Solo Target Practice

[Lian Windrunner]

Timestamp: 67th Day of Spring, 514 AV Lian soared through the glowing strands of the Web the same way a bird soars through the sky. A soft harmony of sounds sweeter than any music he knew filled the air. It told him that all was right with this section of the Web. There were no harsh dissonances warning of weaknesses in the Web, or jarring sounds betraying the presence of damaged areas. The scents that surrounded him were both familiar, and welcoming. They reminded him of happier times when he was still a child, and Lukar and Lily were alive. Lian felt a deep sense of peace and contentment. When he was in the Web, he felt safe in a way that he never felt anywhere else. It went far beyond knowing that he wasn't in danger of being attacked, or eaten. It went beyond the feeling of safety that came from being in Endrykas rather than out in the Sea of Grass. Physical safety didn't even come close to explaining the feeling of safety that he experienced now. This was the sensation that he was loved, and nurtured, and cared for. As long as he was in the Web, he was physically, mentally, and emotionally safe. Words couldn't even begin to describe what he felt. The closest he could come to describing it was the complete and utter trust and confidance that a very young child has in their parents. The unshakable belief that as long as they are near, everything is right with the world...and if it isn't, they will fix it so that it is. There was also a deep feeling of connection. Of belonging. While in the Web, Lian belonged to something far greater than himself. Anything was possible. It was an incredibly heady feeling. One that had likely lured more than one Webber into staying within the Web long enough to be lost forever. Recognizing the danger signs, Lian took one last look around before allowing his mind to fall back into his own body. I can see why so many Webbers are lost to the Web when they get too strong. Even I often wish I could stay longer than it is wise. For someone who is much stronger than I am, the feelings of peace and safety could easily be too powerful to resist. he thought ruefully. Even now, Lian was tempted to go back into the Web to explore for just a little longer. But it was time to rejoin the physical world once more, so he resisted the urge. Instead, he stretched himself, paying careful attention to muscles that had fallen asleep while he'd been exploring the Web. Both of his feet had fallen asleep, and the fierce tingling sensation he felt now was an unpleasant reminder of why he should have stretched before he entered the Web. When he finished stretching, Lian ate a good sized hunk of bread, and several handfuls of berries to replenish the energy he had used up while in the Web. As he ate, Lian watched his captive. She was rather pretty, though her attractiveness, or lack there of held little value to Lian. He would do his duty to his people and sire children on her regardless of what she looked like. Though he did have to admit, if only to himself that having sex with a pretty girl was far easier than it would be with one that was less attractive. Physical attraction might not be as much of a benefit if feelings were involved. Love, desire, passion, or even friendship. But there was none on Lian's part. All he felt was a sense of duty to his people. His people needed children, and so he would provide them. So far, there were no signs that the girl was pregnant. Lian couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for his efforts to succeed. How would he know for certain if he had? Were there other signs he should be looking for other than the obvious? Lian didn't think he could trust the girl to tell him when she was pregnant, so he needed another way to find out. Was there a chance he could convince the healers to tell him if she went to them for something like that? Lian wasn't sure, and there wasn't anything he could do about it either way, so he decided to stop worrying about it.

[Lian Windrunner]

Once he was done eating, Lian gathered his bow, quiver, and some arrows. He paused when he saw his archers' target, but he decided against bringing that along as well. Since he was going to the Hunter's Allegiance to practice this time, he was pretty sure they would have targets he could use. When Lian walked out of his tent, a group of men were talking near by. Each man had a weapon with him. Bows were the most common, but Lian also saw the occasional hunting knife holstered in a sheath strapped to a belt or a leg. Lian recognized a few of the men vaguely. He had seen them before around the city, and knew them to be hunters, but had never met them before personally. Judging by the weapons all of the men were carrying, Lian guessed that the ones he hadn't seen before were hunters as well. That, or they were members of the Watch. Lian gave the group plenty of space as he walked past them. But he still overheard what the men were talking about since none of them were making any effort to speak quietly, or conceal what they were saying. Apparently, one of the captive women had disappeared with a Nakivak from Riverfall. Lian didn't know what a Nakivak was, or how one of the captives had managed to escape and make it all the way to Riverfall in order to steal it. But as Lian continued to listen, he learned that a Nakivak must be a person since "they" were suspected to be hiding out somewhere in Riverfall somewhere. That still told him very little about the situation. Lian's first thought was to offer his services to help find the captive woman, and the Nakivak. As a Webber, he was able to find lost people, so he felt that he could be of some help to the searchers. But after closer thought, he changed his mind. Yes, he was able to find people lost out in the Sea of Grass. But Riverfall wasn't in the Sea of Grass, and as such, wasn't part of the Web. Lian didn't think that he would be much use searching for someone hiding out in a city he had never been to, and had no knowledge of...from a distance. There was another factor to consider as well. Lian had never met either the captive, or the Nakivak. He didn't know what their "presences" felt like, so he didn't know what to look for. Searching for complete strangers was possible, but it was difficult at best. Doing so over such a distance when the city wasn't even part of the Web...would be like searching for a single blade of grass in the Sea of Grass. One particular blade of grass at that. Searching for outsiders wouldn't work, either. The Nakivak was an outsider...hiding in a sea of outsiders. No, Lian's skills definitely weren't up to the huge task of finding the missing people. Having decided that he wouldn't be able to help, Lian continued on his way. The weather was beautiful. It was pleasantly warm with a nice cool breeze to keep things from getting too hot. The breeze brought with it the sweet smell of flowers growing out in the Sea of Grass. The sun was bright, and the sky was a brilliant shade of blue. Because of this, Lian walked slowly, savoring the day as he made his way to the Emerald Clan's section of the city. Once there, he made his way slowly to the Hunter's Allegiance.

[Lian Windrunner]

The large pavilion brought back a lot of memories for Lian. How many times had he met here growing up before going out on a hunting trip with his family? He had always been a reluctant participant at best, but he had gone all the same. And he had learned. It was on one of those trips that Lian had first thought he might be able to use Webbing to help him hunt. That, in turn, made the hunting lessons more bearable for him. He had also met one of his friends on one of those trips. People were spread out all through the open areas surrounding the pavilion. Some were practicing with bows of varying types. Others were sparring with knives, or even swords. Still others, presumably noivces, were practicing with wooden practice weapons. As Lian walked around, he tried to observe the archers in the hopes of picking up a few tips that might improve his stance, or his aim. He also looked for an open area where he could practice. Finally, he found one. A small empty area where a number of targets were set up. The targets were placed at varying distances to allow for varying difficulties in taking the shot. They were also different sizes. No one was using the set of targets, so Lian made his way over to them. Once there, he set his gear on the ground to sort it out. His quiver held nine arrows at the moment. This he carefully strapped onto his back, making sure to pull the strap tight enough that it wouldn't move, and fall off as he moved. If it did, the movement would startle him, distracting him when he needed to focus on his shot. Worse, if it slipped onto his arm at the wrong moment, it could spoil his shot completely. Lian wanted to practice in conditions as close to what he'd find out in the Sea of Grass, and that meant wearing his quiver while he practiced. Setting it on the ground might leave him with one less thing to think about, but if he did so while hunting, he could lose it and the precious arrows it held. That, or taking the time to grab it as he rushed off after wounded prey might well cause him to lose said prey. Lian brought more arrows than he thought he'd really need. These were tied into a bundle, and held together with a bit of wire. Were he practicing out in the Sea of Grass, Lian would only use as many arrows as he absolutely needed. When he finished firing them, he would immediately go and retrieve them. Anything else was too much of a risk. There was no telling when he'd have to vacate the area in a hurry to avoid being discovered by a dangerous predator. Being able to use the Web to monitor the area and ensure he wouldn't be ambushed gave him a margin of safety that others did not have. But that margin would be negated if he didn't move quickly enough when danger approached. Stopping to collect arrows he'd used while practicing would negate any advantage using the Web brought him since it would allow the predator enough time to reach him. At the same time...Lian valued his arrows greatly. He wasn't especially skilled at making them, and he didn't get that many useable arrows when he used the supplies in his fletcher's kit to replenish arrows lost or damaged beyond repair. And while he did have some money, using it to buy arrows when he could simply make them instead wasn't something he liked the thought of. So he hoarded his arrows carefully, and didn't take careless risks with them. But this was a different situation. It was highly unlikely that a predator would enter the city proper at all. Skirting the edges, and trying to get at the bisen, or attacking horses was one thing. That was to be expected. But penetrating this deep into the city was another. It was even more unlikely that should one try, it would evade death at the hands of the Watch long enough to reach the Hunter's Allegiance. So Lian was able to indulge in the luxury of using more arrows before he had to go collect them. This, in turn, gave him more practice time, and less time gathering spent arrows. The bundle of arrows was carefully placed out of the way. Lian would be able to get to them easily when he wanted them, but there would be no risk of him tripping over them as he practiced, or something equally humiliating. With that out of the way, Lian picked up his short bow. Then he twanged the string several times, testing it to see how tight it was. After a few moments, though, he shrugged, and gave up. The bow string didn't seem to be too loose. Nor did it appear to be too tight. At least, it didn't seem likely to snap if he put an arrow to it. So he did just that. He gripped his bow in his left hand, and pointed it at the ground while he used his right hand to place the shaft of his arrow on the arrow rest. His movements were slow as he focused intently on what he was doing. But the bow did not feel awkward in his hand. Not impossibly so, at least. Nor did he fumble with the arrow, and drop it as he had so many times as a child. When he was ready, Lian attached the back of the arrow to the bow string, fitting the string carefully into the notch at the end of the arrow. Once he had done this, he relaxed, and put the arrow back into his quiver. Lian looked around to see if anyone was watching him. Much to his relief, the others were far too intent on their own training to take any notice of what he was doing. So Lian pulled an arrow out of his quiver, and repeated the process once more. Then he did it again. And again. And again. Repeating the movements over and over was about as basic as it could get. But Lian wanted to get it down perfectly. He wanted the bow and arrow to feel perfectly natural in his hands. For a hunter, such things should be as natural as breathing...and Lian wanted that for himself. As he practiced, Lian began to notice a difference. He began to feel more comfortable with what he was doing. While the bow and arrow did not feel perfectly natural in his hands, they did feel more natural than they had before he started. After a while, the repeated movements became more natural to him. They required less thought on his part as his body began to take over. Muscle memory began to form. Still Lian continued to practice, repeating the same movements over and over again. Time ceased to have any meaning as he focused on what he was doing. His movements started to gain speed as he practiced. If I keep this up long enough, I may eventually catch up to where I should have been when I was seven. Lian thought ruefully as he continued to practice. Lian's eyes widened in surprise. He was starting to be able to think about other things rather than focus completely on what his hands were doing him. That both surprised him, and gave him a feeling of satisfaction. Lian was painfully aware that a child could do what he was doing better than he could. And a young child at that. He had simply never paid as much attention to his lessons as he should have if they didn't revolve around Webbing. And he was paying for it now. He was an adult, trying to make a living as a hunter...with the skills of a shaky, uncertain child. Well...maybe he was slightly better off than that. He knew what he was supposed to do...he just had to focus on each step to the exclusion of all else, or risk making stupid mistakes. That was no way to hunt. He was making progress though. Slowly, but surely. If he continued to practice, he would continue to improve. And one day, he would make up for not paying attention when he should have as a child, and reach the level of skill he felt he should have now.

[Lian Windrunner]

Once he felt he'd made some more progress in what he was doing, Lian decided it was time to move on to the next step. He carefully gripped his bow in his left hand, and pointed it at the ground while he used his right hand to place the shaft of his arrow on the arrow rest. Then he attached the back of the arrow to the bow string, fitting the string carefully into the notch at the end of the arrow. This time, he took it a step further. Using three fingers to hold the arrow steady, Lian raised the bow so that it was pointing at the closest target. After adding this step, he relaxed, and lowered his bow. Lian practiced the movements once more, this time adding the new step. With grim determination, he repeated the movements over and over again until they felt more natural. This allowed him to stop focusing so much on each step. That in turn made it possible for him to pick up some speed. The signs of improvement gave him more confidence in what he was doing, as well as a sense of accomplishment. And that growing confidence helped him to improve even more as he felt less self conscious, and more able to focus on his practice. Time ceased to have any meaning as Lian lost himself in the repetitive movements. When he felt he had practiced drawing and aiming his bow long enough, he moved on to the next step. Lian gripped his bow and pointed it at the ground while he positioned his arrow. Then he brought it up slowly, focusing on his target. He stared at the closest of the targets, trying to judge the distance carefully. When he was ready, Lian pulled back on the bow string slowly, until his right hand was by his ear. Finally, he released, letting the arrow fly. The arrow sailed over the target, missing it completely. Scowling in frustration, Lian tried again. This time, it flew off too far to the right, still missing the target. Lian glared at the target as he tried to study the distance once more. Then he tried again. His aim was a bit better this time. The arrow hit the target, but it was a glancing blow. It bounced off of the rim, and went flying. Lian allowed his frustration and impatience to get the better of him. The next six shots were taken in rapid succession. Not one arrow even came close to the target. The closest had planted itself in the ground squarely in front of the target, but several feet short of its mark. Rather than go collect the arrows he had used, Lian refilled his quiver from spare arrows out of the bundle he'd brought with him. Nine more shots...and nine more misses. Truly angry now, Lian stalked over towards the target to collect his arrows. As he gathered them up. he took several deep breaths, and forced himself to calm down. By the time he was ready to begin again, he felt better. Less angry and frustrated, and more focused. Lian took his time with each shot, spending several minutes each time judging his aim. He still missed most of his shots, but he did see a little success. Three of the next eighteen shots hit the target, though none struck the center. And four more hit close to the target, or struck the rim before bouncing off. Once again, Lian went to collect his arrows. He continued practicing with the closest target until his accuracy began to improve. When he was able to hit the target at least seven times out of every eighteen tries, he decided it was time to move on to one of the more distant targets. Lian didn't care that none of his shots were completely true. He could work on hitting the center of the targets once his accuracy had improved to a point where he could hit targets at a variety of ranges with a decent level of consistency.

[Lian Windrunner]

He had been practicing with some of the more distant targets for a while when he decided it was time for a water break. Lian slung his bow across his back, and walked over to his gear so he could take a long drink from his waterskin. "You seem to be doing better now. Your practicing is paying off." Lian started at the unexpected voice, and looked up to see who had spoken. The man was slightly taller than he was, and had scraggly medium brown hair that fell to his shoulders. His bright blue eyes seemed to sparkle in amusement, and he had laugh lines around the corners of his mouth. "Were you watching me?" Lian wasn't sure how he felt to have an audience. It was nice to have outside confirmation that he had made some progress, but it was still embarassing to have someone see just how bad he was. "A bit. You were practicing when I passed by earlier to get some practice of my own in. I don't think you noticed me, though. You seemed very intent on what you were doing." Lian nodded. He hadn't noticed the other man. He just hoped that he hadn't seen him lose his temper, and give in to frustration and impatience the way he had earlier. "Would you be interested in a practice partner?" "What do you mean?" "I have some clay targets. I could toss them into the air and let you try to shoot them down. It would give you some practice with moving targets. And if you get good enough at it, it will make bringing down birds a lot easier. In return, you can toss the targets for me for a while, okay?" Lian didn't even need to think about the offer. He grinned, and nodded. "Sounds good. Thanks." "No problem." the other man replied with a grin of his own. The man tossed the first target high up into the air without warning. Shooting targets out of the sky took a whole other skill set, and one Lian hadn't even begun to develop yet. Lian scrambled to ready his bow, and take aim, but he wasn't nearly fast enough. The clay target hit the ground with a loud thunk before Lian had even managed to fit his arrow to the string. The man laughed, And Lian him scowled at him in frustration. "Don't worry. No one can hit the target the first time they try. Well, very few people can, anyway." "Did you?" Lian demanded. "Me? No, it took me a good three months before I hit a flying target for the first time. And it was well over a year before I started hitting them more often than I missed them. It takes longer than that when you start using smaller targets to get used to hitting something the size of the birds you're likely to find out in the Sea of Grass." Lian nodded. He didn't like the idea, but it really was different than trying to shoot a target on the ground. It was even harder than it was to hit a moving target, like a deer. "Are you ready to try again?" "Yes." The man tossed target after target into the air, but the result was the same. Lian was simply unable to ready his arrow before the target fell. Never mind taking aim, or actually releasing the arrow. When the light began to fail, Lian knew it was time to call it quits for the day. He thanked the man for helping him train, and asked if he might be willing to help him again some time. After making tentative arrangements, Lian gathered his gear, and made his way home.

[Khida]

Lian Windrunner

Skill	Points
Intelligence	+1
Observation	+1
Planning	+1
Weapon: Bow	+3

• Webbing: the allure of connection
• News of an escaped captive and Nakivak
• Endrykas location: Hunter's Allegiance
• Bow: calm focus improves accuracy
• Bow: flying targets pose a challenge

Notes

I liked the addition of the flying targets at the end! Nice touch. I'm not sure if Lian's lunch here has been deducted from your ledger or not; please ensure that it has.

I did not award Webbing for this one because Lian is halfway through Competent, and simply dropping into the Web for a sense of the surroundings is a Novice-level action. Competent-level actions include tying other living things into the Web, repairing and otherwise manipulating existing Webs, and long-range communication. Certainly use Webbing as Lian would, even if that's just reading the environment, but to progress in skill level, he'll need to stretch more.

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding this grade. Also, please edit your request to show this thread has been graded.