“Horsemanship is a vital skill for the cavalry. One would not qualify as a cavalryman without good horsemanship, and trust me, mediocre horsemanship limited to knowing how to stay on the back of your horse won’t cut it. I’d know.” - Scipius Cornelius Barca, famed general from the Republic of Caroma, circa 49 FP.

The second day had two more mock battles between five hundred infantrymen each. This time the forces from Caroma managed to snatch a victory, while the second match ended in another draw, where both sides mauled each other with no clear advantage to be found. Needless to say, the results had surprised many of the Caroman officers quite a bit.

They knew that Levain’s militia was poorly trained as early as two years ago, and it had taken them by surprise that a couple years of training under mercenary hands would improve their quality so much, to the point that they matched up well against seasoned soldiers from the Republic. Given that Levain had a notable numerical superiority when it comes to troops, it was a sobering thought.

Estelle defused their worries somewhat during the banquet held after the matches of the second day. She publicly admitted that only a small portion of Levain’s militia had undergone such training, so the Caromans shouldn’t expect the same performance out of every one of the Free City’s Militia, which counted a good fifty thousand active members and well over a hundred thousand reserves at the time.

Of course, she then made them nearly choke on their drinks as she alluded to how the “small” portion she referred to was only the twenty thousand or so troops that would be sent to the south for the joint offensive.

Those words changed the impressions the Caromans had of Levain, from a city that was only dangerous if you pushed them too much – in which case they would make use of their city walls and massed militia to perish together with you – to one that was an actual threat under any and all circumstances. Doubly so once more of Levain’s troops had undergone the training of the mercenaries.

The third day was set aside for the cavalries from Caroma and Levain to compare with each other. Due to the risks involved – it was far too easy for someone to fall and get trampled when cavalries clashed with one another, or for a horse to be crippled by accident – they competed indirectly. Both sides sent out groups of two hundred riders each and demonstrated their maneuvering capabilities on the wide open plains south of the city.

Once more to the surprise of the Caroman officers, Levain’s contingent performed far better than any of them had ever expected. The two hundred riders from Levain galloped through the plains like they were of one mind, shifting from formation to formation at a moment’s notice, with an unexpected ease and fluidity. They even split their force into two halves and rode through each other’s formation at the end, often within touching distance of each other, without a single collision.

While the riders from Caroma were well-trained and coordinated, they still lacked the seamless coordination that the riders from Levain showed. At least in the second portion of the exhibition they redeemed themselves, as they proved to be better at throwing javelins from horseback compared to their Levainian compriots, though not by much.

After the break for lunch, however, each side sent a few more representatives to show off the best of their side’s horsemanship. Astra was part of the Caroman riders chosen for that purpose.

She noticed that out of the twenty-four riders that met them from Levain’s side, the four in the lead did not look like they were part of the militia. One of them was a half-orc who looked male but wore their hair in a manner more typically seen in females. Astra heard the others refer to the orc as “her” so she followed suit. The other three were a middle-aged human woman, another half-orc, and an orc, who all looked to be part of the mercenaries.

The four of them turned out to be the instructors for Levain’s cavalry.

While the two sides were about even when they displayed their horsemanship against each other early on, it was when those four took the stage that Astra found her whole idea of horsemanship completely refreshed. The half-orc she noticed first took to the field astride a massive stallion, and to everyone’s surprise, did so without any stirrups, saddle, or even reins and bridle. She rode the horse’s bare back without any riding aid in sight.

Despite that, the half-orc – who Astra later learned was named Ze’phane and used to be the head of the Imperial stables – rode the stallion without any visible difficulty, using only slight nudges from her heels and toes to control the horse. At the same time, she displayed an ability to do just about anything while on horseback, from archery to acrobatics, that none of the Caroman instructors present felt confident in doing themselves.

The three mercenaries were not quite as skilled as Ze’phane, but they too showcased horsemanship that was beyond what the Caromans expected or trained for. It was the norm to hold the horse’s reins with one hand while riding for the Caromans, but these mercenaries ignored that. Instead, they freely wielded polearms from horseback while controlling the horse entirely with their legs. The orc amongst the three also showed off similar bareback riding and mounted archery skills.

It was a humbling display for the Caromans, and none of them felt any surprise that the Levain cavalry had grown to possess such skilled riders despite being formed only recently. With instructors at that level, it would have been difficult for them to not be good at horsemanship.

Astra was particularly interested in the horsemanship skills she had witnessed, and resolved to ask her parents if she could visit Levain for an exchange after the current campaign was over to learn more from them.