http://geocities.datacellar.net/Area51/Corridor/8990/bat.html
In the tribe of the Bat Bonded, there are, at the
moment, not very many elves. There have been few recognitions of
late: Delirium's was the most recent, and many were killed by Go-
Backs on the last raid. The elves here are:Darktalon, the chief
Frost, the former Go-Back who is Darktalon's Lifemate
Son (has not earned name yet), their son
Dawn, Dusk and Twilight, triplets whose parents were taken by the Go-Backs
Little Boy (also has not recieved name yet), who is in the same situation as the before-mentioned trio
Two-Blades, who has a Winnowillesque darkness about her
Dreamberry, Who seems to be the only one of the Bat elves (other than Delirium) who is not dark and depressed
Delirium, whose maddened fighting got him his name
Taleweaver, the storyteller
Riversong, Delirium's lifemate
Daughter, Riversong and Delirium's child
Mother, former chieftess of the Bat-Bonded until Darktalon took over
Shadow, the current priest. Very bloodthirsty and cold.
Before a Bat-Bonded elf can be considered really part of the tribe and have all rights, like a name other than "son" or "daughter," they must pass an initiation ceremony. It consists of two parts:
The Taming of one one of the giant bats for use in traveling and hunting
Swordfight with the cheif or chieftess (at the moment, it's Darktalon)
The Finding of a name
To tame one of the giant hunting bats (they're aproximately the size of one of the Great Hawks of Blue Moutntain), an elf must navigate the caves to where the bats live. This in itself is hard, because there are so many caves that it is easy to get lost in them. Many elves die in this. Either that or some are still wandering around in the caves. Once one has found the giant bats, they must select one that they think is good to be their bondbeast. Then comes the hard part. To train one of these nightmare creatures is close to impossible. Usually, it takes showing it that you are dominant and stronger than it. Possibly, one will fight it. If the elf wins, then they have to ride it back to the caves and show the tribe his or her new partner; if not, the elf will usually not return... If while riding it, it throws its rider off, that elf will have a slim to none chance of surviving the giant fall (in the story "Hard Lessons," it makes references to Snowflurry's child First Daughter as meeting her fate this way). If the elf successfully completes this portion of the Rite of Passage, they go onto the next, which makes the bat-taming seem, well, tame.
Once the first part is completed, then comes the fight with the current chief. Even though the elf may even be the chief's child, he or she will have no mercy on them. The goal is to try to wound, or even kill the other. The chief a few centuries ago, Iceshard, was killed in this way to have Mother, who was known as Snowspear them, become chief. Until her son Darktalon (the current chief) terribly wounded her. The initiate is trained by his or her parents in the use of a sword so that they will be prepared for the ordeal later. The only way to stop the fight is either to be the first to cry for the other to stop, or for one of the fighters to either die or be so terribly wounded that it is impossible to continue. If the chief calls out first, they are banished to a cavern deep into the caves. If someone chooses to hunt and visit them, they will most likely live, but otherwise... If the cub cries out first, they are exiled until they can challenge again. They can keep challenging over and over until, either they die in the frozen tundra, or they win the challenge. Once the challenge is won, they go onto the last stage.