Caelnel, Rylzt, and another Drow, Brudaer, trained me relentlessly day in and day out. One day, when I was fifteen years old, Rylzt came into my room while I was reading a combat manual. He grabbed me roughly by the collar and dragged me out of the room.

“What’s going on?” I asked, but he didn’t respond. Rylzt led me through the corridor towards the chow hall, turning abruptly before the entrance to go through a door marked “Do not enter.” This led down another corridor.

He pulled open the door to a dark room and shoved me through it before slamming it shut behind me. Inside the room, I let my eyes slip into the thermal spectrum and spotted four humanoid shapes approaching me. I could see the heat from their bodies and the cold steel in their hands.

“What is this?” I called out.

I heard my father’s voice for the first time in nearly five years. “Kill them, my son, or they’ll kill you,” he said, his voice echoing from somewhere above.

I smirked. “They’ll try, I’m sure.” The four adult Drow came closer. My ability to detect magic told me that their armor and weapons were inferior to mine, and the way they moved to surround me revealed their lack of skill.

“This is our initiation…” one of them said. “Kill you and the four of us will become full-fledged members of Barra D’aron,” another added as they stalked closer.

Holding my hands out at my sides, palms facing forward, I felt the tremors in the floor as the one behind me broke into a sprint, charging in unison with the one on my left. I waited until the last minute before rolling forward at an angle just as two blades swooshed by at neck level.

It was as if I were his shadow when I came up beside the one who had been in front of me. He turned to swing his sword, hoping to cut me down as I rose to my feet, but I caught his hand with mine. Since I wasn’t strong enough to stop him, I stiffened my whole body to force him to move his sword and my weight.

I then sprung up and launched my forehead against the bridge of his nose. The dark elf grunted in pain, and I disarmed him, taking his sword after striking the back of his hand with a knife hand strike. I caught the falling sword in my right hand and brought it down hard across his chest before sidestepping a strike from another dark elf.

The one I disarmed fell to the ground, though he wasn’t dead.

I turned to face the one who had just taken a swing at me. He backed up a step as his friends tried to flank me again. Two of them attempted to attack me from behind.

I felt their footsteps and heard the whoosh of their blades coming toward me. Flipping the sword over in my hand, I brought my hand to my lower back to deflect the incoming blades upward. Ducking low as the two blades struck mine, I kicked my left leg back, connecting squarely with the side of one dark elf’s knee.

I dropped my House De’Endar dagger from my left sleeve and, with a flick of my wrist, launched it into the throat of the dark elf in front of me. Two remained in fighting condition, and I smiled as they began to circle around me. I ducked low to avoid another blade swung at my neck but slightly misjudged the distance. The blade caught me hard across my right arm, causing me to drop the sword, and continued up, the tip tearing a line across my cheek.

Luckily, I was able to retrieve my dagger from the throat of the dead dark elf. I staggered and pretended to stumble away from the two who were still standing. The kick to the knee caused one of them to limp slightly; I had caught him squarely.

As they tried to flank me, I did my best to keep both of them in front of me, and we all circled together. “Any time you’re ready,” I taunted, gripping my dagger weakly in my right hand. The one I had kicked stayed back, but the other dark elf, still fresh, leapt forward, hoping to easily cut down an injured opponent.

They hadn’t beaten me yet. I held my De’Endar dagger out with my right hand, slowly waving it back and forth, using the threat of the weapon as a distraction.

I tossed the dagger up and caught it in a reverse grip before tossing it up again with a smirk. I tossed it up once more, and predictably, the dark elf tried to bat it away and succeeded. It was all part of my plan.

As the tip of his sword moved to the side, I stepped forward, summoned Vielyn’s kukri to my hand, and plunged it deep into his heart. The wicked blade bit deep, and to my surprise, the vampiric enchantment activated.

The rubies in the pommel glowed slightly for just a moment, detecting my injuries, and then the emeralds around the top of the grip glowed fiercely, throwing green light as it sucked the life force from the dark elf and transferred it to me, healing my wounds.

Emboldened by the weapon's healing power, I watched as the last dark elf, seeing his friend fall and my wounds heal, threw down his sword. “Yield!” he called out.

“Pick up your weapon,” I demanded.

The dark elf fell to his knees and held his hands out wide. “I yield!” he cried as I stalked slowly toward him.

“Two remain alive,” I heard Durdrin say. “Kill them both.” He ordered. I looked up in the direction of the voice and nodded. As I turned back to the kneeling dark elf, he dove for his sword, but a shuffling sidekick brought my heel across his jaw, sending him reeling backward to land on his back. I was on him in a moment, kneeling on his chest as I brought Deathsbite’s edge across his throat, opening it wide. I then stood up and looked for the last one who still had the audacity to draw breath in my presence.

A pained groan came from the first dark elf I had slashed with his own blade. Moving with determination, I stood over him, raising my foot high and bringing my heel down with all my weight, crushing his skull. If he wasn’t dead already, he would be soon.

“Good enough?” I asked, still unsure of exactly what was going on. One thing I did know was that I was going to tear a strip out of Rylzt the next time I saw him for trying to kill me. I planned to take another of my father’s fingers too, to teach him a similar lesson.

The door behind me opened, and the room brightened with orbs of dancing lights in different colors. Caelnel was first through the door, followed closely by Rylzt, Brudaer, and then Durdrin. Following the four Barra D’aron was a familiar face I was happy to see—Vielyn, my brother.

I tucked the kukri carefully into my belt and bent down to pick up my House De’Endar dagger before walking over to Rylzt. “You ever try to kill me again and I’ll be sure to return the favor,” I threatened.

Rylzt’s eyes went wide with surprise, and he tilted his head to the side. “Awfully bold of you to think you could kill me, kid,” replied Rylzt, a high-ranking lieutenant in the Barra D’aron.

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“Oh, dear Rylzt, I’ve been in your chambers while you slept. Right beside your bed. I’ve watched you sleep, snuggled up close to that thing you call a woman,” I said boldly. I was still pretty heated about being dragged from my bed and thrown into a room with four sword-wielding dark elves who were told to kill me.

Rylzt’s face changed from surprise to sheer anger, and I grinned wide. “I could have killed you both and avoided this whole ordeal,” I said angrily. Rylzt looked to Durdrin, hoping he’d step in, but Durdrin raised his hands and shrugged his shoulders with a mischievous grin. “You did try to kill him, Rylzt!” he said, smirking and feigning innocence.

I turned to Durdrin and shot him a deadly glare. “You think I don’t know that you put him up to it? You drunken idiot, I’ve lain in bed with you and your women while you slept. I’ll kill you first,” I barked.

Durdrin, too, went from smiling to angry. “You little snot rag, you want your jaw broke again?” he threatened.

I summoned Deathsbite to my hand once again, feeling pretty confident after killing the four men in that room. “Fucking try me!” I shouted angrily, squaring my shoulders and planting my feet.

I didn’t hold any illusions of winning this fight, but I’d make sure to give him another permanent reminder of me before I fell. I fully expected my father or Rylzt to fight after threatening both of them. I did not expect the attack to come from my brother, though.

A fist struck hard against the side of my head, rattling my skull, and then a hand reached out and grabbed my wrist as I raised my blade to defend myself. The same fist struck me again.

Everything went black less than a second later.

Something that only Durdrin, Vielyn, and very few others knew was that Vielyn was second in command of the Barra D’aron. Matron Mother Larynda didn’t even know; she thought her oldest son was simply a member, not a commanding officer.

I awoke a short while later in my bed, wearing a bed shirt. My armor and weapons were nowhere to be seen as I sat up and looked around.

“Hello, my handsome boy,” a familiar voice said.

My eyes settled on a dark corner of my room where a beautiful female Drow was sitting. “Hello, Mother. I’ve missed you,” I said politely, trying to shake the fogginess from my head.

“Indeed…” she purred with a smile.

“You need to learn to get along with Durdrin and respect those above you, like your teachers,” she demanded, the smile leaving her face.

“They are Dark Elves! I am Drow!” I said proudly. Mother stood up and seemed to grow twice her size as I shrunk back; even now, she could be an intimidating presence.

“NO! They are Barra D’aron, and if you’re smart and do as you’re told, you’ll lead the Barra D’aron when Durdrin is no more,” she said angrily. “Have you not noticed your training regimen is with the highest-ranking soldiers in your father’s little mercenary band? That it’s been harsher than all the rest of the recruits?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I noticed them put me in a room with four armed elves who were told to kill me.”

Mother smiled once again. “Yes…” she purred. “Your brother told me how well you did against them. He also told me how you rattled Rylzt and Durdrin’s cages with your threats. They’ve moved rooms, and Durdrin is having a demi-plane made that only he and those he chooses will be able to access,” she said with a chuckle.

I smiled. Mother was the most important woman in my life, and I liked when I made her smile. “Be warned, my son, show your respect to Durdrin. He’s earned his place among us through sheer determination and strength. By my count, you’ve now given him two reasons to kill you. I highly doubt he’d restrain himself a third time,” Mother warned. My smile faded, replaced by a more serious expression. I nodded in understanding; I knew I was pushing my luck. For Durdrin or Vielyn to call Mother here, I must have really struck a nerve.

“Good, my boy. I won’t come back again. Next time, Durdrin will just kill you. You’ll get your equipment back when he decides you’re no longer harboring thoughts of killing him in his sleep.” I smirked again, and so did Mother. She was ecstatic about me unsettling Durdrin but knew that encouraging such behavior would get me killed, so instead, I got a scolding.

Mother then slipped something into my hand that felt oddly familiar. Glancing down, I noticed I was holding Antzar’s House De’Endar dagger. It was a subtle threat that if I didn’t straighten up, I’d end up like the previous owner of the blade. Without another word, Mother turned on her heels and walked out of my room, slamming the door hard behind her. I shoved the dagger under my pillow before lying back down to think about my next course of action.

I’d leave Durdrin alone, like Mother said, but she didn’t say anything about Rylzt. I decided then and there that I’d torment him for as long as I could get away with it, even if it meant getting a beating here or there. As long as I didn’t get carried away, Father would never allow them to kill me.

I planned to start this very night. I needed to do some recon to learn where Rylzt and his woman had relocated. The gold I had managed to stash away over the years came in handy when I wanted information. I’d sneak out of my room late tonight and see if I could find out where Rylzt was resting.

As I lay there wondering how I was going to make my teacher nervous, my door opened slowly. “Masdrin,” I heard Durdrin call as he stepped in.

“Good evening, Father,” I said politely. I noticed he was wearing his full set of Barra D’aron armor, dyed a deep purple, but wasn’t carrying a weapon. I never saw Durdrin carry a weapon. He had come ready for a fight, though he didn’t look as though he was going to instigate one.

“You did very well earlier. I don’t blame you for being angry,” Durdrin said as he sat down at the foot of my bed. “You gave Rylzt quite the scare when you mentioned his ugly woman,” Durdrin said with a chuckle.

“According to Mother, I scared you too,” I said with a crooked grin.

“Don’t kid yourself,” Durdrin replied.

“Well then, tell me, Father… Why are you having a special room built with a magical door?” I asked.

Durdrin raised his eyebrow. “Because if you could defeat the locks and wards without waking me or sounding an alarm, then so could our enemy.”

With a frown, I looked at him as though his words had wounded me. “Oh, that hurts, Father,” I said before grinning. “Then why does Durdrin sleep in a different room tonight?” I asked him.

“Because nobody is supposed to know where or with whom I sleep,” he replied as though the answer should have been obvious.

I nodded and smirked, knowing I was holding back one more question.

“What?” he asked.

“Why does Durdrin come to his child’s room in full battle attire?” I asked with a wide grin as I lay back on my pillow, shoving both hands under it, grasping the grip of my dead brother’s dagger in my left hand and the sheath in my right.

“Because!” Durdrin said, holding up the reattached finger that I had severed five years earlier. “That child is prone to violence when he feels threatened!” he said with a wide smirk.

We both chuckled, and he looked at me and smiled wide. “Were you really in my room while I slept?” he asked with a sly smile.

“How else would I know Durdrin sleeps with a bottle and two women?” I asked. He smiled and nodded, noticing that while I was correct in my information, I didn’t actually answer his question.

That information was known to a few of the higher-ups, and in truth, it wasn’t unfeasible that I had simply overheard it as a rumor, but he wouldn’t find out today. The truth was I had been in the room of everyone who had a room in the place.

When I couldn’t sleep, I’d practice picking locks and detecting traps. If I failed to do it silently, I’d have no choice but to practice my stealth to escape back to my room. I was almost caught one night but managed to convince the patrol that I was looking for Rylzt. When I was questioned, I simply replied, “You dare to accuse Durdrin’s own son of lying?” and, luckily, it worked.

“With everything I’ve seen today, I’d say you’re ready to lead Shadow Nine,” Durdrin said, much to my surprise.

“What do you mean?” I asked, unsure if I was really ready for that responsibility yet.

“You have the ability to fight now, like a Shadow Knight. You show the same ferocity, the same fearlessness that a Shadow Knight should show. You were put in that fight for a reason,” he said, leaving me hanging.

I smirked at him. “Why, dear father, was I put in that fight?” I asked.

He was grinning wide now. “To prove to your mother that your education with me was better than the academy,” he replied.

“Is that all?” I inquired facetiously, drawing another smirk from Durdrin.

“You were right; I did send Rylzt to retrieve you and put you in that room. But I suggested only two opponents. It was your brother who suggested we double it. He said, and I quote, ‘My baby brother is a tough little bastard,’ and then proceeded to remind me about the incident with Antzar,” he said.

“What incident with whom?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

“It was a story of a jealous Drow who poisoned his baby brother. It ended with the baby brother, a mere boy of five years, recovering from the poison and then driving a dagger through the traitor brother’s heart. All of this with two broken ribs and having never held a blade before,” Durdrin said proudly. He clearly sounded impressed.

“Vielyn and my sisters held him down. Antzar broke two of my ribs on my first approach with the dagger because he kicked me across the throne room. It was my first time going airborne. I picked myself up because Mother told me to kill Antzar, and I did not want to be punished for disobeying. When I went back the second time, he tried to kick me, but I stepped up onto his oncoming foot and used the momentum to send me up instead of back towards Mother. I landed dagger point down on Antzar’s heart and then fell to the ground with a third broken rib. I spent most of my fifth year recovering from the damage Antzar had caused,” I explained.

Durdrin nodded. “Your mother told me the day after it happened. My men helped her figure out that it was your brother who poisoned you. She’s kept me updated on everything about you since the day you were born. Including Antzar’s knife, hidden under your pillow right now, I presume.”

I smirked and pulled the dagger from under my pillow, still in its sheath, and showed it to him. Durdrin smirked and nodded. “You still want to plunge that knife into my heart?” he asked. I shook my head from left to right.

“What about Rylzt?” he asked.

I smirked. “I don’t want to hurt Rylzt, Father. That would take the fun out of finding his room. Perhaps I’ll leave a note on his pillow next time,” I said playfully and grinned at my father. Durdrin chuckled as well. He had been well aware of me sneaking around his compound… for the most part.

“Well, get some rest. In the morning, you meet the rest of Shadow Nine,” Durdrin said with a nod.

“Will they listen to me? I’m just a child,” I asked as my father got up to leave.

Durdrin turned around and stood with his hands on his hips and his feet shoulder-width apart before taking a deep breath to puff out his chest. “You are my son. If they don’t respect you at first, you’ll make them respect you. Meet me at the armory before breakfast in the morning. We’ll work everything out there,” he said before turning and walking out of my room.

I shoved Antzar’s knife back under my pillow before relaxing back in my bed and drifting off to sleep.