#wyldon of cavall

[minuiko]

Discord requested the scene where Raoul murders Wyldon for ordering Kel to abandon her people :)

[cricketnationrise]

wip wednesday 24.8

only a couple of weeks since the last one of these, we're doing better than last time! once again please enjoy some more tortall words as i near completion for my FTH fic:

A wicked glint lights Keladry’s eyes and somehow Wyldon knows what she’s going to ask. “And how is Margarry? I haven’t heard anything about a knight of Jesslaw going suspiciously missing, so I assume you didn’t actually kill Owen when he asked your permission for her hand.” Wyldon would very much like to forget that his former squire is married to his youngest daughter, but alas. “He’s a hellion and a plague, but a good man. They’re very happy.” Keladry beams as the dance finishes. But she spares him more teasing as he escorts her back to her parents, resuming their trade discussion instead. She truly is the finest knight he’s ever trained.

tags under the cut bc there are QUITE A FEW, but also this is your open tag if you want to participate :D

@cha-melodius @celeritas2997 @cactusdragon517 @blueeyedgrlwrites @kiwiana-writes

@leaves-of-laurelin @tailsbeth-writes @porcelainmortal @firenati0n @wordsofhoneydew

@14carrotghoul @iboatedhere @onthewaytosomewhere @thesleepyskipper @myheartalivewrites

@orchidscript @welcometololaland @duchesspolignaca03 @thedramasummer @tintagel-or-cockleshells

@missanniewhimsy @thoughtsofthegirlwiththecurl @the-lincyclopedia

[fytortall]

I absolutely love that wheel. Dad is on a first name basis with every war in the long legged Wolfpack, and I think that deserves more attention.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Translation: I absolutely love that Wyldon is on a first name basis with every wolf in the Long Lake Wolf Pack, and I think that deserves more attention.

[dr-dendritic-trees]

I started rereading First Test and... wow Wyldon did actually go out of his way to keep Joren from being Kel's sponsor, didn't he?

Huh.

Wyldon makes a huge fuss, several times, about how he's definitely not going to make the slightest of exceptions for Kel. To the point that he bitches and moans about letting her bathe separately from her male classmates. But he does make an exception about the page sponsorship rules so she's sponsored by Neal (a first year, who started late and is an established pain in Wyldon's ass) instead of Joren (considered, if I remember the series correctly, a pretty good page and squire pretty much up until he gets arrested for kidnapping Lalasa).

[bellona1521]

settle an argument. if another girl had come to train to be a page before kel was made a squire, do you think wyldon would have put her on probation too? i think yes, friend says no

[copperhawks]

Wyldon doesn't actually say that Kel "exceeded expectations," he says she MET THE CONDITIONS that he was using to evaluate her. But we actually don't even know what those conditions WERE because Wyldon is left to make that decision on his own. However, given what we know of Wyldon, it's entirely possible that "the conditions" are just the regular exams everybody took. Kel passed the written exams and was at the level she should be at with physical training for a first year page, so there's really no justifiable reason to claim she shouldn't stay. If she's not literally failing her tests or unable to accomplish the physical tasks, THAT'S when he can claim she didn't meet the necessary conditions. But even if Kel was perfectly middle of the pack average (and honestly? Given how little Kel seems to really care about or understand things like history and politics, I'd be willing to bet that she wasn't scoring all THAT high in her written exams), she's still meeting the required conditions.

The problem isn't that Wyldon might be biased against a more average person, but that Wyldon never shows any indication that he changed his mind on WOMEN IN GENERAL being able to be knights, just that he was wrong about KEL SPECIFICALLY. So any other girl could come in and his biases might flare up because, well, what if this girl isn't like Kel and she DOESN'T have what it takes?

So I'm not entirely sure Wyldon thinks that the changes he's made to himself are incapable of sticking so much as that Wyldon is unwilling to change so much that he can truly believe ANY woman can do what Kel did, despite how few innate advantages Kel actually had. And honestly it feels pretty damning that he seems capable of recognizing that he SHOULD change that particular bias, but he just isn't willing to put in that work and is more inclined to just run like a coward, even though he's just going to be replaced by another conservative who can then take the blame if any other girls apply and are treated badly.

Wyldon, admitting he was wrong, admitting he shirked his duties, admitting he was unfair - and yet his main reason for resigning is that it’s possible he would do it all again and worse if given the chance.

Capable of changing but apparently believes the change incapable of sticking.

[checkoutmybookshelf]

You Have My Attention: Protector of the Small First Lines

Keladry of Mindelan was my first Tamora Pierce heroine, and I was handed First Test by a friend in middle school. From there it was a steep, very slippery slope through the rest of the Tortall books, and eventually to the Circle Universe. So let's see how Kel's books catch their readers with first lines.

Alanna the Lioness, the King's Champion, could hardly contain her glee. Baron Piers of Midelan had written to King Jonathan to say that his daughter wished to be a page. Alanna fought to sit still as she watched Wyldon of Cavall, the royal training master, read the baron's letter. Seated across his desk from them, the king watched the training master as sharply as his Champion did. Lord Wyldon was known for his dislike of female warriors.

-- First Test

Fall that year was warm. Heat lay in a blanket over the basin of the River Olorun, where the capital of Tortall covered the banks. No breath of air stirred the pennants and flags on their poles. The river itself was a band of glass, without a breeze anywhere to ruffle its shining surface. Traffic in the city moved as if the air were thick boney. No one with sense cared to rush.

-- Page

Despite the overflow of humanity present for the congress at the royal palace, the hall where Keladry of Mindelan walked was deserted. There were no servants to be see. No echo of the footsteps, laughter, or talk that filled the sprawling residence sounded here, only Kel's steps and the click of her dog's claws on the stone floor.

-- Squire

Keladry of Midelan lay with the comfortable black blanket of sleep wrapped around her. Then, against the blackness, light moved and strengthened to show twelve large, vaguely rat- or insectlike metal creature, devices built for murder. The killing devices were magical machines made of iron-coated giant's bones, chains, pulleys, dagger-fingers and -toes, and a long, whiplike tail. The seven-foot-tall devices stood motionless in a half circle as the light revealed what lay at their feet: a pile of dead children.

-- Lady Knight

[idreamtiflew]

Ya'll. My favorite fanfic ever seems to be gone. I read that Archive of Our Own was being cyber attacked or something, and that some works did not make it. Lisafer on AO3 and Fief Goldenlake wrote a phenomenal fic about a romance between Sir Myles of Olau and Wyldon Cavall whilst he is at the castle training to become a knight. It is called "Paragons of Knightley Virtue." It. Is. So. Good. And it's gooone!! I hope to someday find it again, because Great Mithros, it is so fire.

[ladylingua]

Ok so my reaction to Wyldon comes from two places- my personal experiences and text. I’ll start with personal experience because I know my interpretation of text is colored by my real life experiences.

In my life, I have never met a Wyldon. Not a single grumpy old bigot has ever changed their ways for me, no matter how hard I worked to show them I was different than they thought I was. Whether they were judging me for my gender, for my adhdness, my class background, or just other general things about me and the way I present myself, I have never in my life changed an asshole’s mind about my worthiness as a person. And I think I’m still angry and annoyed about all the time I wasted in my youth wearing myself out attempting to be exceptional just trying to get men in authority positions to treat me with decency. One of the best things that has ever happened on my life was freeing myself from showing men I’m just as good as they are, in fact I actively avoid it. So emotionally I don’t find the resolution of the Kel/Wyldon storyline satisfying- I just want to tell Kel “You don't have to be grateful for the crumbs he gave you, you are great in spite of him.”. I also totally understand why others with similar experiences do love that storyline.

From a text standpoint, it bothers me that Wyldon’s racism is never really addressed or resolved, and afaik there is no indication that Wyldon feels any differently about female warrior in a general sense, just that he admits Kel is a great warrior. I think that is a wonderful first step, but I know far too many men who are sexist but are willing to admit 1 exceptional woman into their boys club without ever really unpacking the sexism they see all women with. Did he ever reach out to Alanna to address how he’s acted towards her? Does he mentor any other women warriors or advocate for their inclusion in the page program?

And furthermore based on that point, it actually really annoys me that his response to the Joren/Kel thing was to retire. I understand his reasons why, but knowing that the next guy who takes the role of training master also is opposed to women warriors and apparently is vocal enough about that fact that Alan won’t train with him (per Spy’s Guide), I get mad at Wyldon being like “Kel, to demonstrate how much I understand how my perspective and my beliefs negatively impacted the page program, I will now retire and let another man with the exact same values take over so the next wave of female pages will have to start all over again softening some other old bigot’s heart, rather than me staying on and enduring the criticism in order to make the changes this program needs now that I see the error of my ways”. I say that while also totally understanding that because Joren died from Wyldon’s maleficence you can absolutely make the argument that Wyldon never had the option to consider staying, but the situation just sucks overall imo.

Wyldon is a really great character, and I love him as a driver of story and the role he takes in Kel's narrative, but no, I don't feel positively towards him even by the end and my heart is not warmed by his "redemption" outside of being glad that Kel is being treated well by him now.

Thank you for bearing with my novel length emotional Wyldon journey lmao

[saving-word-crawls]

Tortallan Squire Word Crawl

By: MagicPomello

Tortallan Squire Word Crawl

Welcome to the Tortallan Squire Word Crawl, where you will embark on a journey through the world of knights, sorcerers, and mythical creatures created by Tamora Pierce. As a young squire, you’ll face numerous trials and adventures on your path to knighthood.

∙∘ ·𖥸· ∘∙ Squires will be required to choose a knight master, depending on their writing speed. Your master will determine your writing pace during this crawl. Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie’s Peak: For those writing at a slower pace with their dog, Jump, while he fetches willow hoops and rolls in rain puddles. Alanna the Lioness of Trebond, Olau, and Pirate’s Swoop: For those writing at an average pace with their horse, Darkmoon, at a steady trot along the Great Road North. Lord Wyldon of Cavall: For those writing at a faster pace with Crown the sparrow - you’re like the wind under her wings.

SPOILER ALERT: These events follow many major events from the plot of Squire, by Tamora Pierce, the third book of the Protector of the Small quartet. While most of the big spoilers have been taken out, proceed with caution. It’s my hope that fans of the author and the series will love this crawl, but I also hope that non-fans (or maybe not-yet fans) will also enjoy the adventure.

LET THE CRAWL BEGIN!

Congratulations on finishing your Page years! You are now officially a Squire of Tortall. Sprint to 100 words to celebrate.

You see the other squires in your year being chosen by their knight masters, and you worry that you’ll get left behind. You visit the Chamber of the Ordeal, which shows you a future in which you are trapped in the life of a desk knight under the tutelage of Gareth of Naxen. Write for 5 minutes to distract yourself from these thoughts.

You have been chosen by a knight master! Your master will determine your writing pace during this crawl. Write for ten minutes. Your word count will determine how many Gold Nobles are in your purse.

Your best friend gets chosen as Squire to King Jonathan of Conté! Help him celebrate this high honor. Roll a die and multiply your roll by 4. Sprint for that many minutes.

It’s nearly time to set out on your adventure with your new knight master. You must choose a new mount:

Destrier (warhorse): Roll a die and multiply your roll by 50. Write that many words while your new mount gets properly fitted for armor.

Palfrey (mare): Write for 15 minutes to get used to her paces.

Pony: Sprint to 150 words - what a fiery spirit!

You are awakened before dawn - there’s trouble in Haresfield, and you and your knight master must ride out immediately! Write to the nearest thousand as you climb into your saddle and settle in for a long ride. If you need to write more than 500 words for this challenge and choose not to skip this round, take one Gold Noble + .

You’ve arrived in Haresfield, and the place is…a mess. Raiders have taken everything of value, and many of the buildings and homes have been damaged by fire. The King’s Own are hard at work helping. Choose a task and make yourself useful!

Follow centaur tracks: Write for 5 minutes as you search for clues about where the Raiders have gone

Help repair the main gate: Roll a die and multiply your roll by 50. Write while you hammer away.

Return a muddy doll to its owner: Sprint to 150 words. There’s a lonely child somewhere that can’t sleep without it.

Save a man from a collapsing roof: Complete a 50-Headed Hydra challenge. Hurry, the roof is crumbling!

The Queen’s Riders have arrived! You’ve been called into a meeting to serve refreshments while they talk strategy. Write for 10 minutes and pay attention - you might learn something!

You and your knight master will accompany the Queen’s Riders and the King’s Own to capture the Haresfield raiders. Your knight master is debating which post might suit you best during the attack.

Front lines: Sprint to 300 words. Don’t forget your helm!

Scout: Borrow your knight master’s spyglass and climb the nearest tree to keep a lookout. Write for 45 minutes with no breaks.

Command: Impress your knight master by calculating how many words it will take you to write to the nearest 1,000.

Guard the Hidden Escape Route: You doubt anyone will come this way. Write 700 words in 30 minutes while you wait.

The battle is over. Participate in a Three-Digit Challenge while you bathe to wash off the blood and grime from the fight.

If Lady Alanna is your knight master, you may skip this round for free. She will be dragging you to the healers’ tents to observe how they tend battle wounds.

You and your knight master must accompany the Haresfield raiders back to Corus to face justice. It will be a more leisurely pace on the way back than it was coming here. You’ll be driving the wagon that carries the prisoners. Write for one hour while you ride.

Lord Raoul’s Squire: If you write 750 words within the hour, take two Gold Nobles. + 

Lady Alanna’s Squire: If you write 1,000 words within the hour take two Gold Nobles. + 

Lord Wyldon’s Squire: If you write 1,250 words within the hour take two Gold Nobles.+ 

Your mount has thrown a shoe. Write 200 words in 10 minutes as you look for a blacksmith.

Succeed - The blacksmith replaces the shoe and gives you a spare. Take one Gold Noble. + 

Fail - You spend so long looking for the blacksmith that by the time you find him, it’s well after dark, and he refuses to replace the shoe until morning. Write 200 words as you try to convince him to do it tonight.

Raoul’s Squire may skip this round for free. He and the blacksmith are old friends.

Your old rival from your Page years has challenged you to a duel in the practice courts. Your knight master thinks it would be a good experience for you. Roll a die, multiply by 100, and write as many words as you calm your nerves and prepare for the duel.

During your duel, your rival cheats by using their Gift. Sprint to 250 words and rethink your strategy!

Lord Wyldon’s Squire may skip this round for free. Your rival is too afraid to cheat in his presence!

After your duel, your friends take you out to the Dancing Dove for a night of fun. Write for 15 minutes while you catch up on each other’s adventures.

Midwinter is here! You receive one Gold Noble +  as a gift from your family. You also receive a challenge from your best friend. Write 1,000 words in under an hour.

Succeed - you get one Gold Noble. + 

Fail - you must scrub your friend’s armor and write 250 more words.

Your knight master has decided it’s time for you to learn how to joust against a real opponent. You will be jousting against your rival! Your friends are betting on who’s going to win. Word Sprint/Word War with a fellow NaNoWriMo participant for 15 minutes. If you beat them, you win the bet and take 2 of their Gold Nobles + . If you lose, you have to give your friends two Gold Nobles - . Gambling is a risky business!

A contingent of Yamani nobles has arrived at the palace. Their princess is to wed the Crown Prince of Tortall! There is a celebration tonight. Attend the party and write for 10 minutes. Wear your best formal uniform!

Lady Alanna’s Squire may skip this for free - she has dragged you off to a nearby village to study the healing of a very persistent case of the sniffles.

THE GRAND PROGRESS HAS BEGUN! In honor of the Prince’s marriage to the Yamani princess, the King and Queen will be traveling throughout the realm to survey their lands and introduce the new royal couple. Their first stop is Fief Eldorne, where a jousting tournament is to be held. You put your name on the lists, and you are matched with Ansil of Groten. Write 200 words in 5 minutes to win.

Succeed - You win 1 Gold Noble. + 

Fail - Write 200 words while your knight master reviews your mistakes.

If Raoul is your knight master, you may skip this round for free. He refuses to be used like a string of pearls to dress up Their Majesties, and he decides to avoid the Progress for now.

The Progress makes its next stop at Tirragen. Write for 20 minutes and watch the Yamani ladies do a fan dance. That fan is heavier than it looks. Is it made of metal?

There’s trouble at the Scanran border. You and your knight master are to go immediately to Fort Mastiff. Things are heating up, and there are reports of something…strange…in the forests nearby. Write 250 words in the saddle. No time to rest!

Lord Wyldon’s Squire may skip this round for free. He dragged you up there three weeks ago and you’ve barely had a moment to breathe ever since! Wyldon doesn’t seem to believe in taking breaks.

The King’s Own are escorting refugees to Fort Mastiff when they get word of a giant nearby and at least 50 Scanrans. Roll a die. If it’s even, write 450 words and take a 15 minute break afterward. If it’s odd, write for 45 minutes and take a 10 minute break afterward.

Your company defeated the giant! Rest up for a day or two at Fort Mastiff. Write for 10 minutes at your own pace.

You can’t believe it’s almost time for Midwinter yet again, and this is your last year as a Squire. It’s a long way back to Corus, and you and your knight master have to hurry if you want to get there in time. Sprint to 500 words.

Back in Corus, You go through the ritual process of preparing for your Ordeal of Knighthood. The priest is opening the door. You enter the chamber. Do a 50-Headed Hydra Challenge as the Chamber tests your worth.

You emerge from the chamber, exhausted but triumphant. You are now a Knight of the Realm. Write for 5 minutes as your friends and family congratulate you and admire your new shield.

You have completed the Tortallan Squire Word Crawl!

∙∘ ·𖥸· ∘∙

You’ve embarked on a thrilling journey through the pages of your imagination. Your dedication, creativity, and perseverance shine through in your achievement.

Much like Keladry of Mindelan, you’ve faced challenges, overcome obstacles, and demonstrated your commitment to your writing goals. Your words are your own sword and shield, and you’ve wielded them with skill.

Savor your success, and may the inspiration you’ve gathered from this adventure carry you forward to even greater literary feats. Your determination is a testament to your potential.

CONGRATULATIONS!

[spookyscaryscouticus]

Keladry [to Wyldon]: You can’t stop me and neither could my dad.

[fiction-quotes]

Someone banged loudly on the outer door. “Kel, come on!” bellowed Neal. “We'll be late!”

“Hose.” Lalasa dragged out a fresh pair. “I'll tie one leg if you'll do the other.”

“Neal, hold on,” Kel shouted. “I have to fix something!” She struggled into both hose, then tied the points on her left side while Lalasa did up the right. Before they were half done Neal banged on the door again. “Go without me!” Kel ordered.

“No! Come on!”

Points and hose tied, Kel struggled back into her slippers. “Thank you,” she told Lalasa warmly. “I'll have that tea when I get back from the tests.” She ran to the door and yanked it open.

Neal stood there, red-faced with impatience, ready to knock again. “About time,” he said. They trotted down the hall.

“Why are you in such a tearing hurry?” demanded Kel, stopping in the classroom wing to adjust the hose on one leg. “We'll get there.”

“You don't understand,” Neal said when they ran on. “If you're even a little bit late, the Stump makes you repeat the last year. He did it to two boys three years ago. And if you're really late, you have to repeat all four years. Edmund of Rosemark, a year before we started, was that late. He refused to do four more years and went home.”

“Why is he so hard on latecomers?” Kel asked.

“You know the Stump. He says tardiness in a knight costs lives.”

  —  Page (Tamora Pierce)

[dr-dendritic-trees]

So going back to First Test for a minute, I exist in a constant state of frustration about the opening scene and here's why:

I desperately want to be able to just form an opinion about what Jon does in the opening scene and I never feel like I can.

Wyldon is acting like a dick. That's clear. He will, by Squire admit to Kel's face, that he was being a dick. But what the fuck is Jon up to?

Okay, its possible that Jon was just, tired/having an off day/letting Wyldon get away with shit because Wyldon saved his kids/etc. And that's fucked up.

But the thing is, especially now I'm coming back to the series as an adult, instead of a contemporary of Kel, is that Jon is a consumate politician. Like... Wyldon is probably the nicest conservative figure in the series and he says shit like "females start early" about 10 year old Kel potentially flirting with her classmates, and calls the Yamanis savages... Yikes guys. But Jon has spent 17 years quite successfully forcing a very large amount of liberal law through his equivalent of a Republican Congress. He's really good at getting shit done. And if he turned around and said, "Look Cavall, I let you throw your little tantrum about Keladry so now you absolutely have to back my play about public healthcare/relief for refugees/domestic violence laws" or the equivalent... I'm not actually totally sure I'd condemn him for that.

Or maybe I still would, I don't know, because we never get the second half of the scene.

[goodgrammaritan]

"One of the hardest lessons for any commander is this: it is a very bad idea to issue an order one knows will not be obeyed. Lady knight, had my mind not been on other things, I would have known better than to forbid you to rescue your people. I had them placed under your care, knowing you would protect them with every skill at your disposal. I cannot now say I didn't want you to take your responsibility too seriously."

Wyldon of Cavall, Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce

[whatwouldkeldo]

Mind blown...

I was today years old when I realized that Wyldon’s fiefdom is Cavall, which is Latin for horse.

Caval is a significant word as well because the French word for horse, cheval, is where the word “chivalry” comes from. Most of us know chivalry as a code of conduct, but originally, all it meant was that you were rich enough to own a horse and outfit oneself as soldier. It later became associated with knighthood and certain ideal behaviors. The code of chivalry came during the middle ages and was about honor, nobility, religion, and being a strong person who protects the weak.

So Wyldon, who is teaching people how to be knights, who is by all accounts a paradigm of knighthood (minus putting Kel on probation and all that), is literally from a fief that is the embodiment of chivalry.

I started reading the Protector of the Small books when I was around 11 or 12, and I have re-read them every year or so.

I also majored in English and took an Arthurian literature course where we talked about chivalry for three months and even watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail and talked about the significance of having a movie about knights where there are no horses (no chivalry).

Even with all this, I just realized this today. Now I feel kind of dumb.