Tests of the Chief Rabbit
The Tests of the Chief Rabbit are a series of traditional challenges that House Lapin has established for any would-be Lapin House Leader. Successful completion of these challenges is required for the ascension of any Chief Rabbit to the Carrot Throne.
History
It is believed that these challenges originate from an ancient time prior to a Chief Rabbit having any real temporal power, and that they are intended to assure that any would-be Chief Rabbit is possessed of qualities that are important in the position, and to the values of House Lapin in general. Regardless of the truth of this belief, it has been thoroughly documented that Chief Rabbits in the Golden Age of Literomancy were subjected to these tests.
Queen Sable Aradia, knowing this, specifically requested that she be administered the tests before witnesses when she came of the age at which she would ascend to the position. She was 18 years of age at the time.
Critics suspect that she was so insistent on this because of a question of legitimacy. Sable Aradia was selected as her grandmother's successor, and her father, from whom she has the claim, was born out of wedlock. Further, she has an older sister, Princess Rowean, who might technically have a stronger claim. However, the traditions of the Lapin Succession allow for indirect kinship relationships, so long as the Tests are successfully met.
While there are many older references, the clearest, and most complete, was discovered in the Lapin Secret Library in an illuminated manuscript from the Middle English period, known as the Dainius Manuscript or the Codex Cuniculus ("The Book of the Warren".) This manuscript is believed to be a Middle English translation from Ruthenian, the court language of Lithuania during the same period. However, the original Ruthenian document has been lost.
Execution
There are 13 challenges which are administered, one for each of the lunar months. In all cases, the assembled body of the House must agree that the candidate passes the test or otherwise meets the criteria. How they choose to do this is entirely at their discretion, but usually is resolved by simple consensus.
Test of Wit
Þe Chieftayn Cony moot beene slye. Hir wit moot beene as sharpe as the egge of a knyf.As a House with a Trickster Totem, Lapin values cleverness and wit. A Chief Rabbit must prove that they have the ability to think on their feet, and come up with clever solutions.
Test of Trickery
Þe Chieftayn Cony moot have Þe shrewdnesse of hir kynde in large partyes.Naturally, the ability to think like a Trickster is also valued. While being clever may be part of that, an ability to think around corners, and a sense of mischief, are also believed to be necessary.
Test of Bravery
Þe Chieftayn Cony mot be uncommon bold, for it is hir devoir to renne perils for þe warren.Often the most difficult test for a Wererabbit, a Chief Rabbit must be willing to run risks and take blows, figuratively and literally, for their people. This calls for significant courage.
Test of Humility
Þe Chieftayn Cony moot been meke bifore God and hire folc so þat hir alwey remembren hire devoir.The Chief Rabbit must remain humble. They need to be approachable by their people and to never forget that they serve the warren, not the other way around.
Test of Endurance
Þe Chieftayn Cony mote be y-mighti to withstonde greet adversitee.A Chief Rabbit is required to be able to endure through physical, mental, and emotional stress as a leader.
Test of Compassion
Þe Chieftayn Cony mote ben y-haved of a kynde and pitous herte.Despite all the weight of leadership, a Chief Rabbit must be compassionate. They are expected to act in kindness and from a place of love, for their people and all beings.
Test of Judgment
Þe Chieftayn Cony mote be wis and rihtful in hir demynges.A Chief Rabbit, like all leaders, should be possessed of good judgment and the ability to make wise and just decisions.
Test of Literomancy
Þe Chieftayn Cony mote be kunnynge in þe magyk of wordes.The Chief Rabbit is required to be a Literomancer.
Test of Resolve
Þe Chieftayn Cony mote have an uncommoun wille.A Chief Rabbit should demonstrate that they have a strong force of will. They must show that they can stick to whatever they decide they need to do in the face of opposition and adversity.
Test of Resourcefulness
Þe Chieftayn Cony moot be sleigh and ful of resourcys.A Chief Rabbit needs to be able to get their people what they need, even in times of hardship.
Test of Faith
Þe Chieftayn Cony mot ben a persone of strong feith.This is the most hotly debated in the list of Tests. What is meant by faith? Extensive debates have been recorded between Lapinite scholars, in which one side claims that it specifically means faith in God or Frith, since this was a medieval concept of faith, and the other claims that this a good argument for it not indicating faith in a divine power, since faith in God would likely have been mentioned.
Test of Survivalism
Þe Chieftayn Cony mote been sly to deþe.It is the duty of the Chief Rabbit to do their best to keep their people alive. To do this, they have to know how to keep themself alive.
Test of Heart
Þe Chieftayn Cony mote have greet corage."Corage," here, although it looks a lot like the modern word "courage" (which derives from it,) means the heart as the seat of emotions, spirit, and temperament. It is closer to "having heart" than it is to "courage" in the modern understanding, although that element can be a part of it. If the assembly determines that the aspiring Chief Rabbit has met the criteria of the Tests, they are then declared the new Chief Rabbit. This appointment lasts until death, abdication or removal.
Components and tools
The only accruements actually required are writing implements for the Test of Literomancy, and the Key to the Lapin Library, which grants the Chief Rabbit access to the collected knowledge and legacy of the Lapin House. Otherwise, required components vary, depending upon how the gathered Lapins choose to administer the Tests.
Presumably, there was once a royal Lapin Crown that coronated the new Chief Rabbit, or at least, some kind of noble's coronet. However, it has been lost over the centuries. According to rumour, Sable-rah was originally coronated with a cardboard Burger King crown as a symbolic gesture.
Participants
Traditionally, all known members of House Lapin are invited to the Tests of the Chief Rabbit to participate in the process.
Observance
The Tests are only administered when a new Chief Rabbit must be chosen, which is usually only after a Chief Rabbit's death or abdication.
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The Rabbit in the Moon by Sable Aradia & Melody Relody
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Doe white rabbit with dewlap in a grassy field by Pixabay
A Note About Pronouns
The text of the "Book of the Warren" uses the "hir/hire" Middle English pronouns exclusively, which is a point of interest to medievalist scholars. It essentially means "she/they/hers/theirs," though not with the same specifics of gender neutrality as the current they/their, and often used in the case of animals as well as people. While its usage is not uncommon from the time, the fact that there are no male-specific pronouns in the Tests of the Chief Rabbit, is. Nor is the word "man" used, but the word "person" is — also unusual. Historical Chief Rabbits have been both male and female (and possibly gender non-conforming or non-binary, trans, etc., though there is no way to prove or disprove this,) but it has been proposed that the position is a default-female one, as opposed to default-male, as many titles and ranks from the time period tended to be.
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