The Dawn of Hope

The Princess

Themyscira, ca. 2980 BC

The day had finally come.

Today was the day that Diana would finally be able to prove to her mother and her sisters that she was a worthy Amazon, and someone who was capable of holding the title of Princess of the Amazons.

Diana shuffled nervously as she walked slowly to the door that would lead her into the middle of the arena. Almost every Amazon on Themyscira would be here, after all, the princess was going to be tested to see if she was truly as talented and gifted as they were told.

After one final deep breath, Diana stood in front of the gigantic gate and placed a hand on her sword and the other on the lasso on her waist. She also had a magical shield strapped to her back. The doors began to open, and Diana could hear the deafening noise that came out as Amazons cheered rowdily for their princess.

Keeping her regal face, Diana walked across to the other side of the arena where her mother sat on her throne. She then kneeled and bowed her head down, seeking her mother's blessing for the upcoming event.

"Rise, Diana," Hippolyta ordered as she looked her daughter up and down. It had been only 20 years, but her sun and stars had grown to become quite the fine young woman. The queen had to physically stop herself from beaming when looking down at her daughter and nodded at her to begin.

Immediately, four large holes opened up in the arena, and Diana immediately took a battle stance as she drew her sword and shield. Out of the four holes emerged four battle chariots drawn by two automaton horses and had an automaton archer riding it.

The archers immediately took aim and began to fire arrows at blistering speed. Diana ducked and dodged the initial arrows before kneeling and holding her shield out as she tried to think of a plan.

However, she didn't have any time to think as two of the chariots began to circle around her on both sides and continued to pelt at her.

Diana growled as she hurled her sword at the chariot on her right, breaking a wheel and causing the chariot to flip over.

The crowd cheered as the chariot slowly came to a halt, and the automaton archer slowly made it's way out of the wreckage.

She then pulled out her Lasso of Truth and ensnared the archer on her left, causing it to fall out of it's chariot. She then yanked as hard as she could, causing the automaton to fly towards her as she launched a powerful kick, breaking the automaton in half.

At this point, the crowd went wild at the grand display of prowess and were now eager to see more, now fully convinced that the princess was definitely no average Amazon warrior.

With chariots now down, Diana went to work on the third, hurling her shield at the archer, taking it's head off. Quickly, she threw her lasso, capturing her shield before she turned and swung it at the final chariot, smashing that archer to pieces. With three archers down, Diana walked over to the fourth one, which had now barely gotten to it's feet.

Picking up her sword which lay nearby, she slashed the automaton across the chest, breaking it in half.

The noise from the crowd was deafening at this point, the Amazons cheering wildly for the show of prowess from their princess.

Hippolyta acknowledged Diana's successful completion of the trial, and nodded to her Lieutenant, Philippus, to begin the next trial. 

In this manner, Diana continued to excel at the next 11 trials, all testing different skills that an Amazon would need in battle.

Agility, endurance, strength, wits, and much more would be needed in a fight, and Diana had proven to her mother and to every Amazon present that her skills were far above average and could contest many senior Amazons toe to toe.