The Gauntlet is a terrifying vertical obstacle course.[1]
Geography[]
The Gauntlet is an obstacle course carved into a ridgeline, so steep that it resembles a cliff, separating the citadel from the flight field and the Vale. This cliff, which guards the Vale, features rugged terrain and zigzags across the ridgeline with distinct switchbacks of 180-degree turns. Each turn increasing in difficulty until the final ascent.[2]
The course is accessed through a bottleneck-prone gate, followed by a tunnel with a rocky path dimly lit by mage lights. The tunnel opens to a ten-foot-high archway leading to the base of the Gauntlet, perched thousands of feet above the valley. The greenery of the valley stretches endlessly to the south, dotted with clusters of squat trees and wildflower slopes.[3][4]
Only after completing the Gauntlet will cadets be able to use the stairs carved into the cliff to access the flight field.[2] The staircase, lined with rough stone, is prone to bottlenecks during high traffic.[5] Above the Gauntlet, a natural box canyon leads to the flight field for Presentation.[1] First-year cadets can observe their peers' progress from the base or the cliff edges.[3]
The Course[]
The Gauntlet consists of five ascents, each designed to mimic the challenges that riders face in battle. From the balance they have to keep on the back of their dragon, to the strength needed to hold their seat during maneuvers, to the stamina needed to fight on the ground and still be able to mount their dragon at a second's notice. The obstacles of the course are separated by shoulder-width gravel paths.[2]
- First Ascent
- Has a spinning fifteen-foot log that is parallel with the cliff at the start of the uphill climb.[2]
- Followed by four granite pillars, each one higher than the last, and each pillar is about three feet apart.[2]
- The first switchback is a giant wheel that has a counter clockwise rotation and only one opening.[2]
- The Second Ascent
- The second ascent is a series of five giant hanging balls hanging from chains linked to an iron rail above them, that cadets must jump or hug to swing across. The balls are just wide enough that cadets would be unable to hold them and they would instead slip off.[2]
- The Third Ascent
- The first part has three giant textured metal rods hanging parallel to the cliff wall, lined up like battering rams, and cadets must go arm over arm and then use their momentum to swing the bars forward to reach the next bar. Each bar is half a foot higher than the previous bar.[2]
- The second part requires the cadets to jump from the last bar onto a series of shaking iron pillars before finally leaping onto the gravel path.[2]
- The Fourth Ascent
- Roughly two thirds of the way up the cliffside, one of the steepest sections of the course.[2]
- has a series of seven nearly-touching three-foot wide timber logs that spin in opposite directions jutting out from the rocky terrain like a set of round-steps rising from the switchback above it. These logs crush a cadet if they are not fast enough.[2]
- This is followed by a giant chimney formation, which is a hollow column, that rises at a twenty-degree angle upwards. Cadets should grab the sides of the formation by forming an X with their body and hop up until they reach the end and ends at the foot of the final obstacle.[2]
- The Fifth Ascent
- The fifth and final ascent is a wooden ramp that juts ten feet out from the cliff wall and then curves upward like the inside of a bowl, the highest point level with the cliff top ten feet above it's base, making it a nearly vertical climb to finish the course. It's designed to test the ability to climb a dragons foreleg and reach its saddle.[2][3]
- There are no ropes at this section of the course.[3]
There are heavy ropes every six feet that run from the top of the cliffside to the bottom. During practice sessions, cadets are allowed to grab the ropes if they start to fall or use them to climb down if they get stuck. However, during the timed event on Presentation Day, cadets may only use the ropes to prevent a fall, incurring a 30-second penalty for each use. Climbing down is strictly prohibited during the timed run.[2][3]
History[]
The Gauntlet gets its name from the slippery nature of actual armored gloves made of metal. The name stuck as the official title of the obstacle course roughly 20 years prior to the events of Fourth Wing. [2]
Each squad of first year cadets gets nine, one-hour, practice sessions, starting two and a half weeks before Threshing, before their timed run on Presentation Day. After the hour is up it's the next squad's turn. During these practice sessions, cadets are allowed to use safety ropes that run every six feet across the cliffside from top to bottom, though using a rope adds 30 seconds to the cadet's overall time.[2][3]
Each cadet is timed on their final run on Presentation Day, and squads are ranked based on the entire squad's speed. This ranking determines the order in which squads present themselves to the dragons after the Gauntlet. The squad with the fastest time will start first on Presentation Day and the squad with the slowest time will go last. There are only two rules to completing the Gauntlet on Presentation Day. First, cadets may not touch another cadet on the ascent, and second, cadets are not allowed to climb back down. Cadets will either complete the Gauntlet or fall to their deaths.[2][3]
At the top of the cliff, a wingleader takes roll and records each cadet's run time using a stopwatch.[2][3]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Q: "Out of her 9 squadmates, what place was Violet in the Gauntlet line up?" A: 7th, "The order for violets squad during practice is; Sawyer, Pryor, Trina, Tynan, Rhiannon, Ridoc, Violet, Aurelie, Luca"[2]
- Aurelie slips off the fifth post on the fourth ascent. [2]
- Out the 171 first years that attempt the Gauntlet, only two die leaving 169 cadets to bond 101 dragons. [3]