Basic Shortbow - Tippin [Private]

[Aesha]

Ranged Hall Two was a large building in itself, just to the left of the main adminstration building of the Academy as the clerk had said. It was rectangular in shape, and the door had been propped open for ease of student access.

Upon entering, Tippin would find himself in a large hall, surrounded by racks of ranged weapons and targets for aiming at. the floor was made off wooden boards, that had been sanded to a smooth finish. Various stuffed targets dummies in their frames had been positioned around the classroom. It seemed to be able to accomodate more than one lesson at once, and already one student and teacher pair where experimenting with the art of the crossbow.

A figure glanced at the halfing as he entered the place, a person who was presumably Rydian, the shortbow teachers that Tippin had been assigned to. He was, unsurprisingly elfish, and his pointed ears showed clearly beneath his cropped sandy hair. He held no weapon in his hands, but the appendages did contain a spare bow string. Apparently he had been intending on restringing a couple of the school's bows before Tippin showed up. Recognising his student by the description the clerk had given him, Rydian jogged over to the halfling to make him feel welcome in the hall.

"Serale! Tippin, right? I'm Rydian. Pleased to meet you."

[Tippin Linhollow]

Tippin had no trouble finding the building. He walked in and noted all the activity around him. He saw the many sizes of ranged weapons; crossbows, shortbows, longbows... all kinds. Tippin had never been in an archery range ever before, and was quite fascinated by it. He watched the other student across the room. Not recognizing him, he continued to move about the building.

When the Elf, Rydian, reached him and greeted him, he replied, "Pleased to meet you as well. You are correct, I'm Tippin. I can't wait to get started here." His eyes were wide with curiosity. He was very excited about his first class here in Abestat.

[Malak]

Rydian smiled "Well good an anxoius student wanting to learn." he motioned for Tippin to follow him over to a rack containing various types of bows. "So you want to learn the shortbow, well lets get to the basics of a bow" said Rydian as he picked up and unstringed shortbow from the rack.

He tossed Tippin a piece of bowstring "This is a bowstring, commonly made from sinue. Their are synthetic typed and natural types, the kind we have hear is made from the innerds of a yak." he said as he stretched the string and began to manhandle the bow to put it on. He bent the bow tips back as he put on the string an attached it to both ends. He examined the bow, pulling back on the string to his cheek and bringing it back to place.

"Here, this one is what you'll be using during your training." Rydian said as he handed the bow to Tippin and picked up another shortbow and repeated the process. After finishing Rydian picked up a quiver full of short arrows. "Have you ever used any kind of bow before?" he asked Tippin.

[Tippin Linhollow]

Tippin followed Rydian to the many sizes and kinds of bows that lay ahead. He watched as Rydian strung the bow quickly and skillfully, wishing he knew how to do that. In time, he would learn. Tippin listened to Rydian's statement on bowstrings, being sure to remember every fact given.

When handed the bowstring, Tippin examined it closely. He ran his fingers along it and flexed it back and forth, getting the feel of this part of his weapon. It was a very strong material.

In answer to Rydian's question, Tippin answered, "I have played with makeshift bows at home all the time when growing up, but never anything serious. I have always been interested in archery and tired teaching myself... it didn't really work." He laughed as he thought about his early past.

[Malak]

He laughed "Ah, yes the joys of childhood. I myself and my friends used to "kill" Vyystichi back when we were young."

The two walked to the edge of the range and Rydian pulled an arrow from the quiver. "Of course you know this is an arrow, the shaft, the head and the feathers are the pirmary parts." said Rydian as he pointed out the part. "The feathers are primarly goose feathers, these help keep the arrow straight in flight as it goes through the air. The head, of course, is what goes into the target. Many different types of arrowheads are evident in this world; broadhead, barbed, straight are just to name a few. We will be using straight headed since they are easier to retrieve from targets." he explained as he knocked an arrow in his bow and raised it level.

"Any questions before I release"

[Tippin Linhollow]

At the mention of childhood play, Tippin smiled. He has lost much of the creativity that he possessed as a child, and enjoyed thinking back to the times when all you needed was your imagination to have a bit of fun.

He knew the parts of the arrow, but listened intently anyway. However, he did not know what the fletching was made from, so he was glad he listened. The arrowheads that were named off by Rydian were also new to him, and he hoped to learn more of the different types.

Tippin made mental notes as Rydian put the arrow into place and raised the bow. He answered the question quickly with, "No, no questions yet." His eyes were wide as he was eager to see the release of the arrow.

[Malak]

Rydian pulled the string back, concentrating on th e target downrange. THe string was all the way back towards his cheek, he released.

The arrow flew straight and true down towards the target, the arrow lodged itself into the target just outside the inner circle. He lowered the bow "Well, you see that I pulled back all the way towards the side of my face. You need to pul it as far back as you can, gives your arrow more power and speed, as you practice more and more it will become easier to pull back." Rydian explained as he knocked another arrow.

"When you knock an arrow on the string you want to use three fingers to pull back." he said as he held up his index,middle and ring finger. "Then place your fingers with your index finger above the arrow and other two below it and wrap your fingers around the string. Alright, now take this arrow and knock it in your bow." said Rydian as he handed an arrow to Tippin.

[Tippin Linhollow]

OOC: Oops.. I hit the button twice. heh.

[Tippin Linhollow]

Tippin took the arrow and examined it. After briefly checking it out, he brings it up to the bow. Index finger above, other two below. He did this carefully. Then he brought the bow up above his shoulder, level with his face. He closed one eye to aim and squinted with the other. He was a but nervous before releasing, so he asked Rydian if he was doing okay. "Alright, how's this?"

[Malak]

"Good, just one thing." Rydian went over to Tippin's left arm and lifted his elbow level with his shoulder. "You also want to keep your elbow even with you shoulder. It gives you more strength in pulling and doesn't hurt your arm when you release. Other than that I say very good. Now put down your bow and put on this forearm protector, it keeps your inside forearm from getting scrapped from the string. Then resume your stance and let it fly " said Rydian as he handed Tippin the protector.

[Tippin Linhollow]

Tippin took the forearm protector from Rydian. Examining it for a moment, he figured out how to slip it on, and did so. Once the protector was in place, he brought the bow and arrow back up to his cheek. He pulled back on the string, gently at first, then using a good amount of force to get a strong shot. Then once again he squinted one one eye, aimed, and released the arrow.

[Malak]

The arrow flew downrange, it landed in the target. Rydian looked, the arrow had imbedded itself in the forth ring out from the middle, up high.

He nodded with approval "Very good, the arrow is a little high but for your first time that was good. Now I presume you inhaled exactly as you released the arrow, thats one reason why the arrow is high." Rydian paced a few steps, getting into his talking mood. "Now when you release you want to be holding your breath but for only a split second. When you hold too long, most people start to shake. When you exhale while releasing that will most likely put the arrow further near the bottom of the target. For a few minutes hold the bow and imagine firing downrange while holding your breath for that split second. Just do it nice and easy."

[Tippin Linhollow]

Tippin took in a deep breath, then exhaled. This didn't seem so hard. He took up his bow and held it to his face, breathing steadily. Practicing without an arrow, he bent the bow string back and just before he let it go, he stop breathing. After letting go, he took a breath. He did this once more and decided he wanted to try it with a real arrow. He picked one up and locked it in place, getting a good firm grip on the bow. As Rydian directed, he bent it back and held his breath momentarily. He let go of the arrow and was able to breathe again. Now he watched to see where the arrow would hit.

OOC: I hope I'm not going to fast here. Trying not to get ahead of myself.

[Malak]

OOC: You're ok

Rhydian watched with approval, "Good, now we're gonna go ahead with real arrows again." he said as he pulled a arrow from the quiver and broght up his sortbow and released. It flew donw to a smaller target next to the big one and right in the middle.

He lowered the bow "Now you try for the smaller one."

[Tippin Linhollow]

"Alright", answered Tippin after receiving his command.

He looked up to the target ahead and brought the bow up to his face once again. As he had practiced, he inhaled, pulled the arrow back, and let go before exhaling. Then he watched his arrow take off.