Blackthorn
“I've been a warrior most of my life. I didn't stop being a warrior the day I left Efrafa. You know this. And it's because you know this that I will serve you until the day I die.”

Gender: Male
Birth Warren: Efrafa
Home Warren: Rowan's Warren
Voice Actor: Sean Bean

Rank: Captain of Owsla

Sire: Unknown
Dam: Poppy
Siblings: None

Personality: Blackthorn holds honour above anything else, even before family. From an early age, he has acted the noble warrior, helping those in need and taking charge when a leader was needed. With this sense of honour comes a great sense of self-importance, but not so much that Blackthorn is vain or entirely self-centred. To back up his honour and feeling of worth, he is also incredibly smart, and is one of the greatest tacticians and strategists of the Lapine world.

When not acting the leader or the politician, Blackthorn prefers a life of relative peace, and once he has finished his duties, will retire to a burrow or go out to silflay and chat with friends. In conversation, he is extremely polite, but will not hesitate to get on the defensive if someone says or does something that goes against something he believes to be right. When he is on the defensive, he will fight with words and claws until the offender is vanquished.

Now that he has reached old age, he knows his body isn't as fit or as well suited to fighting as it once was. He can still take down his enemies, but not as efficiently as he would have done in the past. So, in the stead of his strength, he used his razor sharp wit when fighting rabbits physically or verbally. Now, thought, memories from the past continue to haunt him, and he speaks with a constant grim edge to his words. The things he's seen can never be lifted from his mind, and that is a huge burden on Blackthorn's mind, heart and soul.

Relationships:

Poppy: Blackthorn's mother is no warrior, just a lesser rabbit of the Mark. That doesn't stop Blackthorn from cherishing her, and as her only remaining son, he makes sure that he always does things to please her, make her happy. He knows that Poppy worries about him, and he regrets that even though it does hurt his mother, he still wants to continue life as a warrior, and officer of the Owsla. Upon his departure of Efrafa, he vows to always remember his mother, as it seems likely he will never see her again.

Sundew: His great-uncle, and former General of Efrafa, Sundew was a 'tough-love' kind of family member. He was harsh sometimes, and would often chide his nephew about things that seemed to be unimportant, but the two held a great respect for each other. Despite his age, Sundew was an active mentor towards Blackthorn, and in spite of his blindness, he taught the young buck everything he knew about fighting and tactics. When Sundew was killed, Blackthorn vowed sorrowfully to avenge him.

Bugloss: Lieutenant 'Black-Heart' Bugloss seemed, as his nickname would suggest, totally black-hearted. Whenever the two were together, or were forced into conversation, the older buck would regard him with a cold look in his one good eye, and a snarl curling his lips. Blackthorn supposed that, as Bugloss was the eldest son of the General, he was jealous of the attention the youngster received from Sundew, and that he perhaps wished him dead or saw him as a contender for Sundew's position. Blackthorn was given a chance to return this hatred when he, Woundwort and another goon of his attacked him the eve of Sundew's death. Blackthorn surely got the last laugh when Bugloss was killed, by none other than Blackthorn himself.

Woundwort: At first, Blackthorn used to admire him. He had come to the warren as a frightened young adolescent, and had attracted the attention of the General himself. Woundwort had slowly risen in rank to be by the General's side, and Blackthorn didn't altogether trust him, he couldn't deny Woundwort's skills or intelligence. When Woundwort and his goons killed Sundew, and the youngster appointed himself as General, Blackthorn's admiration turned into hatred, just like that, and the young Captain never forgot this hatred. He was also afraid, though he never said so, and refused to return to Efrafa until he knew the new General was dead.

Rowan: The younger buck can come off as a little bit ambitious, and far too brash, but Blackthorn looks past this in favour of the youngster's strength, heart and courage. From the start, he respects Rowan, and even though the Chief makes it obvious he doesn't fully trust the elder, he makes an effort to show his new leader that he can be trusted, that he can be a great help to the warren. Over time, Blackthorn becomes something of a father figure to young Rowan, and always looks out for him, helping him here and there. This bond is never broken, and Blackthorn vows to do everything he can for his surrogate son.

History: Blackthorn was born in a time of relative peace and prosperity, long before Woundwort waged war on Watership Down – in fact, Watership Down had not even been discovered at that point. His mother, Poppy, was considerably weak during the birthing, and even though she made it, she was not strong enough to care for all of her kittens. A lot of the weaker ones, including Blackthorn's only brother, starved, and Poppy forever blamed herself. Over time, Blackthorn's sisters also died, and the doe was left with her only kitten to lean on. Blackthorn was, no doubt, the strongest of all of her kittens, and she knew that he would go on to do great things.

As a young kitten, he made few friends. His mother's views about being peaceful and honourable rubbed off onto him, and the young bucks, who were reckless and favoured war over peace, cast him out for being too 'cowardly' or 'naïve'. Poppy was aware of her son's troubles, and spoke to her uncle, the General Sundew, about this. The old rabbit listened to her, and heeded her request to talk to her son, and did so a few days later. Blackthorn was delighted to meet his great-uncle, and was fascinated that this blind, scraggly buck used to be tough and fearless, and conquered all of Efrafa in his youth. Sundew was amused by the younger rabbit's fascination, and as they continued their talk, Sundew promised to teach Blackthorn all he knew of fighting. Blackthorn was excited, and couldn't wait for the day when his great-uncle would show him how to be a warrior.

When the day came, Blackthorn was bouncing up and down with excitement, but Sundew immediately chastised him for being too eager. He started with lecturing Blackthorn on how a warrior acts and thinks, down to every little detail, like facial expressions and posture. Blackthorn found this absurd.

“A warrior doesn't bother himself with how to sit, uncle!” he exclaimed, narrowing his eyes and puffing out his chest with an air of importance.

“No,” said the old rabbit, “he doesn't. But remember this, lad; a warrior devotes himself to fighting – war is in his very name, no? - and that is all he knows. An officer, though, a rabbit who serves his Chief and his Owsla, who defends the Mark and the warren, must show his people that yes, he is strong and yes, he is tough and fearless, but he also takes into account that his people look up to him, that they rely on him to defend them. Tell me, would you want the sloppy-looking, scarred up mess as your defender, or the regal, presentable officer who holds his head with an air of immeasurable strength?”

When the youngster gave him no answer, he smiled. “Let's get on with refining your posture then.”

These lessons and long speeches would continue for months before Sundew considered his nephew ready to start training for battle. He started with teaching Blackthorn tactics, to build up his intelligence, and then guided him through every detail of every manoeuvre and movement, every little thing that he could do to gain an edge in battle. When the day came that they would begin sparring, Blackthorn, with a smile, thought that his great-uncle, old and blind, would surely fall beneath him. But he was wrong. The older rabbit, built up with knowledge and experience, his hearing perfected after so long living with no sight, took him down in one go.

“Boy,” he said, “you were foolish. You forgot your tactics, and remembered only that I am blind. Folly, I say. Do not underestimate your enemy, even if he is blind, or deaf, or dumb, or old – or all of these things.”

When Blackthorn fought Sundew next, he imagined the old General as he would have been in his youth, hulking, all-seeing and incredibly smart. This gave him an edge, taught him to consider each movement. He must have lost around ten times before he finally beat Sundew in single combat. The General simply nodded and said, “Captain Blackthorn, welcome to the Owsla.”

As an officer, Blackthorn did everything his uncle had told him; he considered his posture, he gave off an air of authority, but also of honour and willingness to protect. All the rabbits of the Mark looked up to him, but this meant that he acquired some rivals, including his mother's cousin, the Lieutenant. Bugloss was cruel towards him and Poppy, and had no respect for the General, his own father. Though they never spoke, Blackthorn could tell that Bugloss simply hated him, and tried his best to avoid the older rabbit.

As a late adolescent, Blackthorn was with his uncle, guarding him, when they were summoned to the Gathering Place to see a newcomer, a hlessi they had found roaming around. He was young, weak and simply terrified. His eyes were wide and scared, as though he had seen some terrible thing. Sundew managed to get a name out him: Woundwort. Blackthorn was charged with showing him to a spare burrow, teaching him the ropes and tutoring him on how thing worked at Efrafa. Soon, though, Woundwort came to him with a request; to see the General.

Blackthorn had no idea of what went on with the regular meetings that took place, in which Sundew would speak with Woundwort. He would often hear lessons taking place – not on a par with his own lessons, mind. Soon after, maybe a few months, Woundwort was promoted to Corporal rank. He was placed among Sundew's guards, alongside Bugloss and Blackthorn, and Blackthorn had a chance to bond with the younger rabbit. He though everything was going well...

...Until, after a Wide Patrol, he sought out his uncle. He saw Woundwort coming out of the General's burrow, bloodied and battered, dragging Sundew's torn body out with him. Bugloss followed him, also blood-stained, a wide grin on his face. Horrified, Blackthorn attacked Woundwort, but suffered a terrible injury to his right hind leg. He was chased from Efrafa, and he spent a few days out on his own, running from every little thing, when Bugloss, Woundwort and another rabbit burst out of the bushes. They nearly tore him to shreds, giving him his many scars, but by the end of it, Woundwort was blind in one eye, and both Bugloss and the other rabbit were dead. Outdone, Woundwort let Blackthorn go, but reminded him that if he ever returned, he would be killed.

Time passed, and Blackthorn grew into a fully mature rabbit. He lived a totally solitary life, and as such, grew incredibly lonely. After a point, he decided to return to the lands around Efrafa, to see if there had been any change. There had; Efrafa was now a place of cruelty and horror, full of slavers and cruel officers. He was about to turn back when he was pinned by two youngsters, a dark rabbit named Vervain, and a lighter, even younger one, Campion. They were training, they told him, and had to bring him back to Efrafa for the General. Blackthorn told them that yes, they could bring him back, but only if they were able to beat him in combat. As one might imagine, Blackthorn beat them. Campion, curious, asked him what his name was, and when Blackthorn answered him, his eyes grew wide.

“Blackthorn?” he asked, in awe.

“Yes, lad,” the older rabbit replied, bewildered.

“But you're the one who killed General Sundew and attacked Woundwort when he became the next General!”

This rattled Blackthorn. “No, no,” he said, “I don't know who told you that, but they were wrong, very wrong indeed.”

The younger rabbit seemed confused, and as Blackthorn explained, he grew solemn. Blackthorn was eventually forced to mention Bugloss, and how he was killed, and that caused young Campion to grow furious.

“Bugloss,” he murmured, almost deadly quiet, “was my father. A good rabbit, who died for his General. Now get out before I kill you.”

Blackthorn did as the young buck bid him, shaken by the discovery. He would never return to Efrafa again.

A long, long time passed, and Blackthorn grew to be quite old. His life had been one of loneliness, one of constantly fending for himself, but now he knew that he wouldn't live long without a decent shelter and a few rabbits for company. He wandered around for some time before stumbling upon a young rabbit, dark coloured and set on driving him out. When he stated that he just needed a place to stay, the stranger sighed and told him to wait, that he would be back with his Chief. Rowan-rah, a young rabbit with a fine mane of thick fur, allowed him to stay and be part of his Owsla, but it was all too clear that he didn't trust the elder.

Over time, Blackthorn proved to his new Chief that he could indeed be trusted, and vowed to lay down his life for Rowan if he must. That kind of devotion and loyalty was hard to find, and so Rowan accepted him as one of his personal guards. Blackthorn continued to serve him as time went by, directing the rest of the Owsla and training the young once to join their ranks someday. It was he who discovered Vervain on the border, and he who persuaded his Chief to take him back to Watership Down. If they killed him, they were no better than he was.

Things were somewhat peaceful, until the day history repeated itself, and Rowan's brother Dock killed his Chief, Hazel, and took over Hazel's warren. With war on the way, Blackthorn knew that he may die in the ages to come, but if it was in battle, fighting for his Chief, for the safety of his warren and eventual peace, then so be it.