Squire

Children born into or adopted into noble houses are often given positions of responsibilty as pages. A page acts as an attendant to a noble, accompanying her to important meetings and social events, and is expected to be obedient to and respectful toward this mentor. The page is not a servant, however, and is not routinely given menial tasks - the intention is that the page should gain the character traits, knowledge and abilities that will prepare them for the Test of Mettle and for life as a noble. Tasks might include carrying messages, serving drinks at meetings, or assisting with other day to day tasks of a noble court. At the end of a task, the page will often be asked what they have heard or learned during it, as this not only gives the noble a second pair of ears and eyes, but helps the page to understand what they have witnessed.

A page is often chosen from the mentor's House, but stories exist of children from the yeomanry who have impressed the nobility enough to take them into their service. Such an offer is a high honour, but does not guarantee adoption into the noble house until the page passes their Test of Mettle in the usual way. While most pages are assigned by their elders, some enthusiastic youths approach a noble who impresses them and offers to serve as their page without waiting to be asked.

Pages who serve knights are called squires. In addition to the usual duties of a page, a squire carries and maintains her mentor's arms and armour (as much as their statue permits), helps the knight gird herself for battle, and accompanies the knight to tactical briefings and battle planning sessions. Even the generals of the Nation are often accompanied by their squire, who must be thoughtful, discreet and willing to learn.

Older and trusted squires often gain their first experience of command in their mentor's service - traditionally, a senior squire is given "command" and responsibility for defending the national camp at festivals when the Knights and Nobles sally out to do battle. They are supported and advised by senior retainers, knights and yeomen, but the duty is taken very seriously, and tales exist of squires who have won their spurs by valiantly defending the camp from unexpected attack.