Carvorel Military Academy

A military academy located in the Free Cities of Dallaall, this academy has been the training grounds for a number of famous archers, soldiers, and officers. The school was originally founded by Dacias Lowe Carvorel, a citizen-soldier in the Greater Races War who saw the need to train men to defend their homelands. He and a number of other veterans of the war started the first curriculum and taught the first class. Since that time, the academy has grown to become a respected training facility, training high quality soldiers and officers. Even in other countries, Carvorel graduates are prized for their skills and training.

Dacias Lowe Carvorel

Dacias Lowe Carvorel was born 1379 DR [955 WE] . Stories claim many pasts and paths he traveled throughout his life, but he was most fond of recalling his days as a youth "laying about on a farm, chasing imaginary monsters with a stick.." While this may not have seemed like much more than play at the time, eventually he grew up and joined a caravan as a guard. There he learned how to fight monsters that were more than just haystacks. As the years drew on, he acquired knowledge and insight into the way a soldier acts and operates. During the Greater Races War, he led a successful company of poorly armed farmers on short raids against supply lines, using goblin tactics.

He realized at the end of the war, and was often quoted saying "Evil sleeps, but it never dies." To protect his homelands, he decided to begin training young soldiers. The idea of having a standing, well-trained army was thought to be an act of aggression before Hayze's forces marched upon the lands of Dallaall. Carvorel, along with Jagger Burrell and Yeonar Drag'huul were the first teachers in the academy, each with a class of about 10 soldiers.

Dacias Lowe Carvorel passed away at age 57, and has a small unmarked grave on the facility grounds. In his will he wrote "No monument, no carvings, I am not a martyr, nor a savior. I lived and taught so that others may live free." Both Drag'huul and Burrell have been known to pay visits to this site.

First Class

The First Class of Carvorel Soldiers was divided between the three schools of teaching, Dacias' Infantry, Jagger's Officer Corps, and Yeonar's Archers. Some of these soldiers went on to become teachers within the school, and others went to serve in the standing Free Cities Army. Their dedication and skill impressed the commanding officers that they were assigned to, and many became company leaders themselves.

The top honors graduates from each class were offered positions under their former teachers to continue training and learning, though not all of them accepted, over the years, the faculty has grown from three to twenty one positions. The school has a standing tradition that any First Class graduate can come to the school and immediately be offered a position teaching.

Facility

The Carvorel Military Academy encompasses the lands abandoned by the Cavoyer noble family after the Greater Races War. The estate house was the first building to be used. Inside the hallways are kept well lit, and first year recruits act as guards. The officer class is in charge of operating the facility as part of their training, including assigning duties to the infantry and archery corps.

There are training grounds and a patrolled perimeter. The perimeter is guarded by a 5 foot high stone fence, built and maintained by the Officer corps. The first year officer students spend time digging, repairing, and maintaining the wall. Headmaster Carvorel stated that "Officers must learn to appreciate a days labor, to care for the conditions of their men."

The training grounds include three infantry training fields, two archery fields, a cavalry field, and a parade ground. The infantry training fields are used by light and heavy infantry, and include dangerous terrain, rocks with jagged edges, grass, and are poorly maintained, in order to portray the realities of battle. The two archery fields include short and long range targets, as well as a line on a pulley to simulate moving targets. The cavalry field includes a stable for a number of horses, a track, a field with jumps, and a jousting lane.

Curriculum

Training at Carvorel includes basic and advanced weapons techniques, armor use and care, rank and military structure, maneuvers, military history, as well as advanced courses in exotic weaponry, theoretical military strategy, fortress and siege planning, and unit operations. The various classes taken depend upon the soldier's specialty, as well as their requests for placement.

The full training of a citizen from entrant-recruit to soldier takes four years for infantry and archers, and six years for officers. The recruits are allowed to return home for harvest season, as well as major religious holidays and large family events.

Graduation

Graduation from Carvorel Military Academy is a huge affair. One of the reasons for the stiff entrance fee and tuition at the academy is to provide soldiers with proper equipment and training from the most intelligent military minds in the land. The other is the graduation ceremony includes giving each recruit a short sword specifically made for the Academy bearing its symbol. Even archers are bequeathed the short sword, however, Drag'huul has been known to carve bows for his exceptional students and reward them upon graduation.