Completed [Antinous Training Grounds] The Ways of the Archer

[Cromley Stronghammer]

7th of Fall, 513 AV Cromley woke up the morning of the 7th like it was any other day. He got up went about his morning routine of checking his armor and getting breakfast with some of his fellow squires. He then goes back to his dorm and dons his armor for a full day of training. As he walks to the training grounds Cromley sees his good friend Ellen on the training grounds practicing with her crossbow. She must be trying to get some last minute training in before her patrol tonight. Cromley decides he best do the same in order to keep up with her so hopefully they become knights around the same time. I don't know what i would do if we weren't both knights. We have been together for so long that it's hard to imagine not both being knights. Cromley then walks over to the selection of weapons and picks out a shortbow and some arrows. Even though he has some experience they still feel a bit clumsy in his hands, much more so than his trusty mace. He then walks over and claims a target at the archery range and notches an arrow. As he lets the arrow fly he notices the string catches on his finger as he releases and the arrow becomes skewed in it's course, hitting one of the outer rings of the target. As soon as the arrow hits he hears the familiar yet powerful voice of Weaponmaster Lucius yelling "That's not nearly good enough Cromley! IF that had been battle you could have hit an ally as easily as you missed your target." "Yes Ser!" Cromley replied. "I will work twice as hard Ser!" Cromley then notched a second arrow and carefully drew it towards his cheek. Very careful to release his fingers from the arrow in one swift motion, he lets the arrow fly and it impacts the target not far from the bullseye. He hears the Weaponmaster in speaking in his mind Better Cromley, but still not good enough. You must keep working. He then notches a third arrow and it begins to feel like an extension of himself. As he puts all his focus into shooting straight he looses the arrow and miraculously it hits the bullseye square in the center. Cromley does his best to contain his elation on his countenance although he does allow himself to show a small smile as he glances over at Ellen to see how she was doing.

[Cromley Stronghammer]

Although despite his achievement of landing the miraculous bullseye Cromley's next few shots are less than remarkable. His first lands not far from the bullseye on an outer ring. His second and third shots land on the outermost rings of the target. Why can't I get it right again. At this rate Ellen is going to beat me. Cromley then drew back the bow from a fourth shot. Suddenly he remembers the feeling he had earlier and when he released the arrow it was so smooth that Cromley even surprised himself. As the arrow flew he saw it hit the bullseye again and he heard a single person applauding behind him. Cromley did not know immediately who it was but after a moment of thinking he remembered the man as a fellow squire. This squire was one of the few that he knew of that wanted to be an archer, so naturally he spends many hours on the archery range. "You're getting better, Cromley. Still not a natural by any means but better. Here let me show you a few things," said the squire. He then took his own bow and began showing Cromley the ins and outs of the shortbow. Amazed by his knowledge of his craft Cromley determined This man really is a specialist. I should probably listen to every word he has to say. After watching the man explain his craft for several minutes, Cromley reached for an arrow and took a practice shot. The weapon felt a bit more natural for him to draw now that he had corrected his stance a bit. It actually felt lighter and like he could hit more consistently. Sure enough the shot flew true and buried itself in one of the inner rings of the target. That felt easy. The bow felt like it was so much easier to draw and I got an incredible amount of power as well. As Cromley reached for one of his two remaining arrows in his quiver the squire said "That was very good Cromley now let's see if you can do it again though. If you can land an arrow within the two inner rings for me twice more hopefully this knowledge will stick in your mind." Cromley plucked the first arrow readied it at on his bow. It still did not feel quite natural but at least it felt like the arrow was steady. As he let it fly he had a moment of dread in his heart. I think I felt the string catch on my finger. Surely it is not going to hit. To Cromley's relief it does hit it's mark but barely inside the target area that the squire had specified. The second shot was a bit better however he once again felt it catch on his finger and it once again whizzed and barely hit the outermost ring of the target area.

[Cromley Stronghammer]

Cromley felt quite enlightened by what his fellow squire had to teach him. Surprisingly Cromley was beginning to feel a bit more comfortable about fighting with a bow. Still definitely not his weapon of choice but a suitable option if needed. Cromley noticed that the young squire who was teaching him was still lingering around a bit. Because of this Cromley notched another arrow and prepared to demonstrate what he had learned once more. The arrow still felt strange in his hand, as if it is much lighter than it should be, probably because Cromley had been practicing with his mace quite a bit lately so he was used to the weight of a much heavier weapon. Still Cromley notched the arrow and pulled it back, remembering everything the archer squire had told him. He let the arrow fly and watched as it landed in the target a few inches from the bullseye. Cromley had to once again struggle to contain his elation. For once he felt he could actually be good at something besides melee combat. The fellow squire was watching intently however, as soon as Cromley released the shot he began walking up to him again to explain something. "Your stance is still a bit off Cromley. While you are drawing the bow correctly you are not standing correctly and therefore are going to be less accurate and stable." Cromley suddenly became rather frustrated with himself. Here he was feeling good about something and then this squire had to come over and correct him. Granted he was grateful somebody has taken notice of him and offered to help, but it was still frustrating being told that you still need work. "Very well," Cromley replied. "Do show me the correct way to stand then." The squire then took his own bow and stood at the mark, drawing his bow to fire. He released his arrow with such a smooth motion that it looked effortless and it was equally as impressive to Cromley on landing. The arrow landed just outside the bullseye, not far from Cromley's arrow however the man looked like he commanded the bow completely. Almost as if he took next to no recoil from the shot at all.

[Cromley Stronghammer]

Cromley was amazed by the ease of the squire taking the shot. It was as if he knew exactly how the bow would react, how strong the shot was, and where the arrow would land all at once. He wanted to know more. "Impressive. Now can you show me how to do that?" "Of course I can Cromley, it is not hard to stand correctly," said the squire. He had Cromley walk up to the mark they were shooting from and had him position to fire a shot. However as soon as Cromley had drawn the bow the squire was looking him over and telling him how to position his feet. "No a little wider Cromley. Now bend your knees a bit. Much better." The squire was nitpicking every little thing about Cromley's stance which frustrated Cromley to no end. "Can I take the shot now?" said Cromley with a little frustration in his voice. "Soon my friend. Every little bit counts when firing a bow. One little thing can be the difference between landing a killing blow or just an injury, and naturally every shot counts in battle." "Very well. How much more do I have to go through though? My shoulder is getting tired from standing here." After a few more ticks of nitpicking at his foot positioning and shoulder height the squire said. "Alright now you are ready. Just remember to let the arrow fly in once smooth motion." Cromley was overcome with a feeling of relief when he heard this. As he released the arrow however he lost concentration because of it and felt the string catch on his finger again. The arrow flew, and while it was not as much of an embarrassment as when Lucius had seen him barely hit the edge of the target he was still a bit embarrassed by his break in concentration and the arrow hit the innermost part of the outermost ring. "Blast this weapon. So many things to remember."

[Cromley Stronghammer]

"It is alright Cromley. Although that shot would have most likely gotten you killed, it is all a learning experience," said the squire in an attempt to comfort Cromley. "That is exactly why I am upset. The last thing I want is to get my friends killed. I must get better." "A very good attitude to have as a fellow squire. Now go gather your arrows and let us try again." As Cromley walked over to the target he glanced over at Ellen who was walking up to her target. While he could not see exactly how well she was doing he assumed that he must be doing better than he was, after all she usually seemed to Cromley to have more patience for this kind of thing. When he arrived back at the mark he found Weaponmaster Lucius standing there as well. "Our friend here has informed me that he has been instructing you in the ways of the bow. Now show me what you have learned," ordered the weaponmaster. "Yes Ser Lucius!" responded Cromley as he took his position. As Cromley notched an arrow he took what he had learned and attempted to apply it to the current situation. He positioned his feet in the best way that the squire had demonstrated to him and raised the bow. While he was still getting used to the draw weight of the bow it was beginning to feel a bit more natural to him. He drew the arrow back, trying to the best of his efforts to keep his shoulder aligned properly, till it felt it was relatively stable. He then fixed his eyes on the bullseye and released the arrow, almost trying to reach out with his mind and guide the arrow towards to the intended point. Yet he did this to no avail. The arrow, while it did fly fairly straight, landed on the innermost ring outside the bullseye. At least it was much closer than last time the Weaponmaster came around. Hopefully he'll approve of that. "Much, much better Squire Cromley. You still have much to learn but quite an improvement from earlier," said the Weaponmaster in a stern yet approving tone. "Thank you Ser Lucius! I will train much harder to master my weapon!" responded Cromley barely able to contain his relief that Lucius did not scold him. "It has been a pleasure working with you, Cromley. However I must take my leave as my patrol shift starts soon. Good luck with your training" the squire said reaching to take Cromley's hand. Cromley returned in kind with a handshake of gratitude and bid the squire farewell. My shoulder is killing me now. Perhaps this is a day for me with the bow. Time to go do something less physical for a while. As Cromley walked up to the target to claim his arrow and return his equipment he began reflecting on the day's lesson. Perhaps there is much more I can learn about firing a bow. I certainly feel like I learned much today though.

[Radiant]

Cromley :

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+2 XP
Weapon: Shortbow	+3 XP

Lores

Lore Earned

Shortbow: Proper Stances

Shortbow: Notching, Aiming, And Shooting

Loots

Notes :

Good thread, Crom.

Just a note though, since he's still a novice, you should downplay his accuracy. Him hitting the target most of the time, even though it's not a bullseye, is the mark of a Competent. Please keep this in mind in your future threads.

I'd like to see him fulfilling all of the knightly skill requirements and become a Knight! Go for it!

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.