A Cadet of the Knights of Magritta
Cadets are officers-in-training. They may attend formal schools like the Aquila Academies or they may receive direct tutelage from officers in the field. Although cadets do learn to fight, the focus of their training is leadership. Some come from noble families, but this is by no means a given. Those who earned a place with battlefield exploits are more respected because they have lived war, not just read about it in books.[1a]
Cadet Training[]
Early each morning a bugle summons the cadets from their barracks for a bout of vigorous exercise around the parade ground. They must then don their uniform and rank up for inspection before they are allowed breakfast. The rest of the morning is occupied by classes, where topics such as the history of warfare, battle tactics and the theory of command are studied, usually taught by officers retired due to injury. The head tutor, known as the "commandent," is often a high-ranking officer, the veteran of many battles.[2a]
Another formation drill precedes lunch, and the afternoon involves more classes to sharpen the mind, followed by rigorous athletic activity and weapon practice to strengthen the body. The cadets are inspected a final time before supper, and evening is reserved for personal study, until lights out at midnight. During important festivals, such as Year Blessing, the evenings involve a formal meal in full dress uniform.[2a]
The cadets' lives are strictly regulated, and discipline is severe, instilling in them a healthy respect for order. Even on Festag, the week's holiday, the college's priest of Sigmar or Myrmidia lectures the cadets on moral fibre.[2a]
A cadet spends three years at college. During the summer month of Nachgeheim, cadets are attached to a regiment. If a cadet is lucky, the regiment will be at war, but experiencing army life firsthand in peacetime is also invaluable to his military education. Many officers find cadets a nuisance and give them ridiculous orders to keep them out of the way, or otherwise amuse themselves playing cruel pranks on them.[2a]
During their final year at the academy, cadets must study hard to pass their exams. Those that make the grade are commissioned as an officer of the Imperial state armies and leave the school to join a regiment, an occasion marked with riotous celebrations.[2a]