Not selected at birth or in very early childhood, Dhe'nar warriors areusually the children who show no obvious signs of magical abilities. Bythe age of four or so, however, they (or their guardians) can choose forthem to try for the Warrior Caste. Ferocity and fearlessness are the twotraits most highly sought; as adults, Dhe'nar warriors tend to be touchy,cocky, aloof and vicious. Being passed over for the "power" castes seemsto leave in them a smoldering inferiority complex which exhibits itselfoften in an overt bravery to the point of recklessness on the part of thewarriors, as if in proving themselves again and again to be incapable offear, they might offset their deficiency in the eyes of the Priesthoodand Warlock Castes.

Training begins in a yearly competition known as the Dhar'draghta'a,or Death Selection. The would-be warriors are brought to the central squareof their village or, in Sharath, the central cavern of the mountain fastness.A selection of small clubs, knives, hooks, hammers and razors is buriedin a pile assorted refuse. The children are brought to the meeting placeand removed, forever in many cases, from the care of their parents or guardians.Priests, whom the would-be warriors will ultimately serve, take over and,in a solemn ritual, abjure them to simply survive the day. They are instructedthat this is the only opportunity they will ever have to raise their handagainst another Dhe'nar. From this point forward, all that survive arebrothers and sisters in arms, and must learn to count on one another inbattle and in life. They are then directed to the pile of buried weapons,and told to arm themselves if they can and survive for four hours. Thenumber of weapons is usually half the number of children present.

Far from being an absolute blood frenzy, as one might expect, the ritualusually results in the intended warriors learning quickly that to survive,they must be smart and immediately band together, selecting amongst themselvesthose whom they would stand beside in combat. Thus the life of the warriorin Dhe'nar society is played out in miniature. Comrades in arms are theironly defense against the world. They are ever at the direction of a seeminglydisinterested Priesthood, and their choices in life are immediate, deadly,and require as much insight as those of the other Castes. Inevitably, somechildren do not survive. Some retreat from the field to the safety of hiding(and obscurity and worthlessness forever in Dhe'nar society), and someemerge bloodied but victorious, weapons in hand and comrades around. Thesechildren move on to the next part of their training.

The young warriors spend their next fifteen years as slaves. They arecast in amongst the slaves of the Temple, but marked by their Dhe'nar blood,they become immediate targets for the furtive retaliations of the otherslaves there. Thus do they learn absolute bonding with their kin, and withtheir warrior comrades. At this time in their lives, they are in a positionlower than that of the children of the dark dwarves, and often find themselvesin mortal combat with these children. Being stronger, more durable, andin many cases just as vicious, the dark dwarven children present a formidableopponent for the young Dhe'nar warriors. Again, learning is emphasizedhere: Dhe'nar are not as strong as dwarves or giants; to survive, and toexcel, they must be smarter, more cunning, ever more remorseless in theirpursuit of power and victory. The children also learn, at this time intheir lives, the ways of the Temple and the society they will ultimatelyserve. From the age of six on, they are given daily instruction in hand-to-handcombat, but are never allowed to touch weapons. That is a privilege theyhave not yet earned, and by the age of twelve they hunger for it.

From twelve on, they are given instruction in the care, cleaning, sharpeningand maintenance of all sorts of weapons, from crossbows to halberds. Theyare taught the use of these weapons in essence, but none specifically.That will come later. Until sixteen, they are generalists. Then comes theritual of Sia'dhar Hesa'ach: The Choosing. Some warriors carry a latent,but not stellar, ability to use magics; some do not. During the Sia'dharHesa'ach, the Priesthood extensively tests each young warrior for thisability. Those with it will be sent to different training as Esleash Eldha'a,the Dark Scouts. Testing for strength, loyalty, dexterity, ferocity andintelligence are also done at this time. These tests will result in theyoung warriors becoming candidates for the religious order of 'flach riG'kna'a (the BladeWed), or for Khadesh Liastha'a (shadow warriors). Thosewith no special abilities but many desirable qualities go to the Kodom'Sleoth, the Guardians. The vast majority are, of course, Guardians.

From sixteen on, the pure warriors of the Dhe'nar are given a weaponof choice. It will be that with which they have demonstrated ability, andmay be a any weapon, ranged or melee. No allowances are made for breakageor use. They must maintain this weapon under whatever circumstances forthe next four years, for they will not get another. With this, and a shield,they are taken from their daily tasks at all hours of the night and dayand sent on small missions, alone or in groups, with specific objectives.These may range from simply killing a hobbit to escorting a convoy of vegetablesto sacking and burning any pitiable wretch who has mistakenly taken uphomesteading on Dhe'nar lands. They are almost always observed, howeverstealthily, by one to four members of the Priesthood or the BladeWed. Failureto achieve the objective, loss of a weapon or a comrade, or failure toobey the sometimes strict and unreasonable rules of the engagement resultsin severe disfavor on the part of their trainers. Particularly frowned-uponare those offenses which involve fear, failure to follow orders, and failureto back up one's comrades. Bravery, obedience, and loyalty are strict requisitesfor the Guardians. They are rarely in a position to use self-determinationin matters of strategy (this being done ordinarily by BladeWed or the Priesthood),so its nascent rise is swiftly put down.

After four years of constant daily training, combined with their statusand duties as slaves, sleep deprivation, and the ongoing missions, theyoung warriors that remain are hard-bitten, determined, loyal, brutal,skilled in the use of weapons and molded as tools for the Priesthood andthe society. In the Blade Rite, or G'kniasha'a, they are graduated as membersof Society and of their Caste, with limited rights and responsibilities,and their youngster weapon is taken away and ceremonially burned in holyfire. They are given by the Priesthood a new weapon, and assigned to aTesachta'a (ten-warrior group) or Dzevachta'a (a hundred-warrior group)for further, ongoing training in tactics, other weapons, ceremony, andspecific duties.

cheap hotels in Frankfurt am MainSometimes, during their training in their unit, they are sent out onfield work, long term assignments, or extensive self-development missionsfar afield. These, and their rise in rank to leader of one variety or another(each unit has a slightly different organizational structure) depends,of course, on their own abilities and limits of power. Many have risento become great champions, sometimes chosen by empaths as their personalwarriors, or have become great tactical and strategic leaders of the Dhe'narpeople.

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