9 month wait to ride an ethy without a 7 sec delay in 2014 is quite possibly one of the most asinine glass ceilings I've ever encountered in any online game. It is a stunningly awful concept, cuz it forces a microtransaction.
This is 2014, waiting 9 months from account start to not be a slow piece of shit or being forced to donate for something that can't be used as a backup in PvP is stupid. I can't put it any other way. Ten years ago, I get it. Now, I don't fucking get it, and anyone trying to justify it should ask themselves how it makes things appealing to new players at all.
If it's about supporting the server, I'd be more inclined to donate from the start if I knew they were attempting to put new players on a somewhat even keel, and if the mount was regular cast speed. Instead, even if you use that dony, it's just another bulwark in place, cuz that's what 7 sec delay is. It means you can be somewhat more efficient right out the gate upon arrival here, but don't have the utility of it for legit purposes due to cast speed, so your risk jumps up if doing anything serious.