Post by The Great Other on Aug 27, 2012 15:07:16 GMT -5
Draw, set, pull, release. Draw, set, pull, release. Draw, set… The sun drew higher in the sky, the shadows narrowed and shrank, but the routine remained the same. Draw, set, pull release. An empty quiver. A trudge to retrieve arrows. And back to it. There had not been enough time for this. For simplicity in this mad city of fools. It had been too close in that contest with the lion. He needed to regain his edge. Before he had been shooting while running, walking, and kneeling. Now it was the time for the straight shot. The simplest of shots. Draw the top arrow from the quiver at his side, turning his hand along the feathers so that one faced up. Set it to the string, a kiss not a snap, and you take your first look at the target. Now came the calculation, the factors. Wind, movement, speed, everything. The raise, and smooth long Pull. Back as far as can be for this one, no arc necessary. Breathe in, half your air out, then… Release. Looking at the arrow jutting out of the target, he grinned. And thought back…
“You’re going to be big brother! So we’re going to give you a big bow to pull” laughed his brother as he threw the wooden stick at him. Fumbling and dropping it in the sand, he grabbed it and stood straight. “How am I supposed to kill anything with this?” Felric asked “I want a sword! Or a lance. I want to be a knight!” His brother just laughed “You show me a knight, I’ll show you a dead man on this island. Aint no man who hunted with a sword. And that’s what we’re preparing you for little stone. Not to fight honorable, with a shiny sword and in crab armor. You’re going to hunt them, and kill them. Like animals. Because that’s what they are. That’s what they have to be. Now string the bow.” It was a struggle at first. It took him hours of work pulling to get the bow to bend. Gasping, straining, he finally managed to slip the loop over the top. Exhausted, he fell back to the ground. And the string snapped. His brother laughing like a madman behind him, Felric learned his first lesson of warfare. Never trust the weapons handed to you by others.
Draw, set, pull, SNAP. Felric looked down at the broken wood in his hands. It seems his work with the bow was over for today. Drawing his dagger, he began to throw it at the trees. One after another, sinking his blade in. Deeper and deeper he went, and the steel flashed at it flew through the sunbeams dancing in the gloom. The forest loomed around him, a presence that felt but did not see. There were no eyes here. There would no help from the old gods. But maybe that could change. Retrieving his dagger, Felric went to the edge of the forest. There was even a weirwood here, placed here for this very purpose it seemed. Pointed red leaves standing out in this early Summer, and the white trunk wide and long. He began his work.
(Felric takes the first steps to Master Archery)
“You’re going to be big brother! So we’re going to give you a big bow to pull” laughed his brother as he threw the wooden stick at him. Fumbling and dropping it in the sand, he grabbed it and stood straight. “How am I supposed to kill anything with this?” Felric asked “I want a sword! Or a lance. I want to be a knight!” His brother just laughed “You show me a knight, I’ll show you a dead man on this island. Aint no man who hunted with a sword. And that’s what we’re preparing you for little stone. Not to fight honorable, with a shiny sword and in crab armor. You’re going to hunt them, and kill them. Like animals. Because that’s what they are. That’s what they have to be. Now string the bow.” It was a struggle at first. It took him hours of work pulling to get the bow to bend. Gasping, straining, he finally managed to slip the loop over the top. Exhausted, he fell back to the ground. And the string snapped. His brother laughing like a madman behind him, Felric learned his first lesson of warfare. Never trust the weapons handed to you by others.
Draw, set, pull, SNAP. Felric looked down at the broken wood in his hands. It seems his work with the bow was over for today. Drawing his dagger, he began to throw it at the trees. One after another, sinking his blade in. Deeper and deeper he went, and the steel flashed at it flew through the sunbeams dancing in the gloom. The forest loomed around him, a presence that felt but did not see. There were no eyes here. There would no help from the old gods. But maybe that could change. Retrieving his dagger, Felric went to the edge of the forest. There was even a weirwood here, placed here for this very purpose it seemed. Pointed red leaves standing out in this early Summer, and the white trunk wide and long. He began his work.
(Felric takes the first steps to Master Archery)