Daleria gazed around her new dormitory. There were 4 beds, neat and small, all with a chest at its foot. Over the head of the bed were 2 hooks of which to hang all weapons. Sighing in happiness, she unslung her haversack onto the bed and unpacked. Finally she carefully placed her sabre on the hook and left for the mess hall, where she would be facing all the other hares for the first time.
Feeling quite self-conscious, she stepped into the hall. The hall was large, with a high ceiling. Lanterns hung down from it, illuminating the area. Daleria sat herself down on a bench, next to two others. They soon got to know each other.

'My name is Galedeep and that chap over there's Reaprun. Who are you?'

'Oh... I'm Daleria.'

Hearing the name, Galedeep raised his voice,

'Daleria? Is it true that you disarmed Lady Consellariel?'

Every hare in the mess hall turned their heads to Daleria, from officer to recruit, all craned to hear what happened. By this time Daleria had turned quite red, her long ears turning pink.

'Erm... Yes.'

A murmur ran through the room. Just then, Consellariel entered and a respectful hush fell. Smiling, she addressed the hares.

'I am quite sure that all of you have heard all about what happened in the forge room today, and many do not believe it. Well if Daleria agrees, we could have a little match of swords. What do you think?'

This met with much cheering and hooting. Clearing her throat to gain attention, Consellariel looked at Daleria,

'That is if she agrees.'

Everybeast's eyes centered onto Daleria.

'I think its quite fine chaps.'

All further words were drowned out by cheering.

The tables were cleared and pushed off to the sides. Everybeast had his or her blade with her. Daleria challenged anybeast to beat her.

Sergeant Longrunn came up. A hush fell. Every hare knew that Longrunn was the most skilled beast to wield a sword on Salamandastron.

Wearing a confident smile that made her casual pose look disarming and even careless, Daleria played with the hilt of her sabre. Longrunn, however, narrowed his eyes, sabre raised, on guard.
Daleria saluted the Sergeant, signalling the fencing to begin.
Longrunn slashed forward viciously and gave a twist to the hilt, which would have disarmed any otherbeast. Daleria however, kept the casual smile on her face, though her body was bunched up like a tight spring. Giving a twist at her hilt at the exactly same moment when the blades clashed locked both blade to blade, causing the Sergeant to hesitate. This was all Daleria needed. Giving her sabre a circular twist and a jerk upwards, she sent Longrunn's sabre twirling through the air, carving its way point up in a spiral then dropping, still vertically, as if in slow motion, straight into Daleria's paw. She caught it deftly, put on a disarming smile and presented it back to the stunned Sergeant.

*****

'Waleb! Come here!' Vaxial shouted from the shadows.

A vixen entered into the chamber. She was white, totally white from ear tip to tail tip. Her charcoal eyes burned into one's heart, it contained an unquenchable fire that made others fall into her trance and fall at her feet. The most beautiful face ever to adorn vermin was adorned on her, a smile that could melt anybeast played on her lips. She seemed to give out an aura around herself, a dim white glow.
Her musical voice rang out, loud and clear

'You want me, my lord?'

'Yes I want you vixen. Don't try to play that charm on me. I want you to capture a certain hare from the very folds of Salamandastron and you are not going to fail me. Here is how...'

******

By this time, only one beast had not challenged Daleria. All the others lay defeated. That one was Refavua, a male hare only slightly older that Daleria. He too wore that kind of smile on his face. Both knew that they had tough competition.

Saluting each other, the swordplay commenced.
Both hares played with skill and speed, toying with the other's skills. Both evenly matched, they smiled at each other still, though both were concentrating on the way their blades clashed against the other's. Finally, Daleria decided that was enough. Pushing the level of her skill up further, she played with the sort of skill Refavau could not equal. She knew that she could do much better than this, but she found no reason to exert herself. Twisting her blade flat and thrusting forward then slamming down on Refavau's blade tip sent his blade spinning towards her. The audience gasped as the perilous blade flew towards Daleria. Calmly, all the haremaid did was hit the tip of Refavua's blade upwards then shot out with amazing speed and swung hers horizontally, making Refavua's blade seem to suspend itself in midair for a second before she grabbed it by the hilt and, like she did to every other hare, present it back to him, with a smile on her face.

*****

Waleb the vixen crept up to the great mountain Salamandastron in the dead of the night. All around her was silent and still. No breeze ruffled the night air, no star shone through the dark blanket that covered the sky. The soft wavelets that lapped against the shore were seemingly muffled as if the dark presence of the fox silenced it. Forward she crept.

*****


In the dormitory, Daleria tossed and turned. Her first night was proving to be restless. She looked at the other three hares, Fleetpaw, Stargaze and Vale. All fast asleep. Sighing, she turned towards the dormitory door, which was wide open.
A glint of snow-white fur. The tip of a bushy tail. A small bottle. Scenes from Daleria's past flashed through her mind. 
She took instant action. Silently grabbing her sabre, Daleria opened the chest and took out a short length of rope. Taking a deep breath of air through her mouth, Daleria watched the creature set the small bottle onto Fleetpaw's chest and turn her back to Daleria. Daleria moved with lightning speed. Gripping sabre in one paw and rope in the other, she moved up to the creature. She threw the rope over the creature's neck, held it there, grabbed the small bottle, waved it for a second under the creature's muzzle then threw it out of the window. The creature immediately stopped struggling too hard, but was clearly awake. Twisting the rope so that it did not strangle the creature but held it's head high, Daleria tugged the beast's head towards hers.

'Waleb! So we meet again. I swore to kill the creature that murdered my family and I still go by it!'

As Daleria's eyes looked into Waleb's, it was filled with cold, mad fury. The vixen had gone cold with fear, now fully awake and screaming for help. Daleria countered by shouting into her face.

'You thought I was asleep, didn't you? You thought you were going to use the same bally technique you did that murdered the rest of my family?!?! No you won't vixen. No more of that scented sleeping stuff. NO MORE! You die tonight, vermin!'

By this time, Daleria had pushed Waleb against the dormitory wall and had her sabre raised, ready to slay the fox.

'Clang!'

A short dagger flew through the air, struck Daleria's sabre right on the tip and sent both blades flying through the air and thudding into the wooden post of Daleria's bed.

'Stop! Colonel, grab her, Sergeant, take the fox.'

Colonel Galde forcefully peeled Daleria, who was struggling with a crazed look on her face, off the relieved vixen. Sergeant Longrunn removed the rope from the vixen's neck, which were now scarred with long rope burns, and bound her paws together. Lady Consellariel started to reprimand Daleria.

'What were you thinking!? Young Daleria, no Long Patrol hare takes revenge upon another creature, not to mention kill the beast! You should have simply brought her to me to deal with! Did you know that her screams and your yells woke all my officers?!'

All Daleria could do was shuffle her feet and look at the cold stone floor. Lady Consellariel cocked her head towards the other 3 sleeping hares.

'Taremin, what's wrong with them?'

Taremin was the best medic on the mountain. Before she could walk over to the 3 beasts, Daleria spoke up.

'The Corrin Flower herb. Mixed with a drop of boiled Deadly Nightshade and essence of Reciea. Gives out a pungent smell, which leaves those who sniff it deeply knocked out for about 3 hours. Also a deadly poison.'

'So that is the use of the Corrin Flower...'

Consellariel shook her head.

'That is beyond the point. Colonel, get all my officers into the forge. I need to speak with them. You too Daleria, you can get to know them there. Leave the three to outsleep the effects of the potion. But first, get changed all of you. It's nearly dawn.'

*****

"Piang!'

The shattering of a glass beaker contacting with stone wall was followed by a shout of outrage.

'FAILED? FAILED? OUT ALL OF YOU! OUT!'

Vaxial screamed at the fleeing vermin, took out his bejewelled dagger, flung it and slew a rat that was not quick enough.
Pulling his dagger out and wiping it on the tunic of the fallen rat, the merciless killer kicked the limp body out of the chamber.

'No matter... I will have you, Airelad! I will have you!'

*****

Daleria sat on the window ledge of Lady Consellariel's forge, ears drooping but still glaring at the vixen, who was put well away from her, next to Colonel Galde. The badger lady spoke.

'Since it is only Daleria's first day here, I find it only fair to introduce my officers to her.'

Pointing to the first four, she continued,

'Those three are Corporal Bueatrill, Lieutenant Dallaw, Captain Joseph and Captain Paragon.'

She waved her paw at the remaining 5.

'You've already met Colonel Galde, Sergeant Longrunn, those 3 are Drill Sergeant Mianent, Major Clandestine and Brigadier Remora.'

With a wave of her big paw, she dismissed the subject.

'Anyway, the more important subject instead of exchanging names here is this vixen,'

Fixing a glare on Waleb, Consellariel continued,

'and a certain young recruit.'

Daleria's ears drooped even lower, if that were possible.

'Firstly, I want to recall one of the virtues of a long patrol hare. As young Daleria is new, I will repeat it. Never take revenge on a helpless creature. Still I find it no reason for a sensible young woodlander to kill a helpless vermin, even if the vermin was trying to kill. Every creature has a right to live. We need this vixen anyway. Still, I have to issue a punishment. I will have to take your sabre away and keep it until your training is complete. For the meantime, the Colonel will lend you a training sabre.'

A look of complete disbelief crossed Daleria's already sad features.

'But....bbutt..!'

'No buts young missie. That is an order. Now for a more pressing issue.'

Turning to Waleb, Consellariel's voice turned harsh and cold.

'You! Vixen! Where is Vaxial hiding! Tell me!'

Waleb didn't say a word, her face stony and unmoving. That was a wrong move. Consellariel grabbed her.

'TELL ME!'

Shaking, the vixen answered, stuttering and mumbling.

'Moovvinngg tooo Rr-eedwall foorr ffeeasstt..'

Dropping the vixen, Consellariel started barking out orders.

'Drill Sergeant, get a thousand hares ready to march out at dawn in three days, fully packed and rationed. Colonel, Major, get Daleria training, and fast. We need her. Here!'

Throwing the sabre back at Daleria, the badger lady pulled her up.

'Your training starts now.'

Daleria was stunned.

'Now. Yes NOW! Come on. Move off to the training room both of you. I'll bring her.'

Motioning to the two officers, the first day of Daleria's training started.