Heh, my first WoW ficcy, so be nice :D

It's just a really rough write up, that I just wrote up on a whim, and decided that I liked the idea. I know that this probably sucks, but again, keep in mind, I'm probably not the best writer, and this is pretty much my first actual serious story. Now, go forth and read!

Blood Knights

Prologue

Itheal Bloodstriker smirked, surveying the initiates that lined up in front of him and his fellow trainers, and almost chuckled, seeing them tremble with nervousness. It was hard to believe that it was their job to turn these fools into Blood Knights, but he believed they could manage it. After, wasn't it the policy that during tests, the incompetent ones would probably not survive? Cruel, it may be, but it was a way of assuring that only the best were inducted into their order, and that weak were cast aside. Suddenly a door behind them slammed open, and he heard the heavy footsteps of Champion Bachi and Lord Bloodsworn, along with the Blood Knight Matriarch. Quickly, along with his fellows, he stood at attention, and a few initiates took his example and followed suit. The others simply stood and stared in awe at the trio. Champion Bachi, who Itheal knew loved putting on a fierce show to scare trainees, scowled ferociously.

"Oi! At attention maggots! Have you louts never learned to salute your superiors?!" He shouted, his loud voice echoing around the large room. He walked down the line, nodding at the initiates who had been in the proper stance when they entered, the first being a relatively pretty copper-haired girl with milky skin, the second being a raven-haired boy, the third being another boy, this one with blonde hair. The others who had not saluted, he cuffed around the head, before shouting the proper stance. The initiates scrambled to obey, some holding it very poorly. This time The Blood Knight Matriarch stepped forward, smiling slightly.

"Thank you, Bachi. I have it now," She said, and some of the initiates, most which seemed no older than fifteen- which was logical of course, seeing as this was maximum age for training. She turned to them, and smirked coldly. "I don't know why some of you chose this path; frankly, I don't care. If you chose it simply for the glamour, or for glory, I am going to advise that you walk out that door right now. Any takers?" She asked, staring them down with cold green eyes. "No? This is your last chance." This time, at least five of the twenty-five turned around, and walked, looking ashamed. Lady Liadrin watched hem go, and once they were gone, she shrugged.

"They're honest." She muttered, before continuing her speech. "For those of you that stayed, that was your last chance to leave. Now you're in for good; either you'll become a Blood Knight, or you'll die on the way. Statistics show that only one out of every four initiates live to become a full-fledged Blood-Knight. These next few months will be complete hell for all of you. You will first learn to fight. You will be covered in bruises on your first day, and on your second new ones will layer on top. Only after you have proven yourself adequate, will you be allowed to practice with actual swords. Then, you will learn to ride. For the weeks after, you will eat, sleep, and live in the saddle, and then you will learn to fight in it. Only then, if we think you have the potential, will you be taught the arts of harnessing the Naaru's power. Sound like fun?" She asked with a vicious grin, and she could see that most initiates felt like running, but didn't.

"Now, we will assign you to a trainer, four to one Knight. Blood Knight Salian, your initiates are…" and Itheal zoned out for a moment. Sal was only eighteen, though no one knew that; the only reason he was training initiates was because he was just on the brink of another promotion; it even unusual for someone this young to be a Blood Knight. Itheal himself was twenty-four.

Itheal observed the group of four before him with slight satisfaction; he had gotten what looked like a good group this time, though he could already pick out the ones who wouldn't survive. The first girl was the one with the copper colored hair and milky skin that had saluted. She looked as though she would survive, between a lean, yet still strong physique. He ran his eyes up and down her appraisingly; with a pretty blush, and developing womanly features, she was obviously going to be quite attractive once she reached adulthood. That is unless she was marred by some scar or other, which was likely.

The second girl was probably not going to survive, as she was rather frail looking, but only time would tell; perhaps she would survive, and the first one wouldn't. She was a classic example of the beautiful Sin'dorei, with almond-shaped green eyes, long, well taken care of white-blonde hair, a set of naturally pink, pouting lips, and a very tiny build. Honestly, his first thought was that she had taken a wrong turn on her way to some young lord's house.

The third one, this time a boy, was the raven haired one that had also saluted. He was rather lean, and lanky, with perpetually raised eyebrows, and a easy-going grin. He was strong looking though, and from the power radiating from him, one could tell that he would be able to manipulate the Naaru perfectly.

The last one, another boy, was blonde, with broad shoulders, and a very serious facial expression. He supposed that women might think he was handsome, but seeing as he was not a woman, of course he wouldn't know.

"Alright," Itheal said to them, still pondering on who would live, "Let's start with names and ages I suppose. You'll want to know something about your comrades." He pointed to the copper-haired girl, who looked surprised. I suppose I'll just call her copper…he thought, and shrugged.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, blushing as she was snapped out of her reverie. "Uh, my name's Aleinia Lightstrike, and I'm fourteen."

"Right. Next?"

"I am Nalannai Fireveil, and I am fourteen as well" The blonde girl said, in a quiet, mouse-like squeak. Someone of the Fireveil family? Perhaps she will survive after all…they are known for producing top-notch paladins, are they not?

"I am Sanaden Sunwing." The blonde boy introduced and finally, the black-haired one said.

"Mathus Everwind."

"Itheal Bloodstriker, I'm twenty-four, and I'm your trainer, obviously. Like the Lady said, prepare yourself for hell."

I'm not particuarly happy about the way I portrayed the Bloof Elves, but...ah well. The prologue was mainly centered on Itheal, but the rest will mostly be centered around Aleinia. Well, that's all I really have to say, except for the fact that I appreciate constructive criticism. R/R :)

-Feareth