Flashback Yew and Me, Son

[Alexander Hamish Moore]

Spring 13, 501

Bronze Woods

A soft, but stale spring breeze blew through the corridors of the Stormhold castle stirring the air deep in the bowels of the city. The breeze came from the ocean, and it woke Alex. He was excited, and woke even before his father- but only by a few chimes. William Hamish Moore was a hunter, and today he would be taking his son out to start his apprenticeship. They were not a wealthy family, but they made enough that they didn’t go hungry, and today was special. William had bought a fresh loaf of bread, and even bought a little honey for them to celebrate. They split a chunk of dried venison and both drank a little cream. Something Alex wouldn’t drink again for a long time.

William packed light on his hunting trips, he almost never stayed out of the city past dark. Certainly not if he could help it. William loaded his belt and pouches with various scents, and enough food for a meal in the field. Alex was given a knapsack of gear, a small tarp, some rope, and various tools and utensils. A large water skin was lashed to the side of the back. It was almost too heavy for Alex, but he was too excited to even notice. He wanted to prove to his father that this was something he could handle.

Without waking his mother, Alex gave her a kiss on the cheek, the trotted out behind his father. The city was quiet this early, it would be bells before the sun would even start to warm the sky, but the moon was high over the citadel. The father and son walked through the mostly empty streets, passing a couple knight patrols. William stopped for each on, offering the knights a bit of beef, and asking for the latest rumors from the knights out in the woods. Mostly it was just idle gossip, and the knights seemed happy for the food, and brief break from their route. Alex wanted to hurry out of the city, it started to feel like a prison when he was stuck inside the towering walls for too long. But he held his tongue and let his father chat. It took almost a bell for them to get out of the gates, laden with gear. They chatted with the gate guards, the last knights that they would probably run into for the rest of the day. Outside of the city it was dangerous, and the woods were too large for the knights to patrol every inch. And if they did, they hunters would just have to go further out to hunt their game.

When they were safely out of range of anyone, William took out a stave of wood. It was simple, and almost 4 feet long with notched carved on either ends, and a makeshift handle made of deer leather lashed just below the center. A short bow string was lashed tightly to the bottom. Alex fought the excitement of seeing such an elegant and simple weapon. ”This is my weapon of choice. Its made of a single piece of yew.” William handed the bow to his son, ”here, take this. It needs to be strung before it can be shot.”

Alex took the stave, it was lighter than it looked. It felt powerful and deadly, but dormant in his hands. ”Stringing the bow is simple, if you have the muscle for it.” continued his father, whose tone suggested a challenge. ”pretend it is already strung, and step inside the bow.” Alex did as he was told, and carefully held the bow. ”Good, now keep the bow in place by bracing it on your feet, and gently bend the bow back until the string reaches the top notch.”

Alex nodded, and took a deep breath before putting his weight into gently bending the bow back. It was tough, and took most of his stenght and size to even start to bend the yew stave. His father helped him guide the string into the notch. With the bow in his hand, and strung, it seemed to lose a foot of height, but it gained the feel of death. It chilled the young bow to his core, to hold this power. But, he loved it.

[Alexander Hamish Moore]

He looked up at his father, who was beaming with pride. He could tell his son would be following down his path, like all the Moores have, all the way before the Valterian. ”Some hunters use the long bow,” William paused, and thought briefly. ” The longbow certainly has more power than the short bow, but the short bow is light, and much more portable. You can fire it on the move, and it wont snag as much as a long bow would.”

”Alright, Alex, lets begin the hunt.” William looked towards the thick bronze woods, which had turned from an oppressive black washed with the soft light of the moon, to a pale and cold blue light. William stepped into the thicket deftly, like he had a thousand times before. Alex followed closely behind his father, stumbling and forcing his way through the bramble, then it seemed as through he broke through a wall. The thick bramble and undergrowth gave way to much thinner plants, their light and water choked and stolen by the bigger trees.

They walked in silence for a bell, William pausing every now and then to study an over turned leaf, or a pile of scat. He would motion for Alex to join him, ”When looking at tracks, don’t just look at the ground,” William pointed to a young and bent sapling, several of the leaves had been disturbed, and the stems broken. ”look all around, there are signs everywhere.” William pointed out trampled bushes, broken branches, and the prints of a deer in a small puddle of dew water. The duo moved quicker now, the tracks were fresh, and soon the deer would be returning to their dens. The deer would be tired, and full of food. The perfect time to hunt.

They paused at another wall of thick and tangled undergrowth, William pointed out tiny holes in the wall, where deer and other animals had broken through to get to the food in the clearing. William raised a finger to his lips, motioning to keep silent, and they peered through the brush. 6 deer were gathered, quietly eating the clover in the tiny field. His father pointed to the closest one, with the flank exposed as their target.

Alex nodded, and took an arrow from his father. The steel broad head was washed in the orange light of the early morning, the shaft was smooth and straight, and the fletches were perfectly tied. Alex could only guess what kind of bird the feathers were from. He knocked the arrow on the string where his father motioned. The bow string had been reinforced to keep the string from breaking after too much use.

Alex raised the bow slowly, as his father helped him aim. He ran his finger from Alex’s eye, down the shaft of the arrow to the head. Alex started down the arrow, towards the deer. His father pointed to his shoulder, telling Alex where to hit the deer. William nodded, and motioned for Alex to draw the bow back.

Alex took a deep breath, as a chill set on him. He began to pull back the bow, his muscles strained and struggled, but the boughs slowly bent. As he pulled the bow back towards his cheek he felt his muscles scream in protest and pain. They burned, and ached. His father stood behind him and adjust his aim slightly.

Then he released the bow, and his entire life changed course. The bow string hummed, as the time slowed to almost a stop. He saw the arrow moving forward slowly, the smooth and straight wood rubbed against his finger, the back end of the arrow shaft absorbed the energy, and then sprang forward. The feathers slipped effortlessly past his finger, tickling his hand. In that one moment of release, he could feel his muscles sing in relief, and joy. His heart stopped as he watched the slender arrow in flight.

With the loudest sound that Alex had ever heard, the entire world snapped back into motion. The group of deer bolted, while the one who had been hit staggered briefly as it adjusted to having a broken shoulder, and punctured lungs. Then it dashed off, taking the arrow with it. Leaving Alex to come to terms to what he had done.

[Alexander Hamish Moore]

William squeezed his son’s shoulder. He didn’t call out, or cheer him on. His reaction was muted, he could feel his son trying to come understand what he did. It was an odd thing, to willingly injure a creature. “Come on, we need to find it.” he said quietly, taking the bow from his son.

Alex took a deep breath, nothing he had ever done in his life had prepared him for that. The adrenaline that filled his veins as he loosed the arrow. He could remember every detail vividly, brightly. He could see every hair on the deer, the fear and pain in its eyes. He was drained, but it was a catharsis. He had never felt better than in this moment. He followed his father through the underbrush into the clearing. There was a splattering of bubbly dark crimson blood steaming on the ground.

William nodded, and pointed to the thick trail of blood leading to the other side of the clearing. He motioned for Alex to take point. Alex slowly followed the trail of blood, each drop seemed closer and closer together. A deep crimson painted the vibrant spring vegetation. Leaves, and plant stems were all smeared, leading straight to the wounded animal. Nothing it did would shake these pursuers. And each step it took to flee sapped a little more of its strength.

Within a bell, they duo had closed with their prey. The deer collapsed just on the other side of a small draw. It was struggling to continue to flee, but Alex could see that it wouldn’t get up again. Its once bright eyes had faded to a dull black. It tried to draw in breath, but the air wheezed out of the hole in its lung, causing a bit of blood to bubble and ooze out of the wound. William handed his son a knife. “ Finish it. Never let an animal suffer.” William never took his eyes off the dying creature.

Alex nodded, and steeled himself for what deep in his heart he knew was right. The deer kept struggling, using all it had to try and stand. It was terrified, but determined to fight. The young boy carefully approached the deer, trying to stay out of the way of its weakly flailing hooves. “Step over its neck from behind.” called his father, making no more attempts to conceal himself.

Alex stepped over the deer’s neck, as it continued its futile battle with forces beyond its control and understanding. Alex could feel the heat coming from the deer, and the wound steamed slightly in the chill spring morning. The knife caught the rising sun, and shone dully. It was sharp, sharper than anything Alex had seen before. He gently placed the blade on the under side of the neck, and pressed down as he drew the blade back across the neck. He felt the hide, and flesh tear. The labored breathing turned to a struggled wheezing. Warm, red blood dripped down the blade onto the damp ground, soaking into the black earth. “Hold its head back.” called his father softly.

The boy wrap his arm around the chin of the animal. The deer’s eyes searched for something it could understand, a reason for the pain and weakness that was seeping into its body. As the deer bled, alex could feel the life leaving it. Its struggles became less frequent, less powerful, less panicked as it seemed to accept its fate. William placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Its done.”