Looking for Tynaden Glass [Private|Llanst, Mod|Aesha]

Llanst Lestar · March 28, 2004, 03:31 PM

Llanst wandered the streets of the Domicilium with a piece of paper in his hand. On it was scribbled a name and address in black messy writing: "Tynaden Glass, 42 Leaf Lane, Abestat."
He rounded the corner into Leaf lane, checked the piece of paper one last time, committed the name and number to memory, before putting it away. His longsword swung sleightly at his side, making the occasional 'clink', while his longknife, concealed between his right hip and his brown cloak made no noise. He didn't carry his bow, nor could he use it with his wounded shoulder.
He watched the numbers of the houses slowly ascend, until he was close to number 42 . . .

Aesha · March 30, 2004, 12:20 PM

Number 42, Leaf Lane slowly came into view and Llanst trudged down the street. The house was a ramshackle affair, looking in dire need of attention, and the garden moreso. Vines and creepers grew up the walls, and not soley in a decorative manner. The garden path had been lost to weeds long ago, and the grass was at least knee height and not something to be entered without caution.

A man had, however, done so. He was knee-deep in the stems, vainly trying to pull tufts of moss out of the stonework of the house. Nearby, a shutter on the window was loose on only one hinge and looked in dire need of repair, too.

The figure had long sandy coloured hair, tied back into a ponytail that reached to the bottom of his shoulder blades. He was quite tall, probably standing at around just below six feet. He was concentrating greatly on the task in hand, and as such, didn't notice Llanst approach his residence.

Llanst Lestar · March 30, 2004, 04:13 PM

Respect was something Llanst had always been taught, and he had every intention of showing every ounce of respect for a Ranger. Thusly, he stood outside the bounds of the garden, fearing both for his health and the disrespect it might show.
"Ho, there! Serale sir. My name is Llanst Lestar, and I'm looking for Tynaden Glass."
He put special emphasis on Tynadin's name, though he didn't know why. He wasn't about to assume this man was the Ranger himself, or whether he was some servant or a dedicated apprentice.

Aesha · April 3, 2004, 08:52 AM

The man turned as he heard Llanst introduce himself, hands still full of bits of moss and ivy. From the front, Llanst could see that man was human, in his mid-twenties or so. He had a very square-cut jaw, but he greeted Llanst with a friendly smile that softened the feature somewhat. He looked down at the bits of moss in his hand, and gave an apologetic shrugs for the state the elf had found him in.

"Serale! I'm Tynaden. Can I help you with something?

Llanst Lestar · April 3, 2004, 05:28 PM

"Yes, sir, I was send here by Cylo A'kir. He told me you could assist me in becoming a ranger."

Celes · April 8, 2004, 11:42 AM

OOC: Hey, I'll be modding this thread to lighten Aesha's load.

IC:

The man blinked blankly for a minute at Llanst's words before a broad grin swept across his face. "Cylo A'kir, you say?" He chuckled for a bit. "He sent you to me? Must have had a sudden emergency come up, eh?" An amused smile touched his lips and Tynaden started to lean against the house, but when the shutter threatened to become nonexistent, he quickly pulled away.

Sheepishly running his hand through his thick blonde hair, he nodded at Llanst, "Well, why don't you come on in and we'll discuss this further." He dropped the moss he was clutching and strided into the dilapidated house. Despite appearences from the outside of the structure, the place was actually in not bad condition. In the single room, the only furnishing consisted of a bed, a few cooking utensils and a wooden chest for storing clothes. A quiver half-full of arrows was carefully balanced on the chest.

"Er, why don't you have a seat?" Tynaden nodded at the bed. Rubbing his fingers on his chin thoughtfully, his emerald green eyes carefully appraised Llanst. "So you say you wish to become a ranger. I'm actually a trainer in the field of archery so that's what I'll be teaching you. Archery. But first, I wish to know what sort of bow is your preference and exactly what has that absentminded Cylo taught you so far?"

Llanst Lestar · April 8, 2004, 07:41 PM

Llanst sat on the bad, and awaited what he knew would be a barrage of questions from Tynaden. He was rather coming to the conclusion that Rangers operated on information.
"I have in my small arsenal of weapons, a Composite Long Bow that I use. None too heavy, but the string is powerful. That absentminded Cylo has only taught me how to draw a string."

Celes · April 9, 2004, 06:00 PM

Tynaden nodded, "Alright, listen, Llanst, you might not like what I'm about to tell you . . . but I want you to forget all you've learned so far from Cylo about archery. You might notice that different trainers have different techniques in teaching and I want to start fresh and anew. No point in confusing you further. From what you've told me so far, I understand that Cylo had just barely touched on the topic, so that's good." He grinned, "Makes my job much easier. Last time I had someone else's student transfer to me, he thought he knew everything and acted all snooty. Well, let's just say an arrogant attitude gets you nowhere when you're facing an enemy."

"Let's start with one of the basic longbows first before you move onto anything with your Composite Longbow. It's important that you get down the basics before you try anything advanced." He stood up smoothly and walked to a door on the back wall that was opposite the front entrance. "Now if you'll just follow me . . ."

The door opened out onto a large, green area. Set up into a backyard archery range, makeshift targets had been placed sporadically around the area and along the side, Llanst could see racks of quivers containing various arrows and several different bows. Tynaden immediately went over and selected a longbow about five feet.

Handing it to Llanst, Tynaden folded his arms and fixated his green eyes intently on the elf, "Before we begin, can you show me what you believe to be the correct stance when using a bow?"

Llanst Lestar · April 25, 2004, 04:47 PM

Llanst followed Tynaden out the back of the house. Secretly, he placed his hand on his left shoulder under his cloak, testing the integrety of his shoulder after the wound. It had only been but a few weeks, so it would be dangerous to strain it too much. At least he was using a weaker bow for now.
Llanst took the bow as it was handed to him. He was grateful at least that Tynaden might believe that Llanst knew any form of archery stance, but Llanst knew none.
"I'm sorry. Cylo taught me very little. So little, in fact, that it might be worth starting over."
However, Llanst did attempt a stance as he thought it would be. He ended up eventually with both his feet parallel to each other, and facing side on to his target, with a one or two foot distance between them.
"I'd imagine . . something like this?"

Celes · May 1, 2004, 12:33 PM

Tynaden smiled in appreciation for Llanst's efforts. "Pretty good. You have the basic concept. Now imagine an imaginary straight line heading toward the center of the target and put the tip of your toes against it. Feet should also be placed about shoulder's width apart. Remember, don't be too stiff . . . but I don't want you slouching like pudding either." He grinned, "Wouldn't be the proper cool and suave ranger pose, you see."

"Now, next step. To properly aim, it should be done with your dominant eye while shutting your other one. This will allow you to be more accurate in your judgment. Why don't you look over at that target there . . ." Tynaden pointed to a target that was situated about 30 feet away. " . . . and check which one's your dominant eye? Whichever eye has the target move less from the image you have when both eyes are open is your dominant eye."

Llanst Lestar · May 6, 2004, 03:09 AM

OOC: Sorry it's taking so long for me to reply, I'm having infrequent internet and email problems. They should be fixed now.

IC: Llanst turned to face the new target, trying his best to maintain his stance. He was standing tall, at his full height, his shoulders resting at his normal standing shoulder height. He tried his best to discern his dominant eye, but it was fairly hard when the target was so far away. Just for kicks, he raised his bow toward his target. He found it was easier to judge by his bow than the target.
"My left eye is dominant," He told Tynaden, though he didn't know why. As a mentor he would probably work better with as much information as possible, Llanst reasoned to himself.

Celes · May 9, 2004, 02:41 PM

OOC: It's okay. I've been a bit busy lately as well.

Tynaden nodded at Llanst's response. "Alright. Good." He stepped forward to take the bow from his student's hands. "Now to nock an arrow, we must first bring the bow down so that it's parallel to the ground." As he spoke, he maneuvered the longbow into the correct position. "It'll make the process of loading an arrow much easier."

He pulled out an arrow from one of the quivers nearby. "The nocking point is the place on the bowstring where the arrow is placed for firing. The end of the arrow has a small notch on it for the string." He pointed out the small groove. "By properly positioning it, you will ensure that the arrow does not slip."

He brought the arrow to the bow. "Now first, you nock the feathered end of the arrow to the bowstring." Pausing, he proceeded to pull the string back with his fingers and explained, "Then you pull the string back so that the arrow's shaft can slip into place along the groove on the frame." Tynaden repeated the steps again so that Llanst might get accustommed to the procedure.

The tall blonde man nodded before handing the bow back to Llanst. "Now you try nocking an arrow."

Llanst Lestar · May 12, 2004, 02:54 AM

Llanst took the bow from Tynaden again, and took an arrow from the same quiver. He angled the bow downwards towards the ground and placed the arrow where he assumed it was meant to go from Tynaden's teachings - up near where his hand clutched the frame of the bow. He took his time to let the arrow slip onto the string at the groove where he had been showed it must go. He slip his fingers along the arrow and over the fletching, drawing back the string and hoping the arrow would fall into the right place.

Minerva · May 20, 2004, 04:35 PM

OOC: Serale! With Aesha's permission, I'll be taking over this thread. Hopefully you'll be able to make some sense of my ramblings.

IC:

Tynaden watched over Llanst's actions with a highly concentrated sort of look, his brow furrowed in the beginnings of a heavy frown as he made completely sure that his student was carrying out all of his instructions correctly, and taking the right set of steps in nocking the bow proper. It took a while, evidently, but, eventually, and with a considerable amount of effort and dedication on the part of the elf, the arrow complied and slid home into the necessary groove. Pulling back on the string, the arrow almost seemed to slot itself into the required place without any sense conscious on behalf of the man tugging on it.

"Well, that looks good to me. You're all set to start firing arrows now."

Pointing towards the first of the makeshift targets strewn about on the edge of the patch of green, Tynaden offered Llanst a reassuring smile, a gesture that was laced with an undertone of blatant encouragement.

"I want you to aim for the centre of that target first. Now, I'm not exactly sure how Cylo taught you, but I would like you to carry out your actions as follows: Firstly, when aiming, the hand holding the bow should be stretched out in a straight line- the elbow should not be bent. The hand drawing back on the arrow should be positioned in such a manner that your lower arm, from your elbow to your hand, also forms a straight line, and one that is parallel to your other outstretched arm."

"We've already gone over your stance, right? For now, we'll see how you do with that one. Since your dominant eye is the left one, you should point your aim slightly to the left, to compensate for the slight distortion in your view. Also, it is good practice to aim slightly above your chosen target, to compensate for the arrow falling slowly towards the ground."

"Before releasing the arrow, try taking a deep breath and holding it first, then relax the fingers holding the arrow in place, allowing the bow string to be released as smoothly as possible. A lot of archers will also picture where they want the arrow to go before releasing it."

"It may sound a little strange, but what comes after firing the arrow is also something of importance. After you have shot your arrow, you should keep both your bow hand and string hand in place, until the arrow has hit its target. This will help you with your accuracy, and is called 'follow through.'"

Pausing for a moment in his explanations, Tynaden inclined his head to deign the elf beside him with an inquisitive look that bordered on being completely whimsical.

"Now then, if you understood all that, try firing an arrow. Do be so kind as to point the bow towards the target, however, and not at me."

Llanst Lestar · June 4, 2004, 06:55 AM

Llanst took up the bow again, pulling another arrow from the quiver on the wall. With his right hand he dropped it onto the string and the frame. He ran his fingers on either side of the arrow, holding it steady, until his hand met the string and he drew it half way back, all the while pointing the arrow at the ground in front of him.
He was listening to Tynaden's advice as he raised the bow vertically to his target having made sure his feet were planted and in the right place. Llanst drew the string back to his jawline, staring down the shaft of the arrow with his dominant eye to the centre of the target. He felt professional at this point. It didn't matter that he wasn't. He imagined the target as the Vyssitchi that escaped those weeks ago from the battle in Abestat's streets and he felt in control.
Just a little turn to the left and upward - so small it was hard to see it - and he had his firing point. The word 'thuck' sprung to mind as he released the string.