Death from Afar (Solo/Flashback)

[Leiwinn]

Death from Afar Timestamp: Fall 25, 507 AV "Often our duty requires us to be close, to take life with our own hands. But sometimes death must come from afar." The Father led Leiwinn down a deserted alleyway. Trash littered the ground and it smelled of dead things, but this was nothing unusual. Rarely did her training take her to beautiful places, and Leiwinn was not in the least surprised by where they were. She was led to a small building, but the Father did not take her inside. Instead he ran at the wall, leaping at the last moment and grabbing onto the edge of the roof. The Father easily pulled himself up and onto the roof of the building, leaving Leiwinn down below. She knew she wasn't nearly as skilled a climber as her master, but she could improvise. There was a crate next to the wall which Leiwinn stepped on to give herself a boost. She jumped and grabbed for the ledge, barely catching hold. After a moment of dangling she scrambled to climb up and onto the roof. Once she had joined the Father she stood and dusted herself off, then looked about. The Father had set up an archery range of sorts, using crates and sacks of flower for targets. He was holding a shortbow which he handed to Leiwinn. "The shortbow. It doesn't have the range of a longbow, but it is more portable. First, you need to string it. Not a difficult task, but we start with the basics." After she was handed the string Leiwinn examined the bow. Each end had a little notch to loop the strong over. Leiwinn also noted that the string wasn't quite long enough to fit the now perfectly, she would have to bend it. Her first attempt at stringing the weapon resulted in failure. It was springier than she thought and popped back the moment she loosened her grip and tried to loop the string over the end. Her second attempt was better, but failed nonetheless. On her third try she hooked the loop onto the bottom first the put that end of the now on the ground, then used her leg to brace the weapon as she bent it over and looped the string over the other end. Success! The bow sprung back, pulling the string taut, and Leiwinn looked up to the Father for further direction.

[Leiwinn]

"Good, remember how you did that and continue to practice. You will want to become quick at it. Speed is essential. Now, take this arrow and try to hit one of the targets." Leiwinn took the arrow the Father handed to her and looked across the roof toward the targets. She had never used a bow before, but as with all her training the Father liked to see her raw potential before beginning. Leiwinn plucked the bowstring, listening to it's twang. She pulled it back, feeling it's weight. It was different than any weapon sue had trained with before. It required both hands, for one, and was meant for long range strikes rather than killing someone up close. She would not see her targets eyes as the life left them, or hear their dying breath. The Father told her she should not desire such things, but Leiwinn could not deny that there was a certain pleasure that came with taking a life. Each time she had done it had been traumatic in one way or another, but it was also exhilarating. And beautiful. Leiwinn pushed the end of the arrow against the string, trying to figure out the best way to grip it. In the end she held it with her thumb and index finger. Leiwinn lifted the bow and pointed it at the nearest target. As she pulled back she felt it becoming harder and harder to hold on. Going slow would not do. She wouldn't be able to keep hold of the arrow. Leiwinn pulled back fast and hard. The arrow slipped from her fingers and the string snapped forward, but the arrow fell to the ground in front of her. Leiwinn was surprised. She had expected to miss, but to do so poorly? It was embarrassing, and the Father merely sighed.

[Leiwinn]

"Your first mistake was arrow placement. The arrow must be level, and in the center of the now. You do not grip the arrow itself, but instead pull back the string and support the arrow between your fingers. Take it slow, aim, breath, and stand up straight." Leiwinn did as the Father instructed and knocked the arrow again. She held the bow up in front of her to see better, taking far to long to make sure it was perfectly level. But she was in training, and it was better to take the time to be perfect so that when she actually had to use the skill in real practice, she would be faster. Leiwinn breathed in slowly through her nose, exhaled slowly through her mouth. She placed her index and middle fingers on the string, above and below the arrow so that it rested securely between them. Leiwinn took another breath, pulling back on the string as she exhaled. It was hard to keep the bow steady, and she had only pulled it back half way. Leiwinn aimed down the shaft of the arrow at the same sack of flower. Her arm was shaking and she tried her hardest to keep steady, but it was difficult. She imagine the sack of flower to be a man, a target, and pictured the arrow flying into his heart. She could see the blood staining his shirt, and watched him fall to his knees, his eyes searching for the one who took the life from them before finally he slumped and was no more. Leiwinn released the arrow and it flew right over the sack and clattered against the side of a building across the alley. She had missed again, though this time her failure was no where near as pathetic. At least the arrow had gone somewhere.

[Leiwinn]

"Much better," the Father commented after watching Leiwinn shoot. "The reason you missed it because you were unsteady. That will go away with practice. But your other mistake was the force behind your shot. You need to pull the string all the way back to your ear, hold it, and then aim. A half pulled string will end up having only half the power, and the arrow won't fly as straight. Practice pulling the string without the arrow for now." Leiwinn nodded and pulled on the string. It hurt her fingers to do so, and she still was unable to hold it steady, bit she had to try. Leiwinn pulled it back, all the way to her ear then took a deep breath. She held it, counting to five before slowly relaxing and loosening up on the string. Her fingers hurt but she pulled back again, steadying her shaking arms with long deep breaths. Again she counted to five before relaxing. Leiwinn repeated this process several tines. She could feel her arm growing tired but she knew the father would push her beyond exhaustion before they ceased training for the day. "Good, now pull it faster, but hold and release the same." On her next round Leiwinn pulled back the strong fast, holding it at her ear. "Straighten your back, push your chest forward, and always breath." Leiwinn did as she was told and suddenly found it was easier to hold the bow when she was in proper form. But after a few more rounds her back grew sore as well. Many chimes later the Father finally stopped her and handed her an arrow. "Now, hit the target."

[Leiwinn]

Leiwinn took the arrow and stared at it for a moment. Again she imagined herself shooting a man in the heart. His blood stained his shirt and spread out into a pool around him when he hit the ground. He never saw her coming, he never heard the arrow that took his life except for the sound of it piercing his flesh. Leiwinn raised her eyes to the sack of flower that was her man, and slowly she slipped the string into the groove at the end of the arrow. The string made a sort of clicking sound as she nocked the arrow, signaling that it was ready to be pulled. Leiwinn lifted the bow and pointed it at the sack. Her arms were tense but relaxed as she began to breath. Leiwinn pulled back. She was tired, but she was determined. The string was tight and vibrated slightly, tingling on the tips of Leiwinn's fingers as it waited to be released. One, she counted as she breathed in. Two, three, she continued to breath. Four... "Five." Leiwinn released the string and the arrow flew forward. She watched it fly, cutting through the air in a perfect line. The thud as it sunk into the flour was one of the most satisfying things she had ever heard. When the cloud of white powder settled she was able to see that she had struck the sack dead center, struck the imaginary man right in the heart. Leiwinn lowered her arm and turned to the Father. Though he didn't say it, she could see he was pleased by looking at his eyes. She was learning to read him through his eyes, for his face was always a mask. He did not praise Leiwinn, nor did she expect it. He only had one thing to say. "Again." ~End

[Archelon]

Thread Award “Hey this is great! You’re getting the hang of it. Just Don’t shoot me and we can practice together!” And the Results!!!!: Leiwin : SkillName 1-5 How/why Weapon:Shortbow: 5 It’s pretty much all you did You showed brief details but basic parts of a proper shot. Good work for leiwinn’s first try : ) Observation 1 I couldn’t find bodybuilding here, but observation is definitely a skill to improve for archery – looking upon a target and judging your surroundings is a necessity Climbing 1 Getting up to the roof Lores: Archery Lore: Shooting in a side stance(Basic) Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? : When aiming with a bow, when you ‘aim down the shaft’ you’re not looking at the shaft itself, but rather use the point of the arrow to judge where the arrow will fly. Just being a bow will cause the arrow to shift a little, try to start learning a few more stances as you continue and get her observing things like wind direction, etc I couldn't find bodybuilding perse- BUT- there are bodybuilding exercises for archery that you might want to look into for later threads Normally with weights. As is- A solid start in a flashback I must say ^-^.