Agoge

The Agoge is a branch of Dragoon Academies that dealt with young Dragoons who found themselves without any sort of guardian. While some versions of the Agoge differed from Clan to Clan, some Clans did not have the institution at all.

Origins
Issues regarding legal guardianship began to arise early in Dragoon history. In some cases, both legal guardians were no longer alive. In other cases, particularly in militarily-focused clans such as Alpha and Theta, both parents opted for active duty rather than raising their offspring. The latter was often the case in these Clans.

Most of the Clans initially dealt with this issue by making it mandatory for the next of kin to take over guardianship.

The records aren't conclusive, but it is believed that the Theta Clan was the first clan to develop an Agoge program sometime around 450 AF. The Alpha Clan soon followed with their own version of the program, and other military-focused Clans began to follow suit.

Process and Structure
Although the program differed from Clan to Clan, the basic principle remained the same: Since the majority of Agoge candidates were put there because the parents chose active duty over guardianship, most of the Clans who developed Agoge programs were those that were heavily focused on military and warfare. Other Clans (such as Zeta, Epsilon, and Xi) did not have an Agoge program, as the issue wasn't a significant one in their cultures.
 * Dragoon youth who found themselves without guardians would become wards of the Clan itself.
 * If the Dragoon was not old enough to attend the Academy, they were placed in a wing of the Agoge dedicated to raising young Dragoons. This residence doubled as an "Academy pre-school," so to speak, as the Dragoons would spend their days receiving instruction and training.
 * The young Dragoons would attend the Academy as scheduled, with the Agoge becoming their residence. During this time, they would continue to receive extra instruction and training on their days off from the Academy.
 * Once the young Dragoon reached the age where they were required to live at the Academy, the Dragoon then exits the Agoge and lives permanently at the Academy. In many cases, Dragoons who previously lived in the Agoge were put into separate dormitories that were open year round.

Effects
Beginning their training at very young ages, these Dragoons who go go through the Agoge tend to be more discipline and calculated than others. They've also been observed to remain calm in critical situations and employ much more strategic tactics in the field.

Despite the efficiency of many Agoge Dragoons, many in Dragoon society tend to look down upon them. This is mainly due to the fact that they notably lack in social skills and charisma by the time they reach the Academy. Therefore, there have only been handfuls of Agoge who have risen to the rank of hauptmann. In addition, there have been no warlords on record that went through the Agoge program.