This is the only quadrant that only allows volunteers, not conscripts (except for the children of the rebellion). Most successful riders are legacies; which are also known as riders that is descended from a family line of riders (see Aurelie). The Riders Quadrant is known for its mass number of casualties every year. Only 1/4 of all cadets that cross the Parapet make it to graduation, so the rules for certain things (like inter-quadrant fornication) are laxer than the others, since death is so common.
Structure: Violet says that “a squad, a section, a wing is only as effective as its weakest link, and if that link breaks, it puts everyone in danger” (Yarros 26). There are 3 squads in each section and 3 sections in each of the four wings. Violet’s first year, each squad started with about 15-16 people. The Codex states that squad members are not allowed to kill one another.
Ranks: All students start out as candidates. Once candidates cross the parapet successfully, they are known as cadets. Cadets can’t rise to the rank of rider until they bond with a dragon during Threshing. Some cadets don’t bond their first year during Threshing, so they can try again with the new cadets the following year. Unbonded cadets are given less desirable duties after Threshing. They fall to the bottom of the hierarchy and are treated as such societally.
The highest ranks among the cadets in the quadrant are wingleader and section leader. Both positions are held by elite third-years. Second-years can rise to squad leaders, but only if they’re exceptional (see Dain Aetos). Leaders are held in high regard, and if you are going to accuse a wing/squad leader of wrongdoing, you better know what you’re talking about. If not, you’ll be killed. Years are also important in the Riders Quadrant, because they determine the hierarchy of the riders even further. In the dorms, first-years aren’t allowed on the second-year floor, and so on. Discipline falls to the units, so the wingleaders decide how to punish their subordinates.
First-years are also prohibited from contacting their family and friends during their first year. This is because the quadrant believes in fostering loyalty to one’s wing.
Riders are rarely called to action before graduation, but when the military is desperate they may make special accommodations.
Daily Schedule: Bells signify different events throughout the day. The day typically begins with breakfast and morning formation. Some riders, like first-years or the unbonded, have some kind of duty (i.e. breakfast duty, Archives duty) that requires them to wake up earlier (5:15 am). After breakfast in morning formation is where Captain Fitzgibbons reads the death roll of names of riders who died that previous day. Next is Battle Brief, which takes place in the lecture hall with Professor Devera and Professor Markham. Each class is about an hour long. After cadets bond with their dragons, each wing rotates every day for access to the flight field for training. Squad leaders are expected to enforce curfew, but most don’t.
Cadets from the Morraine province spend Saturdays at the nearby lake because it reminds them of the ocean back home.
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