and down several times as if it approved of my friendly gesture. I swung my leg over and placed my feet in the stirrups. Sir Wallace took the leader and we went to the entrance of the course.
"Just because you are going to be timed, doesn't mean you should hurry through the course. Take your time and make sure you see the path in front of you. If you don't finish, you don't get a time."
I gathered up the reigns, and coaxed the horse into a trot. The first lengths of the course were a series of turns, that were followed by what my father expected, jumps. I kept his words in mind and didn't hesitate, the horse followed through and jumped each barrel with ease. I could feel the power fo the animal as he leapt through the air and come gently down to the ground. There was a final straightaway that ended with a jump that was double anything to that point. We picked up speed and a gathered my courage, with out hesitation I led the horse forward and we flew into the air and over the stacked barrels. The landing wasn't as gentle and I nearly bounced off the back, but I stayed on and reigned the horse to a stop. A stable boy ran up and grabbed the leader and took me back over to near the steps. I dismounted and walked over to the wall with my heart pounding in my chest from the exhilarating experience I just had. I stood and watched each contestant.
A few more boys had gone and made it through the course with little trouble. It was about half way through the line that the first rider went down. As they approached the first jump, you could see the look of fear in the boys eyes, and sure enough, the horse stopped short, sending the boy flying over it's head. He crashed to the ground the a crunching thud. He screamed in pain and all the nights ran to him while a stable boy ran to the horse. When they finally stood the boy up, you could see that his shoulder was badly misshapen. His face was contorted in pain and the two Knights that had stood next to plate mail had walked him into another tunnel that wasn't where the waiting area was. You could hear screams from that tunnel. I don't know what was going on, but it couldn't be good.
Every other contestant made it through the course. The last rider was plate mail. He rode like he had done it before. There was no hesitation at all, as he sped through the course. His mount kicked up a dust cloud as it slid around corners and sped down straightaways. When he was over the final jump and led back to the steps, he dismounted with a flourish and slid down the back of the horse. I'd never seen anything like it. Now it was my turn to nod, so when I caught his eye, nod I did.
The horses were led out of the arena and Sir Wallace walked over to an area where the crowd was nearly on the pitch of the arena. He talked with 3 men there for a couple of minutes. When he was done, he walked back to the center of the arena, and called all the remaining boys over.
"This is the first time that we have only lost one contestant in horsemanship. These truly are fine contestants. Sadly though, only one can win this event, and we do have a winner. For a second time in a row, we have set a record. The fastest time to run the course. It was down in 45 seconds."
Sir Wallace stepped away from the center and walked down the line of boys. He stopped at plate mail and raised his hand above his head.
"Our winner." The crowd once again, roared to life, and plate mail took a bow. Once again the king stood with his hands in the air, quieting the crowd.
"Who could have imagined that we would see to records set here today. This only proves what I said earlier. We truly do have an exceptional field of contestants" The King bowed his head towards us all, and we quickly bowed back, then he took his seat.
"The next contest will begin as soon as we clear the pitch. I'm sure that this is the event that you have all been waiting for. The melee. The horns will signal when it is about to begin. As you know, it is winner takes all. Whoever wins the melee wins the acceptance into the Academy of Knights. The top 8 contestants are the only ones eligible for the melee. You will meet them all after the horns have sounded." Sir Wallace then did his customary spin and waved us to follow him back into the tunnel.
The melee would begin soon. This was the final step to becoming a Knight. I had to win this. I was going to win this. I was going to be a Knight.
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