Basic archery - drew

[S'Lon]

Taurus led the way into the armoury and stood aside to allow drew to enter into the room, which was slightly dim but dry and smelt of the oils and waxes to preserve the wood and string of the bows and to prevent rust on the metalwork of the various weapons.

He paced over to one wall that contained boxes stacked along shelves.

We mainly use two types of bow here, the long and short, but of course with the variety of races and body sizes, the two do tend to merge a bit. During the course of your training you should try both, but for now just stay with yours.

Now, here are the arrows in these tubs. Just like the bows, the arrows come in different lengths, so choose some that are the right length. The ones in these tubs are the ones that we use on the targets.

Choose yourself a couple of dozen, else you will be forever walking to and fro the target. You might want to take a larger quiver for them too.

He waved at the tubs for drew to select some arrows for himself.

[drew]

Drew stepped into the armoury. The dim light made him feel a little more at ease, and from taking into account what Taurus had said, he set his quarterstaff down with his quiver. Taking a larger one, he looked in the tub and began to inspect a few of the arrows. They were nothing special, and after choosing a length he began to fill the quiver.

"That should do." He said to himself as he put the last one in. Readying his own shortbow, he withdrew an arrow and gained a feel for the string. The flex was definately to his taste, perhaps could do with being a little tighter. The cool feel of the shaped wood gave slightly as he flexed the weapon at the ground quickly. Releasing the torque, he looked at Taurus.

"So where shall we start?"

[Kalynne Danyth]

Kalynne set her own arrow-filled quiver next to the wall and carefully chose her practice set, eyeing each one for warp or defects. "Hmm, not bad." She muttered to herself noting that very few arrows had any. One by one the arrows were sized and pre-flight tested against her bow. Kalynne also chose a larger quiver as hers was a small one, and after filling it, slung it on her shoulder.
With a satisfied smile, she waited for Taurus to move them on. In a small way, not one to be full of herself, Kalynne couldn't wait to show Taurus and even Drew for that matter that she was very serious about being a ranger and that she did have what it would take. All she needed to do, was to recall and listen to her father's words as far as the bow was concerned. Now, the sword was another matter. She knew she needed serious training with that, but as with the learning of the bow, she was a quick study and was willing to learn from her errors. Though, she did tend to be too hard on herself at times.

[S'Lon]

While we wait just for a moment, for one of my girls to arrive, Taurus said, referring to his wife and daughter, perhaps you could share with is Kalynne what you were looking for in the arrows, for you seemed to know what you were looking for?

[Kalynne Danyth]

"Well..." Kalynne started and paused to choose her words then continued. "After so many uses an arrow becomes worn from traveling through the air and impacting against its target, causing fraying and warping. Both may or may not be seen by the naked eye, but instead felt by the hand. I was checking for the straightness and wear of the tips." She tipped her head towards the barrel of arrows.

"You seem to keep a good supply for practice, Taurus. Though, now and then it would be good experience to allow the students to let fly one with subtle defects to show them the differences." She added with a brightness in her eyes and pleasant grin.

[S'Lon]

Taurus grinned back. I suspect that you will all find that out only too soon without any interferance on my part.

He clapped his hands and ushered the students out of the armoury and led them out of the Hall and round to the archery range. A solitary figure stood on the range slowly shooting arrows and Taurus grunted.

I see that Gemini, my daughter, is already there. Go over and introduce yourselves and she will take you through what is necessary for you to know at this stage.

ooc: Kalynne, if you feel up to it, you can peer mod the basics of shooting an arrow using Gemini as the instructor. You can both find the requirements for this level of training through the archery link in my signature line

[Kalynne Danyth]

"Serale Gemini! I'm Kalynne Danyth and your Father sent us out to start our training with the bow." Kalynne said with a smile nearing the young woman who Taurus pointed out on the range as his daughter.

"So you know, though I'm not perfect with it, my own Father taught me how to use one as he was a Master bowyer." She said shifting her bow to the hand she'd be holding it in. She watched Drew walk up then continued, and not with arrogance in her voice, but as a matter of fact tone. "I always believed it never hurt to brush up on one's skills and there is always room for improvement." She added and wondered just how close to the target she'd actually get.

[drew]

Drew raised an eyebrow as Kalynne seemed to gain a little confidence in her reply to Taurus. The young girl seemed to know what she was talking about and he guessed he would have to work a little harder to keep up with her. He wasn't looking forward to being bested by a child, but he knew he couldn't be good at everything. As they followed round to the archery range, Drew saw that someone was already there.

"Serale Miss Gemini."

As he waited for the young woman to reply, he listened to Kalynne. She was mildly entertaining, she seemed to be full of confidence in this aspect, and as he withdrew an arrow, he spoke to her.

"I hope you can back up your words young one." He said, with a slight chuckle of the usual sarcastic clip in his voice.

[Kalynne Danyth]

ooc: This is my first time peer modding so bear with me, Drew.


Gemini

Gemini turned at the woman's voice and with a gesture of her bow and nod walked up to them, studying each of the new trainees with interest.

"Serale to both of you!" Gemini said and leaning gently on her bow, a long bow at that, listened with to the girl who called herself Kalynne. Then when Kalynne finished and Drew spoke his words of ribbing, Gemini motioned to each of them to follow her. She had heard similiar words of over confidence like Kalynne's from many a trainee who found they were no better with a bow than a club.

"Yes, let's see what both of you can show me of your skills. Come, we'll go down a little further to the two empty targets. Drew, take the left, Kalynne the other. And if you are ready, Drew, let fly your first arrow." Gemini said stopping. She wanted to see where each of them were at before starting her lessons. Gemini positioned herself just so to carefully inspect Drew's stance and follow-through.

[Kalynne Danyth]

At Drew's words, Kalynne looked at him with a smirk of one who is not easily flustered at mere words. She'd be the first to admit when she wasn't good at something, and being able to train and become adept in the proper use of the bow would be something to be proud of.

"Maybe we should bring the target closer to you, so your aging eyes can see it better." She countered and then went over to where Gemini motioned. When Drew took up his stance, Kalynne watched and kept silent. She had learned that once one had the basics down, it was a matter of repitition and focus.

[Kalynne Danyth]

Gemini

Once finished with their first launching of arrows down the range, Gemini gathered them to her and began her lessons.

"Not bad. You both know which end of the bow is up." She quipped with a smile to ease any tension that might have been present. "But, we're going to start from the beginning and work our way up. For starters there are two different types of bow. The longbow, of which mine is. And the shortbow which Kalynne has in her hand." Gemini said nodding in Kalynne's direction. "You'll have a chance at using them both, but for now I'm going to explain some things about each. General maintenance, safety, learning to choose a good bow and your arrows, aiming, consistency with finger posistioning and stance, and the follow-through. All of which are important and with repitition and consistency will become second nature to you as a ranger. To ease any anxieties you may have, very few have actually failed this phase of training."

Taking her own bow, Gemini ran her fingers along the arms of her bow from bottom to top and along the bowstring. "Once you have the bow you're comfortable and happy with, you'll want to keep it maintained as weather along with use, will be a major factor." Gemini dug in one of her pouches and pulled out some beeswax and a small flask of oil. "These are your major components for keep your bow in prime condition. The wax for keeping your bowstring flexible and from fraying. The oil is for conditioning the wood. Not just when it's being used, but even for when it isn't."
Gemini returned the items to the pouch and continued. "Now, safety is another important factor. Short and sweet, don't *ever* point your notched arrow at anyone or anything without the intent of using it. The best way to remember this is don't notch the arrow until you need it. Your fingers could slip and it doesn't have to be pulled back fully to launch the deadly arrow to cause damage or injury. Richochet is another point, but that has to do with aiming and I'll get into that later. So I'll only say make sure there is a clear path to your target."

Gemini paused, her eyes meeting each of them. "And you will get a chance to shoot some arrows and practice, but for now it's a lot of listening. Are there any questions before I move foward?"

[Kalynne Danyth]

Kalynne gave a nod and motioned with her hand. "I do. How do you know when a bow is ready to be replaced, is there a way to tell?"

Kalynne unintentionally winced as one of the student rangers down a couple slots missed her own target and instead hit the one on her left. Her attention retured to Gemini.

[Kalynne Danyth]

Gemini

Gemini motioned to both Kalynne and Drew as she sat down on the grass. "Might as well sit down. Now, to answer your question, yes. There is a way of telling. One way would be in seeing a series of stress lines along the wood of your bow. If there is metal in your bow and you notice gaps where it meets the wood, then it's time to either repair it or buy a new one." She said while setting her longbow on the grass next to her. "Another way would be after using your oil and beeswax the bow still feels like it's stiffening and your string shows signs of fraying then the bow and string need replacing. But, with the bow, if it is of quality construction, they can last many a pattern. I know of bows being handed down to the next generation. Now the arrow falls in the same lines. After many uses they tend to get a warp to them and bits taken out. Using your eye..." She took one of her arrows and held it in front of her with the fletch to her nose, one eye shut. "Looking down the shaft you can see if it is still straight and if the head itself has been misaligned. Without straight and good arrows the bow is useless, and the reverse goes as well"
Gemini put her arrow back in her quiver hanging behind her.

Gemini then looked over at Drew. "Do you have any questions, Drew?"

[drew]

"My age will only depict my experience child. Allow me to demonstrate."

Drew let one of his arrows fly into the target at the end of the range. It hit comfortably enough and as he did so Gemini began to speak about the aspects of archery. He began to absorb the information carefully, and the fact that the girl was already versed on the ways of the bow was a little disheartening, although Drew didn't let it show.

As Gemini continued, they moved onto the grass verge and sat down. As Gemini asked him if he had anything to add, he looked at the bow that was still in his hand. It all seemed straightforward enough to him.

"No, it all seems to be understandable enough." He replied simply.

[Kalynne Danyth]

Gemini

"Alright then I'll continue on." Gemini said with a nod of her head. She then stared ahead to gather her thoughts on the next series of the training.

"The next set of factors go hand in hand in order to achieve a well-placed shot. Stance, aiming and follow-through." Gemini then stood up, gathered her bow and positioned herself in the archer's stance.

"As you can see it's not a matter of standing however you want to. My legs are apart shoulder-length or thereabouts, one is directly in front of the other. The one foot pointing towards the target and the other facing to the side." Gemini explained while pointing to each. "Pulling the string isn't as easy as it looks, especially when someone has never done so." With her one hand Gemini pulled back the string in a fluid motion and held it. "You'll notice that I pulled the string with my two fingers and thumb." Gemini then released the bowstring and retrieved an arrow and notched it. "The front of the arrow is set along the notch in the bow, but again after wear from use, this notch will become worn and a new one needs to be made in it. The fletch end is placed in between your two fingers and thumb. Don't hold it too tightly or it won't release properly and the front of the arrow might swing away from the notch."

Gemini then pulled back the bowstring a second time, this time her eyes straight ahead looking down at the target. "Eventually you'll be able to hold this posistion for a period of time once your arms become strong enough. Even the strongest of men who have never fired a bow weren't able to hold it back for more than a couple minutes. But, when waiting for that deer to get in your line of fire, a couple minutes could feel like an eternity. To aim, you must align your eyes, arrow and your target all at once as if they are one. A few centimeters off and you can miss your target by a good feet or yards, depending how misaligned you were in the first place."

Gemini closed one eye and after taking a few slow deep breaths, she held the last and released the bowstring.'Pfft!' It was the only movement from Gemini as she remained still until the arrow struck the target with a 'thunk' and was off center by only a couple inches. Then and only then, did she turn to Kalynne and Drew who sat listening to all she had to say. Gemini smiled. As you may have noticed I didn't move after I let the arrow fly. That is what you call follow-through. Any movement beforehand however slight can throw off its path."

Gemini then motioned them to stand. "Now, it's your turn to try and hit the target at 100 feet away. You don't have to be concerned about missing the bullseye. I want to see what you have learned thus far."

Slinging her bow over her shoulder she turned to Kalynne. "Drew, take the target I used. Don't forget the stance first. Kalynne you will take the one on the left of it. Good. Now Drew you first, and take you time. Competitions come later." She added as she noted their mild sniping at each other.