Flashback {solo}Coming of Age and A Gift From The Heart

[Soren Frostfawn]

30th of Winter, 507 AV

Soren opened his eyes and groaned as he sat up on the hard bunk he slept on. It was a very cold winter morning. It was one of the coldest Soren had ever felt in his relatively short life. The wind howled as if being coerced by some unseen relic of a monster. The snow of course came with it. Soren always had to wake up a little earlier because he was in charge of clearing out a pathway in the snow for his family. He woke up groaning and trying to awaken his still slumbering muscles. He walked outside and slowly carved out a pathway through the snow. The snow on his hands was cold from the shovel handle and the blistering cold outside. The pine trees gave off a delicious scent that some what filled the air. Around Frostfawn hold there were a few copses of trees, not a lot but it could be called a woods. The Avanthalian pine was a beautiful sight around Frostfawn hold. They were huge and hardy trees standing about seventy feet tall and not even three people arm in arm could wrap themselves around the base. It had bark colored like rich mahagony though the pine needles were a pain when they brushed against you sometimes. It was mid morning by the time a path was cleared in the snow. Soren wiped his brow and smiled proud of his work.

Today was Soren's sixteenth birthday. This was also the day that he would experience his coming of age ceremony. He came back into his arvinta, his family welcomed him warmly, his mother and father and grandfather. They were all beeming with pride that Soren would come of age this night. It was an important ceremony for his people. The ceremony was to welcome him into the society of the Frostfawn's hold and Avanthal. It was also to show his people that he was ready to become a productive and worthy member of their society. Soren was excited about that but he was also excited because his father was going to take him to the archery range for the first time and let him practice before his ceremony. he always said, "A man must learn to hunt, and the best hunting is always done with a bow in hand." Soren was excited and freightened at the same time, he didn't want to embarass himself in front of his father but he also needed the practice with a bow. Soren decided to let these feelings wash away as he looked forward to the ranges.

[Soren Frostfawn]

His father was Teran Frostfawn, a rugged behemoth of a person at six feet tall, which was being a giant to the Vantha. He had dark brown hair that reminded Soren of the roots of the Avanthalian pine trees, his eyes were warm and inviting most of the time, and his skin was a light olive tone and his voice was deep and seemed to echo from deep within him. He was always a wise person, hardy and a role model for the young Soren. His father always loved to hunt and he did it often. The bow was a family choice when it came to hunting game. His grandfather had picked up the bow, his father after him, and now Soren. Teran and Soren dressed in layers and headed out the door after bidding farewell to Soren's mother and grandfather.

The two of them arrived at the building where the archery ranges were held. By the time they arrived at the building the snow had died down sufficiently and sunlight poured down upon the building making the snow around it glisten. The building must have stood about forty feet up, and from where he was standing it was two hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, give or take a few feet. They approached the building at the only entrance of the building, a small door that stood behind the shooting lines. The ranges were all that he had imagined. Their were torches situated along the walls around paintings of great archers atop dire polar bear kelvics. It was a magnificent sight to see. They walked down the hallway lined with paintings and entered the main area of the ranges. He noticed the floor was just the earth the building sat upon. It was dry inside of course but he felt the simple surroundings gave the building a sort of character.

His father smiled at Soren and took out a shortbow and a quiver of arrows from the back pack he carried, "This was mine when I was young, I used it when I practiced and it has served me well. Practice with this tonight and when it gets too dark come home and prepare for your ceremony."He smiled and tossled Soren's dark black hair. Soren would practice alone as his father left the ranges. Soren walked toward a strip of wood he was to stand behind. The first target was positioned ten yards ahead of him, his eyes narrowed and focused as he stared at his target. The target was about three feet wide by three feet high. It rested against a wooden frame that kind of looked like a painter's easel. The target was made out of a thin piece of cloth tied tightly around the wood in what appeared to be a perfect circle. It had color to it as well, the bullseye and a ring surrounding it was a bright yellow. Two rings outside that were crimson red. The two rings after that were a deep blue as if painted straight from the waters of an ocean. The two after that were white as snow and the two after that were a standard black. On his target there were marks from the arrows all over the target in the form of little tears and holes. The most little rips were around the white and black circles however. Soren grabbed the bow and shouldered the quiver as he stared down the target psyching himself up for some practice.

[Soren Frostfawn]

He grasped the shortbow in his right hand and grabbed another from his quiver. The bow felt like bone from some animal though he wasn't sure which one, maybe it was a Frostfawn deer. He felt the arrow and ran a finger down the shaft. The shaft was made of some type of wood and felt hard and gnarled to the touch. There was a dull arrowhead at the end of the arrows shaft of a type of silver stone with a black rim on the edge. There were feathers at the end of the arrow, he thought they looked like the gray plummage of a pidgeon. There were lots of bird keepers in Frostfawn hold so he saw birds quite often and he seemed to remember the plummage of the common pidgeon. He rested the arrow in the middle of the bow and drew the bowstring to his anchor point which would be the corner of his mouth on his right side. He stared down the arrows shaft and straight to the bullseye of the target making a narrow tunnel in his vision. His eyes focused and he released the arrow smiling as the arrow sailed through the air...and landed two feet from the target. He grimmaced at his first attempt and felt a sharp pain on his right forearm. He looked down and saw a line of blood trickle down his forearm. He almost started to panic, it must have been a result of the bow string whipping his forearm as he released the arrow. He felt a hand on his shoulder at that moment. It was of a paler skin but still olive in tone. It was his grandfather standing over him and giving a knowing smile.

His father was Adavi Frostfawn. He was seventy-two years of age and a respected elder. Adavi had light olive skin, but that was probably due to his age and lack of melanin stores. He had wise and hardened eyes and a deep voice. He also had many wrinkles each probably had a story. On this day Adavi wore layered leathers and a white hooded cloak as he stood over soren as well as basic white boots and a backpack that looked to contain some items yet it was not filled to the top. Soren never really knew much about his grandfather but he knew he was very knowledgable. Soren at a younger age just didn't desire knowledge so perhaps that is why he never asked of his grandfather his expansive store of knowledge. He grabbed Soren's right forearm with a strength Soren didn't realize his grandfather had. Adavi mumbled to himself as he grabbed some bandages out of the backpack he had set down. He kneeled by Soren and began wrapping his forearm in bandages, "I suppose this means your father has not instructed you on the proper usage of that thing in your hands yet. I guess that's why he sent me over to make sure you were safe. You should wear an archers arm guard next time Soren, it will protect from things like this happening." Adavi chuckled a little as he wrapped Soren's armI can't blame your father though, I did the same thing to him when he was your age. The best way to learn is to do it yourself. And you just learned something, never pull a string without an arm guard if you have one."Soren nodded. He would indeed never forget this lesson. He had no idea that there was protective equipment needed in archery. He was taken aback by this knowledge from his grandfather but decided to not press him on how he knew this, it would have been rude. His grandfather also pulled out a piece of leather. It was about a foot in length and wide enough to wrap around a forearm with small holes on one end of one of the lengthier edges and some strings made of leather on the other end hanging about an inch down. He also got out a small glove with three pouches it was also made of leather and was a few centimeters in diameter. It looked like it would go around his three middle finger and there was a piece of leather that went along the back side of his hand and strings that would tie it to his hand. He told Soren these were the tools of the archer, an archer's arm guard and glove."Now, let's begin a basic lesson in archery."Soren smiled and held these gems in his hands. He was ready to learn from his grandfather.

[Soren Frostfawn]

He strapped the arm guard to his left forearm, tieing the leather strings through the holes. Soren then placed his right hand through the finger pockets of the archer's glove, his middle three fingers only going through the pockets. His grandfather watched as Soren equipped himself as he had done and Soren's father had done. Soren grasped the bow and rested another arrow against the middle of the bow, he pulled back the bowstring, this time the bow string didn't cut into his fingertips, he stared down the shaft of the arrow, his forearms and biceps muscles flexed and strained as he held the bowstring to his anchor point, his right side corner of his mouth. He breathed through his nose and out his mouth to calm himself and focused on the target taking care to aim it. he released the bowstring and the arrow flew. This time it grazed the target on its left side and broke in half and fell a few feet behind the target, the two pieces lying there. His grandfather patted Soren's shoulder, "You need to concentrate, imagine the arrow hitting the target, you should focus on a specific point of the target not just a broad area. Try again"Soren breathed out and took another arrow. He held it to the middle of the bow and drew the bowstring back, flexing his forearm and biceps again straining his muscles of both arms. This time he focused dead center, a very small target ten yards away. He released the arrow and...it hit. The very tip of the target. It was a start and the arrow stood there proudly just before the last black line of the target. His grandfather gave a hearty laugh and patted Soren's shoulder.

The song and dance of archery continued for a few more hours, his grandfather giving him tips and Soren pulling the bowstring back until he reached exhaustion. His best shot was just below the last black ring. A whole to centimeters from his first shot into the target. They head out of the range, Soren dripping in sweat and heat after a day of hard archery training. His grandfather and himself left out of the small doorway and his grandfather suddenly stopped him. He pulled out a small silver ring with a small opal centered and embedded into it. His grandfather gave him no explanation as he placed it in Soren's hand. It was engraved with silver oak leaves and stars. He didn't know what it meant but accepted it none the less. "Thank you grand father but what is it for?" His grandfather replied"For a job well done today I am proud of you Soren"Soren nodded and slipped it on his left ring finger and walked home proudly with his grandfather back to the Frostfawn hold glad that he had spent a day with someone so knowledgable about archery. maybe his grandfather read a book about archery once. Soren shurgged he didn't know but he was glad his grandfather was there

[Soren Frostfawn]

His grandfather moved slowly away from the archery ranges and headed away from Frostfawn hold. He looked at his grandfather and gave him a quizzical look. "Do not worry Soren, we are heading to Morwen's palace"Soren's eyes lit up when he heard this. He always thought the ceremony took place at his hold, like a birthday party or something. he was going to meet Morwen, the Goddess of Winter. He had always loved snow and winter and he had loved the cold though he couldn't stay in it for long because his skin would soon freeze and he would have to seek shelter. He heard of Morwen's exceptional beauty, he had also heard she had skin and hair the color of fresh snow. Morwen had always protected the Vantha, he also heard that Morwen was the reason they all could live in a place of ice and snow that was of freezing temperatures. Avanthal.