Foot Squires

The Foot Squires are young men of noble blood who have not yet won their spurs: the sons and pages of knights, serving out their apprenticeship in war on foot before they are granted the honour of the saddle. Better armed and better trained than any peasant, they form the household guard of a great lord, particularly the retinue of a Grail Knight, and they fight with the fierce eagerness of youths desperate to prove themselves worthy of knighthood. Bearing shields and stout blades, and often carrying the relics and standards of their master, they hold their ground with a discipline the common levy cannot match, guarding the flanks and the very person of the noble they serve. To die well in his defence is no shame; to falter before his eyes is unthinkable. For these squires, every battle is an audition, watched by the very men who will one day decide whether they kneel to receive the accolade, and they fight accordingly, with everything to win and their fragile honour to lose.