Many have wondered about the wisdom of this lifestyle I lead, myself included. After all, it is typical for us knights to retire at the ripe old age of fifty and retreat to somewhere hidden, before we eventually become known for breaking our frail old bones tripping over our own horses.

Granted, they do not know that I am a wizard and am capable of living much longer... But once a knight, always a knight I say! As long as I can still move, I will live like a knight until the day I perish. And so, I have continued to gallop around the country like the younger men. I have even taken on a young squire just two weeks back.

He is a sturdy, well-exercised lad at eleven years of age, with a ruddy face and energetic green eyes. He is magical like myself, as is his family. His father is a happy farmer who's done very well for his family with his small plot of land - I suspect magic was involved - and very supportive of the boy's dream of seeing the world.

His name is Godric, and he is turning out very nicely.

The first seven days since the boy joined me, we spent on the road - myself on my black horse and Godric on his little white pony. Settlements were sparse in this part of the country, and often had leagues and leagues of empty land between them. I could tell that Godric was rather bored, and disappointed. I knew he was expecting adventures every day and I sympathised with him fully. And so I have since allowed my young protégé to carry and play with a different one of my weapons each day, which helped to pass the time. It would do him good to become familiar with what each of their components do, the distribution of their weight, and how they feel as they moved through the air. The rest of my weapons I have magically lightened and carried myself. In time I will ask him to either carry or levitate all of them for me as exercise.

On the eighth day, however, we settled in a small village inn. Godric was overjoyed - he'd never slept inside an inn before, he said. I, too, was glad for the prospect of having good food and an actual bed again. I gave Godric a sip of my beer at supper, which he promptly spat out and declared to be "Yuck!" to the guffaw of everyone at the bar. I told him that he will like it when he becomes a man. He did not seem inclined to believe me, but I think he will soon.

After we and our horses were comfortably fed and rested, I told the lad about King Arthur's court and Merlin, who in my opinion is the greatest wizard ever born and who I knew personally. I also showed him some tricks on my horse. He was fascinated by how my stallion could stand on his hind legs or vault over a low fence. It's all about trust, I told him. Once you and your horse trust each other enough, you'll be able to go anywhere you want.

But I did not expect what I saw when I woke up the next morning.

Young Godric was galloping around the empty yard with his pony, and did not notice me when I stood by the door to watch him. He was decently skilled with horses, which I was glad to see. His feet were gentle when he nudged the flank of his pony, yet it obeyed his commands immediately.

Then, I saw him bend down to ask the pony, "Do you trust me?" It neighed.

The lad laughed happily, then urged his pony into a sprint toward the fence we were vaulting over the day before. I couldn't believe him! That fence, low for me and my stallion, was nearly as tall as the white pony's legs! Well, the lad must've trained the pony well because it managed to clear the obstacle without tripping. Godric himself, however, was too busy whooping at his success and so rolled off the pony's back at the impact of landing. It's fortunate that no one saw his accidental magic break his fall, or we would have been in deep trouble.

So now another week has passed, and my young protégé and I are on the road again. I still do not know Godric too well, but I can already tell he will become a great knight when he grows older.

Because if nothing else, the lad is brave. Of that I am certain.

- Sir Cadogan's diary

A.N.: My theory is that Cadogan in real life was a bit more competent than what his portrait depicted him as.