The Black Rabbit compound was a retreat deep in the forests of Long Whisper. It was a broad, square structure with sparring grounds spanning across its center. It housed recruits and veterans, as well as officers. The camp was built out of a clearing in the woods. It was laid out like a temple compound, with several barracks buildings surrounding a main structure. Two small lodges off to the sides served as an infirmary and an armory. Within the compound were various training grounds and set down a secluded path was a small shrine dedicated to the clan’s patron deity, Alanna.

Past that, a waterfall poured into a river that fed into the city of Lost Dawns. However, the compound served as more than just a training camp. The stalwart fortress of the Black Rabbits also contained a school where the younger recruits were educated in the complex politics and history of the realms. The clan itself was headed by three figures: the Silent Master, High Blade and First Blade. The Silent Master was rarely seen. He ruled the clan from the shadows and did not make an appearance unless it was truly needed. Most commands came from the High Blade or the First Blade, who served as their lieutenant.

The Ravenshore recruits joined a set of recruits from other villages as they lined up in front of a small cadre of senior Black Rabbits. The other boys and girls were just as terrified as Elucard and his fellow villagers. The children cowered and sniveled as the Black Rabbit veterans snickered and smiled at them. A loud aggressive command broke through their minds.

“Shut up and listen!” a man said, pacing by the recruits. His loud voice and angry demeanor made it clear that he was some sort of drill instructor. He wore a tight black vest with silver buckles. His arms were muscular and bare except for the swirling pattern of intricate tattoos that wrapped around his bicep, “Welcome to your new home, kiddies. Your old home is just a fragment of glass that, in time, will be crushed into a fine powder to be blown away by the wind.”

“Says you!” cried a rebellious recruit. No sooner had the words escaped his mouth than he was left sprawled out on the ground by a swift, heavy fist.

The drill instructor continued, “Your families want you here. They want you to become more than just farmers and tradesmen. They want you to become Black Rabbits so that you can serve this world on a larger scale than just milking a cow for some nameless village. If this weren’t true, they wouldn’t have given you up.”

Several younger recruits broke out into sobs.

“Your family doesn’t want you, but we do. We want you to be ambitious and strong. We want you to survive, to serve. Rebel, and you’ll slow your training. A poorly trained Rabbit is a dead Rabbit. When a Rabbit fails, it fails everyone, not just itself. We don’t tolerate failure. Failure means death to a Rabbit.”

Elucard gritted his teeth, hanging on to each word. He needed to survive for himself, but more importantly he needed to survive for Jetta. She was waiting for him, counting on him.

The instructor pointed his finger at Elucard’s chest, “You, where is home for you?”

“Ravensh–” Elucard started but was violently interrupted by a fast punch to his gut. He agonized in pain as he coughed and sucked in air.

“Do you not listen, boy? This is your home!” The instructor loomed over the crippled Elucard, “Help him up,” He commanded, pointing at Myler and Geven, “You’ll be divided into classes and given instructors. They’ll teach you how to both handle weapons and use your body as a weapon. You’ll learn to harness silence and shadows. We’ll educate you on politics and how to manipulate the weak minded. By the time we’re done with you, you’ll be why children are afraid of the dark.”

***

“You better not be taking a nap, Myler! Get off your stomach and finish that push-up!” Baines shouted. Elucard and the Ravenshore boys were under the watchful eyes of the Blade Brothers: Ridge and Baines. The two human instructors were well built and wore black leather armor with gray masks that covered up the lower parts of their face. Baines had black hair that he had styled in a spiky mohawk, while Ridge had blonde hair that he tied in a long braid that fell down his back. They were Blade Brothers, bound by the sword instead of blood. Partners that knew each other well.

They promised brutal training conditions, and Elucard’s first week in the compound proved to be relentlessly agonizing.

His first week was stamina training; building up strength and speed so that he could take more and more physical punishment each day.

“I-I can’t lift my body, Drill Instructor Baines” Myler spat a mixture of words, sweat, and saliva as he collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

Baines grabbed a tuft of the boy’s chestnut hair and forced him to pull his body upwards, “Get to your feet, recruit. You disgust me!”

Izian had been holding back his spite and frustration for the Black Rabbits all week long. He saw himself as the leader of their small crew, and he considered each of the three to be his brothers. Each day his nerves were pushed a bit further and each day he swallowed the humiliation cast by the two instructors. However, now the ward was cracking, and he couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m going to stand up to them,” he whispered to Geven, who was standing to his side in the formation.

“Izian, don’t even think about it!” hissed back Geven.

Izian stepped forward from the line of recruits. His actions were immediately spotted by Ridge, who asked, “You have something to say, Recruit Izian?”

“I’ve had enough of your bullying and this life. I’m going home and my friends are coming with me!”

Ridge nodded as if he was in understanding with his words. He walked up to Izian and looked down into the boy’s eyes, “You’ve got guts, kid, but you won’t leave. You know why?”

Izian didn’t flinch, “Why’s that?”

Ridge placed a firm hand on his shoulder and gently spoke in his ear, “Your friends won’t follow you.”

Baines called for Geven, Myler and Elucard to come front and center. All three stared blankly at Izian, “Well, Ravenshore Recruits, will you be leaving us to join your leader?” asked Baines with a thick helping of mockery hanging in his voice.

All three bowed their heads to look away from their friend. Izian was crushed, “Guys, come on, we have to leave. Our families are waiting for us!” Izian pleaded.

“They fear us more than they respect you, recruit,” Ridge said while chuckling.

“Myler, you don’t want to be here. Come on now, I can protect you! Let’s go home,” Izian said, trying to reach Myler’s thoughts.

“You can’t protect us, Izian. We tried to escape, and if it weren’t for Legion, we’d have been dead! There’s no leaving the Rabbits, No one has, no one will!” Geven asserted.

Izian ran to Elucard, “Elucard, think of Jetta.”

Elucard looked at Izian with sorrow in his eyes. Izian’s words stung him. Of course he thought of Jetta, that’s all he had ever thought about since he was brought to this dark place. But it was the reality of the situation that nailed him down. The Black Rabbits were a strong gale that could not be broken through. If he was going to see Jetta or his home ever again, he needed to survive the storm that was set before him.

“Elucard, let’s get out of here.” Izian tried again.

“Izian, stop. It’s over. They’re right.” Elucard said in a low, broken tone.

Ridge walked over to Izian, “Will you be leaving then?”

Izian balled his fists and fought back tears. The weight of his situation came crashing down on him, but he tried to stay strong for the other recruits, “I won’t leave my friends behind,” he said as he fell back in line.

“A wise choice, Izian,” Ridge said, “Now, let’s continue. One hundred crunches, then fifty laps around the compound… Go!”

***

Three weeks had passed. Elucard kept himself occupied by trying to stay awake during history and politics lectures. He had little free time with physical and agility training squished in between his schooling and chores. Over time, his scrawny body was turning toned and strong. When he first arrived, he struggled to manage even five push-ups, but now he could do ninety without breaking a sweat. Mentally, he was getting to be as sharp as the blades he trained with. He found it hard to believe that there was a time that he couldn’t name a single elf of nobility, but now he was well versed in the entire political history of the eight noble tribes. He gobbled up every lesson that the Black Rabbits fed him. The life that he saw as an enemy was turning into a valued ally.

“A Black Rabbit kills without thought or remorse and fears no man,” said Ridge as he paced around his class, “The moment in which a Black Rabbit chooses to fight decides the success of the mission. You must choose the proper time to strike, and when it is wiser not to fight, you must rely on stealth.”

Ridge stood with his class looking down at a path of twigs and dead leaves. The forest towered around them and rays of light stretched their long, shimmering fingers through the woods. Shadows, still fearful of the light that reached through the canopy, hid among the debris on the forest floor.

Baines stood at the other end of the path and called back to the class, “Navigate the path slowly and silently. Move with lightness in your step. Breathe steadily and avoid what light you can. Embrace silence and shadows and you will learn to master stealth.”

Ridge shoved a recruit forward, “Recruit Crev, you first.”

Crev took a single step on a twig and it broke under his weight. A resounding ‘snap’ echoed in the woods. Crev instantly fell to a knee as a leather strap whipped across his back.

“An incentive not to fail,” Ridge said as he recoiled the leather whip. He turned to the rest of the students, “Begin.”

Night turned to morning as the recruits gingerly moved through the path. Elucard winced, his back raw from his share of failures, but took note of all that went wrong and practiced to overcome each flaw found in his technique. After a couple of days, the recruits were able to pass through the trial with little sound – albeit very slowly – and please their proctors.

“You’ve done well, recruits. It would behoove you to practice this course in your free time. The more effort you put into each aspect of your training, the better an assassin you’ll become as a whole.”

***

A raw knuckled fist bludgeoned Elucard in the side of his face. He spun around helplessly as part of his vision faded to black. The elven boy collided into the stoney ground as his blood splattered across the rocks.

“Recruit Elucard, what did you do wrong?”

It had been two months since he was taken from Ravenshore and inducted into the Black Rabbit lifestyle. This was the first week of hand to hand combat training, “Learn to fight with your hands before you can learn to fight with a blade,” That’s what his instructors told them.

Elucard’s hands were tied tightly behind his back and thirty pound weights were attached to each of his legs. Moving was awkward, but that was all part of the training. He had to learn to avoid getting hit, but not because he feared the hit. His opponent did not bear the same handicap.

Elucard had been hit. A lot. His nose was broken, his left eye was swollen shut, and thick strands of blood stretched down from his chin and clung to the ground.

“I let him hit me, Drill Instructor Baines.” Elucard said, spitting out a mouthful of dark blood.

“Why aren’t you unconscious yet then? This is the seventeenth hit you’ve taken to the face!”

Elucard was faint from the beating, but he didn’t want to give in. Rabbits frowned on weak recruits, and he didn’t want to be frowned upon, “When his punches hit less like a gentle breeze, maybe then he’ll be able to knock me out!”

The recruits burst with the sound of laughter. Baines shook his head and smiled, “Recruit Fallon, are you going to take that from him?”

Fallon’s ears were red to the tip with embarrassment. He watched as the half aware Elucard lifted his chin and made kissing sounds that only frustrated him further.

“No sir!” he cried as he threw a flurry of punches.

Elucard anticipated the barrage of fists. He wasn’t just taking hits because he was too weighed down to dodge, he was studying the sloppy attacks of his opponent. Mustering the rest of his energy, Elucard ducked beneath Fallon’s attacks, and rushed a knee into his groin.

Being as big as Fallon was for a boy, he went down hard from such a severe strike.

Ridge untied Elucard before calling over the medic to look at the boy’s mangled face.

“Tired of being the punching bag, Recruit?” he chuckled.

“I was done having him make me look like a failure,” answered Elucard.