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Yes, it was true pain at first. But at the end of that dark road, I felt as if I was reborn. Like I had become a new man.
Daor Hassrath

The Adeptan Trials, also known as the Burning Way, Adeptan rituals, or Shavoyden (Garganese: Materializing) were the grueling challenges and training procedures all recruits in the Adeptis Uralis had to undertake before becoming an Ur-Warrior. The Trials included a mixture of physical and mental conditioning, designed to change the physical and psychological traits of its applicants to eventually produce soldiers immune to pain, doubt, guilt and trauma. The primary Trials consisted of three stages: The Trial of Birth, the Trial of Healing, and the Trial of Dreams. In addition, the Holy Tribunal could issue additional tests if a recruit's progress demanded it.

The Trials[]

Trial of Birth[]

The first stage of the Trials began at the very start of Adeptan training at the age of six. Recruits were chosen by the Holy Tribunal themselves, based on a potential student's mental and physical abilities, response to stress, and commitment to tasks. Once suitable recruits were picked, the children were woken at night from their beds in the Temple of the Dreamers, blindfolded, and transported to Bucheshan's main training facility: Broken Hill. On arrival, the children were shaven, redressed in recruit's attires, then the boys and girls were separated into two different dormitories. Each dormitory was guarded by a single solitary Ur-Warrior, who was typically mute. The first tests began immediately; each dormitory held a limited number of beds and the children were encouraged to fight amongst themselves to claim a place to sleep. The rest had to sleep on the cold, stone floor.

Early in the next morning, the recruits were given basic hand-to-hand combat training, with each recruit being paired with another recruit. Traditionally, the training did not stop until at least one of each pair was bloodied. Cowardice, crying, or mercy was severely punished. These types of training sessions continued for a few weeks, then the recruits advanced to training with melee weapons, then finally blaster training. During this period, various tests were employed where the recruits were conditioned to ignore pain or emotional stress.

At the final stage of the Trial of Birth, the recruits were thrown into Bucheshan's wilderness without any warning or context. They were left alone for five weeks, forced to survive until the period ended. This was to encourage teamwork and camaraderie, with an emphasis being put on developing survival skills and tolerance to harsh environments. By the end of the five weeks, nearly half of the recruits perished - with the survivors being given special marks that signified the completion of the Trial of Birth. Various training sessions continued until the Trial of Healing.

Trial of Healing[]

The Trial of Healing, also referred to as the Path of Healing proceeded almost immediately following the completion of the Trial of Birth. Typically at age sixteen, the recruits were taken to Garganath and instructed to choose any mountain they found most alluring. After having done so, the recruits were ordered to strip naked and climb to the top of their chosen mountain. The task was to find a Tyrrhan sky leviathan, semi-sentient, Force-sensitive cetaceans and commune with them. To aid them in tracking a leviathan, they were each given a small dosage of Ur-Spice. The Path of Healing could last for days or even weeks, as the leviathans were notoriously elusive and evaded habitated areas.

The Trial of Healing was meant to unlock latent Force powers in each recruits, forcing them to rely on their inner senses to track the leviathans. Since the recruits were completely exposed to the elements, they were encouraged to rely on their resourcefulness, emotional strength, and mental acumen to survive. The test was also meant to further cull the recruits' numbers and weed out the weak. Those who survived and managed to speak to a leviathan were to lit their beacons to be transported back to safety. On arrival, they wrote down the visions given to them by the leviathans and instructed to not reveal what they saw to anyone - not even their superiors.

Afterwards, the recruits were taken back to Bucheshan for a six week meditation period. Any physical training was halted while the recruits meditated on the visions they were given. When the six-week period ended, the recruits were taken on their first training sessions meant to develop Force abilities. By the end of the Trial of Healing the recruits were able to use Telekinesis, basic Force lightning, Force healing and battle meditation. By the age of seventeen, the Trial of Healing was complete and the recruits advanced to the last stage: The Trial of the Dreamers.

Trial of Dreams[]

The Trial of Dreams, or Trial of the Dreamers was the final stage of Adeptan training. Once the recruits were believed to be sufficiently trained in their Force powers, they were taken to isolated chambers in Broken Hill and strapped onto a cold table. A contained virus and various mutagenic elixirs were intravenously injected which gradually overpowered the body and caused intense convulsions, visions, and electrifying pain. Throughout the process, the elixirs slowly overcharged the recruits' pain receptors with the intent of making them incapable of pain or physical discomfort by time the Trial had ended. This process could take as long as a full week - and throughout the period no one was allowed entry to the recruits. Most of the recruits died during this time, with only the strongest and most resilient surviving by the seventh day.

When the survivors woke up, their eyes had changed to an amber or yellow color. The recruits were made immune to any sort of physical or psychological pain. The Trial also prolonged their lifespan, made them immune to most diseases or viruses, and granted them heightened senses. The recruits were allowed a two-day rest period or additional training if they so wished. At the end of the Trials, the recruits were brought into Broken Hill's main hall where they personally pledged loyalty to the Gargan - who attended the induction ceremony. They were then given their first set of shaddakeen armor, a custom-made falx, and a tattoo on the center of their chest - signifying them as Ur-Warriors.

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